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California International Marathon

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Location:

Portland,OR,

Member Since:

Nov 02, 2005

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

5K: 15:41-Portland Track Festival 2010

10K: 31:34-Linfield College (Track) 2012

10 Mile: 51:57-Pear Blossom 2009

1/2 Marathon: 1:10:42-Foot Traffic Flat 2010

Marathon: 2:29:35-Newport 2013

50K: 3:48:06-Weiser River 50K 2021

Short-Term Running Goals:

Next Race:

12-hour race, sometime in 2021

100 mile race, sometime...

Long-Term Running Goals:

Sub 1:10 Half Marathon

Sub 2:30 Marathon

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Total Distance
102.00
Total Distance
0.00

Nothing.  My lower abs/groin really started really bothering me yesterday.  Spotrts hernia?  Hope not...  Talk about timing!

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Total Distance
5.00

Albertsons and St. Mary's loop, plus church extension.  Felt okay.  Every part of my body feels great and absolutely rested and ready to race, except for my lower abs/groin.  It didn't feel worse, but it didn't feel better either.  We'll see...

White (186)

Comments(2)
Total Distance
5.00

My run wasn't anything special, and to be honest, quite discouraging.  I ran 5 miles and felt discomfort the whole way.  It wasn't so bad that I wanted to quit or slow down, but it didn't feel good.  The 'issue' had spread from mainly just my right side to both sides of my lower abs/groin.  My first 2 miles were easy to St. Mary's and then I ran 2 miles on the track in 5:38 ad 5:34.  It didn't hurt any worse than the slower pace, so I guess that's comforting.  I'm just not looking forward to running with that discomfort for 26 miles....

Type A (79)

So I just got back from the chiro and I feel GREAT!  Looks like it wasn't a sports hernia, but just a really really tight hip that had put strain on my groin/lower abs.  The guy loosened things up for just under 1 hour and now that he's finished I feel nearly 100%.  Hopefully things stay that way....

Comments(2)
Total Distance
2.00

I wanted to see how I'd feel after yesterday's chiro appointment.  Only went 2 miles at a very leisure pace but the result was great.  Basically no pain and only a little soreness.  

Adidas (271)

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Race: California International Marathon (26.2 Miles) 02:35:47, Place overall: 31, Place in age division: 12
Total Distance
27.00

Sweet! 3rd marathon in the books and a 9 minute PR. More to follow...

I couldn't be happier with my experience at the California International Marathon.  The days leading up to the race were a little worrisome as my right hip and lower abs were in some serious pain but 2 trips to the chiropractor helped tremendously.  I'm not sure if it was related to the chiro visits, but my right quad was extremely tender to the touch Friday and even more so on Saturday.  I iced my leg before and after the expo Saturday morning and worked it over with a stick throughout the day.  Even Sunday morning it still hurt to touch, so I wasn't sure how it was going to hold up over 26 miles.  I took 4 ibuprofen with each meal, as well as 4 before the race and that seemed to help.

We loaded the bus at 5 and rode to Folsom to wait for the start.  I'm always nervous before a race, even if it's a simple 5K, but for some reason I wasn't this time.  I think it was because of my low expectations.  When I signed up for this race I had been running low miles and very inconsistently due to a move, new job and our first child.  I figured I would just enjoy the experience and simply run for fun regardless of finishing time.  As my weekly mileage grew each week leading up to the race, so did my confidence.  I began to think that I had the ability to run a PR given the right conditions.  But then leg issues arose in the final 5 days of my taper and my thoughts were back to simply enjoying/surviving the race.

The temperature at the start was perfect: 42 and no wind.  I tossed my warmer clothing in the truck and gathered near the starting line.  I stayed 5-6 rows back to avoid going out too quickly, but after the gun went off and we were about through the first mile, I was surrounded my far too many women and old men (nothing wrong with that, just probably not the pack I wanted to be running with).  I didn't have my Garmin, so I asked a lady next to me what our pace was shocked when she said "6:58"  I knew I had gone out easy but I was shooting for 6:15-6:20 pace, not 7:00!  I quickly picked up the pace but still only managed a 6:45 first mile.  Woops!  I thought it was pretty funny, but at the same time, it concerned me that a comfortable pace was so slow. 

