Last September at Superior 100 Mile I ripped my hamstring in two places and suffered two Grade 2 Semimembranosus tears. After 12 weeks of rehab I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to run trails for a while or ever as the uneven terrain caused some pain. I was, thankfully, stable on pavement. My hamster brain went right to 'oh well, I'll enter a few marathons instead of trail ultras' and I was thinking of getting a border collie puppy (which didn't work out) and didn't want long weekends away so road marathons was the plan.
Since then, I have healed beautifully and am running trail ultras and marathons. We do heal and we do recover, the body is an AMAZING thing.
I entered Wobegon, Grandma's and Twin Cities Marathons. OH, I'll have to write up a Wobegon report. I guess I missed Chippewa 50K in April, too. I mean, there is a lot of repetitiveness after 25 years and I don't think I yet posted TransRockies 6 Days event last August which was incredibly amazing.
Back to Grandma's! I last ran the event in 2016. This would be my 10th Grandma's Marathon, 25 years from the first time I ran it as my first marathon. 150 ultra marathons/marathons later. Wow, so many memories along that course. I treasure the memories of Steve, Tyler and Troy cheering me on at so many mile markers, at mile 22 at Edgewater and at the finish line. I thought about our time at the DECC for the expo, we were amazed at all of the running trinkets, the pasta buffet, all of the people that ran marathons! I thought about running Grandma's with my Dad when he turned 60, 22 years ago, and my family followed us down the road onto the finish line, when I ran my first Grandma's not knowing that it would be the beginning of finding a love for long distance running that would stretch into my lifetime, often times, as a lifeline.
I was going solo this year. I hit the expo earlier in the morning to avoid the crowds and ate the delicious pasta buffet as a late lunch. I met a very good friend and the expo-we visited a couple of hours, walked the expo and went our separate ways.
Upon checking in I learned that the Edgewater no longer has shuttle service to the start - although I was told upon making my reservation that they still did, I asked. I would now be driving to the pickup at UMD. Ugh. Edgewater is no longer a nice hotel. My boys used to love staying here because of the water park and the rooms were awesome, clean and new. Oh my goodness, not anymore. Dumpsville.
On race day I made some mistakes! Just because I'm experienced doesn't mean I don't fumble. I began to walk out the door and realized I hadn't eaten my breakfast. WHAT? I went back in, grabbed the two bagels all ready for me that I wrapped and placed into the refrigerator the night before, eating one as I walked out and putting the other in my finish bag. Wow.
As I began to pull out of the lot, thinking I was going to drive to the shuttle at UMD, I noticed the parking lot was blocked in with gates and cones. London Road was not accessible. Oh for crying loud. I moved a cone, drove onto the road, realized I couldn't go anywhere so moved the cone again and came back to the lot. As I was panicking I noticed a couple walking from the hotel, they looked like runners. I asked them if I could get a ride with them if they were going to the shuttle. They were, thankfully! I quickly parked my car and walked with them to their car, smartly parked in a lot on the other side of London Road. OK then. Crisis averted.
It was a beautiful day. 50F, clear sky, the smoke pollution for Canadian fires had cleared. They high would be 70F. Stellar. Maybe a tad too warm but couldn't complain.
I had 2 hours to race start after being dropped by the bus. I ate my second bagel, drank water, put my blocks and GU into my short pockets, sprayed up with sunblock and just hung out. My final stand in line for the toilets lasted 45 minutes! The start gun fired and I was still standing there. Oh well, it was a chip start so I didn't really care. By the time I made it to the start line we were 7 minutes into the race. Off I went!
There is aid every other mile at Grandma's until mile 19 when there is aid every mile to the finish. It was so great. I drank a small cup of water and poweraid at each station. I had a gel every 45 minutes or so. I felt great. I ran miles at 10:10 ish, a few too fast in the 9s but for the most part I stayed steady.
I heard my name yelled out at mile 19 and saw Doug and Maria! A three way hug and smiles gave me a boost to hasten my step. At mile 22 I saw Jean and April cheering after they ran the half marathon. So much fun! I smiled and laughed my way into the finish line at 430, reaching my goal; 2 minutes faster than Wobegon the month before.
I mosied along the finish line, cheered in other runners, changed my clothes, walked over to Bayfront and listened to the live music, taking in the festivities. Such a blast. Eventually I made my way back to the bus pick up area to head back to my hotel. Guess what my hotel didn't have a shuttle. I had to wait an hour for a private van the hotel hired to pick me up. Still, I had a great day!
Upon leaving the next day I swung in Canal Park to make a reservation at a nicer hotel for next year and one in which I can walk to the DECC for shuttle service. I'll be staying at Pier B, not the Edgewater.
