To Infinity and Beyond - Becoming a Better DopeyBadger (Comments Welcome)

[rteetz]

What a write up about your journey! I have always enjoyed following along. You are always positive and give great advice. You did a great job on this marathon even if it wasn't exactly the goal you wanted. You will get there though as you definitely have the drive to do it.

 

[GollyGadget]

Congratulations on your shiny new PR! I know you had plans for better, but as they say "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

Sometimes, it's just not our day but look how awesome you did on an "off" day. Unbelievable!

 

[Anisum]

I have to read about your journey but I wanted to say Congrats on your PR! It may not have been the time you hoped for but it was still an amazing finish and a PR. Plus you got an apple fritter which really makes everything better.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Simply incredible! Super inspiring! So humble and kind! An amazing recap! Glad to be able to call you a "DIS"friend and my trainer!!! Thanks!!!

Thanks!

Congrats on the awesome PR!
That unicorn is a tough one to grab. Sometimes you think you're there, but your body just isn't into it that day. But keep up and good work and I know you'll get there soon.

Thanks!

Congratulations on your PR and on your amazing running journey. You are an inspiration!

Thanks!

I think green guy represented all of us here on the dis; you always are ready to help us when we need it and are willing to say "hey, get on, let's do this, stick with me" even when you are in the middle of your own pursuit of a goal. I maybe teared up reading that part a lil bit.

But most importantly...can we stop talking about your race and further discuss this apple fritter???
(What?...it's me...what did you expect)

That's a nice way to think about it.

Apple fritter was delicious and I admit it's already gone! Guess I'll have to wait till next time to share some more pics of it.

Seriously inspiring to read your story all the way through. You have a great attitude and are a huge motivation and encouragement to me!

Thanks!

I love this… thank you so much for doing this!!

It was my pleasure. Definitely an awesome experience and the thankfulness she had to receiving it seemed genuine.

What a write up about your journey! I have always enjoyed following along. You are always positive and give great advice. You did a great job on this marathon even if it wasn't exactly the goal you wanted. You will get there though as you definitely have the drive to do it.

Thanks!

Congratulations on your shiny new PR! I know you had plans for better, but as they say "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

Sometimes, it's just not our day but look how awesome you did on an "off" day. Unbelievable!

Thanks!

I have to read about your journey but I wanted to say Congrats on your PR! It may not have been the time you hoped for but it was still an amazing finish and a PR. Plus you got an apple fritter which really makes everything better.

Thanks! Apple fritters do have a way of making things feel better. Might be the sugar rush...

 

[CheapRunnerMike]

I am always jealous of your apple fritters, yum.

You raced your best race on that day, collected a big PR and placed highly. Hard to ask for anything more than that.

 

[dancingtodisney]

Hi, my name is DopeyBadger!
dancingtodisney I use a variety of calculators that I've compiled from different sources (Hansons and Ben Rappoport) to determine carbohydrate, calorie, and liquid consumption. Without trying to be too personal, with your weight (lbs), estimated time goal, and VO2 max I could give you an estimate as to how many calories/carbohydrates you would need to consume during the race. If you don't know your VO2max, you can use the calculator here to get a very rough estimate (http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/vo2max-calculator.aspx) using your age and resting heart rate.

Hansons are a proponent that it takes the body 10 days to receive the benefits from a workout. Thus, doing any hard workouts within 10 days of the marathon won't really help much. Thus, a 50% reduction in total mileage (don't change # of days running though) from peak week during the last week is their recommendation with intensity being on the slower side of most of your training. To account for the "staleness" from reducing intensity and mileage, on the day before the marathon run 2-3 miles with a few 10 sec bursts up to desired marathon pace.

As for carb loading prior to the race, there are three different main methods out there.

1 - 3 day carb depletion followed by a 3 day carb loading
2 - No carb depletion followed by a 3 day carb loading
3 - A 110% (close to all out effort) run for 30 sec on the day before the marathon, followed by a super carb loading throughout the day.

All three of these methods have been shown to increase glycogen storage to higher levels than normal (with a rough correlation to giving an improvement of 1-3% in overall time). There is also some research out there that a glycogen supercompensation can last as many as 5 days. Personally, I don't like the feeling of being so full on marathon day. So for me, 4 days out from the marathon I start a 3 day carb loading cycle that changes the % of carbs as my diet from 60% up to near 85% with mostly protein filling the remaining difference (I generally don't like to increase my overall calorie consumption though). This way the day before the marathon I can revert back to my normal diet, and feel less full for race day.

The key to any advice though is we are all an experiment of one and thus something that may work great for one person might not work well for someone else. We all just have to find our personal sweet spot through trial and error.”

HEY!! So I read through all of your posts today about your journey so far and it was such an incredible read!

SO AMAZING that your first comment on the boards was to me! I remember being so interested in that comment and reading it to Dad and Rachel when I got home. I think that comment was pretty close to when we ran our first marathon which was the Dublin Marathon in 2015.

I've been so inspired reading along today that it's really motivated me to consider my goals going forward. I had great intentions this year but as you know my hamstring had other ideas. I'm putting together my interim plan following your previous advise, will tag you when I post it for you to review if you don't mind, for old times sake!

I think post race yesterday was a perfect time to reflect on everything like you have done and WOW do you have a lot to reflect on. Your race recap was so interesting, I think it's awesome that you picked up others that weren't having the best race day. It's moments like that in a race that make me love running.

Keep on chasing that unicorn!

 

[cadek]

Great recap on your race! Congrats on the PR, even if it wasn't the race you were hoping for! I admire your hard work and determination! It's so great to have family out there to lift your spirits, and I loved how you tried to pull fellow runners with you to the finish! Also, what a great way to thank a volunteer!

