2025: Grandma’s Marathon

Since my last personal best attempt (2023 Grandma’s) and the last completed one (2023 Marquette), I hadn’t necessarily enjoyed the luxury and the privilege of a race day performance representative of my training and progress and more importantly, of all the help I had received in making that progress. Training log indicated few more tweaks that could help me race this distance better. If implementing those tweaks over a meaningful period of time took me a few steps forward, a handful of setbacks took me a step or two back. Being patient while the injuries healed and finding detours around setbacks were neither easy nor fun.

Most endurance events, as I have come to realize, are what have you done for me consistently and specifically? type of endeavors. When the answer is a not much and when unseasonably high heat and humidity join the party, the race day performance tends to be … though explicable … less than pretty. Such was mine in 2025 on the day after midsummer’s night. For the second time in as many editions, I stepped off the official course long before the finish line. It wasn’t all just doom and gloom (or hot and sweaty) though. Like any trip to Grandma’s, this one too wasn’t without its highlights, lessons and comforting moments!

da Past Lessons

In simple terms, the first 75% of 2024 calendar year was very humbling. Between late March and late September, I couldn’t train consistently for more than 3-weeks at any given time. A first known bout of RSV, the second confirmed case of COVID-19, residual effects of the combination of RSV and COVID-19 that derailed the 2024 Grandma’s Marathon, the n^th instance of plantar fasciitis – in the right foot – that limited the 2024 Marquette Marathon to half the distance … were just some to list. These not so yummy slices of humble pie were quite medicinal … at least in hindsight. They taught me how to (a) train through around obstacles, (b) use additional modalities to minimize the damage, (c) modify the goals, (d) diversify the surface/distance/pace portfolio, (e) be patient with longer term development plans and (f) translate the trust in training to faith on race day by way of intermittent doses of belief.

Preparatory Phase

Planning for the 2025 Spring/Summer marathon with specific performance and outcome goals in mind was done in early 2024 September. Combining what Ray had shared a long time ago about pyramids (hence the theme, Less Pisa, More Giza), the goal for the preparatory phase was to create a wide enough base and arrive at the marathon-specific phase with fast enough legs. Per Scot‘s words of wisdom from late 2023, I did not include any structured hard workouts through the end of 2024 calendar year. Training to, through and beyond 2024-25 Winter involved blending running with cross country skiing and other impact-free modalities. This was an opportunity to implement constraint led approach (CLA) at a grander scale … another key concept I learned during US Ski and Snowboard Coaches Development from Coach Bryan Fish … something he reminded me again in early 2024 September. I am grateful for Anne, Cedric, Clayton, Eric, Greta, Ishi, Jason, Katie, Ray, Sam, Shannon, Shannon and Stephen who made time to discuss/review the plan and provided valuable feedback and guidance along the way.

When I first started reading Wintering (recommended many moons ago by Josh at Sports Rack in Marquette, MI), I had expected it to be Katherine’s treatise on how to get through Winter as one of four (or two/three, if in da Yoop) seasons and had hoped it’d offer some insight into improving my cross country skiing. Partway through the introduction, I had come to realize Katherine was reflectively referring to difficult seasons in our life as Winter, and the act of slowing down, taking time to heal, finding peace in the pause, and re-surfacing energized when Spring arrives (and being accepting of all that) as Wintering.

Though Katherine didn’t mention anything about cross country skiing, I used her definition of Wintering throughout Winter to improve my form and technique while purposefully moving slow. It had previously been too easy to fool myself into thinking that my form and technique were good just because I swiftly went from A to B. It also meant staying away from all races except American Birkebeiner … which I couldn’t/didn’t complete for a host of reasons. As far as running was concerned, it meant quietly improving my speed/stamina throughout the same Winter months and showing up prepared for the marathon phase.

Apart from the newish Race Ready by Andy Newell and Brian Halligan (thank you, Stephen!), the podcasts I listen to haven’t really changed since I made an inexhaustive list during the 2024 Marquette Half Marathon report. Revisiting the saved episodes and re-reading books – call it Continuing Education – in my library brought up some new to me values/lessons … as and when changing circumstances in my life made me ready and more receptive. Listing the book titles alphabetically and peer-reviewed research studies by the year of publication, the I found the following to be particularly useful and impactful.

