Despite being dangerously under-trained, under-prepared, exhausted and injured, on November 2nd I ran the New York City Marathon. I did my best to suicide the mission by going out way too hard on Halloween night (I blame NY for being so fun), not sleeping more than 3 hours the night before the race and running in shoes that should have been thrown away months ago. Despite all my best efforts to sabotage, I crossed the finish line in 4:38:11, my second fastest marathon to date (by two seconds.)
As it should be in that city, the 4:38 did not come easy. New York makes you work for it. 30 mph winds, 40 degrees and a mini-marathon just to get to the start line. Usually when I cross the finish-line of a marathon, my first thought is: I am never running again and I want to collapse. This one was different. I had a huge smile on my face, I felt energized and I would have run it again the next day if someone had offered.
I am not a talented enough writer to put into eloquent words what it's like to run the New York Marathon. Nor can I explain what makes it so different than every other marathon. All I can say is if you have running a marathon on your bucket list, then New York should be it. It's not only the worlds biggest marathon, 50,000+ runners, the entire city shuts down and comes to cheer you on. It's a runners high I've never experienced. It's truly indescribable and something everyone should witness in one form or another.
I'll spare you every little detail of my trip but here's a few of the highlights leading up to the race:
Wed. night the Giants won the world series, we got covered in champagne and then I had to get on a 7am flight to NY.
I arrived late afternoon on Thursday, went to dinner with some great friends and then promptly fell asleep on their couch after watching Scandal.
Friday morning was a 3 mile shakeout run with Nuun in Central Park followed by coffee and bagels. Then we hit up the expo and the Nuun booth to pick up individualized goodie bags for all the ambassadors. Have I mentioned how much I heart Nuun? Such an awesome company, filled with the coolest of cool employees. In fact this is a good reminder that I need to restock, my stash is getting dangerously low. We checked into our Airbnb which we definitely scored with. Very nice two bedroom apartment blocks from the finish line and way more affordable then a hotel! I'd definitely use Airbnb, or even the same apartment next time I am in New York.
Expo
New York in the fall is hideous
I have no idea what is wrong with me in this picture but I am posting it anyway b/c I love the Nuunies so much!
The evening then kicked into high gear with some Top Gun costumes and getting rowdy in the village. Should I have done this two nights before a marathon? Absolutely not! But you only live once and how often am I going to be in New York with great friends on Halloween on a Friday night? Exactly.
Mav & Charlie
Saturday we brunched at took it easy which actually worked out since it was raining most of the day. We had a great pre-race dinner at OTTO, watched the Duck game and set up for the next morning. There were some last minute outfit changes since I had not come prepared for 40 degree weather with 30 mph winds.
Being the idiot that I am, I had a shot of espresso at dinner because I wanted to stay up for the whole Duck game. Mission accomplished and then some. I think I only slept 2-3 hours on Saturday night. I woke up feeling anxious and exhausted on Sunday morning. The first thing I read on my phone was the wind warning:
Just adding to the anxiety at this point
We had no choice but to put on ALL the layers on and get out there. AT 6:45 AM we navigated our way to Starbucks, on multiple subways (with some help from the locals) and on to the Staten Island Ferry. As soon as we stepped foot onto the island, the wind picked up and you could feel the chill in your bones. One long shuttle ride later, we were at the start line. I thought that we'd be sitting out there forever but the commute to the start line is no joke; all of sudden it was 10:30 AM and time to run.
It was really nice of New York to let these two homeless people run in their marathon.
After some mis-communication about where we were supposed to line up and frantic dash to strip off layers, tritreats and I toed the line ran frantically across the start line. Because I didn't really have a time goal for this race, I purposely ran without a watch so I don't have any splits or data. On top of that the entire race was a blur so I don't have tons to report but I'll breakdown what I do remember.
