Finished!

Enjoying refreshing chocolate milk

Well, I made it! Finished the Madison Marathon last Sunday- not my fastest marathon and not my slowest. I was happy with finishing this one after only being back running for 6 months since the twins were born. I forgot how hard marathons are. It was hillier and warmer than I thought it would be. Madison is a beautiful city with all the lakes and the University of Wisconsin. Jeff and I had a nice getaway while the kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Tjebkes (Thank you!!). It was a pretty small marathon- 1600 people or so. Jeff was able to meet me lots of places along the course- start, miles 5, 10, 13, 16, 20, and 23, and the finish. He provided excellent race support with G2 Gatorade, Sport Beans, and cheers. No way I would have made it without his support during my training. I know it is not easy to get all three of our kids up, fed and dressed in the morning by yourself and he cheerfully does that every Sunday morning so I can go for long runs. I so appreciate his support!!! Everyone is asking me what my next marathon is. Still working on that- stay tuned.

Have a few Only In Wisconsin instances from the marathon weekend. For example, after you finish the race, they give you string cheese and chocolate milk to celebrate. Not exactly what my stomach wanted but it is the dairy state after all. [Sidebar- Totally reminded Jeff and I of a vacation we took to Curacao (a tiny Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela). While on vacation, Jeff and I both ran in a 10K race on the island. It was at least 90 degrees after the race and they served steaming hot chicken noodle soup to everyone. Very quirky. This is also where I noticed at the start of the race that I was the only female wearing just a sports bra- everyone else had on t-shirts. I am sure the phrase Crazy American crossed some minds at that point. Actually though, I ended up being the first female to cross the finish line in the race (this has only happened twice in my life) so maybe I started a new trend in their running community- the sports bra. Ha! Good memories.] Also, the World Brat Festival was taking place right next to the marathon finish. You don't see that everyday although we opted for PF Changs and Olive Garden instead. After the race, the showers were located in a concrete building right in the middle of a large horse show that was going on. At that point, I needed a shower so bad it did not matter, they could have hosed me off with the horses. We had a good time but it was nice to get back and pick up the kids on Monday.

Curacao 10K December 2003