Race Report - Brewers Mini Marathon

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of calling this a "Mini Marathon" It is a Half Marathon. I had a friend of mine say at work today that he saw a bunch of Facebook posts about people completing their first marathon here. Hello People, it is a HALF Marathon, not a full.

OK, off my soap box.

This past Saturday was the first (hopefully annual) Brewers Mini Marathon.  I was signed up to do this race as a pace leader for the 2:15 group.  I was able to be a pacer for this race since I was a pacer for the Rock n' Sole Half Marathon in Milwaukee earlier this year.  I was matched with Tere and Marianne being my other pace leaders for the group.  I had not met wither of them before so I was excited to meet them.

I headed down to the Miller Park where the race started and finished early as I was meeting Chris and Dana for a short, easy run before hand to get in a few extra miles.  Chris and Dana were also pace leader but they were pacing the 1:40 group along with another friend of mine, Marek.  It was cool and dark but nice to run in.  We got in 4 1/2 miles and finished right before 6:00 when the pace groups were meeting.  I headed into Miller Park and found the pacers just in time as a pretty big start hit the area.  Lots of wind, lightning and rain poured down as we sat inside Miller Park.  It was really cool to be in the stadium wit so little people in it with all the lights and scoreboards lit up.  Music was playing and announcements came that the race would be delayed until the storm passed and all the lightning was out of the area.  We finally headed out to the start line about 30 minutes later and started the race in a light rain.  It was colder and windier at the start now.  Wet and about 42F.  Autumn has come.

Overall, this race is a pretty good race.  5000 runners were the limit and it sold out.  The course passed quite a few of Milwaukee's landmarks (Harley Davidson Museum, Milwaukee Domes, Potawatomi Casino, Marquette University, and Miller Brewery) and even ran through Miller Park on the warning track during the final half mile.  There were some hills on the course but nothing too extreme.  The course sometimes went trough areas that were not so pretty, but that is what you get when you try to hit many sights along the way.

I loved this sign at Miller Brewery as we passed through Miller Valley.

There were a lot of runners following my group as we ran along.  Some of which we got to know and some that just went about their business and followed.  It was fun to help these guys try to achieve their goals and talk to as many as I could along the way.  Things thinned out during the last 3 miles as many dropped off but we try to pick up a few more as we caught up to them.  It was hard to keep up as throughout the race, the wind kept picking up to a steady high wind after 8 miles.  In fact, I took over holding the pace sign right after going through Miller Brewery Valley and within a half mile, the wind was so strong, it snapped the stick holding the sign.  So now not only had a short sticked sign, but also Tere ripping on me for breaking the sign.  It was all good,

I finished the race in 2:15:10 so right on pace for the group.  A few runners kept with us the entire time or even moved a head of us near the end, and some faded.  We tried to get as many through as we could but I am sure the wind took its toll on many of them.  The race ended right outside Miller Park near the new statue of Bob Uecker (Brewers Radio Announcer, Mr. Belvedere Star, and Miller Light Commercial Star).  Unfortunately, it was still windy and cold so the 2 free Miller Beers after the race were not to be had for me.  I just ended up meeting with Chris and Dana for a bit and heading back home for a warm shower.

 The 2:15 Pace Leaders.  Tere, myself, and Marianne.

In the race packet, each runner was given a voucher for the free ticket to a Brewer Game later this year (there are only 6 games left) or for the first 2 months of next year.  Also, we were given a "Free Ride" (admission) to the Harley Museum.  I have not gone here yet so I look forward to see it.  Being a pacer, I was given a second shirt to wear during the race, a light green shirt, unlike the white shirt they gave away to all the runners.

 A nice bit of swag for the race.

 A nice medal too for a half marathon, oops, I mean Mini Marathon (whatever!)

So a pretty good race that I will probably do again next year.  It is nice to see a couple new big time races come to Milwaukee and this is one of them.  Now, if only they could add a full marathon to this one, hmmmmm.

Keep on Running!!!

Long Run in Pictures

Saturday morning, I got up early and went on a long run.  I decided to go back to the Glacier Drumlin Trail and do a long 21 mile out and back with the half way point being the top of the observation tower at Lapham Peak State Park.  It is a little over a 400 foot climb for the 10.5 miles out to the trail, most of it in the last 3/4 of mile where the climb was 210 feet.  The other part was a gradual climb up the trail.  On the way back, I got to go down the hills.  That 210 feet down in 3/4 of a mile is very hard on the quads but the 200 feet down in a little more than 2 miles is quite easy.