From mile 1 to the finish the routine was the same; shoot for 6:00/mile or better, slowly pick off the people ahead of me and don't slow down on the uphill.  I really do think that I'm a strong hill runner, even more so since moving to Medford.  While the overall course drops 300 ft from start to finish, it's filled with rolling hills from 1 to 20.  A frequent pattern was drop 50 ft over 400 meters then immediately climb 40-45 ft, crest the hill and drop some more.  I can think of only 1 downhill that was steep (around mile 6) and the rest were very gradual with gradual uphill immediately following.  Again, overall it's a net drop in elevation, but with so many up hills mixed in, I feel that it's an extremely honest course overall.

I took some Gu at mile 8, went through mile 10 miles in 1:00:53 (6:05 pace) and through 13.1 in 1:19:08 (6:05 pace).  I was the 62nd male to cross the halfway point and I felt completely fresh.  My next 10 miles were all under 6:00/mile except for mile 17 when I ate my 2nd Gu and lost 36 seconds on a bathroom stop and ran a 6:15.  After 20 miles my total time was 1:59:27 (5:58 pace) and my 2nd 10 miles were ran in 58:34 (5:51 pace).  It was disappointing to loose some time on a bathroom stop, but I had held it for 3 miles and figured I would feel better if I simply lost some time and ran more comfortable afterwards.

It was a huge confidence booster to see that I was under 2 hours at 20 miles and that I had a shot at sub-6:00 pace.  Thankfully I still felt great and was able to run the next 3 miles in 5:46, 5:44, and 5:42.  I gained more and more confidence as I passed others who seemed to be hitting the wall and I still felt great.  Both of my calves were getting tight but I knew they could handle less than 20 more minutes, at least that's what I kept telling myself.

For me the final 3 miles were by far the hardest, as to be expected, but I was able to continue to pick off other runners, including the 3rd and 2nd place female competitors.  The course was pancake flat at this point as we ran into the downtown to the state capital.  I took a 3rd Gu after 23 and ran a 5:56, followed by 6:00 at 25.  The last mile was entirely straight and I could see just 1 person in front of me, at least 600 meters ahead.  It was great because although far off, it gave me something to focus on and I pushed as hard as I could go to pass just 1 more runner.  My legs wobbled some and it was the nearest I've come to falling down due to complete depletion but I maintained and was able to pass him at 26.17 miles, thanks largely to tremendous crowd support.

So that's it.  I was able to run the 2nd half in 1:16:39 (5:51 pace) which was 2:29 faster than the first 13.1.  I was able to pass 31 people during the final 13.1 miles and managed to not get passed once!  The course was awesome, the weather was perfect, and physically I couldn't have felt better.  Cytomax isn't pleasant but everything else about the race is top-notch.  One thing I loved was that at every mile marker 1 person called out your total time and another person called out your average pace up to that point.  So for me it was a huge confidence builder to hear '6:10' and '6:05' during the first few miles, '6:02' and 6:01' around mile 13 and '5:58-5:57' around mile 21 and 22.  It helped to have vocal confirmation that my pace was quickening throughout the race.  Good stuff...

My 3rd marathon and I was able to run a PR, 9 minutes faster than my first marathon in SG 2007.  My lifetime goal was to run a 2:36:59 or better so I'm not sure where to go from here.  I don't want to train any more than I've done leading up to this race.  For me, anything over 60-65 miles per week is a no-go because it cuts too much into family time.  I guess I've got some time to think about it; the rest of this year is going to include very little running and much needed rest.

