Grumpy decided last December when our boss finished, that he too could do a marathon and so, I handed him a training plan and he did all the work.
Obligatory Race Expo Photo
This would be my 9th CIM to date and I was super excited to head to the Expo this year because I never claimed my 5 year anniversary Loyal Runner gift!
5 year pin and Travel Mug!
It was fun watching Grumpy wander the Expo. You could see his nervous energy as he zipped about. I have to say, he picked THE best CIM year to run as the swag this year was top notch! Well done SRA and CIM!
Best race swag year yet!
Seriously, that little waist pouch is the best thing ever. Super comfortable. Any other CIMers who don’t want theirs, let me know because this is one waist pack that doesn’t bounce (they all bounce). I even wore it IN the race without testing it out first. Huge fan.
Okay, back to the race.
Sunday morning came fast. Saturday evening, my family and I went to our town Christmas Tree Lighting. Probably spent a little too much time on my feet but it was worth it.
Sunday bright and early, my dear friend TiggerT picked me up and we were off. Love this tradition of riding with TiggerT. She always makes me laugh.
I met Grumpy at the Chevron station where I told him to go and we take the shuttle buses to the start. He seemed ready. He was dressed pretty warmly but it was chilly at the start.
I went with shorts, a tank top, a long sleeve and then my space-blanket from last year’s CIM to keep me warm at the start. Always keep your space blankets for another use.
Pre-Race Photo!
Grumpy said his ideal goal would be to finish in 5 hours. He wanted to start with the 4:30 pace group. I thought that was fine but I knew that we’d probably have to stop along the way and would lose the group eventually.
Grumpy ready to do this!
It took us 3 minutes from the gun to cross the timing mat. There were about 8,000 full marathon runners this year they said and another 7,000 participating in the relay. Incredible!
Another super cool bonus this year, was the National Anthem! This year they had Vince DiFiore from CAKE play the trumpet which was pretty kick ass. I love CAKE and they are locals and to have him play the national anthem, then have the gun go off and the start music be The Distance, was pretty freaking cool.
We ran with the 4:30 group until about miles 9 or 10 when we both decided that we had to stop and use the porta potties. That was the only downfall of the race. The porta potty lines were incredibly long throughout the race. There is one spot where I know they typically are not, but we couldn’t quite wait that long so we stopped. Like I suspected, we lost the 4:30 group and never really caught up to them.
Grumpy was doing great but he definitely slowed on the up hills. The down hills hurt his ankles. He’s battled a few aches and pains throughout his training, but he was moving and that was all that matter.
The miles really seemed to fly by in the beginning. I couldn’t believe it when we got to 6 and saw Not Chris, then it was the half way mark before we knew it. I saw lots of friends along the course which is always fun.
By the time we got to Watt Avenue (mile 19), I started texting our work crew that was waiting between miles 20 and 21. I also texted Vans to let him know that we were on our way. Mile 20, at Loehmans’ Plaza is always a huge huge aid-station and place of insanity.
I used the incentive that his friends were waiting for him with signs and good cheer to keep him moving.
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They cheered SO loud for him and had the funniest signs. Such a boost to have your own little cheering section just for you.
Surprisingly he didn’t stop, he wanted to keep moving. His IT band and achilles were really starting to flare up every couple of miles bringing us to a walk run type movement.
He kept apologizing but I told him to stop. He was doing awesome, he was moving and he was going to finish!
Mile 22 we came upon some race photographers. Such a fun photo spot too. I told him we HAD to run for the photos … so we ran. When we got near them, I jumped in the air (like in those old Toyota commercials) and the photographer yelled, “Great shot! How do you have all that energy?” About 5 runners turned and gave me the death stare! LOL Grumpy laughed, “They all hate you now.” .
I then texted our boss who lives in East Sac almost right on the course. I told him we were a few miles out. When we passed, he was out there cheering him on! Another boost for Grumpy!
