[Race Report] Gopher to Badger Half Marathon - August 12th 2017
Race information
- What? Gopher to Badger Half Marathon
- When? August 12th, 2017
- How far? 13.1 miles
- Where? Stillwater, MN to Hudson, WI
- Website: http://www.finalstretch.com/gophertobadger
Goals
| Goal | Description |
|---|---|
| A | Sub 1:30 |
| B | PR (under 1:31:37) |
| C | Sub 1:35 |
About the Race
The Gopher to Badger is a pretty unique race and one that I really look forward to - different than most of the ones that take place around Minneapolis. It's a friendly competition between runners from Minnesota & Wisconsin that starts in MN and crosses the St Croix River to end in WI. Lots of people sport their UofM or UW gear during the race. I ran the 5K last year and had a blast watching the half marathoners come in to finish. As a side note, I think it's funny how at my races last fall I always thought the half & full marathoners were next level crazy (how in the hell do you run that long, that quickly?). Now I'm one of them \oo/
Training
Started my running career June of last year to get in better shape. After I did a 5K I was hooked on a sport where I can compete against myself. Been running a steady 50-55 mpw since March '17 in training for Grandma's Marathon in June. I loosely follow Pfitz 18/55 although I do whatever speed sessions I feel like during the week. Track workouts have been my thing lately. It's so much easier to run tempos & intervals on the track instead of weaving around walkers and getting nearly run over by bikes. Whatever I'm doing, it seems to be working - it's great being able to run half marathons at a faster pace than my 5K pace a year ago (I ran a 23min 5K here last August). What a difference the higher mileage makes.
Pre-Race
I woke up at about 5am to gather my gear and hit the road. Forgot my Garmin at home and had to turn around to grab it. Not a great start to the day, but luckily I wasn't pulled over speeding back to my house and back on the interstate. Drove to the finish area in Hudson and wandered around a bit before they started calling for people to line up for transport. You're shuttled to the starting area at the fairgrounds in Stillwater - good place to start since there are porta potties and permanent bathrooms around the grounds (albeit they ran out of toilet paper). Oh well, glad I did #2 before I left home.
Race
Mile [1] to [3]
After the announcer made a funny comment about the look of panic on people's faces still in the porta potty lines, we were off. I started about 50-60 people back from the line in a field of almost 1100. I had planned to run with the 1:30 pacer but it wasn't as cool as I was expecting and I didn't get a very long warm up in so I decided to go at my own pace around 7:00/mi and keep an eye on the 1:30 pacer. Did I mention it's still a little intimidating lining up by the guys in split shorts and track club singlets?
The first few miles turned away from the fairgrounds and through some rolling hills through residential neighborhoods. Nothing steep but enough to get your heart rate going. Racing a lot this season I've gotten more aware of keeping an even effort on the uphills and not killing my legs early on. I now expect to slow down and make up time when I'm feeling good on the flats & downhills. This would pay off later. Splits 6:54 / 6:58 / 6:58
Mile [4] to [6]
The route exited the neighborhoods and followed a couple of the not so busy county roads. I was glad to see the cars & crowd support at some of the intersections since I was not expecting hardly anyone to be on the route until the finish. Was nice to see people cheering for you when they saw you were wearing gear from their school of choice. It also gives you a little incentive to pass someone up ahead when you see they're wearing red. Splits 6:57 / 7:07 / 6:49
Mile [7] to [9]
I guess the thing I distinctly remember from here was me fumbling & dropping a full cup of Gatorade, which exploded on impact and doused the volunteer's lower half. Sorry! After winding through some newer housing developments with one steep but short uphill, the course turned into a downhill as it approached the highway. This was good for making up some time. From here we took a right onto a long 2 mile straightaway on the shoulder of the highway. Normally I don't like long, boring straights but I felt really strong here and got into a solid rhythym as I passed those who were struggling in the now exposed sun. I could still see the 1:30 pacer about a half mile ahead. Splits 6:51 / 6:56 / 6:49
Mile [10] to [12]
With only ~1100 racers and somewhat of a slower field in general, it was really thinning out about this time. I had picked off a couple of people on the long straight and finally got an opportunity to catch a couple more here as the course meandered through some shaded side roads parallel to the river. Some gentle downhills allowed me to really push the pace. My legs were feeling better than they ever have in a half, so I decided I would try to catch the pacer. I knew the last 3.1 miles of the course pretty well from running the 5K last year, so that gave me a confidence boost that I would have enough in the tank to reel him in.
We came under the Interstate 94 bridge and took a couple rights before I grabbed a final swig of water and patiently tackled the last uphill to the overpass. Once I reached the bridge I went on cruise control, passing a couple more people and making significant ground on the pacer. This was such a great feeling compared to the half 2 weeks ago where I fell apart in the heat & humidity and was getting passed at only the 7-8 mile mark. I still finished that one only 3 mins off my PR, but it was a death march for the last 1/3 of the race. Splits 6:46 / 6:30 / 6:24
Mile [13] & Final [13.1]
The course took a hairpin turn underneath the bridge as I frantically kept my eye on the pacer. At about 12.5 I finally caught him and figured I would cruise with him to the finish. Instead, he pushed me to keep on ahead of him so I picked up the pace a bit. This part of the course is always fun as you follow a narrow path lined with spectators that winds along the lakeshore. Despite one very short but cruel uphill before the finish line, I finished with a strong kick for a 5:40/mi pace the last 0.1. Splits 6:21 / 1:17
Final time-> 1:29:3x. Damn. I finished a half @ sub 7:00/mi and I felt strong as hell. I was 5th in my age group of 30-39 and just outside the awards. A sub 7 mile still seems "quick" when I see that 6 on my watch, but I can tell my body is getting used to sustaining that kind of pace for longer distances.
Splits
| Mile | Time |
|---|---|
| 1 | 6:54 |
| 2 | 6:58 |
| 3 | 6:58 |
| 4 | 6:57 |
| 5 | 7:07 |
| 6 | 6:49 |
| 7 | 6:51 |
| 8 | 6:56 |
| 9 | 6:49 |
| 10 | 6:46 |
| 11 | 6:30 |
| 12 | 6:24 |
| 13 | 6:21 |
| 13.1 | 1:17 |
Post-race
They had the age group awards ceremony and a DJ, but otherwise nothing too crazy. The food and drinks were good and I stuck around for about an hour to cheer on some of the other finishers. Hudson is a great small town with a large harbor and nice views of the St Croix. Perfect place to finish a race.
Next up
Twin Cities Marathon in October and possibly a winter marathon (Houston, Phoenix, any other good ones?)
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Posted Aug 17, 2017, 8:10 PM UTC · edited