Running in the Rockies

3 miles on Boulder Canyon trail in ~8:37 avg pace. Strides and a 1/2 mile at MP. Was feeling nervous about marathon.

I am entering this race report nearly 3 weeks after the fact, so I doubt I will remember specifics- but that's probably for the best as I tend to write lengthy reports. I highly recommend the California International Marathon. It was well organized, a good number of participants, and a nice course. I will likely be back.

Pre-race: We took the train from Denver to Sacramento (highly recommend!). The route is stunningly beautiful. Arrived in Sacramento ~hour ahead of schedule and we were picked up and shuttled to the expo and hotel (conveniently very close to each other) by my brother in law. We bailed on dinner with the family and opted for an early dinner and early bedtime. We decided on a thai restuarant within walking distance of our hotel and I had an amazing pumpkin curry. I actually ate a bit too much and was overly stuffed afterwards. I did some stretching, put together my gear, and we flipped channels a bit (we don't have a television, so it's always somewhat of a culture shock when we see how TV has 'evolved' in our viewing absence). I got to bed around 8:30, with the alarm set for 4:15am. I did not sleep well- I think it was nerves and the fact that I had eaten too much at dinner.

 Race morning: Took the shuttle to the start. It was much farther away than I thought it would be (that was scary). I ate a Kind bar and drank some energy/electrolyte drink. Got to the start and went to find the Po'P's and there were a MILLION.. okay, maybe not a million, but a LOT. It was so awesome. There was a line of port o'pots probably a quarter mile long.. so I stood in line behind 1 other person (sweet!), did the business and then went to stretch in the vicinity of the Po'P's just in case the lines started to get really long- but they never did. About 15 minutes before the start I decided to get rid of my sweat bag. It was very warm (maybe 60's?)- much warmer than what I was actually expecting, so I ditched the gloves, hats, and long sleeved shirt. I dropped the bag, ate a fruit leather- raspberry, and started to walk along with the mass of people to the start. I meandered about until I got to the 4:30 finishing group.. I wasn't sure where I wanted to start exactly, I had average paces in my head and a plan based on 10 km distances but I never really thought about where to start. I decided the 4:30 group wouldn't be running faster than I wanted to go- so maybe they would keep me from going out too fast. Anyways, I decided to hang out there. Then.. I had to pee. Great. There was NO way I could get back to the P o'P's with the hundreds of people behind me. Ugh. I decided that I would just start the run and stop at the first set of Po'P's that I saw. Got the garmin ready, tightened the hydration belt, checked the shoes, gave myself a good head to toe check and I was ready.

 Race:

Race-Plan: Because I train at ~8,500' or above over hilly terrain- I wasn't sure what my pace should be for this marathon. I tried to research expected gains in racing from training at elevation (specifically high elevation above 7,500') but couldn't find much detailed information (e.g., if you usually average 10 min miles for 20 miles at 8,500' feet, you could expect to run 9:40 average with the same exertion at sea level). This is probably because it is highly dependent on the athlete. So, I decided to start uber-conservatively and run the  marathon as if it was a progression run. Here is what I had decided on:

1-6, no faster than 9:50 pace

7-12, no faster than 9:40 pace

13-18, no faster than 9:30 pace

19-24, no faster than 9:20 pace

24-26.2 sub 9:20 pace

Miles 1-6: Started out with the 4:30 group and ran with them for the first mile before I realized that maybe they were a bit slower than I wanted to be running (~10:11 pace), but I concentrated on not running faster than 9:50. The first miles were uneventful, still had to pee something fierce but every Po'P station had a line at least 6 people long.. ugh. I suffered through thinking that either I could ignore it or it would go away. Unfortunately, I think the hydration belt was making the issue worse.

Mile 1: 10:11

Mile 2:  9:53

Mile 3: 9:36

Mile 4: 9:50

Mile 5: 9:46

Mile 6: 9:51

Miles 7-12: I decided somewhere in the first 6 miles to start taking my hydration on the odd mile numbers so that I could concentrate on getting through the aid stations rather quickly (usually the even miles) and I could drink at my leisure instead of worry about being tripped or trampled. I followed this for the rest of the race- and it worked well for me. I also took 1/3 of my first gu's at mile 6 or so. I basically started taking 1/4 to 1/3 of a gu every 3 or 4 miles for the rest of the race (placing it back into the belt for continued consumption). I think I only had two gu's total. Was feeling great and was pretty pleased with my pace thus far, even though it was feeling really slow. The goal for 7-12 was no faster than 9:40 pace and I stuck to the plan pretty well.

