The Wiz Runs Long

2009 Hartford Marathon

2009-10-18T09:55:00.025-05:00

October 10, 2009

I turned in my worst performance for a race of any distance at the 2009 ING Hartford Marathon. Surprisingly, I'm not terribly disappointed, probably because the lackluster showing didn't come as that big of a surprise.

I hate making excuses and I don't like to over-analyze situations. Neither normally ends up being productive. In this instance, however, I will engage in a little of both to at least attempt to explain why I struggled so much in the race.

I'll start by saying that the Hartford Marathon is a fantastic event, one that I would definitely do again. The organization is top notch, the course is fair, the volunteers are great, the crowd support is strong enough and Bushnell Park is an ideal locale for the start and finish.

I picked Hartford because of its proximity to our new home in New Jersey, and because of the good reviews the race received on http://www.marathonguide.com/. I had hoped to do a marathon sooner in the season, but my schedule just didn't permit that.

In the days and weeks preceding the race, I knew that I wasn't in "marathon shape." My weekly running miles have declined since we moved to New Jersey, mainly because of longer work hours. Various other factors also kept me from being able to dedicate the time needed on weekends for long runs.

My longest run before this race was the Jersey City Half Marathon two weeks earlier. I performed well in that race, but wasn't under any illusion it had sufficiently prepared me for the marathon. Still, I thought that all the running I had done in the past 20 months (I had done 5 marathons and two long-distance relay races) would help me make it through the Hartford race without too much difficulty. After all, I had set a PR of 3:34:23 in Green Bay in May without having trained specifically for 26.2 miles.

Since the Hartford race is on a Saturday, I took the day off from work Friday so we'd be able to drive up as soon as Max got out of school at 300. We managed to leave Cranford by 3:30, but hit horrific traffic, especially once we got to the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut. The drive ended up taking nearly 5 hours, about twice as long as I expected.

The biggest problem with that was that we didn't make it to Hartford in time for me to go to the marathon expo. As a result, I wasn't able to stock up on the shot blocks and jelly belly sport beans that I typically use for marathons. Also, since the boys were anxious to go swimming in the hotel pool, it meant that I'd be getting to bed much later than I had hoped.

I remarked to Patty on a few occasions that evening that I felt wholly unprepared to run the race the next day. That said, I wasn't dreading the run, and I still thought I'd be able to turn in a reasonably good time.

I was up at 5:30 on race morning, after a fitful night of sleep. I ate a Clif Bar, had a coffee and drank water and Gatorade. I ate a bagel on the 1-mile walk over to the XL Center, where I would pick up my number and timing chip. The check-in was very efficient.

I got to Bushnell Park at around 7:00, an hour before the start of the race. Things were buzzing already, as the runners milled around and vendors set up shop for the day. The temperature was a very comfortable 60 degrees, and the rain that had been forecast looked as though it would stay away.

At around 7:30 I packed up my bag and headed over to the bag drop area. I also tried starting my Garmin, but it didn't work. There was nothing I could do to get it to function, so I packed that up, put on my Timex and handed in the bag. I was disappointed to not have the Garmin, since I'd run each of my previous marathons with it. But since I planned on running with a pace group, I wasn't too bothered.

I went to the bathroom and then headed to the start line, near the beautiful state capitol building. The sun was starting to peek out as I scoped out the runners and looked for the pace groups. I love the nervous energy at the start of marathons - that wonderful combination of excitement, optimism and trepidation all bundled up.

I wasn't sure which pace group I would run with. I thought briefly about trying the 3:30 group, but I knew that I didn't realistically have 8:00 per mile in me for the whole race. I wavered between 3:35 and 3:40 before settling on the former, thinking I had an outside chance of setting a PR.

The 3:35 group was wonderful. There were several guys between 50 and 55 who needed 3:35 to qualify for Boston, and there were also several women hoping to qualify. The pacer was serving in that capacity for the first time. He would be running his first NY Marathon in three weeks, after running a 3:05 at Hartford a year earlier.

The race started about 5 minutes late, but not many runners were complaining. The temps were comfortable and the camaraderie was enjoyable. I downed another Clif Bar while waiting.

The first mile goes through downtown Hartford before heading over the Founder's Bridge into East Hartford. We completed the first mile in about 8:45 owing to the crowd. We sped up a bit and completed the second mile in about 8:15, still slower than the 8:12 average pace we would need but everyone seemed pleased.

I was particularly happy because the Mile 2 marker was right in front of our hotel, where Patty and the boys were waiting to cheer me on. I gave them all a quick kiss, Patty remarked how sweaty I was after just two miles (temps were in the mid-60s and it was humid) and I was on my way.

Gradually - and quite expertly, in my opinion - our pacer sped up over the next several miles. By mile 9 we were almost on pace for a 3:35 finish and almost everyone in our group was running smoothly. I felt quite good, the only problem being that I really needed to use the bathroom again.

Around Mile 10, I stopped in a port-o-potty. I took care of business and was back out on the course, probably a little more than a minute after I stopped. I was eager to keep running with the 3:35 group, so I sped up - BIG MISTAKE.

I'm not sure how fast I ran, but I suspect it was about 7 minutes/mile, since I was blowing past everyone. I could see my group in the distance and I figured I could sustain this faster pace until I caught up, at which point their pace would feel slow.

I caught the group around 12.5 miles, and I was spent. I knew at that point I would probably struggle. That's awfully early in a marathon to have that feeling.

I passed the halfway point of the race in 1:47:48, just a few seconds per mile behind 3:35 pace, but I was cooked. I took a lengthy walk break right after crossing the mats at the midpoint. Up until then I had walked though most of the aid stations so I could get full cups of beverage. But from the midpoint on, I would be relegated to more-frequent and longer walks.

I was disappointed, but still thought I could finish with a reasonably good time. If I just ran 10-minute miles I would still finish in less than 4 hours. And even though I was struggling, 10-minute miles were going to be simple. Even 9-minute miles were possible.

I wasn't, however, factoring in the cramps that would wallop me in the following miles. Before mile 15, I started dealing with cramps in my thighs and calf muscles, the kind that make you grimace (as I'm doing in the picture) and sometimes scream in pain.

I'd had problems with cramps before - at the Philadelphia and Catalina marathons - but never this soon in a race. I actually considered, however briefly, that I might not be able to finish the race.

I decided I would recalibrate my expectations - as one of my friends says, "the goal in any marathon should be to finish without the need for emergency medical intervention". I also just tried to enjoy the event and the spectacle. The scenery at this point of the race was quite nice, the volunteers were great and crowd support was strong. I also knew I would see Patty and the boys a couple more times on the course.

When the 3:40 pace group caught up with me, I managed to run with them for about three-quarters of a mile before the cramping set it. When the 3:45 group came by, I just let them go. I don't remember seeing the 3:50 and 3:55 groups, but they most certainly passed me.

Patty and the boys were waiting for me around mile 20, as the course once again passed near our hotel. This would have been the perfect opportunity to bail on the race. Six miles is an awfully long way to go when you're struggling as I was. But I figured I was earning this medal, so I shuffled off.

The next few miles were run through an area near downtown Hartford that wasn't very scenic and had relatively little crowd support. I really wasn't enjoying myself at all at this point. Seeing the 4:00 pace group breeze past me was particularly demoralizing.

