The Weekend! Post Race Activities

Well, that's where the running part of the show ends. Keep in mind we still had a 40th birthday to celebrate!! Susan had planned for a chauffeur to take all of us to the local Irish Pub (Irish Lion) for a night of celebration. Along with my family, the Fraleys, long time friends Jan, Melissa and Jennifer were on hand from Lincoln, as well as Mary and Diane from Madison. From what I remember it was a HELL of a bash.

So, what's next??? Hmm, well see...

All the highlights from the weekend:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kmack.mack/TecumsehMarathon?authkey=pxbJwGJb1VQ#

The Weekend! THE DAY Saturday 12/6

6:15am: Whoooo hooooo its THE day! This was the text message I woke up to (after my alarm and back up alarm had not gone off...) Yes, it certainly was! There was a gentle snow starting and there was frantic activity going on in my head. But with relatively little commotion we got breakfast, ALL the required gear and piled in the RV for the days fun. After a 45 minute ride in the RV, Bridget, Mo and I piled in a school bus for another 50 minute ride to the start. By now the snow had been coming down for ~2 hours and no signs of stopping.

The race started at 10:20am (Eastern), and in a word it was INCREDIBLE. It started out very easy on a flat/straight dirt single lane road, but with in a couple miles it went to tight tree lined single track trail, which is what it would be for 90% of the marathon. The single track in itself was fine, but soon we realized that with the snow and the fact that of the 600 runners ~550 were in front of us, the single track became ice packed in various spots, especially on several down hill and up hill twists and turns. In those spots the runners would slow dramatically causing a traffic jam on the trail, but passing those areas slowly was in everyones best interest, and still didn't guarntee safe passage.

Looking back it seemed like the first 1/2 (~13.1 miles) went really fast, although clock time it had been > 3 hours. I was feeling good, but then we came upon Indian Hill, yeah I know it's just a hill! But cripes it's a BIG hill, one that as you keep turning corners, it's still going up, and after running 13 miles, it's a bit of an obstacle. Once we got over it though it was quickly forgotten, for one there would be other hills to climb!

There were also several ravines where you would have jump down 1-2 feet go through a small creek and then up the other side 2-3 feet. Again, this was after ~550 runners went first, making the ledges very icy. I would say with all the obstacles we were dealing with Mo and I actually did very well with staying up right. I will admit I did take my share of falls, but of course Mo still gets the award for the most memorable. Her's typically involved more of an audience and falls in immediate sequence when called for. Although I give her a lot of credit, after a couple down hill slick spots she just took the hill on her arse, before the hill put her on her arse. But seriously, we knew we were up against it when at one hill they strung rope up between the trees so that you could just pull yourself up ~30 yards of hill cause it was too slick/steep to take on foot.

But the moment I will remember most, is when we got to the aid station at mile 21, and although we had started 20 minutes late, per the "race rules" we needed to be to the 23 mile aid station by 4:30, else they would need to pull folks from the trail, since nightfall would be coming and the trails would become more treacherous. Up to that point we had been on a >16 minute mile pace, which would put us to the 23 mile cut off past 4:30. There was no conversation about the situation, and certainly no concern that after 21 miles on an icy trail that we wouldn't make it. With Mo in the lead we headed out for those two miles as if it was the first two miles of a 10K on a sunny afternoon. When we came through the trees at the 23 mile aid station, Mo asked the first volunteer we saw if we made the cut off, he responded it was 4:20, and the cut off would be at 5:00, so we were fine....

For all practical purposes at that moment we had done it, we still had a few miles ahead of us, but hell that was only a 5K we could knock that out as a wheel borrow race!

Mo and I crossed the finish line just under 7 hours to cheers from family and friends AND the volunteers at the finish line singing Happy Birthday to me.

Watch the FINISH for yourself (Note it was a bit icey and we were on the .2 of the 26.2 miles...)

Crossing the finish...

