Big Sur Race Report: Part 2

Now heading toward mile 15, I enjoyed the remainder of the downhill portion.  After mile 15, we began the roller coaster that would continue for the rest of the race.  Each time I had to climb another hill, I began taking short walking breaks.  When I was running it felt like my maximum effort, but the numbers on my Garmin told me it was more than a 10 minute per mile pace.

I was feeling lonely by now.  I rarely run alone, so I’m not used to the solitude.  I took out my Ipod and started listening to podcasts.  It was helpful to distract myself with someone’s else’s conversation.

The remaining miles are all blurred together.  I have very little memory of the scenery in this section.  There were so many people walking at this point in the course, probably walkers doing the 21 mile walk option.  I appeared to be the only person running…or trying to run.   Another thing I remember is hearing a volunteer giving a pace update of “six hours, ten minutes”.  What?  How can that be?  My marathon-altered brain had misunderstood, but I wasn’t coherent enough to realize it had to be wrong.  It sent me into a “woe-is-me” spiral that made it harder to keep running.

I wish I could remember all the things that were going through my head at this point.   It wasn’t pleasant.  I never felt like I couldn’t finish, and I was always moving.  Just not at my normal pace!  On the uphills, I just couldn’t lift my legs.  I would run downhill and carry that momentum as long as I could.  I was also doing the “Just run to that rock”,  “Now just run to that aid station” mantras.   I felt like I had failed to run a good race.  My negative left brain had really taken over!

I was drinking a lot (water and Nuun electrolyte tablets) and eating as much as I could.  Because of the cold, it was hard to chew my gel blasts quickly enough.  I forced myself to finish the second bag, and I had brought four bags.  I question now whether I was fueled enough, but it’s a hard balance to achieve with my sensitive stomach.  I feel good about the liquids.  I had my Camelbak refilled at one of the aid stations, but didn’t put more Nuun in because it wasn’t quickly accessible.  Next time I’ll do that.

It started to warm up around mile 25 and I took the time to remove my jacket and gloves.  It’s hard to believe they were on for almost the whole race, but the wind really kept it cool.  The road was severely cambered at this stage, and I couldn’t find a flat place to run.  It was like running on the outside of a bowl and it was quite uncomfortable.  I knew there was just one more hill ahead, and it was a significant one.  I was starting to feel happy again and ran up the hill as far as I could.  Then it was down, down toward that still-elusive finish line.  I passed a female runner down on the ground, and there were emergency vehicles in my way that I had to run around.  She was so close to the end.  I was starting to hear cheering, and then I saw my friend Jenn!  She was probably very relieved to see me after so much time waiting.  She ran along beside me and said all the wonderful, encouraging things I really, really needed to hear.  I asked her how much further it was because I still couldn’t see a finish line.  That’s when she pointed out the balloons.  Soon there were people lining the road on both sides, and I could hear cheering.  And then I saw orange!  It was our running group (about 12 of them!) cheering VERY loudly and was a most welcome sound!  I was so happy to see them still there (I thought for sure everyone would be back showering!) and I smiled and accelerated  toward the finish line.  Finally there.  I passed just as the clock changed to 5:01.

Now, never in my wildest dreams did I think I would run a five hour marathon (not that there’s anything wrong with that :>) ).  My previous marathon time was 4:41, which I felt was longer than it should have been because my base wasn’t solid and I hadn’t resolved my eating issues.  This time, I felt like I had solved a lot of those issues.  However, the hills were relentless, and after Hurricane Point my legs never felt strong again.  The Big Sur website says to add 20 minutes to your average marathon time, to account for the difficulty of the course.  Well, that’s what happened!  I’m not going to let the time bother me; it just makes me more likely to do another marathon because gosh, it’s got to be easier than Big Sur!

One big difference with this marathon experience was my recovery.  At my last marathon (CIM 2007) I was absolutely exhausted.  It took everything I had to get to the end.  I felt sick afterwards and couldn’t wait to get home.   My IT band was overused to the point where I had to stop running and enter physical therapy for three months.

At the finish line at Big Sur, I felt fabulous.  I stayed on my feet until we were back in our cars.  I ate whatever was brought to me, and I had no nausea or upset stomach.  I felt alert, buzzed, and so happy.   Nothing hurt.  I ate a great lunch with all my friends and was able to stay awake until a normal bedtime that night.  So even though my training wasn’t enough to get me across the finish line in under five hours, it brought me a strong, in-control finish, a good recovery and no injuries.

There is another marathon in my future, probably the California International Marathon in December 2009.  And it’s flat!  I’m also doing the Nike Half Marathon in October, which is certainly not flat.  Those hills are crazy steep but it’s only 13 miles of hills instead of 26.

