The Endurance Pig: Cellcom Green Bay Marathon

The Green Bay Marathon had been in my sights nearly an entire year prior to actually racing it. I have raced either the half of full marathon in Green Bay four times in the past; 2 full's and 2 half's. I like the race for a couple of reasons. First, the proximity to my home, it's only about a half hour drive from my door to the start line which is always nice for a big race like this. Secondly, it starts and finishes at Lambeau field and the final quarter mile is actually a lap around the field which is pretty sweet. Last year, I was scheduled to work during the marathon and it feel directly in the middle days of my rotation which meant I would have had to take multiple days off just to run a marathon, so I took a pass on last years race. But looked ahead to this years race and found out that it was on my first day off which forced me to take a single day off time off to run the race. After I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin, it solidified my running of the Green Bay Marathon even more in preparations for running a full marathon after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles.

About a month or two out from the GB Marathon, I found out from work that I would be attending a week long class room training from May 13-17, from 8a-4p. This could not have fallen on a better week! This allowed me to sleep at night for an entire week straight leading up to the marathon, which gave my body the best odds at going into the race fully rested.

The GB Marathon was my first scheduled "A" race. I had a few goals going into this race. One, break 3 hours. Plain and simple. This is my #1 goal for running races until it finally happens. Two, run a Boston Qualifying time (sub 3:05:59). No, I would not realistically run the 2014 Boston Marathon, even if I did run a BQ Time, but I still wanted to run a BQ. Lastly, I wanted to run the race strong with the Ironman Marathon in mind. Honestly, even though this was a stand alone 26.2 mile race, I still viewed it as a "training run." As I have been saying this entire year, everything I do is done with one thing, and one thing alone in mind - the 2013 Wisconsin Ironman.

The weather for the marathon was near ideal. The forecasted highs for Sunday were near 73* with SSE winds between 13-15 mph. It ended up being a little warmer than expected and reached near 80*. The winds were as expected but if there were going to be any winds, I would want them to be out of the South based on the configuration of the race route. Miles 16-22 are run on a trail system that runs Northeast along the Fox River. If you'd like you can check out a map of the marathon route HERE.

Training Plan

My training plan leading up to the marathon was not a "normal" marathon training plan for myself. I did my best to incorporate some of my favorite marathon specific workouts (800m repeats, long tempo runs) but this training plan was basically a marathon training plan squeezed into a triathlon based training plan. The past 4-6 months I was only running 3-4 days a week. That doesn't sound like a lot, especially to most other's who ran in yesterday's marathon. I would be willing to bet many of those who ran in the race yesterday, especially those who finished near their Boston Qualifying time, ran 5-7+ days a week. There was no way I would have been able to take on that work load with the Ironman scheduled in September, I just would not have the time to begin swim and bike training after the marathon and be properly prepared for a full Iron distance race less than 4 months later. So, on top of training for this marathon, I also had to work in long bike rides, and long swims, on top of recovery days, working 3rd shift, 8 hour work specific training on scheduled off days, and scheduled court trials. Needless to say, there are only so many hours in a day and so many days in a week!

None-the-less, I was still able to train hard for this marathon. I incorporated some new workouts this season to better prepare myself for running at a sub 3 hour pace (6:52/mile). I did several race pace long runs, which I have talked about on here before. Basically, I would do a long warm up (5-10 miles) and then do a long tempo run (upwards of 12 miles) at my goal race pace of 6:52/mile. I would finish the run with a 1-2 mile cool down. I still scheduled 800 repeats, which in past years, I had always run on a local high school track, but do to the bulk of my marathon training being done in the late winter - early spring, I was unable to get to the track, so I did my repeats in the road. This presented an entirely new challenge, hills and wind. I found this to be beneficial, because the marathon was not going to be run on a level rubber track, but in the road, with weather and elevation changes, so it made since to do my speed work in similar conditions. The goal of 800 repeats is to run them at your goal marathon finishing time, but translated into minutes and seconds instead of hours and minutes. For example, my goal time was 2:59:00, so I would pace my 800m repeats to be done in 2 minutes and 59 seconds. 800m is roughly a half mile, which means I would pace myself at just under a 6 minute mile. The rest period between sets would be a 1:1 ratio, so you would then rest for 2:59 seconds. I would start these workouts with a 1-2 mile warm up and always end them with a 1-2 mile cool down. I have been doing these type of repeats now for about 3 years. I honestly do not know if they necessarily "work," but I enjoy having some type of speed workouts worked into my training plan, and this has been my old stand-by. As far as my long training runs, I did a total of 3 runs of 18 or more. I did one of each 18, 20, and 22. Each of them had some sort of a race paced tempo run built in. Looking back at that today, I'm guessing that probably was not enough long run work, especially for a sub 3 hour goal. But, like I said, I had to build this plan with a larger goal in mind, so had I incorporated more longer runs, I may have left myself with an over training injury or just plain burnt out.

