Zander runs Grandma's Marathon

So I ran Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota a week and a half ago. It was my first marathon, and I trained for about four months to get in shape. I hate pain, so I was kind of a maniac about staying on the training program (Dick Beardsley posted a training log on the Grandma's Marathon site, and I followed it as much as I follow anything). So I basically tortured myself for months just so I wouldn't be miserable for one day in June. It's that way sometimes with me.


This photo is the same one that's on Joolie Doolie because our camera glitched and lost the other couple photos we had. Dang. I was awesome in them, too. No, just kidding. I looked like I was going to die.


Here are the sample photos that they take of you during the race. The quality is low so that I'll shell out 65 bucks for a print of it. Mm... no thanks.

They're in order, the first being at about mile 16 or so, the second at mile 23-ish, and the last two in the final stretch and at the finish line, respectively. I'm pleased that there's a person walking in the background of the upper right picture, and that it's not me. I was determined not to walk, because not only did I train my butt off, my friend and training partner/coach Rocco and I probably spent 3 hours, all told, talking about what strategy we were going to use for the race. So if I had to walk at all, I was going to feel like a jerk. Mike blogs about his perspective on our race on Hurtin' Jackalope. It's a couple posts down because he actually blogged about it right after it happened. Nice work Rocco. He has some complimentary things to say about me and my zen-like approach to a slow first half of the marathon, but he neglects to mention that I'm just plain old not as fast as he is. I ran a slow second half too.

Well, all right... My final chip time (from when the microchip attached to my shoe crosses the starting line to when it crosses the finish line) was 3:25:33, a respectable time. It averages out to be about 7:49 per mile. Not too bad. I'm proud of it.


They gave us medals for finishing. I'm a winner! We're all winners!


And then we stood in Lake Superior (the lake that they call Gitchee-Gumi, don't ya know) to cool off our beat-to-hell legs.

A great weekend. Julie and Emily were an awesome cheering section, as were our hosts Byron and Jocelyn. Their kids Allegra and Haakon were lots of fun, and I learned some things I didn't know about dolls and the Justice League cartoon.

And now I'm going to sit on the couch.