I could write an essay about this race- it was a marathon after all. I’ll try to keep it concise. I signed up for this race relatively last minute. It’s a really small but historic race in the north woods of Wisconsin near the Michigan border. The drive both directions was pretty breathtaking and a highlight of the trip. I was tempted on the way home to stop and go for a hike! The people were very nice (what would you expect) and it’ll be a good memory.
I wasn’t expecting competition for the win, but I wanted to run sub-2:30 to maximize my prize money, and also get another marathon to build confidence for my next one after Akron, which was in some ways a disaster. This one didn’t go as well as I had hoped. Miles 1-10 mostly consisted of sight seeing and feeling overconfident in myself because the pace I wanted to keep (5:40s) felt easy. Miles 13-14 were a scare because I rapidly felt a decline in strength and worried I was headed overboard. That’s the thing about a marathon- it’s hard (at least on your second attempt) to know your limits. I got into a rhythm again through mile 20. At that point, we turned around into the wind and on a hilly section and it started to feel bad. Based on how those last miles went, I can’t honestly say I left a whole lot in the tank. My calves were fine this time and I didn’t bonk the way I did last time, but my inner thighs started involuntarily seizing up and cramping. It got pretty painful by the end so I almost fell over after I stopped.
Other notes: Weather was overcast, a cool ~52 degrees, and with a relatively large wind that was mostly at our back. Course was on the side of roads. 1100 feet elevation gain was not easy, but tbh I can run moderate hills at the beginning easily at sub-5:40. It’s the stuff at the end that kills. Took gels every 3 miles until mile 15, then took one more at 19. I developed a tummy ache and they started to taste gross but I think that had a much smaller effect on my pace than problems related to a lack of fuel, rather than too much. I was very fortunate to run the first 12 miles behind two relay teams where the guys did a surprisingly good job running the pace that I wanted and doing so very consistently even across
multiple runners, rather than a hard first mile followed by a significant slowing. I felt super cold right after the race and I was shaking pretty bad all the way till I got in the shower and my body finally relaxed. I think there is a physiologic reason why your body struggles to stay warm after exerting itself like that. Somehow I lost my bib within 5 minutes of getting it, thankfully they took care of me. I think the marathon is too far a distance for me. I just feel like it’s a different sport from pure running (half marathon or shorter) where you don’t have to deal with this fueling issue.
Splits- I didn’t get some of them because the aid station was right there so I had to focus on that. What you’ll notice is I definitely have the “two mile curse” after this and Akron: if I get a split at a mile, it’ll be fast, but if I take it at two miles, it will be surprisingly slow! 5:23, 5:40, 5:42, 5:29, 5:27, 11:29, 5:26, 11:34, 5:29, 11:59 (to 13.1 in 73:42), 5:02 (to 14), 5:21, 5:28, 5:27, 5:32, 11:17, 5:42, 5:35, 5:27, 5:44, 5:45, 5:57, 1:15.
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