Then there's a stretch of a couple miles run on a path along the river. This is quite nice, especially the cheering zone at around mile 24 where I saw Patty and the boys one final time. That gave me a bit of sustenance.

The last two miles were a struggle, as I cramped up frequently. When I did manage to run, it was really a "Frankenstein shuffle" because I couldn't bend my legs too much and couldn't lift my feet very high off the ground.

Various people who didn't appear all that fit or capable were passing me. Remarkably, I was also passing a few people who seemed to be struggling even more than I was. For me, the most demoralizing moment came - even as it made me chuckle - when a lady passed wearing a shirt that said, "I'm not fat and slow, I'm pregnant and fast." She must have been about 5 months pregnant.

The home stretch of the race would have been exhilarating had I been feeling better. Crowd support is boisterous and runners pass under the arch just before crossing the finish line to hear their names announced. I finished with a chip time of 4:06:59.

Shortly after I crossed the line, before I received my mylar wrap, I could feel my left calf tightening. Within seconds it was a full-blown cramp that had me screaming in pain. A volunteer asked me if I wanted to go to the medical tent, but I declined since I knew I could rub out the knot and walk off the pain. It was the last reminder of the extent to which this race had humbled me.

I grabbed my medal and a little food. I wasn't in the mood to eat much, which was a bummer because Whole Foods was the supplier and it was a nice spread. I grabbed a bottle of green tea and started the slow trudge back to the hotel.

As I walked back, medal around my neck, several people congratulated me for finishing the race, including many people who still had several miles to go in the race. Just a few steps away from my hotel, I came across runners who still had 6 miles to go. When they congratulated me, I felt guilty for having written in an e-mail immediately after the race that my finishing time was "dismal". Here were people who were going to finish in 6 hours, and their accomplishment was every bit as significant as mine, or as the person who finishes in 2:30. Nothing "dismal" about it.

I showered and we loaded up the car for the drive back to Jersey, which took about half as long as the previous night's drive. We arrived home in time for the boys to play outside with their friends, and we enjoyed a wonderful day on Sunday. I am a huge fan of Saturday marathons for exactly those reasons. So nice to have some time to wind down before heading back to work.

All-in-all, this was an enjoyable marathon experience. I didn't have a particularly fast finishing time, but I learned some valuable lessons about preparation and race strategy that should help me in future races. Next stop on the The Wiz's marathon circuit: New Orleans or a return to Napa in early 2009. Maybe even Richmond in a month!

Jersey City Half Marathon

2009-10-09T10:03:00.015-05:00

September 27, 2009

The Newport Liberty Half Marathon has a beautiful course, which will sound surprising to many given that the race takes place in Jersey City. What makes it so special is that about seven miles of the race traverse paths through Liberty State Park, with views of the Manhattan skyline, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Unfortunately, the 16th running of the race took place in a drenching rain that created massive puddles and mud, while gloomy skies obscured what should have been awe-inspiring views.

No matter, it was a wonderful way to spend a rainy Sunday morning.

My friend Gregg had lured me to this race. He'd run the Fox Cities Marathon in my hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin a year earlier. So it was only fair that I run a race in his adopted hometown.

I was eager to run the race. It was a great opportunity to spend some time with Gregg. It also seemed like a good training run for the Hartford Marathon on Oct 10.

I met Gregg at his spacious apartment in Jersey City about an hour before the start of the race. We planned to jog about a mile to the start line along with a friend of his who was also running the race. The friend arrived about half an hour later than expected, so we drove part of the way and jogged the rest. Gregg and I made it to the start line a few minutes before the start.

The upshot of all this was that I didn't have time to go to the bathroom and I hadn't had enough to drink before the race. In the end, that didn't seem to affect my performance, but it did make me a bit anxious at the start.

The race started at 8:30, near the Newport Pavonia rail stop near the Hudson River. The temperature was around 55 degree and there was a light rain falling. The forecast had called for a 100% chance of rain, so it seemed likely that we would be running in the rain throughout the race.

The first mile was slow because of the large number of runners. It didn't bother me too much because I wasn't planning on going all-out on this run. I wanted to keep my pace at around 7:30 per mile. I finished the first mile in a little over 8:00 minutes, so I figured I could get back on pace slowly over the next several miles.

The first few miles are run through the streets of Jersey City, an area that I knew reasonably well since I worked for several years at Harborside near the Exchange Place train PATH stop. I felt strong at the start, and the rain wasn't really much of an issue as we ran through the city.

The weather conditions started to play more of a role when we entered Liberty State Park about three miles into the race. We encountered large puddles, which most people attempted to avoid in this early part of the race. The problem was that sometimes going off the path was worse since the grass was muddy. Another factor in the park was the wind, since there were no buildings to block the gusts. As we wound our way through the park - with the rain and wind picking up at times - there was much less incentive to sidestep the puddles since we were already soaked.

At the half-way point of the marathon I was exactly on my 7:30/mile pace. I wasn't sure I would be able to sustain that speed, but I also knew that I wouldn't run out of gas. I had been eating gel shots and drinking plenty of water. My feet bothered me a bit as they squished around in my soaked shoes, but overall I was doing well.

I slowed a bit in the second half of the race, taking slightly longer walk breaks through the aid stations, but I didn't have any miles of more than 8:00 minutes. As I entered the final 5K of the race, I wasn't concerned about my time; I just wanted to finish strong.

Around mile 13 I saw Gregg on the sidelines - he had finished ahead of me in 1:32:33 - and he was prodding me to pass the guy in front of me. I managed to do exactly that, and crossed the finish line in 1:39:20, a 7:35/mile pace. It was good for 216th out of 1579 finishers. I was 30th of 135 in my age group. See full results here.

My finishing time ended up being just 25 seconds slower than my half marathon personal record. I had only one half marathon previously - in 2007, I did the half marathon at the Fox Cities races in Appleton. Before the Jersey City race, I hadn't checked to see what my finishing time had been at the previous half marathon. Had I known I was so close to a PR, I might have had enough in me to make up those 25 seconds. But I was still pleased with my performance, especially considering the weather conditions.

After the race, we jogged about a mile back to Gregg's apartment. We enjoyed a breakfast of pancakes, orange juice and coffee along with Gregg's wife and her family. Then I headed back to Cranford to spend the rest of Sunday with Patty and the boys. All-in-all, it was a great day.

Milan Melon Festival

2009-09-07T18:26:00.014-05:00

I ran my first race in a few months today, and I won! Well, I won my age division - the always-popular 38-44 bracket.

As is something of a tradition, Patty, the boys and I spent the Labor Day weekend in Ohio. We had a wonderful time visiting with Patty's parents and spent a perfect day on lovely South Bass Island. Today, I ran the 36th edition of the Milan Melon Festival Road Race.

I had twice before participated in the MMFRR, first in 2006 in the 5K and again in 2007 in the 10K, where I finished 3rd in my age group. This is a well-organized event in a nice, small town that happens to be the birth place of Thomas Edison. The t-shirt is always superb, and all can be had for a modest race-day entry fee of $12.

There was no 10K this year, so I toed the line in the 5K, hopeful that I would be able to place in my age group. I looked at the finishing times from recent years, and it seemed as though I could get a top-three finish if I broke 20 minutes. I hadn't run a 5K in more than a year, and hadn't done that much speed training, though I did run a few 3.5-mile races earlier in the summer.