 

[FredtheDuck]

Billy - I read your journey posts from start to finish last night. What an amazing story... you have so much to be proud of. Two takeaways that really stand out to me from yesterday's race:

- You did a STELLAR job keeping your head in the race and not getting deflated when you saw early on that you were not quite where you wanted to be. And in doing so, you got ANOTHER PR, which is an awesome cap to this cycle.

- And second, I love that you took the time to help fellow runners finish their races strong at the end. Because of course you did. You're you.

You've worked so hard, studied so much, and come so far. That unicorn will be yours sooner rather than later, and I'm excited to follow along as you continue the pursuit.

PS - I hope you're taking a second to really reflect on all of the people here commenting on what an inspiration you are (add me to the chorus). That's not something most say lightly, and I hope that knowing how many people you've helped and motivated while on this path helps propel you forward : )

 

[DopeyBadger]

I am always jealous of your apple fritters, yum.

You raced your best race on that day, collected a big PR and placed highly. Hard to ask for anything more than that.

Those apple fritters are delicious! Agreed, Mike! Continuing to make progress towards those goals.

HEY!! So I read through all of your posts today about your journey so far and it was such an incredible read!

Thanks!

SO AMAZING that your first comment on the boards was to me! I remember being so interested in that comment and reading it to Dad and Rachel when I got home. I think that comment was pretty close to when we ran our first marathon which was the Dublin Marathon in 2015.

I remember!

I've been so inspired reading along today that it's really motivated me to consider my goals going forward. I had great intentions this year but as you know my hamstring had other ideas. I'm putting together my interim plan following your previous advise, will tag you when I post it for you to review if you don't mind, for old times sake!

Sometimes it's not what happens that defines us, but how we react to it. I'll be ready to help when you're ready.

I think post race yesterday was a perfect time to reflect on everything like you have done and WOW do you have a lot to reflect on. Your race recap was so interesting, I think it's awesome that you picked up others that weren't having the best race day. It's moments like that in a race that make me love running.

Honestly, I had that write-up written over the last couple of months. I truly thought this was closing a chapter and felt reasonably confident. The question became after yesterday's race, do I shelve this long term write-up or do I share it? I spent so much time putting it together that I felt it was best to share it now. Kind of like a lesson that even when you think everything is right on track, things can happen differently than expected.

Keep on chasing that unicorn!

Will do!

Great recap on your race! Congrats on the PR, even if it wasn't the race you were hoping for! I admire your hard work and determination! It's so great to have family out there to lift your spirits, and I loved how you tried to pull fellow runners with you to the finish! Also, what a great way to thank a volunteer!

Thanks! My family is a big reason I even get this opportunity. You can thank @opusone for being generous with his winnings.

 

[ZellyB]

Oh and it was fun watching G grow bigger as your story progressed too!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Billy - I read your journey posts from start to finish last night. What an amazing story... you have so much to be proud of.

Thanks!

- You did a STELLAR job keeping your head in the race and not getting deflated when you saw early on that you were not quite where you wanted to be. And in doing so, you got ANOTHER PR, which is an awesome cap to this cycle.

It's an important moment. I always try to tell myself to not give up during any more races. If things aren't going my way then just slow down and relax. I knew I had a PR in me no matter what and I wasn't willing to sacrifice that just because the sub-3 wasn't going to happen.

- And second, I love that you took the time to help fellow runners finish their races strong at the end. Because of course you did. You're you.

If I can't help myself, then I will certainly try to help others.

You've worked so hard, studied so much, and come so far. That unicorn will be yours sooner rather than later, and I'm excited to follow along as you continue the pursuit.

Thanks!

PS - I hope you're taking a second to really reflect on all of the people here commenting on what an inspiration you are (add me to the chorus). That's not something most say lightly, and I hope that knowing how many people you've helped and motivated while on this path helps propel you forward : )

I don't take it lightly. I know how much goals mean to people. I know that passion and desire. So I just continue to try and blaze my trail to show others what can be possible if you're willing to PROVE IT.

Oh and it was fun watching G grow bigger as your story progressed too!

Agreed! Ack, she's so big now.

 

[kywyldcat03]

Excellent job! Such a great story! Just keep chasing that unicorn. Once you catch it, it will be that much sweeter. Continue enjoying the journey!

 

[Anisum]

Your story was such a wild ride. I'm so glad I knew how it ended because there were points that I was very concerned for your safety especially in the beginning.

 

[LSUlakes]

2017 Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon Recap

This was it. Time to go unicorn hunting today. I had some serious trouble sleeping Saturday night. But I wasn’t concerned because I had been getting almost 9 hours a night for the last week or so. Woke up at 3:30am. Got in the shower. Finished prepping the rest of the materials. I had thrown most of the items in the car last night so I could maximize sleeping time (although that didn’t really help much).

We left for Grafton, WI at 4:20am. I ate a PB/Honey bagel, banana, and 2 Beet-It shots at 5:00am. The drive was mostly uneventful. We arrived at Grafton High School around 5:45am. We headed into the school and I used the restroom and got prepare in the cafeteria.

We headed outside and I used the porta-potty at 6:50am right on schedule. We headed over to the car (which was parked near the start) and I put my shoes on. I noticed a family parking their car next to ours. Hey, that kid has a Nemo hat on! I didn’t get out of the car fast enough to flag @pixarmom down and figured she’d find me at the start.

I did a 5 minute WU before the race. As I was walking back to Steph and G at the front of the starting line, I was stopped by @lhermistrom. We exchanged pleasantries and talked goals. It was nice to meet you! Then an older genetleman came up and asked if I was here to run a 2:28. I said sure! He said hi I’m so and so from race relations. I was like, uh sorry I thought you were joking. They do have a corral for 2:02 or under, so I wasn’t sure if that was part of this.

Then we found @pixarmom, @mateojr, and pixarmom’s husband. It was a pleasure to briefly meet you guys! We wished each other luck!

