Lakefront Marathon - Race Report

Well, I never had any intentions of running the Lakefront Marathon this year.  I had trained all spring and summer to run the Fox Cities Marathon on September 22nd.  As I always do, and so does just about every other single registered participate, I check the weather as soon as it is available.  The weather was never very promising.  From the get go, it was rain, rain and more rain.  The weather here in Wisconsin towards the end of summer was, simply put, wet.  It rained, and rained, and when you thought we were finally going to dry out, it would rain some more.  So, you can see where I'm going with this, but when I woke up on Sunday morning to go to the start line of the Fox Cities Marathon, it was...you guessed it, raining.

If you have read any of my past marathon race reports, you know my primary goal of any marathon was to post a finish time under 3 hours.  That has been at the forefront for me for 1 about 10 years of racing.  So, when I woke up Sunday morning, I honestly was hoping for the race to get cancelled.  Obviously, I didn't want to pony up another $100 race fee.  But I just had a feeling that if the Fox Cities Marathon was run that day, I was going to have a miserable race.  It was just a gut feeling I had.  My mind was not ready to run a 26.2 mile race, but body didn't feel ready, it just wasn't going to be a good day.  But, shortly after arriving to the starting area of the Fox Cities Marathon, we got word that the race was officially cancelled.  We didn't receive much additional information at that time.  I felt bad for most of the runners who trained all summer for that specific event and were unable to register for another event.  But, inside, I was kind of glad.  Even though I was upset at the whole idea of having to adjust my training or pay for another race.  I had mixed emotions.  Mentally I was so ready to be done training and the idea of another several weeks of dedicated training just sounds miserable.  But, obviously, I jumped at the opportunity to register for the Lakefront Marathon when they offered a discounted registration fee specifically for Fox Cities Marathon registrants who lost the opportunity to race this event.  I signed up for this event knowing that I had an additional 2 weeks of training and I would zero support out on the course.  It was going to be just me, myself, and I.  Honestly, I was kind of looking forward to that aspect of it.  I would have no additional concerns out on the course.  I would only have to focus on myself and not when or where I would be seeing my family.

After a successful racing season last year while following the Hanson's Marathon Method, I focused solely on training for the Fox Cities Marathon with this training schedule.  My training went pretty much flawless.  Other than a couple super minor hiccups where I skipped a day or two for minor aches or pains to prevent them from becoming large bigger issues.  I was hitting all my prescribed paces for all the types of workouts and I was feeling pretty good, especially compared to last year.

After finding out that my goal race was now two weeks out from when I had trained for it to be, I just repeated the last two weeks of training, but modified the "Easy Run" days.  Throughout the entire training plan, I added an additional 2 miles to each of these runs to increase my weekly mileage.  But after feeling fatigued and not interested in continuing my training after Fox Cities was cancelled, I figured that I earned the right to decrease my training mileage to make sure I would get to the start line ready to race.

Prerace

I am fortunate that I was able to secure a place to stay the night before the race at my brother-in-law's house, which is literally a 12 minute drive from the finish line of the Lakefront Marathon.  So the day before the race, I left to pick up my race packet at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee campus.  Of it rained the entire drive down to Milwaukee and rained damn near the entire day (and night).  On either the Thursday or Friday before the race, we had received an email about a large amount of standing water on a trail portion of the race course at about mile 25.  The race directors did not want to alter the course as it would remove any of the race certifications of the distance of the race.  So they opted to have runners run through the giant puddle with hopes of it drying out prior to the race.  So, now, back to me driving to Milwaukee in the pouring rain, all I could think about was that there is no way in hell that giant puddle was going to dry out now.  

The race expo was decent.  Pretty much your stereotypical expo, nothing special, nothing terrible.  I got my race bag, bib, and shirt and headed out...in the rain.  After getting to Jake's house, we relaxed for a little while and then went out for dinner.  This past April, when I ran the Brew City Half Marathon, I stayed at his house and went out to dinner to an oriental style restaurant which served various meals including Pad Thai, sushi, and Pho.  I was lucky to win the Brew City Half Marathon after that dinner, so there was no way I wasn't going to eat at the Hungry Sumo.  I ordered the exact same meal, sushi, Pad Thai, and some water.  After getting home it was pretty much to bed with an early wake up call.  

The Lakefront Marathon's course is a point to point race starting in Grafton and running basically straight south along the Lake Michigan lake shore, ending in the Summerfest Concert Grounds in downtown Milwaukee.  They offer busing from the finish line to the Grafton starting at 5:15.  My goal was getting on the fist bus out of Milwaukee.  I ended up getting on the second bus out of Milwaukee and made our way to Grafton High School.  After getting to the school I found a quiet corner in a hall and just relaxed and listened to music as I normally do for big races.  I then got my warm up in, which was basically a mile jog with some dynamic stretching worked into it.  As it got closer to 7:30 (race start time), I made my way to the start line and was honestly feeling pretty damn good and I was optimistic.