It was pretty cool that morning, about 45F when I started but I knew it was going to be in the lower 60's when I finished so a short sleeve shirt was in order.  It was cold for the first few miles, but then it was just fine the rest of the run. Glad I chose to not go with the long sleeve. 

Before I started, I decided to bring the iPhone along and take a few pictures of whatever sparked my interest.  So here is what I got:

 The start of the run at about 6:00AM.  Still pretty dark out but a couple other guys gathered in the parking lot ready to run as well.

 I turned back at one point in the first 2 miles on the trail and saw this site of the sun about to rise.

 There were a few hills and valleys along the way in the distance.  Lots of fog patches which looked really cool.

 7 miles into the trail, right at the top of the 200 foot hill that lasted 2 miles, there is a great looking foot bridge over the trail.

A herd of Wild Turkeys right along the road as I ran by.  Is it a herd or is a bunch of Turkeys called something else?

 Government Hill Road.  Even the name of the road sounds horrible.  This is the start of the final hill to the bottom of the tower.  This hill is 0.4 of a mile long and climbs 130 feet.  A picture of the hill does not do justice.  It really sucks, but I am sure helps my running.

At the top of Government Hill Road is the final grass trail to the tower.  It still climbs another 30 to 40 feet until you get to the bottom of the tower.

 Here is the tower I got to climb and served as the halfway point of my run.  No use running to the tower and not climbing it, right?

 Here are 2 pictures of the reward you get when you climb the tower.  It is the highest elevation level in the county and most of the south eastern part of Wisconsin.  Just beautiful.

 A view to the east and the direction I need to go to get back to my car.

As a final reward for a 21 mile run completed, I nice big chocolate milk.  Yummy!

Keep on Running!!!

Race Report - Extraterrestrial Full Moon Midnight Marathon

I have procrastinated enough, time to let you all know about the ET Full Moon Midnight Marathon.  This race took place out in Nevada back on August 5th right outside Area 51 and finished in the small (very small) town of Rachel, NV.  

Rachel town sign.  Passed this sign right before the finish line.

The race headquarters are in Las Vegas so that is where the race "Expo" is but it really was a packet pick up with a few tables with some stuff.  This wasn't a big race so I didn't expect much.  Packet pick up was at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.  I did a little research ahead of time and did NOT stay at at the HRH and from what I heard from other runners who did stay there, the was a great idea.  I heard that that there was tons of loud music all day long and rest was not to be had.  Yes it was close, but not worth it.  And since I was going to be staying a few days after the race, I wanted to stay closer to the strip.  The HRH is about a half  to 3/4 of a mile off the strip.  I ended up staying at The Flamingo, the original strip hotel.  It was far less expensive, a nice room, quiet (at least on the 25th floor where I was), and located right in the middle of the strip, close to most things I wanted to do.

As I mentioned, the race takes place out by Area 51, not IN Area 51 but as close as you can get without having the Government watch you closely.  The race offered a bus ride out to the start line for $30 round trip.  Most of the runners took this offer and we loaded up 10 full coach buses for the 2 hour ride north out of Vegas toward Area 51.  The buses left the HRH between 8:30 and 9:00, plenty of time to get to the start line on time.  There were 2 types of buses you could get on, a quiet bus or a social bus.  I chose a social bus since I love to talk to other runners about running and the sort. 

As we rode out to Area 51, I saw some strange lights over the Secret Government Base.  First it started slowly, the became more frequent.  It wasn't constant lights, more like flashes in the distance.  A few of us runners noticed it and were watching.  Could it be a UFO?  Could it be a secret experiment at the base?  Nope, it was just lightning.  But is certainly made us nervous hoping it wasn't going to rain on us.  The forecast did not call for rain, but in the middle of the desert, who knows.  Turns out the rain did not come.