The two mile Varrazono-Narrows Bridge was brutal. It was so windy I was worried about blowing right off the top deck. Once we survived death by wind, I looked up and we were in Brooklyn! I was so distracted by the crowd, the music and the energy that the next 10 miles flew by. Brooklyn's got marathon cheering locked down! All of a sudden there is a one mile stretch through a Hasidic Jewish neighborhood that is so quiet it's almost eerie. You go from thousands cheering you on, to nobody on the sidewalks. It's only a mile and luckily the crowds come back once you hit Queens.
It was right around this time that I started to realize something was wrong with my left ankle/shin. I had started to feel it as early as mile 5 but I thought my foot was just numb/tight and it would loosen up. Around Mile 11 I discovered that wasn't the case and this was a pain I had never felt before. It felt like a really bad shin split in only the lower half of my shin that was shooting pain down into the top of my ankle and foot. I had taken Advil before the race and it had started to wear off at this point and the pain was getting worse. I was frustrated since the rest of my body was feeling good.
Apparently cold weather running is my jam. I hydrated at every aid station like I normally would but since it was freezing, I wasn't sweating nearly as much. The entire race, I never felt dehydrated or had any stomach issues, even post race. For me that's a huge win and very uncommon. However, this ankle thing wasn't going to allow for an easy race. I kept thinking I should tell Leslie but realized that wasn't going to help anything. I knew that once I started talking about it, then it would be on my mind, I'd wallow in my misery and start to get defeated. So I ignored it as much as I could and just kept running through the pain. Not the healthiest approach but it worked for me. Don't tell my PT.
The crowds
Around Mile 16 you go over the Queensboro Bridge and into Manhattan for the first time and the crowds are electric! We saw our cheering squad, who nailed it with the signs and high-fives. I concentrated on that and getting to mile 20. Even with the pain, I just kept thinking, this is the most amazing race I've ever experienced.
Happy faces despite the pain.
The energy boost I needed at this point
At mile 20, a lone man stood on the bridge with a boombox blasting Jay-Z over his head, Say Anything style. We had made it to the Bronx. I asked Leslie how we were on time? My plan had been that if we were not on pace for her to PR, I'd let her know I was hurting and start walking. If we were on pace, I didn't want anything to bring that down. When she said 3:33, I knew I just needed to suck it up for 6 more miles. I had taken more Advil at 18 which helped. Turns out this was a blessing in disguise because post-race I realized it hurt way more to walk then to keep running.
Miles 21-26 are a total blur. The crowds were unbelievable, Central Park was beautiful and I felt a surge of energy knowing I was going to finish the NYM in a time that I could be proud of given my current conditions. I felt like we sprinted (we didn't) the last few miles as we were dodging around a bunch of walkers. I tried to soak in the entire experience. We passed our cheering section one last time and all of sudden we crossed the finish line (5 min PR for Leslie). I had a huge smile on my face and despite immediately limping, I felt like I had run a good solid race and had the experience of a lifetime. We waddled our way through the finishers chute and got our ponchos, snacks and medals before heading back to the apartment where our support crew was waiting with a six pack of IPA and a giant bag of cookies. Told you they were the best. After showering, we went immediately to Shake Shack which tasted like heaven in burger form.
Worlds best cheer crew, including MFR taking the photo and not including the dude in the green hood, he might be great I just don't know him
I flew home Monday and by the time we landed, I could barely put weight on my left foot. I've since self diagnosed myself with Extensor Tendonitis, which you get from overuse or poorly fitting shoes....ding, ding, ding. I've taken almost two weeks off from running and instead I am focusing on spin, barre and yoga classes. I think it's getting better but for now every night is spent like this:
Someone needs a pedicure
It was totally worth it to experience the wonder that is the New York Marathon! I can only hope that I get to do it again some day.
Best signs and my new favorite medal.
And if I still don't have you convinced, just watch this.....
I am going to try to keep this short since I am a few races behind.
