ZOOMA Great Lakes Half Marathon

This was my second time running and being a  ZOOMA Great Lakes Ambassador. The first time I ran it back in 2012, it took place in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. This year it was just up the road a bit in Delavan, Wisconsin. As soon as I retrieved Thing 2 from school on Friday afternoon, I hit the road. Typically it’s an hour and 15 minute drive but Friday afternoon + road construction made it considerably longer. Oh well.

I arrived, checked in to the Lake Lawn Resort, hit up the expo, found Wendy and Steph and headed out for a pre-race dinner at the Waterfront Pub & Grill.

I don’t often…ok ever…eat baked cod the night before a race but when in Wisconsin…

How gorgeous is this race morning sunrise?

Race day dawned dark, early and not as cool as I would have liked. While the weather lately has been cooler and less humid, the heat and humidity were making a resurgence.  I was grateful for the 7am start time, the mosquitoes, not so much. Hopefully I could get most of the race done with before it got too hot.

ZOOMA Great Lakes Ambassadors ready to run!

The start line had a lively, supportive vibe. I lined up somewhere between the 2:15 and 2:30 pacers and called it good. I knew the course was “rolling” and I had no intentions of racing it. “Happy pace” was the goal.

We were off promptly, leaving the resort grounds and heading up the side of a quiet road up a looong incline. I could tell my heart rate was too high and tried to settle in to a sustainable pace. Yeah that didn’t happen.

We turned into a quiet, well shaded, neighborhood and the hills kept coming. I knew I’d need to find a rhythm so I walked up a big one then ran down the back. I was not trained for hills and I already felt overheated.

At mile 5 or so I realized I had a very sore throat. It was then that I recalled waking up at 3am-ish with it but by morning I didn’t really remember and I thought I was fine. Maybe not so much. Was I getting sick? That would explain why my heart rate was so high and I was already out of gas.

I continued on with walk breaks, pulling off the course occasionally to take pics. This is supposed to be fun after all. I tried to enjoy the beautiful scenery and light breeze.

The course was very quiet so early in the morning. Few if any spectators, which is a-okay with me. The runners got very spread out and often I was all by myself.

About 90 minutes in, my kids started texting and sending me Snap Chat messages, so I used those as an excuse to walk and text. The sunny parts of the course were pretty brutal by now and the heat was mounting. I continued the loop around Lake Delavan. Cars drove by, ringing cowbells out the windows. Even police drove by cheering and encouraging us. I definitely felt cared for. At times though I wondered if all that attention meant I was dead last. I sure felt slow enough to be DFL.

Mile 11 was my least favorite. It was along the edge of a pretty busy road. Of course it was uphill. By this time of the morning…say 9ish…traffic was fairly heavy and I didn’t feel safe on that roadside. I moved into the large gravel off the shoulder of the road, which was a pain to run on but better safe than sorry. Mile 11 could not end soon enough. I was hot, tired and sooo done. I got kind of nauseous whenever I ran. I told myself I could just walk it in, but of course I didn’t. I wanted it to be over sooner than later.

At last we turned down a paved path back to the resort grounds and lakeshore. My hydration pack was dry so I stopped at a water station for a drink and to pour some water on me to cool down. Almost done.

We looped around then got on the straightaway along the lake for the finish. I loved seeing the finish line and knowing I’d be done soon. I ran it in, grabbed some water then cheered the rest of the field in.

Post-race breakfast consisted of a variety of cookies, bagels, cream cheese, fruit, and coffee. We also were treated to some “Lake Lawn Punch” which was vodka lemonade. Steph and I went with straight up lemonade and it hit the spot.

Wendy and Steph headed over to the awards ceremony while I watched everybody’s stuff at our table. Imagine my surprise when they returned bearing an AG award pour moi.

Seriously this felt like one of my worst ever races. My Garmin hated my performance, saying I’d spent all but 2 minutes of it in Zone 5. Ha! How could I possibly have won anything?

Apparently I wasn’t the only one who struggled and melted on the course because my 2:18 and change was enough for AG3. Go figure.

Final Words. This was a really fun weekend at a beautiful venue. The course was TOUGH and the heat/humidity, while not the worst ever, made that hilly course brutal. I loved the supportive vibe and attention to detail. The race shirt is awesome. Love the fit, fabric, color and graphics.

The ZOOMA Great Lakes stemless wine glass is a fun and unique AG award.

Overall it was a wonderful weekend. The lakefront venue is gorgeous and we loved our cozy room complete with fireplace at the Lake Lawn Resort.

BTW ZOOMA has a great Recovery Prize Pack giveaway going on that includes a free race entry, Oofos Sandals, Froth Recovery Soaks from Bondiband and an Original Worm Body Massager. Go enter!

Have you run a ZOOMA race? Did you race this weekend?