California International Marathon Race Report

This was definitely not a training cycle that went smoothly. But I feel like I came to the start line fairly healthy, in great shape, and ready to run a good race. I didn't meet my ultimate goal, but after a few days of reflection, I have no regrets about my strategy and execution, and I am thrilled to say that I have another marathon finish in under 4 hours. We can't PR every single race, but we can take away from every race a new lesson we've learned and new accomplishments that we can take into the next one.

First, I have to say that California International Marathon absolutely deserves all of the kudos it gets from runners as being a premier marathon. The field is mid-sized at about 8000 runners, the course is a fast and scenic point to point with a net downhill, the finish festival is well thought out, and the organizers think of all the little details to help the runners have a successful race. It was a very fun weekend and I'm looking forward to going back and racing there again. December weather in Sacramento tends to be cool and dry - perfect conditions for a good race (but more on that later....).

Now, about my training cycle...

I was supposed to run CIM in 2018, but a hamstring injury in September forced me to be smart about recovery and defer my entry to 2019. Instead, I focused on getting stronger, ran a PR half marathon in January, and then ran the Boston Marathon in April. By July I was ready to ramp up my training and spent 19 weeks getting myself ready for CIM. If I were to compare this cycle to when I was training to BQ in 2017/2018, I would have to say that I felt slightly slower, yet felt my endurance was better. I had hoped that the two components would mesh well on race day, and with the right conditions, I could come pretty close to a 3:45. I trained the entire cycle for a 3:45, made some tweaks to how I had trained previously, in the hopes of getting me to the start line healthy.

I think my success was about 80%. My speed was REALLY close to being where I wanted it, but it didn't feel quite as effortless, I will admit. However, with the experience I gained from the past 2+ years, that didn't worry me too much. My body was kind of all over the map with how it was holding up. I had a psoas issue after Boston that needed to be worked through, my IT band was on and off tight throughout the cycle, my hamstring would make itself known here and there but wasn't a bit concern, and then during my peak week of training, I felt a strange pain at my left Achilles. That threw me for a loop because my issues are always on my right side. This pain felt like a touch of tendonitis and my assumption was that I was probably overcompensating for my right side issues and had aggravated the left side because of that. But, I managed to keep it in check and it didn't get any worse as I tapered. I knew that rest would come after the race and I could fix it.

I traveled to Sacramento Friday morning before the race and met up with my friend Dennette and her two daughters. A quick trip to the Expo was fun, then a great steak dinner capped off my first day there. Greg arrived that night and we got settled in for the weekend.

On Saturday, my friend Kalynn joined me for breakfast while Greg did his long run and scoped out the end of the course. Another trip to the Expo so Kalynn could pick up her bib and we could do a little more shopping, a drive on the course, a lot of rest, and a yummy Mediterranean dinner, made Saturday a very fun day as well.

Did you know that chickens are a thing in the Fair Oaks area of Sacramento? Yes, they're a thing and we couldn't resist the opportunity to hang out with the free roaming chickens while previewing the course.

No chickens were harmed

Laying out my gear the night before always gets the nerves going. There's just so much crap that you need for a marathon. I totally thought I took a photo of it, but apparently not!

Sunday morning rolled around EARLY. Like 3:45am early. The shuttles were leaving at 5am and were about 2 blocks from the hotel. I wanted to get over there and settled in without a last minute rush. The morning moved fast, however, and we were on our way 26 miles away to Folsom.

I showed up at the start line determined to give it my all and take the chance that I would blow up. My attitude was that I had nothing to lose. I didn't NEED to BQ, although I definitely want to go back to Boston. My A goal was to PR (3:49:53) and therefore BQ (<3:50), and my B goal was to break 4 hours. On a perfect day, the stretch goal was 3:45.

Sacramento is usually pretty dry at this time of year. The temps are typically not an issue. However, they'd been getting a lot of rain the weeks leading up to the race and the forecast was holding strong as being very rainy during the race. As race day approached, the temp forecast moved from upper 30s to mid 50s, a big swing, and almost 30 degrees warmer at the start than when I ran in Baton Rouge and BQd. Still not bad temperatures, but with very wet air after a night of rain, it simply wasn't going to be as easy as dry air in the 30s or 40s. Even as we woke up on race morning, the rain forecast was holding strong at 50-70%.

As we drove to the start, the forecast changed to a 10% chance. So now we had mid-to-upper-50s and 97% humidity for the entirety of the race, with a small chance we'd get some relief with the rain. I wasn't too concerned about feeling hot during the race, although ideally we'd be about 10 degrees cooler, but the near-100% humidity was in the back of my head as being potentially problematic. I tried to push it out of my head, however, because I was not going to change my race strategy and was going to just go for it.

My strategy was to run the first half at 8:41 pace, and then hopefully drop to about 8:30 in the second half. My first 5K would be my slowest as I eased into the harder paces. The first half the of the race has rolling hills, but more downhill than uphill so that was not going to be an issue for me. I run in rollers all the time and am a strong uphill runner. I knew using different muscles in that first half would serve me well for the flat-to-downhill second half. The course is fast and I'm truly confused by those who say it's "hilly" (and many people who ran it that have described it like that, as being a bad thing). To me, a net downhill that gives you a drop in elevation every time it makes you climb is a fast course, and this race was no exception. It was FAST.

Putting on our brave faces

The temps were most definitely not cold and I started the race with just my throwaway gloves on, no arm sleeves or jacket or anything. I just simply didn't need any of that. It felt similar to how Boston started, but about 5 or so degrees cooler. I knew it wouldn't get nearly as warm as it did in Boston, however, so I held onto that positive as the gun went off.

Four minutes after the first runners started, Kalynn and I crossed the start line and the journey to the Capitol began.

That first mile was kind of stupid easy. It was a bit downhill and I felt like I was running effortlessly. When I saw I was running 8:50 pace it truly surprised me and it felt 30 seconds per mile slower than that. I held back a bit in those first two miles, knowing I had a very long way to go, but my splits were coming in very very strong. I went with it.

Now, I've gone back and forth in my mind on whether I should've held back in those first few miles. And I keep answering myself with NO. I went to that start line with a plan to run a 3:45 marathon and get a strong BQ and make my way to Hopkinton in 2021. The weather was not ideal, but it was not debilitating, either. If it started raining then I REALLY would be okay, because my body naturally craves that kind of cooldown and runs faster with less effort. I was definitely banking on a little rain, but I just had to try my best to run the paces I planned to and was capable of.