The week leading up to the race was also not my typical marathon week. Normally I cut out all biking for at least 2 weeks before a marathon. This year, I had a 25 mile bike ride followed by a short 1 mile brick run on Tuesday. That was my last bike ride, and then did a 5 mile run on Wednesday, took Thursday off, ran 3 miles on Friday, and finally took Saturday off for rest. I knew going into this race I would be carrying a little more fatigue into the race, but as I have been saying, everything is building up to IM Wisconsin.

Day/Night Before the Race

Maya with her sign for Daddy.

I was fortunate this weekend that Sarah had plans for her and the girls all day with either the three of them or with her family. So, that left me the entire day to simple relax, rest, and prepare for the race on Sunday. We all woke up early (before 7am) on Saturday and I helped the girls with breakfast and getting ready for the day while Sarah got her workout in. After that, Sarah brought the girls to Mulberry Lane Farms for a picnic. I stayed back home as I did not want to spend any significant time on my feet on Saturday and walking around a farm for 3 hours would have done just that. While the girls were away, I was able to get some small chores done around the house and pack my gear up for the race on Sunday. After the girls came home, we decorated 3 signs for them to hold up during the race. After the signs were done, we put the two of them down for an afternoon nap. After their nap, Sarah brought them to a family cook out for her Grandpa's birthday. While they were gone I had my traditional pre-race dinner of Pasta with Walnuts and Peppers. After dinner I spent 20-30 in a hot bathtub with aurora therapy bath salts for muscle soreness and aches. After soaking for a bit, I came out to do some foam rolling and light stretching and was in bed by 8:45pm. My body felt really good all day. Mentally, I was anxious and nervous. I had butterflies the entire day. I kept thinking back to the Lakefront Marathon this past October, where I had aspirations of finishing in under 3:00:00 but blew up at mile 15 and finished in 3:12. I was doubting myself the entire day, but at the same time felt confident based on the way my body felt. It was honestly an odd conundrum - feeling partially confident while having thoughts of failing in the back of your head. Maybe, it was a blessing to have those thoughts, kind of a way to keep me smart and not going into the race over confident.

My lunch - sweet potato sauteed in coconut oil with coconut flakes.

Remembering those effected in the Boston Marathon Bombings.

Prepped my shoe with a little motivation.

My pre-race dinner.

A view of the race expo, in the Atrium.

Getting to the Start Line

Lombardi time - 15 minutes ahead

My alarm was set for 4:15am. I actually slept pretty well. I was up as soon as my alarm went off. I got up to a fresh brewed pot of coffee and quickly made my new pre-race breakfast of a baked sweet potato topped with fresh raw honey, eaten roughly 2.5 hours before the start of the race. After eating my breakfast, I was in my car heading to "The Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field." I left right about 5:15am, as the race started at 7:00am and I usually like to arrive plenty early to just hang out relax and just think. I got to Lambeau around 5:45am and got a decent parking spot right near the Atrium and headed inside. I was able to find a chair and table near Curly's Pub (a nice restaurant inside Lambeau Field's Atrium). Once inside I put on my headphones and began to focus on the task at hand, holding a 6:52/mile pace for just under 3 hours. I ate a Coconut and Chocolate Chip Hammer Bar, the second part of my pre-race breakfast, at 6:00am (one hour before). After finishing my Hammer Bar, I lathered up in sun screen, knowing that it was going to be hot and sunny, laced up my shoes, did some light stretching and a brief dynamic warm up, and packed up my gear bag and got it set for the "bag and tag." I left the Atrium around 6:40 and dropped my bag off at the gear check and went to the start line.

In remembrance of what occurred at the Boston Marathon roughly one month prior to the running of the GB Marathon, they issued a blue and yellow silicon bracelet to all participants of either the half or full marathon to wear the day of the race to show a support to those effected in the tragedy. Prior to the start, there was the singing of the National Anthem (as usual), but then after there was a brief presentation (of sorts) to honor the victims in the Boston Marathon Bombings. In attendance was the Official Medical Director of the Boston Marathon, after honoring the job he did on that day, there was a moment of silence for 26 seconds, while all runners raised their hand with the bracelet, it was a pretty cool moment.

