On August 31st, I ran the No Frills Marathon in Minoqua, Wisconsin. The course is a mostly flat course on the Bear Skin trail that goes from Nokomis, WI. to Minoqua. The race entry fee is $35 and you really get more than your money's worth with this race. First, the course itself was BEAUTIFUL! The first 6 miles are on some back roads near Nokomis. Once you get on the trail the scenery is true northern Wisconsin beauty. It is a tree lined trail with wooden bridges sporadically along the coarse. The bridges were one of my favorite parts, I loved hearing my feet pound the wooden planks, There are water stops along the coarse where you will find spectators cheering. Otherwise, you are running along the trail in quiet solitude. The final stretch to the finish line is an old wooden bridge and then you are in Minoqua. This is definitely a race I want to do every year.
My race went really well! I have to admit I went into this race really unsure of my training. I had pieced together my own training plan loosely based off the Grandma's marathon training plan(you can find it online on the website). It had higher mileage on it and very few rest days. The higher mileage seems to work for me, but I did add in a few rest days to give me recovery time. Looking back I realized I actually had a really good base built up due to the last one being cancelled.
The morning of the race Dan and I got up around 5am. I made my staple of an English muffin with PB&J. The start line was only about 20 minutes from the cabin, so we got there with plenty of time to spare. It was about 50 degrees and foggy, perfect weather in my opinion. I got my race bib and made a stop at the restroom, then headed to the start.
Pre-race selfie |
The Finish Line! |
There were so many great things about this race! I will definitely be back for this one. One of the best things was seeing this guy at pretty much every water stop.
My parents brought the kids out. Seeing there smiling faces around mile 20 helped push me to the finish.It was so great having my parents there cheering as well. Reminded me of all those years of cross country.
Post race ice bath in the lake! |
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