First 5K in 27:10 and 8:45 average pace....so awesome.

I was supposed to see Dennette and her family at around 5 miles as they live on the left side of the course. I kept my eyes on the spectators but never saw them. Found out later they were on the RIGHT side of the course, but they saw me and they were armed with the GREATEST signs on the course that day.

Second 5K in 26:53 and 8:39 average pace. I was at 54:03 overall in the first 5K. That used to be similar to the fastest I could run a standalone 10K. How far I've come! I felt really great and strong and in control and loved the fact that I was pushing myself and seeing what I could do. I saw Greg across the road with our friend Landon and it was a nice boost to see them.

I think this was somewhere around 10K into the race

Just as I suspected, the rollers were not bothering me. They were not difficult inclines and the downhills that followed felt great to run down. Using different muscles was a big positive in my book and I was enjoying the challenge of the course.

Now, don't get me wrong. I knew this pace wasn't easy. I was putting it all out there and mentally telling myself I could keep running this for 26 miles. But I was under no illusion that it was definitive that I would be successful. The air was just plain wet. The pics all look like it rained the whole time as the ground was wet, but it was just overnight rain and mist that just never evaporated.

Third 5K in 26:55 and 8:40 pace, holding strong. 1:20:58 for the first 15K.

Fourth 5K in 26:49 and 8:38 pace and 1:47:47 for the first 20K.

This is about where it definitely was fatiguing me, but not horribly worrying me. I knew it wouldn't be easy and I'd likely be hurting big time at the end. But nonetheless, I kept my balls out and continued swinging for the fences.

Greg saw me at the halfway point and he could tell I wasn't my usual "happy face" Steph and it gave him pause. He knew it was hurting me now.

My first half was in 1:53:31, which just happens to be the third fastest half marathon I have ever run, stand alone or in a marathon. Third fastest, holy crap. And I still had 13.1 miles to run, and hopefully at a faster pace. I had hit the halfway point running 8:40 average pace, just a little under my target. It was BQ pace by a lot, so even if I maintained my pace I would have a BQ time by a few minutes. I couldn't complain about that.

This is the point where I started negotiating with myself. I was starting to have a hard time speeding up like I had planned, so I kept maintaining my pace as best as I could.

My fifth 5K was in 27:08, and 8:45 pace so I had slowed down. Not by a lot, but if I wanted a comfortable BQ cushion, I couldn't slow down anymore. My 25K time was 2:14:55. Crazy to think that the winning male would've already crossed the finish and the women weren't far behind. And here I was with nearly 11 miles to go.

The balls that I started with in Folsom were definitely starting to shrivel. Things were getting a bit hard, and this was kind of early for them to be getting hard. My left Achilles was most definitely bugging me, but not getting worse as the race progressed. I'm sure it affected my pace slightly. I'm not sure exactly when, but I know we got a few minutes of rain. It felt so good, but it didn't last nearly long enough. I wasn't feeling hot, but I wasn't cold either and I was desperately wishing for some cold. The air wasn't bugging me too much, but it's entirely possible my lungs were starting to rebel. My heartrate was definitely higher than I expected it to be, but rather than intentionally slow down like I did in Boston (so I could actually enjoy the experience and not suffer and hate it), I just kept running hard. Greg always tells me to just shut up and run and that's what I continued to do.

When Mile 17 came in at 9:15 after I took a longer time to make my way through the water stop, I knew that this was the point where either I try to run through this pain, or I cut myself some slack and protect my sub-4. HOW BAD DID I WANT THIS??

Sixth 5K was in 28:59 and 9:20 pace....I was now over 2 minutes off the 5k split I wanted to be at. I was running dangerously close to having the 3:50 pacer pass me and losing my BQ. My 30K time was 2:43:54.

It was at this point that I decided that I, in fact, did NOT want the BQ bad enough to suffer more than I was for 7+ more miles. I would still need to run some semblance of an 8:45 pace to squeak under 3:50, but my brain was having trouble doing math. At this point, hanging onto 9:15 miles hurt. BUT I was still running well enough to break 4 hours by a few minutes, so that's where my focus shifted. NO WAY was I going to see a 4 in my finish time.

Now, if I had really been thinking clearly, I would've thought about breaking 9 minute average pace, but hindsight is 20/20.

I saw Greg at 20 miles, along with some dinosaurs, and that provided a boost to me and my morale. I did give him a little pout and a thumbs down, but unfortunately that only served to really worry him about how I was doing. I held up four fingers as I passed in the hopes that he knew I was going for the sub-4, but he didn't really understood that's what I meant.

Thumbs down to losing my BQ

So poor Greg spent the next 6.2 miles of my journey worried that I was incredibly upset.

HECK NO I WASN'T UPSET! I was running a freaking marathon into downtown Sacramento and it was going to be my 3rd fastest by a long shot. I was going to be under 4 hours and it wasn't going to be an epic implosion, nor was I going to run any miles over 10 minute pace. I wasn't even going to give into walking, except to grab fuel as quickly as I could at the water stops.

Seventh 5K was in 29:36 and 9:36 pace. 35K was in 3:13:30.

But seriously, I haven't felt this much pain at the end of a marathon in a long time. Where was my rain? The sun tried to peak out of the clouds a couple times but mercifully went away just as quick as it came out. I still wasn't feeling particularly hot THANK GOD. Since my pace was slower, my heartrate dropped about 10 beats so I was breathing easier. But my legs were struggling. I kept giving myself all sorts of pep talks to keep moving, I kept looking at my time and how much longer I needed to run and reminding myself I was well on my way to breaking 4 hours by a long shot.

Coming across the American River at mile 22

As you get into Sacramento, you start running by all the numbered streets. I remember seeing numbers in the 50s and knew that we didn't make the turn towards the Capitol and the finish line until 8th Street. Good Lord, that's a lot of streets to count down, and they were going by SO SLOWLY. It seemed like it took forever for the numbers to get into the 30s, then the 20s, and then at that point, I was running on sheer will. My body HATED ME.

Eighth 5K was in 29:59. YIKES. I was still slowing, but it wasn't horrible. It was ugly, but not horrible. I was at 3:43:29, so basically with almost 1.4 miles to run I was almost at my original goal time of 3:45. OOPS.