Miles 1-6

I started the marathon solely based on feel and tried not to get caught up in my pace based on my Garmin Watch. The first mile was spent jockeying for position, but after the first 3/4 miles or so, it was smooth sailing. I ran my first mile in 6:29/mile, quite a bit faster than 6:52/mile, but knew I would eventually fall into a groove. My second mile was run in 6:36/mile, still a bit faster, but felt as though I was slowing falling into a proper pace that I would hopefully be able to maintain for the remainder 24 miles. Knowing that the temperatures were going to continue to rise, I specifically stressed getting water in early at every water station. I started by grabbing just one cup of water and making sure to drink most if not all the water in each cup, as opposed to a couple sips, as I have done in the past. I took my first Hammer Gel at mile 3.5. I had planned on taking more calories in earlier on in the race knowing that it was going to get hotter later on. The crowds were nice for the first 6 miles. I even saw families I knew that were there to watch other people run in either the full or half marathon. I had planned on seeing Sarah and the girls shortly after the 6 mile mark, so it was nice to get some cheers from other unplanned people before seeing my support crew. The first timing mat I crossed was at the 5 mile mark, which I crossed with a total time of 33:03 which was averaging a 6:37/mile pace.

Miles 6-13.1

By this point in the race, I started to realize that it was for sure going to be a warm, if not hot, race. I continued to try and push a steady pace. I took a second Hammer Gel at the 6.2 mile mark, which was also where I first saw Maya, Delaney, Sarah, and Lisa. I was still feeling good at this point and was finally in my groove of running even mile splits near 6:50/mile. Shortly after seeing my family, I saw my mom and dad at roughly the 7 mile mark. I took a third Hammer Gel at the 9.5 mile mark. The second timing mat I crossed was at the 10 mile mark. I crossed here in 1:08:08, averaging a 6:49/mile pace. It was shortly after this that I first felt a minor side stitch on my right side. I do not know if this was caused by the heat, my increased water intake, or my strategy of taking a higher concentration of calories earlier in the race as opposed to later, or a combination of the three. Knowing that gels are a concentrated source of carbohydrates and require a higher amount of water to allow the body to properly absorb and digest the carbohydrate, I thought that my side stitches may have been caused by taking a higher amount of gels without sufficient amounts of water to properly digest. I began trying to take in an increased amount of water to allow a better digestion of gels and hopefully rid myself of the side stitches. From the starting line to this point in the race the full marathon course was the same as the half marathon course. The two course remained identical until roughly 11 miles. It was shortly after the 10 mile mark that I recieved a couple boosts of motivation from 2 half marathon runners. The first runner came from behind me and passed me, as he passed me he said, "Running the Full?" I replied with a simple "yup." He then said, "I figured, you looked like you where running too easy to be doing the half, you look strong, keep it up." Shortly after that guy passed, a second guy came from behind and said, "You running this as IM Training?" I assumed he made this assumption based on me running the race in my Triathlon Race Kit from The Tri Shop. I again replied with a short "Yup, coming up in September." He came back with, "You look great, keep it up, you're my hero!" That was awesome, for some complete stranger to say I was a hero to him just for me taking on the challenge of an Ironman. I had a renewed burst of energy entering the half way point, even though it seemed I was unable to rid myself of these darn side stitches. I took my 4th planned Hammer Gel at the 13.1 mile water station. I was a little apprehensive about taking in this gel as I didn't know if my side stitches were caused by an over consumption of calories or what. I crossed the half way point timing mat in 1:29:49 averaging a 6:51/mile pace.

Miles 13.1-20

It was at this point I knew I wasn't going to get the sub 3 hour time I had dreamed about. Right after the half way point was the second spot I saw my daughters, with Sarah and Lisa, along with my mom and dad. It was another great life in my spirits. As the temperatures continued to rise, my side stitch just got worse. I revised my plan to try and maintain at least a 7:00/mile pace for the remainder of the race and to never stop running. Based on my Garmin it was at the 13 mile mark where my paces officially started to fall. They kept getting slower and slower. It was strange, because my body felt great, but the side stitches made it very difficult to breath. I crossed the 15 mile timing mat in 1:43:17 averaging a 6:53/mile pace. Shortly after mile 16 we made our way onto the Fox River Trail which runs Northeast along the Fox River. It's a really nice trail with great views of the Fox River and a good change of pace from the residential and industrial ares of Green Bay and the neighboring communities. The greatest benefit to running on the trail was the ability for my support crew to see me nearly every mile due to the trail running parallel with a major roadway which makes it very easy to jump up a mile and get to the trail easily. I was planning on taking in my 5th gel at mile 16, but skipped taking it to try and relieve my side stitches and allow me to take in water without carbohydrates to try and allow my body to absorb the calories I had taken in at this point. It seemed to help somewhat as my side stitches became tolerable. They were still present but I was still able to run. I crossed the 20 mile timing mat in 2:20:39 averaging a 7:02/mile pace and my pace was obviously falling and falling hard.

