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October 15, 2016
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Marathon 56, State #49 (Age 48)
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Ashland, Wisconsin
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4:18:27
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One final & last marathon in the mid west!
So I’m winding down on my “marathon adventures”, this will
be state number 49. Wow, how long ago
did I start? How old was I when I
thought this sounded like a good idea?
What kept me going? What am I
going to do next? I suppose these are
all the questions I’m both ask by others as well as even ask myself!
Starting 2016 with only 3 states to go the plan was pretty
simple. A family vacation to Vermont in
the spring and later in the year a trip to Wisconsin. If I could do this that would leave only
Alaska. There are many races to choose
in Wisconsin and in many ways it’s a special state for me where I have a little
background. When I was still in college
I spent a quarter in Green Bay doing an internship with a paper company. I wanted to see something new so when I stumbled
upon a little race in the northwest of the the state in a little town called
Ashland and right on Lake Superior I thought with
fall colors in full bloom it would be an ideal marathon destination. Plus would give me an opportunity the day after the race to venture on up to the north shore of Lake Superior where the high point of Minnesota is located.
I started my recruiting and my new good friend George I hoped would be up for the
challenge. Ends up it was an area of
the country he hadn't explored either so the ball went into motion. I often thought that Grandma’s marathon in
Duluth, MN was one of my favorite marathons.
Ashland, WI was a short drive away so I would have the opportunity to go
back and explore the greater Lake Superior area. Also when I
had previously been to Duluth, it was a long drive through Michigan, into the
upper peninsula, and across the top of Wisconsin. That trip included both the high points of
Michigan and then on the way back to Ohio through the middle of Wisconsin also
Wisconsin’s high point. Missing from my
bucket list was the high point of Minnesota which is all the way up the
northern shore of Lake Superior so it wasn’t hard to talk George into adding
Eagle Mountain into the travel plans the morning following the marathon.
Vermont’s marathon was 5 months ago so there was really no
carry over training for Wisconsin.
While I’m a big fan of under training, I think I took it to a whole new
level for this race. I usually get in a
few double digit runs however for preparation this time around I tried a whole
new training system. I like to get out
of long training runs so I justify a shorter run (8-13 miles) and often will time this length the day after a
long or hard bike. This fall two
factors through a wrench in my normal training plan. First it was a hot fall and up to a week
before the race Los Angeles was still in the 90’s which isn’t a lot of fun to
run in. Second was I had to plan more of my runs around Parisa's schedule.
Parisa qualified for a new swim team and had practice every
night of the week. It worked out best
for all of our schedules that I would take her to swim and run as far as I
could during her 1.5 hour practice.
This meant my long runs took the form of a 6-7 mile hilly course near
the pool. It was even fun to train on
new streets and trails. I typically
would have taken a day off after a 7 mile run, but the weeks leading up to the
race I was able to run this route 3-4 days in a row each week. I looked at it as I was still getting in the
same weekly mileage just running more days and no longer runs like I had typically done in the past. I still was able to cross train and of course live for
the weekends in getting to ride 35-50 miles in the canyons. Whether or not I would be race ready only
time would tell. If anything, a race day
in northern Wisconsin would have to be
cooler than any single one of my training runs!
With all my running experience I’ve pretty much dialed in
the gear I’m comfortable with for race day.
A question I’m often asked is what shoes do I wear. There are many good brands however within
each brand there are so many different models depending on what features you
are looking for in a running shoe. The
weekend before my marathon I saw the stats published from Kona of the
percentages of shoe brands that made it to the start line of the Ironman World
Championship. The top two brands were
Asics and Saucony. Both brands I’m
familiar and have found a few models that I’ve been happy with however there is
a new comer in the past few years called Hoka One. I picked up a pair at the LA marathon expo
this spring and have been alternating them into my training runs. I was undecided until I packed my bag which
one I was going to wear on race day and finally decided to go with the Hoka’s and give
them a shot! The next thing to calculate is the weather. I looked at the forecast and it was
crazy. There was a 40 degree change in
a few days from highs in the 70’s to lows in the 30’s. I guess I just pack everything!
Once I get closer to race day I always
taper and lower my weekly mileage. Only
one new complication with race preparation is that I was volunteered to go to NYC
a week before my race. I guess I pack
my running gear and hopefully find time to work in a few runs while trying to
stay rested and not leave myself susceptible to catching a cold. Hopefully even a run in Central Park? Well, that didn’t work out however I did get
a chance to do one of my two runs in Longbranch, NJ along the coast. Ironically it was the location of my NJ
marathon some years past.