On Sunday 7/20 I ran the Napa To Sonoma Half Marathon. If you like wine, beautiful scenery and running then this race should be on your bucket list. If you hate wine and feeling like you're in a postcard then this race would be your nightmare and also we shouldn't ever hang out. I didn't have a stellar performance myself but I still can't get over what an awesome course and race this was. First off, the organization on race day exceeded my expectations. We parked down by the finish line, loaded onto a shuttle and were dropped off at Domaine Carneros.
On the Napa-Sonoma Line. Very similar to the Florida-Georgia Line.
The scenery was unbelievable. You literally start in the middle of a vineyard, where I watched the Oiselle ladies and Lauren Fleshman warm up around the lake while Meb did laps on the Elliptigo. It was one of those is-this-real-life-? race moments.
Just chillin in a vineyard waiting to run 13.1
This race was made even better by the fact that I somehow convinced MFR to join me very last minute - thanks to a bib transfer. Besides doing Hood To Coast every year, MFR is not a big distance runner. He prefers training for Oly tri's, basketball, tennis, golf...just about anything other than running past that 6.2 mile mark. So the fact that he ran N2S the weekend before doing another half in Eugene is nothing short of a miracle. The alternative of having breakfast with my 96 year old Grandma while I ran might have also swayed his decision.
To save you the mile by mile replay, I'll just say the race went okay. I was really full again, as in this must be what it feels like to run pregnant feeling. I just ate way too much the night before and the morning of. I was running on tired legs and had to walk some in the last 3 miles. I also stopped at the lone beer stand for a shot of Guinness at mile 11. Why not?
I pushed through the last few miles and ended with a 2:04, a few seconds off my Zooma time. As long as I live in the Bay Area, this race will be an annual tradition. Honestly I don't think it gets much better as far as courses and scenery go. I think it sells out day of as well so if you're interested, stay on it!
Wine medal #2
Next up was Eugene this past Sunday (7/26). It was a weekend filled with friends, family and reminiscing in my "hometown." The race itself was great, I've always loved Eugene marathon. It's a good course, good size and finishing on Hayward Field is surreal. I was having too much fun to be bothered with photos but here are the two horrible pics I took all weekend:
This was my 3rd time running Eugene (2008,2009) and my fastest to date. For the 3rd week in a row I ended up within a 30 second window with a time of 2:05, a few seconds off N2S. The not so funny part was I thought I had Sub 2'ed. I ran Garmin-less with two friends and although we chatted the entire time, I thought we were going at a pretty good clip. I should have known better since I normally can't hold a conversation and run at the same time.
When I found out it was 2:05 I was shocked but not that disappointed. It was a great weekend and fun race and that's what I expected on my tired legs. At least I am consistent. Afterwards I ate ALL the pancakes, showered up and met up with these two for ReNUUNion beers!
After 3 half marathons in 4 weeks, I am ready to concentrate on Hood To Coast and New York. I am starting with a good base and now it's time to focus on the marathon. I'll worry about that Sub-2, PR'ing the half etc... after November 2nd.
I am coming for you NY - Actually looking at this photo makes me think I should reconsider this PR goal.
June 28th was Zooma NV Half. The race weekend started off Thursday night with a quick trip to Athleta in SF where I helped out with packet pickup and met some of the Zooma staff. Friday I crawled in traffic out to the Napa Valley Marriott to hit up the expo, meet some of the Zooma ambassadors and drop off a friends race bib. I would have liked to stay for the Honest Tea Mocktail party but it was my Grandma's birthday dinner in Sonoma so duty called.
