Overcast, 80 degrees, man was this better than last year! I was disappointed a little that we didn’t get to run through Angel’s stadium again, but the in-park portion of the course was better attended by characters, parade floats were out and turned on, and the run through the park was even better than I remember. With water at ten of the thirteen mile points, thousands of spectators, cheerleaders, scout troups, and more, this is definitely the best of the races I’ve done, and I look forward to doing it again next year.
The PR
I started out with a 1:45 pace group, and having the support, distraction, and people to talk to kept me at a strong pace, and pushed me a few times that I needed pushing, and kept me happier in times that I needed nothing. Rachel was a great pacer, though a bit of a cynic, and kept me chuckling at her comments on “training the spectators” and her commentary on racing throughout the world. Her helpful comments like “relax on the downhill and stay perpendicular to the ground” or “pump those arms and get yourself up this hill” helped keep us at a steady pace, up and down, and her group seemed to stay strong.
At mile ten, after sprinting through to “high-five” the hands of scores of boy scouts, I decided to keep my break-away lead from the pacers and push the last three miles, as I did in my last PR. And like Shamrock’n, I was able to keep the pace up, knock out a few miles at a 185+ HR, and take a few minutes off my steady pace. I loved it, and am very glad to add this to my results page, especially when I see that I’m in the top 4% of racers and top 8% of my AG. w00t! An average HR of 177 and max of 195 says I really did push myself, but it stayed sub-180 for the first ten miles, and only in the final push did I spike upwards.
The Conclusion
I trained less, and did better. Racing smarter, having help and support to push me, and knowing when and where I can push, cut another two minutes off my PR. Add in a flat race with great weather and fun, and this race was wonderful once again. I hope to be back next year!
Well, the PW doesn’t include Disneyland, but between a lack of training, gross heat, and bad fueling, this race was a personal worst time. And well… that’s okay. Listening to other racers, comments like “This isn’t a day for a PR” or “I did five minutes worse than normal” says that my results came in just right. So yay?
In all honesty, the course was better than I remember, with actual wine fields that I ran by, and only a single dairy farm; the food afterwards was much better (Togo’s), the race management significantly improved, the problems of last year well resolved, and everything would have been great, were it not for the 100+ degree day. The end result was a fairly exhausting and miserable race from the heat, but otherwise a good race. Not much else to say, but I will be here next year.
Not just first in my AG, but first in the race! So there were only 20 racers or so, I was wearing a bib, so it felt official!
USAA, for their employees and family, held a 5k walk/run that was sponsored for their employees’ health benefits: race food, bibs, course markings, and everything! While I don’t in any way qualify as family, Diane allowed me join her since running is my cup of tea.
About twenty people were on the running circuit, and another twenty were there as walkers. The course was laid out as a four-lap circuit of the USAA campus, part of it along the streets and part along their run track. I wasn’t there to push any kind of 5k PR (I’d just been sick in Thailand, and I hadn’t really been training at all), so I paced Diane’s boss Cherie for the first three laps. Feeling great thereafter, I decided to pick up the pace to a normal 5k pace for me and finish at the front of the pack.
So, my time wasn’t great, and the race was small… but hey! I got first place in a race, and I don’t think I’ll ever get to say that again. So yay!
I have to start again with a thank you. Thank you to my friends who support me enough to come out and cheer me on. Thank you to my training buddies who help me get to the race and succeed. And thank you to everyone who supports me in continuing with what has become one of my favorite things in life. I’m sorry you weren’t here, Amanda, for this second round and season kickoff, but I know you’ll be back running with us soon!
The race, in short, was awesome. The course was a bit different, but not horribly noticably so, the logistics seemed a bit cleaner (at least it took less time to park), and my performance was a PR, so I can’t complain!
I started the race pacing Harry. He said when we were starting that he had decided to try and keep up with me, and I was happy for it. I usually start at about a 7:45 and end at an 8:15, averaging 8s. With Harry there (and a bit tired, as he was), we started at 8:15s and kept that steady.