1. Books
   1. Infinite Powers by Dr. Steven Strogatz (via Jason Cork)
   2. Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor (via Michael Young)
   3. Running Throughout Time by Dr. Roger Robinson (via Dr. Roger Robinson)
   4. Sabbath by Wayne Muller (via Stephanie Balas)
   5. Wintering by Katherine May (via Josh at Sports Rack)


2. Research studies
   1. Intervals, Thresholds, And Long Slow Distance: The Role Of Intensity And Duration In Endurance Training
      S. Seiler, E. Tonnessen
      Sportscience, vol. 13, p. 32 (2009)
   2. The Effect Of Periodization And Training Intensity Distribution On Middle- And Long-Distance Running Performance: A Systematic Review
      M. Kenneally, A. Cascado, J. Santos-Concejero
      International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, vol. 13, p. 1114 (2017)
   3. Effects Of Different Training Intensity Distribution In Recreational Runners
      L. Festa, C. Tarperi, K. Skroce, A. La Torre, F. Schena
      Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, vol. 1, p. 70 (2019)
   4. The Effectiveness Of The Psychological Intervention In Amateur Male Marathon Runners
      J. Jaenes, D. Wilczynska, D. Alarcon, R. Penaloza, A. Casado, M. Trujillo
      Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 12, p. 605130 (2021)
   5. The Training Characteristics Of World-Class Distance Runners: An Integration Of Scientific Literature And Results-Proven Practice
      T. Haugen, O. Sandbakk, S. Seiler, E. Tonnessen, T. Isaka
      Sports Medicine, vol. 8, p. 1 (2022)
   6. Mental Preparation In Runners: Gender Differences, Competition Levels, And Psychological Training Effects On Performance
      B. Kelemen, R. Toth, O. Benczenleitner, L. Toth
      Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, vol. 6, p. 1 (2024)
   7. The Training Intensity Distribution Of Marathon Runners Across Performance Levels
      D. Muniz-Pumares, B. Hunter, S. Meyler, E. Maunder, B. Smyth
      Sports Medicine, vol. 55, p. 1023 (2024)

While my commitment to the planned activities was fairly reasonable, the same could not be said for strength training and other necessary habits – nutrition, hydration, sleep, etc. They were below par in the beginning and got better with time. Participation in organized events and traveling outside of the home region were purposefully minimized to stay consistent with training. With our saintly groomers’ handiwork of Mother Nature’s blessings and with access to a road bike whose rubber no longer meets the road, cross country skiing and indoor biking provided impact-free modalities to diversify my endurance portfolio. The color-coded status (consistent or successful; inconsistent) of the goals I had for the pre-training phase was as follows:

1. Run consistently throughout Winter.
2. Integrate formal strength training to make and keep the core stronger.
3. Improve completing the suggested activity before the cognitive load built up too much.
4. Improve cross country skiing form and technique especially when moving slow AND improve running speed.
5. Find a sustainable distribution of trackable modalities and keep the constraint led approach as simple as possible.

18-Week Preparation Phase Summary 2024-10-28 - 2025-03-02 Time in h:mm:ss, distance in miles (and kilometers), and elevation gain in feet (and meters).
#	Activity Type	Count	Time	Distance	Ele Gain
1	Bike	16	13:54:59	159.64 (257.02)	108 (33)
2	Hike	6	6:54:38	14.54 (23.41)	338 (103)
3	Run	102	87:40:44	506.42 (815.34)	9418 (2871)
4	Strength	28	21:20:04	-	-
5	Cross Country Ski (Classic)	19	24:03:36	106.66 (171.72)	8064 (2458)
6	Cross Country Ski (Skate)	35	39:05:09	178.54 (287.45)	8813 (2686)
	Total Trackable Activities	206	192:59:10	965.80 (1554.94)	26741 (8151)
	Average Per Week	11	10:43:17	53.66 (86.39)	1486 (453)
	Average Per Outing		0:56:13	4.69 (7.55)	130 (40)

