Wisconsin Half Marathon 2022
The tradition continues! This race has always been a special one but really has become an amazing tradition for my family. My uncle started doing this race from its first inception and slowly it grew into a family event since my uncle’s passing this race has now been a tradition to honor him.
Every single year this race surprises me in the best way. What I expected to be a cloudy chilly day turned out to be bright blue sky’s and sunny. As usual, I was way too over-dressed. You would think by now I would know to be better prepared for this race.
Since moving to Milwaukee I have been running with OMG and my speed has seriously increased. I never thought, had pretty much convinced myself, that I would just never be a fast runner but this half-marathon proved to me that if I keep putting in the work I will keep getting faster.
While I have not been specifically training for the half this year I was putting in more miles and doing at least 2 faster runs a week. My typical week leading up to this race was:
Monday: 4 miles AM at about a 9:15 pace, 6-8 miles in the evening with OMG at about an 8 min pace, light strength training
Tuesday: 6 miles AM about a 9-9:30 pace
Wednesday: 4 miles AM 9-9:30 pace, 6-8 PM with OMG about 8 min pace, strength training or Yoga
Thursday: 5-6 miles AM 9-9:30 pace
Friday: 6 miles AM 9-9:30 pace
Saturday: 8-13 miles somewhere between 8:45-9:30 pace
My weekly training was based only on what I wanted to do each day. When I begin training for my sprint triathlon and marathon I will have more specific training information to share but for this race I just explored with my training each week. Apparently my approach to training in this way paid off.
When I crossed the finish line I was so proud to see that I achieved an 8 minute PR!
I felt incredible the entire race which is a first. The combination of great weather, proper training and some adrenaline made this an ideal race for me. My legs truly felt like they were working hard to make my PR happen and I enjoy that feeling of knowing I am working for it. For the first 7 miles I didn’t check my pace and simply ran what felt right and once I finally checked my pace I realized I was doing better than I anticipated. I harnessed that momentum and kept myself at pace. What started as a goal to simply beat my family turned into a goal of proving to myself that I am still so capable of way more than I ever thought.
Course & Race Logistics Review
The race this year was a slightly new course. This is the second year in a row that they altered the course. The course runs more south into Pleasant Prairie and does not spend as much time along the lakefront. I enjoy that the new course seems to block more of the wind off the lake but do miss seeing more of the lake. Over the years this race has gotten more and more quiet. I remember there being bands and music playing but that is no more. Also, due to the new course layout parts of the course make it much more difficult for spectators. This is not an issue for the half but if I were running the full would find that isolation to make the race more difficult. The amount and placement of water stations and port-a-potties was excellent and it is always a well organized race.
There are some things that have changed about this race that I wish hadn’t (mainly lack of entertainment and less lake time) but overall an incredible experience. I love this race, it is a special race for me and I will continue to do this race every year.
