Milan Melon Festival

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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!