Nutrition Plan

My plan for this race was a little different from past marathons.  I have always felt that I took in too many calories too early in races which left my stomach just not sitting right.  Not that I ever had digestion issues, but I always felt like by the end of races, I was never able to take calories in.  Most of the time I would literally force myself to take in calories even though I felt like I didn't need them.  The thing is, there are certain recommendation for calories to be consumed in races to maintain performance.  I was already near the lower end of the recommendations, so I reached out to my friends at Hammer Nutrition to discuss a customized nutrition plan for me.  I spoke with Anastasia who was super helpful.  We decided that If I take in some light calories 3 hours before race time and then push out gels until later in the race and then take one other gel if needed in the later stages of the race.  Also during the race, I would take a couple of capsules of Race Cap Supreme along with a couple Endurolytes to maintain my electrolyte balance.  One hour before the race, I took a couple of capsules of Race Cap Supreme, two capsules of Endurance BCAA+ along with a couple Endurolytes.  Also, about 15 minutes or so before the start of the race, I took a dose of Fully Charged.

Miles 0-13.1

My plan for this race was to divide the race into three sections; the first 10 miles, the second 10 miles, and then the final 6.2 (10k).  My plan was to run the first ten miles slower than my goal pace of 6:45-6:50.  During the second 10 miles, I wanted to be at my goal pace.  Then for the final 10k, my plan was to pull out all stops and just finish strong.  As I began ticking off miles, I was feeling really good.  I didn't want to think it, but I felt as though it was easy.  I took a gel around mile 8 to get some calories in.  My plan was to take my only other gel at around mile 16.  I crossed the half way point in 1:29:16.  This was basically right where I wanted to be, which was about a 6:49/mile pace.  

Miles 13.1-20

As I continued throughout the race course, the weather remained damn near perfect.  Maybe a little too cold and I wouldn't have minded a couple more degrees warmer, but I left my arm sleeves and gloves on for a while.  I still continued to feel like my effort was easy.  I wasn't sure if this was fools gold or if I was setting myself up for failure for the later stages of the race.  But I just kept chugging along.  I really didn't adjust my pace too much since all my mile times were in the 6:45-6:50 range.  I figured that my number one goal was to finish under 3 hours.  It wasn't necessarily to finish in 2:55 or 2:57.  I wanted the clock to start with a 2 when I finished.  That was it.  So I just told myself to maintain this pace and then if I'm still feeling good around mile 22 or 23, then that would be the time to pick up the intensity.  I crossed mile 20 in 2:16:00, which was now averaging a 6:48/mile pace.  

Miles 20-26.2

As I continued on, I was feeling good.  But then mile 21 happened.  I began getting side stitches (cramps, or whatever you want to call them).  I was having a hard time breathing.  My legs began to ache and cramp.  I began wonder what the hell was happening.  It is so hard to explain.  It's lie this shit just comes out of no where and hits me like a freight train.  I can't explain it.  I have no idea why it happens.  This has been the reason why for 10 years I have struggled to finish a sub three hour marathon.  During mile 21, I took a super short walking break just to catch my breath and hopefully get back into a grove.  I started running again and was feeling okay, definitely not great.  My pace for mile 21 was 7:01.  Then after I was running for a little bit, all those feelings came right back.  I thought, "Oh great, my day is done and maybe I just wasn't meant to run a sub 3."  I began walking again, but then some complete stranger passed me and said, "C'mon man, you can't quit now."  I'll never forget it.  I have no idea who said it, but that statement struck me.  I told myself that I didn't sacrifice countless hours this past summer for training to walk and finish with another shitty race.  I didn't drive down to Milwaukee to quit on my dream at mile 22 of 26.  I sucked up any bit of strength I had and just began to run.  I kept telling myself one foot in front of the other.  Just keep moving forward.  My time for mile 22 was 7:27.  The remaining 4 miles all averaged under a 7 minute mile.  As I hit mile 26, I knew it was going to be damn close to 3 hours and I decided to lay it all out on the course for the final 0.2 miles.  As I came down the final stretch, I saw the clock read 2:59 and a low number.  I knew I was going to finally do it.  I crossed the finish line in 2:59:45.  15 seconds to spare! 

Post Race

After crossing the finish line, I was in rough shape for a little while.  I needed to get some fluid in me and just sat on a bench and drank some Gatorade until my stomach felt a little better.  I then went to get my gear bag right away to call Sarah.  I'll be honest, I cried (only a teeny tiny bit) when talking to Sarah.  She had been just as invested in my pursuit of running a sub 3 marathon as I was.  Plus she knew how much it meant to me.  We were both pretty happy.  She was bummed she wasn't able to share in the moment together, but she was happy for me.  I also called my dad about it.  It was a cool moment.  I then enjoyed my traditional post race beer from Lakefront Brewery and then it was time to head home!  I did make a short stop at a nearby brewery.  I stopped in at Broken Bat Brewery for one more additional pint before finally heading home.

What's on Tap?

As of typing this, the race is now over a month in my rear view mirror.  We have since moved into our new house, which was my personal big project.  That occupied pretty much all my free time after the race and allowed me some time away from running.  Now that I have finally run a sub three hour marathon, I honestly have NO clue what my personal goals or aspirations are.  I have no current plans for a race in 2020 of any distance.  I'm sure I'll run some race or even races, but I have no clue what ones or what distances they will be.  And honestly, I'm pretty content about that.

Thanks for sharing this journey with me!