We arrived at the start line about an hour before the start.  The buses were loaded with all the runners, including the runners running the 10K, Half Marathon, and the 51K (Get it?  51K?).  The start was basically in the middle of NOWHERE.  But there was a special item where the race started.  It was the "Black Mailbox".  This spot is where tons of UFO tourist like to go to see the strange lights over Area 51 hoping to see a UFO or maybe even be abducted by an alien. Ironically, the "Black Mailbox is really white.  Turns out that so many UFO enthusiasts were destroying the mailbox and using it as target practice so the owner, Steve Medlin made a new mailbox with bulletproof thick metal and painted it white in hopes people would stop going to the "Black" mailbox.  I guess it didn't work as it seems to be more popular than ever.  But since this is the Extraterrestrial Marathon, seems like a perfect place to start the race like this.

Here I am before the race at the "Black Mailbox".  Steve Medlin must be really pissed so many people hang out at his mailbox.

It was 11PM when we arrived so it was pretty dark, but other than the mailbox, there was nothing else to see.  It really is in the MIDDLE of the desert.  The desert here has a lot of sage bush and some Joshua Trees, other than that, maybe a few cows.  We did have the light of an almost full moon (a couple days past) to light the way along with a few lanterns and the lights front he buses.  They had quite a few port-o-lets and the lines were not too bad, and the buses were still open to use to that didn't not cause a problem.  People were just milling around, taking pictures of the black mailbox and getting their costumes in order or putting on their headlamps.  The race director made sure everyone was in place for the start (marathon and 51K only) and those who were running the half marathon and 10K were herded back on the buses to go to their start area.

 The buses lined out near the start line.  It is dark but you can see the almost full moon high in the sky.

Before I tell you how I did, let me tell you about the race itself.  First, be aware, the race starts at an elevation of around 4500 feet and climbs to about 5600 feet at right about the half marathon point.  I live in an area that is about 700 feet of elevation and maybe run at times up to 1200 feet, but that is it.  This was a factor so anyone who has never run a race at a higher elevation, be advised.  The 13 mile hill is not too steep at all.  The first 10 miles is gradual uphill but you can feel it in your legs.  Then about 3 miles to the half point, the grade increases and it does get more difficult, but not unbearable at all.  Half marathoners run about 6 miles of this hill.  After the half, there is along gradual downhill, not as steep, down to the tiny town of Rachel where the marathon goes right past the finish line and does an 3.1 mile out and the 3.1 miles back to the finish line.  The 51K goes out about 6.5 miles and then back.  This section is flatter so that helps.  The entire race (Except for the last 100 feet) is run on the Extraterrestrial Highway.  It is actual Hwy 375 but it was rename due to the folklore of the area.  They say that more tumbleweeds travel the highway than cars and I can see why now.  You actually run right in the middle of the highway.  Yeah, they tell you to stay on the side, but besides the buses passing us right after we left, there was NO CARS until some of the 10K and half marathon finishers were heading home.

The race was run entirely on the Extraterrestrial Highway. 

There is not great support on the course.  They do have aid stations but they are about 2.5 to 3 miles apart.  I used a hand held water bottle and that helped as I freshened it up at every aid station with cold water and then had water on the run.  They offered Heed to the runners too.  Why do races offer this crap.  It is just terrible.  I accidentally took a cup of this crap and had to spit it out.  But the volunteers at the aid stations were great.  There awesome people came out to the middle of nowhere to help us out and were enthusiastic too.  Some aid stations offered cookies, bananas, and oranges.

Running the race is surreal.  It is dark out but the moonlight does give a faint glow to the surroundings.  Every runner is required to wear a headlamp or carry a flashlight, but often I turned mine off an just ran to the light of the moon.  Many runners also had "Butt Lights" so you could see flashing red lights ahead of you.  If you have run Ragnar ever at night, you will know what this looks like.

I stopped a few time to look back at all the runners behind me.  Just bouncing lights off int he distance.  Wonder what the cows were thinking?  Aliens?

While the temperatures in Vegas were in the highs of 106 all week with a low of the upper 80's, but out here it was cooler because of the higher elevation.  I think the race started at about 65F and actually dropped to about 60F by the end.  This didn't mean I didn't sweat out there but it was not unbearable, like it was in Vegas later in the week.  It was comfortable.