Finally we were on L Street and making our way on the last two miles of the course. Still walking and running, he was gritting it out. Every so often we’d dance and sing to the music. Grumpy even encouraged a few runners along the way himself, “Come on! You got this!” We ran through a group of High School Cheerleaders and I yelled, “Come on! Cheer for Grumpy!” and they sure did! A whole little cheer just for him. 🙂
Vans and my girls were out there too!
Vans and my girls were at mile 20 and then again on L street cheering us on! Love my little cheerleaders!
The last .2 of the race right here.
If you can zoom in on the above photo, it is quite hilarious the difference between our facial expressions. I really pushed him that last half mile or so to run and not stop. He was hurting but there is SO much support that last section, so many people cheering that you just can’t stop, you don’t want to.
Finally we made the turn towards the finish. I reminded him that we have to finish separately. One shoot for women and one for men. I told him to run!!
And run he did and then, he became a marathoner! Just like that. 🙂
So proud of him for gritting through all the pain and finishing. We finished in 5 hours and 25 minutes so not his goal time, but I do believe he said that’ll give him something to shoot for NEXT YEAR!
Also a huge thank you and congrats to this guy, for always being out on the course cheering me on and waiting for me with two tired and hungry girls at the finish line from year to year.
Vans wins!
I do believe his favorite part of CIM is the beer garden. 🙂 Well earned dear, well earned.
Next year will be CIM number 10 for me!
Thank you SRA and CIM for putting on another stellar marathon event. Everything ran smoothly from my running perspective. 🙂
Clearly there is something about this race that keeps me coming back year after year. Last year I “raced it” meaning I set out to try and get a specific time. Boy did THAT hurt (I PR’d but didn’t reach my race goal).
This year, I just set my sights on pacing my boss to the finish-line of his first ever marathon.
Boss at the race expo.
Last year when I came into work after having run CIM, my boss said, “I want to run CIM next year. I want to run a marathon before I turn 50. Do you think I could do it?” I told him he could absolutely do it so long as he trained.
So, he trained. Every so often, Boss, SS (another running coworker) and I would run mid-week on our lunch hour. SS and I would give him some pointers or tips. Tell him stories of our first marathon etc. Boss would listen, take our advice and continue training.
Boss, Me and SS
Finally race morning arrived and I could feel his excitement. Sometimes you forget your first marathon and just how excited, nervous, anxious, freaked-out you are.
Right before the gun went off.
We made our way to the start line. I vowed to stick with him the whole race as I had no goals or objectives. I was out there to see him finish.
SS left us to go find a spot higher up in a faster group. We situated ourselves with the 4:00 hour pace group. I knew deep down Boss would love a four hour (even a sub four hour) finish time. I was okay with that, albeit a bit nervous having not run much on pavement these last few months.
The gun went off and we took off at a respectable pace. We stayed right where we were supposed to be for a 4 hour finish. Then, we started speeding up.
Miles 3 through 8 were faster than I thought we should be doing but Boss kept saying he felt good. We were slightly ahead of the 4 hour pace group.
Miles 9 and 10 we were right back down where we should have been.
Mile 11 included a pit-stop at the porta-potties. We didn’t take too long but it was long enough to have the 4:00 hour and 4:08 hour pace groups pass.
I could sense a little disappointment from Boss. He even asked if I was going to try and “catch” them. I told him if he wanted to we could try or we could just run and see what happens. The latter is exactly what we did.
Miles 12 through 14 we were back to our usual pace.
Around mile 14.5 I asked him if he took that gel he grabbed a while back and he said that he had taken 2/3rds of it. Uh-oh. I could feel his energy depleting. He had stopped talking and joking with me too.
I handed him some jelly beans. At first he refused but then he ate them. He seemed to gain some energy after that, enough to be more talkative.
Miles 15 – 18 he slowed significantly. He would no longer run along side of me, he’d run behind me. We would often walk a bit. I gave him a gluten free peanut butter and jelly bar to have as well, hoping that he wasn’t too far in the hole to bounce back.