Miles 20-26.2

These are traditionally the hardest 6.2 miles any marathoner will ever run. They are long, hard, depressing, and just flat out difficult as hell. When you reach the 20 mile mark, all you want is to be done, you want to stop running, you want to sit back and put your feet up. At this point, I have been running for just over 2 hours and 20 minutes. I had been pushing my body to the max for 20 miles, something that you only do in races. There is no one (at least that I'm aware of) who puts themselves through that type of physical stress in their training. It's stupid if they did, simply put, it would put you at too high of a risk for injury, not to mention the time you sacrifice in training just to recover. So, there is no real way to simulate how you feel at mile 20 of a full marathon, it sucks. The final 6.2 miles is what the marathon is all about, it's what separates the mentally weak from the mentally tough. There is not one person who feels good about themselves at the 20 mile mark, not even the lead runner, if anyone told you they felt good, they are either lying or they are not really trying. Any way, I felt like shit, my side stitches continued to worsen and it was getting hot. I had been dumping so much water over my head in attempt to cool off, that my shoes were soaked and I could hear them slish and slosh every foot strike. All things considered, my body felt as though it could run faster, but my lungs and diaphragm just would not cooperate. My pace continued to drop and I would spend more and more time at aid stations walking past and taking in more water. According to my Garmin, my paces for mile 24-26 were 8:16, 8:02, and 9:17, respectively. After the 26 mile marker, I said "F**k it, I'm pushing myself the final quarter mile, if I collapse, I collapse trying." I picked up my pace as I entered Lambeau field and pushed hard around the field. After coming out of Lambeau, there is just a short 100 yard sprint to the finish line in the parking lot of Lambeau. I pushed hard and crossed the finish line in 3:10:32. It was not a PR, it was not a BQ, and it wasn't even a course record, but all things considered, it was one the most grueling an mentally tough races I have run. So, I was extremely satisfied with my finishing time.

You can access my Race Results from my Garmin Watch by following the link below:

Green Bay Marathon - Details

Post Race

After the race, I received my finishers' medal, which was a football shape and was actually pretty cool looking. I was out of breath and was still struggling to breath due to my side stitches. I continued out of the runner's finisher area, and out to meet up with my support crew. I found Sarah, Lisa, Maya, Delaney, and my mom and dad shortly after heading out and shared in the accomplishment of finishing the marathon with them. We took a few pictures and Sarah, Lisa, and my two daughter had to leave right away to get down to Milwaukee for Sarah's brother's graduation ceremony from UW-Milwaukee. After the girls left, I went to the food tent and got my free Brat and two glasses of Beer and shared some race stories with my dad and mom. My body still felt great, relative to previous marathons. It could have been due to my increase training volume going into the race, or it could have been the fact that the side stitches limited my pace as opposed to more a muscular struggle. As I was driving home I received a text message from my brother, who followed the race on his computer, saying that, based on unofficial results, I placed 35th overall and 3rd in my age group. I honestly did not believe him or thought there was an error in the results. The fact of the matter is that, although I may have placed in my age group in other races, but those were either smaller races, or more specific races such as a triathlon or duathlon. None of them were large races such as a marathon. Even in the Fox Cities marathon, which is a relatively small race, I still never placed in my age group. So to find out that I placed 3rd in my age group at the Green Bay Marathon left me some what skeptical. As time went on, I continued to check the results on the GB Marathon's website. Oddly enough, my overall position only got better, it went from 35th, to 34th, and finally 33rd. On Monday morning the results went from "unofficial" to "official." My placement remained the same, 33rd overall out of 1,524 finishers and 3rd out of 75 others in the Men's 25-29 age group. I officially had placed in my age group at a large scale race!

