My rationale behind running the Green Bay marathon was to see if I could run two marathons 6 weeks apart successfully, and to knock off another state in the event that I ever decide to commit to the 50 state club. The Green Bay marathon caught my eye because it's primarily centered around Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers. Not that I am a cheesehead, but I really liked the uniqueness of the theme. The course description read well, with lots of variety in scenery and primarily FLAT, yes! In conclusion, I loved just about everything about this marathon and the trip to Green Bay. I highly recommend this one! Ok, so onward to the nitty gritty, if you are interested...
The expo was held in the atrium of Lambeau Field. A modest expo, but being in and around Lambeau was huge. Even though it's a grand stadium that seats over 80,000 people it feels intimate. Even the neighboring houses are really close, as if it was a high school stadium. This would be the start/finish location of the marathon.
Race day morning was sunny and cool, in the low 50's, and a bit breezy. They are behind us seasonally by a couple of months, with tulips blooming and the trees just starting to bud. The marathon started at 7, an hour earlier than the half, which I prefer, although we did have the relay runners in with us, which was good. A lot of energy to be had at their relay exchange zones! Anyhow, I just want to mention that we had a man beautifully sing the National Anthem before we took off, which was so meaningful and so nice to hear after the horrendous butcher job we experienced at Yakima!
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| the look of excitement |
I waved to Toby as we took off, knowing I'd see him several times during the run. I told him to go hang out and have some fun, but no, he popped up everywhere. It was funny. One time I didn't expect to see him and was in the zone and he suddenly popped out at me and said, "Boo". Anyhow, he took all these pictures posted in this blog!
I know it's strange, but my least favorite miles are usually the first 10 miles or so. This marathon was no exception. The first 10 miles were actually the least interesting, with a jaunt into a fairly new, concrete dense suburb. I saw Toby somewhere here, said something negative, and he said not to worry, the bike path was just ahead. The bike path portion of this course was AWESOME! For about 6 miles or so we ran along the Fox river on a narrow, tree lined bike path. We were shielded by the wind and best of all, all asphalt. (I need to mention that there was a lot of concrete on this course--my only real negative).
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| Crossing Fox river early on |
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| De Pere Downtown area |
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| Fox River Trail |
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| Fox River Trail |
About halfway I was starting to get really hot, so I let a couple of kids shoot me with their water guns. That felt incredible! I didn't panic--just made sure to drink more and take more electrolyte pills, but I knew it was going to get ugly later on! Somewhere after mile 16 we got off the path and ventured into east Green Bay. These neighborhoods were more mature, with more historic architecture and grown trees. Also, there were a lot of neighbors out cheering for us.
We ran through a small park on yet another asphalt bike trail, then we actually ran to the City Stadium, where the Green Bay packers used to play, went inside, and ran a lap around the inside track! They were playing old music, and while I was in there "Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding was finishing up, and then the song, "Stuck in the Middle With You" came on. "Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right. Here I am. Stuck in the middle with you!" Kind of appropriate!
After that little adventure we headed back to the Fox River Trail and ran through this tunnel where they had this interactive artwork display lining the tunnel. They were metal fish sculptures that lit up with various colors as we ran through. It was really really cool!
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| During the day the overhead lights are off |
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We emerged from the tunnel to a lively area where they had a fabricated wall for us to run through. They were blasting "Jump Around" on the promenade as we crossed over the Fox river to return to the stadium. We were on our 21st mile at that point. We ran through downtown Green Bay, which was cool, but from here on out details are a little sketchy. I'm remembering mostly neighborhoods and what seemed like a lot of turns, but looking at the map now I only see a few turns, ha ha. It got rough, not going to lie. I had been feeling pretty decent until we crossed that river. I had to take a few walk breaks and walk the water stops at that point. My calves were starting to cramp up a little too, so I just took it easy. At around mile 24 I could see the stadium--oh so close--and there was a "Parrothead" water stop with MARGARITAS! The salt on the rims of the glasses looked tasty to me! We approached Lambeau Field and they ran us onto the field where we took a lap!! SO COOL! We came out of there and around to the finish line!
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| Coming onto the field--FUN! |
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| Finish line at last |
My only emotional moment where I had to choke back tears was when they handed me this medal. Oh how I love medals, especially this beauty!
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| 15th annual with a spinner football |
Toby found me in the madness. When I tried to sit down my left calf went into complete spasms, with me screaming until he sat me down without bending that leg. I had visions of Jamie and an IV in my future, oh no! But after a beer and brats I was ok. The band turned out to be really good. At one point all of us were singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" end to end. I must say that it was a really great day to be in Green Bay!
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| Post race awesomeness |
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| Thank you Toby for everything!! |