Marathon Phase

The first 3 weeks went swimmingly according to the plan but I encountered longer than usual periods of sustained fatigue in weeks #04 and #05. A blood test in week #06 before leaving town for what was to be a tune-up half marathon revealed certain deficiencies (thank you, Shannon for the scheduling the test on very short notice and even faster turnaround time for the results!). After what seemed like normal amount of energy and enthusiasm for a couple weeks (#07 and #08), the aforementioned fatigue made a stronger return in week #09. Another bout of plantar fasciitis – in the left foot this time – joined the party as well.

16-Week Marathon Phase Summary 2025-03-03 - 2025-06-22 Time in h:mm:ss, distance in miles (and kilometers), and elevation gain in feet (and meters).
#	Activity Type	Count	Time	Distance	Ele Gain
1	Bike	11	7:54:39	97.16 (156.43)	81 (25)
2	Hike	20	14:35:22	30.37 (48.90)	2817 (859)
3	Rollerski (Skate)	9	8:13:59	56.25 (90.56)	1055 (322)
4	Run	78	64:47:52	402.17 (647.49)	8821 (2689)
5	Strength	42	20:41:28	-	-
6	Cross Country Ski (Classic)	4	4:26:32	23.81 (38.33)	1339 (408)
7	Cross Country Ski (Skate)	28	32:54:42	219.68 (353.68)	10426 (3178)
	Total Trackable Activities	192	153:34:34	829.44 (1335.40)	24539 (7479)
	Average Per Week (16)	12	9:35:55	51.84 (83.46)	1534 (468)

16-Week Marathon Phase Training - Interactive Eye Candies

 

The collective summary of my discussions with Clayton and Shannon indicated inadvertent and incremental (and avoidable, had I done my research better) overtraining over the first 3 months of 2025. It led to stripping any/all structure until the body felt recovered and ready. A good portion of 4-week reset was used to objectively understand (and improve) the patterns in supplemental habits … to keep the barely moving train on track to gather necessary steam down the road. Once the body showed signs of recovery – courtesy of the healthcare team’s magic, I sprinkled a variety of activities … almost all of them at lower intensity and barely any of them structured. The color-coded status (consistent or successful; inconsistent) of the process goals I had for the marathon phase was as follows:

1. Continue Wintering.
2. Commit to improving sleep, nutrition and hydration.
3. Touch up on a range of fast efforts and paces every week.
4. Complete planned activity before the cognitive load builds up leading to physical fatigue.
5. Consistency in functional and formal strength training (grateful for the collective advice from Cedric, Hanna, Kate, Rob and Todd).

The table above provides a quick little numerical summary of the trackable activities I completed over these 16 weeks. The beautiful orange-yellow button underneath that table reveals the usual interactive eye candies. If interested in the details of my individual activities, kindly check out my Strava profile.

 

da Race Weekend

Not knowing how rested, recovered or ready I’d feel (or worse, if I’d even be able to toe the start line let alone cross the finish line), I had canceled the hotel reservation quite a while ago. As the amazing healthcare team did their magic leading to sustained signs of recovery over the past 4 weeks, I was grateful for (a) having signed up for one of the last remaining spots of Grandma’s Marathon in early 2024 November, (b) the failed attempt to sell my bib (legally, of course, via the race portal) as only one person showed any interest before backing off, (c) the failed attempt to switch to the half marathon as the organizers vetoed my request (politely, of course; they are Minnesotans after all) citing their policy about event capacity and transfer deadline, and (d) finding a gracious grandma’s affordable accommodation just a day before the race.

I left Houghton around noon (local time) on Friday. Apart from getting nearly sideswiped by a negligent driver operating their pickup truck with a trailer in Mass City, MI, the drive was uneventful. After a handful of pit stops to stretch the legs, I reached grandma’s place around 3:00 pm (local time). The exceptionally fast and genuinely kind service at the Olive Garden for an early dinner left plenty of time for an easy walk through the Canal Park area and the expo. After carefully laying out everything I’d need for the next day, I called it a night around 8:00 pm (local time).

