Grandma's Marathon - Number 10!

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. 

Grandma's Marathon

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Late last year when I read that Grandma’s Marathon would be celebrating its 40^th Anniversary I knew that I had to enter the event. I had run 49 marathons; Grandma’s had been my first-back in 1998 and would be my 50^th marathon. I have run 11 Grandma’s Marathons.

With a few 50Ks earlier this year, Psyco Wyco in February and Chippewa in April, I wasn’t too concerned about training for a marathon. I and my friends, Heidi and April, began to run each Tuesday after school, on pavement, so I was getting my legs used to the asphalt. I ran a few 20s and a 30 on asphalt and felt good. So good, in fact, that I decided to enter FANS 24 hour run. I changed my mind, a week before FANS, as I was feeling some neuroma pain in my ‘good’ foot. I knew my foot would hold up for a marathon on asphalt but rethought the 24 hour business.

Heidi has relatives who live exactly on Mile 22 of the course, on London Road, on Lake Superior, right at the base of Lemon Drop hill. What a location !  Her relatives opened their home to 16 of us. Seriously. We weren’t even cramped!!  They were the most hospitable, welcoming, warm people I have probably ever met.

Friday 4 of us rode together and rolled into the Expo about 4. I actually ran into people that I knew just by chance. It was a blast. I messaged Kim and we met up for a quick hello. So much fun to see good old friends.  

We made our way to our hosts’ home for a dinner they prepared. Spaghetti, meat  sauce, various salads, fruit, breads, a real banquet.  We walked around the property, checked out the lake, the beautiful home and the lot. I was first to bed, at 830PM.  That’s me!

At 430 I awoke, without an alarm, this is my regular wake time. I dressed and got myself ready for the day. I went up hoping for coffee and of course, our hosts had coffee brewing. Incredible.

The others began to filter into the beautiful 4 season sun room. We had breakfast and checked out the weather. A gorgeous sunrise was showing itself over Lake Superior, right in the back yard. It was amazing. The forecast had called for rain/thunderstorms but that was not going to happen today. I certainly didn’t think it was going to be a black flag excessive heat warning, as it was!

For breakfast I had a sweet potato, avocado, coconut manna bowl. I sprinkled half a scoop of UCAN over it. Delish. My new pre race/long run meal for days I have time for digestion.

Since February I have been training using a low heart rate-140 (Phil Maffetone) or below-and have been adding more fats to my diet, in an effort to be able to burn more fat while running, not being so dependant upon gels. This gel every 30 minutes has become tiresome. (Superior 100) Also, the 140 HR allows a speedy recovery for me. Tracy  has been helping me to train in this manner the past 4 months. I’m loving it!

We were only down the hill from The Edgewater, where the busses were delivering runners to the start. We grabbed all of our stuff and were off. We rode the busses to the start and were ready to rock and roll!

Riding the bus to the start I couldn’t help but recall previous Grandma’s Marathons that I had run. My first. The one I ran with Dad. My family waiting on London Road. All of the friends I have met. So many memories.

As I was walking to the bag drop off I ran into so many people that I know from running. I wasn’t looking for anyone, but yet I saw Kelly, Jim, Shelly, Doug, it was crazy. 10,000 people and again I am running into others that I know.

I removed my sleeves, it was already warm, it was going to be a toasty day. There wasn’t a breeze, either.

The herd began to move toward the starting line, here it was, my 50^th marathon!

I kept my heart rate at 140 or below the whole way. The heat caused it to rise a few times. I noticed the black flag warning of excessive heat at about mile 10. I then drank, grabbed a sponge at the aid stations and walked until it came back down to 140. Only a few steps, and back down it went. I wasn’t going to push it.

During the race I used a scoop of UCAN at mile 18, I had a strawberry and orange slice during the race that was handed out.

At about mile 11 I was running along and pretty soon Scott was at my side!  What a nice surprise!  He and Greg were running together. We gabbed for a while and then they were running too fast.; I looked at my HRM and told them to have a good race, I was staying at 140. That was my plan.

At mile 19 I began to look for Kim, it was so great to see her and Barry. Hugs. I was ready to move on. At mile 22 I stopped to say hello to our hosts, then up the hill I climbed, onto the finish line.

I was getting warm. It was toasty. I saw the 445 pace time pass me, I was ok with that. My first marathon and slowest marathon was 459. I felt that this 50^th marathon would probably be about the same. I was happy with that. I only wanted to finish healthy. My feet didn’t hurt at all, nothing hurt. I was in a good place, albeit it a bit warm.

I thought about the 18 years that have passed since I first ran this marathon. I thought about my family, the friends that I have made, the sobriety I have kept, all of the lift changes…running has been a constant.

I am truly blessed. I crossed the finish line with tears in my eyes and a smile on my face. 4:50.  I felt fantastic! 

Oh. My. Gawd.

Oh my gawd. Quick Story: I did it. I more than passed my goal. I ran a 3:59:51. A sub four hour marathon. My dream. My goal. Yes, Jenna, it rocked my world!! You are so right. Thanks for your comments, I do appreciate them, so very much! I need your email address so I can talk back and forth more frequently!

I've never set high enough goals for myself, you know, I'm afraid of failing.