Thanks everyone for all your help and encouragement that got me to the day of the race.   It was an incredible weekend and I look forward to many more.

And if you want see some pictures and videos of the Big Sur Marathon course, go to these blogs:

http://www.runningandrambling.com/2009/04/big-sur-marathon-race-report.html

http://atomictime.blogspot.com/2006/05/big-sur-international-marathon-race.html

Big Sur Race Report: Part 1

Everything I heard about Big Sur was true.  It’s beautiful, brutal, windy, tough, magnificent, steep, gorgeous, fun, surreal, and best of all, it’s behind me. 

The day began early.  We had to catch the shuttle bus to the start line at 4:15, so we left our hotel at 3:50.  I was up at 3:00.  I had slept since about 11:00 pm, so that was about four hours of sleep.  I felt wide awake and the morning preparations were smooth.  Beth and I sat together for the one hour bus ride in the dark.  We approached Big Sur around dawn.  When we exited the bus it was like we were in Disneyland.  Solid masses of people and lines snaking every which way from the porta potties.  It took all the time we had to wait for an open bathroom and work our way back out to the road.  We quickly put our warm clothes in our sweat bags, tossed them in the open truck and parted ways.  She went to the front, because she’s fast, and I went further back with the slower runners.

Next we heard the race director’s voice telling everyone to be out on the road.  The national anthem was sung, the doves released into the sky, and then we were off! 

I couldn’t feel my feet because they had become so cold while I was waiting.  I ran slowly to warm them up.  I was wearing a short sleeve shirt with a running jacket and gloves, and capris.  I kept my jacket on until mile 25.  The temperature was in the high 40s.  The first four miles I ran moderately slow, just enjoying the forest and the happy runner chatter.  I heard someone say that if it was windy when we reached the coast, it was going to be a windy day.

We reached the coast at about five miles and guess what?  It was windy.  This was when the first of the hills began, but they were gentle and rolling.  The scenery was ocean and pasture.  At one point there were cows running along beside us on the hills.  This period from 5-9 miles was probably my favorite part of the course.  I felt strong and in control, and I was just past the 4:15 pacer group.  The wind started really picking up by mile 7, and many people around me were losing their hats. 

Near me at this point was a group of women from Texas wearing signs that said “On the other side of 50 and still hot!”  They were doing a run/walk interval and had a goal of 4:25.  I have no doubt they achieved it.  They were fun to run with because they sang and said funny things. 

At mile 10 we approached the hill to Hurricane Point.  You may recall in a previous post that I was worried about this 2 mile ascent to the steepest part of the course.  I wondered if I would be able to train enough to make it up this hill without walking, and I was right.  I made a quick bathroom stop before heading up, my only stop of the race (amazing).   The hill looms before you and you see a continuous line of runners moving at what seems to be an incredibly steep slant.   I felt like I was looking up at an Egyptian pyramid with the workers passing rocks up the line one at a time. 

At one point there’s sign that reads “Anaerobic hill” or something similar.  That’s when I couldn’t run and had to walk.  The eleventh mile seemed a little gentler but the wind, which had never gone away, really picked up as we reached the famous point.  It was gorgeous, and it felt great to be at the top.  Then came quite a long descent toward Bixby Bridge.  I saw the piano player, and listened briefly.  I kept my speed down because the downhill was hurting my knees, and I tried to stay as relaxed as possible.

After mile 13 I realized I had run the first half in 2:20, which was slower than I had planned.  My half marathon times are usually around two hours, so this meant a 4:40 marathon time at the very best!  I tried to keep my spirits up but I admit I was feeling a little discouraged.  I realized it was unlikely I was going to run into any of my friends who were doing the relay.

Summit Day

Here’s a little known fact about me.  I have a minor obsession with books, movies and documentaries about climbing Mt. Everest.  The stories are compelling because you get to watch someone push themselves to their maximum limits  — physically, mentally and emotionally.  All Everest climbers say luck is a huge factor in their success or failure. 

In no way do I compare a marathon to summiting Mount Everest.  But I do tend to be attracted to such books at times in my life when either (a) I’m working toward a challenging goal or (b) I don’t have enough challenge in my life and I need to motivate myself to go find some new challenges.  I think in this case it’s (a).  The book I’m reading now is Dead Lucky: Life After Death on Mount Everest  by Lincoln Hall. 

I’m leaving early tomorrow morning so this is my last post!  I’m ready for Sunday and will hope for a little bit of luck!  It should be a fun weekend and I’ll give you a full update next week.