The race day morning started around 3 am after a really good night of sleep. By 4 am, organizers had postponed the day’s proceedings by 30 minutes taking into account the ongoing severe thunderstorms and strong winds in the area. I knew from prior experience that attempting to get into the DECC for parking would be a generous waste of time. After leaving my car on the south side of the course and within sight of a kind law enforcement officer, I walk-jogged to the DECC and lined up to board the North Shore Scenic Railroad Train good ole Yellow School Bus with Michelle, an elderly lady in pursuit of her maiden marathon experience. we reached Two Harbors with just enough plenty of time wrap up the final few items on my pre-race checklist, catch up with known and new friends (Caden, Meg and several WURDs), drop the bag with volunteers and get into the corral. Todd‘s teachings from a few years ago helped me yet again stay physically mobile and active (and mentally calm) during a brief lull before the start of the race.

Given the inconsistent training and the absence of intermediate tune-up events and very minimal speed work – structured or otherwise – over the past 15+ weeks, it was quite difficult to objectively derive a realistic finish time (or target pace). Taking the prevailing and predicted weather conditions into account [insert every Midwesterner’s observation here: it’s not the heat but the humidity that hurts you], I re-adjusted the subjective target pace. The race started on modified time shortly after a very thunderous flyover by a couple of F-16s from the 148th Fighter Wing (Minnesota Air National Guard) of the US Air Force. The first 3 miles felt very comfortable and I was quite proud of achieving nearly even splits – 7:40, 7:40, 7:37 – on my own. The aforementioned heat and humidity got to me by mile #4, and as the table/eye candy below shows, the next 5 miles were all positive splits. The race ended at the 8th mile’s medical table … adding one more to the slowly growing list of scars: 14th mile (I didn’t reach it in 2024), 18th mile (things had started falling apart here in 2019) and 22nd mile (I had lost the pace group by this point in 2023 and I had literally started crying here in 2019 – mostly in embarrassment).

Goal vs Reality Goal: 26.22 mi in 3:21:46 (7:41 min/mi) Reality: 8.00 mi in 1:07:38.0 (8:27 min/mi)
#	Lap Distance mi	Lap Pace min/mi	Lap Elevation ft	Total Distance mi	Total Time h:mm:ss	Total Elevation ft	Total Pace min/mi	Projected Finish Time h:mm:ss	Differential Goal Time h:mm:ss
01	1.00	7:40	23↑ 16↓	1.00	0:07:41	23↑ 16↓	7:40	3:21:01	0:00:45
02	1.00	7:40	23↑ 56↓	2.00	0:15:21	46↑ 72↓	7:40	3:21:01	0:00:45
03	1.00	7:37	13↑ 49↓	3.00	0:22:59	59↑ 121↓	7:39	3:20:34	0:01:12
04	1.00	8:10	13↑ 10↓	4.00	0:31:10	72↑ 131↓	7:47	3:24:04	0:02:18
05	1.00	8:37	0↑ 20↓	5.00	0:39:48	72↑ 151↓	7:57	3:28:27	0:06:41
06	1.00	8:40	33↑ 36↓	6.00	0:48:29	105↑ 187↓	8:04	3:31:30	0:09:44
07	1.00	9:19	16↑ 10↓	7.00	0:57:49	121↑ 197↓	8:15	3:36:19	0:14:33
08	1.00	9:49	33↑ 13↓	8.00	1:07:38	154↑ 210↓	8:27	3:41:33	0:19:47
The final cumulative time, 1:07:38, may not match the official time (1:07:38.0) owing to rounding errors. Starting my watch a few seconds before the start and stopping it a few seconds after crossing the finish line can be an additional reason for this discrepancy. The overall distance, 8.00 mi, may not match the designated (or certified) event distance (26.22 mi) owing to idiosyncrasies associated with GPS data collection OR my inability to take the tangents OR the aforementioned early start/late stop reasons, and in some rare cases, incorrectly measured (or advertised) courses or DNFs. As a result, the cumulative pace and the projected finish time might not match the official values as well.

