Wednesday, May 20, 2009

21 Days, 2 Marathons and a Half-Marathon

These are the races I ran since I last wrote the night before the Kentucky Derby marathon. The three events could not have been any different from one another.

The running of the roses turned into the wilting of the roses. It just so happened that the east experienced summer-like temperatures and humidity the weekend of the Kentucky Derby Marathon. If there is one prominent enemy of the marathoner, it is temperature and humidly. When I boarded the bus to the start at 5:15 AM, the temperature was already 71 degrees and by the time the Kentucky Derby bugler bugled, it was in the high 70s. Most of the race was run with temperatures between 80 and 85. It was miserable. I have never seen so many people walk in a marathon but they would have put themselves at risk if they tried any harder. Over 30 runners were taken to the hospital and another 120 treated along the course. Water was plentiful but being in plastic bottles did little to quench thirst or cool the runner. I ended up walking much of the last 5 or so miles just to get to the finish. My time suffered from my previous 3 sub-4 hour marathons to a dismal 4:45. However, the highlights happened the day before while touring the Louisville Slugger Museum, Churchill Downs and visiting the Kentucky Derby Hall of Fame.

One week later Shawn and I ventured to Frederick Maryland to run the first half of the Maryland Double, the Frederick half-marathon. Shawn had been training hard and this was one of his first events after a lay-off. The temperatures were good although rain was expected. We ran a great race with each other, pacing each other to the finish with a negative split done in thirds to a finish time of 1:51:56. It felt great and we were both excited at the finish.

Now, here I sit in Milwaukee the day after the Green Bay Marathon, my 28th state. Although there are some very good marathons in Wisconsin, Green bay was chosen due to the venue. Everything was held at Lambeau field, home to the Green Bay Packers and the oldest NFL stadium in the league. Upon Arriving I went to the expo which was held in the Lambeau field Atrium. Once I secured all my “running stuff” I signed up for the Lambeau field tour and Packers Hall of Fame. Just like in Kentucky, these were going to be the highlights of the trip. Both were fantastic and I learned a lot about the history of Lambeau and the Packers. On marathon morning I awoke to a perfect day with temperatures in the 40s and brilliant sunshine (of course, there is no sunshine when I awake most days.) The temperature was 30 degrees different from Louisville and perfect marathon temperatures. The start and finish lines were at Lambeau with one lap around the field inside Lambeau at mile 26. What a spectacular feeling with all of the history there. As I was walking to the start, I realized that I had forgotton my watch. OK, I thought, I will just run by feel, not a big deal. The race started with a prayer from the local bishop, a nice touch prior to the start. As the race director yelled “start”, the entire field of half-marathoners, marathoners and relay runners started their journey. I felt a little fast at the start and knew I needed to drop back a bit. I hooked up with the 3:50 pace group and decided to hang with them as long as I could. At the very least, one of them will have a watch. It turns out that I ran with them nearly the whole marathon, pacing with Craig and another 10 runners most of the way. My right calf froze at around mile 24 but a short stretch helped. Entering Lambeau just gave me the chills passing over some of the same original stone that Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, Bret Favre and countless others passed over. Running the lap and looking to the bowl of bleachers (all seats in Lambeau are bleachers which reminded me of Notre dame’s stadium.) and what it would feel like on game day. Around the final end zone, spectators were cheering and high-fiving as we ran down the sideline back through the Packer tunnel to the finish. My net time of 3:50:36 was my 7th best marathon and best since the same weekend in 2007. Physically, I felt great after finishing, like I was just out for a Sunday “drive” something I had always liked to do with my parents as a kid. Although my Sunday “drives” are now about the same distance, they are done on foot but have that same relaxing feeling to them. I am off to South Dakota in three weeks – to the Badlands.

Post script: I ran nearly a perfect marathon in Green Bay, 7th best overall and best in two years running 3:50:36. I will write more about this soon.