Door County Half Marathon-Best finisher medal ever

The Door County Half Marathon has the most beautiful finisher medal I have ever received. You can get a good look in the picture. I think we both look pretty happy to be done. 13 miles felt good, but I am not sure how I will ever do 13 more miles at the Madison Marathon on May 28th.
  It is hands down the toughest half I have ever done. It was 13.1 miles of hills, including the nice one at mile 11.  With three weeks to go until the Madison Marathon this was part of the 12 mile training run on my schedule. 

Team CMT member Cheryl Monnat tested the course and finished first out of 59 women with a time of aroune 1:50. My time was a more modest 2:15 well below my goal time of 2:30 and good for  finish of 21 out of 59 in the same age group.

I was not sure I would run at all. The night before I had a sinus headache, a sore throat and had body aches all over. On the drive up, the closer I got the worse I got.  But I had a good night sleep and woke up feeling good.  It was in the mid 30's and we camped. Cheryl said she was cold all night and didn't sleep well.
You couldn't tell by how well she ran. She is going to run her first marathon at Lakefront this year. I expect she will be well under 4 hours. That is what I am hoping because I need someone to drive and navigate in Boston when I do their marathon next April

Next up for Team CMT is an appearance by me in the Oconomowoc Duathlon on May 21st. Doing it just for fun. It will be my first Duo.

The following week I will be running the Madison Marathon and Cheryl will be running the half. Don't know how I will do 13 more.  I like stopping at 13 and have bailed twice at the half way point in Madison. It is so tempting to stop when everyone getting off the course gets the same medal. Cheryl will be waiting at the half mark. Her instructions are to keep me from stopping no matter what she has to do. I have to run this marathon to prove the Boston Athletic Association I can complete a marathon in under 6 hours. I am applying to the mobilty impaired edition due to my CMT.  Boston now has a new applciaton process. They will be taking the best athletes at all levels. So I need to have the best possible time even in the mobility impaired division. Hoping for a 4:40 -4:45 based on current times.  That is if I finish....marathons are tough and you never know what will happen. 26.2 miles is a long long ways.



Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.