Breakin' Down Green Bay

Let's start with Jaclyn's run. Jaclyn turned in a 2:40:58 on a brisk Green Bay morning. Unlike me, Jaclyn dressed appropriately. Doh! Jaclyn turned Mile 3 in 13 minutes and change and decided she could do better. She ended up averaging 12:16 for the run. Not a bad job at all. The half marathon course stays with the marathon for almost 11 miles. That means Jaclyn ran through a variety of neighborhoods with plenty of trees before breaking off and heading to Lambeau Field. I wish I could have been there to take her picture, like she took mine. A good run, which ends up in her top three as far as time. Not a bad way to head onto Madison next week.

I would never complain about a race I had a PR in, but... It seems I made the retarded decision to take off in the St. Arnold singlet. Or should I say, the hallowed St. Arnold singlet... 38 degrees at race start and an "ill" wind that was constant at 11 mph, with gusts to 19 mph might be enough to have me commited. This would be the coldest race I have run in and it is all my fault.

I was doing well through 21 miles and then it sort of fell apart on me. Pain stretching from the lower back, through my hip and in my lower buttocks were more than likely the cause of the tightness in my right quad and calf. I took two stretch breaks that did little and finally decided to run through it. I am sure I will regret it. I have not hurt so much after a marathon since my knee blew up in my first one. And I am one of these people who will not quit until they remove my body from the course. Did I mention I am not too intelligent at times?

On to more positive stuff. This is a very nice course. There is a five mile stretch along the Fox River that may possibly be the nicest stretch of marathon I have run. There are not too many hills and most are small inclines if anything. Water stops are nearly every mile and while they published they had bathrooms every 1.5 miles, it was disappointing that there were only one or two at each spot. This made for some long lines during the first half of the run.

Speaking of which, I have never had to use the facilities so much in a race. Three times to be exact. The joy of being a male means I used trees the first two times and used an actual bathroom at Mile 18.

The stretch along the Fox River runs from mile 15 to mile 20. There are beautiful houses on the left and the river on the right. I wondered if Bret Favre owned any of them as a Winter Home. Since I mentioned Bret Favre, I have to say that the Bret Favre jersey is a much more popular jersey in these parts (and other parts) than the Jamoosh jersey. In fact, I would guess that the Favre jersey is outselling the Jamoosh jersey 150 billion to zero... On a slightly different note, I have seen more cheeseheads cheering at the Houston Marathon than the Green Bay Marathon.

Once you cross over the Fox River it is a long four plus mile stretch on concrete. The wind was now a headwind, so the warmth I accumulated was gone and the sweat dried to my face (I must have had about three layers of salt on my face at the end of the race).

 

Lambeau Field is a welcome site as you know you are within a couple miles of the finish. As you enter the tunnel you are greeted by the UW Green Bay Cheerleaders (Hello) and before you know it, you are circling the field. They allowed fans to sit in the stands and my wonderful wife was waiting for me. She took a few pictures of me running around Lambeau. And I got choked up, like I always do, when I see her toward the finish of a race.

Once you come out of Lambeau it is nearly a straight shot to the finish line. I knew coming out I would break 4:30 and dammit I beat Oprah (4:29:20) with a chip time of 4:28:53. Woo hoo!

There appeared to be planty of food and post-race entertainment on hand. I cannot eat after a race, but I sure wish I had one of those brats right now.

Before we left, we stopped at the Armed Services Memorial, which is next to the Packers practice facility.

This is my last marathon of the season. I'll do the half in Madison next weekend. Not a bad proposition. I'll get to be at the finish line cheering Jaclyn on for a change. She deserves at least that much for being there for the seven marathons I have done this year. I have no predictions for Madison, but I will tell you that I own two St. Arnold singlets and I packed them both...

Comments

[Jill]

FYI - they have long sleeve tech shirts that you can wear under your singlet ;)

Have fun in Madison!!