Where I’m normally fairly tired through an entire run, and having to think about my breathing and staying strong, I felt chatty, was smiling, and was generally having a great race! Every race I’ve done in the past has been a very solitary thing (excepting Clarksburg), so to have someone with me for 10, someone to keep my mind off things, and someone to chat with (or to, most of the time), was fun!
From about 6 on, Harry began struggling, and while he made it all the way out to 10 before he broke off, he just couldn’t keep up, and I wanted to keep my 8:15s at least. Let me cut to the end on Harry, he finished keeping up that 8:15 pace, and only had to take 20 steps, twice, at a walking pace to catch his breath, so PR to Harry, too! Now me, at that split point, I decided that I needed to burn through all of my extra stored up energy, and took those last three miles at a 7min pace, or so. I brought my 8:15 average down to 7:52 in three miles! I even got to sprint my last .1 miles, and loved every second of it. And now, I still feel fresh and ready to go! This was an awesome way to take a race.
Pacing the last three miles
Training Tidbits
I said earlier that I felt great afterwards. I still do. So looking back, I was interested to see what my effort level was. It felt like I kept a good, steady pace, but I always feel like that. So doing some heartrate comparisons… for CIM, I spent 20.4 miles, or 78% of the race in Zone 5. Something maybe okay for my “A” race, but probably a bit excessive for my overall health. This race, the one I’m feeling great in and did my best performance in, I stayed in Zone 4 for 9.3 miles, or 71% of the run. And did my performance slip? I did better on these 13.1 miles than I did on the first 13.1 at CIM, and I’m not in better shape, so I’d have to say that based on this single datapoint, keeping myself in Z4 seems to work pretty darned well for overall performance, and I know it’s better for my overall fitness, too!
I have to start this with the most amazing part of the race. Diane, Brandon, Mason, Damon, Mom, Kristi, Vincent, Dave, Amanda, Josh, Harry, and Sarah. You were all so amazing. I can’t believe how inspiring, supportive, caring, and wonderful you all were. Diane, you and your family, seeing me so many times on the race, and planning out such an amazing amount of support, I have never felt so honored in my life.
Josh and Harry, for making such a creative way of coming out and finding me, and for your impeccable timing. Amanda, for helping me see the finish line, and helping me forget my pain for that last half mile. Kristi, for coming out even when you hadn’t planned to, and to Mom, for giving up one of your favorite church days of the year to come support me. Vincent, for supporting all of the runners with water and GU2O, and for supporting me through my gear delivery. Dave, you’ve done this every year, and your unending support is awesome, thank you for the smile and the cheer. And Sarah, for fighting the traffic to celebrate with us afterwards. Thank you all. This has been a truly awesome experience, and so much of it is thanks to you.
Goals
My half marathon paces have been ~1:45, and I knew I needed to be a bit more conservative, so at the packet pickup, I picked up the 3:45 pacer bracelet, and expected to run with that group. I figured, if I slowed down, from 3:45, I could still beat my goal of sub 4:00, but I wasn’t going to be so arrogant to think that my half pace would be my full pace.
Then comes Sunday morning, and I don’t see the 3:45 pace team sign. The only one I spot are the 3:20 and the 3:30. Well, with my half pace being the 3:30, I figure I’ll run with that team and as I drop back, I’ll get passed by the 3:45 and hold on to that pace through the race.
Well, that didn’t work so well. Race day excitement kicked in, and I paced the 3:30 folk for the entire front half, and then slowed down to my own pace for the second half. So, long story short (since I’ll get into the details next), my goal was sub 4, my stretch goal 3:45, my half pace as a full was 3:30, and I finished with 3:43 and change! Below my stretch goal, and well below my goal. I’m thrilled, excited, and utterly flabbergasted by the time. I’m on such a high right now, I can’t even explain it.