Did I mention that the streets were going by so slowly? I started counting down the tenths of a mile at this point.

Making those last two turns, first onto 8th street and then towards the Capitol was the best feeling! Only I couldn't speed up in that last stretch and in the finish video that Greg took I look incredibly pathetic with all these people passing me. But that's what I was willing to give to finish this damn thing out.

I crossed the finish line in 3:56:50, with a 9:02 average pace. Oh, if only I had thought to speed up just enough to see 8:59 average pace. So, that's really the only regret I have.

Gosh, what a big finish line smile. Ha.

I mustered up a BLAZING 9:48 pace for the last 2.2 km. Just BLAZING, I tell you. My slowest split of the day was the final split.

I had myself a quick little cry on Greg's shoulder when I found him at the side of the finish chute, and got that out of my system. I wasn't disappointed, but I was just plain exhausted at the mental and physical effort it took to salvage some semblance of a good race after my A goal went out the window.

Recovery Coke, with rum hidden in it, of course

My 16th marathon was complete. It was my 3rd fastest and my 3rd sub-4. I am nearly 46 years old and can still crank out a good marathon time and be proud of myself. With the exception of the last mile, I did manage to continually improve my placing in the field.

My last four marathons have been my four fastest....my fastest half splits have come in these four races. I am learning how to truly race a marathon distance and pushing myself to see what I can do, without fear of failure. I had a 9:48 positive split in this race....BUT....

I'm really proud of myself.

This is a FAST field, and to see my placing be respectable was a big positive

I loved experiencing this weekend with this girl!

When I got back to Round Rock and was unpacking, I noticed that there was an energy gel still in my handheld. I shouldn't have had an extra gel, as I took four with me on the course and planned to take them every 5 miles. Apparently, I never took one after 15 miles. I was still hydrating with Nuun Endurance and getting calories that way, so it's hard to know if a lack of my final gel had any effect on how I felt. We will never know and I'm not going to dwell on what could've been. But I could still kick myself for forgetting to fuel at 20 miles. It's a rookie mistake to make.

Because my Achilles is still tender and needs a little rest, rather than running the Atlanta Marathon on March 1, I am downgrading to the half marathon. I need a bit of lower mileage right now and to give my brain a rest. Greg is going to run that half marathon with me and we are going to have a great time watching the Olympic Trials the day before, so I'm very much looking forward to the trip.

Greg had another surprise in store for me as well. Back in October I applied for guaranteed entry into the Chicago Marathon and was accepted, but Greg maintained that he was still retired from marathons. I joked that I might enter him into the lottery anyway, but I did not.

He posted this on Facebook on Thursday when they notified the lottery applicants of their status, sneaky man:

The man always keeps me on my toes.

Chicago training starts in June!

It's Race Week!

After 18 weeks, I'm finally in the home stretch of my marathon training cycle. In six days, I'll toe the line in Folsom, California, and run my 16th marathon.

It never gets any less nerve wracking.

I go back and forth between thinking I'm prepared to run a PR race, and then I get massive nerves thinking that maybe I'm not quite there. It hasn't been a perfect training cycle (are they ever?), but I know that I put in great effort and I'm in very good shape right now. I had a biometric screening done for my health insurance this morning, and I'm at my ideal racing weight and my blood pressure was great, and I'm really pleased with that! I haven't weighed myself once during this cycle, so to see my efforts quantified with the number I was hoping for is a confidence boost.

Since my peak week of training, I've focused on less volume and intensity to repair my body and prepare it for the stress of 26.2 miles. Last Thursday was our Turkey Trot 5 miler, and my plan wasn't to race it but to get into a groove and just cruise at a difficult pace and finish feeling good. The start of the race was very congested and there were many people in front of me running over 10 minute per mile pace, while I had planned to run about 8:15-8:30. So that first mile was all over the place for me, dodging past people when I could and hoping for an opening in the crowd to settle in. It took about a half mile before the crowd opened up and I could finally relax a bit. First mile was an 8:16, which was quicker than I expected. Mile 2 was definitely faster than I had wanted to run, at 7:48, so I backed off for the next couple miles, running 8:05 and 8:06. I still felt pretty good, like I could continue to run that pace without overdoing it for the rest of race. Last mile came in at 7:50 so I averaged about 8:00 overall. I was very pleased that my average heartrate was 153 and I never hit zone 5. Two years ago I ran a faster race, but I was still over two weeks out from my marathon, so I felt like I could run all out then, while this time I knew that just wouldn't be necessary or really smart for me. Feeling good at 8:00 pace ten days before CIM seems pretty great to me! I didn't feel any weird pains or muscle tightness, so I know my taper is going well.

But then there's always that one run in the taper that screws with your head. That was my easy run this past Saturday morning. It was 73 degrees and extremely humid out. Not quite as bad as our summer, but way warmer than what we've typically been running in for the last couple months. To be honest, I felt like total crap on that run. My heartrate was too high (I didn't even look during the run, but analyzed after) and my breathing sucked. Fortunately, however, yesterday's easy 10 miler was a million times better. It was 30 degrees cooler and only about 40% humidity (exactly what I want for race day). I got stronger as the run progressed, and it was my last longish run of the cycle.

I do, however, feel like I might have a touch of tendinitis in my left heel. It's staying at bay, and I'm hoping the rest after the race will help it to settle down. I didn't feel it during the Turkey Trot, but I did feel it during my weekend runs. Funny enough, it's always my right side that bugs me, so to have a pain on my left side is different. My right side isn't giving me any trouble right now!

For this week, I'll only be running easy pace, with maybe a few strides thrown into tomorrow's run. Now is the time for me to continue to baby my body - sleeping well, eating well, hydrating, foam rolling, icing, and relaxing. I got a deep tissue massage last Tuesday and it was absolutely wonderful. I've scheduled my next massage for 3 days after the race, and I have a feeling I might start getting addicted to these massages. Sorry, Greg!

I travel to Sacramento on Friday morning, and Greg will follow that night. I am staying right near the finish line and I know being in that area will get me excited for the race. Seeing the finish line set up is always a boost, plus there's the Capitol 5k on Saturday morning (I'm not running, but will probably go cheer). I've got dinner reservations for Saturday night, and my girlfriend from the Austin area who is running is joining us. I'll be laying low most of Saturday trying to shake my nerves and getting my game face on. I have a really big goal for this race and I definitely need to dial in my focus.