The Weekend! Friday 12/5

Wow, where to start... I woke up Friday (12/5) to a bit of a hangover from Thursday's activities, but there was far too much adrenaline to worry about a hangover. Susan and I started the day with a breakfast feast at Hubbard Diner and then home in time for a house check, dog check, and running gear check. The MF (Majestic Flyer) captained by Gar (co-captained by Mo) pulled up promptly at 8:37, and then there was no turning back. The MF had been properly decked out with all the necessary 40 party paraphernalia (40 sucks suckers, beer sippy cup, various shot glasses...) all staged by my loving partner the previous night.

There was plenty of nervous energy to fill the air (all provided by yours' truly.) I had LOTS of well wishes through text messages through the RV ride down to IN. Most notably were the 15+ from Jan, and her favorite being "Did u hear snap,crackle,pop this morning & realize u were not eating cereal?"!

We arrived at the hotel in Bloomington IN, in good spirits and ready for spirits! We had time for a quick beverage and then off to the packet pick up. Much to my surprise, after giving my name to the packet person, he handed me my racing bib with the number 40 proudly displayed on it. AMAZING! Here I had turned forty on this day and I would have the race number 40 for the marathon. I'm still not sure the hoops Mo jumped through (I think there may have been GU exchanged for favors...) but I will not question the means, cause it was very cool.

It is worth noting, that I was not the only McCullough with a marathon race packet to pick up. Mary Bridget McCullough had also signed up for the race. Back when I first emailed folks on this topic I had gotten an email from Bridget and I quote "Most people would not pick a hilly/mountainous terrain for their first marathon." Hmm, guess the McCullough girls are NOT most people...

Safely back at the hotel the McCullough family arrived (Molly, Annie, Shawn, Dad, Bridget & Steve.) We left the MF nestled in the hotel parking lot, so it could get some rest for the big day ahead, but the McCulloughs and Fraleys headed off for carbo loading at the local Italian resturant. From this point on my better half took control of the event planning. We had a nice private room in the resturant where plenty of McCullough family stories were told, a few drinks were had, and a cake celebrating the run, my b-day and Bridget's, who turned FIFTY in October. The nights activities ended at a reasonable hour, so that the marathoners could get on to bed.

T-Day (Berbee Derby)

So, this posting is VERY delinquent, since most of you already know the end of the story, but I thought for prosperity I would post another pre-marthon moment...

The week before the marathon proved to be one of the most interesting. There is this thing called tapering, which allowed for all sorts of merriment making to celebrate my b-day week. Technically the tapering week "started" on Thanksgiving Day (11/27) which was the Berbee Derby (http://www.berbeederby.com/.) We polished off the 10K in 1:09:50 (11:15 pace.) Then it was off to watch football, eat turkey and partake in napping for the rest of the day!

As fate would have it the final weekend run would be what got me going back in June which is the trip from my house out around Pheasant Branch Conservatory (http://www.pheasantbranch.org/img/PBCmapLG.jpg) and back (~8 miles.) Back in June it about killed me. But with proper fueling (i.e. no Irish car bomb the night before) and having built up a few miles since, it was a relatively easy run.

The week included several shopping opportunities to make sure I had EVERYTHING I needed. I visited REI, Dicks Sporting Goods, Target... (just a few of my favorite stores.) There were to be a few ~5 mile runs (Mon, Tues and Wed) and starting Thursday would be rest. Tuesday's run got thwarted by a surprise B-day party which resorted in going to a drinking establishment. Who knew my running Master would also put me to shame with event planning! I knew nothing of the surprise party even though I saw Susan come into the office moments before. Although one lesson learned is when you put 40 candles on a small cake you risk FIRE. Note, no DBA's were harmed during this event!

The week's end came on Thursday for me with a short day at work, dinner with a few of the folks unable to attend the weekends event, and the highlight going to see a friend's band play in their first paying gig (http://www.myspace.com/ghosttowncouncil.)

All in all one hell of a week of celebrating and plenty of reasons to do so!

Ten Days And Counting... (Week 15)

Another week is in the books... Plenty of events and milestones both on and off the running trail were successfully achieved.

