Race Report: Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon

On November 1, 2015 I ran the Inaugural Milwaukee Running Festival Marathon. The race events included a 1-mile race on a very cold, rainy Saturday, and a 5K, Half Marathon and Marathon on a beautifully sunny, slightly windy Sunday.

That the MRF actually exists is a testament to the race director's dedication to a dream because he had to go through a ridiculous amount of obstacles to make this race happen.  I won't rehash the dramatic backstory, but despite some unreasonable opposition from the most unlikely sources, the MRF prevailed and Milwaukee is a better city for it.

My training

This race was an add-on for me. My "A" race was the North Face Endurance Challenge 50K at the beginning of October, but I thought I'd add on this marathon because I like trying new races, and the chance to do an inaugural event like this is something I didn't want to miss. Plus, I love Milwaukee and I liked the idea of treating this as a "fun run" tour of the city. So I more or less maintained a base of 35-40MPW plus 3-4 days of CrossFit every week between the 50K and the marathon.

I only have one previous marathon experience - it was a trail marathon in 2014 where I came in at a stunningly slow 5:36. My half marathon PR that year was also 2:22, and I've refocused my training and have since knocked 16 minutes off of that half marathon PR, so I knew I could shoot for something better at this marathon.

The plan

My plan was to start out with the 4:40 pace group and then drop down as needed, hopefully finishing before 5:00. In theory, that's great because the 4:40 group should have been running 10:20 - 10:40 miles. In reality, my first 3 miles with the pace group were all under 10 minutes, and they weren't walking through the aid stations, so I knew I couldn't stay with them. I hung back and tried to enjoy the run.

The race route itself was pretty great. Milwaukee's lakefront is beautiful. Brady Street (think: indie coffee shops, tattoo shops and lots of great bars) was full of energy, naturally. As a two-time Marquette grad, I thought the run through Marquette University's campus was great. The run through area added on at the alderman's suggestion was okay: it was mostly city streets but there was a really pretty park in the middle that made that segment of the run very worthwhile.

By mile 15 though I was really hurting and I really stopped enjoying the run entirely. My previous long distance ventures had all been on trails, and I totally underestimated just how much different running on pavement for so many miles can be. Everything hurt. I even got a blister for the first time in my life. After mile 15 I swore off running. I mentally quit my runstreak. I swore off exercise and decided I was going to devote my days to watching television and eating chocolate. I even spent a few miles considering dropping out of the race. Then I got a text from my husband with a picture of the World's Best Running Buddy and I knew I should at least death-march it in.

The race route eventually wound back past the Wood National Cemetary and VA Center, Miller Park and the Hank Aaron Trail. Around that point I saw the 5:00 pace group behind me. By that time I was mostly run/walking at a 13:00 pace.  I don't have an excuse for the run/walking except to say that I had given up.  I was hurting and I just wanted to be done.  But I knew that the pace group could give me a chance to turn things around.  I told the pace group that I really wanted to hang on with them, and they talked me back into the race. Their pace was on point, they were cheerful and encouraging, and I was back at it. The remaining miles were in the 10:30 range with walks through the water stops, and it was totally doable. I loved the views of Milwaukee's riverfront and the finish line at Summerfest was a welcome sight. I pulled ahead of the pacers after the 25th mile marker and ended with 4:56:57. Yep, still slow, but I'm getting better.

Huge kudos to this race for many reasons, not the least of which is the free race photos.  I hope more races follow that trend as it was great to be able to have nice, quality race photos that I didn't have to pay an extra $30-$50 for.  This race is back on my calendar for next year, although after hearing such great things about the half marathon route I think I'll try that next time.  (Plus, uh, it is shorter.  I think I'll save my longer distances for the trails).

Going forward, I'm rethinking my goals. I'm going to work on getting faster at the shorter distances, from 5K to the half marathon, before I consider tackling this distance again. Once I'm in the 24-25 minute 5K range (previous best is 25:41 during a 4 mile race) and around the 1:55 range for a half (previous best is 2:06) I will get back into the long run game.