Weather conditions hh:mm, temperature (what was and what it felt like), wind, humidity, sky and UV index
Start	08:15, 67/68/66 F, 0 mph N, 94%, 974.5 mbar, 6 mi, Overcast clouds, UVI 0
Middle	08:49, 67/68/66 F, 0 mph N, 98%, 977.2 mbar, 6 mi, Overcast clouds, UVI 1
End	09:23, 68/69/66 F, 0 mph N, 93%, 974.7 mbar, 6 mi, Overcast clouds, UVI 1
Air quality	NA, NA

Process-, Event- and Time-Based Goals Listed in order of importance Event-based is used in place of Performance-based AND Time-based is used in place of Outcome-based to clarify the listing.
P1	Train well - using the plan as a guide and seeking help and making necessary adjustments to accommodate sufficient recovery, absorption and adaptation, and developing necessary belief and faith.	Yes-ish
E1	Toe the start line healthy, with good energy, positive intent and earned belief, and release the excitement in a sensible fashion.	Yes-ish
T1	Finish below 3:21:47 (7:42 min/mile ≡ 4:46 min/km; 7.79 mph ≡ 12.53 kmph) Improve upon the event, course and distance PR from 2023 Grandma's Marathon.	No

Having experienced it once in 2024, I was under no illusion that I’d get picked up or brought back to the finish line any time soon. I got to be an assistant to the medical staff (Craig, Larry and Kaleb) at mile 8 and the roving emergency medical services for the next several hours … putting the experience gained from Canal Run, Great Bear Chase and Cross Country Ski Events/Championships at Michigan Tech Trails to good use, and learning the finer – often unpublicized – aspects of a large scale event management. The sag wagon picked me and an elderly lady I only got to know as Pastor’s Wife, and few others along the way to mile #14. We (and several others picked up at transfer spots along the way) were all transported back to the DECC in a fancy pants luxury coach. I spent much of this multi-stage ride as well as walk to the bag pickup area chatting with and learning from Jim. After catching up with Coach Engel and Scott (and family), I headed back to the house and called it a day.

Sunday’s forecast, in terms of heat and humidity, wasn’t that much different. But waking up early gave me an opportunity to test what was left in the tank (physically and emotionally) while the weather was still very conducive to running. I got to hang out with Hanna, Sam and several more friendly WURDs before starting the journey home. Punctuated with friendly stops in Ashland, WI, and Ironwood, MI, it was very smooth and uneventful.

da Takeaways

All in all, 8+ months from late 2024 October through late 2025 June brought me plenty of joy, quite a bit of frustrations, valuable insights – about myself, and what works, when and why and what doesn’t, when and why. I even found a sustainable distribution of trackable modalities and a working draft of a season-long training plan that I have been using since 2025 May … following discussions with Jason and MikeY. As endurancing does when one endurances mostly solo, some more (re-)revelations came my way.

1. Rest doesn’t mean regression.
2. Common practice and best practice aren’t necessarily the same.
3. Size of the physiological wall matters more than that of any single brick.
4. Progress may not always be linear, and invisibility of progress doesn’t imply an ineffectiveness of the process.
5. Endurancing is a what have you done for me consistently and specifically endeavor and unless the Average Value is computed over a long period of time, it doesn’t necessarily paint the complete picture.

Onward and upward!

Thanks be to

the rejections and opportunities life has brought my way, event folks (organizers, sponsors, volunteers, timers, law enforcement officials, photographers, fellow participants and spectators) and my family of good friends, mentors and coaches in and outside of my community for all the unexpected, undeserved and unrewarded acts of kindness and constant encouragement as well as offerings of constructive criticism to improve myself as a human and an athlete. I am eternally grateful to all those who let me train with them, who shared their meals and experiences with me, who helped keep me in good health, who helped me stay the course, and who cheered me on from home or along the course.