Div Place
Place
13.1
Time
Pace
112/220
1494/4743
01:45:14
03:43:39
8:33 min/mi
The race
It’s not surprising that the wisdom of those who’ve gone before you can be so spot on. I have had so many people tell me about marathons, and describing the wall that most runners hit somewhere between mile 18 and 22, that when I found my pace dropping from the low 8s to all over the 9s, I wasn’t shocked. However, I never realized what a struggle, both physically and mentally, those last eight miles would be.
Somewhere around mile 13, my pace dropped from 8:00 to 8:30s. Not surprising to me at all, since the majority of my training peaks out at 13 miles. In fact, I’ve only done two runs exceeding that distance, a 15 mile run in August, and the Clarksburg 20 three weeks ago. So when my joints and muscles, at 13 miles, let themselves be known, it came as no surprise. I expected some of that, and I started out with a slightly aggressive pace, knowing that it was risky, but taking the chance at making my marathon pace the same as my half marathon pace.
At mile 18, as I said, that slight penalty became tremendous. It was like trying to run through water, my breathing hadn’t changed, my heartrate stayed steady, but my muscles were no longer cooperating. Every step was an effort. By mile 23, both of my calves and both hamstrings were cramped up. I spent every amount of effort I had trying to keep my muscles relaxed, or at least to prevent them from locking up completely. I was sure I was going to have to walk, but I knew that from the second I did, I would be struggling to make it forward, so I persisted, and never once walked the entire marathon. So I made my first half in ~1:45, and the second half in ~2:00, and I’m very pleased with the results.
The course
I have to say, I loved it. The net downhill, well, who can feel 300 feet in 26 miles? However, the relative flatness, the wide streets, running through areas I grew up in, areas I socialize in, and areas I’ve lived in, made the course amazing. I hate driving that far, and to think, I ran it. The day was beautiful, slightly windy, and slightly chilled, but I’ll take that any day over hot or rainy. The fact that two lanes of every road were given solely to the runners, and that a main artery of Sacramento is shut down to support the race is fantastic. Going through so many cities, supported by people yelling “Welcome to Carmichael!,” the local high school bands playing, local cheerleaders serving you water… it was great. I’ve never felt happier being here, nor more at home in my home town.
Post race
One of the biggest learnings from this, so far, is how impactful a full marathon is to my body. I’m sore. I don’t mean my muscles hurt a bit, but sore like I can barely walk up stairs, and hobble for the first fifty steps every time I stand up. Sore like my muscles still have tenseness in them any time I touch them. Sore like I haven’t been sore before. The only consolation is that every person at work who ran it is walking the same way I am, so I know I’m not alone.
I also have had a hard time eating. I’d think, after running 26.2 miles, I’d be famished. Instead, I could barely finish half a gardenburger, a few onion rings, and a few chips. I ate six or eight 200 Calorie meals Sunday, trying starches, fruits, veggies, juices… anything after the race. I had the same issue Monday. It wasn’t until Monday lunch that I really ate anything substantial, and that was only because I forced myself to eat a calorie dense meal at Panda Express. Nothing I really wanted to do, but I could tell I was at a calorie deficit, and needed something in my body. Even now, I still don’t seem to want to take in calories, even though I know I’m still short. I haven’t lost any weight, and I’ve been a drinking a lot of water, but I’m just struggling to get in enough calories.
Anyway, this is more than long enough. But I have to say once again, I loved the race, and look forward to doing it with my friends next year.
This will be proportionately written to the size of the race… short. The run is primarily a fund raiser, and as a 5k on a day off for most people, it’s pretty big. 20k people big, in fact. It’s amazing that people can’t listen, and don’t pay any attention to the signs, like people with strollers and with their little kids lined up in the 7min pace section. For how big the race was, it didn’t seem too bad at all, though I was near the front-ish, so that didn’t really affect me too much.
Anyway, my race went well. This was actually my first 5k, so I wasn’t sure how my pacing would go, but I got 7s, which I’m very happy with. Harry got sub 8s, Mark sub 9s, and Josh sub 10s, so I feel we all did pretty darned well. Other than that, there’s not much to say. Three miles is pretty darned short for a run, but we jogged in three miles to get there, and jogged and walked back, so it was altogether a fun way to start Thanksgiving morning, and a lot more worthwhile selflessly donating time and money instead of selfishly eating.