Sunday morning will start super early. The bus to the start line leaves at 5am! That's going to be a little rough, but it was similar in Mississippi two years ago, so I know what to expect. I'm glad that they allow us to hang out on the bus until we have to get to the corrals, because it will be pretty chilly and the rain forecast keeps going back and forth every time I check the weather. I think I might actually prefer a little rain as I tend to naturally speed up. I don't think we are going to have any issue with the temperature during the race as it should stay in the 40s to low 50s the entire time. That's a huge weight off my shoulders. When the Boston forecast shifted from cold rain to warm, sunny, and humid, it totally sucked. One of the reasons that I picked CIM is that the weather is almost always ideal for the race. It appears that this year will be no different.

In other words, I don't have any reason to hold back. Balls to the wall with a BQ as the goal!

If anyone is interested in tracking, they do have runner tracking with the details on the race home page. There's even an app, and I think the app shows 5K splits. I'm working on my pacing plan right now, and if I keep my 5K splits between 26 and 27 minutes I'll hit my goal. That's a lot of 27 minute 5Ks to string together!

About a month ago, I stopped getting sucked into social media. The negativity was just not good for my mental health and I needed to focus on taking better care of myself while heading into the most intense week of training. It's still been quite a stressful month, unfortunately. My daughter has regressed with her struggles and we've put a lot of time, effort, and money into figuring out how to turn the ship back around. Being on edge wondering when things are going to go downhill again is extremely exhausting. On top of that, she sprained her ankle and damaged her ligaments right before Thanksgiving break, which means a boot for six weeks. And then ON TOP OF THAT, she found out the next day that her favorite teacher was having sex with a 17 year old student in her classroom and has been fired and arrested. My poor kid doesn't need anymore bullshit to deal with, and we don't need anymore hysterical episodes to navigate. AND THEN, I found out the version of a medication I'm taking is no longer being covered by my insurance, and now I need to fight for that.

Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't completely lost my shit, because there are times I wonder how much longer I can deal with this. So while I have checked into some Facebook pages (the race, my kids' schools, etc), I'm not participating in any dialogue and avoiding checking Messenger. Texting is my go-to communication right now, and it's working for me.

Six more days!!

12 more weeks

Marathon #16 (California International) in 12 more weeks. My shot to get a Boston Qualifying time so I can run it again in 2021.

I need a 3:50 to qualify with the tightened standards, and I'll be shooting for a 3:45. It's so hard to know how fast you really need to run. Boston 2020 registration is currently happening and they did announce they will not be able to accept everyone who has applied, so it's anyone's guess what the cut off will be (to be announced next week). The competition is just crazy with people getting so much faster and the interest to run Boston being so high. That dang cut off number will make a difference in where my mind is going into CIM. Not that I want to be lax about pushing my finish time to well under 3:50...I really do want that 3:45.

So here's where I'm at.

• I'm over 40 miles per week now and my first 18 miler is this coming weekend. It seems surreal.
• My heartrate data continues to improve, and my VO2 max is climbing again...finally.
• My intervals are getting faster....finally. 
• Still dealing with awful summer temps, though. My lowest temp for a training run in months has been 71 I believe.
• My legs are fatigued and it annoys me. Pretty stupid thing to be annoyed about....IN MARATHON TRAINING. Of course I'm fatigued.
• My mind is NOT where I want it to be. It's not where it was 2 years ago at this same point in training....so I have work to do there.
• I feel like I want more time, even though I don't NEED more time. 

It's time to throw the gauntlet down and focus as well as I possibly can on these last 526 training miles. My nutrition, hydration, sleep, recovery, stress level, strength....all of it needs to be a priority. Stress level is actually probably my biggest issue right now. I especially need to remember that the colder temps are coming and I'm going to feel like a whole new person when they arrive.

But all of this seemingly negative thinking still takes a backseat to how excited I am to travel to Sacramento and do this race. Another state capital to race in (my 5th!), a highly regarded race, a net downhill (albeit only slightly) point-to-point (my favorite), and I get to see friends. We are trying to figure out a way to get Greg there, too, but my flights are astronomically priced now. I should've just booked two tickets while I booked mine!

I do need to get a little excited about one thing. This morning was a sprint interval workout. The last time I did it was July 9 when it was a bit warmer out. The workout is a 15 minute warmup, then 10x 20 sec all out, 5 minute easy jog, then 10x 20 sec all out again. The rest after each interval is a 1 min walk. I jogged most of the first intervals when we did it in July, but was much better this morning about walking and then only jogging in the last 10-15 seconds to get ready for the sprint.

I had a GREAT workout. In July I averaged 6:54 in the first 10 and then 6:42 in the second 10. My recovery intervals were under 12 minute pace on average. This morning I averaged 6:27 in the first 10 and 6:07 in the second 10. I had several intervals under 6:00 min pace, something I don't even remember ever happening. My recovery intervals were about 12:50 average, so I took them easier, but it allowed me to push harder during the sprints. My average heartrate was 6 beats lower. I was also wearing a new pair of shoes (neutral shoes for the first time) and I joked that it was the shoes! I felt really good when I was done with the workout and thought I had more intervals in me. The data that I'm starting to see from my workouts is giving me more confidence.

Big Fat Change of Plans

You know what sucks? Bad news on top of bad news.

So....I'm injured. I pulled my hamstring....and did quite a number on it. If you've ever pulled your hamstring you know that the recovery time pretty much sucks and it's a long process. It can plague you for MONTHS if you don't let it properly heal. There's a small possibility there's a small tear in it (not likely) but the treatment is the same regardless. REST. REST. REST.

I've battled with my head repeatedly in the last week on whether I'm going to fight through this, hope to be back to running sooner rather than later, and still be able to salvage my 2018 racing season.

Yeah....NOPE.

I'm going to rip the bandaid off and say that I'm officially out of the Houston Half Marathon and the California International Marathon. In reality, I need to absolutely rest my hamstring if I want it to be back to normal in time to ramp up my training again for the Boston Marathon. Fighting through this is simply not worth it when I look at the big picture. CIM is only 61 days away. I simply do not have the time to rest and then be back in the right shape to run a good marathon. I do not want to toe the line just to finish this race and then potentially be back at square one because I re-injure myself.

