Grandma's Marathon: Travel and Logistics

We are finally coming to the end of my Grandma posts - thanks for sticking with me!  This post is really only useful if you are planning on doing Grandma's someday.  When I was doing research for Grandma's, I didn't find a ton of info on the travel logistics.  So I thought I would pay it forward to someone else who is doing Grandma's and share my knowledge.

Let's start with the most important thing (after registering of course) - the hotel.  As you might imagine, Duluth is a small town and hotels are limited.  First piece of advice (and possibly the most important) - book your hotel as EARLY as possible.  As I said, there are limited hotels and the longer you wait, the less ideal your hotel could be.

The website does a good job of updating the current availabilities, but there are still a lot of options.  The list of hotels they provide (via the website) has a bunch of different areas to choose from. 

My recommendation?  Pick one of the downtown Duluth or Canal Park hotels.  Yes, they will be more expensive but they will be within walking distance to the expo and finish line.  I stayed at the Holiday Inn Downtown Duluth and it was perfect for me.  It is connected to the expo via the walkway and was only a 10 minute walk from the finish.  They also cater to those doing the race with a snack table with banana's, juice and pretzels in the lobby.  Plus, when I got to my room they provided complimentary bottles of water and granola bars.  It was really nice!

The race is a point to point so they bus you out to the start.  It's important to consider the pickup point of the bus when booking your hotel.  It's going to be early so you don't want to have to walk a ton.  Luckily for me, the Holiday Inn is a shuttle bus stop, so it was right in front of the hotel.  Very easy on race morning. 

Once you make your hotel decision (again, book early, I cannot stress that enough!), the next decision is how to get there.  You can't fly direct there from the east coast - it's a really tiny airport.  Your options are to fly through another midwest airport and connect.  Flying from New York, my layover airport choices were Detroit or Minneapolis. 

I decided to fly through Detroit on the way there and Minneapolis on the way back.  I did it because it was cheaper, but if I had to do it again, I would fly through Minneapolis on the way there.  Why?  Well, you never know what weather is going to do and if my flight from Detroit couldn't get out (or I missed my connection due to delays) there was no other way for me to get to Duluth.  It was too far to drive, so I'd be screwed.  At least in Minneapolis you could rent a car (it's about 2 hours away).  It ended up working out for me, but I would have liked to not have the stress.

Of course, you can also fly to Minneapolis and either drive or take a shuttle service from there.  I personally didn't want to sit in a car for 2 hours, so I flew to Duluth. 

If you do decide to fly, check with your hotel about an airport shuttle.  Mine had a one and it took me back and forth which was really nice as well.

These are the most important items to consider if you are planning to head to Duluth for Grandma's.  If you are doing it and have other questions, feel free to email me at sarahrunsalot@yahoo.com and I'll answer the best I can!

Oh, one last item... book your hotel as early as possible!

Grandma's Marathon: Post Race Party

The Grandma's fun doesn't stop when you cross the finish line!  They have a whole post race festival set up for you!

When you get your finisher's t-shirt, they also give you a drink ticket for the festival.  Upon getting my heat sheet, I made my way over to the baggage.  They had it well organized and it was easy to get my stuff.  I changed out of my sweaty top into the race shirt and started to head towards the festival.

However, it was still pretty chilly and as I walked, I started to get really cold.  The heat sheet helped, but not enough.  Since I wasn't prepared for the cold, I hadn't brought any post race gear.  I made my way to the merchandise tent and picked up some Grandma's branded yoga pants. 

Outside of the fact I needed the warmer pants, they are actually really comfortable!  I have been wearing them a lot since then.

Once I was warmer (and managed to change to without issue in a port-a-potty), I headed to the beer table.  They had several beers available and I choose a Goose Island 312 to drink and set off in search of chairs. 

 
They had a big tent set up and under it there were bands playing and chairs.  They also had chairs outside in the tent to sit at.  I managed to snag a chair and sat to listen to music and enjoy my beer.  It gave me some time to return texts and check in with everyone. 

After my first beer was empty, I needed a refill (post race hydration is important!), but it was getting much more crowded and I was afraid my chair would get stolen.  I asked the group behind me if they would watch it and they happily agreed!

I went and got my beer and came back to my chair.  The group had kept my chair for me and invited me to hang with them; I ended up staying with them for the rest of the afternoon.  They were so friendly and from the area.  They had done the half marathon. 

We all chatted about the race and life and the afternoon (and several beers) passed quickly.  After a bit, we all got up to go dancing!  My legs were definitely stiff, but believe it or not, the dancing helped.  It was so much fun!

