My BIG SUR(real) Marathon Report – April 27, 2008

Anticipated Times:

• 3:40 – This was a realistic time range, depending on weather and other factors. I needed to be okay/ thankful/excited about this time- especially if something went wrong.
• 3:30 – This was an excellent time for me. I have learned that running a 3:30 is a significant runners milestone. Potential Next Milestone: Qualifying for Boston at 3:10 time!?
• 3:20 – This would be an exceptional time for me.  This time was way beyond my expectations, although not entirely impossible.

PreRace Dinner Meal – Sea Urchin Pasta + Raw Baby Yellowtail.  Lots of water.
PreRace Breakfast – 1 Banana, 2 cups black coffee, 1 instant oatmeal, handful of pretzels. Lots of water.

PreRace Plan (formed the night before) -

• Mile 1-8: No faster than 7:45 [no listening to music before this point so that I may tune into my foot strike and breathing]
• Mile 8-12: No faster than 7:40
• Mile 12 – 15: Pay attention to my heart rate and then groove a pace based on how I am feeling
• Mile 13 onwards: Exploit all downhills; Smile after every mile marker.
• All Miles: No walking. No crying.

[As you might tell, my losely formed race plan is symptomatic of my inexperience, but the flexibility may have helped me overcome some of the race day obstacles]

Pre Race Preparation:

1. Woke up at 2:40 am and could not go back to sleep. So I  jumped in the shower, shaved, made breakfast, dressed, etc. Danae dropped me off at the bus pick up point at 3:30 am or so.
2. On the bus ride over to Big Sur, I could really feel my anxiety/ energy level rise. I attempted to meditate and “swallow my energy” in order to save it for the race. Upon arriving at the pre-race pit, I walked around to warm up. I drank coffee and water. I prayed that I might have an opportunity to use a porta-potty and my prayers were answered. After that, my anxiety level went down considerably. I found somewhere comfortable to sit/stretch and I was surround by some really cool experienced runners from New Mexico and Sweden. Our conversations really helped me be at ease and relax.
3. The air was warm in the starting pit. Runners who ran last year claimed they were freezing last year. I did not require my sweats to stay warm and most runners were stripped down to their racing outfits an hour before the race. This gave me a hint on the warmer day to come. I made sure to drink extra water at the start. I started to really pound my personal water bottle (mixture of 2 Gus and water) about 25 minutes before the start based on the following tip: Drinking a lot of water ~1/2 hour before a race is good because your kidneys will shut down when you start running hard. This is the best way to take your water with you into the marathon run, as opposed to leaving it behind in a porta-potty.

4. I ignored the first 15 calls to make my way up to the starting line and as it turns out, that was the right move. Just as I passed the fence barrier that was separating the emerging runners from the start of the racing pack / start line, the race announcer stated that all runners should stand still for the national anthem. I ended up being 20 yards or so from the start line. A good Omen?

Race Break Down

[I am very disappointed to report that because of user error, my mile split times were not recorded .. I called to yell at the Garmin people today, but it really was my fault. If any of you know a way to reverse hack the garmin data stream so I can get to my mile split times, please let me know!!!]

Mile 1-2:

On reflection, I probably “scampered” a little more than I should have. My GPS watch had me finishing my marathon about 300 yards before the finish line and I attribute that extra distance I spent zigging around people at the start. Tip for others: Start on the right side of the left lane and use the middle of the road as the way to pass people / clumping crowds. While it might annoy the CHP and other drivers, it would be bad form for them to hit a runner while the marathon is in progress. Besides, they are not going that fast and you can move over if they beep. This is better than running on the trail / shoulder (and bushes) found on the left side of the lane.

Mile 3-5:

My impression was that the Elevation map was a LIE! I thought I would have a constant down hill through mile 8. Wrong! There are significant and long hills right from the start of the race. The night before, I thought that I would have to really “hold myself” back in keeping to a 7:45 pace, Quite the opposite. I felt like I was working for my effort. By mile 4, I could already taste salt on my lips. I knew then that staying hydrated was goal number 1 for the day. I drank early and often.

Mile 5: I took 1 aspirin.

Mile ~3-14:

The protection from the coastal wind is over between miles 2 and 3. When the running group emerged from the Big Sur Station forest, we were greeted by clear views (no fog) and big gusts of wind (up to 15-20 mph). At times, the wind coming right off the ocean even made me cold. My strategy was to find taller people or groups to draft behind. This plan worked out relatively well until a larger woman from Canada decided to spit on me (by accident). Even then, I was not deterred from drafting.

Mile 7:

I noticed that my shirt was soaked through in the front and a stronger taste of salt on my lips, which led to this realization: A warm day was no longer ahead, but happening now. I drank water, then drank some more.