Prior to this he had been urging me to go on without him but I refused. To appease him, I told him that I’d get him to mile 20 and then we’d reassess and if he still wanted me to leave him, I would.
Mile 18.6 he pulled to the side and told me to go. He said he really wanted me to go on without him. He promised he wouldn’t quit. I handed him all the fuel I had left on me and I made him swear that he would eat all of it.
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I surged on. I knew my family was at mile 20.
So happy to see my girls!
My pace quickened, Mile 20 was 8:19 (super excited to see my family!). I hugged my girls and Vans and kept moving.
You’ve gotta laugh and smile so you don’t feel the pain.
Mile 21- 8:45/mi
Mile 22 – 8:51/mi
Mile 23 – 8:41/mi
Mile 24 – 9:00/mi (the sharp turns from J Street to Alhambra then again to L Street)
Mile 25 – 8:56/mi
Mile 26 – 8:53/mi
I was doing my best to push and try to catch the 4 hour group but my body was not having it. It would give me a few good strides and then would feel as if I was running in quicksand. I had no fuel left and I ran out of water between miles 24 and 25 but refused to stop.
I was super happy to see the finish. I crossed the finish line in 4 hours and 6 minutes. I just could never quite catch that 4 hour pace group. 🙂
My favorite cheerleaders!
Once I finished I found my family and went in search of SS. We then heard from Boss that he was at mile 25 and walking in. Finally we saw him!
Running Boss into the finish!
He seemed happy to see us because he started running so we joined him.
SS trying to take a running selfie.
We made the sharp left turn towards the finish shoots and SS and I peeled off screaming Boss’s name the whole way! He had done it! He finished! His time was 4 hours and 50 minutes.
I am super proud of him. He followed through in his goal. He said he has a whole new appreciation for running and the distance. He doesn’t think he’ll sign up for another anytime soon but he’s super excited to have completed his very first marathon!
Three marathoners!
And I feel honored to have been there to witness it. Like I have been telling my coworkers all day, he put in all the work, I just tried to keep his mind off all the pain. 🙂
Last year when I ran this race (you can read that race report here), I decided that upon crossing the finish line that I wanted another shot at actually “running” this race and not just finishing (even though I ran the past few CIMs with TiggerT and had SO much fun while doing it). I had decided, that even though I am on the fence about ever running in Boston, I’d like to at least have the ability to say, “Why yes, I qualified!”
So when my trail season ended, I began running roads and started “lightly” following an old training plan that I had from years ago. I ran long on weekends all solo. I did speed work on Tuesday nights a few times a month with my old crew, the Buffalo Chips (man I missed that group and their workouts). I still ran with my morning crew but mostly on Thursdays.
In the beginning, I was hitting my pace marks and felt strong and then, things started to fizzle. Either I lost motivation to run or was dealing with a few issues that my aging body did not thoroughly embrace.
Either way, for the last two months, my running has slacked. I ran Clarksburg but even then I knew, that the outlook wasn’t as positive as it had been earlier in my training. For various reasons that I won’t list here, I found myself waking up between 3 and 4 times a night.
Bottom line, I wasn’t recovering and I wasn’t hitting my marks. Still, I had faith and was determined to give it my best shot.
Come race morning, Stonegate and Burning Girl arrived at my house at 5:30 ready to whisk me away to the start. Their jokes and laughter made me smile, I was ready.
I had some pre-race laughs at the starting line with the McBride crew who always make me laugh, no matter what. They are, to put it simply, real good people.
Soon it was time to find my pace group. I needed to run the marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes to qualify for Boston. My CIM personal best was 3 hours and 56 minutes ran in 2008 when the Peanut was 8 months old and I was about 15 pounds lighter and still full of prego hormones. That would have been a major hail mary of a PR to pull off. Yet, I am a way different runner now than I was in 2008.
I decided to run with the 3:40 pace group. When the race started it was a crowded madhouse. I haven’t run in such a tight knit elbow to elbow race in a very long time. It was a little unnerving and I got slightly pushed away from the pace group.