I arrived at the race locale about 75 minutes before the race. I wanted to ensure that I registered soon enough to get one of those precious t-shirts. Rain had been forecast, but skies were partly sunny when the race started at 9:00 am, with the temperature a very comfortable 65 degrees.

I felt great in the first mile, which I finished in 6:12. I slowed in the second mile on purpose, as I was hoping to run an average 6:20 pace and was certain I wouldn't be able to sustain the pace I ran in the first mile. I did the second mile in 6:28, which was a bit slower than I would have liked. I completed the third mile in 6:24, and did the final 1/10th of a mile in 44 seconds.

I had no kick in me at the end. One guy who must have been about 25 blew by me in the last 50 yards or so, but I wasn't too disappointed. My finishing time was 19:48 (a 6:22 per mile pace), which was my second-fastest 5K. (I ran a 19:24 in June of 2008 at the Roselle Run for the Roses in the Chicago suburbs)

I finished 10th overall out of 373 participants. Among the people who finished in front of me was a 12-year-old boy who beat me by four seconds. The top woman finished six seconds behind me.

I've had a great few days of running. I ran 9 miles on Saturday when we arrived here and I did 6.25 miles late Sunday afternoon. I wasn't sure I would have much gas left in the tank for the Monday morning race, so that's another reason I was so pleased with the result today.

I've got the rest of the week off from work, so I look forward to a few more long runs. I'm doing the Jersey City Half Marathon in a few weeks (hoping to finish in 1:35) and I'm planning to do the Hartford Marathon next month (hopefully in less than 3:30).

Central Park - The Rematch

2009-07-10T21:47:00.003-05:00

We had a perfect night for the media challenge in Central Park on Wednesday. Unfortunately, my News Corp. team finished second - again. We were beaten by our old nemisis, McGraw Hill.

I finished the 3.5 miles in 22:50, a 6:31 pace and 41 seconds faster than I ran the same course a few weeks earlier. But it was a fast crowd, and I finished in 23rd place, compared with the 20th place showing previously. (I'm told the summer intern factor played a role in the fast times. That makes sense, but I think the conditions were just considerably nicer than they were the last race.)

Once again I failed to place in the Masters category, though I was just 20 seconds behind my buddy Gregg, who collected some hardware for the third race in a row. Since I narrowed the gap on Gregg, I'm fairly certain he's hearing my footsteps in his dreams.

All in all, it was a wonderful race on a great course on an absolutely flawless night for running. I particularly enjoy spending time with good friends from Dow Jones.

I'm looking forward to a couple long runs this weekend. I'm thinking about doing 6 miles on Saturday and 12 miles on Sunday. The weather looks to be perfect.

Run long!

My New Running Home

2009-07-06T20:29:00.005-05:00

We've been in New Jersey now for almost a month, and we're acclimating quite nicely. We're living in temporary housing in Union, until we take ownership of our home in Cranford next week. My running hasn't been as consistent as I would like, in part because of the locale but mostly because of long hours at work. I have managed to get in about 30 miles a week, which is a nice base.

I did my first race in Central Park a few weeks ago, completing a 3.5-mile course in 23:31, a 6:43 pace. I was reasonably pleased given my lack of speed training, but I am hoping to get in under 23 minutes at the next race this week. The races are part of the NYC Media Challenge, and my News Corp team has a good shot at winning both individual events and the overall title.

I haven't selected a fall marathon, though am thinking that the Detroit Marathon could be a good fit. I have two friends who are planning to run the race, and I could combine the trip with a visit to my in-laws on the lovely North Coast of Ohio.

The only other racing on my schedule currently is the River To Sea relay from the Delaware River Gap to the Jersey shore, on Aug. 1. I'll be proudly representing the Dow Jones Deadliners, with many of the same participants who raced the American Odyssey relay from Gettysburg to Washington DC a few months ago.

2009 Green Bay Marathon - The News

2009-05-22T22:41:00.031-05:00

TITLETOWN USA - Stephen Wisnefski recorded his fastest marathon finishing time at Sunday's 10th running of the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon.

Well-rested, injury-free and aided by ideal running conditions, Wisnefski completed the race in 3:34:23, an 8:10 per mile pace. His previous best was a 3:35:11 finish at the Community First Fox Cities Marathon last September in nearby Appleton, Wis., Wisnefski's hometown.

Wisnefski, who completed his fifth marathon in 15 months, was pleasantly surprised with his performance Sunday. Going into the race, he was unsure what to expect given that he hadn't done the kind of training he typically would have for a marathon. He ran less than 20 miles in each of the three weeks prior to the race.

"I think the relative lack of training turned out to be quite beneficial," Wisnefski told his mom, dad and two sons after the race. "My body was more-rested than usual; my legs were fresh."

Wisnefski started Sunday's race runinng along with the 3:40 pace group, but moved ahead of the group after a few miles. He ran the first five miles at an average 8:02 per mile, putting him on pace to finish closer to the 3:30 finishing time that has long been his goal.

At the 10-mile marker, Wisnefski had an average pace of 7:59 per mile, and he hit the midway point of the race in 1:44:20, or 7:57 per mile.

It was around the halfway point that Wisnefski first caught sight of the 3:30 pace group. He decided he would try to keep them within view and maintain his pace around 8 minutes per mile for the remainder of the race.

Much of the second half of the Green Bay Marathon is run on a paved trail along the Fox River. The scenery provides a welcome change for the runners.

Wisnefski held on to his 7:57 per mile pace through mile 15 and was gaining ground on the 3:30 pace group. By mile 17, he caught up with the group and started running with the pack.

"I didn't set out to catch up with the 3:30 pacer, but was able to do it by holding my pace steady," Wisnefski said. "It was a good group; the miles really ticked off when I was with those guys."

Running with the group, Wisnefski's pace slowed a bit the next few miles. At mile 20, his average pace was 7:59 per mile.

Wisnefski said he felt better at this point of the race than he had in previous marathons. During this race, to avoid the cramping that plagued him in his last two marathons, Wisnefski walked through nearly every aid station and consumed one or two cups of Gatorade.

The weather also helped. The temperature at the start was in the low 40s, under sunny skies. The temperature never got above 60, and the wind was light.

Wisnefski stayed with the pace group through mile 22, but fell back from the pack soon after that when he took a longer-than-usual walk break through an aid station. He ran mile 23 in 8:15, but just didn't have the energy to catch up with the pace group again.

"I realized I just didn't have it in me," Wisnefski said. "I started calculating what it would take to get a personal best, and I was confident I could achieve that."

Wisnefski, after all the hydrating he'd done, was also in desperate need of a bathroom. He stopped at a port-o-john in mile 24, and felt considerably better after that.

Runners look forward to running a loop through historic Lambeau Field in the final mile of the race. For Wisnefski, a life-long fan of the Green Bay Packers who hadn't been in the stadium in 30 years, it was a special treat.

"It was one of the main reasons I decided to do this race," he said, referring to the loop through Lambeau. "Seeing Lambeau in the distance (in mile 26) provided a big mental boost, and coming out of the tunnel into the stadium was really inspiring."

The Lambeau inspiration, as well as the sight of his parents and sons, enabled Wisnefski to pick up the pace in mile 26, which he completed in 7:50.

The finish line is visible to runners when they exit the stadium, only about a tenth of a mile away. Wisnefski made a final push when he realized he could have a clock time of less than 3:35. The chip time was about 30 seconds faster than the clock time.

