Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon: Strong. Happy.

If you told me that I would be marathoning in Milwaukee 364 days after a hugely successful 2nd marathon in Chicago, I probably would have thought that you were mistaken.  I had my heart set on the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC as my 2013 marathon.  Race registration opened in late March and I had the day (and hour) circled on my calendar.  It was not meant to be, however, try as I might I got caught up in the crashy system issues and the race sold out in just a couple of hours.  By the end of the day I was already searching for my "Plan B" race.  I asked for suggestions for October marathons from my friends and social media and two races really stood out: Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon.  Lakefront was due to sell out by mid April so a decision had to be made rather quickly.  After talking more with friends who had run one or both of them Lakefront became our clear winner.  It is smaller, as marathons go, with 3,100 runners and seemed like a nice change of pace after the 45,000 runner Chicago Marathon that Mr K and I ran in 2012.  Other positive points for Lakefront: a gorgeous point-to-point course with a sweet net downhill, and it was produced by the Badgerland Striders "by runners, for runners."

I set about training in the Texas heat on the same plan that I had used for Chicago, it was like deja vu at times with some of the workouts falling on the same days.  I do love my routines, I suppose.  I was a little concerned at the beginning of training as I was not quite "feeling it." Looking back, I suspect that was some lingering fatigue from a heavy early summer cycling schedule.  If I had been running MCM, as planned, the high mileage cycling would not have overlapped any with marathon training.  Eventually I found my groove and my heat acclimation and got to work.  I adopted a "no excuses" plan when it came to the heat, knowing that it would work to my advantage on a cool Wisconsin morning. I worked hard on my mental game too as I have learned that it is just as important as the physical game in running.  The words "strong. happy." became my mantra when the long runs got tough.  Staying "in the moment" was the focus and I feel like I made some huge gains in this area.

 As it has become an annual tradition, I ran this marathon for the American Music Therapy Association and was overwhelmed by the support I received.  I was able to raise $1,100 and when combined with last year's fundraising brings my total to $2800.  I am sending a huge shout out and thank you to all of you who supported me and this cause that is the nearest to my heart.

Mr K and I both survived the taper crazies and were very excited when it was finally time to head off to Milwaukee.  Excited to visit Milwaukee?  I know.  The humor of it was not lost on us either--most people vacation on beaches or retreat to the splendor of the mountains--not Mr K and me, we run marathons in random Midwest cities.  We arrived on Friday evening and got oriented to the neighborhood around our hotel.  The race expo was on Saturday and there was a continuous shuttle running from our hotel and back.  The walk would not have been that far, but the shuttle was appreciated as I was making an effort to stay off of my feet as much as possible.  It was just one of the nice little touches offered by this marathon.

The traditional hotel room shot

The Lakefront marathon is a point-to-point race, meaning that the start line was 26 miles north in the town of Grafton, Wisconsin.  A yellow school bus picked us up at the hotel and drove us to Grafton where we had full access to Grafton High School.  Although it wasn't super cold, it was nice to be able to prepare for the race in a warm building with plenty of restrooms.  I was so remarkably calm from the moment we landed in Milwaukee.  Yes, I understood that I was about to run a marathon, but I thought of it as nothing more than "another long run." I knew that I was coming to the start line as well trained, both physically and mentally, as I possibly could be. 

The weather was just about perfect at 52 degrees and cloudy.  It had been raining off and on during Friday and Saturday, but thankfully the rain was forecast to move out in time for the race -- and it did.  Mr K and I made our way to the start area and found the 4:00 hour pacer, a very energetic runner named Jacque.  I made it my goal to hang with Jacque as long as I possibly could as my dream goal for the day was to break 4:00. The race announcers were very funny and had us all fired up talking about what a fast course it was and how the weather promised some record times.  After a moment of silence for Boston and the Star Spangled Banner the starting gun sounded and we were off.

Miles 1-7
Mr K went out ahead of me and I settled in with the pace group.  There were a couple of first time marathoners amongst us and I felt so excited for them.  There is nothing like a first marathon!  I didn't look at my watch during the first 10-15 miles, I let the pacer do her work and I just tried to keep her within my sights.  The first 7 miles led us out of Grafton and through some rural areas.  I was excited to see the famous accordion player just before mile 4 as everyone who has run this race mentions him.  I could tell that my pace felt a little bit "pushed" but nothing that I couldn't handle.  Mile 7 was a treat as we passed through Concordia University -- lots of spectators here and they even had the pep band out to play for us.  The sound of a live band always puts a pep in my step - once a band nerd, always a band nerd.  We also passed over our first timing mat during mile 7 and that made my marathoning heart happy.  We were so far from home and had no friends there to cheer for us...but I knew that I had lots of friends and family "watching" the race back in Texas.  Each time I crossed a timing mat I thought about them and all that I have learned from them over the years.  I crossed that mat in 1:03:38 (9:05 average pace) -- right on track and feeling good!