Saturday morning (more races need to be on Saturday), I was up 4:30 am and did the standard morning race day routine. I was nervous about parking so I got to the race start by 6:30 (for an 8am start) and was one of the first ones there. I had front row parking, no lines for the bathrooms or gear check. It was very surreal. I've never had a race all to myself before. The volunteers and I had a great ole time sitting in the sun and waiting for the shuttles of runners to show up. When they did, I met up with some of the other ambassadors to do what bloggers do best, take pics:
Spending time with these ladies was the highlight of this race and opportunity. Yes, even better then all the swag and product we got. Zooma did a great job picking some fun, inspiring and impressive women runners to represent this race. It also doubled for a ReNUNNion with two of my Hood To Coast teammates from last year, Kim & Karen. Even though I spent most of the day with Kim, I don't have a single picture of the two of us. Blogger fail!
I did some light stretching (what? maybe I am growing up) and lined up to start. At this point I was already warm and pretty nervous about the rising temp since my training runs have been in the 50's and foggy. June gloom in SF is not a joke people.
At 8am sharp we were off. I made some snarky comment about how I thought the race course might be in neighborhoods similar to where we were starting and how that would be a waste of Napa scenery. Zooma showed me. The entire out-n-back course looked like this:
I should learn to keep my mouth shut and maybe start looking at course maps. Just a thought. Besides the glorious scenery, this course was nice and flat. For others this made for a fast course, just not of me.
When it comes to running, heat and I just don't agree. When it comes to being in an ocean or lying by a pool, we're the best of friends. Running in heat, I get even more flushed than normal, I swell, my entire face gets covered in a grainy mess of salt which gets in my eyes. My breathing is even more difficult and I constantly feel like I have to pee.
I tried to take it easy and pace it out for the first few miles but I could feel myself pushing to try and bank time for the return trip when I knew it would be even hotter. My dramatics are making it sound like it was 110 degrees, for the record it was only 85.
Mile 1 - 9:03
Mile 2 - 8:46
Mile 3 - 8:28
Mile 4 - 8:52
Mile 5 - 8:59
Mile 6 - 8:54
Right before the turnaround I stopped to use the porta and take a Gu. I did not need to stop and use the bathroom but I was being super paranoid. I felt really full even though I had been careful about my nutrition the night before and I "had" to pee. I kept telling myself it was the heat and dehydration and I'd sweat it out but my stupid paranoia caused me to stop for a few unnecessary minutes.
That messed me up mentally. I had been feeling strong except my stomach and once I got to the turnaround I knew I was right near an hour. I started cursing the pit stop and doubting my ability to run the second half as fast as the first since it was warming up. I ran with Amanda for a little bit and we chatted which helped distract me. Once we separated though, the heat just took over. I knew I could push really hard and maybe make it but I just didn't have it in me.
Mile 7 - 10:54 (unnecessary pit stop)
Mile 8 - 9:30
Mile 9 - 9:26
Mile 10 - 8:56
Mile 11 - 10:24 (cashed it in)
Mile 12 - 11:17 (some walking)
Mile 13 - 9:19 (really wanted to be done)
Mile .16 - 1:30
I should have tried harder but my mental strength wasn't there, except for Mile 13 apparently. I didn't hit my goal of a sub 2-hour. I was disappointed for about 30 seconds while I was chugging a Muscle Milk at the finish line and then I got over it. I was running on tired legs, it wasn't ideal conditions (for me) and I made some rookie mistakes that I'll work on going forward. Also I found out on Monday morning that I have a pretty nasty sinus infection so that didn't help with the breathing part either.
We headed to the finishers party at the Marriott and met with other ambassadors. It seemed like everyone had similar experiences with the heat. Up until this point, I had been impressed with Zooma but the after-party was where they really shined. It was out in the courtyard with a pool, which many runners were soaking their legs in. Wine tasting, good food, honest tea, a bloody mary bar (with bacon), yoga, massages and a great space to just hang out, stretch and relax. Ultimate post-race festivities.