Mile 7: 9:39

Mile 8: 9:42

Mile 9: 9:41

Mile 10: 9:32 (too fast!)

Mile 11: 9:35

Mile 12: 9:38

Miles 13-18: I remember going through the half and thinking 'really? 13 already?'. That was a nice feeling. I still had to pee, but the lines were not getting any shorter, so I continued the mental game of ignoring it. However, the hydration belt was starting to feel like it was bruising my lower stomach.. not really painful, but irritating. But overall, still cruising along and feeling good. No, I am going to say great.. I was feeling good at the start, but nervous. After the half, I started to smile more and I had a lot more confidence.. I was actually running another marathon and I felt awesome! The goal for 13-18 was no faster than 9:30 pace.

Mile 13: 9:44 (oops- I think maybe I was running with someone here and didn't realize they were running a bit slower than I wanted to be running, maybe I lost concentration a bit too)

Mile 14: 9:37

Mile 15: 9:38

Mile 16: 9:32

Mile 17: 9:28

Mile 18: 9:27

Miles 19-24: Miles 17, 18 and 19 were all fairly easy and I was starting to feel like I was actually having to hold back a bit. I knew I still had a 10 km after 20 miles, but I was starting to feel like I really wanted to run fast (well at least faster). So, I made a deal with myself near mile 17- I said okay, 3 more miles near 9:20 pace, hit the 20 mile marker, re-assess, and if all systems go- then go. Just shy of mile 19 I saw the 4:15 pace group and made it my goal to catch them before the 20 mile marker. I slowly reeled them in and managed to pass the pacers for that group just before the marker. That was a boost. I was feeling really really good at mile 20. When I ran Chicago back in 2001, the last 6 miles were the fastest of the entire race and I felt great finishing. I was trying to do the stats in my head to try to figure out if I could beat my last marathon time of 4:05, it was fuzzy math since I didn't have my splits in my head, nor did I know how far off I was from the official time clock since I had started pretty far back in the pack. So, I just decided to drop it in gear and run. So, I sort of threw the plan for 19-24 (no faster than 9:20 pace ) out the window.

Mile 19: 9:24

Mile 20: 9:18

Mile 21: 9:21

Mile 22: 9:01

Mile 23: 9:05

Mile 24: 9:08

Miles 25- 26.2: Last two miles! I was actually feeling sad that it was about to be over. I was also feeling a bit guilty that I was having such a blast and passing people left and right when others were not looking so good. Yep, I started out WAY too slow. Oh-well.. I decided there would be more marathons in my near future. I started to look for the hubby who said he would be cheering near the finish. I didn't actually see him until just after mile 26 and he got a fuzzy video of me running through the frame (he was not looking through the camera and I guess he didn't expect me to be running as quickly as I was- he later said "you looked like you were just finishing a little jaunt, while others were finishing a death march"). I smiled and waved for the camera and again picked it up a notch as I neared the finish. Just before the first turn (there are two short left turns before the chute), I started a sprint and passed a few more people. I think I heard a spectator say ' Wow, she's got some speed!' , and I remember thinking 'hahaha.. not really'. But as I was sprinting hard down towards the finishing chute, I saw that there was this little old lady wheezing and running as hard as she could in front of me and I just couldn't pass her in the last 20 feet of the race (I thought that would be so uncool of me), so I slowed down and finished right behind her.. I hope I am still running at her age.

Mile 25: 8:51

Mile 26: 8:39

Mile .26 (by garmin): 8:17 ( my sprint was actually a ~5:10 pace sprint over ~200 m- I guess I may still have a little speed in these fat old legs!)

Stats from Garmin:

Total elapsed time: 4:09:32

Average moving pace for marathon: 9:27 

Average heart rate: 155

*Heart rate was really low for me until maybe the last two miles. It was no where near my usual heart rate during training runs at home.

