12 tough weeks of training led up to my 11th marathon which took place in Sacramento, CA on December 5th. I chose to run this fall marathon since historically it has produced some very fast times for runners amongst our running community. The training cycle for CIM has been by far the hardest training I've been through but has proven to be successful! This was also the first time that I reduced the number of weeks in the training cycle from 16 down to 12 since I maintain year round a consistent base mileage each week.
Several of Tom's runners ran this marathon which made training through dark nights in Nov/Dec seem tolerable. As I mentioned at the start this training cycle was tough! There were some workouts that went really well, but there were also workouts where I felt mentally defeated or jus
t not ready for the pace on that given day. Going into the marathon I did feel like I was running on fumes and facing the burn out mode which was a little expected given I had been training hard and consistently since Jan. I went down to Sacramento with less pep than I normally have for marathons which is suprising. My primary goal heading into the marathon was 3:05 with my secondary goal being 3:03. The 3:05 goal was based off of the data from the tune up races run in prep for CIM, and the 3:03 goal was based off of the last tune up race and fitness potentially gained from tune up to race day. I had 2 tune up races to help with goal time planning - Eugene Women's 1/2 and Paulsbo 1/2. I ran the Eugene 1/2 the weekend after Hood2Coast which is not a recipe for success but ended up running 1:28 which was then followed by the very hilly Paulsbo 1/2 in Oct where I ran 1:31. I felt strong after Paulsbo knowing that I ran well on a challenging course and felt confident for running a 3:05 at CIM.
t not ready for the pace on that given day. Going into the marathon I did feel like I was running on fumes and facing the burn out mode which was a little expected given I had been training hard and consistently since Jan. I went down to Sacramento with less pep than I normally have for marathons which is suprising. My primary goal heading into the marathon was 3:05 with my secondary goal being 3:03. The 3:05 goal was based off of the data from the tune up races run in prep for CIM, and the 3:03 goal was based off of the last tune up race and fitness potentially gained from tune up to race day. I had 2 tune up races to help with goal time planning - Eugene Women's 1/2 and Paulsbo 1/2. I ran the Eugene 1/2 the weekend after Hood2Coast which is not a recipe for success but ended up running 1:28 which was then followed by the very hilly Paulsbo 1/2 in Oct where I ran 1:31. I felt strong after Paulsbo knowing that I ran well on a challenging course and felt confident for running a 3:05 at CIM. I arrived Sacramento on Friday evening and stayed at the Sheraton Hotel which was very cozy! I normally adhere to a very strict sleep schedule, but was up until midnight working on things for work which caused me to get to bed later than planned that night.
Day before the Marathon
I went for a 3 mile easy run around the capitol and finish area with Brian, Peter, and Thury and we finished up with some strides to tune up the step for next day's race. Later that morning we went to the expo to collect our bibs and check out the booths, and then followed that up with a course preview by car. This helped us understand the course terrain more and we knew going into the race the first few miles were downhill and through the 1/2 marathon mark the terrain was rolling hills.
Later that evening we all met at a local restaurant (Luca) for a pre-race meal and hurried back to the hotel afterwards to attempt to get as much sleep as we could. Joe and Tara stayed with me since they drove down from Seattle to offer race support and they came prepared with crafts to make signs which served as a distraction for me that night. Tara brought Larry's spirit to Sacramento and made a special sign for Curtis and I that said "Do it for the Tigerman". Tigerman does exist. If you don't know him hang out at Greenlake in the summer and I can guarantee you'll figure out who he is quickly ;) He's now become our running crew mantra.
Marathon Day!
Wake up time: 4am
Nutrition: Oatmeal, Banana, Coffee
A group of us caught the 5:30am bus from the hotel which put us at the start an hour before the start of the race (7am). I put in some tunes to help pump up my mood. One bonus about this race was that we had a group of us all going for the same time that planned on running together. The pacing group consisted of Thury, Jody, Peter, Brian, and I.
The race started as expected and the first couple miles were a little quicker than targeted pace, but based on the course preview the day prior I expected that and did not adjust down rapidly but instead kept trying to settle into the goal pace (7 minutes). The first 1/2 of the race has a lot of rolling hills that I would compare to Mercer Island where some you can get momentum from and others you just have to adjust yourself to in order to get up the incline. There were no hills where I felt threw you incredibly off pace. The mile markers are marked well and the course was always filled with runners and crowd support throughout. Our group rounded up in a pack before the 10K mark with Brian running slightly ahead of our pace. He eventually went on at a faster pace but Peter stuck back with the ladies. The 1/2 marathon mark approached quickly and we went through exactly as planned (1:30). The bod felt great and our pace group was still together. I knew Peter would be looking at picking it up around mile 16 if he was feeling strong. We went through that mile 16 and Peter went ahead which left Jody, Thury, and I pacing together. Tom would have been proud since we followed his pack running instructions and ran efficiently together in a close pack trading off with leading pace. As Tom quoted in his write-up to us "A pack can represent safety, collective energy, and the possibility of rising above one self." I felt empowered by the encouragement they each offered during the race and definitely felt engaged throughout the race due to having them right there.
Towards the latter miles a guy who I met at the expo caught up with us and as he went by Thury locked in behind him which helped us adjust our pace up slightly but he was steady so we all hung in behind him He eventually had to step out due to some pain which took some adjustment to resume back to leading our own pacing. Mile 20 finally approached at we all knew from that point on it's whatever you have left in the tank. Thury had some fuel and I found myself going with her at the start but then staring down her pink compression socks afterwhile since she had a strong finishing kick left in her. My stride got really sloppy towards the end and found myself almost tripping over my feet at one point. The last 6 miles of the race is on a flat boulevard heading back towards downtown and was advertised as the net downhill part of the race. I did not ever feel like I was running downhill, but instead just felt the effects of running on a really flat terrain for long straight aways. I ended up finishing right under my primary goal time and left with a feeling of accomplishment - I ran my little heart out and everything I had that day was left on the course. Now it's time for a break to gear back up in January for Boston 2011!!
The Results
Finishing Time - 3:04:52
Course Profile
Pacing
Looking back I would assess the pace results for the first 1/2 to be consistent with the course terrain and plan. There was an opportunity to take advantage of the coure profile at the latter part of the course but my pace kept going up rather than down the last 10K after the legs started getting tired and my stride weakened.
Thank you to all my amazing friends who helped encourage me for CIM and with the workouts or training runs during this training cycle. I'm blessed by our strong running community which provides me with the fuel to keep it going. Boston 2011 baby - bring it!!