Saturday helped mark the end to the week with friends and much merriment. The Glick/Gast house hosted the final tailgate of the year and UW Football team actually won (they stunk this year... but the games were fun!)

Sunday Mo and I set out for Indain Lake and a goal of keeping me on my feet from ~9:30am-3:00pm. Note Indian Lake is the route that there is some unknown in exact mileage (see Week 9) but as I've been taught through this whole thing, it's not as much about mileage as the fact we went 5.5 hours, and six loops of the trail (2 more than we've ever done before.) It should also be noted it is now deer season, so a new addition to the running gear was a bright orange hat provided by Gar. Gun shots off in the distance are quite the distraction from you feet and legs hurting!

Try as she might, I have not taken Mo's lead to trip on the trail. Since this was the last run on the trails before the "big event" Mo took one last digger to show me proper tripping/landing form. But I really don't think she was into it, while she did have an audience of two other strangers, she was upright in short order, and barely scratched her knee, so not even picture worthy.

Week 14 (T-15Days/11Hours/36Minutes)

So, if you would have told me 4 months ago I would wake up on a Saturday morning at 5:00am, to run at 6:30 at 27 degrees, with 14mph winds, yeah, well, I think we all know what I would have said... NO THANKS! But that's not the case on Saturday 11/15, I got up, took the dogs for a walk and prepared for a long run... Keep in mind a long run 20 weeks ago was 3.5 miles as opposed to 3.1 miles.

Mo and I set out at 6:33 for our long run for the week. Time was short cause UW football was to start at 2:30pm, and in order to allow for proper football prep (shower, drive, drinking, burger) the run needed to wrap up a bit after 11:00am. Since I'm not one to be late for drinking and a burger I was good with 11:00am stop time. We started out Hwy 12 for the first leg of the run, wind to our backs (note this would make for an interesting return...) Made it out to the Missouri Tap and made the trip back with a stop at the Mobile Mart. The second leg included 1/2 of the Pheasant Branch Conservatory. I guess it's interesting statement in itself that an 18 mile run just included the normal milestones and landmarks:
- Out/back on two routes that used to be done independently and seen as an accomplishment.
- The quickest way to pee on the side of the road with out 1.) exposing yourself 2.) exposing yourself in the minimum amount of time, to avoid frost bite where you don't want it.
- Missouri Tap (note week 8)
- Mobile Mart: It is NOT easy to cross a four lane highway at 8:00 in the morning and not be considered a target.
- Stiff back legs. Seriously after running as much as I have, they are getting a little sore.
- Frozen Pop-Tarts. Honestly, they aren't have bad.
- Chocolate Chip Cookies at mile 13, come on that has to be a reason to run all by itself!

We rounded that Parmenter/Kenyon corner at 11:00 and moved right on through phase II and III of the day! Ok, I might have gotten an hour nap from 11:30-12:30, but I did play soccer until midnight the night before. With out skipping a beat we were at the UW football game for kick off (Phase II) and even found energy for after hour drinks at Claddagh (Phase III.) Ok, I realize for the youngen's in the crowd after hours is >2am, but after an 18 mile run, a Bloody Mary, 5 beers, a burger, 2 Jamison's and cheesy fries, 10:00pm is pretty darn late!

But in the end here's to the two significant others that love us and support this crazy activity:

Tyranena 1/2 Marathon (Week 13)

Well, it's the beginning of the end! This weekend marked a huge milestone, the Tyranena 1/2 marathon (http://www.tyranena.com/beerrun/website.htm) I know, I know, 13.1 miles what's the big deal, when last week we did >18?? Yeah, I don't know, it's just different dynamics you got:
1.) Running with a couple hundred folks that you don't know (ok, I knew 6 of them.)
2.) In 5 days we went from 70 degree weather down to 37, windy and rain/sleet/snow!
3.) There were t-shirts and awards involved!