On the bright side, I can defer both races to 2019 for a minimal charge. The husband *may* even have said something about "should we run CIM together next year?" I may hold him to that!

It was a super crappy week last week, first with me getting injured and seeing just how serious it was, and then finding out the cut-off for Boston was 4:52, leaving Greg off the official entry list. What a freaking rollercoaster of crap.

The good news is that I booked flights on points, so it's easy to cancel. My hotel can be canceled for no penalty. Even better? We are actually heading to that area two weeks before CIM because a friend is getting married (best news I've gotten in the past week!!). So while I'm canceling one flight, I'm booking another! I can still hopefully squeeze in a little time with the friends I'm not able to see for CIM.

Even better news? I just happened to look at flights for Boston. They were so stupid unbelievably cheap that I booked those, too. I was flight booking crazy this morning.

This is not how I envisioned ending 2018. I was having a pretty great training season, despite being sick of the icky weather. I felt strong and was very much looking forward to running a race like California International Marathon. I wanted to requalify for Boston with the new, tightened 2020 standards. I wanted to test my speed on 10/28 in a half marathon in Houston. I was even going to race a 10 miler this coming weekend. It's hard to let go of three races just like that.

I still have the Aramco Houston Half Marathon on January 20 to look forward to. That was my "A race" half marathon anyway. I should be well on my way to being back to normal by then if I play my cards right now.

Training Update

For crap's sake, I'm ready for the cold temperatures of fall and winter.

This summer has SUCKED!! I don't remember the last time I ran in weather that was under 75 degrees. I had a taste of a sub-70 dew point last week and it was glorious, but once in dozens of training runs is definitely not enough!

Give me frozen boogers and numb fingers, please.

Of course, when that actually happens, I'll be wishing for tank top running weather. Isn't that how it always is?

I am in Week 9 of California International Marathon training and it's going well. Not spectacular because, like I said, the weather sucks and I'm pretty much totally sick of "80 degrees at 5:30am" training runs. But I am not injured, my endurance is really good, and I'm enjoying training nonetheless.

I just wish I could see my speed and know where I really truly stand with my marathon goals. Pretty hard to do that when it's so oppressive and it takes major discipline to keep my heart rate in control during 18 mile training runs, discipline that means I'm running pretty slow so I don't burn out and overdo it and end up injured.

Let's talk some positives now....

My heart rate data is better than last year, and yet the weather is worse. I'm consistently keeping a lower average heart rate during easy, recovery, and long runs. This morning I ran 8 miles and tried to keep a faster cadence and push a bit more than a very easy run, but never looked at my watch data. At the end of the run my average heart rate was 129, solidly Zone 1 and 2. But I was quicker than usual (not fast, definitely not fast!). For it being 100% humidity out and a pretty long run for mid week, I'd say that was great!

My interval times are faster. It might not seem like much to see a half mile interval split faster than this time last year when you compare that to racing 26.2 miles, but it's still a positive data point.

I'm putting in higher volume earlier in training and I'm not dying (yet) from it.

It's so easy for a marathoner to get burned out trying to train in the summer, and it's hard to see fitness improvements when you know you're running way slower than ability because of the weather constraints. I like to keep a few things in mind while I train through this and wait for cooler temps. First, it's okay to be slow right now. It's okay for the intervals to be a bit shorter right now. It's okay to ease into goal pace work during long runs. My main concern is building my endurance and watching my effort level, to becoming comfortable with faster paces during intervals, to watching my heart rate trends and seeing them move in a positive direction week over week, and to take my recovery very, very seriously.

When the temps start trending down this upcoming week, I am hoping to see my training improve with regards to pace vs effort level. I think I saw a glimpse of that this morning. Plus, if last Friday's run in better weather is any indication, this improvement should be pretty noticeable. I have a long run planned this weekend with four goal marathon pace miles. I'm actually looking forward to this because it should give me a lot of good feedback to use in my future training weeks. The temps will hopefully be a few degrees cooler than they have been but even if they aren't, it's *only* four race pace miles. I can do four!

I'm pushing myself into 45+ mile weeks now, and a 200 mile month for September. Next month I have two races planned to gauge my fitness. On October 7 is a 10 mile race and on October 28 is a half marathon. I have never raced a 10 miler before, but I have an idea of how I want to approach it. What I'm really curious about is how fast I can run a half marathon. My PR is old as dirt and I haven't broken 1:50 yet and I haven't ever attempted it. I really REALLY want to obliterate 1:50. So Houston, could you pretty please give me good racing conditions on October 28? K thanks.

Things for me to keep in mind as these weeks get tougher leading up to my December 2 marathon:

1. Consistency. Show up and do work everyday, whether it's a hard effort or a recovery run. Every run has importance and I need to take them all seriously. My friends will just have to understand why I can't stay late at that party on Saturday night.

2. Self care. More sleep, better eating habits, consistent hydration, stretching and rolling. Keep the damn cookies away from me. I ain't eating them!

3. Recovery. Why do people have such a hard time with this concept? If you ran hard every single time you laced up your shoes, you would never improve! Recovery effort is Zone 1! If that means you run 11:00 pace when your marathon pace is 8:45, then that's what you run. Truthfully in the summer I find it pretty hard to stay completely in Zone 1, but trust me when I say I am crawling and I'm not even breathing heavy in very low Zone 2 so I cut myself some slack here. I am totally in love with runs like this.

4. Warm up. That first mile is a really easy one, for every single run. When I take that seriously, the rest of my run goes so much better. I'm almost 45 years old. I need to warm up, dammit. On Tuesdays when we do our intervals and tempo runs, our first mile is often well over 11:00 pace. We take it very easy and incorporate drills a few minutes in. When we start our first speed interval, our bodies are ready for it. This will be especially important to do prior to any race start.

5. Believing in myself. It might seem crazy to consider approaching 8:30 pace for a marathon, but at one point I thought under 8:50 pace was insane, and I did it twice in five weeks. I'm in better shape now and I have to believe I'm capable of improvement.

6. Celebrating the small victories. Was my pace 10 sec/mile faster at the same effort compared to my run two weeks ago? That's a victory! Did I maintain Zone 2 over three hours into my long run? Victory! Did 7:30 pace during my interval feel almost easy compared to last week? Another victory! Every little improvement gives me more confidence to take into the next run.

