Moo City Marathon

I was to run with Andres for the duration of the race. Or so was the plan. We started right next to the Capitol with just over a 1000 runners making the full marathon field. No-one fighting for position. There was plenty of room for everyone. Andres looks at the 3:50 sign and likes the 8:48 pace, as his 3:30 goal has wisely been thrown out the window due to lack of training; his longest run was 10 miles. "I" think he can run 3:40. We are in between the 3:40 and the 3:50 groups.

The horn is blown and I take off at what feels like an easy stroll. Andres lags behind a few feet. I slow down so that he can catch up to me. He still lags. I have to stop and wait for him to catch up to me. First mile in 8:25. The 3:40s are just in front of us.

The next couple of miles are run in an average of 8:20 and now Andres seems to have settled on a nice pace. I am enjoying what would turn out to be a very scenic route. Right after six miles, Andres starts picking up the pace and I am the one lagging now. We are getting closer to the 3:40s and I have to push the effort to keep up with Andres. We pass them right after mile 7. He looks strong and I tell him that we're running sub-8:10s and he says that he's feeling good. We pass by his brother's house (right after mile 10) and we're offered brats but Andres just plods along.

A challenging hill right before the UW-Madison Campus humbles me, and a couple of female runners pass me. I would re-pass them on the way down. Now I am the one feeling good. Strangely enough, my legs felt pretty tired at the beginning but they feel okay now. I clock a couple of sub-8 miles and Andres is hanging on. We are running on a well-packed dirt trail now and I continue to pass runners.

We cross the halfway mark in 1:48:01. Negative splits should be a slam dunk. The thought of dropping out (as I did in Boston) hunts me for a few minutes, but once I reach mile 14, I know that the worst is now behind me. Andres drops back a bit. I continue the same effort; I don't want to slow down. I try to stay with a relay runner but he drops me fairly easily. I am still feeling good and passing a few runners here and there.

At about mile 17, there was this longish hill that slowed my tempo. I did get back on track on the downhill. We enter the arboretum area. Man this course has way too many turns :-( I skip the GU station as it does not agree with me. I have had two cliffshot gels and I will have my third and last one right after 18. The sporadic crowds are quite supportive. Some call out my name. Some hesitate and think better of it. One spectator even cheers me on in Spanish. Wonderful spectators.

At 21 I hit the wall. Not the wall that stops you point blank, but the wall that whispers that it is okay to walk. I know I will slow down, it is just a matter of by how much. I look at my watch and see that 8:30s will bring me at close to even splits. I think to myself that the last five miles will be a cool-down jog. It seems to be working. I am running next to a lake and the winds are fierce. Another runner starts a conversation. I comply and mutter that I just wish that I was at the 26 mile marker instead of the 24th we just passed. He says that I am a "lean mean running machine." I take it in jest. He asks the spectators to cheer the lean mean running machine. I manage to feel a bit embarrassed. The fact that you can see runners (more than a mile) ahead makes it a bit tough. I plod on.

I reach this tiny little hill that almost makes me walk, and as soon as I crest it, a female with a lime green singlet passes me. I had passed her a couple of miles before. Not a good sign. She is gaining on me. I try to keep her close. I pass a struggling runners who is walking and I encourage him to at least jog. He must have done so because he shook my hand when he crossed the finish line.

I am closing in on lime-green female. Where is the darn 26 mile marker. I know I missed it once I see the 13 mile marker. Only a fraction of a mile to go. I speed up a bit but my legs are done. Finito. I cross the finish in 3:35:33, and barely a 28 second negative split. Andres would cross it in 3:42:06.

In as much as I would like to say that I could have run faster than the 3:35, it is safe to say that not this day; this day I gave it what I had. My endurance is not where it was in December. I have a lot of work to do.

I really like this marathon; it was comparable to the NYC marathon with some challenging hills and a bit too many turns. The only disappointment I had was that while I was there I did not see ONE single cow. What's up with that? :-)