Mile 8 – 10:

I still felt like I was working, but I had appropriate energy to navigate the course. I attempted to push up my pace slightly to see how I felt. It didn’t work, but I was fine with that because there was a lot of uphill in this stretch of the race.  Even though my legs felt heavy, my foot strike was quiet.  I noticed that others were not doing well in terms of their breathing and foot strike – especially those who were wearing headphones. I decided to hold off on turning on music.

Mile 8: 1st Gu eaten

Mile 10:

I approached the low point before the climb with a reserved pace (again no faster than 7:40). I could hear the taiko drums in the distance and I mentally prepared myself for the upcoming 2 mile climb. Why is it the downhills never seem to last long enough?

Mile 10-12 (Hurricane Point Hill):

My pace slowed down,  but I wasn’t paying attention to that. My focus was on finding tall people to draft behind in order to hide from the wind gusts. I passed a number of people on the climb, but I would not pass until I saw some else who I intended to draft off of next. I had the energy to move up the mountain as required, which I would attribute to living and running in SF! Thanks Golden Gate park. Also, big kudos to the taiko drummers. They helped me get the rhythm and mind set of a hill-eating warrior.

Mile 12: 2nd Gu and 2nd Aspirin.

Mile 13.2:

My legs felt like they had been “working” since mile 2.  Nothing ever felt “easy” about running the first half.  The course hills, warm weather, and wind demanded my attention.   I started to pay attention to my cardiac output and I was within range for a good marathon. I determined that I was probably not going to break the inertia of a 7:45 mile. I also suspected that I would continue to get slower as the race progressed (positive split). The only thing I could hope for was strong downhill running to help me “bank time” while I managed to climb the many rolling hills to come. I think I remember having a ~1:42 half marathon time.

Miles 13-17:

Pretty views. The wind subsided. The course now felt very warm. My suspicion that my performance was going to slip was echoed by the mile split times where Army volunteers yelled out “clock time” and projected “race finish” time. At one point in the first half, I think I heard a projected finish time of 3:23. I was up to a projected 3:26 in this stretch. My mental outlook was good, but I knew I had a lot of work to do and needed to focus on good form and attacking down hills as best I could for a strong finish. I was also realistic in that a 3:23 was something I should not be fighting for at this point in the race and I was not discouraged by my growing splits.

Mile 17:

I was really feeling tired. I decided to switch over to my “tunes” in order to give me a boost. I thought to myself: 10 miles to go. Keep the stride long and loose.

Mile 18: 3rd Gu and 3rd Aspirin.

Mile 18 – 22:

This was a tough stretch. My energy and focus started to drift. As each mile split occurred, I started thinking more about the reality of missing a 3:30 goal. I was working hard, but my effort did not seem like it was translating into speed. All of my effort went into maintaining a pace and climbing yet another hill. I attempted to “track” several different runners, but lost them all, including the pacers that I thought represented the 3:30 marathon finish time. This was very discouraging to me at the time.

Mile 20:

A perfect running song snapped my attention back toward achievement (listen below – I especially liked the talking part!). My ipod had been on song shuffle mode, playing a mix of alternative rock, electronic trance, blues, etc., but I really really really needed the hear the following song at mile 20: White Stripes – Little Acorns. After listening to this song, I decided to start using the race walkers on the course as my “little acorns”. I set my acorn goals about 10 seconds apart. This strategy helped me improve my mental outlook considerably – as opposed to tracking runners who may or may not leave me behind.

Mile 20 Walk Alert:

I walked about 10 steps at the water station because the woman runner I was tracking did the same. I was tired and a little apprehensive because I knew the real race was about to begin.

Mile 22: 4th Gu and 4th Aspirin.

Mile 23 Walk Alert:

I was passing runners and walkers and I noticed that more and more runners were slowing down to walk. My legs hurt. My stride felt tight. I felt like I was losing my pace would not break 3:30. I slowed down to walk up hill. 8 steps into the walk The little Acorn song came on again!!! That was all I needed to give it my all up the hill and down again.

Mile 24:

Fresh strawberries never tasted so sweet!

Mile 25:

Emerging from the Park I knew I was close to the end. I turned off my music so I that I could focus on pumping my arms, kicking my stride, and turning over my feet as best I could. 1 more hill to go and then the finish!

Mile 26/Finish:

The finish line is blind until about 400-600 yards away. As I approached I could hear the cheers of the crowd and this pushed me to go faster. By the time I made my way around the blind corner, I could hear the announcer encouraging the crowd to bring the runners in under 3:30. I could see the clock tick off and did my best impression of a sprint. 3:29:41, :42, :43, :44. I thought I had crossed the line at 3:30 even and I was euphoric! My guess is that they had to later adjust the “gun times” because the race was started a little after the targeted start time. Regardless, the chip time does not lie, and I am very pleased with the 3:28:10 chip time!

Thank you again to all who helped me prepare, and most especially, my lovely partner, Danae. I love you and am thankful to have all of your supportive charms, cheering in my corner.