 Post-race: I was sad to be done. I grabbed some water and walked to get my sweat bag. I had no problems walking and I remembered thinking that I could easily have run another 10 miles.. I felt great- definitely still had to pee though. I got my bag and found the hubby and we quickly walked up to the hotel room, where I showered and the hubby called his brother to come and pick us up. When we got to the in-laws, I had some coffee (excellent), more water, and many hours later some vino (also excellent). I stretched numerous times even though my legs felt fine (like 100%). My hips and stomach were a bit sore/ bruised from the hydration belt- but that was pretty much the only soreness I had. It was a great day.

4.6 miles in ~9:41 avg pace.

My plan after the marathon was not to run for two weeks. However, I had basically no soreness what-so-ever the week after the marathon, so sticking to this plan was somewhat difficult. Two days after the marathon (and still no stiffness or soreness to speak of), I decided that maybe a week off would be sufficient. We were on vacation anyways, so it sort of made sense. We spent a few days with family in Sacramento and then borrowed their truck and drove over to Napa Valley. The valley is really very pretty. We stayed in Calistoga at the Calistoga Inn, which had a great deal during the off-season. The quaint turn of the century inn had a nice restaurant and a bar downstairs- so we mostly walked around town, sampled some of the local cuisine, and retired early to read in bed (it was delightful). We then drove over to the coast and stopped in Mendocino. Since I'm somewhat obsessed with Victorian era anything, we stayed at the Mendocino Hotel and it was gorgeous. We again did a whole lot of nothing, walked along the headlands, walked around town, sampled the local cuisine, and hung out in the beautiful Victorian bar downstairs (stained glass ceiling, beautiful solid wood bar, and tall plush velvet chairs). I also had the best martini ever at this bar. It was perfect, just a whiff of vermouth

However, I was feeling a bit cooped up and decided that Saturday would be the day to start running again. Not exactly a week, but close. Plus, the headlands were so beautiful that I felt I would be missing out on a life experience if I did not run in them. So, I ran and it felt good!

3.3 miles in ~10:24 avg pace

I had planned a longer run for the morning, but we were in San Francisco for the week for the annual American Geophysical Union meeting. I did not investigate any routes prior to jogging out the hotel doors at o'dark hundred (6am), and needless to say this was a bit of an 'oops' on my part. I've stayed in San Fran numerous times (usually for the AGU meeting), but I still don't have a clear map of the city laid out in my head, or at least I usually don't on the first day. I love San Francisco, but like most big cities there are certain parts that I wouldn't say are dangerous, but a bit sketchy. Anyways, I started out heading a certain direction, but would inevitably decide that maybe that was looking a bit sketchy, so I would turn, run on that road for awhile, then turn again. I finally realized that since I didn't have a clear map of the city in my head, I couldn't keep doing this or else I would get seriously lost (or into a section of town that I did not care to be in). So, I finally took a street that headed back to Union square and finished up a little over 3 miles. While it was nice to see the city and kind of fun to run willy-nilly around, I went directly to the concierge and asked if they had any good running route suggestions or possibly even a map. They did- they are a nice 5 mile or longer route that followed the embarcadero.. excellent.

 Also, running in a city with stop lights that seemed to stop me at every block was annoying and the Garmin was having a very difficult time locating in the city.

5 miles in ~ 9:08 avg pace.

 The garmin was still having a difficult time locating, but the run in San Francisco this morning was much more pleasant once I hit the embarcadero (section near the piers and without stop lights- yay!). It was a nice run on a somewhat foggy morning. 

~5.35 in 9:00 avg pace in San Francisco

Another nice morning run along the embarcadero.

I gave my poster this morning and basically talked to colleagues and researchers for 4 hours straight. I got some really good feedback on some recent research that I've been doing, met a couple new people, and made a few good networking connections. I'm not a big fan of the schmoozing at conferences, but I guess it's somewhat necessary, especially if you are looking for a post-doc (like me!). After the poster session we met up with friends for lunch and decided to bail on the rest of the conference for the day. We tried to go thrift store shopping but everything was way over priced and not really all that exciting. I think I'm spoiled living near Boulder- you can find essentially brand new stuff at the stores for reasonable prices.

I decided to take a nap before dinner because I had a bit of a headache and was feeling like maybe a sore throat was coming on, although I also thought it might just be from all the talking I did at my poster session. I never take naps, but I was out cold for at least an hour. The hubby had to actually wake me up when it was time to meet our friends and his brothers for dinner (one of his brothers is also a geologist and in town for the meeting and the other one from sacramento came over for the evening). A late night of socializing ensued.

