Pre-run - Lambeau Field tailgaiting. Gatorade and water are provided on the route, so I filled one of my bottles with beer and the other with coffee!!!
8,000 runners total...
MILE 1 - (7:10) Here we go!!!... OK, not yet!.. How long to get to the start line?!....
Ten minutes to the start. Not bad for this many people! Naturally I drank the beer just before the start line! (at 7:10 a.m. for the record)...
MILE 2 - Never in my life have I had so many people to run with!...
MILE 3 - VERY hot and humid already!...
MILE 4 - (7:45) The amount of volunteers out here giving their time, on a Sunday, to hand out water, gatorade, and support is amazing!...
MILE 5 - (7:59) Being able to run early marathons on hot days at home, like yesterday's pre-3 a.m. run, I can easily avoid this kind of heat. Making today's marathon the hottest I have ever had the opportunity to run!...
MILE 6 - (8:11) So far most of these streets have been lined with trees providing lots of shade!...
MILE 7 - (8:23) Loving this atmosphere...
MILE 8 (8:36) Every now and then I have to remember just to look around and take it all in...
MILE 9 - (8:50) Feeling quite comfortable so far...
MILE 10 - (9:03) Out in farm land now!..
MILE 11 - (9:17) It is early yet, but so far, my feet are holding up good!...
Two for two!!! @9:27 a.m. WE WERE ALL JUST TOLD THAT THE EVENT HAD SHUT DOWN!!!!
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES CAN'T KEEP UP!!!
MILE 12 - (9:31) The forecasted rain for today looks like it will not be here until late afternoon!..
MILE 13 - (9:34) The nice police officer told me I HAD to stop! So I took off my bib and he said I still must go back. I kindly told him I am no longer wearing my number so I am merely a spectator at this point, then I turned an ran on! (He just shook his had at that point)...
MILE 14 - (9:47) Then I plugged in the address of the campground into my i-phone and mapped out a route to the campground to the south on the fly. I love technology!..
MILE 15 (9:49) No more port-a-potties for the next eleven miles!...
MILE 16 - (10:11) But I do still have my 8 oz of coffee and 8 oz of gatorade!...
MILE 17 - (10:23) I ran with no shirt so convenience stores are not an option. I did run through a Burger King drive through on Oneida Ave and they were kind enough to give me a large cup of water...
MILE 18 - (10:36) I also did not bring my debit card or cash because the fluids were provided on the route...
MILE 19 - (10:49) But, three of my kids are staying at the campground, so I am fortunate to have an experienced support crew!...
MILE 20 - (11:02) I think I still feel good, when the others were dropping long ago because of the two beers I in the parking lot of Lambeau Field before the race! It's all about staying hydrated...
MILE 21 - (11:15) The coffee is now gone! Saving the last 8 ounces of Gatorade for around mile 23...
MILE 22 - (11:28) I no longer have the house and tree lined roads. The wind has become strong and it is out of the south. This is the kind of wind that I have to lean into (at least it is not raining!)...
MILE 23 - (11:42) I have the highway on the left and the cows on the right...
MILE 24 (12:02 p.m. Noon) I called in Kahlen (my son with the support vehicle) at mile 23 and took a short water break - now he is off to find some Gatorade...
MILE 25 - (12:15) Since I have continued to run south and straight into the wind, with gusts at some point that stop me right in my tracks, I am heading to the west (on hwy S) then back to the north (on hwy U). I am close enough to the campground that my son can find me easily to pick me up after my miles have been completed....
MILE 26 - (12:30) With the wind at my back now, these last few miles should be a breeze. (It looks like I made it to the next county!)...
MILE 27 - (12:44) My runmeter app on my iphone was started while I was in the parking lot at Lambeau Field. I did not care at the time because I was running a closed course. So by time I started the event, I was at one and a half miles. I am adding that on at the end because had the race not been cancelled I would have been at 27.7 miles on my runmeter. That is today's goal...
MILE 28 - (12:57) Plus this is a great day to work on my tan!...
FINISH LINE - (1:15 p.m.) I will end up running a little extra today, but I have learned much from this experience. Always carry a debit card and cash, and I should always wrap my shirt around my waist, in case an event is cancelled. We already know I am not quitting so I would rather have things and not need them. And even if it is an event, I should double check that my runmeter app starts at the right time. I ASSUMED it was a closed course and wouldn't need it. I am just thankful it was started at all so I could continue on.
Next stop Rochester, MN next Sunday (after marathons number 68 through 73 of course).
(updated every five minutes)
Link also includes stats, feedback and maps of past marathons
Just think, only 300 days to go!!!
I
have completed a full marathon seven days a week, whether I felt like
it or not, as a platform for a book that I spent 9 years working on.
The message of the book is that we can do pretty much anything ONE DAY
AT A TIME. The book is not about running, it is about improving. It is
about getting better at anything we want to improve at by making small
incremental improvements that make the difficult things not only
achievable, but relatively easy.
This
book was written for anyone who desires to get motivated and more
importantly discover how easy it can be to STAY motivated.
Anyone
can get motivated, very few can stay motivated. I am giving this book
the epic platform that it deserves because I believe that staying
motivating is the bridge between dreams and reality.
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