The triathlete training bible talks a lot about different type of races. “A” races being the big one or two you train for in the year, “B” races being ones you put effort into, but don’t push and train to the edge, and “C” races being those that you do, just as part of training, and just to do. No pushing, no risk, you’re just there because you love to race. That’s what Clarksburg was to me; a chance to do a 20 mile, pre-marathon, typical Sunday training run. In that light, I got exactly what I wanted out of the run, I finished, I had good times with a friend, I accomplished some speed work I never thought myself capable of, and I loved it. As a bellwether to my CIM success, all signs point to positive. Yay me!
The Course
Let me just say, this is what was meant by “Avenue of the Vines,” not the “Bovines” event. The course was beautiful, the day was perfect, I couldn’t have asked for better run conditions. The course meandered through the streets of Clarksburg, a small town just along the river, south of Sacramento. Parts of the run went through wineries, parts through country roads, parts along the levy above the river tributary. It was amazing, quaint, and perfect. In a heartbeat, I’d do this run again.
The Run
I usually title this part, “The Race,” but since I wasn’t really racing, I’m just going to call it the run. As a training run, I didn’t push myself at all. I told Harry when I was trying to get him to do this (which he had a good excuse for missing, being in Oregon),
that I wouldn’t race it, but would rather run alongside him the whole time. Well, Harry didn’t show, but Amanda did! So, I extended the same idea over to running with Amanda, and we did the first 15 miles of Clarksburg together, chatting, keeping our minds off of injuries, and just enjoying the beautiful course. Thanks, Amanda! I would rather run with friends any day, and it’s friends who’ve helped me get to where I am today.
So anyway, the first fifteen miles were pretty mild. We paced in the low 9s to start, but as injuries and a week of sickness began to catch up with Amanda (I still can’t believe she ran twenty miles after being sick all week long), our pace slowed down to the mid 10s. Around mile ten, I forewarned Amanda that I might take off around mile fifteen, depending on how we were doing. Well, right at fifteen, Amanda’s injuries really started to get to her, our pace was down to about 11s, and I felt the need to push myself a little more. So I took off for the last five miles… and it was awesome.
For the last five miles, I was running (depending on headwinds) between 6:50s and 8:20s. I would have never thought that, after fifteen miles (my longest run ever at that point), I could kick it up to run sub 8s. Frank, at mile 18 or so, told my that I could catch up with Hiroshi, and try I did. Just thirty seconds, he said, and at the 400 meter mark, I saw Hiroshi ahead. His pace was slower than mine, and I thought I had him, but that 400m mark put a fire under his feet and he sped up, leaving me to come in just a few seconds behind him. It was a nice push to bump up my speed just a little more, and I had a great time doing it.
If you were to ask TBF coach Dan Foster about fueling, there’d be a quick answer, almost a mantra: early and often. After this week, I can totally agree with that, not even just on the performance of the day, but on its affect on subsequent days.
Sunday, I raced the 7th annual Lake Natoma Four Bridges Half Marathon (see below), and did fine, but raced that as a training run, not as a real race. Two days later, I ran 7.5 miles with Harry, and really struggled. Our pacing was ~9:20, and I was the driver of that. At mile 1, I was already gu’ing (or in my case, Hammer Gel). By mile 3.5, I felt like I’d run 8 already. By mile 6, I was exhausted, and it was taking everything I had to keep going. If I can’t do 28 miles in a week, how am I supposed to do 26.2 in one day?!