I have 88 more days until California International Marathon. 12 weeks, 4 days. Lots of time to train, to get stronger, to get more confident.

A Tale of Two Races, 2016 Edition

It's done! My two half marathons this month, 7 days apart, are DONE.

They were SO DIFFERENT it's really quite laughable. Now, I knew I was only pushing myself for one of them, the City to the Sea on October 9, and I was going to hold back on the second run, Nutrabolt Oktoberfest on October 16, and finish it about 5 minutes slower. That was the plan, anyhow.

For City to the Sea, the weather was perfect! It had been unusually dry leading up to the race, with morning temps in the 50s. I was thrilled because I knew the only thing that would hold back my pace was my own legs and not my lungs. It all worked out perfectly, as I finished in 2:02:39. Not the ultimate stretch goal of under 2 hours, but I am very happy with how I strategized and executed and I'll take a 2:02!

For Oktoberfest, the weather could not have been more miserable. Practically 100% humidity, with an atrocious 75 dew point, and temps in the 70s. Your basic Texas summer morning....only it's the middle of October now. In the back of my head I knew even trying to run my marathon pace of 9:40-9:45 was NOT going to be "holding back" for me, but rather my new ultimate stretch goal for this race. At about mile 6 I knew there was no way I was going to see anything even remotely close to it, although I did manage to hit the pace for the first half of the race, but that was HARD. Anyway, long story short, I finished in my second slowest road half time of 2:16:30. Truly atrocious morning.

But let's go back to the awesomeness of the City to the Sea Half Marathon. Can I just say how much I absolutely love to race in my hometown of San Luis Obispo? I was (mostly) all smiles before the race, hanging out in downtown, totally excited (and nervous) about running through town, through the canyon, and then to the beach. It's a great little college town and a beautiful place to run.

My nerves were off and on. I REALLY wanted a good race. I knew breaking two hours would be tough, but I also knew that if I kept my head in the game I could possibly do it. I was also worried about the hills in the second half. The first half of the race is a gradual decline, with pretty much all the 500 feet of elevation gain coming in the second half. I was hoping to capitalize on the good downhills in the second half if the uphills slowed me down too much. I figured I had nothing to lose, however, and my strategy was to run as well as I could for as long as I could, and when and if I couldn't any longer, I'd suck it up as best as I could.

The start line on Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo

I started off the race at my usual half marathon racing pace, and moved into the 9:00-9:10 pace within the first three miles. It wasn't particularly easy, but it actually wasn't very difficult either. I wore my heart rate monitor and checked my heart rate occasionally, which told me I was doing just fine. One of the great things about this race is that we ran on the same road for the first five miles. No turns, therefore no need to try to run tight tangents. I wasn't picking up any extra mileage like one normally would on a race course with lots of turns. The miles were clicking off nicely and I was through the first half in about an hour. If I could maintain that pace and pick it up in that last mile, I'd squeak in under one hour. At worst, I'd be a minute or two over. Can you say THRILLED?!?! My race was going great and I felt great.

BUT I knew about those hills coming up...and sure enough, as soon as we turned onto San Luis Bay Drive halfway through the race, the first hill taunted us. It was a doozy.

San Luis Bay Drive, mile 7

Surprisingly, however, I ran mile 7 in 9:17. Not bad, but off pace. I sped up on the downhills in the next mile, and Mile 8 came in at 9:14 and Mile 9 back down under 9:10. I was at 9:12 pace overall through 9 miles. The canyon miles were no joke, and now I needed to be faster to break 2 hours, as I had picked up about 15 second of extra distance in the last few miles, in addition to the extra time I picked up in those two slower miles. I knew I was getting tired at this point. I could run the pace, but the hills were taking their toll on my legs. Needing to run sub-9 from here on out was going to definitely start to hurt.

Good grief

And then there was Mile 10. The entire mile is uphill. I wouldn't say that I threw in the towel right here, but this is when I decided that trying to push myself harder just wasn't going to happen. It was also right about here that we could finally see the ocean. So that's when I said, 'okay, I've proved my point. I can run a good pace again, and I have more sub-2's in my future.' It was time to enjoy myself, so I backed way off going up this hill. It was so much slower, that I ran it in 9:55. I sped up in those last few rolling miles, running between 9:20 and 9:35. Seeing that ocean was totally worth giving up a couple minutes on my race time. You couldn't wipe that smile off my face if you tried.

I crossed the finish line in 2:02:39. I had kept pace for about 9 miles, and had it not been for the hills, I would have probably broken 2 hours. This is so huge for me right now. I felt like I had broken through a physical and mental barrier. My IT band was achy for most of the run, but I never felt real pain from it. Perhaps it would have been more painful had I pushed it on those hills, so I'm glad I held back. My average heart rate average for the race was only 153, lower than I expected, and that's a very good sign of things to come.

Why yes, I did grow up here

So...onto the following weekend. The Nutrabolt Oktoberfest Half Marathon in College Station, my "marathon race pace" half marathon. Except that the weather was probably the worst that I've raced in for an endurance event. Coupled with racing just seven days before and a travel week, and I knew in the back of my head, this wasn't going to go so well, but I could still give it a shot.

I decided to run as even paced of a race as I could. Of course my Garmin lost it's signal in the first mile and I actually have no idea how fast I ran that mile. But based off the mile markers on the course, I think within the first three miles I was at 9:35 pace overall. Too fast, but at that point I thought maybe I could hold it for most of the race. I intentionally backed off after mile 3 and then the wheels pretty much started to fall off.

Mile 6 felt harder than the previous miles, even though it barely came in at under 10 minute pace. At this point I looked at my heart rate and it registered a 165. That's WAY too high for an "easy" pace for me, especially considering how in control I was in the previous week's race. I was struggling to keep my lungs working and my heart rate down, and my legs were feeling like lead.

This wasn't worth it. I crossed the timing mat at the 10K in 1:00:15, a 9:40 pace, and at the halfway mark, I walked. My heart rate needed to come down or I'd throw myself into a massive asthma attack.

So for the next 6.5 miles, I ran 5-7 minutes (I couldn't get the running under 10 minute pace) and walked a minute or two. Did I mention they found every single hill in College Station for this route? They felt like mountains (they weren't really bad). The sun came out. Everyone was walking portions of the race. Nobody was really very happy. All the happy people were done at this point. The rest of us wanted to be put out of our misery.