Took an E-Gel 15 min prior to starting and then I lined up at start line. Time to catch that unicorn! The T+D was 95 with minimal wind and minimal cloud cover.

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Last year’s Lakefront Marathon – 3:23:43
Marathon PR to beat – 3:20:52
Predicted Time – 2:59-3:04

*As a reminder, this is the first half marathon or marathon that I paid attention to the splits during the race since summer of 2015.

MILE – SPLIT (PREDICTED TIME)

Mile 1 – 7:17 (3:11:29)
I lined up at the start and before I knew it we were off. I think the first step was a right foot. There were a few moments where I felt like I might have to use the restroom, but I was hopeful that sticking to the plan would show this was just mental. I settled in behind the 3:00 pace group but had no intention of running with them. Once we were past the first few meters I did a quick pace check on saw 6:50s so I felt like I was in a good place. I knew from past history of doing this race that there are few undulating hills in the beginning. So the goal was to keep the splits between 6:51-7:11. So, I pulled back a bit on the 6:50s pace. As we came to the end of the downhill, I noticed my pace was about 7:04 and was still feeling comfortable. But after the small uphill climb my pace came in at 7:17. I was alright with it, but realized this was going to be indicative of how the day was likely to go from here. It felt like marathon tempo, but the pace didn’t seem to match up with training. I brushed it off and just pushed ahead. But that first mile is usually pretty predictive of final pace (although that was always as a blind run).

Mile 2 – 7:04 (3:08:38)
The pack started to separate a bit. I could still see a bulge of people ahead which was likely the 3 hour pace group. Otherwise, the course was peppered with people here and there. The sunrise was a bit annoying as it made it difficult to keep my eyes up but without going blind. Hit the aid station around here and refilled my handheld Nathan. I had a couple sips and continued to do my best to hold the pace between 6:51-7:11. Ended up with a 7:04 and was satisfied that effort = expected pace. Although the effort was probably on the higher end of what marathon tempo had felt like.

Mile 3 – 7:11 (3:08:42)
As we continued on, there was a secondary group of people forming. It seemed as if the group of about 6-8 people had a similar goal and just kind of combined together. I was about 40 feet behind this group and would be for quite some time. It’s somewhere around this time that I was in lock step with a tall guy in a green jersey. Seemed like an Ironman jersey but I couldn’t really tell. We would jockey back and forth for quite some time. Came in at 7:11 which was on the higher end of the pace window. I knew the overall 12 mile goal was 6:59-7:01 pace, so things seemed to be not going completely as expected. But perhaps my body was holding back on me. I didn’t want to look at HR for any confirmatory data. Just put my head down and keep pushing on.

Mile 4 – 7:07 (3:08:18)
Don’t really remember much of anything specific about mile 4. I know I had my E-Gel (Strawberry Vanilla) at the end of the mile. And I know that after I saw the 7:07 mile it was decision time. My body didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like my effort was matching my pace. I was also getting a tad frustrated with this and realized this. My muscles were saying to me this might be over already (which is of course not even close to possible). A few fleeting moments of jelly like behavior from my body and it was time for a change. At the conclusion of mile 4, I decided the only way I’m turning this race around is to go back to being a blind racer. The paces were getting to me. I was staying positive, but it was obvious that the pace was a touch high and it seemed to be effecting me physically. So, blind racing it is.

Mile 5 – 6:59 (3:07:22)
I hit the aid station right at the end of mile 4. Refilled as best I could with two cups and pushed forward. I was a tad concerned though because I didn’t have much water remaining and knew the next aid station wasn’t until mile 7.5 Not too long after changing my watch to “watch” mode instead of any pace related data information, things started to relax. Maybe it was the blind running, maybe it was just I was more comfortable, or maybe it was the E-Gel kicking in. But all I knew is things started to feel more normal again. I found another runner (white jersey) running a somewhat similar pace and just attached myself to him. Focus on the breathing. Focus on the cadence. Focus on the guy ahead of me. Just RELAX.

Mile 6 – 7:02 (3:06:57)
Nothing to note. Stuck with the blind pacing. Myself and white jersey still in lock step. Tall green jersey was around us somewhere, but I can’t really remember.

Mile 7 – 7:04 (3:06:47)
Came across the 10k mat at 44:04. The goal was 42-43 minutes. So, I knew I was behind the pace a bit, but this wasn’t terribly surprising given how things were prior. Just stick with the blind pacing and trust myself. I was running a bit low on water so I just took a few small sips. Overall the pace felt relatively good.

Mile 8 – 6:57 (3:06:17)
One of my favorite miles on course as we run through Concordia University. A little bit of winding straight roads and good spectator attendance. There are spectators peppered throughout, but this location always seems to have some of the best attendance. Makes you feel a little bit stronger having others cheer you on. It felt like a good mile and I was feeling as if I had started to turn things around. Thankfully hit the aid station and did my best to refill my water.

Mile 9 – 7:07 (3:06:22)
Came out of Concordia University and we were back to the solo roads. Somewhere in mile 8, I lost white jersey. No one really sticks out to me, but I do remember seeing that same group of people up ahead. Still about 50-100 feet ahead of me. I think green jersey was up with them at this point. I could tell the race was getting a bit tougher.

Mile 10 – 7:08 (3:06:29)
Still running well. Enjoying the relief of pressure of seeing my pace and just going with it. Things were still tough but manageable. Still low on water.

Mile 11 – 7:17 (3:06:56)
Running is getting tougher. Knew it was almost time to take my second E-Gel at the end of mile 11. I went with the Raspberry. I was interested in seeing where my HM split came back at.

Mile 12 – 7:07 (3:06:57)
Nothing really to note. I ate the E-Gel and then kept pushing on.