In retrospect, I believe it to be 100% a fueling issue. Monday night, I did a weights workout, then went to bed. Tuesday morning, I did 30 minutes of cardio on a bike, a weights workout, and then a workout with my PT. Throughout the day, I ate about 1500 calories of food, then went on the 7.5 mile run. I was already in a deficit before I even started the run…
And the big lesson of the week was this: for the two days following it, I was tired, exhausted, and felt ill — all from exercising on a heavy deficit. So when I think “early and often,” I need to think beyond just that day, but realize that failing to do so can knock me out for a couple days. Not only does that undo the work I did by working out unfueled, but it sets me back. So early and often needs to apply to my every day life — plan out my workouts, eat for success, and stick to the plan.
Out on the home turf, the course is beautiful, the run lightly challenging, the logistics well executed, and the weather and timing were perfect. While my performance might not have been superb, the course definitely met and exceeded my expectations. Would I do this run again? Absolutely. Will I beat my time next year? I better!
Pre-race
Friday night, I had my first Master’s swim class. Now, that’s something for my training logs, not here, but it definitely affected my pre-race readiness; my calves cramped up badly in the kicking drills, and by Saturday morning for my warmup jog, they were still hurting. Sunday, as I got ready to run 4B, I could still feel the pain inside my calves. Not the right way to start a run.
Harry told me ahead of time that he wasn’t going to be making the run, but I was still expecting Amanda. Looking around, I did run into Mark E, a few STC fellows (Frank, Hiroshi, good to see you both!), and Micki and Paige, but by start time, I was alone. Oh well, I was here to train, and train I shall do!
The Course
Beautiful, scenic, hilly… altogether a great location, which is why it’s a great place to train. The mile markers were amazing, 25 foot tall poles with large banners. The new experiences on a course like this? Not being able to see the people beyond right in front of you, and not seeing the mile markers until your on them. And the worst of that, not seeing the next water station… which has big gu timing impact.
Thankfully Micki warned me ahead of time to save some energy for the last mile, or I’m not sure I would have been ready for such a long uphill, but as the announcer said as I sprinted across the finish line, I saved too much. For anyone doing this, the last half mile or so is all uphill, from the lake level up to Natomas St, and not the gradual version that you have during the start. A few switchbacks, and a steeper ascent, and you’re quite glad you’re done after that.
My Race
I underperformed compared to my last two races, but I didn’t taper off in prep (10.5 miles on Tuesday, a Master’s swim on Friday, and five miles the day before), and I didn’t push myself to the limits, so I’m not disappointed. In fact, I got exactly what I expected out of the race; a little worse than my normal, but not horrible. And considering the knee injury, the hills, and my cramped calves, I probably performed better than previous races.
I tried using Clif Cran-Razz electrolyte drink in my water bottle instead of water, and I believe I’ll go back to the basics. Electrolyte tabs, Hammer Gel, and pure water for my personal stock of fuel. I’m still not comfortable sticking to
race-supplied water, even though that seems the norm. I like to fuel when I need it, and to take gel, that means having my own water. For this race, not being able to see the water stops ahead, and thus gu in time to finish before the stop, that was probably a good thing.
Place: 228/239, 4:45:28 Swim + T1: 0:27:29, Bike + T2: 3:50:35, Run: 0:27:24 Course: 750m swim, 31k MTB, 5k run
Summary
I was not ready for this, it was too cold, and overall not an enjoyable experience. Had I been more than a novice MTB’r, and had the weather been like that of Sunday, I probably would have enjoyed the race. However, between the weather and my poor performance, I’m disappointed in the race for myself. I’m not sure whether I will do this race again next year, but if I do, it’ll only be if I train considerably more than I did this year.
Pre-Race
Morning of the race… nice tights, Mark
I got roused from bed at 10pm the night before by Amanda for good reason… it had started to snow (see the pic above). What a great way to start a race. :-/ Fortunately, one of my co-workers had forewarned me of the possibility, and I had stopped at REI on my way to race day and picked up $200 of cold weather gear. If not for this, there would be no way I would have even finished.
The morning of the race was freezing, as expected. Reading race reports and hearing from friends, it was still sub-30 degrees when I got out to the venue (6:30am). The night low was 20 degrees, and the day high was 52. Ugh. Getting ready, my feet and hands were already going numb, which isn’t a good sign. Just look at the ice collecting on my bike seat while waiting.