Freaky 5k - Race Report

The Freaky 5k has become a staple for our family.  This will be our 8th time participating in this event.  This race is well run, the weather is usually decent, and its super family friendly.  In addition to the 5k run/walk, they host a kid's fun run dubbed the "Mini-Monster Dash," they have a costume contest for kids, adults, and dogs, and have kid's activities including a bounce house.  The race has always been very well attended and with the weather forecast for this year, I expected a large crowd.  Last year's race was cold, wet, windy, and simply put, just miserable.  This year, the weather forecast called for highs in the 50's and partly cloudy.  The Mini-Monster Dash started at 8:00am with temperatures in the low 40's.  As far as late October weather goes, this is just about as good as it gets.  This year, we signed up Maya and Delaney for the full 5k and Harper for the Mini-Monster Dash.  This will be Delaney's first full 5k and Maya's second.  We set goals for Maya to break her previous PR from last April of 35:22.  For Delaney, we really wanted her to give her best effort and finish the entire race and do her best without complaining or whining.  My goal, was to contend and finish in the top 3.  Coming off of the Fox Cities Marathon last month, I took one of my longest hiatuses from running.  I took nearly a full month completely off of running...and honestly, I didn't even really miss it.  So I didn't really know what to expect as far as a time for the 5k.  Taking into consideration that this course is difficult with two large hills, one of which is right at the finish, on top of my lack of just running in general, I was just hoping to finish in the top 3. 

Prerace

As usual, we (I) wanted to get to the race early enough to not be rushed and have time to warm up before the Mini-Monster Dash.  We just around 7:00.  After getting to Pierce Park, we picked up our race packets, bibs, and shirts.  After getting situated with the kids, I set out for my usual warm up.  I finished my warm up just in time to watch Harper run the fun run in her wolf costume.  After she finished we had about 15-20 minutes before the 5k started.  I got in another short warm up and helped get the kids ready for their run and we then found our positions at the start line.

Nutrition

As usual, I didn't eat anything before the race and just had some coffee before the start.  I took a serving of Hammer Nutrition Fully Charged preworkout drink mix about 10 minutes before the start of the race.  I also had a few sips of Endurolytes Fizz (Grape flavor) during my time after leaving for the race and before the start of the race.

Miles 0-3.1

As soon as the race started, three younger (high school aged) kids pulled out in front.  I was fine with that, as I usually aim for even splits or even negative splits in shorter races like the 5k.  Typically speaking, I am used to other runners taking off like a bat out of hell at the start of the race and then usually passing them after a mile or two, and sometimes less.  Before reaching the first mile, I passed one of the three kids in front of me with only two others holding strong.  Shortly after passing mile one, I passed one of the last two kids ahead of me.  After hitting the second mile, I finally passed the final kid.  As the race continued, the last kid I passed was hanging in there.  I knew I had to keep pressing hard, otherwise he'd likely pass me during the final kilometer.  As we drew closer to the finish line the gap had grown bigger, and I was pretty certain I would ultimately finish in first.  I finished in 17:42, about 10 seconds ahead of second place.

Post Race

After finishing the race, I hung around for a little while to congratulate the two kids who ran great races and pushed me pretty damn hard.  I then back tracked the course to tack down my dad who was running with Maya.  I found them shortly after the mile two mark.  I ran the final mile or so with Maya and my dad.  Maya finished in 34:31, about a minute faster than her last 5k.  She did so great and finished strong.  After crossing the finish line with Maya, I again back tracked to find Sarah and Delaney.  I was shocked when they were already approaching the finish line.  Delaney wasn't even sweating and barely breathing hard.  I helped DJ finish the race in 37:06, which is way faster than I anticipated her to finish in.  After everyone had finished, we stuck around for the costume contest and the awards presentations.

What's on Tap

I have nothing on tap....literally nothing...well, nothing specific.  I have started to coach Maya's basketball team, which is in full swing.  I have a laundry list of random chores to get done around the house before the snow begins to fall.  So, I guess you could say I have all "that" on tap.  But as far as running and racing, I have nothing on tap.  I really want to take some time away from any specific training to just recharge from this past spring and summer's intense training.  I am already starting to look forward to a strong 2019 race season and it all starts in the off season...which is NOW.  I'd like to get in a little cross training this winter, to include swimming, cycling, and strength training.  I'm thinking that come January/February, I'll be diving right back into some sort of a training plan for some sort of a race in the spring of 2019 before we take our highly anticipated Florida Vacation!

Thanks for reading!  Cheers!

Fox Cities Marathon - Race Report

The Fox Cities Marathon is one of my favorite races.  It is organized, it runs through my hometown and the entire fox valley, and it's run in the late summer/early fall, which is my favorite time of year.  It's been 8 years since I've last run the Fox Cities Marathon.  The Fox Cities Marathon was my first ever marathon back in 2007 and it is also the course I've run my marathon PR on, in 2010 of 3:03:46.  For all of these reasons, the Fox Cities Marathon holds a special place in my heart.  Coming off of a 3:04:58 marathon at the Oshkosh Marathon this past spring, I wanted to push all my hypothetical chips into the middle of the table and work my ass off and finally break the 3 hour threshold.

