#road2cim Week 18 – I AM A MARATHONER!

What can I say? I did it. Last weekend, I became a marathoner and joined the club of roughly 0.01% of the world’s population (0.05% of the US population) that has completed a marathon. It’s a mind-blowing statistic because marathons and running races in general have become so popular and so many people seem to be training for and running races ALL the time. It’s probably a matter of availability bias, because I “know” a lot of runners now, so I am likely to perceive that there are a lot of runners around, even if the actual number of runners in the population is statistically not that high.

I didn’t quite know what I signed up for 18 weeks ago when I embarked on this journey in a spur-of-the-moment decision. I heard about this First Timer Training Program at our local Fleet Feet and I thought, well, if I am ever going to attempt a full marathon, I might as well take advantage and get some help. It was a really, really good decision. 

It was less about running with people for me (because I chose the virtual program and mostly did my runs solo), but the fact that they had a whole program set up for first-timers like myself: a training plan, a virtual community to plug into, and access to coaches that provided information, resources, and just a great organization overall. Part of the program was also race day transportation and a warming tent at the start line (which was just a wonderful perk and icing on the cake). 

To be honest, the distance scared me. I remember finishing half marathons and thinking, there’s no way I could run the same distance again right now. But something interesting, though not surprising, happened: as the training increased, my confidence increased with it. I actually started believing that I could do this.

Pre-Race

I spent the last few days before race attempting to carb load. As you know, I had been working on upping my carb intake during the training cycle but struggled to get to 250g/day. However, I did manage to eat 360g/day for the last two days before race day. I went back and forth about running with my hydration vest or not. I finally decided to not take it along and rely on the aid stations for hydration.

Saturday morning, Fleet Feet had organized a shakeout run and I went to the Expo afterward to pick up my race packet. The Expo was in at the Sacramento Convention Center and it was all very well organized. They had a poster sign station where you could create your own spectator signs. They also had the obligatory photo ops and CIM merch. I didn’t buy anything except for some bib fastener that I wanted for a while, and I got this cool poster for free (which I will probably frame and hang in my office/workout room).

WEATHER

The weather was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better race day. Since we had an atmospheric river come through the area two weeks ago, I was worried we’d have more rain for race weekend, but it was cold, dry, and sunny. It was 39F when we started out early in the morning and it warmed up to 57F. A beautiful crisp, but sunny day here in Northern California!

Race Morning

I actually slept pretty well the night before the race. I went to bed at 9 pm and I only woke up twice (I’m always nervous the night before and normally never sleep well), but I fell asleep quickly again. I got up at 3:30 am, made myself a coffee, and had a bagel for breakfast. Then I got dressed: shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, my Novablast 3s, and a running belt. It was cold in the morning, but not freezing.

At 4:30 am Jon drove me downtown where the Fleet Feet bus picked us up. I was able to get on the bus right away and didn’t have to stand around in the cold for long. I had grabbed some graham crackers and a bottle with NUUN and had that during the bus ride. We left for Folsom at 5 am sharp. It’s about a 45-minute drive. On the bus, I chatted with my seatmate, Allison. She had taken part in the in-person training and of course, knew some of the other participants. When we arrived Folsom we were able to go straight into the heated Fleet Feet tent. It was really well organized. I didn’t know anyone there, so I joined Allison and her group, which was fine.

At 6:30 a.m. one of the Fleet Feet coaches did a little warmup up with us and then we had time to hit the porta-potties one more time before heading to the starting line. I took off my fleece jacket (an old one that I then “disposed of” because there was no gear check at the startline, but they do collect the disposed clothing and donate them). My mind was surprisingly calm. I just thought: “okay, I guess I’ll just run 26.2 miles now. Let’s do this”.

Race Start

I had consumed all the pre-race information about the course. It is a net downhill race but you still gotta be prepared for some changing terrain and generally speaking, the first half is rolling hills, and the second half is flat. So you don’t want to overspend energy in the first half.

Miles 1-2 of the CIM starts with a gentle downhill, so it’s tempting to go out fast due to the downhill and race-day adrenaline, but I had heard over and over again to not get pulled by the other runners into unmanageable paces in the first couple of miles. So, I lined up with the 4:05 pacer, just like I did in the 20-miler test race, to keep a steady, but conservative pace at the beginning. As always, the first couple of miles were pretty crowded, so I just stayed with the pack and had some time to figure out how I felt about the pace.

Miles 3-13 were rolling hills. The bigger hills are in the first half of the race and they’re noticeable. Most areas where I usually run are pretty flat. I had done a little hill training, I just wasn’t sure if it was enough for what awaited me. In retrospect, yes, there were hills but I guess if you have run San Francisco before (which, let me tell you, has some serious inclines), the rolling hills didn’t seem so bad. The strategy was to maintain a steady effort on the uphills and not push too hard and I think I did a good job at that. I was able to pull away from the pacer and caught up with the 4:00 pacer around mile 8.

Miles 13–20 were mostly flat and I was able to keep a consistent pace. I didn’t look at my watch much, just made sure that I was hitting the mile markers at a steady pace. I mostly ran by feel and left the 4:00 pacer behind at some point, though I never caught up with the 3:55 pacer.

Miles 21-26.2 were the miles where I ran into the unknown. My longest training run was 20 miles, so this was new territory. The last “hill” is J Street Bridge at mile 22. People say that if you can get to the bridge strong, you can fly on the other side. Luckily, this is where we also entered “my neighborhood”, where I run all the time, and where I knew exactly what to expect for the last few miles. I have to say that this helped a lot mentally. I knew the finish was close. I couldn’t push much faster, but I also didn’t really slow down. I said it before and I will say it again, I am nothing if not a steady runner (as you can tell from my splits).

