The Madison Mini-Marathon Recap

This past Saturday, August 21, I ran my second half-marathon. I was a part of the Madison Mini-Marathon in Madison, Wisconsin. What a great event!

I can't say enough about it. It was a very well-organized race, with lots of volunteers and excellent community support. The race was run through the heart of Madison and it was like taking a tour of the city. What a beautiful place! My previous experience in Madison had been limited to using the can in a gas station right of I39 - admittedly, not the best way to get to know a city. It's great place. Any place that offers Nepali and Tibetan restaurants can't be bad. Unfortunately, I was only a mile into the race when I discovered those dining gems, so we'll have to go back and give them a try.

I loved that this race started smack on time at 7:00AM. We started in groups by estimated finish times. My only complaint is that the pace groups did not have pace leaders, so as soon as we were on the course, the pace groups scattered like there was no tomorrow. Oh well...while I missed the comfort of my running group, running the race solo wasn't bad. When we started, it seemed like Mother Nature might behave. It was about 71 degrees at race time, but humidity was sitting at 95%. There was plenty of cloud cover to make it seem cooler. It would quickly prove that it was not cooler. The humidity was insane. Within minutes, my technical shirt was a sponge, constantly needing to be rung out. My shorts looked as if I'd been in the deep end of the swimming pool. So while I was already looking like a drowned rat, I was also facing hills. Note to self - the next time you are racing in a new place, check out a topographical map. It would really pay to know about the hills. Yowsa!

All that being said, the oppressive humidity, the hills, and the heat (yeah, the race organizers threw up the "yellow" caution flag about an hour into the race), this was a great experience. Incredible course and cool people running it. I was so glad to see my family at the end of the race. They were right there as I crossed the finish line. I pretty much have the best fans ever.

So now if you read the last post, you saw a picture of my shirt from this race, with what looks to be blood on it. Oh it so was blood! During this race, I reached another milestone as a runner. The ubiquitous bloody nipple. About eight miles in, I noticed the stream of blood. I have to tell you, I was thrilled. I'd hit that milestone! Um, I was not so thrilled once I got back to the hotel and extricated myself from said shirt. That nip hurt worse than my tired, tired legs. And p.s. - it still does!
Just after hitting the finish line and getting my medal
With the BEST.FANS.EVER. Note - no one will touch me. Wonder why...
Gallons of sweat and one bloody nipple later, I did it!

I'm really liking the 13.1 mile distance. Not feeling any burning (well, except for the burning nipple) to run 26.2. At least not yet.