Dancing fools (photo courtesy of my new friends Leah)

After a while, I did decide to make my way back to the hotel (which was about a 10 minute walk) to show and recover, but not before becoming Facebook friends with my new pals (who were so nice and even told me to come back next year to do the half and invited me to stay with them!).

Even though I was tired, sweaty and sore, I was so glad I stayed for the after party. It was a lot of fun and I made some new friends.  If you ever do Grandma's, I recommend you stay for the post race party!

The marathon's namesake!

Race Recap: Grandma's Marathon

Grandma's Marathon
June 21, 204

State: #17, Minnesota
Marathon #11

This post is a long time coming - but here it is!  6 weeks later and I'm still having trouble processing it.  I am going to admit now, I don't have too much details on the actual racing portion.  I was so focused on my pace that I zoned everything else out (literally, it's a big blank spot).  But here is what I do remember!

The race started at a reasonable time, 7:45, but since it's a point to point, I still had to be on a bus by 6:15am.  Fortunately, my hotel was one of the shuttle bus stops so I just had to go down to the front.  Nice and easy!  There wasn't too much of a line for bus and I was able to board with minimal wait.  The bus ride took about 45 minutes but since it was cold and misty out, I was happy to be inside.

Once we got to the start, I finished my pre-race set up (eating my powergel chews and filling my handheld bottle) and then checked my gear.  Gear check was pretty simple - they had everything color coded and lots of volunteers to help.

Hanging out by baggage check

After checking my gear, I went for one last bathroom run.  They had a good number of port-o-potty's so the line wasn't too crazy.  By the time I got out of the bathroom, there was only about 5 minutes to the start so I made my way to the start.

The start area was pretty open, no corrals, just estimated pace signs.  I lined up near where I thought I would be.

The temperature was definitely colder than I had expected so I was happy I had bought my throwaway gear the day before.  It was lightly misting and there was a strong headwind (always fun to run into).  There was also some really bad fog - I could only see about .25-.50 mi in front of me.

The race started a few minutes after the scheduled time (7:45) and then it was really low key.  I didn't even hear a horn sounding the start.  Suddenly everyone was moving so I assumed it started. 

I planned on starting at a 9:00ish pace and then dropping in the second half.  My plan didn't go quite as well as I wanted, but I was still pleased with it.  You'll see in the paces below, I was a little all over the place in terms of pace.

I kept my throwaway gear on for about the first 6 miles.  It was pretty chilly out and even at 6, I didn't want to get rid of them, but they were pretty wet from the rain so they weren't doing much good for me.

The course was mostly flat with a some rolling hills.  The hills weren't huge, but given the head wind, they felt really big.  The scenery along the course was pretty.  I'm sure if it hadn't been foggy, the view of the lake would have been beautiful but the fog prevented that view.  There was one big hill at 21 and I definitely felt it at 21.  My legs were burning! 

I honestly don't have too much to say about most of the course.  I was really so focused on my pace and each mile, that I was completely zoned out.  There are not a ton of spectators along the course, but those that were out where great.  Personally, I don't mind the lack of spectators but I know that can be a big issue for some people.

I will say, I do remember there being event alert flags that said "Risk of Hypothermia".  That was definitely a first for me.  In the second half, it had stopped raining and started to warm up so the flags went to green for good conditions.

As we got closer to Duluth the spectators increased.  Running through downtown Duluth starting around mile 24 was great.  It's a very cute downtown and I knew I was reaching the end.

I had started calculating my finishing time at about mile 20 and knew that I would be close to PR'ing.  Once I hit 24, I realized that I would PR and had to hold myself back from full on crying.  Those last miles were pretty painful as I pushed to the finish.

Passing the 26 mile marker and turning the corner to the finish line was very emotional.  I was drained from battling the weather and the pace.  I hadn't been sure I would be PR this race (I really wanted too, but you never know how a race would go) and there was my PR in site.  I gave it my all for the last .2 and raised my hands high as I crossed the finish line (with tears running down my face).

In that moment, I was overcome with emotion.  So much time and effort had all been placed into this one race.  It felt great to see my hard work come to fruition.  When they put the medal around my neck, I went a little weak in the legs (although that could have come from the effort put into the race).

I also got my finisher's t-shirt and drink ticket and made my way through the chute.  I got a heat sheet which was key because it was still cold out.  Once that was done, I walked very slowly to get my gear and spend some time at the Finisher's Party.  More on the Finisher's party in another post!

