On the stroke of 5, when I began my trek to Kenosha, WI, the rain started. According to my weather stalking, rain was not in the forecast until later that afternoon. Oh well, I drove in the darkness, fog and driving rain most of the way up.
By 5:45 I arrived and found a nice parking spot. It continued to pour. I changed my tank and sleeves to a long sleeve option and waited. until 6:20–our agreed upon meeting time. I found an umbrella in the car, grabbed it and headed over to the starting area.
There was nobody I recognized at the meeting point. I suspected they were huddling under a nearby tent. I found Bobbi, we gear checked and headed to the corrals where we found Kim, pacing her BIL, who was running his first half.
Bobbi, me and Kim at the start
Bobbi was gunning to shatter her old PR, shooting for 2:05. Sounded good to me, so I hung with her. I wore my brand-new Garmin. Being only the second time I’d ever used it, the owner’s manual came with me in the car. Techno-genius I am not.
By some miracle, the rain subsided just before we went off. Almost immediately, I longed for my tank and sleeves.
The first few miles wound through the town. I was relaxed and the pace was easy. Garmin showed a 9:16 pace. Fine.
By mile 2-ish though, Garmin told me nothing more than the time. What? No pace? No distance? No bueno. I waited, thinking maybe the info. rotated or something….and….no. Garmin was keeping secrets. Geez.
I restarted it on the fly and got it working (small miracle) but now my numbers were jazzed. Oh well.
Around mile 5 we headed out on to a path along the lake. Pretty except it was dreary and overcast, and lets not forget about the wind. The wind on it’s own was a nuisance. Wind + long incline = I wanted to walk. But I didn’t. Plus Bobbi was running beautifully and on pace to shatter her old PR. Far be it from me to get in the way of that. So on we went. Having Bobbi there for some convo was totally fun.
Bobbi and I still smiling!
We made the turnaround shortly after mile 8 and now the wind was at our backs. Nice! I heard someone call my name and it was Jess! She was running the full and looked amazing. We missed her at the morning meetup (thank you rain).
Soon after mile 10 Bobbi and I were both cramping a little. Not sure what that was about. I tried to stay on pace as much as possible. I was pleased at how good I felt this late in the game given the low mileage I’ve been running in training this year. We got back into the town and I came upon Jess again, who was OWNING her marathon. We ran together for a bit and I wished her well when I made the turnoff for the finish.
Mile 12 to the end though was hard into that nasty wind again. I felt like I wasn’t even moving and a lady weaving in front of me made things even worse. But the crowds were great and the end was near.
I cruised in for a 2:05 finish.
This was a fun, really well-done race. The shirt is good, the medal is great, crowd support was solid. Course volunteers were helpful and enthusiastic. I’m sure it helped that I was gabbing with Bobbi and missed many of the mile markers, but the course was interesting in that it changed from town to lakefront and back again. It rolled just enough to be interesting but wasn’t terribly hard either. Thanks to Kim’s hubby for taking the course pics and letting me snag some!
Did you race this weekend?
Great recap and great race!! It was so good to meet you… on the run may it be. What a coincidence that we just happened to be running right next to each other. Congrats on your awesome time. That wind made the finish extremely difficult!
I hate it when the weather conditions are all wonky like that. Awesome job to you, though, and Bobbi for her PR!
Congratulations! That’s such a great time!
congrats on a fantastic race and a great time! the shirts and medal are awesome!!!
Great race! It must have been super fun to run most of it with Bobbi and see your other friend on the course too! 🙂
I wonder what is up with your wonky Garmin. I hope that does not happen again!
I thought the wind almost felt good with how humid it was! It was nice to get out of it in the downtown area though 🙂
Great job! It seems like this was THE place to be this weekend! So great that Chicago Bloggers could represent 😀
Nice of you to stay along with your friend and keep going to help her reach her goal!
I love that shirt! I really need to venture out of NY and experience halves in other states! Maybe that will be a goal next year.
Nice job!
Thanks again for running with me! Races are so much better with good company 🙂
Great job!! Congrats on a good race in tough conditions. And love the medal and shirt! Too cute. 🙂
Oh how fun to run the whole way with Bobbi, chatting it up. I’d love to run a race with someone like that….come to Colorado so we can do that together :). Wisconsin Marathon is on my to-do list..not sure why, but something about running a race in WI sounded pretty cool.
I’m glad you had a nice time, girlfriend. I thought about you all weekend and wondered how you felt. You did great. Hope you get that pesty Garmin figured out…I can so relate on the lack of techno skills. I got my new computer a few months ago and have yet to do the Garmin Connect thingie to it…I guess I’m not into the whole pace data right now.
What’s next on your racing calendar?
xo
‘Cruise in’ – love that!
Congratulations on a great race!
‘Cruised in’ – love that!
Congratulations on a great race!
Nice! Having someone to run with in a race is such great way to go, especially if you miss mile markers! ; )
Sounds to me like your season is off to a great start.
I love reading from yours and Bobbi’s perspectives! Great race. I ran a half yesterday, but it was a pretty restrained one so maybe you can’t call it “racing” but it was fun nonetheless.
Congratulations to you both!! How funny that you ran, literally, into Jess during the race.
Glad you had a great race besides the threat of a bad rain storm! So cool to run into so many people you know through bloggy land!
Congrats, Marcia! It looks like fun (rain and wind aside).
Nice race! I was so happy the rain stopped before the race started. Totally agree with you about the course, it was a great race.
Congrats!! Looks like you guys had a great time! I find a race FLIES BY when you have someone to talk to and share it with! I ran a half yesterday with a friend of mine and I just didn’t want it to end! Maybe next time we’ll sign up for the marathon so we can visit more!
I kinda dig that shirt and medal! It’s really unique!
Congrats to you!! I’m so glad the rain stopped in time…that would have made for a miserable run. It’s so nice to have buddies to run with, too!
Great recap! Love that you and Bobbi ran together. I’m learning how a big difference that can make.
runs of any kind are better with a friend. congrats on your race!! 🙂
Awesome, Marcia! Sorry about the weather, especially the wind, but you look like you were having fun!
Sounds like a good race! I love the medal and the course sounds interesting! Glad it was a good one.
Congrats Marcia!! And that’s a great shirt & medal!
I ran this race last year as my Wisconsin state- absolutely LOVED it. So glad you enjoyed your time there as well 🙂
I was there too in the mist, but running the full. Great race but I was really nervous watching all that rain just before the start. Great job!!!
that race is on my bucket list! congrats!!
Very nice race! So much more fun running with friends.
I love that medal!!! Congrats to you and especially Bobbi on crushing her old PR! Well done ladies!
Great recap and race!!!
Congrats on the race!!
Nice job, and you looked so pretty in your pics! Mile 12 is always the worst!
congrats on the race!
once again i am not getting the post updates from your blog…arrrgh
I tried to subscribe again !
Congratulations on a very fast race!