Mile 13 – 7:12 (3:07:08)
Big thing to happen during this mile was a side stitch. I could tell it was coming on. I tried to control my breathing and drink some water. I was hoping I could hold it back before it really set in. Alas, it came anyway. I just pressed on the spot. Slowed my breathing down. Drank some water. And slowed the pace. I felt I could manage it. But was not looking forward to trying to finish out a HM with it. Thankfully, after about 0.75 miles I got it to dissipate. Hit the end of the 13th mile, which meant just around the corner would be the HM split clock.

Mile 14 – 6:58 (3:06:51)
Ran up the hill to the HM split clock and saw a 1:33:32. Huzzah! While it wasn’t the 1:30-1:32 that I was originally aiming for, I felt like it was a definite victory. I wasn’t going to spend time doing any pace split calculations. But I felt like my pace between 6.2 and 13.1 was around a 7 min/mile. I wasn’t crushing it, but I was certainly doing better than I was at the beginning. Alright, pretty simple. Just run a 1:26 from here on and that BQ is mine. Mitigate risk and something like a 1:30 would still be good. Time to see where the legs are. As soon as I passed the HM split clock, I got a rush of energy. I was feeling good and pumping the legs. Knew it was a fast mile. It felt good and it was time to turn the tables and nail that 1:30!

Mile 15 – 7:06 (3:06:50)
And just as sudden as that rush of energy came, it was gone. Things settled back down and I could tell this wasn’t as fast. Things were getting tougher. Manageable, but tougher. I was looking forward to seeing Steph and Gigi. I thought they’d be at the mile 15 marker so I was looking forward to seeing if they made it there.

Mile 16 – 7:10 (3:06:56)
As I rounded the corner to the mile 15 marker, there was Steph and Gigi! I had a moment of a tear down my face to see them. Now that seeing them was over, I was looking forward to that mile 17 E-Gel. I was hopeful it would give me that burst of energy I was lacking. Things just didn’t feel “right”. I wasn’t popping. Grinding, but wasn’t where I wanted to be.

Mile 17 – 7:14 (3:07:07)
I can’t really remember much about this mile. I think it was around this mile that the wind became noticeable. At the beginning of the race, the wind was calm. But as had been forecasted, the wind was slowly picking up.

Mile 18 – 7:33 (3:07:45)
Ate the E-Gel (Watermelon). Still feeling like the pacing was slowing.

Mile 19 – 7:38 (3:08:26)
I can’t remember if this was the mile or the next, but I decided to confirm my feelings on how the race was going. I looked and saw the 7:38. I knew that was a death knell to a BQ. If this mile was like that, then it was likely that others were also near this pace. It became the question of what to do next. Do I try and push to overcome? Do I try to maintain? Do I try to stay comfortable? I decided to try and balance how I was feeling with the remainder of the race.

Mile 20 – 7:34 (3:08:58)
I ate the RunGum. It actually was quite noticeable. Things felt alright again. I wasn’t picking the pace up, but I was trying to maintain. I chewed the gum for at least 0.5 miles. I liked the taste of the cinnamon.

Mile 21 – 7:51 (3:09:47)
This was the mile I finally took a peek at the total time. I saw 2:31:36. I knew I had 5 miles remaining. If I could keep the pace around an 8 min/mile it would still be an easy PR. The effort was between all out and manageable. Could have I given more? Yes, at that very moment I had more to give. But I was also trying my best not to stop to walk. So I balanced it with maintain the 8 min/mile effort. Mile 21 was coming up with a tall hill climb. The last real challenge of the race. Was just hoping to maintain it throughout the hill.

Mile 22 – 7:55 (3:10:37)
Climb, climb, climb…. This is the last challenge. Just need to crest this hill!

Mile 23 – 8:01 (3:11:30)
I can’t remember if it was this mile or the next, but down on the sidewalk I saw two police officers on a knee. Why were they doing that? What were the huddled over? Not a sight I wanted to see. A poor runner was down in the grass motionless. They had a breathing bag on him and his eyes were closed. No movement. It was scary and unnerving to see. Not long after I saw that a stretcher golf cart came zooming down the road. And not too far behind that was an ambulance. I’m hoping for the best possible outcome. You always get a bit shaken when you see something like that. Am I pushing too hard too? I just kept trying to trust myself and past experience.

Mile 24 – 7:58 (3:12:15)
I knew there were only one or two aid stations left. We were also approaching the big downhill. I saw the aid station right before mile 24 and decided this would be the one where I hand out the gift card that @opusone had won during the Dopey Challenge prediction contest. I found a young lady passing out water and slowed down to make the exchange. She clearly had a confused look on her face as I tried to pass it to her. Then the realization that it was a gift card. I said, “thanks of volunteering” and she said “OMG, thanks!”. She was still in shock as I left her, but it gave me a nice feeling to give that to her per @opusone’s request. I put my last name and DIS username on it so maybe she’ll pop in and say hi!

Mile 25 – 8:03 (3:13:01)
Just as I passed the mile 24 marker, there was a sight for sore-eyes. It was the tall guy in the green jersey. It had been a while since I had seen him. He was running, and then walking, and then running. It appeared his day wasn’t going as well as he had hoped either. So as I ran up on him while he was walking, I yelled to him “hey, get on. Let’s do this. Stick with me.” He got a sudden burst of energy and joined me. It was good timing too because as soon as the downhill was done, there was the lake. And with no trees between us and the lake came the full force of the wind. KABOOM! Was it ever in full force. Thankfully I had a running partner to help keep the focus on one foot and then the other. Maybe we weren’t having the day we wanted, but I felt like if I could help him eek out a few extra seconds then all the better. Right in lock step with each other. Ahead was another runner doing the run/walk routine and it didn’t look pre-planned. So as we passed him, I yelled to him to join us. And gleefully he accepted. Now we’re cooking. Let’s see how many others we can collect. Let’s do this!