Arrived back in CO with a nasty chest and head cold on Saturday night. Didn't do much but laundry and cleaning on Sunday, went to face the hundreds of emails and to-do items at work on Monday, but crashed later that evening. I was sick. Stayed home sick today and tried to sleep in, but the cough wouldn't allow that. 

Did a little work and then attempted a short 2 mile run with the pup. Not acclimated at all and coughing up a lung, it was probably silly of me to even attempt it, but I felt guilty that the pup hadn't gotten much exercise while we were gone (our friend house/puppy/kitty sat for us, but he said he didn't get him out very much). Anyways, we started out on one of our favorite trails and immediately the pup took off. However, he only went 50 meters and then stopped suddenly and lifted his paw up- turned around and looked at me as if to say 'ouch'.  He turned around and started to trot again, but was limping pretty badly. Yesterday, when we were out playing fetch, he stumbled at one point and when he brought the stick back he lifted his paw and gave me the 'i hurt myself look', but he wasn't limping last night and seemed okay. I didn't want to push him and since I wasn't feeling well, we turned around and headed home. I took him in to the vet and it looks like he's jammed his toe. Probably not broken, but it's definitely black and blue and he acted like it really hurt when the vet was handling that part of his paw. So- he's on some doggie IBUprofen and under orders to take it easy for a couple weeks (no running, no playing fetch, and probably no rough-housing with his puppy friends).

 I rode the bike for an hour after we got home. It was probably for the best. I kept the tissue beside me and blew my nose every 5 mins. Ugh. Being sick is no fun, but at least I made it through finishing the dissertation, two conferences, and a marathon before getting sick.

4 miles in 9:07 avg pace on Boulder Canyon trail. 

Feeling much better today. Attempted to work on my form a bit. I have a very lazy form, my knees don't come up very high and I have almost no kick- in most pictures it almost looks like I am speed walking.. pathetic and ugly! I think I have a much different form when I sprint though, it's almost like I have two modes.. fast or slow and they have totally different running forms. My dad says that when I was young I always used my 'sprinters' form even when I ran longer distances, but this changed when I got into high school. He swears that once I started being coached by the high school coach that my whole running form changed and I didn't stand as tall, I slouched a bit more, I didn't used the full range of leg motion- i.e., the speed walking form. He said it was like I just started to run conservatively all the time. I don't know if this is true or not- but I've definitely noticed that I don't have good form and that I would probably benefit from some improvement in technique.

The usual 3 mile loop in ~10:33 avg pace.

Ran with the hubby this afternoon. He did really well and almost ran the entire loop. He mentally breaks down on one of the really long steep uphills at the end of the run and sometimes stops to walk for a bit.  My lungs are getting better, only had a few coughing fits last night and they felt okay on the run. The roads are super icy with only the south facing sections relatively free of ice. Wore the Kahtoola microspikes and didn't have any trouble.

The usual 3 mile loop x2 in 10:44 avg pace.

Beautiful crisp morning for a run. Enjoyed watching the mountains turn from pink to white in a crystal clear sky. I didn't see one car or any other people and enjoyed the company of singing birds and a lone fox.  The roads are still icy, so I wore the microspikes and the crunch, crunch, crunch sound was very satisfying. Excellent way to start a holiday.

12.10 mi in 9:06 avg pace.

Avg heart rate 166.

Starting to feel a little more acclimated. Outside and back of right knee was feeling odd during some sections of the run this afternoon. After I finished the run and was walking back to my office, there was definitely some pain and I was almost limping. It's still a bit painful to apply pressure on the outer sections of the knee- I think ice, stretching, and foam rolling are in order for the evening. If I can't get this sorted in the next few days, I suppose I should call the PT again. Sigh.

No running today. Right knee is still not happy and actually more tender to the touch today than it was yesterday. More ice, stretching, and foam roller.

Usual 3 mile loop x2 in probably ~10:40 pace (left my garmin charger and USB connector at work.. big oops for the upcoming weekend).

It's FINALLY snowing here.. I can only hope we get the ~14" they were predicting. It's been the driest December in awhile and we will really need the water come spring. Now, hopefully it doesn't warm up and melt away before I can get some turns in. 

 I wore the microspikes and had no problems with the knee. I stretched and foam rolled when I got home. So far, so good.