Ambassadors enjoying the post race fun
Another one for the collection - Love the wine theme
Thanks Zooma for putting on an awesome race! Rumor has it they will be back next year and if so I'll be there. This race did get me excited for Napa To Sonoma next weekend. Keys to making it a successful race and trying again for that sub 2:
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate the day before
Dealing with my sinus infection - actually taking the antibiotics instead of ignoring the doctor and going to Shasta all weekend
On May 18th I ran Bay To Breakers. It's a 12K race from the San Francisco Bay, through the city to the Pacific Coast's Ocean Beach. It's also the oldest consecutively run annual footrace in the world and is a staple to San Francisco both for the race and the party. Unless you've seen it, it's hard to explain but here's my list of the top 10 things that make B2B so unique:
Only 35,000 actually register for the race but close to 100K participate in some way. Either by running/walking portions of it, spectating, finish-line party, house parties along the route or running/walking the entire thing as rogue participants.
There is A LOT of drinking involved - I was offered at least four different kinds of alcohol before I even entered the start corral. I declined because I was actually looking to run it and unidentifiable liquids from a Stranger Dangers Camelback usually doesn't end well.
The costumes are out of control. You will see the most creative and amazing costumes which include huge groups, theme music, floats etc...
Muppets
Even playing the Tetris music
You will see a lot of nudity. I was in corral B which means the majority of the madness was behind me. Yet I counted 24 fully naked runners during my seven miles. This does not include the hundreds that were mostly nude.
Hayes St. Hill is no joke.
There is a hill challenge mid race as well - timed separately
Despite the madness it's a beautiful course that takes you past some iconic SF sites and quite a few elites show up to run B2B.
Alamo Square Park
Tortilla Toss - For some reason it's always been tradition to throw tortillas in the air to pass time when you're waiting to cross the start line. Picture hundreds of tortillas flying through the air.
The aftermath
Centipede Division - There is a separate division where you run as a team of 13 people who are connected as a unit. Apparently it's pretty competitive too. There is a Head Pede, a pacer/floater in case someone has to drop and B2B is the official World Centipede Running Championship.
Mens LinkedIn Team
It's got some great history - Not only is the oldest consecutive race, at one point it was the largest footrace in the world with 110,000 registrants. Now there is a race in Australia that's bigger and B2B official numbers have dropped since most don't register. It was started in 1912 as a way to lift the cities spirits after the 1906 earthquake and it's a point of pride for SF residents.
The Spawning Salmon - The salmon have always been my favorite part! Every year a huge group dresses like salmon and runs the course backwards (upstream). It's amazing to watch them navigate through thousands of people in the opposite direction. It's hilarious and their costumes are pretty legit. I got really excited when I saw them around Mile 3ish this year.
These spawners couldn't handle the current
At least they get to go down Hayes Hill instead of up
It's such a bizarre mix of partiers, families and serious runners in a Mardi Gras like atmosphere. When I was in high school my dad would bring my brother and I down from OR to go to a Giants game and run B2B. I hadn't seen or experienced it since then - 20 years ago. My plan was to run it with the caveat that I knew it would be slow so I'd try to take in the experience. It was a bad plan, I should have done one or the other.
For future years I'll plan on running or experiencing but not both. I think the best way to do B2B is to line up in corral A and actually try to race the course as much as possible. Or go all out in costumes, with drinks and friends and just take your time while enjoying the madness and house parties along the way.
This year I was a tweener in B2B purgatory. I didn't have a costume (lame) and was in Corral B which meant I was in the thick of it all for the first few miles. I heard from some runner friends that Corral A is the only option if you want to actually run the course. Corral B made for tons of stopping because it was so crowded. Even when I was running it was only shuffling since there were so many people. Once I got to Hayes Hill, it really thinned out and became mostly runners but at that point I had already been stopping to talk with people, take pics etc... so I was in a non-race mind frame. I wanted to turn around and head back to see all the non-runners come through. I didn't but I wanted to.
If you are a purist runner and don't like being around intoxicated people in a giant street party then this is not the race for you. Personally I think it should be on every runners bucket list just for the experience. Some of the things you just have to see to believe. It's a blast and I will definitely participate in some form as long as I live in this city!