The race ended in the small town of Rachel with an unknown population of Human and Aliens.  They really take the Alien thing to the extreme here and it is pretty fun.  The race finishers right in front of the Little A'Le'Inn, the only cafe in the town.  I think I heard somewhere that only 50 people live here so this must be a HUGE deal for them.  Racers are allowed into the Little A'Le'Inn for 1 trip through the food line.  That kind of sucked as you needed to fill your plate with everything you may need in 1 trip not knowing what will agree with you or not and after a marathon, you never know what your stomach may favor.  That wad disappointing but the spread was OK.  It was a little cold when I went through but some of the cookies looked good and applesauce.  I thought I hit the jackpot with some orange juice outside but it turned out to be hot orange juice.  ???  Never heard of that.  They had tables outside for runners to sit and talk about the race or whatever before loading buses to head back to Vegas.  Buses would leave about every half hour or when one would fill up.

The finish line was near the world famous Little A'Le'Inn.  I actually saw this place in a show a few weeks before actually being there.

The ride home was mostly quiet except for a couple guys ahead of me yapping most of the way back.  Since I left on the bus right after sunrise, it was nice to see the course we ran and what it really looked like in the light.  Some buses stopped at the Black Mailbox to drop off runners who had cars there but mine kept moving past and you could really tell there was NOTHING near the start area. 

The goodie bag runners received had all the usual stuff including ads for local races and other places that some runners like.  The shirt is pretty cool.  It is a newer tech shirt with a cool design.  I ended up wearing it one day in Vegas and had quite a few people asking me about it.  The medal is really cool too.  It is the same design as the shirt with an Alien Green lanyard.  The little green alien running is pretty cool and the sign saying "The End is Near"  All too often in the race, I knew that was just not true, but fun anyways.

Race shirt, medal, and my number.

 A close up on the medal.  Pretty cool medal.

So how did I end up doing?  TERRIBLE!!!  My worst marathon of the 40 full marathons I have run to date.  Are there factors from the race, sure, a few, but I did just about everything wrong before this marathon and that did more damage to my time than anything else.  It is OK though as I wasn't planning on a PR or even a fast time, I just wanted to have fun.  And while there were times I was not having fun, overall it was a cool experience.

What did I do wrong?

1.  I flew into Vegas the day of the race.  I left home about 1:00 AM Vegas time to go tot he airport and flew to Denver for a 4 hour layover and then to Vegas arriving at about 12:30PM  (A side note, I did get to see the Olympic Men's 10,000 Final at the airport, what an awesome race!)

2.  I tried to rest a little before leaving for the race but that didn't work.

3.  I figured lunch was about 10 hours to race time, close to the same time dinner would be before a morning marathon.  I got a plate a spaghetti but the noodles were under cooked.  I should have asked for another plate with fully cooked noodles, but I didn't as I was hungry and just wanted to eat.

4.  The HRH was about a mile and a half from the Flamingo so I decided to walk instead of getting a ride.  DUMB!  It seemed to take forever to get there and my legs tired out from moving around all the people on the strip.  It was also pretty hot out sucking my energy.

5.  I got the the HRH too late to find a place for some dinner so I ended up eating only a few granola bars and, get this, Pop Tarts.  DUMB DUMB DUMB.

6.  I come from a low elevation area, and while it really isn't my fault per say, I was not prepared for the higher elevation run.  I suppose I could have come out to Rachel and acclimated to the higher elevation, but come on.  I just had to deal with it.

What did I do right?

1.  I started the race.

2.  I finished the race.

3.  I was able to enjoy a few extra days in Vegas.

I started the race OK running a little over 9:00 pace but even after a couple miles, my pace had slowed to 9:30 edging toward 10:00.  The 'hill' was noticeable and I just tried to keep it easy being this early in the race.  I was hoping to that after the peak at mile 13, that I would be able to use the dropping elevation the way I did when I ran that half marathon in West Virginia back in June.  Wish I was feeling good enough for that when I got there.

I figured the elevation would affect my breathing as the air was a bit thinner but that didn't end up being my issue early.  The elevation caused me to be dizzy out there.  Good thing the highway was completely clear as I found it very difficult to to run in a straight line.  I was going back and forth, side to side.  I was still maintaining a half way OK pace through about 7 miles and then things just fell apart.  Remember what I said I ate?  Well, that came back to haunt me.  OK, we are all runners here and we know what it is like, but I had to stop 3 times in the desert (and 2 additional times at aid stations with facilities) for a couple minutes each time.  Good thing it was dark out.  The stopping and the leg bending trashed my legs and I could hardly run anymore for any amount of time.  My mental view was toast and suddenly it was all about just finishing if I could.  While I never actually considered stopping and dropping out, I am sure with the way my stomach was feeling, if it had gotten much worse, the thought could have crept into my mind.

