Chicago Marathon (Race #100)

The Chicago Marathon marked my 100th official race. This has been a feat that I have been working on since my first kayaking race in 2005. Little did I know that this would be an achievement I would reach. My brother Tim had asked me about six months prior to the event about doing a marathon together. Actually, it was not the first time he asked me to do this, but I told him if he gave me enough notice I would seriously consider it. I looked at this race as a celebration of my love for running. Tim and I planned to do our own training and plan for completing the marathon at about a 4 hour pace. The Chicago Marathon is truly a first class presentation. We registered in the open wave and began with the most crowded race start of any I have done. We crawled over the metal fences to get in the starting gate because there were so many people crammed into the starting corral. It was a little close for comfort, and there were so many people ahead of us that it took about 10 minutes from the gun going off before we actually crossed the official start line. The first 1/3 of the race was difficult. There were thousands of fans. Last year's estimate was that 1.7 million watched the marathon and they predicted there would be more this year. It was very tough for the first 8 miles or so because although I was trying to enjoy the scenery and take in the sights and sounds with Tim, we had to watch our footing so as not to trip over other people's feet. I actually did bump into others a few times and almost tripped over one guy who tried crossing in front of me early in the race. After the first 1/3 of the race, the event became more enjoyable in that you could let your guard down a little and not worry so much about the crowding. The crowds stayed consistently thick through the race. The aid stations were awesome and being a day that started out at about 66 degrees at the race start I consumed 2-3 drinks at each aid station. That equates to well over a gallon of liquid consumed. Who knows how much spilled on me during attempts to drink and also water dumped over my head to cool me during the race. I treated this race as truly a celebration and from the perspective of all the races I have done I tried to relax and take in the whole experience and not worry about time. I loved coming to the corners. Whereas the normal strategy for most runners was to hug the corner so as to minimize the total distance run during the race, I purposely took the outer edge of the corners which added distance but also gave me plenty of opportunities to high five fans without having to compete with other runners for attention from the crowd. Often times I would pump my fists in the air and try signaling for the crowd to cheer for us (not that a lack of cheering was a problem as it certainly was not). This was something that I never get a chance to do. Most races I have done are not approached with this same strategy. I think I got a little carried away at times with stirring up the crowd, but I had a great time doing this. At the end of the race I was the one who ran short of energy and Tim pulled me the final few miles to a finish which was a personal record for Tim. I needed help and motivation to continue on. Perhaps it was the heat that got to me but I felt a little dehydrated the last three miles. At mile 23 I reached a point where I felt if I were to continue pusing the pace we were, that I was not going to do well. I was getting some leg cramping and for a short time felt a little shaky at that same point. I have never felt that during a race before. Tim stayed with me although I know he could have finished stronger than I felt. We were on a sub 4 hour pace through 23 miles, but I was frustrated to see the 4 hour pace group pass us, but I knew that I would not be able to stay with them. I encouraged Tim to go on and finish under 4 hours since he had never done this before, but he finished the same way we started. . .together. Tim finished a second faster than I did and we crossed the line together. My time was 4:03.16. I was 9,345th overall out of 35755 runners, which meant I finished near the top quarter of racers. I was very hapy with that and extremely happy Tim and I were finally able to do a race together. Looking back over the last 100 races, I have been fortunate to have many varied experiences. From finishing almost last in my second race of my life at the Northshore Inline Marathon, I have stepped it up. In the 100 races I have done, I have had been fortunate to find much running success and have developed a passion for this as a lifelong sport. Running continues to motivate me to enjoy pushing myself to the limits and challenging myself personally against the clock. The most important aspect I have found about running is to always try my hardest and feel good with myself no matter what the position or time. It is important for me to remain motivated to push myself and I am blessed with family and friends who support me and help motivate me as well.