Other Notes

First off, I want to comment on my outfit of choice for this race. I have never run a full marathon in a tri suit. I ran this one in my tri suit for a couple reasons. First, I'm obligated to as a member of TheTriShop.com Triathlon Team. Secondly, I have every intention of wearing this suit at the Wisconsin Ironman and figured I should wear it in a full marathon before just jumping into a full Ironman in an outfit that I have never worn for more than a few hours in training. The suit could not have been more comfortable. The shorts didn't cause any issues with chaffing or moving around. I never had to adjust anything. They also stayed pretty dry even though I was dousing myself in cold water nearly every mile. The top kept me cool also. I did not chaff in the arm pits as I thought I would. The suits from TheTriShop.com are honestly top notch and I would totally recommend a set if you are in the market. I have worn this suit in a duathlon already and the shorts are very comfortable on the bike as well. You can order a set by following the link below. I know quantities are limited so act fast. If they happen to be out of a piece or your size, the suits are made by Louis Garneau and would recommend a suit made by them!

http://www.thetrishop.com/brands/the-tri-shop.html

After coming home and putting everything away from the race, I showered and felt relative good still. I took our dog for a short half hour walk around the neighborhood. I figured this would help aid in recovery. Also, knowing that I would be heading down to Milwaukee for a dinner with the family for Jake's Graduation. I got to test out my new CEP Pro Recovery Tights. My brother-in-law was at my house just before 2pm to pick me up to head down to dinner. I had not planned on the simple task of putting on a pair of tights to take nearly 15 minutes, but evidently gull length compression tights are a bitch to put on. I got them on and it was off to Milwaukee. The tights worked great, my legs still tightened up, but you're going to get that no matter what your wearing after sitting in a car for nearly 2 hours after running a marathon. But my legs did not feel "heavy" or "swollen" as they often do after a race such as a marathon. We got down to Milwaukee ahead of schedule for our 5pm reservations, which were at the Bar Louie in downtown Milwaukee. However, conveniently for us, located directly across the street from Bar Louie was Water Street Brewery. So, naturally we stopped in for a celebratory hand crafted brew. I kept my tights on all night until we got back home around 9pm. The tights worked wonders, my legs never swelled and felt better than ever considering I spend nearly 4 hours sitting in a car and 4 other hours sitting at a bar or in a restaurant.

Lessons for Future Events

It's the same old song and dance from my Lakefront Marathon Race Report, I need to do more marathon specific training if I want to run a sub 3. Running 3-4 days a week is not going to cut it when it comes to putting up "elite" marathon times. If you want to run "elite" marathon times, you need to put in "elite" marathon training mileage. I think (if Sarah will allow it), that the season after the Ironman, I will focus solely on run training for a marathon and run some high mileage weeks on a flexible training schedule and see what I can do in the marathon with some very diligent marathon specific training.

Secondly, I learned that I really need to devise a successful nutrition plan for the marathon to utilize in the Ironman. I kept thinking to myself during the marathon, "if you think your hurting now, just imagine if you had swam 2.4 miles and biked 112 miles before this! So, although, physically I felt great following running the marathon, I still have some work ahead of me to run a successful Ironman Marathon. There is a definite difference between a Marathon and an Ironman Marathon. The benefit to running in an Ironman Marathon as opposed to a stand alone marathon is the lower intensity. Granted it is still going to ridiculously difficult, but the fact that it will be run 7 hours into a race, the intensity will be lower which means the body will theoretically be able to digest calories easier. In every story I have read, however, says how difficult it is to keep food down after racing for 8+ hours. So either way, it's not going to be easy...

What's Next

I took just one day off following the marathon, Monday. Although it was scheduled as an off day, I still had some active recovery built into my day. First, I took the girls for a 45 minute walk in the morning on Monday and then mowed the lawn while the girls napped. One of my post race traditions is that I get to treat myself to Cold Stone Creamery - it's one of my guilty pleasures - within a couple days of finishing a big race (full marathon, half Ironman, etc). So, Monday night, we brought the girls to Cold Stone for a treat. I ordered my usual, All Lovin' No Oven, which is a chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream treat, it's pure heaven in a cup! By the evening on Monday, I was still a little tight, but confident that I would be ready to jump back into training on Tuesday. Tuesday's workout is a swim and bike brick. My plan is to take a little bit longer of a route to the Appleton YMCA and bike there, jump right into their pool and swim 2,500 meters of technique work, and bike the same route back. After my workout, Sarah and I are bringing the girls to the Brewer's game down in Milwaukee. The Brewers are playing the Dodgers and the Brewers are running special deals during the 3 game series. We got the tickets for half price and they are selling hot dogs and sodas for $1 each. It's a perfect deal for a 2 and a 3 year old! After this cycle, its time to really start focusing on the Ironman. My training will shift gears from a Triathlon/Marathon training schedule, to strictly an Ironman Triathlon focus. My volume will really increase in the upcoming weeks and will continue to grow right up until the middle of August, so even though I just achieved the accomplishment of finishing a full marathon and placing 3rd in my age group, the work has just begun!

Below are pictures from the race and as always thanks for reading.

Be fast, be strong, and carry on!