I didn’t panic as I knew it would eventually clear out. My pace group started off pretty darn quick though. Our first few miles were jockeying between our needed pace and a little bit faster – 8:16, 8;24, 8:10, 8:23, 8:11 went the first few miles. Our pace should have been 8:23 but I understand how it works and was hanging in there just fine.
Every so often it would dump massive buckets of rain on us and then stop. I completely over dressed for this race. I should have gone with my instinct but I didn’t.
Mile 7.5 we were passing an aid-station area with lots of spectators and they started blaring Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer and I just started smiling and rocking out. It was a sign for this Jersey girl and I let the music carry me.
Fast forward to mile 13, when my quads started cramping and I decided to let the pace group go. I always, ALWAYS carry a salt tab with me and I didn’t have a single one.
I hung in there running just behind the 3:40 group, closer to the 3:45 group until about mile 17 when I decided my quads were going to either seize or fall off. From that moment on, I let myself walk through the aid-stations. Just that small adjustment alone brought some life back into my legs.
I was still smiling mind you. I had decided not to beat myself up about it and to just keep running. What will be will be. I knew if I could get to mile 20, that I’d see Vans and my girls which would help a lot and if I could get to about mile 22 (I think) I would see my Oiselle Volee team and get another boost.
Hi girls!!!
I pretty much walked here and gave them high-fives. It was Vans who said, “Ok, keep moving, get moving.” Thanks honey. 🙂
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Running through downtown I tried my hardest not to look at the numbered street signs. I know how defeating that can be to not see them get smaller faster.
There were a few really SLOW moments in there between 23 and 26 where I just wanted to lay down and sleep. My quads were SCREAMING at me to stop. I just kept telling myself, “You can’t walk here. You can’t stop here! You have less than 2 miles to go!”
At one point, I said, forget this and starting pushing myself, hard … or at least it felt hard .. and then a wave of nausea hit me. I looked around and both sides of the street were lined 4 deep with people cheering us on. I thought, “Oh god, if I hurl here that would be really really bad!” 🙂
So, I slowed ever so slightly, enough to push the nausea away.
I crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 54 minutes. 2 minutes faster than my last “real” marathon and a sub 9 minute marathon. I know I have it in me to run faster, I know it … I just need the motivation or the determination or perhaps maybe a coach to actually keep me more honest and more on track.
Stats
Overall, I am pleased with those stats. My quads had nothing left. I was a sweaty mess at the end because I dressed too warm and I haven’t quite figured out how to fuel in a road race yet compared to ultras where you have the time and the convenience of fully stocked aid-stations.
Depending on our plans in 2016, the chances of me running CIM 2016 are pretty darn high. I love this race. It is right in my back yard and I know it inside and out and yet the outcome is never quite the same. Road racing keeps you honest. It pushes you beyond limits you didn’t think were possible.
As much as I love and adore trails, the competitive part of me loves to challenge myself and try and exceed past attempts at things.
My whole family was there at the finish. My heart was full. My girls and Vans were in good spirits and the weather was great.
Post Race Family photo for once
I was happy. No matter what my time was, I was happy. And that is all that matters.
I forget how beautiful the Clarksburg area really is. It hit me driving in as the sun was rising on the river, that this truly is a hidden gem not too far from home.
So pretty
My training plan going into this race was supposed to be “Predicted Marathon Pace PLUS 30 seconds” but secretly, I wanted to see if I could hold my marathon pace the entire 20 miles. Of course right? 🙂
I arrived super early. In all the years I have run this race, I never recall being the first to arrive. I think the participant number may have gone down slightly because I was the second person to arrive. Second. That scored me a killer parking spot mind you and I really didn’t have to wait all that long. But my parking space was kind of crazy. I should have taken a photo it was so good.
The temps were chilly and there was a good chance it was going to rain about half way into the race.