Another fun thing for my family is the annual Matt’s run at
Cal Poly. This yearly has fallen the
week after my fall marathons so I was always the designated picture taker for
Homeyra, however, this year my marathon would fall on the exact same day. Homeyra was feeling undertrained and
undecided if she was going to run or not this year. Upon takeoff I found a picture from last
year of her running and sent her the snapshot to encourage her to sign up and
run again. I later find out that both
Homeyra and even Parisa ran the 5k. Not
only did they run together, my 11 year old swimming sensation crossed the finish
line a few minutes ahead of Homeyra and even took 2nd place in her
age group. Have I created a monster?
As accustomed, when George has agreed to join me for a race
I send him the celebratory six pack of Trout Slayer from Big Sky Brewrey. It’s not exported to Ohio so about a month
before our trip I throw it in the mail for him. This year was no different however it’s
getting harder and harder to find.
Apparently I didn’t pack it well and was contacted by UPS a few days
later that my package had been “damaged” in shipment. All I can think as if this could be a
mess. I found a second package and
shipped away. Even with some extra
careful preparation I learn when it finally arrived that only 5/6 survived this
trip. Still George maybe not as
surprised as the first time I sent him, but still seems to appreciate the
thought!
With the combination of a marathon and a high point this
would be a five day get-a-way followed by a week earlier another five days from
home it seems like I’ve been gone forever.
I packed up the bike and headed to LAX for my flight. Still the best way to travel in Los Angeles
and who could forget free parking! The
trip would start by flying into Minneapolis St. Paul and then head north from
there. Usually I’m pretty methodical
about making sure I have reservations in advance, however, logistically we
didn’t know where exactly we would be when so the only night pre-booked was the
night before the race. Hotels were hard
to come by in Ashland so we ended up staying about 15 miles outside of
town. The other three nights we would
“wing it”.
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| This is what much of the roads looked like driving through Wisconsin |
I arrived at the airport first so had time to pick up a car
and within an hour George’s flight arrived. I think it’s now the last six out of seven marathons George has been
along for the ride. He’s training for a
marathon in 5 weeks in Cuba, so decided he would only do the 13.1 mile race and
the tack on a few more miles to make it a long training run. We didn’t need to drive all the way to
Ashland so to get a little closer to Ashland we headed north towards Duluth,
MN.
I had such fond memories of downtown Duluth our first stop was there for a late dinner. I love catching up with George he has great sense of humor and we have so much in common we make good travel companions. From the bar/restaurant we found a cheap hotel a few blocks away and booked it for the night.
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| Downtown Duluth |
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| A "happening" bar in Duluth |
I had such fond memories of downtown Duluth our first stop was there for a late dinner. I love catching up with George he has great sense of humor and we have so much in common we make good travel companions. From the bar/restaurant we found a cheap hotel a few blocks away and booked it for the night.
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| Aerostitch Headquarters, Duluth |
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| Saw these all over the place and couldn't resist. Pretty comical if you would have seen me trying to crawl up on on of these! |
After a quick walk downtown Duluth, next we decide to drive a peninsula on the northern shores of Wisconsin. We had hoped for more/better views of Lake Superior so just made the loop without a great amount to see. One stop was the Apostle Islands Visitor Center in Bayfield. A historic building which is now a National Parks Headquarters. We learned there are boat tours of the islands but no time today for a 3 hour tour.
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| Nice view from the coast to Apostle Islands |
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| Stopped at this park along the peninsula. One of the many islands visible. |
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| Apostle Islands National Parks Visitor Center |
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| Something you don't see everyday |
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| Finally a spot worthy of lunch! |
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| Every time we drove by here there was a line of car filling water jugs |
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| Ashland, Wisconsin |
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| Ashland, Wiscosin |
The expo was in a community center that seems to double as the city’s ice rink. Apparently a big thing in these here parts. Once again the half seems to be the bigger draw and there were only about 350 full participants. Nearly every race has either a tee shirt or in the least a finisher shirt. I packed light hoping 1 day I would have a new shirt for the way home however the swag for this race is a finisher duffle bag.