UA Shirt & Finishers Medal
Overall Time: 1:19:04 Pace: 10:37 min/mile Gender Place: 2317 / 15,073 - gives you an idea of how many actually run
In other news:
May Stats: Running: 35 Miles Spin: 52 Miles Weights/HIT: 1.5 hours Yoga: 2 hours Total Miles: 87
Big Sur recovery plus a week of illness made for a really light run month but I stepped up my spinning and got in some good core training. June is looking to be much higher mileage and I am officially back on the bike, as in outside. Mind. Blown. Now if I could just find my way back into the pool.
I've been MIA for a few weeks and instead of making excuses, I'll just say that I've been busy and the blog has not been a priority. I don't want to word vomit every day missed so here's the gist.
I ran Big Sur Marathon. It was an incredible experience and so much more then running a "normal" marathon. It was also really hard. The last six miles were some of the most difficult and painful miles I've ever ran but it was so worth it. TriTreats did an awesome recap that I am going to try to duplicate so check it out for the full play by play and pictures. If you get a chance to run Big Sur, do it! Remember they sold out in 57 minutes last year, I have a feeling a lottery for registration is in the not too distant future.
Other non-sweaty highlights of the past few weeks:
Watching these guys in the playoffs - every other night!
Kentucky Derby party in Portland
Vegas for MFR's birthday where I treated myself to a little Britney action.
And saw my brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephews
More country concerts: Tim McGraw & Kip Moore
18 holes of golf in Half Moon Bay - I golf now because the views look like this.
It's been a fun couple of weeks. I am looking forward to a few weekends at home before it picks back up in June. On tap this weekend is running Bay To Breakers with 100,000 other crazies. I haven't done this race since I was in high school. Looking forward to the all the madness.
There are those races you put your heart into and PR. There are those races you put your heart into and it's just not your day and then there are the races when you say screw it and just enjoy the experience, beautiful course and being surrounded by other runners. That was RNR on Sunday.
I really did have full intention of pushing for a 2:05 but after mile 8 MFR (who hadn't trained at all) said he wanted to walk. My dad also came into town to walk the race and was behind us by a few miles. I contemplated my choices. I could either push pretty hard for that 2:05, the first few miles were HILLY and I'd have to step up my pace to get there, and wait for them at the finish. Or I could enjoy a nice walk with my husband and take in the beautiful day and being surrounded by other racers. I opted for the latter.
Check out those views
I won't lie, a little piece of me died when the 2:10, 2:15 and eventually 2:30 pace groups raced past us. The competitor in me was embarrassed to be out there without any sort of drive to finish in a hurry. A few times I almost left MFR and ran again but I wasn't going to gain anything by finishing in 2:20 etc... and I wanted the company. My last few races I've ran completely solo so this was a nice change. All in all I'd actually say it was a successful training run since we planned out our trip to Vegas and decided which concerts we want to go to this summer while walking the last few miles.
I wasn't the only one stopping to smell the roses. I saw Pavement Runner and few other running friends out there stopping to take pics and enjoy the views. I think because the course had so many hills and was very crowded, people knew it wasn't gonna be a PR day. Plus with the 75 degree weather and gorgeous views, everyone wanted to just soak it in. It was a different kind of race day but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
RNR finish line shot
As far as the new course goes, I've pretty much summed it up. HILLS + GORGEOUS VIEWS. The hills were brutal and kept coming. If you've done Nike Women's then you know that steep decline around mile 8 (?) where you feel like you're flying - you have to go up that. It was also really crowded, especially on the bridge. They doubled the field from last year and were at close to 15,000 runners. Although they closed driving lanes on the bridge this year, it was only two car lanes (one each way) so it wasn't that much more room than the walking lanes last year.
