So, my race did not go as I would have wanted it to. I
believe that this is the wake-up call that I need to stop eating crap and, as
my friend Natasha would say, ‘drop a few L.B.’s.’ But anyway, here’s the recap
of the 2013 Green Bay Half-Marathon.
We all drove up Friday night with a brief stop in Milwaukee
for dinner at a Southern-style restaurant where I had some awesome brisket. We
continued on to Green Bay and checked in at our hotel.
Packet Pick-up: So easy. It’s held at Lambeau Field so there
is plenty of parking and a large atrium/concourse area for the expo. There was
no wait time and plenty of volunteers on hand to get me my packet. The shirt
was so-so. It’s white this year which I don’t love because they tend to get pit-stains
and other discolorations so easily. The only other thing in the packet besides
the bib was a Boston wrist-band that they wanted us to wear for the race. There
was a moment of silence before the race and they wanted everyone to hold up
their arm with the wrist-band on. Sorry – if I didn’t train in it I’m not
wearing it for a race, but I’m sure I’ll wear it for other things and shorter
races.
Expo: The expo is pretty nicely sized with a variety of
booths from retailers, races, accessories and products. I looked at a bunch of
running clothes but ultimately didn’t buy anything because I so don’t need any
new running clothes and the best deals were on winter gear and I’m pretty well
stocked up in that department. I did stop by the booth for the Madison Mini
Marathon because I had signed up on-line and wanted to see if they had any
freebies and I scored a cup, a sweat towel and a pair of BMO Harris socks. I
also got a chance to see the course map and the nice person working the booth
sort of talked me through the sights and the terrain of the course. My husband
who drove me up bought a pair of running shorts that he likes and I think he
may order a few more pairs. He prefers a longer short because he’s seen the
horror of the shorts wedgie too many times and doesn’t want to fall victim. The
shorts he bought were Frank Shorter brand.
Saturday night dinner: Caesar salad, pasta with Bolognese
sauce, a couple of pieces of bread, and one beer. This is pretty standard
pre-race fare for anything 10+ miles. I was in bed and asleep by 10:30pm.
Race clothing: It was projected to get into the mid-70’s so
I wanted to dress for warm weather. I chose my Nike Tempo 2-in-1 shorts that
have a longer compression style undershort because they eliminate chafing in
the thigh area. I picked a Roadrunner brand tank that – note – I have worn
plenty of times before. My usual Nike compression style sports bra, a pair of
Balega socks and my new-ish Saucony Kinvava 4’s rounded out the ensemble. I had a small zip-lock baggie that I put 2
Clif Shot Blocks into and pinned it to my shorts. I also used my iPod shuffle and
my Yurbuds because I knew I’d need every ounce of motivation I could get.
Race morning: Got up at 5am and had a cup of coffee, a glass
of water and half a bagel with peanut butter. ‘Took care of business’ – if you
have to ask, you’re not a runner. Got to the race site (also Lambeau Field) by
6:10am. Got in line for the port-a-potty and waited only about 10 minutes (I
did have to pop to the front of the line and ask if there was a reason no-one
was using the handicapped port-a-potty – there was no reason so people started
using it and then the line moved 33% faster). I again ‘took care of business’.
This was an ominous sign – the gut was not feeling 100%. But, the show must go
on.
Gear check: I can’t comment since I had my husband with me
and he was my gear check, but it looked like they had a ring of school busses
around the parking lot and you had to find the bus that corresponded to your
bib#. This seems to be a unnecessary expense – renting all those busses – but it
also worked out well and it looked like people were able to get their gear
checked and picked up easily. The only
bummer would have been if you were parked far away from the bus that was
designated for your gear. Plus, if it had rained the gear would have been kept
dry.
Lining up: So easy at this race. Unlike many races in
Chicago – both larger and smaller – there is no shoving, no wedging of bodies.
People in Wisconsin seem to like their personal space and the corrals only
tightened up about a minute to race time. The race started right on time and
like every race it was a little crowded at first, but it seemed that compared
to many other races that most people had lined up pretty close to their actual
running speed and since the course was entirely on streets it was plenty wide enough to pass people after about the first mile.
The course: It’s a nice course – not particularly scenic –
with rolling small hills (for every uphill there is a corresponding downhill).
It mostly winds through residential neighborhoods and people really come out to
watch and support the runners, which is nice. There is a portion at the
end that goes through a sort of ugly industrial district, but I think they have
to do that to get you back to Lambeau for the final lap inside the stadium –
which is pretty cool. I didn’t feel great the whole race and I did need to use
an on-course port-a-potty which pretty much screwed my time. This was, I
believe, my 3rd worst half-time. Boo. But, I’ll take it and the
lessons I learned.
The medal: They always do a nice job and this year was no
exception. It’s a nice, heavy football shaped medal with a quality ribbon that
differs for the full and half people (especially nice for the marathoners who
deserve special distinction).
Post-Race party: Very nice! There were rip off tags on the
bib for 2 (yes, 2!) beers (or root beer if you’re under 21) and a brat – how very
Wisconsin! If you were a spectator you could buy beer and brats, which is a
nice touch – often spectators can’t get anything, even if they wanted to buy
it. They also had chocolate milk, fruit, bagels and tons of water. I guess it’s good to have a supermarket chain
and a major brewery as your sponsors. They also had a band playing cover tunes
and people seemed to be hanging around enjoying the party.
As I alluded to, my race wasn’t great. I was undertrained,
gastro-intestinally challenged, and I am a wee bit porky – but – I love this race
anyway and I’d certainly do it again. I also managed to chafe in an entirely
new and awful place – the inside of my upper left arm. Glide would have helped, but I didn’t think
to use it since I’d run in that tank before without any problems.
Next up is the Soldier Field 10-Miler. I’m (again) not
expecting to PR at this race distance, but I do think I’ll have fun. I know a
ton of people doing the race and Soul Asylum is playing after the race! I really liked their
old album Hang Time and I’m thinking of trying to contact them on FB or Twitter
to request a couple of oldies. I know they still have room if you want to
register for the race last minute - http://soldierfield10.com/