I got final race day logistics for the point to point course. There would be buses picking runners up downtown and taking them to their respective starting points along and old rails to trail. The trail was gravel from start to nearly finish so it was dubbed as a trail race, tho without the river crossings or any significant changes in elevations. The race was slightly downhill, but over the course of 26.2 miles it was hardly noticeable. Shortly after the expo opened so began the pasta dinner. I’d just eaten, but it it’s hard to pass up a free meal, especially knowing there wouldn’t be a lot of choices in town. Also since our hotel was outside of town it seemed most possibly that we would not be returning to town later to eat yet again.
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| Some of the many murals around town |
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| Expo |
I call it a trifecta when a hotel has a hot tub, internet,
and a continental breakfast. The casino
didn’t come with the 3rd however, they went to down and set up a
card table with all the necessities.
Later I shared this picture and apparently NW Wisconsin is considered
“the sticks”. Car loaded and off to
the start. Find the buses and each
head to our respective starts. I think it’s
been a while since I took a 1 way bus to a start line. I often say in training I’m glad I’d run a
marathon before because 26.2 miles sounds so far. Well to drill in that thought when you ride
a school bus that distance one way away from the final destination it shows how
long is a marathon. I was thinking
about half way to the start I’m getting too old for this and glad I only have
one more after today.
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| Continental Breakfast |
The fun part of traveling is talking with others and hearing
their stories. Directly behind me on
the bus is the guy from the hotel that just finished #50. Ends up his resume is even more impressive
because he’s finished 214 marathons, he’s 65 years old, and says he wants to do
5 a year until he gets to 250. He also
had run this particular marathon all 17 or 18 years prior so was on the legacy
squad of only about a half of dozen other runners that had also run every
years. Hearing stories like that is always
motivational. Of course I shared with
him my experience and conquests which brought into our conversation the guy
sitting next to him. A young guy in his
20’s who was doing only his 2nd marathon, his first 6 months ago for
Grandma’s in Minnesota so he was excited that he was onto his 2nd
state in his first year by completing Wisconsin. Also equally motivating to see a young guy
and seeing his excitement for his race.
He said he bonked in the hot summer last time around and was hoping to redeem
himself today.
So for the weather, apparently Lake Superior determines the
weather. If the wind is blowing off the
lake it can be brutally cold, or as luck would have it if the wind came from
the south then it would be more warm.
Still a chance of rain and mist on the windshield of the bus I was
prepared for all scenarios. Walking out
of the hotel it was noticeably warmer than the night before which means the
wind had changed and was coming from the south. I wouldn’t need all the layers, but with the
possible rain I elected to go with a short sleeve with a long sleeve overtop as
well as a wind breaker. As the bus
dropped us off, it was apparent that I way over dressed. I did have a drop bag but for fear of a
change of wind I elected to tie my wind breaker around my waist in case I
needed it either to block the wind or stay dry.
The start of the race was at what appeared to be a little
camp ground with small cottages all about.
There was an A-framed structure to go inside so had it been nasty
outside I could have ducked in to stay out of the elements. I got on the earliest shuttle so was also
the earliest to arrive so just wasted time by stretching and waiting for the
start. An old timer was called to sing
not the national anthem, but rather “God Bless America”. I guess he had sang for all but 2 of the
marathon starts. I’d never seen so much
respect from the crowd, everyone was still in place and silent and this guy just
belted out the most beautiful melody.
A few minutes later we all lined up and the countdown to the start
began.
With only 350 runners there was no pushing or shoving, no
ropes, no crowds. Just a simple “Go”
and we were off. Starting temp was 62
with a planned high of 68. The first ½
mile was actually slightly uphill and before the end the 1st layer
was pealed so now I was down to just shorts. Heart rate was a little high, but after all
it was uphill. I just told myself all
that matters is finishing, pride or time doesn’t count today. I made the turn onto the trail and while
the trees were miraculous in their fall splendor, the next 26 miles were
virtually the exact same scenery. Trees
to the right, trees to the left, and a never ending straight away to the
finish.
I usually carry water, but the water bottle I brought was a
whopping 32 oz Gatorade bottle so I elected not to carry and take my chances
there would be enough water stops along the route to keep me hydrated. The trees blocked the wind so it ends up the
course was way warmer than I had ever anticipated. Thank goodness for all the hot training runs,
however, it’s hard to simulate humidity in S. California for training. The temperature tho a little warmer that
what had hoped wasn’t too bad, but the
humidity was the killer. Within a mile
I decided to even shed my running hat.
I don’t normally sweat excessively but I was soon drenched from head to
toe. The first water stop wasn’t until
2.5 miles. I didn’t read the map
closely enough to know if this would be the normal spacing of stops, so while I
would usually alternate every other stop Gatorade and a water, I took one of
each every aid station. I brought about
eight salt tablets and instead of waiting to start these supplements, starting
from the first aid station and every aid station until finished one more.