Finish line festivities
The expo was a standard RNR expo, nothing too exciting. The shuttles to the race start ran very smoothly which I was surprised by. We walked down to civic center at 5am and were out at the beach by 5:40. The finish-line celebration was nicely laid out. Everyone was just relaxin in the sun and enjoying the music. I think as long as I live in SF I'll continue to run this race. Two years and counting!
I did it! After 3+ years of talking about it, I finally ran another marathon and met my goal of a sub 4:30. In fact I killed my goal and ran a 4:12, which I didn't think I was capable of. I love when I surprise myself. I thought a sub 4:30 was possible and maybe a little better but not a 26 min PR - 1 min for every mile ran. The race itself is already a blur and I am having a hard time believing it happened. This post race loss of memory only seems to happen when I run a really good race. If I have a bad race, I can recall each disappointing mile in detail.
Here's what I do remember. It was hard, I had really sore/tight muscles after mile 7ish, it rained (which is why I have NO photos), the last 8 miles were tough, I need a better sports bra (race pics confirmed this), it went by really fast, it was a beautiful course and I made a lot of mental deals with myself (i.e. run to the next milepost and you can walk for 30 sec) to get to the finish in under 4:15.
After walking over 5 miles on Saturday (don't ask) I started to question if I really could run a 4:30. My muscles were sore and tight from the sports massage and the stupidly long walk. As I was packing, I opened a new box of my favorite Salted Carmel Gu and found the Golden Yeti (which means I won a free 24 back of more SC Gu + a chance to win a weekend trip to San Francisco, oh wait...).
Salty for the win.
We finally got out to Napa around 6:00pm on Saturday night, the expo was over but packet pickup was still open. This is where finally started to get excited for the race and mentally engage. I got checked in and then they handed me my gear bag. Woah, woah, woah....what is this? Apparently I had missed all the hype about how great the swag bags were. To be clear the swag was nice, your normal samples, chips, bars etc... but the actual bag was what had me questioning if there was a mistake.
It's the little things.
Not too shabby for a gear bag.
After check-in we headed back to Sonoma for the night where a comedy of errors took place which included jumping my car 3 seperate times, getting stuck out in the rain and ending up at a restaurant with no real "carbs" on the menu besides beer. I ended up with a quinoa salad and a fish taco. After 4 days of no booze I gave in and had half a beer on race eve. Before you say a word, it was Pliny The Elder ON TAP, exceptions had to be made. For you non-beer drinkers, this is like stumbling across a race entry to Boston.
On race day, I woke up at 3:45am and began the ritual. Coffee, bagel, Justins, Nuun, Bodyglide, triple check everything and out the door. After a 20 min drive to Napa, I parked at the high school no problem, grabbed my bag and headed over to the shuttles. In this race everyone takes buses up to Calistoga since there is no parking. I grabbed a seat next to a guy from Monterey who had turned 60 the day before and to celebrate he was running his first marathon in hopes of qualifying for Boston where he was originally from. I love this sport!
After a 30 min drive or so 25+ school buses rolled up in the middle of surrounding vineyards. It was just about this point when I realized just how well organized this race was. A volunteer got on the bus and said portas are this way (and there was no line) and that the buses would all be staying until the 7AM race start so were welcome to stretch, hang out and stay warm until minutes before. I ate two fruit leathers, finished my nuun and stretched out. As I am writing this I am realizing just how much fiber I ate in that 24 hours pre-race. Probably a good reason my stomach did not feel great after the race. Noted.
At 6:55 I checked my bag and lined up and right on time we were off. As soon as I crossed the start line I told myself to slow down. My biggest fear was going out too fast. I tried to just shuffle along with the pack and take it easy. This course was perfect since the first 7 miles are rollers so it just kept me going a good steady pace. I told myself to get to 7 and then I could pick it up. Obviously I ran miles 4 and 5 faster than I intended but still felt good about containing my pace.