Finally it was time to head to the starting line. I saw McFunny as I was getting out of my car. She was also doing the 20 miler and is doing CIM. She always makes me laugh and it proved to be the perfect thing to calm my nerves before the run. McFunny agreed that Clarksburg, while a pretty race, usually leaves sour thoughts in your head when you are done because it is well, 20 miles of flat paved roads. Ouch.
They started the race and off I ran. I bobbed and weaved my way to a clear spot in the pack. I had my headphones and old iShuffle in my pocket. That was a last minute decision. I haven’t touched my shuffle since I loaded it for AR50 earlier this year.
As it turns out, I grew really tired of the conversation around me at about mile 4 and put in my ear buds. Normally I thrive off of the surrounding conversations but not this time.
I did fall in behind one woman. Did you ever just run behind someone and they seemed to float effortlessly as they run? This woman had nothing on her, no water, no music, no fuel yet she had ideal form and just was plugging away never showing any sign of fatigue.
I stuck with this woman for a long long time. At one point I pulled ahead, I think she may stopped at an aid-station but eventually she’d catch up to me again.
At about mile 10 the rain started coming. At first it was just a light sprinkle and then it grew stronger. Then, we changed course and were running right into a headwind with sideways rain.
I slowed to try and grab some fuel from my pocket hoping that would give me a boost and it did but it also put some distance between me and that girl.
I also started to just slow ever so slightly here. Prior to this point I was on point to run my marathon pace. After the fueling stop, I was leaning more towards what my training pace had called for.
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A few more turns on the course, more wind and more drenching rain and I was starting to lose my faith and mojo ever so slightly. I kept that girl in my sights even though she was down the road. She never faltered in her form. So many times I wished I was her or I thought, “Wow she is trained and you my friend, are not.” But I never gave up.
The final 2 miles were not fun but I could feel the finish. The last mile I even tried to picked up the pace a bit. When all was said and done, I ended up with the pace my training plan had called for … exactly.
I look like I might cry I am so happy to be done
I was frozen to the core when I finished. I had been battling an upset tummy since about mile 10 and when I finished I stood for a moment trying to figure out what it was my body wanted.
As I was standing there, the girl I had been following came up to me. She introduced herself and asked how I did. She was so sweet. She is training for CIM and it will be her first marathon. I told her she had amazing form and looked effortless when she ran. She said she had been so nervous for this 20 mile run. She was pleased with her finish and I told her she’ll have a great CIM if she runs like she ran today.
It just goes to show that everyone has some inner turmoil and demons. Not everyone shows it or wears it on their sleeves but we all have something. The only person you can rely on in a lot of these situations is yourself and your training. I know my training hasn’t been 100% on par and that I have been relying on my strength and stamina to try and make certain goals happen.
Come CIM, I am still hoping my strength and stamina will get me through whatever should come my way that day and I know deep inside this is the most I have actually trained for CIM since 2009.
The road is a hard mental beast sometimes. My body has been craving trails lately missing the fun and the ease that one can sometimes have on a dusty single track.
Yet the road can be also super rewarding when you hit your marks. It just takes hard work and training to make that happen.
I have one more race before CIM, our annual Thanksgiving Day race that Vans and I do together. That race is the week before CIM so usually I either feel awesome or I feel every ache and pain along the way. Whatever comes though, I am ready for it.
This past Sunday I ran my 6thCIM (California International Marathon) and my 8th marathon total. I didn’t blog much about CIM mainly because I had that OTHER big race I was thinking about and preparing for. Yet, CIM is one of those races that is near and dear to my heart.
It was my first ever marathon. It was the first marathon that I ever truly bonked and completely injured myself during the course of running it. When I was pregnant with the Peanut and couldn’t run the marathon, I ran the relay. It was also my first major run after my ankle surgery last year. It holds my marathon PR to this day and I just love that it is in my own back yard. Since my first year in 2004, I have only missed running it a handful of times.