Mile 26 – 8:05 (3:13:46)
We hit the last aid station and green jersey stopped to drink. The second guy stuck with me. We’ve got this, we can do it. Oh and the WIND! ACK! Just a few steps forward and we’d be there! Step… step… step… My quads were really burning now. I asked myself, if my quads are burning so much right now, how would they have felt if I had actually tried to push the pace earlier?

Mile 26.29 – 2:18 (3:14:36)
There’s the finish line! I see it! Just keep pushing! I saw the clock around 3:13 and was happy. I was going to nail a PR on a day that I felt just didn’t feel right. Finish line! Succcess!

Final Time – 3:14:05

Official PRs: 1
Marathon – 3:14:05

Unofficial PRs: 1
Half Marathon – 1:33:32

Official Overall Standing: 106 / 2292 (4.6%)
Official Gender Standing: 97 / 1204 (8.1%) *
Official Division Standing: 20 / 165 (12.1%) *

*New % Standing PR for any distance but non-Disney race.

Garmin Link
Strava Link

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The first thing I did after crossing, was start looking for green jersey. Where was he? There he was. I went up to him and told him congrats. He thanked me and said he really appreciated the help. And I was really happy to help him. Yea, it wasn’t the day I had imagined for myself, but if I could offer a little help to another struggling runner then it’s a big plus in my book.

I found my family. Steph, Gigi, my mom, my MIL (Cyndi), my BIL (Brian), my SIL (Heidi), and their new dog (Sgt. Pepper – Goldendoodle) all made the trip out to see me. I was hobbling around. But I wasn’t anywhere close to as bad as shape as last year. My MIL had brought me an apple fritter as a celebratory meal. Delicious! I had a few people eye-balling me and even had an older gentleman come up and ask me where I had gotten it from. Brought it from local, but I offered some to him and his runner but they politely declined. Heard a few runners cross from Cottage Grove, WI so maybe need to investigate a bit and see what they do for training.

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So, the big questions, why? Why did I have this performance? Seemingly, my worst performance in the last couple of marathons when comparing training pace to race pace. Easy answer for me. Something seemed off about the last M Tempo run (avg pace 7:21), last LRs, and my easy pacing was giving a relatively high HR. Partially the heat, but also just didn’t feel completely right. Whatever the reason, it appears to have carried over into race day. So, it was necessary to look at the data. What did I do wrong? Was I really dogging it during the race and the data said I really could have given more?

Easy answer. Nope, I wasn’t dogging it. The 7:15-7:20 pace was really my marathon tempo. Both the cadence and HR bear that out. My normal cadence during M Tempo is mid to high 180s. Heart rate historically is between 149-152.

Miles above 152 HR: 2, 3, 4, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17.
Miles less than 149 HR: 1, 23, 24

This only confirms what I was feeling during the race. This was marathon tempo. There wasn’t more and when I did push to more I was likely pushing too hard. So, given the HR and cadence were in line, it tells me that what I was lacking was my power behind my steps. Why the lack of power? I can’t say for sure. Maybe I wasn’t eating well enough to support the muscle growth and recovery. I don’t think it was a cardiovascular problem, it felt like a muscular deficiency.

I’m also coated in salt (which is unusual for me) and I didn’t use the restroom until 5.5 miles after finishing the race. This says dehydration (to a point) to me.

With all that being said, what do I think? I’m happy with the result. Yes, it wasn’t what I had been dreaming about for the last 1922 days. But, even on a day which was quite evident from the beginning wasn’t going to be my day, I was still able to nail an almost 7 min marathon PR (3.4% improvement). That gives me 5 (non-full 48.6 mile Dopey Challenge) marathon PRs in a row. The unicorn can be a difficult creature to catch. But, this is just another single step in the right direction towards that goal of a BQ.

Nice jo

2017 Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon Recap

This was it. Time to go unicorn hunting today. I had some serious trouble sleeping Saturday night. But I wasn’t concerned because I had been getting almost 9 hours a night for the last week or so. Woke up at 3:30am. Got in the shower. Finished prepping the rest of the materials. I had thrown most of the items in the car last night so I could maximize sleeping time (although that didn’t really help much).

We left for Grafton, WI at 4:20am. I ate a PB/Honey bagel, banana, and 2 Beet-It shots at 5:00am. The drive was mostly uneventful. We arrived at Grafton High School around 5:45am. We headed into the school and I used the restroom and got prepare in the cafeteria.

We headed outside and I used the porta-potty at 6:50am right on schedule. We headed over to the car (which was parked near the start) and I put my shoes on. I noticed a family parking their car next to ours. Hey, that kid has a Nemo hat on! I didn’t get out of the car fast enough to flag @pixarmom down and figured she’d find me at the start.

I did a 5 minute WU before the race. As I was walking back to Steph and G at the front of the starting line, I was stopped by @lhermistrom. We exchanged pleasantries and talked goals. It was nice to meet you! Then an older genetleman came up and asked if I was here to run a 2:28. I said sure! He said hi I’m so and so from race relations. I was like, uh sorry I thought you were joking. They do have a corral for 2:02 or under, so I wasn’t sure if that was part of this.

Then we found @pixarmom, @mateojr, and pixarmom’s husband. It was a pleasure to briefly meet you guys! We wished each other luck!

Took an E-Gel 15 min prior to starting and then I lined up at start line. Time to catch that unicorn! The T+D was 95 with minimal wind and minimal cloud cover.

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Last year’s Lakefront Marathon – 3:23:43
Marathon PR to beat – 3:20:52
Predicted Time – 2:59-3:04

*As a reminder, this is the first half marathon or marathon that I paid attention to the splits during the race since summer of 2015.

