Kinda neat that after running the Lincoln Marathon a few weeks earlier I found myself in the Land of Lincoln running the Rockford Marathon. I flew into MKE instead of ORD because it was cheaper and the drive from MKE was nearly the same as the drive from ORD. As with most marathons of late I wasn't too sure on how I was gonna do considering I played goalie on Friday night and I don't do too well after hockey games (even 36 hours removed from the game)
There is just something about driving through the Midwest that I really like but can't put my finger on
On my way to Rockford I stopped at the Pabst Mansion but due to time constraints did not make the tour
After peeking through the window made my way down to Miller Valley and the home of Miller Brewing
After a quick bite to eat in Milwaukee it was time to hit the road to Rockford, IL
Some sights along the way:
After settling in and checking out the start location I hit JMK Nippon restaurant and was surprised to find it actually a Japanese style restaurant with "real" Japanese food - found it on facebook. Once I got back to the hotel - grabbed two glasses of (bad) wine and then called it a night even though there was a wedding reception taking place in the hotel
Race Morning
- Woke up feeling hung over but after some water and a breakfast bar felt like a champ but was still unsure of how I was gonna perform - this race was gonna be different than the ones over the last month or so
- Perfect weather for the race light head/rail wind partly sunny skies 49F at start - maybe mid 60s by the time I finished
- The course was pretty much through Rockford, neighborhoods, parks, along the Rock River and some tributaries of the Rock River - some sights from the course
Rock Guardians of Rockford
- After a steep but short uphill around Mile 12 my legs were nearly shot but somehow I kept plugging away and managed to run a 1:37:49 first half - putting me on pace for 3:15/3:16 finish time
- Shortly after Mile 15 I started passing people and when I pass runners it usually means I'm gonna have a good run (and then the bad ab pain made its appearance but not as bad as past races) - I usually feed on those good vibes
- Then shortly after that (maybe it was a mini-runner's high) a thought popped into my head about NOT stopping after 61 marathons....I still want to do an ultra does that count as a marathon?
- In all I passed 15 runners in second half
- The last two miles was a race against the clock as I was closer to a 3:21 expected finish than a sub 3:20 pace -- I really wanted a sub 3:20 pace and I knew it was gonna be close but all you can do is pick-up the pace and try your best
- And pick up the pace I did as I was able to finish in 3:19:43, 28th overall and 6th in my age group
- Why am I not sore following marathons? Its like I didn't run 26.2 miles
- My favorite marquee sign: Dirty Bibles lead to Dirty Lives
- My top "award" to creativity goes to a runner who had a sign on his back with pull-tabs soliciting people to run a marathon relay with him - the thing is all but two of his tabs were pulled
- I'm amazed at how many references the bible has to running
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
- Love driving through the Midwest never know what you'll see....like a pickup truck in a tree:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/9349
- Saw three Myrtle beach sweatshirts at the airport and in Rockford thought that was ominous sign leading up to the race (Myrtle Beach Marathon was canceled due to snow)
- Feel asleep while driving to Rockford, caught myself snoozing for a second or two not a good thing
Personalized license plates spotted:
Mybffpt (on a PT Cruiser)
Pygmy (on a Smart Car)
Big guy
Elct me 1
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