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| Near Finish Line |
There are usually clocks along the way which make it easy to
figure out how I’m progressing. There were only mile markers, 1 every mile,
showing how far I’ve run. There was a
timing matt at 13.1 mile and it’s the only time checked my watch the whole
race. I finished the first half of the
course in a few seconds longer than 2 hours.
Not bad for a warm, humid, rocky trail I thought so I kept trudging along. With only 350 runners it didn’t take long to
for separation to begin. I think about
mile 8-9 I looked back and could only see a few runners, likewise, looking
ahead there were not many either. I
seem to always find someone to talk to to help the time go buy however this
would be a long lonely run.
At the start of the race I always find it fun to judge the
other runners and have over the years have created categories. There are the runners that look all ripped
however it seems like they are all show and no go, even if they start out fast
I’ll reel them in later on the course.
There was such a large variety of runners old and young. I suppose I’m still a little competitive,
so when I see others on the course that look my age if I can out run them I’ll
try. A few characters I either followed
or they followed me for a good chunk, but one by one they dropped back and I passed
them. Once I get half way I’ve liked to
run a negative marathon split where the 2nd half is faster than the
first half, however today was not going to be one of those days. Each mile that passed seemed to get harder
and harder. I don’t know if it was my
lack of training, my new style of training for this race, a mixed up sleep over
the past two weeks, the humility, or just an off day, but every mile I felt
like I was getting slower.
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| 25 miles of this trail |
I remember when running hard, mile 19 seemed to be the point
when it starts to hurt. Well even
though I wasn’t running fast by 19 it was already hurting. I simply went back to my heart rate and
tried to target 160 bpm or less. When my
heart rate shot up to 162 I would back off a little until it was under 160
again. After a while I resorted to
taking more walking breaks in the final miles allowing my rate to get near 140
and then start running again until it soared above 160 and repeat.
I don’t usually have many pass me in the 2nd half
of any marathon, but about 4-5 runners did pass me and I couldn’t keep up and
had to surrender. A couple that passed
me I did eventually pass again, but a few remained untouchable. With the unchanging scenery it was like I
was running and never getting anywhere.
The only thing that changed was the mile markers along the course. Again
very beautiful, but a little crowd participation is always nice. There were quite a few cross roads so I
ended up seeing the same people at each cross road. Apparently someone running just behind me
had a big fan club so I started joking with their fans that I’ve seen them
before. It was even more comical as
they continued to pop out again and again and each future cross road! The only other thing that I could see as I
peered up the trail were port-o-johns.
Whenever I saw the white roof I knew an aid station would follow. Only once was I tricked when there was one
without a water stop.
I think it was the 25 mile marker when the stone/gravel/dirt
trail finally ended and I was back on flat/even pavement. I thought I could try to pick up the pace
for the last mile, but my legs had no answer.
I think when your legs are tired there is an expression called the
marathon shuffle. I don’t think I
totally bonked, but a negative split was not in the cards today. I wasn’t concerned with time so I’m sure I
still had a big smile on my face when I finally crossed the finish line of my
49th state marathon. Of
course George was there waiting with his camera and even got a few pics in the
final .2 miles! I thought about my
finish line summersault but maybe will save that for Alaska next summer!
A silver blanket was wrapped around me and a finisher medal
was draped around my neck. Onto the
food tent where a chair was calling out my name. I didn’t even make it to the food and
decided just to sit. I thought it would
feel good to not move and had you asked me right then if I ever wanted to run a
marathon again I might have bit your head off. First there is the joy of finishing and
then quickly followed by the pain and agony of the legs suffering over the past
26.2 miles. I was on the verge of
cramping but toughed it out and motivated myself to start moving and try to
find the showers in the ice rink next to the finish line. A hot shower always breathes new life into
the body, dry clothes, and ready to go!
At the finish line was a big tent with live entertainment all afternoon as well as food and drink. I found the table at the back of the tent with my finisher duffle and packed all my wet clothes then sat down and enjoyed the most delicious food of all times. Well maybe not the best, but a bratwurst and bag of chips never tasted better! The adventure has just begun for the day because we would drive for 3 hours up Lake Superior’s Northern Shore of Minnesota in search of a place to set up a base for our attack of Minnesota’s high point called Eagle Mountain the next morning!
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