Well, I had a PR for the 27th Twin Cities Marathon, Sunday, October 5, 2008. But we need to keep quiet, I’m afraid that someone from USATF may be listening and I’d hate to lose my official time if they found out I cheated. Yeah that’s right, I cheated. You see I used music all season long to train with. What? You didn’t know that music was a performance enhancing substance, banned from use?

I didn’t actually use the stuff during the marathon, only here and there along the route where some rebel spectators had the stuff out in the open and were playing it loud, right from their front yards. And of course through the official Target Tunnel around mile 25.

I’m sure glad they did not test us before or after the race, because the stuff is in my soul!

What a silly, silly rule. Maybe when they meet later this year to review and discuss this absurd rule they’ll take the stick out of their %#@% (behinds), and get some common sense.
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Enough of that…On to race day…
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First off thank you Gordy! My friend Gordy ran with me and if not for his encouragement the last several miles I would not have reached my goal. Actually the last 10k was tough, it was not an energy problem, it was a cramping problem. It took all the concentration I could muster to force myself to stay relaxed and keep from cramping. My time suffered, but I was able to keep moving forward and finish 4-minutes under my goal.

My fourth marathon and another wonderful weather experience. It must be me, I must be bad luck when it comes to weather. I should not complain to loudly though it obviously could have been worse. The day started off cloudy, cool, and damp. The race started under dry conditions but by mile 3 the rain started. At first we attempted to run around the puddles and keep our feet dry, it worked for a little while. I think it was just after the 10k split that dry feet became a fleeting memory and only something to dream about the rest of the way.

Between mile 6 and 13 things seemed to go from bad to worse. There was not much you could do other than smile. There were times when the wind would pick up and it felt cold enough to snow (well maybe not quite that bad). Most of the second half was dry and the sun even poked through a couple of times. By the time we finished though the cold had seeped deep into my bones.

Our pace was steady and strong through mile 17, our average pace dropped about 30-sec / mile through 21, and another 30-sec / mile through 26. When we got to the wall at mile 20. I went left and Gordy went right, we kidded about tackling the blow up balloon wall, but I settled for a mighty slap!

In the last 10k my mind wanted to run but my body said no. I don’t know if it was the rain and/or cold but I had to fight off several rounds of near cramps, from the bottoms of my feet, to my calves, hams, and quads. I never really fell victim to them but felt like I was walking a tight rope to avoid them.