The Southern Indiana Classic Marathon

“You learn you can do your best even when it's hard, even when you're tired and maybe hurting a little bit.  It feels good to show some courage.”  ~Joe Namath
Today I ran the Southern Indiana Classic Marathon in Evansville, Indiana. This was a particularly satisfying accomplishment because the first year I signed up for it, I injured my right quadriceps. The next year I was ready for it, but the full marathon was cancelled and everyone was diverted to the half due to heat. Last year I was just coming off of an upper respiratory infection, and chose to divert to the half marathon.   So the way I had it figured, this was my year, my time to finally run and finish the Southern Indiana Classic Marathon.

The 4H Center before the race

I was doing great!!!   I was running at a PR pace until just after the half way point. Then Holy Crap! The cramps started. I am not sure which leg the cramps started in, but  very soon both legs were cramping.  From that point on, I was only able to run for short distances before I would have to stop and walk again. From mile sixteen to mile eighteen,  I really considered dropping out. But then  I remembered how hard I had trained for four Evansville full marathons; recalled feeling disappointed  in the three previous Southern Indiana Classic’s, due to injuries , illness, or heat.  I was determined to finish this one.  At the twenty mile marker I was hurting in places I did not know I had. I rationalized it this way, “I could drop out now and go home with cramps,not finish, and not get my medal-- or I could persevere,  go home with the cramps and my medal.” I chose the latter. 

The man I am talking to has ran over 100 marathons.

Limping towards the finish line

At the twenty four mile marker I was cramping from my feet to my neck. I had never had spasms in my neck before. I do have to give the race support staff credit for keeping an eye on me during the race and asking me if they could do anything for me. But somewhere between the start and the end of the race, my new goal was to cross the finish line.I  am proud to say I limped in and finished race in 5:20  which was well off my goal.  I now have my hard for fought medal from the Southern Indiana Classic Marathon.  I earned this medal.

With my medal after the race

Have you ever cramped up during a race?

Healthy Writers Club: Fly With the Eagles Half Marathon

“Most projects start out slowly - and then sort of taper off.” -  Norman Ralph Augustine

This weekend I ran my first race of the year, the Fly with the Eagles Half Marathon at Crab Orchard Lake in Southern Illinois. It is a level scenic course. It is a fairly small race approximately 400 runners signed up for it.  I ran it with Pam’s brother-in-law Roger.  My time for the event was approximately 2 hours and 11 minutes.  

I ran the race with Pam’s brother-in-law, Roger. This is a picture of us trying to keep warm before the race.

This is at the start of the race at 9:00 a.m. I believe that the temperature was about 33.

 

This is about 3 miles into the race.  You can see that I am starting to get warm. I  decided I overdressed for the race.

                 This is approximately 8.9 miles into the race. I had to shed the jacket.

                                               Here I am at the finish line.

                                             Roger coming into the finish line.

This is really a nice race, ran out in the country with beautiful scenery, ran across the causeway, and ran by lakes and down gravel roads. Registration was really reasonable and the hotels nearby were priced right. For less than $140 we got a room for two nights with a king size bed, pool, hot tub and breakfast. Overall this was an inexpensive race for me, as it was an hour an half from home. My next race is the Southern Illinois Spring Classic on March 23^rd   which will be twenty miles from home. What do you have planned for this season?

 

Country Music Marathon

I was disappointed that the Southern Indiana Classic Marathon was cancelled. Maybe this was an emotional resonse to the disappointment, I had signed up for a marathon and trained very hard for a marathon. I signed up for the Country Music Marathon on April 30th. So this weekend I will be running over 20 miles this Saturday to keep myself in shape.