Feeling better than he ever had at the end of a marathon, Wisnefski retrieved the truly unique medal and sought out his family. He then enjoyed a brat and Titletown Brewing Company 26.2-Mile Ale.

Wisnefski finished 313th out of the 1585 runners who completed the marathon. He was 57th out of 175 in the 40-44 male bracket. Click here and here for the details.

The Green Bay race capped a busy start to 2009 for Wisnefski, who ran the Catalina Marathon in mid-March and was a member of a team that participated in a 200-mile relay race from Gettysburg, Penn., to Washington DC last month.

Wisnefski isn't sure what comes next on his running schedule, as he's getting set to transfer to the New York area. He says he's looking forward to training and racing with his colleagues there.

2009 Green Bay Marathon - Part 2

2009-05-19T13:46:00.005-05:00

May 17, 2009

Just about every aspect of the Green Bay Marathon was fantastic - the organization (efficient), the course (beautiful and flat), the volunteers (helpful and friendly), crowd support (boisterous), the loop through Lambeau Field (inspirational) and the finish line atmosphere (festive). The medal - with its unique ribbon - was incredibly cool. I can't recommend this race highly enough.

Oh, and I ran a personal best of 3:34:23. I'll post a full race report later in the week.

Making The Move (Finally)

2009-05-15T08:54:00.005-05:00

Starting a month from now, I'll be doing most of my running in Cranford, NJ. After four years in the Chicago suburbs, we're moving back to the Garden State. Read about our real-estate adventures in this post.

2009 Green Bay Marathon

2009-05-13T16:43:00.005-05:00

I'll be running the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon on Sunday, May 17. I haven't been able to train as much as I would have liked for a variety of reasons, so a PR is out of the question. I am going to shoot for 3 hours 45 minutes, or about 8:35 per mile.

I'm really looking forward to the loop through Lambeau Field in the final mile, and it will be wonderful to have my parents and sons there to cheer me on at the finish line.

Click here for map of the course.

Go Packers!

2008 Philadelphia Marathon

2009-04-13T21:02:00.017-05:00

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov. 23, 2008

I didn't get a chance to do a write-up on this race while the memories were still fresh, but I can summarize my thoughts in a few sentences here. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the race, which took us through the historic sections of the city and downtown, as well as through a very scenic stretch through a park near the river. I didn't, however, enjoy the long out-and-back that comprised the second half of the race. I struggled with severe thigh cramps in the last six miles and finished about 10 minutes slower than hoped.

Click here for the results.
Click here for the details.

Post-marathon struggles!

2009-04-10T12:27:00.006-05:00

Anyone who's run a marathon will appreciate this UK commercial, courtesy of YouTube!

2008 Napa Valley Marathon

2009-04-09T21:37:00.027-05:00

Napa, California
March 3, 2008

Yesterday, on a sunny day in a beautiful part of the world, I completed my first marathon. I worked hard to get to this point, and the payoff is beyond description. Those who have run marathons will know the feeling - an enormous sense of accomplishment, pride, pain and, above all, happiness. I know a lot of people run marathons, but it's still a relatively select group. I am honored to be part of that group.

The temperature was about 40 degrees at 5:30 Sunday morning when I boarded the bus outside my hotel in Napa for the 26-mile trip north to the start line in Calistoga. It felt very comfortable after months of training in brutally cold conditions in the Western Chicago suburbs.

It felt significantly colder when we got off the bus in Calistoga, with a strong wind that fortunately would be at our backs during most of the run. The sky was full of stars and it was clear that a lovely day was in the works.

Patty and I had arrived in Napa shortly before noon on Saturday. We had been looking forward to this trip for months. It's the first extended period we've had on our own since Max was born in 2001 and we'd never been to Napa Valley. We left Max and Leo with Patty's mom, who came to Naperville from Ohio to watch them.

After settling in at the hotel, I went for an easy 3-mile run. It felt good to run in warm temps and wear shorts again. I'm not sure a run was necessary, but I suspect it helped me acclimate a bit to the new conditions and also got my blood flowing after the long trip.

Patty and I had lunch and then headed over to the marathon expo, where I heard some inspiring presentations by marathoning legend and 1984 gold-medal winner Joan Benoit Samuelson, ultra-marathoner Dean Karnazes (who had run from San Francisco Saturday and would do the marathon on Sunday before running back to San Francisco) and Dick Beardsley, a two-time Olympian who had a historic battle with Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon.

We went to a steak house for my pre-race dinner, which consisted of a salad, 10 ounces of prime rib, a baked potato and a beer. And of course I was drinking water non-stop. I was in bed by 9:00.

I slept reasonably well and was up at 4:00. After a quick shower, I ate an oatmeal breakfast bar and drank about 16 ounces of Gatortade. I had a coffee in the hotel lobby, and I ate a Clif Bar and drank water on the bus.

The atmosphere at the start line was fantastic. The sun was just starting to come up and the views of the mountains were amazing. I was full of nervous energy, but really not any more so than I am for 10Ks. I felt strong and confident.

There was the usual crowd-induced slowness at the start and, even though I wasn't too far back, it took me about 30 seconds to cross the start line. The Napa marathon doesn't use race chips for timing (note - the race did use chip timing in 2009 for the first time), so if you have a time goal you can't afford to start too far back in the pack.

I had set a goal of running a 3:30 marathon, or an 8 minute per mile pace. I wanted to run the early miles a few seconds better than that so I could walk through each of the aid stations and drink water or Gatorade. There were aid stations about every two miles.

I completed the first mile in 8:32, which was fine since I knew I could gradually make up the time and get back to goal pace. My splits for each of the next 12 miles were between 7:44 and 7:59, and at the half-way point I was at an average pace of 7:57.

The first half of the Napa Valley Marathon course treats runners to spectacular scenery, which is made all the better by the early-morning sunshine shining on the mountains and vineyards. I tend to get completely focused on my running, so I kept reminding myself to enjoy the scenery.

The road winds through hilly terrain through the first half of the race, but there's more downhill than uphill. Because of that, I allowed myself to do something I normally don't do during training - run slower up hills and make up the time on the downhills. I maintained a steady effort going uphill and shortened my stride a bit, and didn't worry if that resulted in a slower pace. It was a good strategy, because I felt strong when I crested each hill and was easily able to recover any lost time coming down.

I felt great at the half-way point. The only minor concern I had at that point was some soreness on the ball of my left foot that felt like the beginnings of a blister. I slowed the pace slightly the next few miles, running miles 14-16 at an average 8:07 pace.

One of the highlights of the race for me was seeing Patty at mile 16. She was waiting there with a kiss, a hug and a bottle of water. It gave me a nice boost.

The crowd support at the Napa Marathon is good, where it exists. There's limited access to the Silverado Trail, which comprises 23 miles of the course. So there was crowd support every few miles, and it was boisterous, but there are long stretches where all you see are your fellow runners.

I noticed some tightening in my thighs around mile 18, which I had completed in 7:48. Up to that point I had consumed three GU gel packs, a bag of Jelly Belly sport beans, a banana and several cups of water and Gatorade. I wasn't sure if there was much I could do at that point to avoid cramping. Every step I took after mile 18 was new territory for me. I had never run longer than that in training, and certainly hadn't done my training runs at the pace I was going now.