With that said, last year somewhere between miles 40 and 50 on the American River 50 course, TiggerT said to me, “You need to run CIM with me again this year if I am pacing you during an ultra!” That seemed fair right? She paced me 10 miles and I was to pace her 26.2, ya, math is truly not my strongest asset.
Still, I adore TiggerT and I ran with her last year during CIM just 3 months after my surgery. Not the smartest move at the time, but it worked out for both of us. I got to see how I would hold up running that far and she had someone by her side.
Fast forward to just a few months ago when TiggerT tells me she hasn’t been running very much. She has this bum hip that has been screaming at her for quite a while and it seemed the closer that CIM came, the more it barked. She had not run longer than 8 miles in the months leading up to the race.
Lucky (or unlucky?) for her, she has quite a few friends that said, “Nah! You can do it! Heck, we’ll do it with you and we haven’t trained either!” Ya have to love runners.
I told her I was keeping my promise. I would be by her side helping her get to that finish line and LAUGHING most of the way too. She tried to push me away and tell me that I could go run it with all my heart and see what I could do time-wise. Besides the fact that I had no intention of dropping her, I have not run on pavement in over a YEAR. My tender little tootsies have been running on dirt trails for the better part of a year. Switching to pavement is a whole separate beast. Sure miles are miles to some, but for me (and my back and my feet and my knees) there is a significant difference between the two.
When CIM expo week arrived I started to get excited. CIM traverses through Folsom, Orangevale, Citrus Heights, Fair Oaks, Carmichael and Sacramento. It was founded in 1983 and was celebrating its 31st race this year. I was excited!
I missed the expo last year but made a point to go and get my bib this year and for fun, I brought Vans along with me. He loves a good expo (aka free snacks and goodies). We saw TiggerT while we were there and I saw quite a few ultra-buddies too. It is such an electric environment! I love it.
With my bib in hand, I felt ready. I knew I could cover the distance, I just wanted TiggerT to be able to do it too and I could see and sense the fear in her every time we’d talk. That uncertainty can really play with your head. Yet, she’s strong and she said that NOT starting, was NOT an option (yet she had no qualms about bowing out mid-race).
Sunday morning couldn’t come quick enough. The weather was predicted to be absolutely gorgeous albeit even a little warm for this time of year. Last year’s CIM was a massive ice festival with a max of like 30 degrees for the day! That’s cold for around here.
5:40 right on the button, TiggerT arrived in my driveway ready to take me to the start. She has run this race so many times (way more than I) that she has the starting ritual down to a science. We get dropped off at a gas station, we use their inside (warm) bathroom and then we hop on a bus that takes us to the start and drops us off in the thick of things. This year, the bus took a different route which did cause a mild case of “What the?!” from TiggerT and myself. Glad to see that we were both paying attention!
Another quick jump into the super long porta-potty lines and then TiggerT dropped her bag of warm clothes off in the truck. This year I didn’t bring anything. I wore a long sleeve t-shirt that I was willing to toss and it was warm enough for shorts (or a running skirt). I didn’t need gloves or anything like years past, it was great! I had one water bottle with me and I threw some fuel in the pocket of my skirt. Inside the bottle pouch I had some salt tabs. Something just nagged at me that morning to grab a couple salt tabs just in case it got too warm too fast.
We found TiggerT’s crew and we made our way up towards the start line. It was just a sea of runners. The excitement was overflowing. We listened to the most beautiful rendition of the National Anthem and then they started the wheelchair division first.
When they blew the horn we made our way shuffling with thousands of others past the starting arches. We were on our way. TiggerT started off at such a good pace I wasn’t sure what to do. She seemed okay. Maybe she was trying to warm up? I just went with it. She ran ahead of her friends and we soon lost them in the crowd behind us.
