I finally did it it -- I ran the California International Marathon in Sacramento.
We started at Folsom Dam at 7:05am. The race was from there to the steps of the capitol. It rained, sometimes poured, virtually every step of the way. Worse than the rain was the wind -- it seemed to be in my face the whole morning. On the other hand, the course had a net downhill (albeit with plenty of small rolling uphills, too) of about 300 feet.
Becky was my support team. I told her I expected to finish in 4 hours; I didn't tell her I was *hoping* to finish in 3:30. I planned to use Will's modified "Galloway" technique, taking a 60 second walk at each rest stop (roughly every 2 to 2.5 miles) while I drank/ate to give my legs a chance to recuperate. Worked pretty well, too, except I think I started out too fast.
If you'd like a sample of what it's like to run a marathon when you
haven't trained enough, browse my little blow-by-blow account below.
If not, you may go back to my
homepage.
MILE 1 8:45 split. Oh oh -- too slow, even if it was crowded and took a while to get to the starting line. My watch (started when *I* crossed the line) reads 8:00. 2 15:30 split. Can that be right? Did I really run mile 2 in 6:45? 3.3 First aid station. Slowed to a walk while I drank my fluids, then resumed running. 4-5 Averaging a nice (or so it seemed) 7:30 mile pace, even with the aid station walk. 6 Spectator, wearing a number, joins in on the race. In her defense, she appeared to be helping to pace a legit runner. I noticed her mostly because said runner greeted her with an exhuberant "Katy!". Turned out to be Stanford alum Katy Steding! I was tempted to work my way over to her and say something to her, but then I rememembered I had 20 miles to go, so I just let Ms. Steding continue on her way. Wiped her off the court, er, road, and never saw her again. 7-8 Continued with 7:30 mile pace even with aid station walks. 9 Feeling so good, I skip an aid station. Could this come back to haunt me? 10-11 Still feel good, still on pace. 13.1 Half Marathon! Split was 1:38 (1 hour, 38 minutes), on pace for a 3:16 finish, *if* I maintain my current pace. 14-17 Still on track, maintaining 7:30 pace, feel fine. 18-19 Legs beginning to feel tired. Start falling off the pace. Begin wondering if I should do my walks at each mile instead of each aid station... 20 "The Wall". I don't recall feeling like I'd run into anything, I was just really, really tired from having run 20 miles. Fortunately, Becky caught up to me at the marker (hey -- she was driving!) to give me some moral support. After missing me at 1mile, 3mile, and 10mile markers (all on account of my running a faster pace than I quoted her), I found out later she had very little sympathy for my complaints of being tired. Can't say I blame her, as she spent a lot of time standing around in the rain waiting for me. 21-22 Really slowing down now, taking breaks every mile marker. 22-25 When did my legs get so heavy? It seems like all I can do to pick 'em up and put 'em down again. I know I'll finish at this point -- Hell, I could walk it in under 4 hours -- but I give up on beating 3:30. Taking breaks roughly each 1/2 mile. 26.2 Dragged my butt across the line at 3 hours, 34 minutes, including the delay getting across the starting line. My final average pace is just over 8 minutes/mile. But, its finally over!
Now Becky wants to know when I'll run another.