MILE – SPLIT (PREDICTED TIME)

Mile 1 – 7:17 (3:11:29)
I lined up at the start and before I knew it we were off. I think the first step was a right foot. There were a few moments where I felt like I might have to use the restroom, but I was hopeful that sticking to the plan would show this was just mental. I settled in behind the 3:00 pace group but had no intention of running with them. Once we were past the first few meters I did a quick pace check on saw 6:50s so I felt like I was in a good place. I knew from past history of doing this race that there are few undulating hills in the beginning. So the goal was to keep the splits between 6:51-7:11. So, I pulled back a bit on the 6:50s pace. As we came to the end of the downhill, I noticed my pace was about 7:04 and was still feeling comfortable. But after the small uphill climb my pace came in at 7:17. I was alright with it, but realized this was going to be indicative of how the day was likely to go from here. It felt like marathon tempo, but the pace didn’t seem to match up with training. I brushed it off and just pushed ahead. But that first mile is usually pretty predictive of final pace (although that was always as a blind run).

Mile 2 – 7:04 (3:08:38)
The pack started to separate a bit. I could still see a bulge of people ahead which was likely the 3 hour pace group. Otherwise, the course was peppered with people here and there. The sunrise was a bit annoying as it made it difficult to keep my eyes up but without going blind. Hit the aid station around here and refilled my handheld Nathan. I had a couple sips and continued to do my best to hold the pace between 6:51-7:11. Ended up with a 7:04 and was satisfied that effort = expected pace. Although the effort was probably on the higher end of what marathon tempo had felt like.

Mile 3 – 7:11 (3:08:42)
As we continued on, there was a secondary group of people forming. It seemed as if the group of about 6-8 people had a similar goal and just kind of combined together. I was about 40 feet behind this group and would be for quite some time. It’s somewhere around this time that I was in lock step with a tall guy in a green jersey. Seemed like an Ironman jersey but I couldn’t really tell. We would jockey back and forth for quite some time. Came in at 7:11 which was on the higher end of the pace window. I knew the overall 12 mile goal was 6:59-7:01 pace, so things seemed to be not going completely as expected. But perhaps my body was holding back on me. I didn’t want to look at HR for any confirmatory data. Just put my head down and keep pushing on.

Mile 4 – 7:07 (3:08:18)
Don’t really remember much of anything specific about mile 4. I know I had my E-Gel (Strawberry Vanilla) at the end of the mile. And I know that after I saw the 7:07 mile it was decision time. My body didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like my effort was matching my pace. I was also getting a tad frustrated with this and realized this. My muscles were saying to me this might be over already (which is of course not even close to possible). A few fleeting moments of jelly like behavior from my body and it was time for a change. At the conclusion of mile 4, I decided the only way I’m turning this race around is to go back to being a blind racer. The paces were getting to me. I was staying positive, but it was obvious that the pace was a touch high and it seemed to be effecting me physically. So, blind racing it is.

Mile 5 – 6:59 (3:07:22)
I hit the aid station right at the end of mile 4. Refilled as best I could with two cups and pushed forward. I was a tad concerned though because I didn’t have much water remaining and knew the next aid station wasn’t until mile 7.5 Not too long after changing my watch to “watch” mode instead of any pace related data information, things started to relax. Maybe it was the blind running, maybe it was just I was more comfortable, or maybe it was the E-Gel kicking in. But all I knew is things started to feel more normal again. I found another runner (white jersey) running a somewhat similar pace and just attached myself to him. Focus on the breathing. Focus on the cadence. Focus on the guy ahead of me. Just RELAX.

Mile 6 – 7:02 (3:06:57)
Nothing to note. Stuck with the blind pacing. Myself and white jersey still in lock step. Tall green jersey was around us somewhere, but I can’t really remember.

Mile 7 – 7:04 (3:06:47)
Came across the 10k mat at 44:04. The goal was 42-43 minutes. So, I knew I was behind the pace a bit, but this wasn’t terribly surprising given how things were prior. Just stick with the blind pacing and trust myself. I was running a bit low on water so I just took a few small sips. Overall the pace felt relatively good.

Mile 8 – 6:57 (3:06:17)
One of my favorite miles on course as we run through Concordia University. A little bit of winding straight roads and good spectator attendance. There are spectators peppered throughout, but this location always seems to have some of the best attendance. Makes you feel a little bit stronger having others cheer you on. It felt like a good mile and I was feeling as if I had started to turn things around. Thankfully hit the aid station and did my best to refill my water.

Mile 9 – 7:07 (3:06:22)
Came out of Concordia University and we were back to the solo roads. Somewhere in mile 8, I lost white jersey. No one really sticks out to me, but I do remember seeing that same group of people up ahead. Still about 50-100 feet ahead of me. I think green jersey was up with them at this point. I could tell the race was getting a bit tougher.

Mile 10 – 7:08 (3:06:29)
Still running well. Enjoying the relief of pressure of seeing my pace and just going with it. Things were still tough but manageable. Still low on water.

Mile 11 – 7:17 (3:06:56)
Running is getting tougher. Knew it was almost time to take my second E-Gel at the end of mile 11. I went with the Raspberry. I was interested in seeing where my HM split came back at.

Mile 12 – 7:07 (3:06:57)
Nothing really to note. I ate the E-Gel and then kept pushing on.

Mile 13 – 7:12 (3:07:08)
Big thing to happen during this mile was a side stitch. I could tell it was coming on. I tried to control my breathing and drink some water. I was hoping I could hold it back before it really set in. Alas, it came anyway. I just pressed on the spot. Slowed my breathing down. Drank some water. And slowed the pace. I felt I could manage it. But was not looking forward to trying to finish out a HM with it. Thankfully, after about 0.75 miles I got it to dissipate. Hit the end of the 13th mile, which meant just around the corner would be the HM split clock.

