25th Annual California International Marathon - Race Report

What a race!
Just a shout out to Catra (Dirt Diva), Steve (Racetraining) and Jill (racemomqt), Eva (Makita), and Bill (Westside). It was so nice to meet you this weekend. What a cool thing to finally put faces to names. :)

I went into this weekend feeling healthy, with slight sniffles that never turned into a full blown cold, no injuries or nagging pain anywhere. I felt “on.”

I drank 80 ounces of water everyday from Thursday morning until Saturday at bedtime. I ate so many carbs that I don’t want to eat any pasta, sports drink, sports nutrition bars, bagels, pretzels, etc. for months. Give me steak and lots of wine and beer.

I went to bed at 9:30 the night before the race and tossed and turned until about 10:30, but then slept well until I woke up. The night before that, I slept crappy. Anyway, I woke up at 4:05 a.m. on race morning. Choked down 2 instant oatmeal packets and a toaster sized bagel with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. I drank about 32 ounces of water here and there with the food. I felt FULL.

My body got itself ready for the race (if you know what I mean). After the “cleanse” I drank about a half cup of regular black coffee (I usually drink decaf).

Got dropped off at the starting area about 45 minutes before the race started. Literally stood in line for the port-o-potty for 30 minutes, until 6:45. Jogged around for about 5 minutes and then got into the crowd at about 6:55. Race started promptly at 7, and my brother and I crossed the start line about 10 seconds after the gun. He and his wife ran the relay and the both got new half marathon PRs in the process..

The rolling hills felt more challenging for me today then they had been in the past. They didn’t burn my legs, but I could feel my IT band and old piriformis issues rear their ugly heads. And just like last year, I was so happy to be DONE with the rollers. But anytime a little roller popped up after the halfway point, I’d silently curse at it.

I was a little worried in the first 6-7 miles when all they had at the aid stations was water. I know how badly I cramp without those electrolytes and I needed sports drink early on. Oh well, I drank water at almost every station and whenever they had sports drink I would take that instead. I used 4 GU gels along the course (miles 8, 14, 18, 22).

I found the 3:20 pace group at mile 1. They started about 1 minute behind the gun. It was a BIG group. The leader was kind of off pace (we needed 7:38/mile) for most of the race. As soon as he'd get on pace, he'd stay there for maybe one mile and then it seemed like he'd speed up. I looked at my Garmin several times and wondered, “Why is he running a 7:15 pace when we only require a 7:38?” It was frustrating. You'll see the randomness of my splits later in the report.

I spent most of the last half trying to catch up to him and the group after all the water stops, and then they pulled away slightly. I ran behind them by about 45 seconds to a minute from about mile 16 to mile 23. I could see them fine, I just couldn’t speed up enough to catch them. Those miles were tough on me mentally and physically. This was the time that I had to pull from my resources and dig in. I thought about Ray and Sugar from the Runner’s World Forum and the kind words they sent me before the race. Ray is an amazing runner and always inspires me to train hard and smart.

I thought about Cody quite a bit too. He’s the son of another forumite, Deck Ape (aka Mickey). Cody is fighting another battle with cancer and he’s only 4. That’s just not right. I thought about my training partners, Cheryl, Ali and Kim and knew they were out on the course feeling the rough spots too. I also thought about all the hard training that I put in this season, and knew I could handle the discomfort my body was feeling. Lastly I thought about the “prediction” thread my Masters Forum friends had started, and I WANTED to beat my 3:20 goal BADLY!

While lost in thought and “pain,” I noticed that the 3:20 pace group fell apart at about mile 23. People were dropping behind like crazy. But I was feeling okay, not great, but not bad.

I passed a lot of the runners in that group between then, and the finish. The pace group leader finally slowed down to finish at the 3:20 pace (I don’t know if they get in trouble if they finish faster, but he had to slow down a lot). None of the runners in the group were with him at mile 25 when I passed him. Even though a lot of them dropped behind, I’m sure a lot of them sped up and took off.

I felt dizzy a few times in the last 6.2 miles (at one point I thought I was going to faint). I also got a ton of calf cramps (the ones that MAKE you wince in pain because they lock up the calf muscle in debilitating ways). I also felt waves of nausea here and there. Not a good feeling. But every time a challenge arose I prayed and prayed, actually begged God to make the pain or discomfort go away. And amazingly enough, it did go away!

I don’t know if the prayer was a distraction or a way of keeping hope alive, but I meant it, and it certainly helped! A wonderful thing happened in the last couple of miles. The leaves were falling on our heads like snow flakes. There were so many and it was absolutely breathtaking. Just a little reminder that there's so much going on around me, and to not get lost in my own world!

I saw my husband and 2 year-old at mile 26. I actually got to high five my husband on the way to the finish.

I felt strong as I finished. As I rounded the final bend, I saw the clock overhead and it said 3:19 something. I knew I could break 3:20 if I hauled booty. Surprisingly I was able to pick it up in the last straightaway. When I crossed, I got all teary eyed. What a sap!

My splits were:
7:46
7:36
7:31
7:48
7:22

7:38
7:24
7:50
7:30
7:30

7:40
7:36
7:31
(My Garmin said 1:38:48 at Mile 13)
7:39
7:33

7:24
7:31
7:34
7:21
7:23

7:32
7:34
7:32
7:41
7:35

7:42
2:48 (The last .2 was at about a 6:52 pace).

The official results are 3:19:44, with an avg. overall pace of 7:37/mile.

I’m ECSTATIC! But exhausted. Time for bed. Thanks for reading!!!