I managed to complete mile 19 in 8:14 and did mile 20 in 8:09. But by this time I knew my goal of 3:30 was in jeopardy, because my legs were really tightening up. The killer for me was a gradual incline that lasted about three-quarters of a mile around mile 20. It's a hill that you wouldn't think much of early in the race, but deep into a marathon it grabs your attention and it hurts.

I started walking slowly through aid stations at this point, eating and drinking as much as I could. I did mile 21 in 9:30. This was a tough point in the course psychologically, because once you crest the aforementioned hill it's a straight shot for three miles and you can see all the runners out in front of you, and you can't imagine having to run all that distance.

I did mile 22 in 8:33, but slowed to 10:02 in mile 23, owing to a lengthy walk through an aid station. I considered getting some treatment for the pain in my thighs, but decided that I would just tough it out. I knew 3:30 was impossible, but I still had my sights set on 3:40.

The course makes a right turn off the Silverado trail around mile 23 to head into Napa. It was a welcome change of pace. I had stopped enjoying the scenery long before and this signaled to me that the race really was drawing to a close.

In mile 24, though, I had the unpleasant experience of a blister popping, the one that I had felt forming on the ball of my left foot. The pain was so severe that I let out a little yell. I limped along for a few seconds and then started running on the side of my foot so as not to put pressure on the blister area. After a few minutes, I got used to it. I just kept thinking that I had less than 5K to go.

I did mile 24 in 9:39 and mile 25 in 9:18. I walked for about a minute when I crossed mile 25 and then started the final stretch. I did mile 26 in 10:02.

The cheers from the crowd near the finish line provided a big boost. I picked up the pace, particularly in the last 50 yards or so when I saw the clock at the finish line and realized I could still break 3:40 (I'm not sure how fast I was running after mile 26 because I forgot to turn off my Garmin GPS watch until about two minutes after I crossed the finish line.) I finished in 3:39:57.

Every runner is greeted at the finish line by someone from the race who asks if you need anything, if you're in pain, tells you where to pick your sweat bag up, where to get food, etc. The lady who helped me stayed with me until it was clear I wasn't in distress and didn't need further assistance. I'm not sure if that's common at other marathons, but it's a nice touch.

One of the things that most pleased me about this race was that I didn't run out of energy, as I had during the half-marathon I ran in September. Any struggles I had were related to the cramping and the blister. Having not run any further than 18 miles in training, I think I did as well as I could. That's a good feeling.

I am already planning a fall marathon - the Fox Cities Marathon in my hometown of Appleton, WI - and hope to do another late winter/early spring marathon in 2009. Hopefully I'll be doing that one with some of you.

I can't recommend the Napa Valley Marathon more highly. The organization and the course are top-notch. (Good PR potential) And this is a great place for a few extra days of vacation. Patty and I have one more day in Napa Valley and then we're spending a couple days in San Francisco.

NAPA RACE SUMMARY:

My finish time of 3:39:57, a pace of 8:24 per mile, was good for 373rd of 1,759 finishers. In the 35-39 male group, I was 61st of 179. (Dean Karnazes finished in 3:51, and planned to run back to San Francisco, while Dick Beardsley finished in 2:49) Click here for the details of my run.

2008 Fox Cities Marathon

2009-04-08T21:07:00.008-05:00

Appleton, Wisconsin
Sept. 21, 2008

I decided to run the Community First Fox Cities Marathon because I wanted the chance to run through the area in which I grew up and to have family and friends there to cheer me on. The event ended up exceeding my expectations on almost every level.

Sunday's race marked the 18th annual running of the Fox Cities Marathon. I participated (sort of) in the first edition in 1991, as my best friend and I ran alongside his father for a few miles late in the race. The race route has changed and its stature has grown over the years, but its main allure remains the small-community friendliness that's apparent from the time you register until you cross the finish line.

Patty, the boys and I arrived at my parents' house in Appleton on Friday evening. It had been a challenging week at work and I hadn't gotten much sleep. I was looking forward to getting some rest before Sunday.

My parents had some friends over for dinner on Friday evening. Once we arrived, the conversation focused on my upcoming transfer, the wacky week on Wall Street and, of course, the marathon. One of the guests - a man named Henry who is married to my mother's best friend and really is like a member of the family - had run a marathon about 25 years ago. Injuries prevented him from doing more, but he remembered the experience fondly, and was eager to hear about my training, what time I hoped to achieve, etc. I suggested to Henry that he come out Sunday to watch the race, since it promised to be a lovely day and a great atmosphere.

On Saturday morning, I went for an easy three-mile run to work off the cobwebs after two days of not running. The temperature was around 70 and it was humid, and I was more tired than I would have thought possible at the end of the run.

After a quick shower I headed to the expo to pick up my bib and see about finding ways to spend money carelessly. The perfect target for my profligacy turned out to be a pair of double-layered, blister-resistant socks for $8. I tacked on a few GU gel packs and some Jelly Belly sport beans for good measure, then wandered around the expo for another 15 minutes to soak in the atmosphere.

That evening we went to dinner with Dow Jones's Mara Lemos-Stein and her husband Gregg, who by coincidence had decided to run the Fox Cities race as a training run for the NYC marathon. (Gregg had run 18 marathons previously, in locations as disparate as Rio de Janeiro, Geneva and Carlsbad. He also qualified for and ran Boston)

We ate at a Latin restaurant in Appleton. I thought long and hard about what to order, remembering the ribbing I took from fellow runners for my choice of steak and potatoes before the Napa Marathon. My compromise was a risotto with chicken, fish and, yes, STEAK. I had one beer and as much water as I could stomach.

We made arrangements to have Mara and Gregg meet us at my parents' house the next morning at 7:15. Our house is located just five minutes away from the start line, so we'd make it in plenty of time before the 8:00 start.

I didn't make it to bed until after 11:00 as we tried to tend to the boys and get everything set for the morning. Most importantly, we needed to set Patty up with a map so she and Mara could navigate the unfamiliar terrain and road closures to meet us at various points along the course.

THE START LINE

I got up Sunday around 6:15. I had a Clif bar and a banana, and water and Gatorade. I normally would have had a cup of coffee, but I forgot.

Thankfully, it was significantly cooler Sunday morning, with temps in the low 50s. It was overcast but with no rain in the forecast, so conditions were quite nice for a 26.2-mile run around my hometown.

We made it to the start area just past 7:30, but the lines for the bathroom were ridiculously long. We were still in line when the national anthem was sung and when the wheelchair racers set off at 7:55. We did our business with just a couple minutes to spare, received good-luck kisses from our wives and managed to line up for the run about 30 seconds before the starting gun.

I planned go out at pace between 7:40 and 7:45. I had been going back and forth in the previous days on whether to go for a Boston-qualifying time, which would require a 7:37 pace for my age bracket. I decided that I would go slightly slower than that BQ pace for the first half and, if I felt good enough, see if I could run between 7:35 and 7:40 through mile 20, and then do whatever I needed to do to get 3:20:59. My more-realistic goal was 3:30, and my backup goal was to beat my Napa time of 3:39:57. (Gregg was planning to run a 9:00 minute pace, treating this completely as a training run)

The start of the race passes through some quiet residential streets for several miles. The highlight of the early part of the race occurred at the start of mile three outside a church. A pastor was stationed on the sidewalk with his congregation in tow, leading them in hymms. One of the runners ran over and gave him a high five, which thrilled the church goers and put smiles on the faces of the runners not yet burdened with exhausted bodies and spirits. I'm not very religious, but hearing the singing was oddly inspirational.

