On Saturday, 19 June 2010, I participated in the 34th running of Grandma’s Marathon along the north shore of Lake Superior from Two Harbors to Duluth, MN. This was my fourth consecutive year participating in this annual event that typically occurs around the summer equinox.

Grandma’s will always hold a special place for me since it was here four years ago that I competed in and finished my first marathon. It is a great event, is very well- organized, is one of the largest Marathons in the upper Midwest, has some of the best post race food, and is very well supported by the community.

The weekend started off with what should have been about a two hour drive which ended taking just over 3-1/2. It is truly amazing the amount of road work going on this state right now. No matter where you drive; highway, secondary roads, back roads, it doesn’t seem to matter. I left Cottage Grove @ about 09:30 Friday morning and pulled into Spirit Mountain Campground a tad after 13:00. From my house it is 157 miles and the speed limit on I35 is (suppose to be) 70 mph most of the way.

I’ve camped on each of my four trips and would not do it any other way. Hotel rooms are tough to come by and are way over- priced for the weekend. You can expect to pay $250+ per night with a two night minimum at most establishments. And besides, I really enjoy the laid back atmosphere of the campground. Spirit Mountain is conveniently located just off I35 about 5 miles from the convention center. The DECC, Duluth’s convention center, is where packet pickup and the expo are, where the buses and train depart from race morning, and where the finish line is.

Friday, after getting the campsite set up, Gordy and I headed down to the expo. This was Gordy’s 11th Grandma’s (and by the way, he finished 5th in his age group, amazing, again). Packet pickup was a breeze, no lines, and plenty of helpful volunteers. I over spent @ the expo (again). I bought another pair of sunglasses, two hats, a visor, a new race belt (I forgot mine at home), and a pair of gel inserts for my shoes. The inserts were $40 (they saw me coming), but it’s kind of like going grocery shopping when you’re hungry. I was vulnerable, my foot hurt, and I was looking for the magic quick fix. In a brief moment of insanity I actually considered wearing them for the race, but quickly recovered knowing it would be a bad idea to try it without ever training with them.

After spending like a crazed person at a sidewalk sale, we headed over to Pizza Luce’s for our traditional pre- race meal. We met up with a friend of Gordy’s, Shawn, and the two gals that talked Shawn into running his first marathon, Nicole and Josephine, who in turn were running their first as well. The three of them work together at a Veterinary Clinic in St. Michael, MN. It’s fun to see the anticipation and anxiety of the first timers and brings back memories of when it was me. We had a nice meal and were back at the campsite by 19:00 to call it an early night, 03:30 would come all too soon.

When the alarm went off and I crawled to my feet to head over to the showers to get ready I knew that it was going to be a rough day. My foot was not happy, it was really no worse than it had been the past few days, but the foot fairy did not pay me a visit as I had hoped.

I ate my breakfast, a couple of bananas and a cinnamon frosted pop tart (one of the great things about knowing that you will burn 4000 calories later in the day) before starting my medication treatment. I planned to take my prescription anti-inflammatory (meloxicam) and a 1000mg of Tylenol to start with, then take a 400mg of ibuprofen about 30 minutes prior to the start of the race. I was hopeful that this would provide enough relief and that the inflamed tendon would ease once it got warmed up.

We left the campground at 04:45, had no traffic issues, parked in the ramp, and were ready to board the bus by 05:15. The half-marathon started at 06:30 and the marathon at 07:30. The buses for the marathon did not start running until 05:30. Last year we made the mistake of getting on the train (new last year) and avoided the volunteers that were desperately urging this year’s runners to board. Last year the train arrived at the starting line 10 minutes prior to the start of the race. We were on one of the first buses and were at the starting line in Two Harbors by 06:15. On the ride up I ate another banana and drank about 24 ounces of electrolytes.

After making a pit stop Gordy and I chatted about the day ahead. Just before 07:00 I thought it would be a good idea to warm up a bit by running up and down the starting coral before stretching out. I stripped down to my shorts and my new running top (on sale @ Kohls, $11) and dropped my clothes bag in the numbered bins. I quickly became more concerned during this warm up that maybe this was not a good idea. I could not take a full stride without wincing and found that I had to keep my stride extremely short to minimize the pain. I ran up and down a half dozen times, maybe a half mile total. After my final pit stop I made a b-line to the medical tent at took another 1000mg of Tylenol.

As the National Anthem was finishing two F16 fighter jets screamed over head, and I knew we were only minutes from the start. I positioned myself around the 4:00 hour pace group and had decided I would attempt to start out at about that pace. The race started and the 8500 runners flowed over the first few rolling hills like a giant snake towards their goal of reaching the finish line in Duluth a few hours later.

The weather on this day was about perfect. Temps were in the upper 50’s with a partly cloudy sky. The forecast called for a high of around 70. There was a brief sprinkle along the way, a stiff head wind at times, and the temp at the finish was pretty close to what was predicted. The sun poked through the clouds a few times and warmed us up just enough to remind us it was there.

At the half- way point I searched out and found the first aid station and took another 1000mg of Tylenol. I knew as I swallowed the capsules that this was probably not my brightest moment, that 3000mg of Tylenol, 400mg of ibuprofen, and 7.5mg of Meloxicam was probably slightly above the recommended dose even for a guy my size. My biggest concern at that point was cramping and how my stomach would respond.

Over the first 20 miles or so I had thoughts that I might be able to bring this run in under 4 hours (still way over my lofty goals of earlier this year), but those thoughts faded and the last 10k just became a battle of wills. My body wanted to stop and I knew if I started to walk I probably would not run again. I stayed focused and pushed the thought out of my head. My pace slowed but I kept moving forward. I crossed the line 6 minutes over my best Grandma’s time and about 10 minutes slower than my marathon PR, but I did finish and I did run, albeit slow, the whole 26.2 miles.

After crossing the line, I did the marathon wobble a few times, got some wide eye looks from a few of the volunteers and a couple of ‘are you okay’ comments. As I attempted to scarf down some food I got a head cramp. I didn’t even know that was possible, it was just about at my temples, it was one of the weirdest things I think I ever felt. It subsided almost as quickly as it started. I drank several bottles of water and began the slow recovery to some semblance of normalcy.

Now a couple of days later I don’t think I’m any worse for the ware but not sure exactly what I proved. Am I any better off for running this event? Will this somehow help me be better prepared for Madison? Or was this just some sort of shallow show of will? Or just plain stupidity? I’m not sure I can honestly answer that question. So, the journey of discovery continues…