CIM Race Recap - Epic way to end the season!

4 years ago, I ran my first marathon.  It rained, I cried, I walked, I got separated from my running buddies, I wanted to stop.  At mile 19, I decided that running a marathon was the stupidest decision I had ever made.  I vowed that I was one and done.  My goal was to finish in under 5 hours, which I did (in 4 hours and 30 minutes)…checked off the bucket list.  Well, I ran a second one later that year.  Slower time, piss poor training plan and race preparation, but I finished.  I planned to run another marathon the next year, but life got in the way, and 3 years passed with no marathon.

But in March of this year, inspired by fellow FNSers who had already signed up, I decided to take another bite at the apple and signed up for the CIM marathon from Folsom to Sacramento.  When I signed up, I had no idea how my first year racing triathlons would go and had no idea that I would have a tri coach.  But I knew that I would be in far better shape than I had ever been, and I had my sights set on not just a PR, but on breaking the 4 hour barrier.

Tri season ended on September 29, leaving me 10 weeks of marathon specific training.  This time, my training plan was wholly in my coach’s hands.  And boy does he know what he’s doing!  I continued to get my training schedule each Sunday, with one day of swimming, 2 biking, and 3-4 running, depending on the week.  Since my training occurred during the triathlon off season, Tuesday track sessions were on a hiatus…which meant that I had to turn to the dreadmill for my speedwork.  Instead of suffering through each session, I started to look forward to my weekly treadmill dates.  

As the weeks went by, the sessions got tougher, but they felt easier each week.  For my long runs on the weekend, instead of running a specified number of miles, I would have a set time to run.  And those long runs were usually on hills…not just a small hill here or there, but serious hills – like 3600 ft. of elevation gain hills!!!  The weeks went by, and my legs kept feeling stronger and stronger.  I became more and more excited for marathon day, and I just felt ready!  I did my best to keep up with trigger pointing, taking ice baths (torture) and took my Proanox Biogenesis every day.  Throughout the training process, I felt awesome, recovered quickly, and definitely got the most out of every workout!

Shake out run and the expo.

Pre-Race sushi feast, and the aptly named (but not at all running related) pre-race movie

Race day arrived on Sunday, December 8.  The warm weather finally snapped and we were treated to a freezing (literally) 30 degree start temperature.  It was so cold that the ground beneath the water tables at the start were covered in ice from the water that spilled!!!   

Oh so cold, Oh so dark!!!

At 7am, the gun went off, and there was no turning back.  I talked to Coach on Friday who laid out my pacing strategy.  I was aiming for a 3:45:00 time, so my goal was to stick with 9 minute miles for the first 10k, then drop the pace from there, really pushing the pace at 20 miles, and leaving everything out there for the last 5k. 

With that strategy, I lined up with the 4 hour pace group in order to keep myself from going out too fast.  The first 5 miles of the course are a bit more rural, with tons of trees lining open fields. It was absolutely gorgeous.  The grass was covered in frost, and trees were crusted in white.  This also meant that there was black ice all over the road, but the race organizers were on top of things and had all of the black ice marked with orange cones…thank goodness!  At about mile 2, I was so happy to be running that I started to choke up!  I’m not a very sappy gal, but something about this run, on this day made me just so thankful.  And I’m pretty sure that I had a smile pasted on my face for the majority of the race :)

During those first few miles, I felt great but had to make sure to pull myself back a number of times to stay on pace.  I knew “coach knows best” and I absolutely trusted his race plan, so I tried to stick as close to it as possible.  The miles clicked by, and I was happy to see that I hit the first 10k with an 8:56/mile average. 

Other runners were definitely entertained by my mom's cowbell action!

I am so incredibly lucky to have supportive parents, and both my mom and dad traveled to NorCal for the race.  Their plan was to cheer at miles 10 and 20 so that they would have enough time to get between their viewing points to make sure that they didn’t miss me.  After passing mile 6, I just counted down 4 more miles till I saw my parents.  I made one pit stop behind the bushes to pee (no GI issues thankfully, just a full bladder), but got right back on track.  At mile 10, my mom had her cowbell ringing like crazy, I handed off my long sleeved shirt, got a huge smile on my face, and just kept trucking along.

Successful water bottle hand off at mile 20- #womenarenotsmallmen, Powered by Osmo Nutrition

The miles seemed to speed by, my pace got faster, my music was perfect.  I snacked on Gu gels every 35-45 minutes, going though 6 packets in total (Salted Caramel, Mint Chocolate and Chocolate Outrage...yummy in my tummy!)  I also decided to carry my fluids - Osmo Active Hydration Women's Formula...superb decision.  I finished one bottle in the first 20 miles, then traded bottles with my mom at mile 20 and finished about 1/2 of the second bottle.  My nutrition definitely felt spot on - no GI issues, and I never felt my energy drop.

Knowing where my parents would be was key and broke up the miles perfectly.  After seeing them at mile 10, the ½ way point came quickly, and then it was just 7 miles till I saw them again!  As my pace dropped, I kept doing mental math (not the easiest thing without paper, and after hours of running), trying to calculate if a Boston Qualifier would be possible.  My realistic goal time was 3:45.00, but I secretly had the goal of eeking out a BQ time.  For me that would mean running 3:35:00 or better (hitting a PR of almost an hour).  As I got to mile 20, I knew that wouldn’t be possible, BUT I was pretty confident that I would at least hit 3:45:00.

The hardest mile was the last – knowing you’re almost there is just so tough!!!  My mantra became “the faster you run, the sooner you’re done!”  With just under a mile left, you hit the numbered streets in Sacramento.  I noticed that I was at 21^st street…and had to run all the way to 8^th street before I could turn left into the finishing chute at the capitol.  Unlike the mile markers along the course which seemed to come out of nowhere, it felt like FOREVER to get through each block!

But I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, and before I knew it, I passed right under the time clock, was wrapped in my foil blanket, and my third marathon finisher’s medal was placed around my neck.  I was absolutely floored with my time of 3:42:06…a 48 minute PR!  While I didn’t hit my secret goal of qualifying for Boston, that has now secured a legitimate and attainable goal on my to-do list!

NEGATIVE SPLIT BABY!

Freezing but so so happy!

I got to celebrate the epic run with brunch at Red Rabbit in Sactown with my parents, my brother/SIL/nephews, and long time family friends.  Couldn’t ask for a better way to end the day.

I couldn’t have run this race without the constant support and amazing training plans from Coach Muddy.  I knew that I was in good hands throughout the tri season, but this was just icing on the cake.  He beyond knows what he’s doing, but it’s his support, encouragement, and belief in his athletes that truly make results like this possible.

And with all that I have put my body through during this training period, there’s no way I could have absorbed all of this training and gotten the most out of my training plan without Proanox Biogenesis.  I never felt residual soreness after a workout, and definitely felt like I was able to reach deeper during each training session, and especially during the race.  If you are training for ANY type of endurance event, you should ABSOLUTELY give Biogenesis a shot…I promise your body will thank you!

Up next is a 3 week off season before training starts for Oceanside 70.3 (and my first round of P90X3!!!).  But if you know me, you know that I can’t just rest on my laurels ;)  Since I’m forbidden from strenuous training for the next few weeks, I’m taking advantage of the next 21 days and starting the Beachbody Ultimate Reset to get lean and mean before 2014.  Stay tuned for my UR journey!