This weather was REALLY REALLY bad. This race was REALLY REALLY ugly.

About 11 miles in, I was so frustrated that I thought of bailing on the whole thing. But then I remembered that we got to finish in Kyle Field and that I'd get a beer stein and a medal with a beer opener on it. Time to suck it up and finish, no matter how ugly.

After what felt like a day and a half, we could see Kyle Field in the distance and I sped up to a blazing 10:15 pace (for real, this was the fastest I think I could run at this point).

That stupid clock said 2:16:30 when I crossed the finish line. I hate that clock.

With Tony and Barb, my badass GTT teammates 

Officially this was my second slowest road half marathon out of 17. I ran one trail half that was slower, and one road half that was slower. And 15 that were faster. Damn.

However, considering how great it felt the week before, I'm not letting it get me down. Especially since on Monday I came down with a doozy of an illness. It's entirely possible I was actually sick during this race, which would mean that of course I felt as horrible as I did....I had pretty much everything going against me.

Did I mention my friend Tony ran this race 19 minutes faster and he's 14 years older than me? Butthead.

The bright spot....I realized 11 miles in that I hadn't felt my IT band AT ALL during this race. I had actually forgotten all together that I was even injured. That's a pretty big win right there. Rehab is the bomb.

Two half marathons in 7 days are done. I have 12 weeks until the Louisiana Marathon and despite, the mediocrity of the Oktoberfest Half, I'm feeling pretty great going into the hardest part of marathon training. I have a great training plan laid out, I have some pretty kickass training buddies (side note: my friend Jeff ran 10 miles with me this past Saturday, just 6 days after the half and coming off an icky sick week, and I ran 9:35 pace overall. Guess what? The weather was great...imagine that), and I'm being a good girl with my physical therapy.

Baton Rouge better be ready for me. 

Race Week is Here

If you had asked a month ago what my ultimate goal was for the City to the Sea Half Marathon on October 9, I would have said "sub-2."

I've run a few sub-2 hour half marathons, but most have been in the 2:00-2:05 range. There was a time when a race under 2 hours was a given, and I never wanted to see another 2+ hour half.

Ha! Funny.

If you asked me yesterday what my goal was, it would be "please don't let me embarrass myself."

All summer I've been using the weather as my excuse for feeling so horribly slow. However, the last few weeks have really forced another issue to come to the forefront and that is my right leg. It's just not cooperating! My gluteus medius muscles are apparently weak, and my right psoas muscle is very tight. My right IT Band is pretty locked up, and the outside of my knee is where the pain has manifested. I am a pretty good girl about foam rolling and trigger point, but I have to admit I haven't been really great overall with my consistency.

I couldn't ignore this problem any longer and knew I just needed someone to work on it and guide me through some rehab without actually having to stop running. We all know I'm not going to stop running.

Enter Airrosti. I've known about them for a long time. Heck, they even came to my house in January for an Injury Rehab Clinic...oh, the irony there, I know. Since they accept my insurance I got on their schedule. I have appointments every 3 days until my race this weekend, and then I will see them again next week.

My leg is HURTING. It's very sensitive to the touch because there is some bruising going on along my IT band and in my glutes because of the work the doctor is doing. I can still run, but my leg makes sure I know it's there. I have strengthening and stretching exercises to do daily so I can fix this damn imbalance problem.

See, this is why I'll never be the fastest chick out there! Scoliosis, a leg length discrepancy, and the resulting nagging muscular imbalance is a serious buzzkill.

But it's fixable (to a point) with diligence on my part. I've gone years at a time without issue so I know it can happen again.

Sitting around icing and complaining, however, has given me time to think. I'm frustrated, and I've thought more than once if it's worth it to keep trying this whole endurance thing. Maybe I'm not cut out for it, maybe I should just take a year off, maybe I need a different hobby. After all, this can't possibly be good for me.

But then another perspective has slowly crept into my mind. I'm a healthy and active middle aged woman, I'm at a good weight and have never been overweight, I don't have any obesity-related illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, I'm not in a high risk medical group, and it's because I AM ACTIVE and I take care of myself. Plus, I love my exercise and healthy cooking hobbies. I have a focus on long term health.

If some discomfort because of my endurance endeavours is occasionally the result, then I'll take it. It's far better than the person I would be if I was sitting on the couch night after night, taking the easy way out with my exercise and eating habits. It's far better than developing obesity-related diseases and shortening my life span. Perhaps this is my personal price to pay for the rewards that I will reap in the long term.

I'm going to keep thinking like this as I go through this round of rehab. I posted on Facebook yesterday that years from now I'll see this as merely a blip and I won't regret not giving up.

Nope, definitely not giving up. This is the only body I have and I'm going to continue keeping it healthy and strong....I just have to put a bit more focus into my poor glutes being strong!

Did I mention it's RACE WEEK!! On Sunday, I'll earn myself this sweet medal.

I get to run from my hometown of San Luis Obispo, through the canyon, down to the beach in Pismo. Seriously, you just can't beat that. What a way for me to experience where I grew up in a unique way. And that medal! 

4 more days!

Five more weeks

Five more weeks. That's how long until my first of back-to-back half marathons.

When I counted how much time I had left I admit I was a bit surprised it's ONLY five more weeks (well, technically it's 39 days). Plenty of time, really, but it seems like it's creeping up on me so fast!

I've been hemming and hawing about how I want to approach these two races. One, the City to the Sea Half, is a net downhill course with very few turns, although there is still quite a bit of elevation gain, probably over 500 feet. Not horribly bad, but not easy. My hardest half marathon was over 900 feet of gain and I ran fairly well after a rough final few weeks of training. The second race, Nutrabolt Oktoberfest, is much flatter with a million turns.

In all honesty, I think that I do better on hillier courses. City to the Sea has miles-long straightaways, plus the first few miles and the last mile are downhill. I'll be able to recruit lots of different muscles throughout this course versus the monotony of the flat Oktoberfest course. City to the Sea is the first race, with Oktoberfest following 7 days later. I don't want to "race" both, but I definitely want to race one of them. I'm not sure I have a sub-2 in me, but I do think I can suck it up for 13.1 miles and put in a good effort. I'm leaning towards the hilly course as my "race" course.