The weekend was kicked off Friday night with a pasta feast, cooked by yours truly, and to my knowledge no one was hurt from the event! We had a house full of runners and birthday well wishers and associated partners. The b-day well wishers were for my wonderful partner who marked another year on 11/6 and who is putting up with all these running shenanigans. All in all the crowd was well behaved, the most notable beverage drank was a full 5 gallon jug of water!

Saturday, the day of the race, started with the normal pomp and circumstance of a Saturday, a dog walk and a trip to the grocery store. But driving to this Saturday's run would be in style, not only was this prep for the 12/6 marathon, it was also the dress rehearsal for the Majestic Flyer (MF), which is the support vehicle (RV owned/operated by the Fraleys) for the runners and non-runners at the marathon.

The MF arrived at 9am to collect Susan and I, with Mo at the helm. We arrived at Lake Mills, location of the Tyranena Brewery, in time for packet gathering, stretching, coffee making/drinking, two potty breaks, just in time carbo loading, attire deciding, and general revelry with our co-runners and supporters. At 11:30 we started, what would be for Mo and I a 2:39:36 (but who's counting) run. It was a pretty successful run, Mo didn't fall down, there were plenty of aid stations and port-a-johns. There was some precipitation, and the wind was a bit strong on some stretches, but it was good to know we can survive running in crappy weather.

I'd say the highlight was for ALL the time Mo and I have spent running, and although we were on a very wide open space, and the wind was at our back, Mo noted "Man, it smells like farts!" So, ok, maybe some of you reading this may not know me, but some certainly do, and certainly Mo has gotten acquainted with my 12 year old boy humor (as mom said: Katie you'd be perfect if you weren't so damn vulgar!) So come on, if I was right next to you and you smelled a foul odor, I'm definitely the first one to blame. Now, I'll give you in this situation, I had not started giggling (cause I was too focused on using my oxygen to survive) which is normally the dead give away. But yeah, it was me, and there's nothing like two grown women trying to run while giggling cause of a fart!

The last mile was tough, but Mo inspired me to keep running by threats of her singing. We came to the finish line to cheers of our follow coworker/runner Chris and his family. After a quick costume change in the MF we preceded to the beer tent for a beer and lasagna. Unfortunately due to the weeks events I was pooped! So the festivities were a bit short lived (so I'll definitely be working on my post-race tolerance!) The return trip in the MF got us safely home, and only took out a few curbs on those darn right hand turns...

All the gory details:
http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_individual.php?make_printable=1&bib_num=387&race_id=9728&type=result

25 Days, 12 Hours, and 48 Minutes until the Marathon!!

Renee, Wes, Mo, Katie, Chris, Kate and MF in the background

Mo (clapping/way too much energy), Katie (yellow), and Chris (back to us/finished the 1/2 an hour before...)

“It's kind of fun to do the impossible.” - W. Disney (Week 12)

18.62 miles: average pace 13.29 (including stops) 1:18/1:24/1:27 per 10k.


You can't make up numbers like that... Well at least you wouldn't, cause they aren't the fastest, but still not bad for those of us QUICKLY approaching 40. Since the overall goal is to be able to run a long ways and still be able to hold true to my Irish heritage (i.e. have a pint or two at the end) I'd say it was quite the successful training day!

Master Mo had positioned this as the "eating run", sound like a good run to me!! So, I set out the night before to find/purchase the junk food that you feel justified paying $6 for 4 small morsels, cause damit I'm gonna run 16+ miles (note 16+ miles, NOT 18+, it was all a ploy!) The end result was $32 spent at Target for pop-tarts (brown sugar/cinnamon), cheese & peanut butter crackers, berry/pomegranate juice, uncrustables (peanut butter/grape jelly), some kind of nut energy mix, chocolate milk, waffles (pre-run), and raisins. I know! It doesn't seem like you get much for $32, but I swear this did not include beer.

