General Discussion Race Reports! » Wisconsin Marathon Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Wisconsin Marathon - Run


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Kenosha, Wisconsin
United States
50F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 4h 22m 10s
Overall Rank = 455/847
Age Group = F40-44
Age Group Rank = 31/68
Pre-race routine:

Leslie and I had our own hotel room this time. We got up at 4:15. I had my usual bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and a bottle of water with the caffeinated Crystal-lite mix. Got dressed and then we met up with the parents, took a few pictures, and headed out to the race site by 5:30. It worked out well because we tried to get into the parking lot by the Civil War museum, but apparently they reserve that for the race volunteers and other officials. Well, I turned right to loop back to other parking lots and we found an on-street spot in the block behind the museum. It worked out to be a great parking spot! We walked over toward the start/porta-potties. It was really windy! We went and got in the porta potty line (we went on the side out of the wind and were the first ones in nice clean porta-potties). We sent Dad back to the car with Leslie's cheesehead (she decided it was too windy) and to get my throw-away gloves. I wore Leslie's extra throw-away sweatshirt. One more porta potty stop and a cup of water and it was time to get in the starting line. They had nicely marked off pace signs. We didn't bother with the cheese corral because it seemed to be WAY up toward the front. I lined up in between the 9:00 and 10:00 min/mile signs.
Event warmup:

None other than walking from car and into the starting area. I took my throw-away off and wrapped it around my shoulders til it was time to take off. They walked us forward after the Star Spangled banner and I tossed the sweatshirt and then we were off...
Run
  • 4h 22m 10s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 10m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

I saw Wendy and the kids on a corner just a block or so from the start! I had a slight wardrobe malfunction in the first mile - I lost both my cheese pin and my Boston bracelet. I was also having trouble with my number belt and my Sparkle skirt. I think either one alone would've been fine, but the two together weren't working all that well.

I felt really good through about mile 12. I enjoyed the out/back section through the park through the north and saw Leslie on the course. I saw Dad and Wendy and the kids at mile 4 and then again at mile 11. Beth and Sally were with them by this point.

When the halfers turned around at mile 12, I suddenly felt like I was out there all by myself. This feeling only lasted for about a mile because once I was on the road heading to Carol Beach, I could see a lot more people. For the rest of the race, I had times where I felt pretty good and times where I was thinking that this really sucks! I really like the parts that were dirt. It was hard packed dirt so it wasn't like running on a soft surface it was just a nice change from the concrete. I think this depends on the year and whether or not that road has been recently re-graveled. The out and back to the far south turnaround wasn't too bad except for the wind once I turned. Again, I liked watching the other runners on the out/back. I did see a chip reader along the side of the road in that section. No splits, but at least they were monitoring that people had actually made it all the way out there.

I did run every single step, even through the aid stations. I figured it was going to hurt anyway, so I might as well keep going. Some whistling guy was near me for what seemed like forever, but I finally got away from him. My "corset" strings kept coming untied - guess I should have sewn those down better. Maybe I should've just ripped them off instead of retying them. The wind was strong all day, but was particularly bothersome from about mile 19-25. I did 4 gels during the race - one at ~5.5, one around 12, one around 18, and then the final one just before the last aid station in the Carol Beach area (~ mile 23).

My final wardrobe malfunction happened at about mile 25.8. The wind finally got the best of my number belt and one corner came loose and I lost the little clip thing that holds the number on the elastic. I saw it fall, but wasn't going to turn around to get it.

I saw some poor guy hurling along the side of the road just before the 26 mile mark. We had to cross trolley tracks at a funny angle to get to the finish. I thought they should've covered those up or put the cones in a different arrangement. Hopefully no one tripped! At least I didn't. I felt pretty good finishing and I heard them call my name. They also made some comment about my being from NY.
What would you do differently?:

Pace better, not wear my number belt, bring sunscreen!!
Post race
Warm down:

Walked a little bit. Grabbed a bottle of water and a piece of a bagel. I only took a few bites of the bagel. Never made it over to the food tent for my brat (wasn't really hungry for that) and they said the beer was Miller Lite so I passed on that as well. I did have a chocolate G3 in my bag. That was good! We took some pictures by the lake. I put my sweats on and then we walked back to the car.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being injured in the fall limited the training volume prior to starting the build. Also I clearly need to learn to pace better and possibly work on some mental strategies. I don't think I was necessarily "hurting" just past mile 12, but it felt like someone took the wind out of my sails when the halfers were suddenly gone.

Event comments:

I really enjoyed this race. I thought it was well organized and I liked the course. The shirt and the medal are both nice. We did confuse some poor guy in the Milwaukee airport though because from a distance this year's shirts kind of look like MN Vikings' shirts (except that they are lighter purple), but then they said Wisconsin, so this poor guy was really confused! And you know you're in WI when the medal is also a bottle opener (OK, I have seen that elsewhere, but it seemed appropriate in this case!).