Banking sleep, nutrients, and good thoughts

I stay up late most nights of the week.  It’s rare that I’m in bed before 11:15 pm.  Even if I wanted to go to bed earlier, there are late baseball games, night meetings and teenagers to pick up from across town.  The next morning, if it’s a running day, I’m up at 5:15.  But this week, I’m heading to bed by 9:30 every night.  I’m banking sleep.

Why?  Big Sur  is an early marathon (6:45 am).  The buses shuttling runners to the Marathon Start begin at 3:45 am.  Yes, you read that correctly.  There is no way one can get a full night’s sleep the night before this marathon, which is (I think) impossible anyway.   So this week I’m shifting my sleep pattern about two hours earlier.  I figure I need the extra sleep and maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to sleep from 9:30-2:30 or so on the night before the marathon.

Besides water, no empty calories.  If a food isn’t nutritious, I’m not eating it.  I’m banking nutrients too.

Finally, I’m banking positive thoughts.  The more inspiring stories I can read, the better my outlook will be.  There will be no room for negativity on Sunday and my job is to overload myself with the good stuff.

Congratulations to Laura and Lori on an awesome Boston marathon race today!  You are truly inspiring!

Taper Time

Can you hear that sound?  It’s the clock ticking, counting down the seconds until the big day.  I’m trying to ignore it.

The day after my last 20 mile run was the beginning of the three-week taper portion of my marathon training schedule.  I ran 5-6 hilly miles in Morro Bay while we were on vacation, then did another hill workout on Thursday.  I’m officially done with hills until the marathon.   My long run on Saturday was 12 miles, and this weekend it will only be 8 miles.  My legs have felt tired this week and I think there’s a good reason for that!

I found an article in Runner’s World about how to taper.   The recommendations change according to how close you are to the marathon.  The important thing to remember is that now is the time to let your body repair itself from the rigors of training, refuel with good nutrition, and don’t do anything new.  Specific recommendations for the current week include:

• Resist cutting back on calories or dietary fat.  Keep fat intake at 30%, but avoid high fat foods like pizza and ice cream.
• Run 1/2 to 2/3 the mileage of the highest training week.  Run 1- 1 1/2 minutes slower than marathon pace, and keep weekday runs to no more than about 4 miles.
• If you’re lifting weights, stop.  (Not applicable to me.)
• Work on logistics, study course map, set general goals.

And next week:

• No runs more than 4 miles, and run easy.  Three days before, run 2-3 miles, two days before, don’t run at all, and the day before, jog 2 miles just to release pent-up energy.  (Hmmm, I’ll have to think about that.)
• Emphasize carbohydrates three days before the run, comprising 60-70% of total calories.  Drink lots of fluids, don’t restrict salt and don’t get on the scale.
• Minimize stress (!), focus on your confidence.
• Don’t do anything tiring, don’t try anything new, don’t get a sports massage, and stay off your feet.  You can’t under-do, but you can over-do.  (I like the sounds of that!)

Blood, sweat, and tears

Today was my last 20 mile run before the marathon.  It was fabulous.  I ended the run with energy to spare, and miles 15-20 were in that zone that we hope for but rarely experience:  effortless, problem-free, blissful. 

So why the title of this post?  That’s because between mile 2 and 3 I was part of a tumble that resulted in two runners on the ground.  The ground isn’t where you want to be when you still have 17 miles to run.  And we’re too old to fall; it’s a long way down!  I landed on my wrist and knees, and my friend had scrapes and a bloody finger.   We decided we were okay to keep running.  My knees were just bruised, and became stiff when I stood still.  Once I began running, I just felt tightness and a dull ache.

It was windy today and we did our best to run east-west to avoid the strong north wind gusts.  At mile 9, the group finished and I resumed running on my own, listening to podcasts on my Ipod and heading further south to an area in our town that is sheltered from the wind.  My knees were talking to me, but as long as I kept moving, they didn’t hurt.   I ate my PowerBar gel splashes every 3 miles or so.  

When I got closer to mile 19, my podcast ended and I switched to random music.   One of my daughter’s Latin dance songs was playing:  ”No pare, sigue, sigue”, which translates into “Don’t stop, keep going”.  It was the perfect song to finish out a great long run.

Marathons at 85?

“Energy begets energy”.   Margaret Hagerty, 80 time marathon runner, age 85.

I don’t know if I’ll still be running marathons at 85 years old, but I sure found this to be inspiring.   Her story is astounding.  It’s never too late to start. 

I have my last 20 miler tomorrow and I’m hoping it goes as well as last week’s run.   Got my plan, my peeps and I’m ready to go!