Notes
Madison Rockin' Brew
Had 26.34 on the watch and all of the mile markers were .1 or .2 off.
Notes/Thoughts/Jumble of Things:
1) Race Morning was a mess. Maria forgot her number and I forgot my watch, so I did a fast trip back home. That meant I got to the start line at 6:50 after jogging with keys, my phone, and a bunch of other stuff in my pockets.
2) Training lead-in was not great. I had just enough stuff to preclude my long runs from happening, which kneecapped the rest of my training.
3) This course (two laps) is deceptive. The first three miles are very rolling, then 4 to 6 is sunny and open. From everyone that I talked to, mile 15/16 was where the wheels fell off, which is just before it got really sunny.
4) The weather was great at the start, but by 9 AM, it was too hot. I think that played into this as well.
5) I started in the second wave (7 to 9 minute pace), but on the front line. Probably could have started a hair back, but this meant that I had a chance to get settled without being too crowded.
6) We didn't stick around the the post-race beer festival. Had we been "smart", we probably would have all pulled the plug at the half and enjoyed the beer.
7) I need to figure out what's happening with my stomach. This is the third marathon out of four where I've had gut issues in the second quarter. My gut (heh) reaction is too much food, but at the same time, I'm wondering if it's food and pace. I think I need to train with a few more runs at 6:50 pace over 10 miles where I eat a gu at mile 4.
8) Breakfast was a bowl of cereal (Life, with milk) and a cup of coffee. See point 7, but my fueling was a gu at mile 5, gu at mile 11, then half a gu at mile 17/18 that I pitched in revulsion (sea salt chocolate, which I have had success with). Post-race, I wasn't particularly hungry, but my stomach was still roiling until about 3. I did eat lunch and enjoyed it, but my stomach wasn't happy.
9) More water leading up to the race! My suspicion is that I gently overheated and was mildly dehydrated after the race. I did have really neat salt crystals on my arms, which was pretty cool.
Main Positives of this Race:
1) The course is actually really nice. I would absolutely run the Lake Loop more often, now that I know it's there.
2) For a race with only a 170 ish marathoners, there were really good crowds! It was quiet, but at the same time, there was enough people out and about that it was never dead silent.
3) Good race photos. I'm as surprised as you - the Madison Mini had pretty sub-par ones this year, so this was a pleasant surprise.
4) Even with shattering, I kept up the fight. I was in 14th overall at the half and managed to pick off the rest of the group that I had started with.
One day later, I have the usual aches and twinges, but nothing actually completely out of sorts. This isn't a good thing, but I was definitely in survival after mile 18 or so. As it turns out, I can manage that reasonably well.
So what comes next? Boston 2020 is out - I don't think that I would have a weekend for another go at sub 3. Probably the next marathon is next spring. Maria is jazzed for Catalina Island Marathon (okay, she's jazzed for Hannah and I to run it (???)), but that would pivot me mentally toward ultras. Which I'm not ruling out. For 2019, I'm thinking Haunted Hustle in October, maybe Tyraenea with Cody at the beginning of November, and probably the 50K at Headlamp Hustlers Turkey Trot Sixth Annual House Party (name pending).