I was running very smoothly at that point and feeling quite strong. I had completed mile 1 in 7:51 and mile 2 in 7:37. I completed that third mile in 7:38 and did mile 4 in 7:41.

At some point around mile 5, I started to feel some pain on the ball of my left foot. That had me thinking I was in the process of breaking some bones, ala Deena Kastor at the Olympics. But that worked itself out after a few miles. I did mile 5 in 7:44 and mile 6 in 7:48.

The Fox Cities Marathon made a more concerted effort this year to attract fans, creating party zones, with music, free pizza and beverages. In addition, each of the water stops had a TV show theme, with all the attendants dressed up as characters from the shows.

The first water stop had a Mash theme, which really would have been more appropriate later in the race. Others that I recall were Gilligan's Island, Grey's Anatomy, That 70s Show, The Flintstones and even Wheel of Fortune (with a wheel that runners were encouraged to spin).

Miles 7 though 10 took us through the towns of Kimberly, Little Chute and Kaukauna, and I was cruising. I did those four miles in 7:52, 7:42, 7:40 and 7:40.

WHERE'S MY WIFE?

I was looking forward to seeing Patty at a park in Little Chute at around the 9-mile marker, but she didn't make it in time. Apparently she underestimates how fleet of foot her husband is. I did, however, enjoy a guy playing guitar and singing a mean rendition of 'Lay Down Sally' in the park.

A mild stitch bothered me a bit in miles 11 and 12, but I was able to deal with it with some deep belly breathing. My pace actually picked up in this stretch, unintentionally. I did mile 11 in 7:34 and mile 12 in 7:41.

In the 12th mile there was a nice downhill stretch on a bridge near downtown Kaukauna. But that was followed by an even steeper uphill right around the 12-mile marker entering the town of Combined locks, just after that Wheel of Fortune water stop. When I got to the top, I felt a bit tired for the first time. But I got over that within about a quarter mile

I finished mile 13 in 7:46 and I was about a minute behind Boston-qualifying pace at the mid-point of the race. At that point I thought it was unlikely I'd be able to pick up the pace enough to qualify. So I set my sights on keeping up the pace I'd been running.

I did mile 14 in 7:47, and had the pleasant surprise of seeing Patty (at long last) just past the mile-14 marker. She was waiting there with Mara. Patty kissed me, handed me a bottle of Gatorade, and told me I looked great. With that I was on my way, with an extra spring in my step and feeling strong.

A short while later, I heard a man from behind me say, "looking strong, Steve". It was Henry, the family friend who had been at my parents' house a few nights earlier. He was on his bike with a fancy camera in tow. (He ended up taking 170 pictures that morning)

I felt great through mile 16. I didn't have any blisters or cramps, and I felt as though I'd been fueling properly. I'd walked through just about every aid station to drink full cups of water or Gatorade, and I had been eating gel and sport beans throughout the race. I completed mile 15 in 7:51 and mile 16 in 7:43.

GLORY DAYS

Around mile 17, I was pleased to come upon cheerleaders from Xavier High School, my alma mater. (There were cheerleading squads from all the local schools spread throughout the course.) I'm sure they cheered a bit louder for me as I ran by, as they no doubt remembered my glory days as shooting guard for the Xavier Hawks hoopsters during that magical 1985-1986 campaign.

I slowed somewhat in mile 17. I remember telling Henry, who was riding his bike alongside me, that a 7:45 pace seemed lightning fast at that point. I did mile 17 in 8:04.

By mile 20, I knew that the best finish I could hope for would be 3:30. Up until that point, my walks through aid stations hadn't lasted longer than 15 seconds or so. But now I was walking for at least 30 seconds through the aid stations, and my pace had slowed while I ran. I finished mile 19 in 8:21 and mile 20 in 8:26.

Patty and Mara were waiting late in mile 20. Patty could tell I was suffering. By that point I was really losing steam. My legs felt rubbery.

In mile 22, in one of the more-picturesque parts of the course at Jefferson Park in Menasha, the 3:30 pace group passed me. I had last seen them around mile 3. What seemed like a slow pace 20 miles earlier looked like a sprint to me now. I completed mile 21 in 8:50 and mile 22 in 8:40.

By this point my walks through the aid stations were lasting longer than a minute. I remember trying to tell myself that there were just four miles to go, and that my typical early-morning loop is four miles, so it should be easy. But it didn't work. I completed miles 23 through 25 in 9:48, 9:23 and 9:28.

During this stretch, it was great to have support from Henry, who was riding nearby and handed me the Gatorade bottle from time to time. He gave the occasional word of encouragement, but kept comments to a minimum realizing that I was in no position to carry on a conversation.

It was right around the mile-25 marker, near lovely Riverside Park in Neenah, that I saw my parents with Max and Leo. They were all cheering me on, and Max was standing in the road set to slap my hand as I went by.

That gave me some much-needed energy, but it didn't last long. I slowed to a walk a couple of times before finishing mile 26 in 9:51, my slowest mile of the race. That gave me more time to appreciate the hoopla, as well as the stately homes on Wisconsin Ave. and the beautiful waterfront in the second half of mile 26.

WIS-NEF-SKI

As we turned back toward Riverside park for the final stretch, I summoned the energy to speed up, and ran the last 2/10 of a mile at an 8:08 pace. Patty and Mara were there to cheer me on in about 100 yards from the finish, and my parents were at the finish line with the boys. Henry had managed to go inside the gates and start snapping pictures. I assume the race officials though he was one of the hired photographers or from a newspaper.

As I neared the finish line, for the second year in a row (I did the half marathon last year), the MC butchered my last name. ``Stephen WisNEWski finishes the marathon.’’ That’s inexplicable in an area with so many folks with Polish surnames.

I finished with a clock time of 3:35:32. The chip time was 3:35:11, far off a Boston-qualifying time but nearly a five-minute improvement over my first marathon. It was an 8:13 minutes per mile pace for the full race.

When I stopped moving at the finish, I immediately felt as though my legs would cramp up. One of the race volunteers put his arm around me to make sure I was o.k. and accompanied me to pick up the medal.

Then I noticed that three-year-old Leo was sobbing. He'd been cheering and smiling until he saw the volunteer help me. Apparently he thought I was hurt, and that set him off. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking all at once.

Max and Leo followed me to the refreshment area. I drank about a gallon of Gatorade and forced down a small sandwich, while the boys munched on Oreos.

A short while later Gregg and Mara found us. Gregg had finished his "training run" in 3:49. It was all the more impressive given than he had endured a small surgery just a few weeks earlier and wasn’t able to train as much as he would have liked. His longest pre-race run had been 16 miles. Gregg later wrote to me that the Fox Cities Marathon was the friendliest small-town race he’d ever run.

I, too, thought the race was fantastic. The course is flat, it goes through some nice areas and the crowd support - while not as boisterous as it is at other big-city races, I'm sure - is excellent, and filled with genuine charm and kindness.

My only criticism of the event was that late in the race the course got crowded with walkers, who were doing the half marathon, and full marathoners who had been allowed to start two hours earlier because they anticipated finishing in more than 6 hours. I also found it a bit demoralizing when members of relay teams flew by me in the latter stages of the race.

I hope to run this race again. I doubt it will be doing that in 2009, but maybe I could make this an annual event for me and my family.

