A Windy 26.2 - The Eau Claire Marathon Report

If it wasn't because of the high wind, this might have been just as good a forecast as I could have hoped for a marathon.  Cloudy and between high 30's and low 40's.  With up to 24 mph winds, the windchill was in the low 20's.  Still not bad if you have appropriate clothing, until you head into the wind, that is.

The start was a little hectic for me.  I got up at 4:00 AM the morning of the race and was out the door by 5:30 AM.  Drove for 1:45 to make it to Carson Park in Eau Claire with 45 minutes to spare.  Seems like plenty of time, but the parking area was about 1/2 mile from the start line and the lines at the porta-potties were long.  By the time I was ready to rock and roll, it was just under 5 minutes to the gun.  I like to have more time than that to get into 'the zone', so as soon as we got started, stress got the best off me and I started a tad too fast.


A few miles later I calm down and finally get in the mood for a long run.  The wind is really not that bad and the hills are not too steep.  The altitude chart showed most of the hills (several u and down) in teh first 12 miles and then pretty much flat to the end, so by the time I was hitting mile 11 I felt I had it in my pocket.  Here I am nearly 10 minutes ahead of my time and feeling great.  This wind is really nothing.

And then I enter the wind tunnel. And a long one it was.  From mile 11 to mile 19, I basically run into the wind.  It was cold, a tiny bit of snow and it felt like running uphill non-stop.  The picture at right was taken by Lela, a co-worker who was going to run the race had it not been for a stress injury a few weeks before the race.  This is at mile 15 and you can see me leaning forward into the wind to try cut my way into it.

It was pretty miserable.  By mile 18, I wanted to quit pretty bad and it took all the mental toughness I could muster to keep going.  It also helped that between mile 18 and mile 23 I didn't see any easy way to drop out of the race and get a ride to the finish.   By mile 23 I have sufficiently payed my dues and it is really not worth quitting anymore, so I kept going.

My final official time was 4:13:42.  Really not bad given the weather.  Under normal conditions I usually estimate a 4:10 to 4:20 completion time, so right within my expectations.  I do wonder what my time would have been with good weather, but then again that is not here no there.  I can also winder what my time would have been had I been training longer, since I was younger or if I had longer legs ;-)

After the finish, I get a ride to my car by a young woman riding a very small YMCA bus.  I ask her for a good place to have breakfast close by and she recommends the Altoona Family Restaurant.  Before heading back to Minneapolis I make a brief stop there and reload carbs and protein in the for of Eggs Commodore (Eggs Benedict with sausage patties instead of ham) and hash-browns.  The breakfast really hits the spot and nearly makes me fall asleep on the drive back.

All an all a good race.  Glad I drove there and took a look at a new route.  Now I can rest until October.  I have a few other races before then, but no other Marathon until Twin Cities.   Time to kick back and relax for a few day...