 

 

Mile Split Total Time
1 6:45 6:45
2 6:03 12:48
3 6:05 18:53
4 5:52 24:45
5 6:05 30:50
6 6:15 37:05
7 5:59 43:04
8 6:01 49:06
9 6:01 55:07
10 5:46 1:00:53
11 5:52 1:06:45
12 5:57 1:12:42
13 5:48 1:18:30
13.1   1:19:08
14 5:54 1:24:24
15 5:54 1:30:18
16 5:44 1:36:02
17 6:16 1:42:18
18 5:41 1:47:59
19 5:40 1:53:39
20 5:47 1:59:27
21 5:47 2:05:14
22 5:44 2:10:58
23 5:42 2:16:40
24 5:56 2:22:36
25 6:00 2:28:36
26 5:58 2:34:34
.2 1:13 2:35:47

 Type A (106)

Comments(12)
Total Distance
2.00

2 miles on the treadmill.  It was unpleasant to walk through Wednesday, but I'm doing better now.  I'll try and run a few more Saturday.

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Total Distance
2.00

2 more miles on the treadmill.  My legs are nowhere near 100%.

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Total Distance
2.00

2 miles after returning from Portland.  I thought my legs would be ready to run again but their not.  I'll keep stretching and someday they'll loosen up...

Adidas (273)

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Total Distance
3.00

3 miles on the treadmill.  Legs are starting to come around.  I'm not going to increase the miles quicker than I need to but mentally I'm ready to go!  A few more easy days this week and then maybe next week I'll be back to 100%.

White (189)

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Total Distance
4.00

2 miles outside and 2 more on the treadmill.  I'm feeling better but I'll continue to take it easy through the rest of this week.

Adidas (277)

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Total Distance
5.00

Easy run on a brisk Saturday morning.  I ran the St. Mary's and Albertsons loop plus 3 loops around our house and felt pretty good the entire time.

White (194)

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Total Distance
2.00

2 miles around Albertsons.  Pretty weak, but the roads were very icy and that slowed me down enough that I wasn't gaining any benefit from being outside.  Maybe I'll have to run at night throughout the winter if this becomes a habit.

Adidas (279)

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Total Distance
3.00

The best I've felt in 2 weeks and ice wasn't covering the roads so it made for a good run.

White (197)

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Total Distance
4.00

4 easy miles on the treadmill.  Medford got snow last night and it's still coming down this morning.  Strange weather this year, especially in Portland.

Adidas (283)

Comments(2)
Total Distance
4.00

4 miles on the treadmill.  Maybe I don't like living in Medford, at least during the winter.  It seems like every morning there is a thin layer of ice that I don't feel comfortable running on so I resort to the dreaded treadmill.  4 miles is all I can take before I feel like I'm going to faint from overheating and overall boredom.  Anyway, I survived.

White (201)

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Total Distance
5.00

I waited until the roads were cleared up and went for my longest run since the marathon--a whole 5 miles!  I ran my favorite loop in Medford that took me up Foothill Drive, around the golf course, then home.  Felt good.

Adidas (288)

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Total Distance
6.00

Same loop as yesterday, plus 1 more mile with the dog.  Felt great and wanted to do more but felt I should continue to ease into things.

White (207)

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Total Distance
5.00

Same loop as the last few days.  It's the right distance, plenty of sidewalk/shoulder and has a good mix of hills throughout.  Wanted to go more but had to make it back home so I could take my wife to lunch.  Is it strange to drive 6 hours round-trip just to eat In-N-Out burger?

Adidas (293)

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Total Distance
7.00

I ran past Home Depot along North Phoenix Highway, through the intersection and to the storage sheds.  Felt really good and pushed the pace on the return home.  I'll try and keep it around 5-7 each day this week and pick things back up after the start of the year.

Adidas (300)

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Total Distance
9.00

Pretty nice run this morning.  I ran west on Barnett and then south on the bike path to Phoenix.  From there it was over the freeway and north past Home Depot and home.  I tried to keep things smooth and easy while I listened to Boxcar Racer and AFI.  Fun stuff.

White (216)

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Total Distance
102.00
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