Madison Mini 2015 Race Recap
This year was my third year running the Madison Mini and my second time completing the M2 Challenge.
The M2 Challenge is completing both the Summerfest Rock 'n Sole Half Marathon as well as the Madison Mini Maration. Runners who finish both get an additional medal at the Madison Mini.
I spent Friday preparing for our early morning journey to Madison. This year, we decided to drive out to Madison the morning of the race instead of staying in a hotel. While it worked out okay, I almost was late to the race start because I needed to use the facilities and meet up with Angie (one of the Bib Rave Pros who so kindly picked up my packet!) and barely made it into my corral before the race started.
Flat Laura is ready to race! Featuring Oiselle, Pro Compression, Asics, ArmPocket, Garmin, RoadID, and Plantronics!
I received a pair of Plantronics bluetooth headphones to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. I spent some time the night before becoming familiar with how to use them and perfecting my race playlist. Because music is life and I need it to run!
Of course, no race day is complete without sporting an Oiselle tattoo.
Head up wings out!
Race morning was beautiful, weather-wise. It was in the mid-high 60's and it felt warm without being stifling. I remember last year it was quite chilly around race start time. I didn't even need my arm sleeves!
I was in corral D (definitely overestimated my finishing time, as that corral was the 2:00 group). The race started off with a bang, awesome music and Bucky Badger high-fiving everyone as they ran past!
The spectator support at the race is top notch. All along the route, even through the Arboretum, there were people cheering us on. What I love is that a lot of them look at the bibs and will say "Good job, Laura, keep going!" Sometimes that extra cheering makes all the difference when I hit "the wall", which I inevitably do for every race.
Miles 5-7 sucked. My right knee started to feel tight and achey, the hills became a mental battle (I ended up walking most of them, as this course has no shortage of hills!) I was thankful that the weather wasn't unbearably hot, as I'm pretty sure that would have put me over the edge.
I took my time, did quite a few walk breaks, worked on regaining control of my breathing, and finished strong with a time of 2:09:52! Much better than the 2:15-2:20 that I was anticipating
In the finisher's chute after a volunteer put a medal on me, I also got water, chocolate milk, a banana (which I inhaled), popcorn, and a granola bar. There were also photographers taking pictures in front of a Madison Mini backdrop.
I love that they changed the location of the finish line in relation to the post-race party. Instead of forcing all the finishers onto the terrace right out of the chute, everyone had to walk about a block to get to the post-race party. Which made the experience nicer and less crowded. In years past, it was wall-to-wall people (along with strollers and wagons, etc) and I always felt like I couldn't move.
I picked up my M2 Challenge medal and my complimentary Wisconsin Brewing Company beer.
Julia, Angie, me, Christine
And I also met up with some fantastic BibRave Pros!
There were also some Birds there from Wisconsin that I ran into! Love meeting other Oiselle Volee runners!
Obligatory selfie as I hobbled back to the car.
You can see my BibRave review of the 2015 Madison Mini here.
