It was truly an amazing experience for me. I ran the first 6.5 miles without stopping. This is a major accomplishment for me. After the turn around at 6.5, the wind picked up and my mile times slowed considerably. Also, the distance was becoming a factor. Miles 8 and 9 were decent but at the water station at mile 10 things started to get "interesting". My back started to disagree with me and the legs and feet were joining in the conversation. My left foot started to become painful on the bottom front pad. Thankfully my knee was doing very well throughout the race. At about the 11.5 mile mark I stopped about half way up the aforementioned steep bridge. BAD IDEA! Immediate cramping of the left hamstring/calf/foot. OUCH! For just a brief 15 seconds the thought entered my head that I wouldn't be able to finish. I went to the curb, propped my foot up and stretched by bending at the waist. I turned to run and...I felt good! I ran the final portion of the race with no real issues except my right foot pain. My goal was 2:07. At the 10 mile mark I needed a 28 min 5K to hit that. Even on a good day, a 28 minute 5K is a hard push for me much less after 10 hard miles. So my time of 2:10 was more than acceptable. The chip time was actually 2:09:56.9.

More consistent training and lose the final 25 pounds to get to my goal weight of 215. My race plan was great. The nutrition plan was great. I had a gel at 6.5 miles. The course had water/Gatorade at mile one and then every two miles after that. It was great! I had both water and Gatorade at every station. The only thing missing was Endurolytes for the cramping. It may have helped. I was VERY HAPPY with my mental focus today. I ran MUCH BETTER without the HRM. I went by how I felt not by what the watch said. HRM might be useful for training but I doubt that I will ever run a race with one again.

Walked around and talked to many friends. It was like "old home week" for me. I was born and raised in La Crosse. Many friends did the 5 mile race and two good friends did the half marathon. Ate some bagel pieces, a banana and more water and Gatorade.


Cramping in the legs and back. Not enough training miles I suppose.


This race was awesone. It is run by the YMCA of La Crosse and they put on a first class race. The aid stations were fully stocked and had plenty of volunteers. The course was well marked and protected by law enforcement and volunteers. Finishing along the parade route of one of the largest parades in the Midwest was really cool too.