The tradition lives on, even if things were a little bit different this year. One thing is for sure, there is no lack of “activity” for me or for my family the first weekend in December. Buckle in and grab a snack. If you like reading race reports, you are in the right place. If you don’t, you are probably way younger than I am! 🙂
The craziness starts with Friday and the California International Marathon (CIM) Expo and packet pickup in downtown Sacramento. For the first time in a very long time, Vans came with me.
The whole packet pickup process at CIM is super easy. They have kept the “airport line” method from 2021 which actually runs super seamless. Within a few minutes, I had my race bib, my race shirt and was checking out the expo.
After the expo, we hit up Pushkins Bakery (another tradition) for a gluten free vegan sandwich and headed back home.
Friday night we had basketball practice and then bright and early on Saturday morning, I left for Auburn for the Western State 100 Mile Lottery draw.
Despite having 16 tickets in the lottery, my name was not pulled this year but it was fun to watch friends get called and to hang out with S and C who were also there. Fingers crossed for next year!
With the new electronic name pull for Western States this year, the lottery moved pretty quickly and I was able to jet out of Auburn and head to Rocklin to catch game 2 of Squeaker’s basketball tournament.
The rest of the day was spent prepping for CIM the next morning.
I woke up at 4 am (more like 3:30 since I just could not stay asleep) and got ready with the help of my furry friend Jersey the cat. Both cats were actually quite interested in me being up that early. 🙂
I ate my usual breakfast of Picky Bars Can’t Beet Chocolate Oatmeal and a cup of coffee then sat with my legs up the wall.
I was not alone though ….
My other cat was keeping me company and wondering just what the heck I was doing!
Soon 5:30 rolled around and Vans was up (without me having to tell him!) and we were on our way to the race start.
For the last few years I have hitched a ride with TiggerT to the start but she decided not to run the race. Time for a new tradition!
Vans dropped me off at our usual spot and I stopped to use the bathroom and ran into Hassan who I see almost every year at this bathroom so it sort of felt like “old times” seeing him and getting a joyous “Hello!”
I quickly hopped the bus to stay dry and keep warm. It was misty and drizzly at the start but not really too cold (it has been way colder in past years).
Once the bus dropped us off, I made my way to what I thought was the shortest porta potty line. Some traditions never stop.
I had almost an hour before the race was going to start so I listened to the race announcements and tried to keep warm doing some activation exercises. I was also figuring out where I wanted to start.
Soon it was time to line up with 9,000 of my closest friends. I was actually quite a bit nervous this year mostly because I had not fully trained. The farthest I had run before lining up at the start was 15 miles the month before. Last year I actually trained for CIM and like a lot of runners, race week this year I started feeling all kinds of aches and pains which did not help calm my nerves.
I decided to just go with the flow and run conservatively. I had no real game plan other than I wanted to finish at a decent time (not race time, more like time of day) because my soccer team was down in Modesto playing game 1 of their State Cup game. I was SO bummed to miss watching these girls play in their first game but if they won, they were guaranteed a game 2 and I wanted to be there.
Promptly at 7 am the race started and I was moving. I felt pretty good and decided not to shed my layers just yet because I usually am still cold once we make the turn onto Oak Street.
I decided to run this year in my Rabbit Smashems because they have a lot of storage space to hold things. In hind sight and proven by my race photos, they are not the most flattering shorts when they are filled with all kinds of stuff. 🙂 They ARE quite useful though as they held ALL of my fuel which consisted of Unived Drink Mix and Spring Energy Gels as well as my ID and a credit card. I carried my phone in my left hand and my water bottle in my right.
Once I passed the timing mat, it felt like those 9,000 “friends” were just flying right by me but I paid them no mind and just kept doing my own thing …. which turned out to be running quite a bit faster than I planned on. My first mile clocked in at 8:15! Ooops. Miles 2 through 6 were all about 8:30 so I was moving (for me).
Some where in these early miles I ran into Mark who like me, is a glutton for punishment and tradition and runs this race every year no matter what. We chatted for a bit and then he was off.
At mile 6.5 I saw an open porta potty and decided to take it. The porta potty situation at CIM this year was perfect! I really try not to stop if I can manage, but I really needed to and since it was open, I was in and out in no time. After that, I still hovered around the 8:30 minute per mile range
After Mark, I ran into Maren who I used to work with. We ran and chatted for a bit. This was her first CIM and she looked amazing. I told her to just keep breathing. She was looking forward to seeing her family at mile 16.
I was still feeling pretty good for the most part but my pace by mile 13 had slowed to about a 9 minute mile and I was having a weird stomach issue that made me want to stop and use the porta potties again. I went back and forth mentally as to whether I really needed to when I came upon a set at mile 15.5 and saw Miss P in line and took that as a sign to stop too. I reminded myself that I was running faster than I had intended to. I only waited maybe 30 to 45 seconds before one opened and I was in and out.
From 15.5 on I slowed considerably and was between a 9 and a 9:30 mile which was fine. I was (crazy enough) still on track for close to a sub 4 hour marathon which was NOT my goal but once that thought settled in my brain, I could not let it go.
At mile 21 I let myself check my phone and received some texts from Vans on the game status. At mile 22, I really started to fade. The sun had come out early in the race and it was HOT. I saw people dropping like flies on the side trying to stretch out cramps or just walk. I became one of them. I never stopped, I kept moving but my legs were feeling super heavy and they also felt like they might cramp. I took two salt tablets during those final miles.
Around 22/23 I thought I heard my name and I looked over and saw my neighbor waving. That gave me a nice boost.
One thing that was bizarre to me, was the fact that during 26.2 miles, I never heard one Bon Jovi song! This was my 13th CIM (15th if you count the years I ran the relay) and I have always heard Bon Jovi being blasted on course. Ah well.
The final two miles to finish always seem like the LONGEST two miles of any race but I do love the crowds cheering and the guy dressed like Jesus with “The End is Near” sign. Cracks me up every year.
I crossed the finish line in 4:11. Not my fastest CIM and not my slowest CIM. I am actually quite proud of that time considering my lack of training. I also thought it was great Ultra Running practice to get comfortable being uncomfortable because I was definitely uncomfortable those last four miles or so. 🙂
This was my 13th CIM and my 19th marathon and for the first time ever, I had no one at the finish line waiting for me.
So I walked about 5 blocks and called an Uber to come pick me up and take me home. By then, I had heard that the soccer team had won their first game at 11 am and were going to play again at 5 pm in Modesto and I was going to make sure I was there.
Super grateful that Uber now exists. I got home, showered, did some recovery stuff, ate and then drove 2 hours to Modesto to make it in time for game 2 of our State Cup. Unfortunately, the outcome was not what we had hoped for but I was glad that I made it. The girls were excited to tell me all about game 1 and asked how many miles I had run. 🙂
All in all, it was a successful CIM considering all the new changes. Recovery is going well and I am looking forward to getting back onto the dirt and trails soon.
Happy Trails Road Running!
~Trailmomma
RACE DETAILS
Shoes : Topo Athletic Phantoms
Clothes : Rabbit
Watch : Garmin
Fuel : Unived Drink Mix and Spring Energy Canaberry gels
Socks : Injinji
Breakfast : Picky Bars Oatmeal
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