After recovering from the Oshkosh Marathon someone recommended I check out the Hanson's Marathon Method.  After they read my Race Report from the Oshkosh Marathon and heard me describe my late race struggles of feeling weak and drained the final 10k, he felt I could benefit from the Hanson's Marathon Method.  I figured I really had nothing to lose and could possibly benefit from a change in my training strategies.  So I purchased the Hanson's Marathon Method book and followed the Advance Plan while running an additional 2 miles for each scheduled "easy" training run.  The book recommended upping weekly mileage by running these additional 2 miles if you were looking to run a marathon under 3 hours.  Below are my print offs of my training schedule I followed leading up to the marathon.  The only changes I made, were instead of having my off day scheduled on Wednesdays, I bumped Friday's easy training run to Wednesday and bumped Saturday and Sunday's run to Friday and Saturday, then had my off days on Sundays.  This just made my life easier for family and personal reasons.  Essentially my week was broken down as follows:

• Monday: Easy
• Tuesday: Speed/Strength Day
• Wednesday: Easy
• Thursday: Tempo
• Friday: Easy
• Saturday: Easy/Long Run
• Sunday: Off

  

Prerace

Heading into race week, I was skeptical and had no real idea how the race was going to go for me.  Since June, I had been struggling with some achilles tendonitis and a soft tissue injury to my hip.  I was pretty sure I would be able to push through the full race, but truly didn't know.  I modified the training schedule the final week, to include 3 total off days, opposed to the scheduled one day off the training plan called for.  Weather-wise, you couldn't ask for a better forecast.  At race time the forecasted temperatures were in the middle-to-upper 40's increasing into the upper 50's by 10:00am.  I chose to wear a new pair of shorts I bought at the race expo, which I know is a text book no-no, but I felt comfortable with the shorts and myself that it wouldn't be an issue.

Saturday night was a relaxing evening, and had a filet of Ahi tuna, some wild rice, and a sweat potato.  Sarah and I dropped the girls off at my parents house for the night as Sarah was running the half marathon on Sunday too.  We got to bed early and eventually woke up at 4:15am.  We picked up Tessa and my dad and parked our vehicle in Neenah near the finish line and took a bus to the start line.  We got to the start line about an hour before race start.  I took care of some business and started warming up around 6:30.  Throughout my training, I had been experimenting with Rock Tape and used Rock Tape on both calves with hope that it would help prevent any potential issues throughout the race.

Nutrition Plan

If you have read any of my past race reports, you'd know I like to keep things consistent and simple.  So, with about an hour to go before the race, I took a couple Tissue Rejuvenator capsules, Mito Caps, and Race Caps Supreme.  Normally, I also take a couple Anti-Fatigue Caps, but because I was a total procrastinator, I never ordered a new bottle after running out.  With about 15 minutes to go until race time, I took a serving of Hammer Fully Charged, which is a phenomenal preworkout booster which I don't ever go without.  During the race, I planned on taking a Hammer Gel about every 6 miles with the first at about mile 8, and then miles 14 and 20 respectively. 

Miles 0-13.1

This entire season, I bought into the Hanson's Marathon Method.  With that being said, part of their philosophy is to race with even splits.  So that was my goal.  I trained all summer to race at a 6:40/mile pace.  I know that a 2:59:59 marathon equates to a 6:52/mile pace.  Knowing this, my strategy throughout the race was to have every mile fall between a 6:40-6:50 split.  As the race started I really wanted to judge how things were going to play out throughout the first 10k.  Everything was feeling pretty good after the first few miles.  My calves were feeling good, my hip was a non-issue, and simply put, I felt good.  Then, around mile 5 or so, I started to notice a pain on the outside of my left foot.  It felt like a shoe issue and was debating changing shoes when I next saw my mom.  As I continued, the pain slowly just went away.  It was weird and hard to describe, but like I said, it felt like a shoe issue, but just disappeared later on as I continued running.  I continued pushing forward and feeling good.  I crossed the half way point at about 1:28, which was basically right on track for what I had hoped.

Miles 13.1-20

It was around miles 15 or so, where I started to get some minor side stitches.  I got really concerned and worried that my day was going to completely become unraveled.  Throughout my training, following the Hanson's Marathon Method, I never ran further than 16 miles in a single training run.  Typically, I go at least 20 miles, multiple times, if not up to 22 or 24 miles.  I started wondering if my training was failing me and I was just going to fall apart by the time I hit mile 18+.  I knew that I had a couple of options, one, I could worry about my training and the side stitches, or I could focus on what I can control and just keep pushing forward.  Eventually, the side stitches went away, and I was right back to turning out splits all within my goal target range of 6:40-6:50.

Miles 20-26.2

As soon as I hit the 20 mile mark, I checked my watch to see how things were going and what the chances were of my FINALLY getting my sub 3 hour marathon.  At mile 20, I was at 2:15:05, so I knew all I had to do was run 7:00 miles for the final 10k and I would be right were I needed to be to set myself up for success.  Only problem was, I was hurting.  I kept pushing hard, knowing that I had a chance.  Around miles 23/24, my hamstrings started cramping.  I knew that if I just kept pushing they would lock up on me good, so I took short stretching breaks to loosen up my hamstrings.  I did my best to do this while continuing to move forward.  I ended up coming down the homestretch and saw the race clock just break 3:00:00.  I pushed as hard as I could to try and put up a 3:00:XX finish time.  I crossed the finish line in 3:01:05, missing my ultimate goal by 66 seconds.  66 F#*king seconds.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to set a new PR.  A PR that has been in place for 8 years.  It leaves me motivated for next year and excited to have a great race.  It also confirms that the Hanson's Marathon Method is legit and without a doubt, I will be following their training plan next year with the goal of again, a sub 3 hour marathon.