Mile 14 – 6:58 (3:06:51)
Ran up the hill to the HM split clock and saw a 1:33:32. Huzzah! While it wasn’t the 1:30-1:32 that I was originally aiming for, I felt like it was a definite victory. I wasn’t going to spend time doing any pace split calculations. But I felt like my pace between 6.2 and 13.1 was around a 7 min/mile. I wasn’t crushing it, but I was certainly doing better than I was at the beginning. Alright, pretty simple. Just run a 1:26 from here on and that BQ is mine. Mitigate risk and something like a 1:30 would still be good. Time to see where the legs are. As soon as I passed the HM split clock, I got a rush of energy. I was feeling good and pumping the legs. Knew it was a fast mile. It felt good and it was time to turn the tables and nail that 1:30!

Mile 15 – 7:06 (3:06:50)
And just as sudden as that rush of energy came, it was gone. Things settled back down and I could tell this wasn’t as fast. Things were getting tougher. Manageable, but tougher. I was looking forward to seeing Steph and Gigi. I thought they’d be at the mile 15 marker so I was looking forward to seeing if they made it there.

Mile 16 – 7:10 (3:06:56)
As I rounded the corner to the mile 15 marker, there was Steph and Gigi! I had a moment of a tear down my face to see them. Now that seeing them was over, I was looking forward to that mile 17 E-Gel. I was hopeful it would give me that burst of energy I was lacking. Things just didn’t feel “right”. I wasn’t popping. Grinding, but wasn’t where I wanted to be.

Mile 17 – 7:14 (3:07:07)
I can’t really remember much about this mile. I think it was around this mile that the wind became noticeable. At the beginning of the race, the wind was calm. But as had been forecasted, the wind was slowly picking up.

Mile 18 – 7:33 (3:07:45)
Ate the E-Gel (Watermelon). Still feeling like the pacing was slowing.

Mile 19 – 7:38 (3:08:26)
I can’t remember if this was the mile or the next, but I decided to confirm my feelings on how the race was going. I looked and saw the 7:38. I knew that was a death knell to a BQ. If this mile was like that, then it was likely that others were also near this pace. It became the question of what to do next. Do I try and push to overcome? Do I try to maintain? Do I try to stay comfortable? I decided to try and balance how I was feeling with the remainder of the race.

Mile 20 – 7:34 (3:08:58)
I ate the RunGum. It actually was quite noticeable. Things felt alright again. I wasn’t picking the pace up, but I was trying to maintain. I chewed the gum for at least 0.5 miles. I liked the taste of the cinnamon.

Mile 21 – 7:51 (3:09:47)
This was the mile I finally took a peek at the total time. I saw 2:31:36. I knew I had 5 miles remaining. If I could keep the pace around an 8 min/mile it would still be an easy PR. The effort was between all out and manageable. Could have I given more? Yes, at that very moment I had more to give. But I was also trying my best not to stop to walk. So I balanced it with maintain the 8 min/mile effort. Mile 21 was coming up with a tall hill climb. The last real challenge of the race. Was just hoping to maintain it throughout the hill.

Mile 22 – 7:55 (3:10:37)
Climb, climb, climb…. This is the last challenge. Just need to crest this hill!

Mile 23 – 8:01 (3:11:30)
I can’t remember if it was this mile or the next, but down on the sidewalk I saw two police officers on a knee. Why were they doing that? What were the huddled over? Not a sight I wanted to see. A poor runner was down in the grass motionless. They had a breathing bag on him and his eyes were closed. No movement. It was scary and unnerving to see. Not long after I saw that a stretcher golf cart came zooming down the road. And not too far behind that was an ambulance. I’m hoping for the best possible outcome. You always get a bit shaken when you see something like that. Am I pushing too hard too? I just kept trying to trust myself and past experience.

Mile 24 – 7:58 (3:12:15)
I knew there were only one or two aid stations left. We were also approaching the big downhill. I saw the aid station right before mile 24 and decided this would be the one where I hand out the gift card that @opusone had won during the Dopey Challenge prediction contest. I found a young lady passing out water and slowed down to make the exchange. She clearly had a confused look on her face as I tried to pass it to her. Then the realization that it was a gift card. I said, “thanks of volunteering” and she said “OMG, thanks!”. She was still in shock as I left her, but it gave me a nice feeling to give that to her per @opusone’s request. I put my last name and DIS username on it so maybe she’ll pop in and say hi!

Mile 25 – 8:03 (3:13:01)
Just as I passed the mile 24 marker, there was a sight for sore-eyes. It was the tall guy in the green jersey. It had been a while since I had seen him. He was running, and then walking, and then running. It appeared his day wasn’t going as well as he had hoped either. So as I ran up on him while he was walking, I yelled to him “hey, get on. Let’s do this. Stick with me.” He got a sudden burst of energy and joined me. It was good timing too because as soon as the downhill was done, there was the lake. And with no trees between us and the lake came the full force of the wind. KABOOM! Was it ever in full force. Thankfully I had a running partner to help keep the focus on one foot and then the other. Maybe we weren’t having the day we wanted, but I felt like if I could help him eek out a few extra seconds then all the better. Right in lock step with each other. Ahead was another runner doing the run/walk routine and it didn’t look pre-planned. So as we passed him, I yelled to him to join us. And gleefully he accepted. Now we’re cooking. Let’s see how many others we can collect. Let’s do this!

Mile 26 – 8:05 (3:13:46)
We hit the last aid station and green jersey stopped to drink. The second guy stuck with me. We’ve got this, we can do it. Oh and the WIND! ACK! Just a few steps forward and we’d be there! Step… step… step… My quads were really burning now. I asked myself, if my quads are burning so much right now, how would they have felt if I had actually tried to push the pace earlier?

