The Madison Mini Half Marathon is done! This is written with an exclamation point because I was honestly dreading it for months. Why? Because a mid-August race is likely going to be hot, and heat = suffering with slowed times. The last time Joe and I raced in Madison was May 2010, when it was so hot and humid that the course was shut down after a certain point. In that race, our times were slow not only due to the weather, but for me, a wait in line for the bathroom at Mile 9 and for Joe, a broken foot. Racing Madison left a bad taste in our mouths. Additionally, I didn't look forward to today's race because my past 5 long runs Sucked (with a capital "S"). Long runs are a relative predictor of how you will perform on race day. With sunny, humid Saturday mornings, my runs began having more breaks and slower paces, something that is to be expected in the summer, but something that also weakened my confidence. In the final days leading up to the Mini, my negative outlook shifted. I was running some PR's, tightness in my left Piriformis was abating, I was getting high quality sleep, and closer examination of the race course left me excited. FYI, Runner's World Magazine ranked this race as one of the top 15 half marathons in the country.
We booked Friday night at the more expensive, posher, Campus Inn (one of the race hotels) for the convenience it would offer. The race literally started in front of the hotel, which meant we could "sleep in", use our own bathroom (vs. a Port-O-Potty) a million times (nerves make you have to eliminate things you thought no longer resided in your system!) and walk out the door into our assigned corrals with 10 minutes to spare. Madison is not a fun or easy campus to drive. Staying at the Campus Inn eliminated race day parking hassles, as well as Friday afternoon packet pick-up driving/parking stressors.
After we checked in, agreeing room 210 was a good number and auspicious sign, we hoofed it a mile to the Union South for packet pick-up. Pleased by our bib numbers, me - 482, Joe - 461, we walked another mile to Maharani for a scrumptious Indian carb-loaded dinner, and then another mile back to the Campus Inn. I fretted a bit that walking 3 miles in the heat of late afternoon would bite us in the ass today, but after rolling our legs out (yep, we brought the foam roller along), maintaining hydration, and indulging in a trashy Dateline whodunit, I turned out the lights feeling prepared and confident for what the race would bring.
5:30a.m. We're up and at 'em. Dress, bathroom, peanut butter toast, bathroom, bathroom, bathroom, bathroom, and out the door we went to Corral D for Joe and Corral G for me. The race started at precisely 7:00a.m. under cloudy, semi-foggy skies, 64° and 62° Dew Point, which means it wasn't exactly hot, but the humidity was over 90%, interfering with the body's ability to effectively cool itself with sweat.
In an act of cruelty, the race begins on an uphill grade so that you're gasping and heaving within the first few minutes. Within a half mile we descend upon the State Capitol (slightly shrouded in fog) with crowds lining the sidewalks to cheer us on all the way down State Street. Cheering crowds add a spring to your step, encouraging you to run faster than you should. My first mile was under a 9:00 minute pace, and Joe's was under 7:00 minutes. Too fast. The next 2 miles were also a wee bit too fast as we cranked around the Kohl Center and Camp Randall Stadium. Shortly after leaving the formal campus, we found ourselves on rolling hills in a sylvan neighborhood of grand homes - homes I imagine tenured professors and wealthy political activists owning. Suddenly, somewhere around Mile 4, we round a corner and beauty abounds. A path paralleling Lake Wingra leads us past cattails feeding into the larger lake, with nothing but woods in the distant view. We enter the University of Wisconsin Arboretum for the next 3 miles with what appears to be level terrain, but is actually an insidious ever-so-slight uphill slog. My fast early miles, the humidity and rising temps begin to take their toll. My stomach feels on the verge of cramping. Determined to have another half marathon with NO walk breaks I push on ...until I absolutely need a break. Around Mile 7 I take a brief walk through the aide station, and I'm not the only one. The challenging course and thick air is affecting everyone. we exit the arboretum around Mile 9 with a sharp climb up Cemetery Hill. This sucked. I walked it. The rest of the course is a blur in my memory. The sun broke through the clouds, which made running the final miles 100x worse. I took more walk breaks, but was okay with this because I took them for the right reasons - not because my monkey mind was telling me to stop, but because my heart rate was getting too high, or because I was stopping an Achilles cramp before it took over, or because I felt I might vomit. The final .1mile to the finish line included a small incline, which felt like Mt. Everest, and then I was done.
I finished in 2:09:04 (9:51 pace), a mere 30 seconds slower than my PR. I was absolutely thrilled with this result. I took at least 6 walk breaks of 30-60 seconds each and still came up with this time. My mojo was restored ... if I could run this well on a challenging course in the summer, how great will I be at Purdue in October? That's the race I want to PR at, and knowing that I would have had a major PR today without the walk breaks, I know with absolute assurance, that I will meet one of my 2014 running goals to break 2:05. I had friends running today as well, and everyone finished several minutes slower than their PR times. Joe is no exception. Below are our stats.
Joe - Finish Time -1:39:23 (7:35 pace), 3 minutes slower than his PR
Overall Race Finish - 274 out of 3,769 = Top 7%
Male 40-44 Age Group - 28th out of 238 = Top 11%
All Men - 223 out of 1,673 = Top 13%
Joy - Finish Time - 2:09:04 (9:51 pace), 30 seconds slower than PR
Overall Race Finish - 2,059 out of 3,769 = Top 54%
Female 40-44 Age Group - 107th out of 265 = Top 40%
All Women - 902 out of 2,096 = Top 43%
With my mojo restored, I am happy to have this race behind me, and look forward to our final two half marathons of 2014: the Purdue Half Marathon on 10/18 and the Tyranena Beer Run on 11/8.
For now, it's all eyes on Colorado. A week from today, we'll be hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park!
P.S. We received two medals today. One for the Madison Mini and one for the M2 Challenge. The M2 Challenge means we finished both the Rock-n-Sole (here in June) and the Madison Mini - partner races.
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| Post-race party on Lake Mendota - all those bright colors on the terrace are runners |