Due to the length of run and the fact there is only so much witty banter Mo and I can exchange it was decided singing would be involved in this run. No not me! I've retired my boots... And, well, Mo really can't carry a tune, so we resorted to iPods. We started out around 7am and it was low 40's and did 3 rounds of the Arboretum loop, which is a regular 10K loop (i.e. Zoo Run Run, Jingle Bell Run...) :
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/wi/madison/688136879

There was wildlife abound (but NO snakes!) wild turkeys, rutting deers (both does and bucks, people we live in Madison, have an open mind....) and random humans. The first loop was around the Arb. clock wise (note to self, bad things happen to those that go counter to society, i.e. a tree off the road does NOT mean a private place to relieve yourself, ESPECIALLY where 4 walking trails come together, amazing how at 8am the moon can shine in WI.) Loops 2 & 3 were done counter clockwise, which doesn't cause you to be in a socially awkward situation for lots of reasons.

Second loop started after a pop tart and juice, pop tarts are the food of the running goddesses! (Note to self, don't enter a port-a-john on a construction site, down on campus, on Saturday morning after Halloween... it ain't pretty.) The third loop was fueled by a PBJ uncrustable (NOT just for 10 year olds!)

End result was we went 18+ miles in ~4 hours! (Note to self, allow NO money to be carried on the run, else there is risk you will continue to do loops until that damn $20 bill is found.) All in all I felt good, my legs were a bit tired, but if we HAD to find the $20 I could of made one more loop. But, there was definitely enough energy reserved for a night of Halloween frivolity. I'm happy to report after 17 years, yes I CAN fit in my wedding dress!

Week 10 & 11

No, I haven't given up on running, just been delinquent in writing. In fact there has been NO shortage of running the last two weeks! What I fail to mention in these posts is that it's not just the weekends that involve running, it's pretty much 6 days a week. Tuesdays being ~10 hill repeats on High Point road, with the Capital Brewery constantly in the background mocking us. Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays are, for lack of a better word, "normal" runs, just a short 5-5.5 mile run typically at noon. The trick is what has transpired at work in the morning as to exactly how fast the run is. Some days it's around 12 minute miles, other days it's been identified that constant mileage has been run at ~10.30 minute miles (yeah, I know seems unlikely, but I suppose you really run enough and you can get your time down...)

Until it got cold this week, there had been a surge of snakes on the nooner running path (and you wonder how you can get me to run 10:30 minute miles? Have a 6 inch garter snake chase after me, yeah, it's frightening!) So, maybe the surge was at most 10 snakes on any one day, but there was one REALLY big one, like two foot and mean looking and really Mo provides little protection.

We've done so many long runs now on the weekend that I can't even hardly remember the one on the weekend of the 18th, but I KNOW I did one! Last one weekend was an "easy" weekend, only had it in me to do a couple hours, it was windy, and the last two weeks of running had worn me out a bit, including soccer season starting up. No! I'm not whining! Well, maybe I am a little. But the biggest reason for the short run is Shawn, eldest sister, came to visit.

Saturday not only had to include the two hour run, but a UW football game, hitting balls, and well, a little drinking... But it was ONLY because Shawn was here, and Gar wanted to show her a good time (picture provided below.) You do know when this running thing becomes more of a lifestyle than exercise, when your able to peel off a 3 mile run after a day of drinking (no pictures provided.)

Week 9

Here's the question of the week... Do you trust technology OR my ability to follow a map? Mo and I have been prepping for the trail marathon on what we believe to be an equivalent trail outside of Madison, called Indian Lake. Note this route came up in week 1 when we did three loops of the trail. Well, this weekend we did four loops. So the question is according to Mo's GPS watch we did just over 12 miles but according to the map of the loop (red) we did was 17.5. Now, what you can't see is the HUGE frickin' hill that you have to go up after in the first mile, it's definitely a walking hill... So you be the judge, I think the answer is somewhere in the middle.

(http://danedocs.countyofdane.com/webdocs/pdf/lwrd/parks/indian_lake_park_brochure_map.pdf)

There was an incident that of course is worth mentioning and providing pictures. On the third loop we were running along at a pretty good clip. This was a particularly busy day at Indian Lake, EXTREMELY unseasonable weather it was upper 70's in October!! So lots of folks getting their last hurrah in. However, as we past a mom and her two kids who were enjoying the colors of fall and picking leaves...