We had goals in mind. We knew that TiggerT’s wife would be a mile 5.5 and we knew quite a few of the people running that aid-station as well. Our goal, was get to mile 5.5! TiggerT seemed okay. Me, on the other hand, was starting to think about a pit stop. When we reached the 5.5 aid-station I told TiggerT that I needed to jump into the port-potty line. She joined me. I hate having to stop during a race like this. On the trails, I don’t seem to mind, in a road race, I get annoyed but it is what it is. In line I got to talk to Stonegate who was helping at the aid-station. She laughed when she saw me in line for the bathroom, “Shocker!” she said. It was here that I shed the long sleeve shirt I had in my hands.
With business out of the way we were off again. Prior to our stop we were running right next to the 4:35 pace group which was a bit surprising to me. Yet, TiggerT seemed okay at that pace. Of course when you stop you tend to stiffen up a bit. When we started on our way again, I noticed that TiggerT was a bit slower than before. Maybe she had noticed our pace finally! 🙂
At some point she reconnected with her friends but it was pretty brief. We lost them again as our pace just naturally seemed to be a bit faster. Our next goal was mile 8 ish where we’d see Pigeon, Missouri and the rest of the Fleet Feet crew.
We talked as we ran. We passed a man holding onto a leash. Of course I just thought it was a dog but then TiggerT turned to me and said, “That was a goat!!” I looked at her and I looked back but I couldn’t see anything, “Are you hallucinating?” I asked her. “No! I swear that was a goat!” We had a good laugh about that one for a few miles which was a nice distraction.
One of my favorite things during a marathon is to read the signs people hold up. Yes, I DO read them so all you spectators out there, KEEP THEM COMING! I love it. One of my mental goals during the marathon is to try and remember the funniest signs that I have seen along the way.
This year, my favorite sign appeared very early in the race yet this woman was a superhero and somehow magically positioned herself all.over.the.course! She was EVERYWHERE! I wish I had a photo of her sign, it wasn’t artistic at all, but the message had me cracking up every time I saw it. The sign read: Chuck Norris has never run a marathon! How funny is that!? There were countless others that made me smile like, Smile if you are not wearing underwear! and Run Now. Wine Later. I love it and appreciate it.
We were trucking along still moving when all of a sudden I see a boy holding a goat. I look at TiggerT, “That’s a goat!” I turn to the kid and said, “Hey man, nice goat.” He smiled and the woman next to him said “Goat-get em!” Which caused the cheesy side of TiggerT and I to crack up with laughter.
When we ran through Old Fair Oaks I saw chickens! I said, “Look chickens!” but TiggerT assured me they were behind the fence (thank goodness).
Somewhere past the half-way point I think, I started to feel the pavement in my feet and the tingling in my calves. They felt like they were on the verge of cramping. I took a salt tab hoping that would help.
The middle miles of this race are usually quite boring. They go through a section of the course that is more business than residential and usually that means a lot fewer spectators out there. Not this year! I have to say I didn’t have the middle mile dread! There were bands and people cheering and it was exciting! Such a difference and I hope it is one that sticks!
At some point in the race, we got to the point where TiggerT needed to walk every so often. At one point, she stopped to use the porta-potty and while she did I tried my hardest to stretch my calves out (they were still screaming at me).
I also ran into an ultra-friend who was running alongside a man dressed as Flash. Head to toe Flash complete with spray painted shoes, water bottle and fanny pack. It was awesome. Everyone would cheer him on as he passed. We ran with them for a bit while I was chatting with my friend who was running the marathon only to head into surgery on Wednesday. Amazing.
Flash!
Closer and closer to the finish we ran. I was amazed at how quickly the miles were just flying by. It helps when you are running to SEE something, whether it is a friend or an aid-station where you know friends might be, having something there, really makes those miles fly by. During the release of this drug, the manufacturing company announced that only two percent of the patients will have chills and fever. price for generic viagra Lots of men are suffering from the problem and get difficulty running their sexual life to generic viagra this storefront on sale now the fullest. Modifying diet was mentioned at the beginning of this editorial as being a beneficial way of controlling cholesterol numbers is by controlling the levitra 10 mg diet. This situation causes the arteries to narrow order generic cialis https://pdxcommercial.com/16095-se-mcloughlin-blvd-brochure/ and harden which subsequently results in a very limited blood flow.