Post Race

I finished the race in 8th place and 1st in my age group (technically 2nd, but the 1st overall finisher was also in my age group).  I am thrilled with my race and my time, I am also bummed to come so close to the goal I have been chasing for over 8 years.  After the race, I hung out with Sarah, my dad, and my kids.  It was an awesome day.  A damn near perfect day for a marathon.  After taking in some water and moving around to loosen up, I got to ring my first ever PR bell.  I have never gotten to ring a PR bell, since there never really was a "PR bell" when I set my last PR 8 years ago.  We then let the girls play on the playground while we all waited for Tessa to cross the finish line after her first ever marathon.

What's on Tap

Since finishing the Fox Cities Marathon, I haven't even run a single mile...and quite honestly, it's been pretty nice.  I worked my ass of the past 4 months training for this race.  I have run the most miles throughout those 4 miles ever during training and made a lot of sacrifices throughout those months.  Mentally and physically, I just need a break from training.  My achilles need to heal up and so does my hip.  Also, I mentioned the pain I felt in my left foot early on in the race that eventually just went away.  Turns out that after the race, later in the day, I started feeling a tingly pain every time my foot plants.  It's strange.  It's not painful, but just a weird sensation in my feet.  It has now been a couple weeks since the race, and I'm still dealing with the apparent nerve issue.  I'm hoping the issue eventually goes away, but we'll have to wait and see.  I have also been working on a new table and bench set for our house which has taken up pretty much all my free time the past couple weeks.  I'll get a blog post up soon about that build later on.

As always, thanks for reading and Cheers!

High Cliff Ultra 25k - Race Report

I have never raced a trail run.  I have run on trails many of times, and I guess the 13.1 miles of the High Cliff Half Ironman has been on trails in High Cliff State Park.  But, I have never counted that as a trail race.  The trials were always pretty tame.  From what I've heard, the course of the High Cliff Ultra was tough.  It involved climbing and some pretty technical terrain.  So what the hell.  I signed up.  I originally singed up for the 50k.  I was going to use this as a training run for the Fall 50 in October.  But, if you read my race report from the Oshkosh Marathon, you'd know that I accepted a new position which completely changed my life schedule.  I gave up my extended days off for a normal schedule.  The change has been great, at least with my family.  But the change has really taken away my time to train, especially long.  Because of this, I changed my registration from the 50k to the 25k. 

Prerace

By choosing to run the 25k, I was able to sleep in a bit.  The race didn't start until 9am.  The 50k started at 8am.  Hindsight, I think the race could have been pushed ahead by an hour, both of them.  But, I took full advantage of the extra hour and stayed out a littler later than usual for me for a prerace night.  We had dinner at my in-laws Friday night for my brother-in-law and his boyfriend's birthday.  I also had a few beers with the family, since, after all, this is Wisconsin!  I got to bed around 10pm and then woke up around 6am.  I had a few cups of coffee and was on the road around 7:15ish.  After getting to the State Park, I picked up my bib and also found out that I won a raffle prize of an Ultimate Direction Buff.  I got my race bib and hung out in my truck for a few minutes.  I then got my warm up in, which was 2 miles.  I saw a family of deer in the park, which was really cool.  I saw a couple adult deer and two fawns.  After warming up, I went and hung out near the start line until the race started.

Nutrition Plan

This race was a waste-free race.  So there were no paper/plastic cups, no wrappers, no nothing.  I thought this was a great idea, considering how much waste there is at each individual aid station of any race with typical race cups.  With this in mind, I brought my handheld water bottle filled with a serving of Heed (100 calories).  I also brought a Hammer Gel, but ended up never taking it.  I also had my usual dosage of Anit-Fatigue Caps and Hammer Endurance Caps. 

Miles 0-5.5

The first 4 or so miles were the toughest miles I think I have ever raced.  I have run a ton of miles in High Cliff State Park.  But I have never run on many of the trails that the first 4-6 miles ran on.  Many of the first few miles were all on single track.  On top of being single track trails, much of it was over grown with brush.  Along with the over grown single track trails, there was the climbing.  And when I say climbing, I mean literally climbing.  There was a couple of sections of the trail where you had to use your hands and climb up a hill.  I am not complaining at all either, it was AWESOME.  It was so much fun.  It was hard.  Not only was it physically challenging, it was mentally challenging.  You had to try your hardest to get up and down the cliff edges, but you had to try your damnedest not to fall and break a leg.  I honestly think I went out too hard in the climbing and took everything out of my legs.  But, whatever, I had a great time!

Miles 5.5-15.5

As soon as I got to about mile 5 or so, the course really flattened out.  But this race was the tale of two stories, the hills and the heat.  So as soon as I was done battling the hills, I got to run on some flat trails, but they were out on the prairies of High Cliff State Park.  So, the wild flowers and scenery was great, but it also meant no shade.  And no shade means hot...as hell.  I knew going into this race it was only a 15.5 mile race.  With that being said, I knew that after I got up to the flat portion of the race, I could catch my breath and start pressing forward.  Sure, it all sounds great when I type it, but the truth is I could never catch my breath.  Plus with an 9:00 start time in early August, it really didn't take long for the heat and humidity to kick in.  By the time I got to the prairies, it was hot...hot, hot hot.  All I kept telling myself is I only had a few more miles left.  Whether that was 10 or 2, just a few more miles left...just keep pushing.  My miles kept ticking off, but at over 7:00 miles.  I was hoping I could fall into a groove after all the hills into a sub 7 pace.  But I never did.  Everything was closer to 8 minute miles.  I was fine with it considering I was in 4th or 5th place.  As I neared the finish the fist place female passed me and I was now in 5th place, 4th overall male.  My goal going into the race was a sub 2 hour race.  I finished 5th overall in 2:07, which was way slower than I had hoped.  I'm not sure if it was the hills or the heat, but probably both.  Either way, I was pumped and left loving the trail races.  The race was simple and fun.  It beat the hell out of the typical scenery of homes and streets.  I'd take the trails any day of the week over that.