Well we should pause here a minute, now running trails is difficult there are rocks and roots and various things you have to watch out for, and you add in a coat of leaves and it can be down right treacherous! So through out the run you are doing the occasional trip and rebalance, and as I've been instructed by Master Mo, I have been specifically told do NOT try to catch someone falling it can only do you and the other more harm. This Grasshopper pays attention, darn it, to what I've been told! Ok, so back to the previous paragraph...

As Mo and I pass the family, it's still not clear what caused the unbalance, was it a rock? a root? my foot? I don't know that we will ever know. But Mo took a digger, however in Mo form she took the blow HEAD on, well and other areas took the brunt, but you'll see... Mo did the trip, try to catch her self, try to catch herself, try to catch herself, and we ALL thought she had it, but no, she was on the ground in a superman flying pose. Don't worry NO children, by-standing mothers or Mo's were hurt! And I'll have you know I did NOT try to catch her, so I listen! The good news is Mo got up with no cuts and we finished the third and FOURTH loop!!

13+ Miles!! (Week 8)

Satuday was a landmark day after a tough couple of weeks. The day started at 7:00am with perfect weather sunny, NO wind, a little chilly, but perfect for setting out for a long run! The route was along Highway 12 outside of Middleton, with plenty of your standard landmarks: farms, cows (the non-running kind), and taverns (one of the highlights: Missouri Tavern: http://www.missouritavern.net/.)

Mo and I set off to conquer 13+ miles, it wasn't a good sign when less than a mile into the run, having secured all my proper running gear: shoes, hat, sun glasses, Jelly Bellies, water belt, phone... Umm, but forgot to attach the water bottles to the water belt... But teamwork prevailed, and Mo let me have the condensation off her bottle... Kidding she shared.

The run had it's rough spots, mainly mentally and spiritually, but there's no better place to be then on a run to work through what life hands you, or those that you love. However, after 2 hours and 50 minutes, the mile marker ticked on past 13 miles, and although Fraley says I got there first, it's only cause she pushed me (ok mainly mentally.)

In pondering the past weeks events I found the following quote:

Life is short...running makes it seem longer.

But for my purposes I thought it should read:

Life is short (unless you have McCullough genes)... running makes it seem longer (really long if you have McCullough genes.)

So, raise your glass, like those that shared in the post celebrations, cause I survived a 13+ mile run, only 13+ more and less than 60 days to make'r happen!!

Week 7

This week's long run, was a solo run. Susan and I got away for the weekend to celebrate our 7th anniversary! Believe me, similar to running a marathon, that's never happened for me before...

Checked out some options for a long run, I was looking to get ~12 miles and in hopefully around 2.5 hours. After a bit of research, and a drive through the country I picked the following route:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/il/-irish-cottage/751453872426

The pre-run dinner included Shepard's Pie from the Irish Pub in the inn we are staying in (Shameless plug for a good homeland joint: http://www.theirishcottageboutiquehotel.com/.) It proved to not be a bad thing, but might have been tempered by the three types of potatoes I had with it too (mashed, fried and skins...) I also stayed away from the Irish Car Bombs, and stuck with my MGD-64! I really think Miller needs to market more to the Marathoners of the world, it's the perfect combination of hydration and gives you a bit of a buzz!

The roads on the route proved to be nice, quiet, country roads (Irish Hollow: how can you go wrong with that and Rocky HILL certainly deserved it's name.) Cemetery Road was a bit creepy last night when I drove the route, but not so bad during the day. It was a little more creepy having the souped up 4x4's driving by me and wondering if "billy-bob" might be looking for a cute little thing to take back to the shack for some fun... Good thing I don't qualify as a "cute little thing..."

It was perfect weather, started out at 8:00am, and the landscape was beautiful! I saw hawks going out for their morning flights and a deer having breakfast in someones lawn. I was challenged on Rocky HILL when I noticed the "Steep Grade" sign, had to walk up some of the hills, but managed a head. Then on 6th mile I passed Marge Beadle's farm, and in particular her cows. I hadn't realized cows were such and active bunch, although I think it might be because I inspired them ("if that chick can run, so can we!") As I ran by the cows they joined along my side, although it was a bit embarrassing when they passed me for a bit, but I'll have you know they did finally give up, and I DIDN'T!!

