His Brain is Squirming Like a Toad - California International Marathon - 12/5/10

I was snoozing in the early morning before the California International Marathon (CIM). Suddenly, I heard the morning business report broadcast over the speaker system in our hotel room. At first I thought: 'Well, that is nice, I guess this is mostly a business hotel.' Then I thought: 'Hey wait a minute, somebody messed-up. Lots of people won't appreciate that. It is too early on a Sunday morning.' Suddenly, it occurred to me that I was probably confused and the sound was the bedside radio alarm. I raised my head to look at the time. It was about 4:15 AM. 'Wait, the alarm is set for 4:30. What is going on?' Oh, I just dreamed that. Well, it was close enough to 4:30 that I got up and started to get ready. That is how my marathon day started.

This Race has Jack Daniels

My support crew and I left THE CITY Saturday morning and arrived in Sacramento a little before lunch. The hotel we stayed at is next to a mall. We rejected the food court and stopped at the River City Brewing Company for lunch. BBQ pulled pork calzone. It was pretty tasty. Next, we headed to the race expo to pick up my race number.

Looking over the race materials the week before the event, I saw that this race has Jack Daniels. Not the whiskey at the aid stations along the course. It was Jack Daniels PhD, the exercise physiologist, as the keynote speaker. I am a big fan and have never heard him speak. So, I wanted to attend. We worked our way through hotel and race registration just in time to attend. The talk was a nice, compact two-hour summary of his training and coaching methods. Since part of the approach is quantitative, there were lots of graphs. My support crew started to fade.


After the talk, we went back to the expo so that I could buy a bus ticket. This is a point to point race. It starts in Folsom, about 26.2 miles away from the finish. For $10, the race organizer will transport a racer to the start. Buses leave from a central bus location at the headquarters hotel and, on a more limited basis, from some of the other hotels, including ours. The buses were scheduled to leave between 5:00 and 5:15 a.m. That gets the runners to the start line about an hour before the 7:00 a.m. start. Perfect for my pre-race routine.

When I received the race organizer's last race update e-mail I noticed that all the runners in the photo were bundled up for cold temperatures. In addition, the weather report was predicting showers for race morning. I bought a pair of running gloves for the race, dressed in layers and dressed with the idea that I would probably get soaked by rain. It rained off and on for Saturday and rained overnight before the race.


When I went out to wait for the bus, everything was wet, but there was no rain. The same was true when we got to Folsom. On top of that, the biting cold I had expected (well, at least biting cold for California) was not present. In fact, the weather turned out to be much better than I anticipated: no rain and moderate temperatures. The roads were wet for the entire race, probably meaning that humidity was near 100%. The only "sprinkles" were the water off of other runners' shoes.  I put much of the extra gear I had brought in the sweats bag to be retrieved at the end of the race. 


The Race Plan

I did a slow jog around the block near the start to loosen-up. Running the race at less than threshold pace, I decided that the first two miles of the race would be the warm-up. I lined-up 10 - 20 feet from the start line and found the 3-hour pace group.


I had wavered between a goal of a 7:00 minute pace or a 3-hour time (approximately 6:52 pace). In the end, I decided that all times over 3 hours are about the same, so I should aim to break 3 hours. If I actually had a 3:05 in me but dropped to 3:07 or 3:08 or 3:10 because I was too aggressive at the start, so what. If I go for and get the 3:05, I would be left wondering if I could have broken 3 hours.

Before leaving THE CITY, I bought half a dozen bagels at The Bagelry on Polk Street. My race morning breakfast was two bagels and coffee.

Conventional wisdom is that dead even pacing produces the best marathon results. I accept that. I am not good at setting and maintaining an even pace. So, the pace group is the way to go. It also has the added benefit of the group dynamic. Markham M. from the Pamakids gave me the most awesome 3-hour pace tattoo, further simplifying the pacing. I would try to stick with the pace group as long as possible. I would evaluate at mile 20. At mile 22 or 23 I would decided if I had more in me and pick up the pace, if I could.


Just before the start, I slowly ate a package of energy chews I had received in a goody bag for another race. I took three Clif Shot energy gels with me. The plan was to use them at 7 - 8 miles, 13.1 - 15 miles and 20 miles. There was GU at the aid stations toward the end of the race and I figured I could pick-up one or two additional packets, if I felt so inclined. I planned to take water on the course at every aid station where I could get it. There are 18 aid stations. So, even if I missed a couple, that should be plenty of water for a race in December.

The Race

The start of the race was crowded and the first few miles were congested. I actually have much less to say about the running of this race than usual. My focus was on the pace team leader. I wanted to be where he was on the road and more or less match his pace. Usually, I am scanning the road to avoid other runners and set an efficient line. I am calculating times in my head. I am monitoring my breathing and muscle fatigue. All of this makes me much more attentive to what is happening. It also helps to minimize mental lapses. None of this was necessary.