Post Race

Not much of a post race here.  I wish there was, as they had fresh cooked fire roasted pizzas and craft sodas.  But I had to duck out nearly as soon as I finished to get to a family wedding.  So after finishing, I got my "medal" (which was a hand carved piece of wood) and grabbed a cookie and cup of soda.  I was personally soaked with sweat.  I ducked into a bathroom and then rung out my shorts and a good cup or so of sweat dripped from my shorts.  It was both cool and disgusting.  I then sat in front of the power blower to dry out completely.  I was close to fully dry and then jumped in the truck and headed home.

What's on Tap

I have just six and a half more training weeks until the Fox Cities Marathon.  Ever since the Oshkosh Marathon I have set my eyes on a PR at the Fox Cities.  But not just a PR, but a sub 3 hour PR.  This summer, I have been following the Hanson's Marathon Method Training Plan.  I bought and read the entire book and am now following the advanced training plan.  On top of following the advanced plan, I have been adding two miles to every non SOS (Something Of Substance) training run.  So for the past few months, I have been averaging roughly 60 miles per week with one rest day.  I won't dive into the meat and potatoes of the training plan and how it's been going, as I will save all that for my race report for that race.  But let me say that this has been something totally new for me and it has also been a very tough training schedule for me.  So at this point, I just need to keep my nose to the grind stone and keep pressing forward until September 23rd!

As always, thanks for reading and Cheers!

Oshkosh Marathon - Race Report

Alright, so lets be honest, I ran this race on April 29th and it is August 8th today.  I am already now two races down as far as Race Reports go and I'm already closer to my next marathon than I am to this race's race report.  But, as I tell my kids, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.  This was my second ever full marathon at the Oshkosh Marathon.  If I had the chance, I honestly wouldn't choose this race.  But, when I registered, I though this was the only spring marathon I could run, so I couldn't pass it up.  It's a cheap race and it's close to home, so I can't turn it down, especially when it's the only weekend I can race.  But towards the end of my training, I accepted a new position at my work and no longer work shift work.  I am now working straight days, Monday though Friday.  Sure, it sounds great, but, it's quite the change after 8 years of working night shift.  I gave up my extended "weekends" and all my spare time to train.  But, I didn't find out about the job change until a little over a month before the race, so it really didn't totally effect this training plan as one would think.  Honestly, the weather had a bigger effect on my training than my job change did.  But I sucked it up and did what I could with what I could.  That meant training many early mornings in sub-zero temperatures on top of trudging through some snow here and there.  Over the years, I have become accustom to it though.

Training for This Race

Going into this race, I really wanted to work on my weakness.  Even though I have run over a dozen marathons and even run a pretty successful 50 mile ultramarathon, I honestly think my weakness is long distance.  I guess to be more specific, running fast at long distances.  So with this training plan, I upped my usual long distance training runs.  This training plan, I scheduled long runs up to 24 miles, with the idea that this would help build my comfort with running long.  I also threw in my marathon standard of 800 repeats.  My training went well, other than dealing with the weather, as I stated earlier.

Prerace

I honestly don't totally remember exactly how my race morning went.  I remember getting up early as usual and got to the race site early (as usual).  The weather forecast was decent, a bit cold if you ask me, but for a late April race in Wisconsin, it was as good as you could ask for.  My warm up was good, I ran about a mile to a mile and a half and felt good at the end. 

Nutrition Plan

In the past, it has seemed that I have always struggled taken in calories towards the end of every marathon.  So, to hopefully circumvent this issue, I planned on taking in few calories, more spread out over the 26.2 miles.  I had planned on taking in 4 gels over the 26.2 miles.  Prior to the race, I took my usual dosage of 4 Hammer Anit-Fatigue Caps with 4 Endurance Aminos.

Miles 0-26.2

As soon as the race started I did my best to try and hold back and not succumb to the urge of starting out too fast.  After the first mile or so, I knew I started out a tad too fast.  I felt good though.  I didn't want to mess with what was feeling good.  Then, at about mile 2 or 3, I met up with an old friend from my YMCA days.  I ran with him for a few miles and talked a lot for my tastes.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed chatting with him and it sucks that it seems I only see him at races, but I hate talking while I run.  I mean, I absolutely HATE talking and having a conversation during races.  But, that is what I (we) did.  I don't regret it, but it sure did throw off my pace and my breathing.  I ended up pulling away from him around mile 6, which is right about the same time I took a minute or so to stop and put some band-aids on my nipples.  Sarah thankfully brought some for me since for whatever reason, I completely forgot.  Don't worry, my nipples thanked her later for bringing those for me.  I kept pushing on after that.  Everything was going really well.  Like really well.  No, I mean REALLY well.  My pace was all below my goal pace.  I felt good, like really good.  I was beginning to think this was going to be race.  The race that I finally break 3 hours.  Then, mile 19-20 hit me...as always.  I hit mile 20 and everything just seemed to slow down.  It was like molasses in December.  My breathing struggled and my legs felt like cement.  This has been my nemesis in my marathon races.  I don't know if it's a mental struggle or a purely a fitness struggle.  I'm thinking it's likely a combination of both.  Either way, I finished the race in 3:04 and change, which is the best time I have put up in a marathon since my BQ in 2009, when I ran a 3:03 and change.  So considering this is the best race I have ran in nearly 10 years on top of the fact that my training was so-so, I was left very motivated for what is to come.