I made it through the 8 mile loop and headed back out for about 4 more miles out on Irish Hollow, but turned around before I got back to the cows, something tells me at that mileage they might have been able to take me... The run finished at 2:42 hours, and I'm tired and soar... Time to go shopping, ok maybe a nap first...

Elevation Map (guess where the "steep grade" sign was!)

Week 6

BIG WEEK! Note to self, don't insinuate that you aren't being pushed hard enough in previous posts, cause Mo will take it as a challenge to test your endurance...

Saturday we did a two hour traipse around Governor Nelson State Park (http://dnr.wi.gov/org/land/parks/specific/govnelson/maps.html.) Got use to the sloppy wet shoe feeling, cause started out in the early morning dew. Perhaps I shouldn't take this next part too personally, but it was a bit disturbing at one point during the run when a large grasshopper was springing across our path. Maybe it was just its "time", and maybe Mo wasn't trying to make a statement, but the grasshopper was a little slow in moving off the path and got squished by Mo's stride. This certainly inspired me to keep pace with Mo, so as not to deal with a similar consequence...

Sunday was the Henry Vilas Zoo Run Run, which was a yearly staple in the 5K runs, however this year was a new test, to do the 10K, although again this had been achieved weeks earlier. So the trick to all this is to see if I can run on "tired" legs, after having run Friday (1hr), Saturday (2hrs), Sunday 10K... Ha, I laugh in the face of tired legs... Not only did I run the 10K, but beat my 5K pace from the previous year Zoo Run Run by ~50 seconds.

• 2007: http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_individual.php?make_printable=1&bib_num=354&race_id=6617&type=result
• 2008: http://www.onlineraceresults.com/race/view_individual.php?make_printable=1&bib_num=313&race_id=9076&type=result

The nice thing about the Zoo Run is there was football and libations waiting for us in the neighborhood at Michele and Byron's!!! Hmm, those porch steps seem vaguely familiar???

71 days until the marathon....

Week 4 & 5

I've been deliquent, but it's been a busy and great couple of weeks. Last weekend (9/7) we were witness to ~2500 folks doing the Madison IronMan. Quite the site of all those folks flopping around in lake Monona. I got to watch the start and the finish. The finish was inspiring to see folks after >13 hours of swimming (2.4miles), biking(112 miles), and then finishing with a full marathon (26.2 miles)! Congrats to Wes for a successful event! Cool thing to watch, but no I have no interest in participating... Being the youngest of five where all four elders were accomplished swim team members, I fell through the crack, and would be lucky to dog paddle 2o yards!! And since I'm confessing I also got out of piano lessons, but make up for it know with my Karaoke abilities, for those of you that don't recall my fifteen minutes of fame (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkAeA7Sl584) Yeah, I know I got Mom's singing abilities...

Back to running, we are right on schedule!! I'm still at the max for one run around 11 miles, but I'm feeling good after 11 miles, and not exhausted. Overall mileage for the week is going up, and as Master Mo says that's the thing to do. Note Mo started referring to me as "grasshopper", so it greatly amuses me that upon looking up this reference the teacher in question was Master Po, so seems a natural fit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_(TV_series).

I've also found the ability to spend money on ALL the necessities for running (various socks, body glide, jelly bellies, water belt with all the proper accouterments, running shoes, trail shoes, rain jacket...) So, even if I don't finish the marathon I'll look good doing it!

Week 3: First 10K

Did my first 10K, seemed fitting the race was the Sauk Prairie Cow Chip Classic (http://www.wiscowchip.com/classicrun.htm)

Wes and Renee joined me and Mo for the my first 10K. Although for Wes it was just a "fun run" for next week's IronMan (maybe next year... ah no...)