Woolly Mammoth Classic

This was the 10th annual Woolly Mammoth event. This year, the organizers decided to mix up the event a little. They no longer held the competitive 5K and 10K runs, which were the main attractions of the event. Instead, the focus was on trying to build up the Nordic Walking event. Being a fan of the Woolly Mammoth event in the past, I wanted to be involved in some way, but I had never done any Nordic walking. I told my wife several weeks before that I was thinking of doing the walk and she thought that I was crazy. She didn't know how I would be interested in doing a walk when I have always did the running event (I should clarify that the organizers did hold a noncompetitive 5K which runners could sign up for and they did not charge for entry, but the number of competitors was rather small). The day before and the morning of I was on YouTube trying to watch videos of Nordic walking to learn about the event, but there is no substitute for practice. I showed up at the start line of the race and looked around and thought "this is it!" I was one of two male Nordic walkers and there were three female walkers. This was by far the smallest race I had ever been in. The other male in the race was named Jeff Koppa of Aniwa, Wisconsin. He had won the race last year and taken second the year before by mere seconds. He also had taken second at the National Nordic Walking Championship race in Oregon (there were about 20 or so people willing to walk 26.2 miles). Jeff had some great experience and as I approached the line one of the females told me that "Jeff is going to whoop your butt!" I guess he must have a following, but I didn't know what to expect. I had only practiced for a few minutes prior to the event. My advantage was that I had a much larger stride than Jeff. Looking at the pictures from the event, the action doesn't unfold in a walking race the same way as it does in a running race. Things in general happen much more slowly. I watched my sole competition closely. I figured I would try to keep pace with Jeff closely to see what his technique was. I figured I would try to learn from one of the best and then try to see how I could hold up. I waited until about two kilometers in and then figured I had seen enough to try going off on my own. I threw in a surge in an attempt try shaking things up and Jeff matched my increase in pace. I waited another couple of minutes and tried again but Jeff matched my attack. By this time we had reached the turn around point and my watch was at 17:30. I was happy because I was still with Jeff which meant I was staying competitive with him. I figured that if my attempts at attacks were unsuccessful so far, I would have to work hard to get him early. I continued throwing attack after attack at Jeff and could not shake this guy. The problem was that every time an attack as thrown, the average pace after the attack was also elevated. It became frustrating and apparent that Jeff didn't want to give up this race. It was like watching Lance Armstrong in the mountain stages of the Tour de France. Everyone else would throw attack after attack at him but he would hang on and match their efforts. I continued throwing attacks more and more regularly trying to shake him with no luck. Finally, at about 0.7 km from the finish, I threw in a surge which Jeff couldn't match. However, the problem was now I had to keep this elevated pace up as if I tired Jeff would be able to pass me for the victory. I knew he wouldn't be far behind. My focus remained on maintaining composure and my newly learned technique while not giving Jeff the chance to catch up. This surge must have come after Jeff had been weakened as I built a gap on Jeff which held up. I was able to cross the line in 32:41 versus Jeff's 33:51. I threw the hammer down in the surge and got a huge gap on Jeff. Afterward, I talked with Jeff and he told me knew he wouldn't catch me after the final surge so he let off his pace and just figured he would be more relaxed on his final few minutes in. So I brought home the trophy for first place in the state of Wisconsin. My wife and her mother were home when I got back and I am not sure if they were impressed by my victory or not. I think my wife was thinking something to the effect of "all right, you placed first out of two people in a walking contest. Real impressive Jon." I am not sure her real thoughts on this race, but I told her that the race organizers wanted to send me to Oregon to the National race in Oregon in a few weeks. It is a common joke among us that any race that sends us a race reminder in the mail is interpretted in my mind as a recruiting attempt. I will tell my wife that a race that sends out race information to us is working to recruit us, so I always talk this up saying "look Angela, they are trying to recruit me for the race." Here again she probably agrees to comfort me and not offend me. Oh well. I'll take advantage of this boost of confidence.

Spooner Jack Pine Savage Run

No pictures available to report on the run here. The only thing I can say about this race was it was amazing so many people showed up on such a hot day for this race. My wife and I were confused as to the actual location of the run. Usually I like to get to a race with plenty of time to spare. Not in this case. We arrived at the school for the start of the race just in time to register. . . and that's about it. We pulled in to the parking lot at 7 minutes to race time. Oh, I had enough time to use the bathroom prior to the start. When I left the bathroom, I heard the race organizer announce for everyone to move to the start for the announcements of the race route. Then the gun went off and all of us crazy runners were released to run through the searing streets of Spooner. On a day like this, we worried about keeping our daughter out too long because it was too hot. I was sweating bullets upon the completion of the run. The nice advantage of the school allowed runners to shower afterwards in the school locker rooms if they chose to. Usually I wouldn't complain about a hot shower, but that is the only temperature the shower could be adjusted to. There was no cool setting. If you have ever showered in your house on such a hot and humid day and then left the shower and dried off and within minutes you felt just as sweaty and grose as before your run, that's what I felt like after my first hot shower. I told Angela that I was going to jump back in the shower. I went for round two. No offense, but after a hard workout and massive sweating, a cool shower is sometimes a wonderful thing to help cool off. I finished in 32:35, which was only 15 seconds from my PR for this distance. Given the hot temperatures and lack of a warm up, I was pretty happy with my finish. I was fourth overall and first in my age group. The winner of the race won for the 8th consecutive time. After the race, my wife and daughter and I went to the car and I placed my medal on the top of the car and put Kaia in the car seat before leaving. We then left and drove a mile away to the craft show downtown. Then I wondered where I had placed the medal. I realized it was on the top of the car and had not moved from where I had put it.

RCU Charity Classic 2011

The RCU Charity Classic provided a first for my wife and I. We had completed an inline marathon together several years ago. However, we had never run a race together. I decided that it would be fun to run the race with Angela. We ran side by side and I pushed our beautiful daughter in our running stroller. We had a great time. Angela kept up a wonderful pace and we completed the race together. My time was 59:18 (239 out of 441). Angela finished a place and a second ahead of me. I think this might have been a record for her in the 10K and I was there to be there with her for it. Kaia just had a blast on the run and had the easiest time with the run. I love outfitting the stroller with a race number. It is so fun to have Kaia be such an active member of the race. I am not sure where she finished in the stroller division (there really isn't a stroller division), but she was tops in my eyes. It was another hot day for the RCU Charity Classic. After finishing, I decided to do subject myself to round two in the two mile race. Angela snapped a couple of great pictures during this race, including one of me looking back at the next closest runner on the bridge in the final seconds of the race. Perhaps this gave me some encouragement in the final seconds of the race to pass another runner or two. I finished in 12:04 (12th out of 310 and 3rd in my age group to medal on this hot morning). Angela snapped a few pictures of me as I found a sprinkler to cool off in the moments after finishing the race.