Mile 1- 9:48
Miel 2- 9:30
Mile 3- 9:18
Mile 4- 8:53
Mile 5- 8:54
Mile 6- 9:08
Mile 7- 9:28
Pre-Rain
I was told at 7 that the majority of the hills would be over so that was where my speed up plan would go into action. At this point two things happened. It started raining misting and I realized just how sore my muscles were already. Every step was a reminder of the tightness; I felt strong but like I could be snapped in half. I questioned if I could keep it up so I made a deal with myself. Just get to 20 and then we'll see what's what. Don't walk or slow down. You did 20 twice in training; you can do it now.
Mile 8- 8:46
Mile 9- 8:55
Mile 10- 9:04
Mile 11- 9:04
Mile 12- 9:05
Mile 13- 9:11
Mile 14- 9:11
Mile 15- 9:11
Mile 16- 9:28
Mile 17- 9:21
Mile 18- 9:01
At 18.5 or so I saw MFR and stopped to say hi eat a handful of chocolate covered pretzels. I started up again and saw a hill straight ahead. I still had 20 in my head but that was the first official time I walked (besides aid stations). It was maybe only 30 seconds but it set the tone for the next few miles and they were rough. Mentally 19-23 were the worst miles. I was still checked in but I was wet, chaffing and knew I was slowing way down. Once I got to 20 I took another walk break and started to do the math. I figured even if I walked the last 10K I'd break 4:30. I knew a sub 4:15 was possible but I didn't let myself think about it I hit 23. It's amazing what gets you through at this point. I'd tell myself to run to "that tree" and then walk or run 1.5 miles and regardless of the target I could usually do it.
Mile 19- 9:53
Mile 20- 9:37
Mile 21- 11:29
Mile 22- 10:35
Mile 23- 10:35
At mile 23 ish a group of locals were handing out little cups of homemade sorbet. I took 3. Even though it was raining and cold, those flavored icy treats were the best things I had ever tasted. I looked at my watch one last time at 23 and knew I could potentially get sub 4:15. I was already celebrating that I would accomplish my goal. Obviously being close to the finish pumped me up. Once I slow down I have a very hard time ever getting my pace back up. Looking at my splits, I am more proud of miles 25 & 26 then any others. I sprinted through the finish with my hands over my head, feeling like i left it all out there.
Mile 24- 11:23
Mile 25- 9:54
Mile 26- 9:59
.4 - 3:50
I once again ran a positive split which is not ideal but knowing how hard the last 10K of a marathon is, I feel like I ran the best I could. There is definite room for improvement but for now I'am just going to bask in the glow of my 4:12.
What it looked like when others crossed the finish line:)
Race Review: I can't say enough good things about this race. It should be on every runners race bucket list. The scenery can not be beat; rolling hills, surrounded by vineyards and oak trees the entire time. For anyone who has done Hood To Coast, a lot of the course reminded of being out past Mist on the narrow coastal highway. For a lot of the time we were running single file which also felt like HTC.
The organization was the best I've seen and I really enjoyed the small 2700 person field. Aid stations were every two miles and had gatorade and water at each. They had actual catchers (a la Ironman) at the finish line to take care of each runner individually as they crossed. I had the nicest man congratulate me, get me a heat sheet, a water and medal and verify I didn't need medical before he want on to the next person. The only downside was not being able to use headphones - though I didn't even notice and the course is not very spectator friendly. The Silverado trail is closed to traffic and there are not a lot of access points but it made the areas that did have crossroads fun to run through because hundreds of spectators would be gathered there cheering, it gave you little bursts of energy.
If you're even kind of considering this race, just do it! I promise you won't be sorry. This is hands down my favorite marathon I've ever seen or participated in. I love that it's just a marathon too, no half option. Through May 31st, it's only $100 to register (includes your shuttle to Calistoga) which these days is unheard of. Especially considering the sweet race bag. I believe it sold out around October last year. Mark your calendars, race day is March 1st, 2015. Most likely I'll see you there.
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