Venue
Leave anything alone and it begins to ice up. Nice weather for a race, eh?
The venue, Incline Village NV, was great. It’s close to some perfect MTB trails, the beach access was good, and while the distance from beach to transition was long, for a MTB venue, it’s a great spot. Go figure, since it was picked as a championship venue. Our cabin was only two blocks from the start, so it was perfect for walking to and from the venue as needed.
The Swim
Nice mass start, all 300 competitors at once
When the water in Lake Tahoe is warmer than the air, and you’d rather stand in the water than on the beach, something’s a bit wrong. It was actually painful standing barefoot on the wet sand, and I was amazed that the warmup swim was more enjoyable than standing around waiting.
The great part about the swim is the water clarity. When diving Tahoe, I’ve seen vis >200ft, the maximum distance possible in water. For swimming, this meant sighting was a breeze; I could see the swimmers 10 feet in front of me. It also meant that an no point in the swim could you not see the lake bottom. A bit eerie at 50 feet, but I really enjoyed that part of the swim!
As far as swim results, the lack of T1 separation, the extra time in T1 to ready myself for cold, and the run up the hill in shoes that didn’t work mean I really don’t know how I did in my swim relative to my expectations. It felt fine, not a great performance, but altitude breathing was a factor, and I think my time was adequate. I’d expect 15 minutes for myself, and add in the run and T1, and I probably did 18 minutes.
The Bike Hike
Ain’t that the truth
Here’s where it gets sketchy. For those that don’t know me, understand that this was my fourth mountain bike ride… ever. Lesson 1) road biking does not equate to mountain biking. My legs were far from ready for the constant and persistent climbing from the lake to above the tree line. I rode most of the first climb, but the next three major climbs were more hiking than biking, and one surprise hike after some downhills cramped my quads so badly that I had to stop to stretch them for five minutes. Lesson 2) if you can no longer shift because your fingers are so cold, and you worry about losing finger tips to frostbite, it’s too cold to ride. I bought the most cold-weather gloves Pearl Izumi makes, leg warmers, arm warmers, ear warmers, toe covers, and borrowed a friend’s wind breaker (thanks Harry!). Most of that gear was enough to survive and stay reasonably comfortable, except for my hands, which made me miserable and feeling unsafe. There was snow across almost every inch of the course, except for the final ride down the flume trail, and the area above the tree line.
Now imagine this same view, covered with snow
I did find that I had less problems with my cleats and pedals than most other walkers. I could knock enough stuff off of my cleats in one smack against my pedals to clip in every time. That’s one nice thing in favor of the Candy’s (that and I use them on my road bike, so I didn’t have to learn to clip in/out).
The course was beautiful, the views, amazing (as long as you didn’t get distracted and fall off the cliff). In the picture to the left, you can see the trail we rode across on the far left. The picture was taken the following day, so imagine this same trail covered in snow, and this was the first portion of the ride. Beautiful, scenic, and a bit scary.
In short: I was not ready for this bike, and it shows. I did average on everything else, but was 7th to last in the bike for the recorded finishers. All I can say is that I DID finish, on the course that’s for the pros, in weather that was extreme.
The Run
Warming up, and trying to get feeling back to our toes
Not much to say about this. Running is my favorite sport, the course was nice, though quite a tease as they took you near the finish, then off for another half mile before you actually finished, so I really enjoyed this leg. My pacing was not great for me, but okay (just under 9’s), and I enjoyed finally warming up my numb and cold body. I actually threw on my glove liners and ran with them to try and gain feeling back into my fingers as I ran.
It was a fun run, a great short course, and part of me wishes I had done the 10k trail run and just that.
Brrr! Letting the ink dry in 28 degree weather.
And yes, I did sport STC colors 🙂
The Nitty Gritty
Excuse my geekdom here, but I need some relative results, absolute numbers are not enough…