Start to the Half (13.1 Miles)


Unless you are running over your head, the first half of a marathon is a social event. For the first few miles, this race was crowded and it took some attention to avoid other runners, avoid road hazards obscured by the crowd, keep sight of the pace group and hold the correct pace. After that, I settled-in, put it on cruise control and visited with other runners. Markham was also with the group and we checked-in with each other as the race progressed. Shortly after the first marathon relay exchange point another Pamakid runner sped past us so fast I did not know who it was. I turned to Markham and asked. He said it was Andy C., the club president.


Half to 20 Miles

This is where the runners start to get more serious and the socializing dies down. Just after the half, the pace group leader encouraged everyone to evaluate their pace. For those who felt good, this was the time to slowly push a few seconds faster. Over the next two or three miles I noticed a few members of the group slowly move ahead. That was not my plan. I stuck with the group. It was probably around 18 miles that I started to feel fatigue in my legs. Nothing serious, but it was there.


20 Miles to the End (26.2 Miles)


Mile 20 is where the real race starts. It is also thought of as "the wall." The race even had a large, inflatable "wall" to run through. This is the point where the risk of a "bonk" starts. I was tired, but felt fine. My head was clear and my muscles were still responsive. Roughly a 10K to go. I did not feel it was time to consider a faster pace and would wait to see how miles 22 and 23 felt.


At both miles 22 and 23 I felt that I was starting to lose it. My best strategy was to keep the goal pace and take my cues from the pace leader. I was struggling to keep pace with the pace leader and fell 20 - 30 feet behind him. I kept pushing, but abandoned the idea of going faster. We were onto the city streets of Sacramento and I was watching the number streets to gauge how close I was to the finish.

Around Mile 25 I heard someone yell my name. I turned to see Malinda W. from the Pamakids. I went back to do a fist bump with her. That was probably a mistake. My legs were shot. I had to put in a surge to close the gap to the pace leader and I started to feel I would not make 3 hours. Once this thought sets in, your brain starts to work to avoid a catastrophic collapse. I was having even more trouble keeping the pace leader in sight. Then, Denis G. from the Pamakids shouted from the crowd of spectators.  He asked how I was doing and encouraged me to pick up the pace. That exchange jolted me out of my coma and I pushed my legs to go faster. I could feel the extra strain and I was surprised I had the little extra in me. That was just what I needed to finish strong.

As I rounded the corner to the finish, Denis shouted that I was doing great and on my way to a strong finish. I saw the clock at about 2:59:40 and pushed as hard as I could. I passed the pace group leader. I made sure not to let up until I was past both sets of timing mats.  I think the last time I saw before the mats was 2:59:55. I figured I was below 3:00, but it was too close to be 100% certain.


The backs of my legs (calves, hamstrings and glutes) were in full revolt. My quads were also sore, but not like my calves and hamstrings. I saw an enthusiastic Kenley G. just after the finish chute. He had run his third sub-3 hour marathon of the year. Pretty impressive.


Post Race

As I exited the finish area, my support crew met up with me. My post race plan was to use a recovery drink as fast as possible. My support crew had a large bottle with a double dose of Endurox R4. This drink has a patented 4:1 ration of carbohydrate to protein. It is supposed to optimize glycogen replacement and protein synthesis after a long, hard workout. I drank this on the way back to the hotel. I was slightly nauseous. So, it took the entire walk to get it all down. I was not in the mood for any other food.


At the hotel, I showered, packed and then took a 10 - 15 minute rest/snooze. After that, I felt good enough to drive home. It rained along the way. Once we got back to THE CITY, the nausea had subsided. I was hungry and starting to get light headed. We stopped at the store.


Officially, I finished in 2:59:58 gun time and 2:59:49 chip time. This race had a marathon registration limit of 7,500. I came in 288 out of 5877 finishers and 9 out of 212 in my age group. My age graded score was 81.19%. Oh, and I also have a Boston Marathon qualifying time. Although, Boston for 2011 was sold out before I even started this race.


CIM also has a marathon relay of 1,000 teams (4,000 runners). The Pamakids had six teams, I think, and did very well in the various categories.

You may recall that it was the PA/USATF Grand Prix Series that led to my running this marathon. My goal was to break the top ten in the seniors (50 - 59) competition. After CIM, I gained one additional place and finished the series in seventh place.


Observations


In hind sight, there is really nothing I would change about this race. I was happy with the training plan. To the extent I had problems in training, they helped me to avoid the same problem in the race. I would have liked two or three more long runs. However, as I have commented, there is the risk that more long runs would have resulted in over-use injuries.

After the training experiments, I though the fluid and nutrition plan for the marathon worked well. I did not bonk in the race. Other than an expected muscle revolt after the race, my head was clear and my muscles had not shut down. I was also satisfied with the pacing. Most miles fit neatly into a 5 second +/- band around the 6:52 goal pace.


Since I never change just one variable at a time, it is hard to know for sure how much a particular change helps or hurts. I think the Endurox R4 was very helpful. I recovered from the race faster and with less muscle soreness than expected. Partly as recovery and partly owing to a business trip, I did not run from Monday through Friday after the Sunday race. I carefully resumed my typical running schedule on Saturday.  I felt that most of the immediate effects had passed after two weeks. Headed to the three week mark, I am still recovering carefully and will slowly try to build back to my normal mileage and intensity.


A three hour marathon at age 55. How cool is that?