May 17, 2010

Green Bay Marathon

I came into this race in the middle of my biggest running slump ever, with a mysterious chest pain, having to try something new on race morning and needing a haircut. I came out of it with another marathon in the books, albeit slow for how the year has been going. I'm completely satisfied though, check off May, check off Wisconsin and move on.

I have seasonal allergies but they haven't been too bad this spring. I never had to take my medication before running but when I woke up on Sunday morning and my eyes were quite irritated I decided to do it. I mean, it's just another marathon right? As for the pain in my chest, still don't know what that is. Dull ache most of the time except when I cough, sneeze or breathe deeply, then it is a crushing hammer blow. It's over on my right side, like in the pectoral muscle or lung or something. Started last Thursday and still hurts.

So I went into the race just wanting to get out of it actually. Not get out of running it but get out of the back end of it less than 4 hours later. With the current slump I didn't have a clue as to how I'd feel. No idea. Started out way back in the pack, that way I'd have to start slowly and maybe could pass somebody. My first mile felt okay but when I looked at the Garmin and it said 9 min/mile I was really disheartened. It didn't feel that slow. Ugh, if this was what I had to look forward to the rest of the day I was going to be out there a loooooong time.

Fortunately the race opened up and I fell in with another runner and chatted with him. The miles started to tick by in the 8:20's and that was comfortable enough. Still faster than I wanted though, just because I knew my training has been so bad lately. I wanted to make a pit stop but ALL the port-o-potties were full, at every aid station. Finally at mile 7 I just had to say screw it and wait in line. It was only a few seconds anyway and then I was off again.

There were a lot of twists and turns through the city for the first half of the race so I really didn't know where I was. After the half runners turned off at mile 11 we started along the river and I liked that better because I knew it was just a long stretch on a path. Miles 15-21 really seemed to fly by for some reason. I remember looking forward to mile 16 because after that there would be less than 10 miles left and then suddenly we were past mile 20 and there was less than 10k left. Probably because that was the most scenic part of the course and because my family was able to see me several times in that stretch.

I was able to keep the walking to a minimum, just through the aid stations, although the running was slow. Just wanted to be around or under 9 min/mile because I knew that would keep me under 4 hours. Miles 22-26 seemed to take a long time, I was just counting them down, 4, 3, 2, 1...and finally Lambeau field came into view. I'm a lifelong Packer fan and this was the whole reason for doing this marathon. I perked up and headed into the tunnel, the same on the players use on gameday. Just like my son who ran his race the day before, Lambeau field pumped me up. At one point I stopped and reached down to touch the Frozen Tundra. Oh my, don't try to kneel down at mile 25.5 of a marathon. I continued through, saw my family in the stands, gave high fives and ran out through the tunnel.

Down the finishing chute I raised my hands to the crowd and they responded with a big cheer and lots of high fives. That's always a good feeling. My son asked me why I always raise my hands at the end and I told him that I wanted the people to cheer for me. It always works.


I finished in 3:56:03. Maybe not a great marathon but any finished one is a good one.

It was a great weekend; they people really do a good job there. My wife and son did the 2.62 mile event the day before and then my son and daughter did the 1k kids event. A lot of stuff going on for the whole family and the venue for all the events was great. Of course, it was Lambeau field.


5/16 26.2 (26.6 by Garmin) at 9:00

15 comments:

Jill said...

Haha, looks like you're part of the "Yellow shirt racing team" or something :). I know exactly how you feel entering that race and all, but despite your training, you did very well - that's no time to sneeze at! Congratulation on another marathon, AZ, and hoping your mojo comes back screaming!!

Bill G said...

Nice race report and congrats on #5 for 2010. Your training will come around again, I'm sure.

Julie said...

Congrats to you Az!! You did great in Green Bay:) You should feel proud of yourself for finishing a tough race! BTW: I love the picture:)

Lindsay said...

congrats on another marathon! sure the time may not be up to par for you, but in my opinion the "running depression" can definitely play a part in that. hopefully the experience of running lambeau and trucking through another marathon will help boost your mojo back up.

TokyoRacer said...

Well, if the end of a marathon is fun, it was a good marathon.
So your chest did not bother you? Strange, but I think it is probably just a strained muscle - you twisted your body wrong in the night or something.
Take a bit of rest and then you will be ready to gear up for the next one.

Tony said...

Congrats AZ. Do something that isn't running for a little bit, refocus and recharge yourself.

Unknown said...

Eat less junk :) !

elaine said...

walking pneumonia or pleuritis...sounds like you need an antibiotic. Not cool when something slows you down

Glenn Jones said...

Awesome AZ! Awesome. On your worst days you are way faster than I can even dream of!

I'm there with elaine. Best to go see a doctor. Could be pleurisy (an inflamation of soft tissue in the pericardium - which would require some rest and anti-inflammatories), but better be safe than sorry!

Jean said...

You've got to love running through Lambeau!

Great race, AZ. Very well done. Another one down...and another very cool medal. The races you have done this year have had some nice hardware!

Jennifer said...

Slow? Maybe, but considering everything at least you didn't bail. You'll get your old self back again. I think you did great and thanks for a good race report. Cheers!

Psyche said...

Hey! I don't know how this post slipped by me...AWESOME! Marathon PR!! Yay!

I'm still amazed at how you are hammering out these suckers:)

Great photo, too.

Beth said...

You did it! Not many people could do what you did. I have to go with Elaine on the chest pains. I had pneumonia and then pleurisy and what you are describing is exactly how it felt. It would also explain why are aren't feeling energetic. Please get it checked out- you don't want whatever it is to linger on.

Psyche said...

Do I feel stupid or WHAT? How did I get "marathon PR" out of that???

Dude, I am sorry.

Only valid shout-outs in the future:)

Anonymous said...

Congrats to you for a job well done..!!I know that your whole family had so much fun on that marathon..!!Joining marathon is really fun,I tried it once and its really cool.Good job and thanks for sharing.
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