Oddly enough, running against the sea of runners was this guy in a speedo. It was pretty funny and he was quite boisterous cheering us on. He had sneakers and a speedo. The cop at the intersection cracked me up because he had this smirk on his face as if he was trying to decide if he should laugh at this guy or arrest him.
Down Fair Oaks Blvd., we ran and when we looked to our left we saw a man, holding two llamas. Yup. Llamas. TiggerT and I just looked at each other to make sure we were both seeing this. We were like, “Look! Llamas!” and the runner behind us said, “Oh thank god you see them too.”
We were quickly approaching Loehmans Plaza. This is roughly just past mile 20 in the race also my old neighborhood. Vans and the girls are generally here cheering us on (as well as hundreds of others). We jogged through the intersection and I couldn’t find Vans. I saw a line of cars and I thought to myself that they must have changed the way they routed traffic and he couldn’t get in (or was running late, or both). It was harder for him to gauge my time this year since we were unsure as to how TiggerT would feel during the race.
We did find TiggerT’s wife and we stopped to say hello. I think TiggerT even sat down for a minute! This would be the last we’d see of her as she was heading home and I was praying Vans would make it to the finish to pick us up.
Miles 20 to 26.2 are always interesting. They are heavily populated with spectators so it isn’t boring but it can be quite deceiving. It is here that you enter the number streets that lead you to the state Capitol. So if you are focusing on the numbers, you are mentally counting down in your head as you run however, the closer you get to downtown, the longer the blocks become so it really starts to mess with your head. I don’t think I looked at one street sign the entire time. I have learned my lesson.
It was on this section that TiggerT ran into quite a few friends and I finally met Jody who commented on my last blog post having run Mt. Tam too. Such a small world! The music on this section is always good too. They have DJs every few blocks. My only complaint is the instrumental band in front of the convention center… I get it, it is artistic but it is NOT motivating to listen to classical music at mile 25 of a marathon.
We were getting closer and closer. I could smell it. I kept wanting to pick up the pace but I was trying to be conscious of TigerT. I am a finish line girl. I know you are supposed to leave it all on the course when you race, but for some reason, I always find a reserve when I get near the finish line. It is in my nature to try and run fast the last mile no matter what.
I kept myself in check and instead focused on seeing my favorite guy at mile 25. Every single year I have run this race, there is this guy dressed like Jesus (wearing a robe and a wig and of course bright blue running shoes) standing ON the course holding a sign that says: THE END IS NEAR! I know he is there but it still to this day, makes me crack up. I love it!
We rounded the corner heading toward the finish line. I saw the number on the clock. It was my slowest marathon to date but I had smiled the whole day so I didn’t care. My goal was to get TiggerT to finish and I did. We crossed in under 5 hours and best of all, she felt (and feels) great! I was worried that this would push her hip over the edge pausing her running career for too long but she tells me days later, that she truly feels great. That makes me so happy.
TiggerT and I
I feel great as well. My calves were really starting to burn around mile 21. I recall taking another salt and I took an Aleve. I don’t like to take meds during a race but I was seriously on the verge or cramping up something terrible and I figured, why not, we’ll see what happens. As it turns out, the calf pain went away! Days later I feel great, no pain. I do need to foam roll my calves and quads still (I know I know).
As it turns out, a lot of people suffered from cramping on Sunday. We saw people lining the sides of the course trying to stretch their calves or hamstrings. I think the warm temperature really threw everyone for a loop. Vans and the girls made it to the finish area too which was really nice.
Overall, it was a good race. I look forward to a little recovery this week (not much) and then back at it for another trail race in late February and possibly another in April. After that, I may be taking a break from doing any races. There is a summer one on my radar if things work out but if not, no biggie.
Next year however, I want to train and run CIM for time. I think I finally have that PR bug again.
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