I got to the half marathon aid station at the peak of the long hill, tried to eat a cookie but my stomach would have nothing to do with anything except for a little water.  I was dehydrated as I didn't want anything in my stomach as it was that upset.  The only thing I had at about mile 6 was a GU which sparked the issues.  I had to turn back about 100 feet to use the facilities and wait about 5 minutes.  I ended up going through the half at about 2:45 to 2:50. 

I started down the hill toward Rachel just trying to run a little before my legs needed yet another break.  I would say Hi to the other runners as they passed me and they would ask how I was doing.  I struck up a conversation with an older guy named Mike who lived in Nevada and told him about my upset stomach.  He ended up being the cure for me as he had a Pepto tablet with him that he gave me.  I took it and after about 3 miles, my stomach started to feel slightly better, still upset though.  We ended up running together trying to encourage each other on.  Turns out he needed me as much as I needed him to keep motivated and moving.  Hew was starting to slow too and just needed someone to run with.  We would run to the next mile marker and then walk for about a minute before starting up again.

Mike and I ended up passing Rachel right at about 4:10 which was right at the goal time Mike had (about an hour slower than I wanted) and we headed off on the 10K out and back.  We kept the same running/walking strategy as we now were passing runners going back toward the finish line as we ran away from it.  Finally we got to the turn around and were going back toward the finish line. 

Funny how goals change during a race when things either go bad or good for you.  My goal now was to finish before the sunrise (it was starting to get light out) and finish under 5:30 (Ugh time for me).  Right after the turn around, you can see the lights of Rachel off in the distance and they look like the are really close, an optical illusion.  As you run toward the lights, they seem to be moving further away from you.  With 2 miles to go, Mike was struggling some more and didn't want to hold me back anymore so he insisted I go ahead.  I was finally feeling better, at least my stomach was, but the legs were very tired but I was able to pick up the pace.  I skipped my break with 1 mile to go and kept chugging along.  Mile 26 was actually my fastest at just over 9:00 and I turned the corned into Rachel and through the finish line.  I finished in a time of 5:24.  I was so happy to FINALLY be done with that marathon.  I did finish before the sunrise. I walked the course back a little and cheered Mike on to the finish and a time under his goal.  He was very happy with his time, wish I could say the same.  But I did finish uninjured so that is always goal #1.

I did have a lot of fun in this race despite all the problems I had.  Most of my problems were completely on me so this is not a complaint, but more a recap on what I felt.  I definitely would recommend this race to anyone who likes a different kind of marathon.  Not all marathons need to be run for a super fast time, at least that is what I think.  I like to switch it up sometimes and this did just that.  I probably won't do this one again.  Right now, to me, it is a "been there, done that" kind of thing for me.  I now have Nevada completed and that makes 15 states completed and 40 full marathon completed.  As you can see, I am not too serious about just getting states.  Heck, I think I have about 20 fulls done in Wisconsin alone.

The rest of the time in Vegas was fun.  I don't gamble much but when in Vegas...  I ended up only about $100 down, entertainment expense.  I got to see an "adult" hypnosis show that was pretty funny and the show "Absinthe" at Cesar's Palace.  That was an incredible show.  Had dinner at a couple really nice restaurants and some great buffets too.  The freshest fruit I have ever had at some of them.  Did go in the pool a couple times but it wasn't cool enough to refresh you.  Walked the strip taking in outside free shows (Fountains at Bellagio and Pirates at Treasure Island, etc) and walked through a lot of the casinos too.  It was fun but I have had enough of Vegas for quite a while now.

The Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas where I stayed with a nice view looking east from the 25th floor overlooking the pool.

Next on deck, I am pacing the Brewers Mini Marathon (Half Marathon) in Milwaukee and then I may run a couple full marathon in Wisconsin in October (Haunted Hustle Marathon?  Wisconsin Dells Marathon?).  There is some talk amongst my friends of taking a road trip back to West Virginia for a full in early November.  Guess we will have to wait and see.

Keep on Running!!!