My finishing time of 3:35:11 was good for 177th out of 1026 finishers. I was 27th out of 88 in the 40-44 age group. My major splits were 10K in 47:22, half in 1:41:33 and 20 miles in 2:37:03. (Note: The miles splits listed throughout the write-up above are based on what my Garmin Forerunner said. The mile marks that registered on my watch didn’t correspond exactly with the mile markers on the course. According to my Garmin, I ran a 26.33-mile race.)

2009 Catalina Marathon

2009-04-02T22:07:00.010-05:00

Avalon, California
March 14, 2009

I was near the highest point on the course around mile 22, overlooking the town of Avalon, when I encountered yet another ridiculous hill. There was no one else in sight, as had been the case for the last mile or so, and I was overcome with emotion. The endless climbing was getting to me and my legs were killing me. But I knew I would finish, and I felt an exhilaration I'd never before felt during a race. I was overwhelmed by the experience - the enormity of the challenge, the stunning beauty of Catalina Island and an immense sense of accomplishment combined to create a feeling that's difficult to put into words.

I had only signed up for the Catalina Marathon five weeks earlier, when I found out I would be traveling to Los Angeles on business. Like any dedicated distance runner, my first thought upon hearing I would be in L.A. was to seek out a race that weekend. I had never heard of the Catalina Marathon, but quickly grew excited as l learned about the race and about Catalina. In addition to the chance to run a great race, it seemed like the perfect escape for my wife Patty and me.

Working out the logistics to participate in this race presents quite a challenge. I suppose that's part of what makes it so special. There are few boats to and from the island, and it takes 90 minutes to get there from L.A. We thought of staying in Avalon, where the finish line is, but the desirable and affordable options were limited by the time we looked. Staying on the island, as it turned out, would have been only slightly more convenient than staying on the mainland. Even those staying in hotels on the island had to take a boat to the start line. Camping near the start line is an option, but that's not my speed.

We booked a room at a surprisingly luxurious Holiday Inn Express in Marina del Rey, not far from the airport and very pleasant. The Catalina Flyer ferry service had scheduled a special run for 4:00 the morning of the race, and it would be leaving from Marina del Rey.

For dinner the night before the race I had a very nice chicken piccata, with loads of angel hair pasta. I had a couple of beers and lots of water. I was in bed by 8:30 but couldn't fall asleep for about an hour.

A LITTLE ANXIOUS, ARE WE?

I had three alarms set to go off at 2:30, but was wide awake a half hour before that. My taxi was coming at 3:00 to take me to the pier, so I had plenty of time to eat, apply Vaseline and generally get anxious. I consumed a bottle of water and a banana. I didn't want to eat much because the ferry ride to Catalina is often quite rough, and I didn't want to have too much in me if I got sick on the boat.

I arrived at the boat-loading area by 3:15, 45 minutes before the departure. I was first in line, which wasn't my intention. I just was overly cautious about finding my way there because if I missed this boat, there would be no way to make it to the race. When a couple other early birds arrived ten minutes later, I told them that it had certainly paid off camping out overnight to get the first spot. They laughed.

The spirit among runners as we waited to board was contagious. First-timers were asking race veterans about strategy for tackling the hills, runners were comparing notes on how well-prepared they were, and there was plenty of talk about how lucky we were to have such a nice day for a race.

The enthusiasm continued on the boat for the first 15 minutes or so, but as folks settled in for the long ride, many fell asleep and others listened to their iPods, with just a few carrying on conversations. The waters were calm, but it felt a bit odd to be sailing across the ocean in complete darkness. I ate a container of Honey Nut Cheerios, a Power Bar, drank some coffee and had a bottle of water.

We disembarked around 5:30 in the town - if you can call it that - of Two Harbors, where the race would start. I headed straight to the registration area to pick up my bib and grab my bag-check tags. (No chip timing here)

I then entered the small diner where runners had congregated and asked a fellow runner if I could sit at his table. We struck up a conversation and - this is one for the 'small-world' files - quickly realized that we both worked for the same company - his name is John and he works in L.A., while I work in Chicago. This would be John's second Catalina Marathon, and he was using it as a training run for Boston, which he hopes to finish in under 3:00 hours. The pre-race time flew by as we gabbed about running and work. (He would finish this year's Catalina race in 4:10, after an astonishing 3:37 last year.)

We had to walk about half a mile to the start line, which was simply a white line painted across the dirt road. No banners, no blaring music or irritating MC. The runners were an eclectic mix - a more-grizzled lot than in your average marathon.

AND THEY'RE OFF!

The gun went off at 7:03 just as the sun was coming up. The temperature was in the high 40s, and conditions remained ideal throughout the race. The skies were slightly overcast throughout, so it was never uncomfortable even as the temperature rose.

The first third of a mile of the race may have been the longest flat stretch on the course. After that, we climbed above 800 feet by the 2.5-mile mark. We then descended to about 600 feet by mile 3, and then climbed about 400 feet over the next mile. I had to walk part of that climb, as did everyone around me. The views of Two Harbors below were stunning at the start.

My splits for the first four miles were 10:30, 9:57, 9:18 and 10:20. Though that's about two minutes slower per mile than I would typically run a marathon, I was quite pleased with my performance over a difficult stretch. I was hoping to finish the race in 4:30, so I was a bit ahead of that pace.

I was somewhat anxious, though, because my first dose of a steep downhill proved to me that going downhill took a big toll on the body. I wasn't accustomed to running such steep downhills for sustained periods, and certainly not over dirt and sharp rocks, so I was putting on the brakes with every step to avoid losing control. The experienced trail runners clearly knew how to let go, and their legs were conditioned to handle the pounding.

As we approached a sharp corner on a steep descent, I asked a fellow runner, only half-joking, whether he thought anyone had ever lost control, failed to make the turn, and tumbled down the hill. He told me he'd seen people over the years fall face first into the dirt. I didn't see anyone fall, but did see plenty of bloodied knees on runners crossing the finish line later in the day.

The next four miles were mostly downhill, losing a net 1000 feet in elevation. My splits for this stretch were 9:11, 9:32, 8:39, and 8:03.

The following three miles treat runners to some of the more beautiful views on the course, as well as some very steep ascents. I was walking up each of the big climbs, as I'd been advised to do by folks who'd done the race before. By this point, I'd decided that I would try to keep my average pace below 10 minutes per mile. I did miles 9 through 11 in 10:28, 8:56 and 10:56, and I was quite pleased with that.

With mile 12, runners venture into the heart of the island, moving away from the coast into areas that few tourists typically see. Mile 12 also has the last downhill stretch before 8 miles of climbing that take the runners from about 200 feet to 1500 feet above sea level. I completed mile 12 in 8:50.

HILL FROM HELL

I had studied the elevation chart closely before the race, so I was well aware of what lay ahead. Still, it was hard to comprehend just how tough the climbing would be until I was out there on the course. There was no way for me to train for these conditions back in suburban Chicago. I was just hoping that my legs would hold out long enough for me to finish. I could feel my right calf tightening a bit on occasion, and my thighs hurt on the downhills.

I had to walk a bit in mile 13 and also made a pit stop to use the bathroom at a place called Eagle's Nest Lodge (which wasn't really a lodge at all as far as I could tell) at the 12.9-mile mark. I finished mile 13 in 10:14.

My time was somewhere around 2:07 at the half-way point of the race. I started thinking that I might be able to finish in 4:15, but I didn't dwell on it.