Post Race

After the race, I hung around for a while with the family and some friends.  It was cool and windy, so I didn't stand around too long.  But enjoyed a good race.

What's on Tap 

Well, this is interesting.  If I had written this somewhat after the race, I would talk about running the High Cliff Ultra 25k in August or even my training strategies for the Fox Cities Marathon in September.  But here I am, 4 days after the Ultra 25k, and almost a month out of my fall marathon.  So, I guess I'll just say stay tuned for my race reports from those races, which I will do my best to get posted ASAP.

Thanks for reading and as always, cheers!

 

Badger State 10k - Race Report

I ran this race for the first time last year and really enjoyed it, so deciding to run it this year was an easy decision.  My focus in 2018 is the marathon distance.  My goal has been the same over the past few years, break 3:00.  It will always be my goal...at least until I accomplish it.  So, in addition to just enjoying a competitive 10k race hosted by a brewery, I would be using this race to get an idea of how my training has been going.  This year, Sarah signed up to run the race with me.  As the race date approached the weather became more and more of an issue.  The forecast was calling for cold temperatures and a wintry mix.  I can and have run in just about every kind of weather, living in Wisconsin.  I've raced in a variety of weather, but never weather like we did at the 2018 Badger State 10k.

Training for This Race

As I just mentioned, I was racing the Badger State 10k as a practice race for my upcoming marathon.  Realistically, I would have preferred the distance to be a half marathon, but this time of year, my choices in race distances are limited to say the least.  Leading up to the race, my training had been going really well.  I've been working hard and running in some pretty shitty weather.  This winter has been tough, its been cold, windy, and just unpredictable. 

Knowing how my past few marathon attempts have gone, I have really focused my training on distance.  I've boosted my weekly mileage compared to previous years which in turn, has increased my mileage for my higher intensity runs, such as 800's, tempos, and mile repeats.  With the weather and a change in my work schedule, I've been hitting my mileage goals, but the pace goals have been off but due to weather more times than not...at least that's what I'm telling myself.

Prerace

I notoriously like getting to races as early as possible.  It gives me a chance to relax, find a good parking spot, hit the restrooms, and get a good warm up in.  However, when we woke up, the weather was a major issue.  The Fox Valley was right on the line of snow and rain.  So, my house was getting a light drizzle when we left, with temperatures just over freezing.  But as we made the 20 mile drive north, the rain became harder, and more and more of a slushly, sleety mix and the temperatures continued to drop.  We kept our fingers crossed hoping for a break in the precipitation for the race.  But the closer we got to the race starting the more and more it looked like we were going to get cold and wet.  After getting to the brewery, we took care of our ID checks and got our wristbands to drink after the race.  When we did this there was a steady drizzle of sleet and slush.  The roads were soaked and covered in slush and puddles everywhere.  After hanging out for a little bit, we made our way back to the car to stay warm and kill some time.  Around 8:30 (30 minutes before the race), I sucked it up and decided to get out for some sort of a warm up.  I normally like to get in a good 2 mile warm up, but I ended up only getting in a little over a mile, but it was enough.  The roads were covered in about 1-2" of pure slush and slush was literally falling from the sky.  On top of that it was windy... A perfect day for a race!

Nutrition Plan

An hour before the race, I took my usual Anti-Fatigue Caps, Endurance Aminos, and then took my Fully Charged about 10 minutes before the start of the race.

Miles 0-6.2

By the time the race started, my shoes, socks, feet...well, just about everything was soaked from my warm up.  I was warm though, so that was the one positive.  As you can imagine, the field of participants was significantly depleted due to the weather.  But I can't control who I have to race against.  I can only control how well I race and by scoping out the possible competition at the start line, I didn't recognize anyone from prior races who I thought could possibly challenge me.  But as the race started, I just focused on running my own race and seeing what I could do in the slush.  I started out leading the race right off the bat.  I trudged through the slush and just focused on myself.  As I knocked the miles off, I realized that no one was anywhere around me.  By the time I got to the half way point (mile 3.1), I couldn't see anyone behind me.  I thought to myself, bummer, just because I wouldn't have anyone pushing my ass to run faster, but I continued to run the best race I could knowing that I wanted to see how well my training has been going.  As I got to mile 5, I knew that I had 1 mile left and I would have to seriously implode to not win this race.  I continued to push and just thought that the sooner I finish, the sooner I get to get inside and out of the wet, cold, miserable weather conditions outside.  I ended up finishing in 37:01, 1st overall.  