Mile 26.29 – 2:18 (3:14:36)
There’s the finish line! I see it! Just keep pushing! I saw the clock around 3:13 and was happy. I was going to nail a PR on a day that I felt just didn’t feel right. Finish line! Succcess!

Final Time – 3:14:05

Official PRs: 1
Marathon – 3:14:05

Unofficial PRs: 1
Half Marathon – 1:33:32

Official Overall Standing: 106 / 2292 (4.6%)
Official Gender Standing: 97 / 1204 (8.1%) *
Official Division Standing: 20 / 165 (12.1%) *

*New % Standing PR for any distance but non-Disney race.

Garmin Link
Strava Link

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The first thing I did after crossing, was start looking for green jersey. Where was he? There he was. I went up to him and told him congrats. He thanked me and said he really appreciated the help. And I was really happy to help him. Yea, it wasn’t the day I had imagined for myself, but if I could offer a little help to another struggling runner then it’s a big plus in my book.

I found my family. Steph, Gigi, my mom, my MIL (Cyndi), my BIL (Brian), my SIL (Heidi), and their new dog (Sgt. Pepper – Goldendoodle) all made the trip out to see me. I was hobbling around. But I wasn’t anywhere close to as bad as shape as last year. My MIL had brought me an apple fritter as a celebratory meal. Delicious! I had a few people eye-balling me and even had an older gentleman come up and ask me where I had gotten it from. Brought it from local, but I offered some to him and his runner but they politely declined. Heard a few runners cross from Cottage Grove, WI so maybe need to investigate a bit and see what they do for training.

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So, the big questions, why? Why did I have this performance? Seemingly, my worst performance in the last couple of marathons when comparing training pace to race pace. Easy answer for me. Something seemed off about the last M Tempo run (avg pace 7:21), last LRs, and my easy pacing was giving a relatively high HR. Partially the heat, but also just didn’t feel completely right. Whatever the reason, it appears to have carried over into race day. So, it was necessary to look at the data. What did I do wrong? Was I really dogging it during the race and the data said I really could have given more?

Easy answer. Nope, I wasn’t dogging it. The 7:15-7:20 pace was really my marathon tempo. Both the cadence and HR bear that out. My normal cadence during M Tempo is mid to high 180s. Heart rate historically is between 149-152.

Miles above 152 HR: 2, 3, 4, 8, 14, 15, 16, 17.
Miles less than 149 HR: 1, 23, 24

This only confirms what I was feeling during the race. This was marathon tempo. There wasn’t more and when I did push to more I was likely pushing too hard. So, given the HR and cadence were in line, it tells me that what I was lacking was my power behind my steps. Why the lack of power? I can’t say for sure. Maybe I wasn’t eating well enough to support the muscle growth and recovery. I don’t think it was a cardiovascular problem, it felt like a muscular deficiency.

I’m also coated in salt (which is unusual for me) and I didn’t use the restroom until 5.5 miles after finishing the race. This says dehydration (to a point) to me.

With all that being said, what do I think? I’m happy with the result. Yes, it wasn’t what I had been dreaming about for the last 1922 days. But, even on a day which was quite evident from the beginning wasn’t going to be my day, I was still able to nail an almost 7 min marathon PR (3.4% improvement). That gives me 5 (non-full 48.6 mile Dopey Challenge) marathon PRs in a row. The unicorn can be a difficult creature to catch. But, this is just another single step in the right direction towards that goal of a BQ.

Nice job on the race! It may not have been the race you had hoped for, but being your first real shot at a BQ I think you had a great run and a PR as well! Keep up the hard work and you will get it!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Excellent job! Such a great story! Just keep chasing that unicorn. Once you catch it, it will be that much sweeter. Continue enjoying the journey!

Thanks!

Your story was such a wild ride. I'm so glad I knew how it ended because there were points that I was very concerned for your safety especially in the beginning.

Thanks!

Nice jo


Nice job on the race! It may not have been the race you had hoped for, but being your first real shot at a BQ I think you had a great run and a PR as well! Keep up the hard work and you will get it!

Thanks!

 

[Ariel484]

Starting reading the story last night and just finished. You really do have so much to be proud of, and I have no doubt that you will catch that unicorn - look at what you have done already, how far you have come.

Congrats...mostly on the fritter, but also on that shiny new PR.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Starting reading the story last night and just finished. You really do have so much to be proud of, and I have no doubt that you will catch that unicorn - look at what you have done already, how far you have come.

Congrats...mostly on the fritter, but also on that shiny new PR.

Thanks! I think it's only a matter of time (both literally and figuratively). Sounds like I need more fritter pictures in my life!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I was completely engrossed by your write up... As cheesy as it may sound, you are truly inspiring! I especially admire your dedication to your goals- I think sometimes if it doesn't happen quickly, I think it won't happen, but reading back on your journey reminded me that the "good stuff" doesn't happen overnight. If like you, we can put in the hard work, it can happen!

So in short.. Congrats on your new PR!! I am excited to keep following along... I know big things are in store!

PS... If there was a way to mail apple fritters, I think we'd all take one. Yum!

 

[pixarmom]

First, I really appreciate you sharing your journey over time - I remember reading some of that in your journal earlier, but it really gives perspective to put it all together here leading up to the race report. (And I keep seeing familiar backgrounds - looks like some union terrace, maybe some Miflin street?) Also, beautiful wedding photos!

Despite the huge difference in our finishing times yesterday, I see so much in common as I read through your report. So much hope, and then things take a slightly different turn, and then we see the positive and enjoy a different type of accomplishment than we originally expected. No tears for me yesterday, but I'm on the verge now.

As an aside, when mateojr was looking through your report last night, he kept saying, "Um . . . Gigi is really cute."

 

[dis_or_dat]

Great recap with a wonderful attitude!