The nice thing about having to endure steep climbs is that the not-as-steep climbs seem flat by comparison. As a result, I was able to settle into a nice groove for the next few miles. My splits for mile 14 through 16 - a stretch that involved a relatively modest 300-foot elevation gain - were 9:20, 9:50 and 9:02.

It's probably worth mentioning something here about crowd support. There really was none to speak of until the last half mile or so of the race. The population of the whole island is less than 4,000, and nearly all those folks live in Avalon. (Interesting note - William Wrigley purchased Catalina Island in 1919, and the Cubs did their pre-season training there from 1921 through 1951. The Wrigley family deeded its shares in the island in the mid-1970s to the Catalina Island Conservancy, which stewards almost the entire island now.)

The middle stretch of the course was particularly tough without anyone cheering you on, especially since the runners had spread out quite a bit by now. There were lengthy sections where I was running on my own.

The grades of ascent get steeper in the second half of mile 17, which caused me to slow my pace for that mile to 10:49, as I braced for some of the tougher climbs on the course.

I'd heard from plenty of folks earlier about how difficult Pump House Hill would be. It involves a 400-foot climb over nine-tenths of a mile, ending at about the 18.6 mile mark of the course. (By comparison, the much-ballyhooed Heartbreak Hill in Boston involves a near-100-foot climb over half a mile.) Everyone - except three guys running together who had to be in their early 20s and who looked remarkably fresh - walked almost the entire hill. I completed mile 18 in 13:16.

I met a guy walking up the hill (we'd been passing each other for miles) who told me he'd done this race eight years in a row. He advised me not to put any pressure on myself, to not worry about time. He said there was a lot of running left, including some significant climbs, and that the best advice he could give was to enjoy the beautiful scenery. He assured me the payoff would be substantial in the final miles.

There was a much-needed rest area at the top of Pump House Hill. I walked slowly through this area as I'd done at each one previously to consume food and drink. I had a couple cups of Gatorade, as well as some pretzels and M&Ms, which were available at every rest area. At an earlier rest stop I'd eaten a homemade chocolate chip brownie, which was a welcome treat. Fruit and gel were also available at some of the stops, and I had carried Jelly Belly Sport Beans and a couple packs of Power Bar gel on my belt. I felt as though I had done a good job of fueling.

ON MY OWN

I jogged away from the rest area onto the start of a two-mile stretch of paved roadway, and we were climbing once again. About a quarter mile down the road, my right calf locked up completely. I stopped momentarily to rub it, then walked a few yards, then shuffled off. I finished mile 19 in 13:12, and was now thinking that I'd be lucky to finish the race in 4:30, if I finished at all.

The climb continued until about the halfway point of the next mile, before a descent that enabled me to speed up the pace in mile 20 to 9:21. No cramps.

The next few miles had some quick, steep ascents and descents. My legs were generally sore at this point, so much so that even walking up certain inclines was tough. At one rest stop I took Advil, which was the first time I'd ever taken anything to deal with the effects of running. Until this race, I'd never event taken anything in the days following marathons.

I completed miles 21 and 22 in 12:40 and 11:01, respectively, and was completely on my own during most of that stretch. It was strange to be running in this reasonably large, and very-well-organized race, and to not see another soul in front of or behind me.

And so it was that I found myself in tears as I climbed what turned out to be the second-to-last big hill of the race. I can't pinpoint why I was so emotional, and maybe it doesn't really matter. It wasn't because I was in pain or that I thought I couldn't finish. In fact, I was feeling quite satisfied at that point. I knew that soon it would all be downhill, and the views of the town of Avalon below were amazing.

Three guys passed me in mile 23, as I walked one last time up a hill. We all congratulated one another and one of them assured the rest of us that we were just about to start the 1600-foot descent to the finish line. I finished mile 23 in 9:49.

SCREAMING THIGHS

The descent was exceptionally painful. With each step my thighs were absolutely screaming. The downward pitch was tough enough to deal with, but the uneven surface and sharp rocks added another challenge. My big toes were hurting now too from the rubbing against the sides of my shoes.

But, hey, at least I wasn't walking. I was moving at what seemed like a very fast pace, though it never got faster than 8 minutes per mile. A man and a woman who obviously had plenty of experience on hills blew by me. I asked the woman how her thighs felt, and she said, 'They feel great. I love this part.' (She ended up finishing nearly four minutes ahead of me, so she was flying.)

The guy I'd met on Pump House Hill also passed me late in mile 24. He congratulated me and told me to look forward to the crowd support in Avalon. We chatted momentarily about how difficult it was to train for a race like this in suburban Chicago, and he told me I should be very proud.

I finished mile 24 in 8:49, and was now thinking I might actually be able to finish in under 4:20.

I had another severe cramp in my right calf early in mile 25, but rubbed it briefly and shuffled along for a few seconds until I could resume my stride. I passed a handful of hikers who were enjoying a Saturday in the Catalina hills, another sign that I was approaching civilization. I finished mile 25 in 8:50.

Late in mile 25, the course leaves the trails and goes to paved roadways for the final stretch into town. I recalled that a fellow runner had told us while we waited for the boat earlier that we would know we had made it when we saw the Catalina golf course. So I was indeed relieved to see the golf course, though the good feeling dissipated when my calf locked up one final time. This one caused me to scream in pain, but I did the same rub-walk-shuffle drill and I was fine. I finished mile 26 in 8:34.

SOAKING IT ALL IN

No one had passed me in the previous two miles and I was intent on not letting anyone do so before I crossed the finish line. I had never felt so strong in the final stages of a marathon. Maybe all the walking had helped me conserve energy. Maybe the running on dirt had taken less of a toll on my body. Maybe I'm just in better shape after running four marathons in a little more than a year.

The great thing about running on my own at the end of the race was that all the cheering once I got to the streets of Avalon was just for me. The three teenage girls jumping and hollering, the couple walking their dog who said 'way to go', the grandparents strolling their grandchild who congratulated me, the folks sitting outside the cafe cheering and clapping - all for me. And in a first ever, my name was pronounced correctly by the announcer as I crossed the finish line, in 4:20:09.

I was greeted at the finish line by Patty, who had arrived just 5 minutes earlier after taking the 9:30 boat over from Marina del Rey. She told me I looked great and gave me a hug and a kiss, which was impressive given how grimy I was.

Thanks to a tip I got from some folks I met on the boat, I knew there was a public shower not far from the finish line. The two dollars it cost me to shower was money well-spent. Patty and I enjoyed a lunch of fish tacos and beer, and then took in the sights on the island until the boat left at 5:00.

The Catalina Marathon was the best race I've done. It was the most demanding by far and, even though I finished 45 minutes slower than my marathon PR, I've never felt a bigger sense of physical accomplishment. I can't recommend this event highly enough. I will definitely do it again, and hopefully will lure a friend or two to do it with me.

In the days following the race, I was back at work dealing with the usual stress of the job and concerns about whether we'll ever sell our house. But each time I thought of the race, or looked at a picture from that wonderful day, the stress would melt away. I was blessed to have experienced Catalina.

THE STATS

My finishing time of 4:20:09 (per-mile pace of 9:56) was good for 121st place out of 652 runners. I was 19th out of 53 runners in the Male 40-44 group. The average finish time among all participants was 5:12:09 and the average time for my age group was 4:45:35. The overall winner came in at 3:00:09.

Click here to see the details of my run.