The weather does have the potential to be an issue here. The wind was bad today, but if it had been raining it would've been much more miserable. Also, if it hadn't been windy, it would've been kind of hot. There was no shade since the leaves aren't on the trees yet. I think if I did this again and it were hot, I might consider carrying water because they aid stations are pretty far apart at the end. There weren't a ton of spectators though there were a fair number downtown and a few isolated pockets here and there on the rest of the course. This doesn't really bother me, but some people might not like that.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2014-01-07 12:00 AM
Running
04:22:10 | 26.2 miles | 10m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 31/68
Overall: 455/847
Performance: Good
Garmin splits: 8:56, 8:47, 9:15, 9:08, 9:10, 9:27, 9:25, 9:32, 9:23, 9:13, 9:28, 9:27, 9:47, 10:14, 10:01, 10:06, 10:13, 10:26, 10:35, 10:45, 10:42, 11:03, 10:53, 10:50, 10:31, 10:43, 9:29 (last 0.2)
Course: I liked the course. It did a quick loop through downtown and a residential area before returning to do an out/back through a park along the lake up to near Carthage College and back. There were some rollers in this area and the pavement through the park was crumbling. It was fun to look at all the other runners on this out/back section and check out what they were wearing (costumes including a guy in a cow costume and one dressed like Waldo, folks pushing challenged athletes, and just all the different race shirts that people were wearing). The course returned to downtown and followed the same route we had been on. The half folks turned around at mile 12 leaving us all alone. It seemed REALLY empty once this happened. Then we ran through the Carol Beach area. We weaved in an and out from the main road and back onto side roads. Some of this area had hard packed dirt roads. I really liked running on that! Then there was a an out/back around mile 19ish. Again, I liked looking at the other runners. This is where the wind really started to be a problem. Then it was back on the main road and mostly retraced our path back to the finish. There was a set of trolley tracks right before the finish that could've been dangerous.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

{postbutton}
2014-05-12 8:13 PM

User image

Veteran
221
100100
Subject: Wisconsin Marathon


2014-05-13 12:26 PM
in reply to: #4995304

User image

Veteran
360
1001001002525
Waukegan, IL
Subject: RE: Wisconsin Marathon
Nice work!

I agree about how empty the course felt after the half-marathon turn around. There were many times when I didn't see anyone in front of me or behind me for miles. It's definitely not full of spectators. Coming in during the last mile or so when it gets full of spectators again is a great feeling though!
General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Wisconsin Marathon Rss Feed  
RELATED POSTS

Wisconsin Marathon and Half Marathon

Started by Pilgrim
Views: 933 Posts: 1

2011-05-11 10:27 PM Pilgrim

Wisconsin Marathon and Half Marathon

Started by HockeyFan1972
Views: 1059 Posts: 1

2010-07-13 9:04 AM HockeyFan1972

Wisconsin Marathon and Half-Marathon

Started by randomguymike
Views: 936 Posts: 1

2010-05-25 3:18 PM randomguymike

Wisconsin Marathon and Half Marathon

Started by daviddclough
Views: 1675 Posts: 5

2009-05-04 4:26 PM got2run

Wisconsin Marathon and Half-Marathon

Started by got2run
Views: 1340 Posts: 1

2009-05-03 8:15 AM got2run
RELATED ARTICLES
date : September 30, 2011
comments : 0
How do you incorporate marathon training into a triathlon training plan?
 
date : March 30, 2011
author : mikeinlaguna
comments : 6
I was in the moment, living a dream and on top of the whole world! Honestly, I wish everyone could experience that feeling because it truly cannot be described.
date : November 16, 2009
author : FitWerx
comments : 1
Should I remove the PD Jammers bars and ride it as is, set-up for riding in the drops and hoods? Should I run my Easton Orion II wheels or my Hed Jet60 C2's for IMWI?
 
date : October 13, 2009
comments : 0
I signed up for Ironman Frankfurt, next year July - and I am very excited about it. I originally planned to run my first Marathon in the middle of September, but am not sure if this is wise.
date : April 22, 2009
author : AMSSM
comments : 1
After the Marine Corps Marathon, I started developing left lower/lateral leg pain late in my marathon training and pushed through it.
 
date : July 14, 2008
author : Birkierunner
comments : 2
Watch the highlights and tips of this years IMWI BT mini-camp put on by Birkierunner.
date : June 11, 2007
author : TriDDS
comments : 0
If you would have told me that I would want to train over ten hours a week for a race that can last up to 17 hours, I would have laughed. But somehow, my ACL injury has refocused my outlook on life.
 
date : July 5, 2005
author : dara
comments : 0
It makes no sense to train hard for a year to hone that aerobic system only to have all that training undermined by a few anaerobic bursts on race day. So, how do you go about it?