Had a good run until the last mile and then it was all about just not puking my guts out :) Mo encouraged me on and we did make it across the finish with no ambulence... And made it just in time for kick off of the first Badger football game.

The rest of the days events are a blur, well, not really but let's just say it was little to do with running and it encouraged me to take a day of rest on Sunday.

Less than 96 days to go....

Week 1

So, it's > a week later, and I'm still thinking good thoughts about running!! Thanks all for your responses, and for the most part well wishes :) The thread from the email will definitely provide good scrap book material!

Susan and I are going to dust off our PM skills and put together a more formal invite and register for who's in for what and when. We have found a hotel that looks reasonable for ~$110 a night, and will see about reserving a block and inlcuding that information in the invite. Should have that all pulled together and out to all by 9/1.

If your interested in seeing what I look like after a 2 1/2 hour run in the woods check out the following link. Note the progression to happiness isn't the release of gas, I was stretching!! Also, the last picture isn't of me, it's of Mo, and her taking my training WAY to serious in trying to show me the proper way to do a belly flop on the trail run!http://picasaweb.google.com/kmack.mack/MarathonTraining/photo?authkey=5H-Ig2i11Fs#s5235663961936667026

The Beginning

Susan asked me the other day what I want to do for my birthday. Forthose of you not good with math, and for most of you that would besubtracting years from your age to get to mine, I got kind of a "big"one coming up in December. Since last year I made a mess of Susantrying to surprise me for my bday she decided it wise to have adiscussion about my desires for my 40th. My first thought is, wellit'll be like my 20th, and my 30th, invite friends and drink... Butthen I got to thinking, which is never a good idea, and I actuallycame up with an idea, not sure it's a good idea, and you all willthink I've lost it and send for an immediate review of my mentalstability... I want to do a marathon.

If you're interested, especially for those of you that met me in theearly years, running has NEVER been a passion/desire/thought of mine.I can still remember Ms. Schmock (if you don't know/remember that wasmy high school b-ball coach...) yelling at me to "MOVE MCCULLOUGH" mebeing always the last to cross the sprint lines... ~3 1/2 years agoRenee convinced me I should do the Shamrock Shuffle 5K, which howcould I resist a good Irish event like that, and being able to drinkafterwards. So, I started running but nothing serious. I can rememberhaving a conversation with a friend at work when I told her I was aslow runner, and she said there is nothing wrong with running 10minute miles, I said, um I run 13 minute miles... I went along forseveral years being content with running 2-3 miles at a time, and theoccasional 5K. Then I had my "second wind" inspired by Mo, whoalthough by full admission is an ultra-marathoner(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultramarathon) I just like to call hernuts. She convinced me maybe I could run a bit further, and then abit further and a bit further. When a couple of weeks ago we went ~9miles, granted it wasn't pretty, but I made it up right, I thoughtwell that was stupid. But then I go back to Susan's question "what doyou want to do for your b-day", and you know what, I think I want achallenge, I know I can drink, but can I run 26.2 miles AND THENdrink?

I realize this is a little off the standard protocol, but Susan and Iare going to Bloomington IN for my 40th, and I would like you all tobe there, whether as a 26.2 miler, 5.5 miler or spectator (to keepSusan company) and at the end have a beer with me, I'd love for you tojoin us. I don't have high expectations for myself, just don't wantDNF after my name (Did Not Finish) or for that matter DOA....

When: Friday December 5th, Saturday December 6th (race day), SundayDecember 7th (hangover and recovery day)
Where: Bloomington IN is the closest town
What: Marathon and Drinking (http://www.dinoseries.com/marathon.html)

I don't have all the details yet, kind of want to see who'sinterested, but we could easily reserve a block of rooms in a hotel inBloomington. For those of you willing to consider doing the marathonI recommend you sign up soon, as they fill up. It's not going to bean easy marathon, but no one ever said life would be easy(http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=2072051203)

And although John T.'s wisdom should always be considered "if you wantto run, why do you need to drive to the high school, just run..." Thelocation in Bloomington IN looks awesome!