Garmin Splits

Results
Official: 26.2 mi, 3:54:08, 8:57 pace
Garmin: 26.41 mi, 3:54:09, 8:52 pace

Proud owner of a new PR!

Ain't it pretty?

Grandma's Marathon - Expo Recap

Now that work has calmed down and life has returned to normal, time to get back to some race recaps!  Starting with the expo for Grandma's Marathon.

The expo was held in the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center.  It was located about a 10 minute walk from my hotel via the Sky Bridge, which was so nice because it was a lot colder then I expected - only in the high 50's (and it felt cold!).

The way to the expo was well marked and easy enough to find.

Lots of signs marking the way

The space the expo was in wasn't huge, so it did get pretty crowded. 

Lots of people... not a lot of space

The number pickup was at the back (so you had to walk through the expo to get to it).  I decided to go and get my number first and then work my way back.

Number pickup was pretty simple, they had the half and full broken out and then broken out by men and women.  T-shirts were given at the finish line, so it was just a number pick up.  There was no line when I went so it was really easy!

No line!

After number pickup, I made my way through the rest of the expo.  Since the weather was cooler than I expected, I stopped and picked up a throw away long sleeve shirt and some gloves.  I was definitely glad to have them the next day!

After picking up my throw away gear, I headed for the official merchandise.  Something I love about small races - they have a great selection of gear and at reasonable prices!  This race didn't have an official clothing provider, the gear sponsor was an embroidery company so they use pieces from other retailers and added the race logo to it. 

I really don't need running gear but I can't resist race clothing, so I picked up a rain coat instead.  It is a lightweight maroon Eddie Bauer rain jacket with a hood with the logo on it.

This will definitely be put to good use and I love that it is Eddie Bauer so I know it's a quality item (and it was only $45 which I LOVE). 

I also picked up a pin and a mug.  I love getting the pins to add to my medals and the mug is so adorable.  I've been drinking my coffee out of it almost every morning.  It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

The lighthouse is my favorite part

After the official merchandise, I wandered a bit through the rest of the expo.  Did some sampling and window shopping, but managed to resist buying anything else. 

I didn't stay too long at the expo as I really didn't want to be on my feet a long time.  I headed back to the hotel to rest, but not before stopping for one last photo!

I look pretty calm for someone about to run a marathon

Up next - the race!

2014 Goals - Mid Year Check-in

We are officially halfway through 2014 (holy cow is it going by fast!) and similar to last year, I thought I'd do a check-in on how my goals for 2014 are coming along.

Complete the Dopey Challenge 
This is a pretty obvious goal as I spent most of 2013 preparing for this.  I can't believe it is only 8 days away!
COMPLETED
It was nice to start the year off completing a goal right at the beginning.  In case you missed them, you can read my recaps here: 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Final Thoughts.  It's been almost 6 months and I still have trouble believing that I did all that and how well the marathon went (second fastest at the time, third fastest post Grandma's).

PR in the Half Marathon 
My current PR is a 1:51:52 set back in 2010.  I ran a 1:55:03 this past September, so I am hoping to make this happen.
COMPLETED
We can check this one off the list!  I set a new Half Marathon PR at the Nike DC Women's Half with a 1:50:04.  Since I reached it, wouldn't it be fun to get under 1:50 sometime in the fall?  Challenges are good for you.

Check 5 states off my list 
I've already got 3 states on the schedule (Kentucky, DC, Oregon).  I have a couple of ideas for the other 2 states and will let you know once they are finalized.
ON TRACK
3 states down and 2 to go.  Eugene is already on the schedule and since we are talking 50 States, I can tell you all that as of Monday, I am officially registered for state #5 for 2014 - Maryland.  I'll be running the Baltimore Half Marathon on October 18th.  

Race a marathon 
I am not running the Disney marathon with a time goal with Dopey going on, so I would like to actually race a marathon in 2014.  I already have an idea for a race and will let you know once it's been decided.
COMPLETED
As you might remember, I just raced Grandma's Marathon during which I set a new marathon PR (which wasn't even a goal, so I feel extra good about this one).

Run 1,250 miles total 
I ran a total of 1,145.77 in 2013 according to my Garmin, but I did a lot of my Jan-Mar weekday runs on the treadmill (without my Garmin) and they are not counted in that number.  So I think this doable.
ON TRACK
As of July 1, I have run 689.90 miles or 55.19% of the way towards having this goal completed.  I'm a little ahead, which is good since I won't be training for a marathon in the fall and won't be putting as many miles in.  I have to do about 93.35 miles a month, which I think is  (probably) doable.  Got lots of halves to train for so it should be fun for the second half of the year!  This was always a stretch goal, so if I come close but don't reach it, I'm okay with it.