Miles 7-13.1
I still had the pace group within my sights during this section, but I also knew that I needed to listen to my body and run my own race.  The course was simply beautiful and the spectators were really energetic.  I love it when a race prints your name on your bib because it is great to hear your name along the course.  One of my favorite signs said something to the effect of  "Hey we need you! Can you return punts for the Packers?"  During this section our pacer told us that her plan was to get us across the line at 3:59:30.  I got a bit of a chill when she said this...I focused on holding on to her pace as long as I possibly could.  There was a bit of traffic on the road with us during a mile or so in this section and some of the running lanes were narrow, but nothing that caused me to lose focus on my task at hand.  I crossed the halfway mark in 1:59:27 (9:07 average pace) -- and thought of all of my friends back at home again.  Halfway done and holding steady!

A beautiful day on the shores of Lake Michigan

Miles 13.1-20
If memory serves me correctly, and it might not as I tend to have "race amnesia" we turned back onto Lakeshore Drive somewhere around mile 15.  I was starting to feel the pace slipping away a bit and this is about the point where I started to walk through the water stops.  I was excited and relieved to see Mr K somewhere around mile 15 or 16 and told him that we could still keep the 4:00 pace group within our sights.  I thought that he was behind me, but I didn't see him again until after the race.  If I had to pinpoint a time when the race started to feel hard, it would be somewhere around mile 16 or 17.  I knew that sub-4:00 was likely not in the cards, but I knew that if I kept pushing I could get myself a nice PR.  My running pace was still fairly consistent, but I was relying on the water stops to provide me with short walk breaks.  When I was at the mile 18 water stop, I heard them announce that the first race walker was coming through. She passed me and I never saw here again -- amazing! The scenery in this neighborhood section was simply beautiful.  The sun had come out, the trees were starting to show some Fall colors, and occasionally I caught a glimpse of Lake Michigan between the stately homes of Whitefish Bay.  I was smiling as I hit the timing mat at mile 20 in 3:05:30 (9:16 average pace).  Yes, my pace had slipped a bit, but I still had high hopes for that rocking PR. 

Miles 20-25.5
This is when I was able to draw upon the mental training that I worked so hard on all summer. My buddy Drum had given me some great advice the night before "it hurts just as much to run slow as it does to run fast."  I knew that she was right and also knew that walking was not an option, time to put my head down and do the work.  We approached the park around mile 23 and I was eagerly anticipating the big downhill that was promised between mile 23 and 24 -- wheeee!!  So close, but so far at this point.  I tried to run it in without another water stop, but needed a tiny break around mile 24.  Everything hurt at this point and I felt desperate to see a glimpse of the finish line...just a little peek would have helped so much!  The crowds were picking up again and I was admiring a runner ahead of me who had a goal of 4:15 on her bib...she was about to crush her goal...I was so excited for her!  There was a marker for mile 25.5...I only had to hang on for .7 more miles...less than many of the track intervals that I had trained on all summer long.  I. Could. Do. This. 

Miles 25.5-Finish
I was not totally aware of my time at this point, apparently my brain does not comprehend numbers well at this point in a marathon.  I kept telling myself that I had the PR...now how big did I want it to be.  Finally we rounded a corner and the finish line was within my sights.  I could hear the announcer saying everyone's name and where they were from and I was excited to realize that he was going to be saying mine soon.  No matter what the distance, I love to give that last little "kick" in the home stretch of a race.  I saw some runners just ahead of me and made it my goal to pass them so that I would have the finish line to myself.  Again, my mind for details are fuzzy by this point, but the race video shows that I did manage to get that finish line all to myself.



Traditional post race selfie

I collected myself for a brief moment and checked my watch...4:06:28 was good enough for a 3:33 PR. I can't even begin to express all of the different emotions that I was feeling at that moment.  I was reminded, once again, just how hard marathons really are and I was incredibly proud of myself for fighting for my goal.   I checked my phone and saw that my friends and family had indeed been cheering for me the whole time. 

I found Mr K and we made our way to the post race festivities --there was mac and cheese and beer! And you wonder why I run?  We enjoyed sharing stories with other marathoners and soaked up some of the beautiful sunshine on the shores of Lake Michigan.  What a day!  Everything I heard about this race is true and then some: a fast and beautiful course, friendly and supportive crowds, awesome pacers, a beautiful medal, well organized from top to bottom.  I can't recommend it enough, definitely worth the trip to Wisconsin.

I have run three marathons now and I have learned so many lessons from each of them.  Each race is so different and I love them all for very different reasons.  White Rock was a rainy and cold mess, but it was my first and my friends were there cheering me every step of the way.  Chicago was simply magic...my first marathon to really run hard and finishing in 4:10 was more that I ever imagined possible.  This one was special too...proof that Chicago was not a "fluke" and that my dream of a sub-4:00 marathon is getting closer with each attempt.  I do not know where or when we will be marathoning in 2014, but I know the goal and I know what it takes to get there...time to get to work.