Rice Lake Aquafest 10K

The annual Aquafest race in Rice Lake has finally arrived. This is always one of my favorite races of the year because I get the opportunity to see quite a few of my running friends. The race started off with the sound of the gun and was a fast-paced match. Monte, Chris, and I headed up to the front for the start of the race. The Aquafest race is always known for being a hot and humid race and this race was like all others. Soon after the start Troy joined us in the front. The four of us headed the race up for the first few miles, but Chris and Monte kept the pace high up front. Monte was last year's winner, but could not match up with Chris who was the winner of the race. Troy finished third. Bryan Arnold secured the fourth spot with a surge at about 4 miles into the race which I could not match up. I finished in fifth overall and was first in my age group in a time of 41:58. My wife was able to catch a couple of pictures of Bryan and I near the finish line. Bryan got me by about 25-30 seconds. We also got a great picture of all the biking guys and their families. I especially like the picture of Ron in his USA basketball jersey. It sounds like several people migt dress to make this a costume race. That will be something fun to look forward to in the future. Stay tuned next year to see what types of costumes prevail. The photo of me running in the pack and the closeup of me running were taken by Valerie Leair of the Chronotype. My wife took the other pictures.

Hailey's Comet Run

This was the first year of the Haley's Comet Run. The course offered a 5K and 10K course. Special thanks to Dave Gerber for announcing that I was the carrot for everyone to chase before the start of the race. Way to put the pressure on me, Dave. In any case, my wife and I both decided to run this race. It was a blistering hot day. During the course of the race the temperatures soared into the 80's. The rest of the day got even warmer than that. A good friend of mine, Brian Arnold, ran with me for much of the race. He and I pushed each other during the race. We traded stride for stride and matched each other's pace for the first two and a half miles. I thank Brian for helping me achieve my second fastest 5K ever in 18:19. Brian came in shortly after in 18:45. Brian later told me that it was his fastest 5K ever. Way to PR, Brian. Since this was an out and back course, I saw my wife as I had looped back on the return route and she asked me how much Brian had beat me by. Brian, even my own wife thought you were going to beat me. I must have looked tired when she saw me. Thanks also for the confidence, Angela. Brian, thanks for pushing the pace on this brutally hot morning. I went on to finish first out of 201 runners. My wife and her friend Stephanie finished in 28:41. Not bad for someone pushing a stroller. My daughter enjoyed the day. We hope that she will be able to run this race some day in the future. With the family friendly atmosphere that this race held, there is something for all ages. Oh, and the medals are simply awesome. Dave Gerber says they were homemade by one of his relatives. When Kaia starts running, I hope that this race will be a fun thing for her. She is the best running stroller companion. She just loves going for rides in the stroller. Thanks to Brett Moravitz for providing a family picture of us following the race.

Baldwin/Woodville Uff Da Run

Fatherhood makes you reconsider your plans sometimes. The Uff Da Run has consistently made our spring list of races. This race is one of the most fun we do since it is an early season race and is put on by a snowmobile trail organization. I think the interest in this race goes back to the fact that the first time we ran this race my wife hadn't trained much for a running race and placed in her age group (and as a result got to have her picture taken by the Uff Da princess for the post race celebrations) whereas I had been training seriously for my first marathon and finished the half marathon with a time that was pretty good overall but not good enough to place in my age group. For the first time ever, I switched to the 5K instead of the half marathon. Because of this, I had to trade race bib numbers. When I signed up to do the Uff Da half marathon I was given the race bib number "10." It was one of the lowest numbers I have had on a race bib ever. Unfortunately, I cannot say that most small town running races give out bib numbers like they do in professional bike racing or for the elite runners in marathons. I exchanged my "10" for a "370." To avoid having to have my wife and daughter have to wait the time necessary for the finish of the half marathon and results, the 5K seemed like a better choice. Angela ran with Kaia in the running stroller and I finished in time to grab a few pictures of her. My time of 19:56 was a slower time than I was hoping for. I tried to keep pace with the winner, but couldn't overtake him in the final minutes of the race. Not much was left in the tank on this day. I was 15 seconds off the winner and finished 2nd overall out of 193. I was a little disappointed that they no longer allow the age group winners the opportunity to have their pictures taken with the Uff Da parade royalty as in years' past. This was perhaps the most exciting part of the race in past years. I don't know why they used to photograph top age group finishers with the town royalty, but that was something that looks like is no longer an honor or a high finish in the Uff Da run. Angela finished in 32:11 and was 87th overall. Not bad for pushing a stroller. Kaia sure enjoyed the race as well, but her favorite part was probably the post race bananas and other snacks.