Commit to core work 
This is one area I have definitely been slacking on.  I really want to get back to this and to get it started, I am taking part of the Athleta 30-Day Plank Challenge.  You should join me!
SLACKING
There had to be one I wasn't doing well in right?  I started off well, doing the Plank Challenge for the first week (wow, it's sad that I just said 1 week was doing well).  Then Dopey came up and I didn't want to do anything that would interfere with that and then I just didn't go back to it.  I would do some ab work here and there, but nothing major.

This is one I definitely want to work on for the rest of the year (and I'm adding stretching in.  Man, am I inflexible).  So to help me accomplish those goals, I am going to be doing PiYo for the next 60 days (I officially started this Monday).  PiYo is a fast paced yoga-pilates combo from Chalene Johnson and Beachbody (the company that does P90X).  It's low impact (which will be good for my knees and joints) and focuses on core and flexibility, two things I am in desperate need of improving.  Moving foward, you'll see PiYo included in my weekly training recaps.  I'll still be running, so some days it will be doubles, but I think committing to this will help me get faster in the long run.  For most of the 60 days I'm doing PiYo, I won't be doing any speed work so it'll mostly all be easy runs.  I might throw in a couple of tempo runs to change it up, but not at race pace or anything.  Just slightly faster.  {Side bar: in case you are wondering, I bought and paid for PiYo myself.  I'm not being sponsored or anything - although that would be nice, right?}

Not too bad half way through!

Training recap week of 6/23 (Grandma's Recovery Week)

Sorry for the delay in my recap from Grandma's.  The delay is two-fold - busy week at work and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing.  Despite all the work I knew I had put in, I wasn't sure I'd PR so actually PR'ing has made the whole thing very emotional.

My goal is get them all done within the next week.  I plan on doing a recap of the expo and spaghetti dinner, race recap, post race party recap and travel / logistics overview.  I know when I was doing travel for this race, I wasn't sure which airport I should fly into, where to stay, etc.  Want to put together a post on my thoughts in case others are thinking of running it and this helps them out.

This week was all about recovery.  I did get a couple of short runs in, but took them all easy.

Monday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: Rest

Tuesday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: Rest

Wednesday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: Rest

Thursday

Scheduled:Rest
Actual: Rest

Friday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: Rest

Saturday

Scheduled: 3-4 miles (very) easy

Actual: 4.00 mi, 44:34, 11:09 pace

Sunday

Scheduled: 3-4 miles (very) easy

Actual: 3.19 mi, 34:42, 10:53 pace

Total miles: 7.19

Total June miles: 129.26

Miles until goal (1,250): 560.10

Training recap week of 6/16 (Grandma's Week 18)

Last recap for Grandma's training.  I can't (okay, I can) believe it's over.  This was a long training period with ups and downs, but all the hard work paid off.  Nice to know that all the effort was worth it!  I am going to try and get my race recap done this week, but am still processing most of it. 

Let's see how the last week of training went.

Monday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: Rest

Tuesday

Scheduled: Speedwork (3 x 1M @ half marathon pace with 2:00 min recovery), plus warm up and cool down

Actual: 6.12 mi total
Paces: 8:20, 8:19, 8:00

Wednesday

Scheduled: 3 miles easy

Actual: 3.01 mi, 30:23, 10:06 pace

Thursday

Scheduled:Rest
Actual: Rest

Friday

Scheduled: 2 mile shake out run

Actual: 2.00 mi, 21:37, 10:43 pace

Saturday

Scheduled: Grandma's Marathon

Actual: 26.41 mi, 3:54:09, 8:52 pace

That's based on my Garmin.  Based on 26.2 it's an 8:56 pace.   

Sunday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual:Rest

Total miles: 37.54

Total June miles: 122.08

Miles until goal (1,250): 567.29

Grandma's - COMPLETED!!

I have a new marathon PR - 3:54:08!  I'll have a full recap coming up, but I'll just say this was challenging.  The weather conditions were not ideal, but I pushed through and it felt great to PR.

On another note, I have to say the people of Duluth were awesome.  I met some awesome folks and in the span of 12 hours got invited to come back next year with a place to stay and an entry if I need it.  You all are too nice and made a girl feel super welcomed. 

