The Season Ends on a Copacetic Note

The Race Director for the Mad City Marathon wanted everyone to know that the average high temperature for this time of year is 55 degrees. At the start of the race the temperature was reported to be 75 degrees, with humidity over 80%, in downtown Madison. At Willow Lake, where we finished the half marathon, the temperature had already climbed to 87 degrees. Hello sweat bag!

It was very hard for me to make the decision to drop to the half marathon. As it turns out, it was a very good decision. Combine the heat with the fact that I have not fully recovered from Green Bay and I am looking rather smart. If I really was smart, I probably would have dropped all the way to the 10K. But we learn.

Jaclyn and I both took it easy during this half marathon. Jaclyn finished in just under three hours, but ran a smart race. She took the heat into consideration and just took her time on the course. Not a bad thing as I saw seven different runners being attended to on the side or taken away in an ambulance. All of them were half marathoners in the final three miles.

I finished in a pedestrian two hours and thirty minutes. I will be just under that I am sure. I forgot to stop my watch at the finish and the clock was on "marathon" time. The marathon started ten minutes before the half. Since the clock read 2:42:00 when I crossed I can guess at a 2:28 or 2:29. I'll take that for a last race of the season - especially with the heat.

I have to say, this was more like a Houston Fit Run than anything. We were on roads, sidewalks, trails, pedestrian overpasses and more. The only difference was that this half marathon had hills. Oh, don't be fooled by the propaganda:

The course has several rolling hills with gradual climbs and nothing steep. We have been told by runners that the course is relatively flat with a few small hills.

There are hills and several of them are steep. There is one section where you go up a steep hill, make a turn, go up another steep hill, make a turn and go up a third steep hill before you earn your reward of a going downhill. Unfortunately the downhills were steep as well and they wreaked havoc on my left knee.

The crowd support for this marathon was very good. Lots of people in the neighborhoods came out to cheer and there were nice crowds along the lakes. It is not as packed as Houston by any means, but the fans are loud and I lost count of all the St. Arnold "shout outs" I heard.

Yes, I wore a St. Arnold singlet, but did not PR. That was probably my only mistake of the weekend. The St. Arnold singlet does not wick too well and I have learned not to wear it when it is hot. But you know, I must spread the love of St. Arnold near and far! I explained several times to runners that St. Arnold was the patron Saint of Beer!

Did someone say beer? That must be my cue to get a shower so Jaclyn and I can head down to the Great Dane Brew Pub.

So the season (January - May) is over and Jaclyn will fly home with nine half-marathons to her credit, along with two 10Ks and a 5K. I did not do too bad either: seven marathons; three half marathons and three 10Ks. We're both taking most of, if not all of, June off to recover and July brings another training season with Houston Fit.

Thankfully I was able to get another running entry into the blog. This was turning into a beer blog. Did I hear that "beer" word again? Cheers everyone.