Everything I have to say about running TCM has to be viewed through the lens of how difficult a marathon is whether you're Kenyan or a turtle-slow middle aged guy. I suppose the very thing that made the race great was also the most frustrating--that it very nearly could have been my best. I was coming off a hot, uphill 5:05 with less training than I like, but armed with near-perfect conditions for the start of this race. It was in the 40's, slightly breezy, lots of shade and I hit the halfway mark a full five minutes under a 5 hour pace. Heck, at Mile 17 I was still on pace for a 4:57. The start of the race is at the Metrodome and has a great atmosphere as it winds through downtown Minneapolis, quiet residential neighborhoods, past a series of lakes, and along a parkway towards St. Paul. But somewhere around the Mississippi River, the sun came out, the temps soared into the 70's, and the course makes a series of uphill climbs towards the state capital. As we ran through S...
A view for the modern parent.