Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon 2012 - New PR!

Posted by Matt:

  While training for the Ragnar Relay back in the Spring, I talked a few friends into signing up for the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon for the Fall.  It sure made the long weekend training runs go faster when I had buddies to keep me company.  I also found myself getting faster as I trained with faster guys.  Imagine that!  This was my 3rd try at this marathon and I was happy to share this experience with some good friends.

My pre-race ritual:  Lay out EVERYTHING that I'll need the night before.

 Here I am at 7:25 up in Grafton getting ready to go.

 Scott, Israel and Rick walking down to the starting line.  An absolutely beautiful day for a marathon - 40's and sunny.

Gretchen had the kids bundled up to see me at Mile 17 and then wait for me at the finish.  Lilly made this sign herself and couldn't wait to show me :)  Another unexpected source of encouragement was my good friend Jodi.  He was supposed to run in this race but he had to stop training due to the 6 week early arrival of his son, Logan, who is tiny but doing well.  Jodi drove ahead every few miles and cheered me on at several different spots.  What a difference his cheering made in several tough spots for me.  Thanks so much Jodi.

  Another thanks to Jodi for taking this picture of me at Mile 22.  Because the temps were so cool, I was able to run the entire marathon without stopping at any water stop (I carried 40 ounces on my belt).  This was the first marathon I've run where I never once had to break stride.

  Finished and so happy to be with my super-fans at the end.  The hard work paid off - I beat my previous personal best by 28 minutes!

 My absolute #1 fan.  She has been so supportive with all of the early morning runs and hours and hours of training every week that led up to this.  Also, she's super hot.

Official race splits:

Mile 7 - 55:14

Mile 13.1 - 1:42:32

Mile 20 - 2:39:02

 Finish - 3:30:33  New PR!!!

8:02 min/mile avg pace

  Milwaukee also had crazy-good race swag this year.  A Brooks long sleeve tech running shirt, a running belt, a Christmas ornament (?) and Red Bull energy drink from the expo.  Also, a new champion on my medals display for the largest, heaviest medal.  It's gigantic!
  I've done this race in 2008, 2010 and now in 2012.  I will definitely continue to keep this race in the shuffle.