Grandmas Marathon holds so many, many wonderful memories for me,as I wrote earlier. It was the first, I ran one with my Dad, and now, I can add my PR, my first sub 4 hour marathon.

For many, a 4 hour isn't a big deal. They run it as their first marathon. That isn't the case with me. A 4 hour marathon was the big chimichanga. A sub 4 would prove me as a 'real' runner.

At the Expo on Friday evening I walked up to the "Cliff Pacing Team" booth. It is a booth where there is a designated person to run a designated marathon finish time. There is a 3:10 guy, a 3:20 guy, a 3:30 gal, up to 5 hours. They give out pacing charts that fit around your wrist, depicting the time you should be at each mile, to finish at your desired time. I asked a man for a 4:00 pacing band. He looked at me and said "JULIE"! I couldn't believe it. He was Danny Ripka, ultra runner extrodiannare. He wins FANS all of the time and just set the WORLD record last month for a 6 day race where he ran 490 miles. Yeah. He's very nice, but intimidating, hello...he's a professional! But a kind professional.

I told Danny I was looking to finish in 4 hours. We chatted, I told him what I'd been running, told him about McNaughton and FANS, etc. He told me no problem. I could run 4. Easily. Heh.

This was the first time I "voiced" my goal, that I wanted to run 4 hours. My friend Marie, who was with me was excited and told me yes, do it. OK, I'll do it. I'll try. That's all I can do . That's the commitment I can make.

At the Expo I ate 2 platefuls of spaghetti and meat sauce, 2 slices of bread and 4 cookies. Carbo load city. We went to the hotel well fed.

445 AM and time to eat again. 1 big bowl of raisin bran, 2 hard boiled egg whites and an english muffin. I'm full and ready to roll.

730 AM. I've found the 400 pacing time and am ready to go. iPod is on and loaded to rock. At this point I'm shy to introduce myself to the other members of the 4:00 group, I might not make it you know, (damn me and my low self esteem), and don't want to put myself out there to be ridiculed..like anyone would. Sheesh. So I run in back of the 4:00 pack, by 50 feet or so. I can see Danny up ahead with a stick that says 4:00 pacing team and attached to the stick is a bunch of pink balloons. I followed those balloons the whole race.

I had to make three pee breaks and one poop break. Each time I veered off I was afraid I'd never see the group again. Once I ran up ahead of them before I had to veer off so I wouldn't have to run so hard to catch up.

I was totally amazed. I felt strong. I felt good. I am woman hear me roar! It was a perfect day, a perfect race for me.

At the start there was a tail wind off of Lake Superior, it was 45 degrees and sunny. The high near the lake was 65 at the finish. Perfect. I'm so sick of running in the rain that the sun didn't bother me. It did get to a lot of people though.

OK, so about 23 miles into it and I have to poop. I know that there is a porta pottie at the top of Lemon Drop Hill, but you have to cross the road to the other side and it's a pain. But I really have to go. But the team will get away from me. The team has dwindled down from about 15 at the start to like 3 people and Danny. I go to the porta pottie. Then I run like hell. I can't catch them. I see the balloons but I can't catch them. At mile 24 I look at my pacing bracelet and I'm right on to the second! Go Julie Go! Run On baby.

I do. I run as hard and as fast as I can. People on the sidelines say "RUN PINK RUN" You look strong, pink, (I'm wearing a pink hat and top). It was awesome. Mile 25. I'm 4 seconds under the chart. Go Baby Go.

I come in at 3:59:51. OH. MY. GAWD.

I spoke with Danny at the finish line. Guess what? He's leading the 3:50 pacing group at TWIN CITIES MARATHON. Yup, I need a 3:50 to finish. And I'm broadcasting that goal.

BOSTON BABY!

So learn from me. Set high goals and you can reach them. You may suprise yourself!!

Grandmas Marathon

Grandmas Marathon is so much fun. It holds special memories for me, as it was my first marathon 7 years ago. I had been running for roughly 6 months when I did my longest run of 7 miles. Right then and there, as I ran into the driveway I had the great idea of running a marathon. I grew up only 60 miles north of Duluth, so I knew that Grandmas Marathon was a pretty big deal. Wow, is it ever!

I've run Grandmas Marathon every year since the first one. Saturday will mark my seventh.

I thought I'd be pretty beat up from running 24 hours at FANS 2 weeks ago, but, ahem, I only ran 50 miles so I'm pretty well recovered and think I can run the race pretty hard.

The Cliff Pace Team will be running-they have a 4 hour pace group I may run with. I've never run a 4 hour marathon. My best was last year at Twin Cities Marathon when I ran 4:06 or something.

I'd be super thrilled to run a 4-415, satisfied with a 415-430 considering I haven't done a ton of speed work. But for TCM, I'm definately training for a sub 4. Yup. I'ts time.

My Dad ran Grandmas with me in 2000. That was awesome! Sharing the race with him is something I'll always cherish. Mom, Dad, my sister and her family, my family, they all come along and cheer for me. Our hotel is at set at mile 23 on the race course so I give out hugs there and then they find me 3.5 miles down the road at the finish line. It's loads of fun!

Grandmas Marathon 04. I and Ann, her first marathon!