3:30:40

Before I start in on my rewind of the Okoboji Marathon, let me apologize for the lack of pre-race bloggage leading up to the event. I was stuck grinding it out at work to free myself up for the weekend. And once we got to the lakes I didn’t have access to the Internet, so I wasn’t able to generate a lot of pre-race hoopla. With that being said, here is the 32nd annual Okoboji Marathon in review courteous of GimpyRunning:

First, let me start with the AMAZING weather. I still can’t believe the better-than-perfect running conditions for the race. 70 degrees in July! Can you believe it?!? The temp was a cool and crisp 51 degrees (and no wind) at 6AM for the start of the marathon. Perfect. The entire race was drenched with perfect weather conditions, low humidity and just enough cloud cover to keep the sun busy in a game of hide-n-seek for most of the race. I think the temp was around 65 when I crossed the finish line. Fatigue wasn’t a factor for me at all during the run, and part of that was due to the Mother Nature being so kind. More on fatigue, or lack thereof, later…

I will admit the start of the race was fairly un-organized. I’m sure if you ask anyone that participated in any of the Okoboji Homecoming events (marathon, ½ marathon, triathlon, 10K); they’ll say the same thing. Just ask Shannon about the start of the 10K race (very unorganized). More on Shannon’s race in a bit. Before the gun sounded, there were a few runners that were unsure of where to be due to the lack of the usual pre-race announcements and countdown via a bullhorn. Regardless, everyone got situated and the race started right on-time at 6AM. I do feel obligated to point out that I led this marathon…for about 2 tenths of a mile…then I got passed like I was standing sill by 10 people. Damn Elites! Nonetheless I can say I led a marathon at the start. :-)

So this route was, by far, the hilliest route I’ve ever run for any race on (including the Bix7 – per capita, there were more hills on this route than the two big ones on the Bix route). The way the route is set up, the marathon goes around the West Lake and overlaps the first 6 miles with the last 6 miles. In other words, the start line of the race is also mile 20, with the finish being at Arnolds Park (picture running around a track and overlapping the last 100 yards). The bulk of the hills are miles 1 – 6 and then again, those same hills for miles 20 – 26 along Lake Shore Drive (LSDr). For anyone that has not been on LSDr in Okoboji, you are missing out. It’s a four mile stretch of winding road, cut right out of the forest, lined with beautiful homes and breathtaking views of the lake. Whenever we’re up there, I always make it a point to either run or drive on LSDr. I spent the first 6 miles of the route doing what I always do when I’m running on LSDr; taking in the scenery and enjoying the quiet morning. My head felt like it was on a swivel checking out all the sites and sounds. It was so peaceful, I didn’t even notice the hills and the next thing I knew I was crossing the famed bridge that separates East Lake from West Lake (the one that is on all the postcards). One more long hill and I was passing the Arnolds Park entrance. I was 7 miles into the race and was feeling great. I had found a gate and rhythm that was comfortable and everything felt good.

The next several miles consists of running along Highway 71, ducking in and out of clustered neighborhoods and resorts, and back for a long stretch along Highway 86. Going into the run, I was a little nervous about running along the highways because the route is not a closed route. Traffic is free to move along the highway as it normally would on a Saturday morning. Thankfully though, there were enough race supporters and nice drivers on the route that there was never any danger to the runners or bikers (the triathlon bike route loops the lake on the same highways as well). For the most part, the drivers got over enough and gave room that I didn’t have to leave the pavement of either highway. I did not want to run on the loose gravel shoulder. There were only one or two ignorant people that didn’t move over or slow down (more on ignorant drivers later).

The half-way point of the marathon is at the Wahpeton green space, right off of Highway 86. Since the race is smaller and (very) loosely organized, there is no clock at the half-way point like there is in other, larger races. So by this point in the race I was wondering what my time/pace were. I had been running in a comfortable groove and my legs seemed fresh and light. I as I approached the halfway mark, I casually asked one of the on-lookers what time it was. “About 7:45” he said. Here I was without any expectations for time for this race (after all, I kept referring to it as a “barometer run” – a race you run just to see where you are at in your training for a similar event later on in the year), and I found myself on pace for a 3:30:00 finish. Trying not to get caught up in the math, I kept my stride and my “wheel turn” felt great at that point, so I just stayed in that groove and kept chugging away.

Between miles 13 and 18 there were a few points that I couldn’t seen anyone in front of or behind me due to there only been a 100 marathoners spread out around the lake. At times it was peaceful, feeling like I was running by myself, and others is was nerve racking as I was left wondering if I had made a wrong turn and was of course. In the end, I stayed on the route thanks to the barely visible arrows painted on the roads, showing the way (a couple times I had to make last second turns to stay on the route because I couldn’t see the arrows until I was right on top of them).

I took a short walk break at mile 18 to take in some water and PowerAde and then was back to the grind after a minute or so of walking. Mile 18 is where the route leaves Highway 86 and cuts through Triboji Resort/Neighborhood, spitting me out on the far north side of the lake. At this point I felt like I was in a good groove and put it on “cruise control” as some runners would say. Right around miles 22 – 24 is where I’ve hit “the wall” during my past two marathons. I kept waiting for that to happen as I approached mile 22, but it never did. I just stayed in my groove and kept marveling at how fresh my legs felt. I guess four months of running 18 -22 mile training runs has paid off.

Just like before, I kept my mind loose, wondering from random topic to random topic and the next thing I know I was back at the famed bridge. On the sidewalk on the north side of the bridge is what I referred to as my “home free point”; mile “25” painted on the ground. At that point, I knew I was going to finish strong since I hadn’t hit the wall by then. With only one mile to go, started up the last hill and quickly approached The Emporium, which is situated right next to the Arnolds Park green space. I could see the finish line across the open green space and had only one more turn to go to reach the finish. I was 300 feet from the end when it happened…I ran into a car.

I didn’t even see the little old lady’s car until I was right on top of it. As I was running on the far right side of the road that approaches the Arnolds Park entrance, she, along with her three old bitty friends in the car, had passed me on the left and decided right after she was clear of me that she wanted an open parking spot on my right side. So she turn in front of me towards the parking spot leaving me know time to stop and, BAM! I ran right into the side of her car, just behind the back passenger door. A bit stunned, I collected myself and did the only thing I could think of doing; pounded on the trunk of her green Taurus as I continued behind her. I couldn’t believe she cut me off and I had run right into her car. There were several on-lookers that were yelling at her to get out of the way of the other runners continuing down the road towards the finish. Now completely adrenalized, I rounded the last corner and finished strong.

3:30:40 was my time. I finished 14th overall (out of 100 marathoners) and 4th in my age group. After the race I kept saying that I couldn’t believe how good the run felt. How much fun it was. How great the route was. How f-ing crazy the little old lady that cut me off was. How perfect the weather was. How I never expected to best my time from last October by 20 minutes! How I’m already looking forward to running it again next year.

It was a great race that resulted in a new PR for me. It’s one that I will never forget.

I promised more on Shannon’s race, and here it is: Congratulations to my lovely wife for knocking out her first 10K race! She smashed her goal time by 6 minutes and looked strong and relaxed as she was coming in. She finished in 1:14:15 and is already talking about running the Des Moines Half Marathon. That’s my girl!