FINISH LINE

I was tired, sure, but also felt strong until I crossed the finish line. But as soon as I stopped running, my legs locked up immediately. It was the weirdest sensation. I know you’re not supposed to sit down right away, but keep moving and it was good that I had to keep walking to collect my medal, get out of the finish line area, and find Jon. There were so many people. Luckily, the race finished at the State Capitol and I told Jon to meet me at the stairs at the front entrance, where we also had the opportunity to take some of the finisher photos.

I also picked up a second, special medal for first-time marathoners from the Fleet Feet Booth.

We walked around a little more, I got a post-race chicken burrito and I got to chat with my family over FaceTime for a few minutes before we headed back home.

RACING + MENTAL STRATEGY

My strategy was to hang with the 4:05 pacer for the first few miles (9:20 min/mi), then slightly increase the pace if I felt good. Then go for 9 min/mi until the end of the rolling hills (mile 13), and maintain or push a little faster in the second half. I had no idea if that was possible, but I thought I’d just have to wait to find out.

I broke down the race into 5-mile segments. I just mentally do better if I just focus on a few miles at a time. I am a big fan of mantras and I had a few stashed away in my head that I would occasionally pull out and repeat to myself: You can do hard things! Run the mile you’re in! Just breathe! You don’t have to, you get to!

I also wrote out a list of 26 people in my life that are important to me and dedicated one mile to each of them. It was a good mental exercise to think of them and how much they have cheered for me and supported me on my way to the start line!

I didn’t have any in-person spectators for this race (but Jon was going to meet me at the finish line) but I had my family, Tanja, and the #BCBabes lined up to track me and support me via the Adidas Running App. You might recall from my 20-miler test race that the cool thing about the Adidas Running App is that people who follow you can send “cheers” (like “applause”, “Go, go, go”, or acoustic “La Ola waves”) during live events, and they can also leave you short voice messages. I think I had a huge smile on my face every time a cheer or message came through! I truly never ran alone, I had family and friends ‘in my ears’ during every single mile and they sent over 350 messages. So crazy!

Oh, and I did see one of my Streakers365 teammates around mile 14. She ran the CIM last year and had told me that she would be spectating this year. I don’t know her very well, but I was so happy to spot her on the sideline and she saw me too and cheered me on.

And this was my favorite spectator sign (not my picture). The guy was somewhere around mile 20 (when things supposedly get hard) and I really laughed out loud when I saw him. There were a lot of spectators with great signs, who cheered runners on, and there was music and just good vibes along the course. People are the coolest.

Fueling

Aid stations were located every 2–3 miles, and offered water, electrolyte drinks, and medical assistance. They were offering Precision Fuel & Hydration, but I decided to carry my own fuel. I had eight Hüma Chia Enery Gels (two mango, two café mocha with caffeine) stashed in my running belt. I had a caffeinated one 15 minutes before the race start and then fueled at miles 4, 7, 11, 14, 17, 20, and 23, with another caffeinated one at mile 17. I got water at almost every aid station. I also had a 12 oz handheld bottle in the back of my running belt with some electrolytes, just in case I needed anything extra.

My biggest fear was that I had to stop for a bathroom break along the way, but luckily that didn’t happen. I also never really hit “the wall”, although I will say that my legs did start to fatigue after mile 22. I was, however, able to maintain pace.

The race exceeded my wildest expectations. Even though my marathon pace prediction was 8:55 min/mi, part of me still didn’t believe that I would be capable of running a sub-4-hour marathon on the first try. My goal was to have fun and finish in one piece, first and foremost, and I did that and more. What surprised me was that I wasn’t very emotional when I finished (I think I might still be processing what happened). I just felt happy, exhilarated, and maybe a little bit shocked by my accomplishment. I think I kept saying to Jon ‘I ran a marathon’, as if it wasn’t obvious. I was just so thrilled that I was able to pull it off.

Was it you, SHU, who said you had a feeling that I wouldn’t be done after one? Well, I am not making any promises yet, but I have a slight inkling that you might be right.

What went wrong

• Nothing! I honestly can’t think of anything that went wrong for me during the training or the race. The only thing that I was a little concerned about was that I had a case of the sniffles the week before the race. And while I didn’t feel bad otherwise, I was worried that it would impact my performance. Symptoms literally went away the day before the race and I felt fine. Phew.

What went well

• I had a great training cycle. I was able to execute my training plan, both in hitting (most of) my workouts, as well as the required intensity. There were a couple of weeks where I had to shift workouts around or even miss one or two days, but that is life.
• I did strength for runners training twice a week (30 minutes) and also did yoga and mobility work. I think that helped a lot.
• I didn’t get injured. I am lucky to say that in almost 10 years of running, I have not had any running-related injuries, and I want to believe that is partly due to being diligent about warm-ups and stretching. This stuff works, peeps.

As I always like to say: TRUST THE PROCESS!

I know this was a long recap but I had to write it all down for posterity’s sake me. If you made it all the way down here, kudos to you. And thank you for cheering me on and supporting me during this crazy journey! I have appreciated every kind comment, advice, and word of encouragement! Thank you for believing in me. What a wild ride!

And now I rest. (But only until my legs are back to normal – which they were on Wednesday! I only walked funny for about two days. Ha.)