Post Race

As I was saying, I had built a pretty good cushion between the second place runner, turns out I had built a 3+ minute lead over the 6 miles.  The second runner finished in 40:08.  Last year, I finished the race in 37:59 and the weather conditions were damn near perfect.  My 10k PR (from the Bellin 10k in 2017) was 37:33.  So taking that all into consideration, on top of the miserable weather conditions, I am ecstatic with my race time.  Sure, I'd take a sub 37 minute 10k, but I have no doubt that will come later this year whenever the weather decides to act normal.  But, with the race now over, it was time to enjoy the successes.  I stuck around for a bit, while I waiting for Sarah, my dad, and our friend Tina to finish.  As soon as everyone finished we ducked inside the post race tent and grabbed our free beer and sandwich and reminisced about how shitty that race was.  

What's On Tap

With the race now in the rear view, I had about a month to focus solely on the marathon.  I am aiming my sights on the Oshkosh Marathon on April 29th.  Since the Badger State 10k, we have had some of the shittiest weather I can ever recall...and that's including typical Wisconsin winter weather.  But it is the middle of April, normally we are just transitioning to our t-shirts and maybe even shorts.  But this past weekend we had nearly 30" of snow dumped on us in the matter of just a couple days.  I am starting to seriously question if the marathon will even happen.  Majority of the marathon is run on a trail system, and now there is 20-30" of snow that needs to melt and dry up in just a mere two weeks.  I would be surprised of the race is cancelled at this point, but I also think its a realistic concern.  

Festival Foods Turkey Trot - Race Report

The Festival Foods Turkey Trot is a race my entire family has participated in since 2009.  The race itself has only been going on since 2008.  Now in its 10th year, I have only missed 2008, 2010, and 2014.  Not to bad actually.  In 2009, there were only 771 finishers, when in 2013 the race saw 2,839 finishers!  This year there was 2,447 finishers.  The race has become not only a tradition for my family and I, but for our entire community.  Its a well organized event on a day in which pretty much everyone is around and has no plans.  The race doesn't have many "frills," with a reasonable entry fee, you get a long sleeve t-shirt, a small pumpkin pie, and a chip timed race bib.  After the race, they offer donut holes, bananas, and water.  You can choose from three different events on race morning, a 5 mile timed run, a 2 mile walk, or a two mile "dog jog," which is (obviously) dog friendly.  This year was Sarah's first year ever doing the 5 mile run, now that she has been consistently running for about the past year.

Training For This Race

I feel like I should just take this paragraph out of my race reports, until I actually run an event in which I follow a specific training plan for. 

Prerace

Sarah and I woke up around 5:45ish with the goal of leaving our house by 6:45.  The race started at 8am and with an expected crowd of over 7,000 total participants, so I wanted to get there early enough for a decent parking spot and ample time to warm up.  We ended up leaving around 6:50 (I can handle that) and were parked by 7:10.  After getting the stroller set up and kids all bundled up, we headed out to the start area to meet up with my parents.  Around 7:30 or so, I was able to break away to start my usual warm up.  I ended up cutting it too close for my liking, but ended up ditching my warmup outfit to my mom, who was in charge of the stroller and the kids while Sarah, my dad, and I all ran.  I made it to the front of the start line literally seconds before the National Anthem was sang.

Nutrition Plan

An hour before the race, I took my usual Anti-Fatigue Caps, Endurance Aminos, and then took my Fully Charged about 10 minutes before the start of the race.

Miles 0-5

With a race this size, the start line can be pretty crowded.  And with that comes the wanna-be sprinters, who are more of a hindrance than anything else.  They usually take off faster than a sprinter at the start of a 100m race, only to fade into a brisk walk after the first 100 yards or so.  Keeping this in mind, I kept to my normal race strategy and just started slow and easy and found my grove by the first mile marker.  I had no real chance of placing overall, nor a chance of winning a Festival Foods gift card, which are awarded to the Top 5 overall males and females, respectively.  So, my goals were pretty simple, set a new Personal Record.  My current best time for a 5 mile race was 29:57.  I wasn't completely sold on the idea of running a sub 30 minute race, especially with how little I've been training.  But, what the heck, lets go for it.  After the first mile, I checked my watch and saw a 5:52 mile, perfect, under 6 minutes and I'm on pace for a PR!  I felt great at that point, so I just tried my best to keep focused and stay comfortable at that pace.  I continued to tick off miles and pass most of the guys who go out unrealistically fast.  By far the toughest part of the race is a steep hill that goes up from the river at about mile 4.  First off, you're already tired and want to be done, but now you still have a mile to go and a steep short hill in front of you.  I took it easy up it, with the hopes that once I was to the top, I would still have a bit in the tank to make a strong push at the final mile.  I felt good once at the top and just continued to focus on making at least one more pass before crossing the finish line.  I ended up passing the guy who was just in front of me doing the final kick within the last 25 yards or so.  I ended up placing 19th overall out of 2, 447 finishers and 2nd in my age group with a final time of 29:40.

Post Race

Immediately after the race, I began to jog the course backwards to find Sarah and maybe run with her during the final mile or so.  I ended up getting to mile marker 4 and never saw her.  I have no idea why or how I missed it, but I did.  I ended up just jogging back to the finish line and found her, along with my parents and kids.  We didn't stick around long at all and just headed home to shower up and start enjoying the holiday!

What's on Tap

I've got some big ambitious goals for next year and and tentatively going to start training for these goals in early January.  So my plan now is to finish running through November and then take it a little easier in December before taking on my 2018 goals.  My plans for December are to run 1-3 days a week with a day of cycling or swimming mixed in and maybe even some strength training....and of course some days off.