Twin Cities Marathon

My first marathon was the 3rd running of the Twin Cities Marathon in 1984. Even in its 3rd year, it was a big deal. After 25 years, I finally returned. After several hot and humid races this year, Twin Cities served up an absolutely perfect day. Mid-40's at the start, sunny most of the race, slight tail wind, and cloudy and 50 at the finish.

The race start was staged at the Metro Dome in downtown Minneapolis. I took the train down to the Dome, and went inside to stay warm before heading out to the starting line on the south side of the Dome. There were way more than enough bathrooms inside, so no long lines. About 15 minutes before the start I stripped off my warm-ups, and left them at the drop-off place.

When I got to the starting area they had two corrals. Fortunately, I had qualified for corral 1 at the Minneapolis marathon 4 months earlier – BEING IN CORRAL 1 ROCKS! The entrance to Corral 1 was about midway back from the front of Corral 2, and you had to walk in a narrow aisle to get up to Corral 1. I must have passed 5,000 people on my way up to the front. Then when I got to Corral 1, it wasn't very crowded – people were just mingling around casually. I could get used that. Then when the race started there were no waddlers, no TNT-ers running eight abreast at a 12 minute pace, and there wasn't a stroller in sight! At the gun everyone started running at the pace they had lined up for – AMAZING!!!!

As the race started, I hit "play" on the iPod Shuffle and the first song was Mason Williams' Classical Gas – a great song to listen to while running through the streets of Minneapolis on a cool, sunny morning. Around Mile 1, we passed The Basilica of St Mary. The Basilica is a major landmark in downtown Minneapolis, and it is significant to my family because my great grand-father built the church between 1907 and 1915, and my grand-father worked on the construction crew when he was a young man. The church has always been a sense of pride in my family. As we passed by the church, all of the bells were ringing wildly and it was a very nice way to start off the race.

Since it was about 45 degrees at the start, I wore an old long-sleeved t-shirt over my race shirt, along with a hat and gloves. At mile two I tossed the shirt, and at mile three I tossed the gloves. I didn't mind tossing the old shirt and gloves, but I realized that I probably wouldn't need the hat and I liked the hat. Just before mile 4 I saw my cousin standing among hundreds of people, and I flipped the hat back through the crowd right into his hand!

OK, time to race. I had settled into a comfortable 7:40 pace and my heart rate was good. The course went around Lake of the Isles, Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet, before following the Minnehaha Creek Parkway to Lake Nokomis. At Mile 10, just before Lake Nokomis, I ate my first 2 Shot Blocks. At mile 13 I ate my next two Shot Blocks. At Mile 15, I saw my loving wife Sheila near our house at Minnehaha Falls. All was well – the pace was still hovering in the 7:40-7:50, and I felt like I was on cruise control.

After a 4 mile run up the west bank of the Mississippi River, we crossed over into St. Paul around Mile 19. That's when I started to notice a little stomach gas – bloating and burping. I had this problem with Shot Blocks a few weeks ago at the City of Lakes 25k, but I have been using Shot Blocks for years, and thought it was an anomaly. At Mile 20 I realized it wasn't an anomaly. The nausea I was feeling had to be coming from the Shot Blocks. It really wasn't too bad, but the next four miles were the hilly part of the course, and the nausea didn't feel good. I could feel I was slowing, and knew that I needed calories, but the thought of more Shot Blocks wasn't a good thought at the time. At mile 22 I switched to straight water to try to calm the stomach. It seemed to help a bit. As I passed the next aid station at mile 23 I heard the normal calls for PowerAid and Water, but just as I passed I heard someone yell "Coke". That was probably exactly what I needed to settle the stomach and get some calories, but I was at the end of the race and didn't feel like stopping to go back… Oh, well.

In the end, I finished in 3:31:26. Fitness-wise I felt great at the finish. My legs felt good and my heart rate was comfortable. It was only the upset stomach that felt bad. After three marathons this year I think I have learned some good race management, and feel confident I can run an even 7:40 pace for the distance (given good weather). Now I just need to work out the nutrition issues with Shot Blocks. Maybe I'll go back to gels for the winter and see what happens.

Just after I crossed the finish line it started to rain. Fortunately, I got my warm-ups immediately and found an empty porta-potty to change in. The best part was seeing Sheila standing at the race exit with a hug and a kiss.

Oh, one other thing – I found out that 3:31:26 qualifies me for CORRAL 1 in Boston!!!!!

See you out there (Maybe in Boston?)