2 Days. 2 Days.

2.  That's how many days are left until I run another marathon. And only 1 day until I'm Duluth bound.  I can't believe it's here.  It seemed so far off for so long and now it's here.  {takes deep breathe}

I was feeling pretty good about the race - no crazy nerves, taper was going fine... And then it all hit me yesterday.  I was printing out some race info and all of the sudden I was FREAKING out.  How does that happen so quickly?

I am definitely getting nervous, but it's a good nervous with some excitement thrown in.  Not like the "what the h*ll was I thinking" nervousness that plagued me for weeks leading up to Dopey (remember that?  Not fun).

I'm been trying to think positive all week and focus on all my good workouts from the past couple of months.  Those include workouts that went according to plan and ones that I struggled with but pushed on.  So much of the marathon is mental that I like to remember making it through the crappy workouts.

I also re-read my Disney World Marathon recap because that race really did go well and I think remembering that I can run 26.2 and feel good during it is important.

I'm also trying to remember to trust my training.  I have put in a lot of hard work this training cycle and I need to remember that.  I did tally it up and as of today, I ran 498 miles in training for Grandma's.  This included a couple of down weeks when my body needed the break.  For a comparison, I ran 499 miles for Dopey and that was for 4 races.  This is just 1 race.  I've got a solid base and lots of speedwork in the bank. I know hard work pays off - I saw it first hand at Nike DC.

So the final countdown is on.  Wish me luck!

2 on Tuesday

I am starting to pack for the race this weekend and can't decide what to wear.  Help!  I know the top - it's the same style I wore for the Disney marathon and I wore it during Nike DC so I know it's comfortable and has some good vibes attached to it.  I just can't decide what shorts to wear.  Which one do you like?  Let me know in the comments!

I've been trying to cook more lately and my friend Joanne posted this delicious recipe on her blog - sweet potato gnocchi with balsamic-roasted asparagus and caramelized onions.  It came together pretty easily and was really yummy.  I used regular gnocchi as I couldn't find sweet potato at the store I was at.  It was still good, but I would like to make it with the sweet potato gnocchi as well as I think it would be even better. 

Training recap week of 6/9 (Grandma's Week 17)

This is it folks - only 1 week left until the race (okay, really 5 days).  I can't believe it's here already.  I am feeling good, but trying not to over think it and stress myself out.  I really do better when I am relaxed.

I spent this past weekend in Connecticut with family.  It was a busy weekend with lots of unhealthy food, but it was a very relaxing time and perfect for the weekend before the race.

I'm definitely got the taper aches and pains, but nothing hurts badly.  Only 5 days to go!!

Monday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: Rest

Tuesday

Scheduled: 4 miles easy

Actual: 4.01 mi, 42:00, 10:29 pace

Wednesday

Scheduled: Speedwork (8 x 0.5mi @ 10K Pace with 90 sec recovery), plus warm up and cool down

Actual: 6:75 mi total
Paces: 7:58, 7:53, 7:50, 7:50, 7:51, 7:56, 7:45, 7:42

Thursday

Scheduled: 3 miles easy

Actual: 3.12 mi, 30:57, 9:56 pace

Friday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: Rest

Saturday

Scheduled: 8 miles easy

Actual: 8.01 mi, 1:19:13, 9:54 pace

Sunday

Scheduled: 3 mile easy

Actual: 3.01 mi, 31:38, 10:31 pace

Total miles: 24.89

Total June miles: 84.53

Miles until goal (1,250): 604.83

Training recap week of 6/2 (Grandma's Week 16)

We are in the home stretch people!  Only 2 weeks to go and now it's taper time.  I am very excited to be in taper.  My body has been waiting for this.

Monday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: Rest

Tuesday

Scheduled: 6 miles easy

Actual: 6.00 mi, 1:00:30, 10:05 pace

Wednesday

Scheduled: Speedwork (8 x 0.5mi @ 10K Pace with recovery), plus warm up and cool down

Actual: 8:04 mi total
Paces: 7:55, 7:53, 7:45, 7:59, 7:53, 7:53, 7:47, 7:49

Thursday

Scheduled: 5 miles easy

Actual: 5.1 mi, 51:00, 10:01 pace

Friday

Scheduled: Rest

Actual: Rest

Saturday

Scheduled: 5 miles easy

Actual: 5.0 mi, 50:51, 10:10 pace

Sunday

Scheduled: 14 mile long ru

Actual: 14.01 mi, 2:19:47, 9:59 pace

Total miles: 38.15

Total June miles: 59.65

Miles until goal (1,250): 629.72