If I approach it this way, I can run the Oktoberfest at marathon race pace, which will be 9:40-9:45 pace. That puts me at about a 2:07 and I know I can accomplish that without too much wear and tear on my body. It's not the slowness of long run pace, which would bore me in a race, and by being marathon pace the race will hold purpose in marathon training. It sets me up for running a similar type long run closer to marathon race day and comparing my progress.

It's probably way too much thinking for two little races. But I want a successful marathon season and I'm going to overanalyze a little. Or a lot! I'm not in the best shape I've ever been in (sad!) and I actually have very lofty goals in a few short years, so I'm trying to approach my return to marathon as intelligently as possible. It sets me up for a successful 2017 season, leading to the REALLY BIG THING I want to accomplish in 2018 (it's initials are BQ). So yes, I will overanalyze.

My confidence has been a little shaky, as it always is in the summer. I get very impatient for cooler weather because I know I'm going to feel so much stronger. The past few weeks, however, have actually been pretty decent regarding our weather. August is typically the hottest month of the year, but save for the first week of August, which was brutally hot, this year we've been spared. The temps have been really great and we've gotten quite a bit of rain. I think I'm seeing improvement because of this.

This past Friday morning I ran hill repeats on a moderately steep hill. I did 10 repeats with descending time intervals (2 x 90 seconds, 2 x 75 seconds, 3 x 60 seconds, 3 x 30 seconds), making sure I was not resting too long between intervals. I had an extra long warm up (1.7 miles). I figured as I was running my first 90 second interval (which feels like forever when you're running fast up a hill) that it was about 8:30 pace as it didn't seem like I was working too hard, just hard enough to want it to be over by the time I hit 75 seconds in. Imagine my surprise when my pace was 7:50. I did not think I had even come close to dipping under 8-min pace. My second interval came in the same.

Overall my interval times averaged 7:28, which is not something I've done in a very long time. Plus I was in the sun with 80+ degree temps the entire workout. 5 miles of work and I felt absolutely fantastic when I was done. It was truly an awesome workout.

Two days later, I ran for 2 hours. I haven't run that long in months. It wasn't particularly fast during the first hour, but we made it back after the turnaround in 55 minutes versus another whole hour (yes, I ran an extra five minutes to get a full 2 hours in). It was totally fine except for the last 20 minutes when the heat was getting to me. By then the sun was out in full force with little cloud coverage. But I didn't quit.

Yesterday morning was a 5k time trial. I ran most of it alone, in 95% humidity, after a one mile warm up, wishing the whole time I was running that I was on a track instead of in the creepy dark. But I did it in 8:15 pace. Nothing like my glory days but I'm pretty happy. I was in zone 5 heart rate for the last 20 minutes so I know I was pushing myself adequately.

These last three runs make me feel a whole lot better. I'm looking for all the motivation I can get right now!

I just finished reading David Boudia's book. He's an Olympic Gold Medal diver who just took home a silver and bronze in Rio. He talked a lot about how he was able to put a disastrous Beijing Olympics and destructive lifestyle behind him to have glory in London (while giving glory to God rather than focusing on his own personal glory). One thing that he said God revealed to him during his redemption journey that he needed to do when he struggled struck me as being extremely relevant in endurance training.

"Be process oriented, not results oriented. Remember the Olympic creed? The important thing is not the triumph but the fight. So many times in our lives, results are out of our hands and we are dependent on things we can't control for the outcomes we desire. Learning instead to focus on the process, the journey itself, allows us to focus our energies more on the things we can control. That, in turn, leads to greater fulfillment and more enjoyment as we go through life leaving our ultimate path in the Lord's hands (Psalm 37:5)."

Although I do have goals and I like to keep some focus on them as I train, he's totally right that in order to achieve our goal we have to focus on the process. The process in marathon training is months long. Each week serves a purpose, each workout serves a purpose. When the big picture and a focus on everything you still need to do in the months ahead, when you have a million doubts because you're having a tough training spell, you have to step back and focus on the process....what is the purpose and goal of THIS workout, why is it important, what does it mean if it's successful, what does it mean if it's not, what have I learned that I can take into the next workout, the next week, the next month, or even race day? We have complete control of that attitude.

In the next 39 days I'm going to do my best to focus on the journey, the process, and take baby steps as I make my way towards October 9.

Hometown Race Weekend...Again!

In 2014 I had a great time racing my hometown marathon, the San Luis Obispo Marathon....their motto is "Small Town, Big Race," exactly my kind of race. I was looking forward to an even better race in 2015.

ITBS derailed my hopes for a full marathon, unfortunately, and I downgraded my registration to the half marathon. As race day approached and I couldn't run more than 6 miles without being in pain, I knew I had made the right decision. I was still disappointed. I would not be running through the most beautiful parts of the vineyard-dotted course.

But that didn't mean I couldn't fuel with SLO County wine!

I signed up for the 5k the day before and knew that despite injury I would have a very fun weekend. Plus, since I was only running a half marathon, I could run a bit harder during the 5k and pull a more respectable time this year. For the half marathon I had no time goal. I would run a comfortable pace and if I felt good would try to speed up, but I would still keep myself in check. No sub-2 hour goal or expectation this time around. I was definitely okay with this. The course is fantastic...and hilly...and brings back lots of childhood and teenage memories....and its freaking HILLY. I would enjoy every mile, although because of the hills (did I mention there are HILLS??), definitely some miles more than others.

Hello rainy race morning!!

The 5k was 3.1 miles of chilly rain through Madonna Inn property, a really great 5k course. There's one yucky hill that is run twice, but it's followed by a really nice downhill. Because of the rain I wanted to run as hard as I could just to be done but I held back a bit. I didn't need to aggravate the ITBS and truth be told, I was nervous about slipping on the wet road on the downhills. I still ran a strong 5k, far off my PR pace, but a negative split nonetheless, with a sub-8 mile thrown in. I even ran into an old high school friend!

Overall, I ran a 25:27, 8:11 pace , 8th overall woman and 1st in my age group. I was happy!

Water logged with the Cal Poly mascot

Now for the half marathon. I didn't want to be nervous, but it doesn't matter how many of these races I do...I still get nervous! Even without a time goal, my nerves were a bit shot. I wanted to have fun, but I also wanted to run a respectable race. And above anything else, I didn't want to be in pain.

Representing TEXAS!!

I arrived at the start right before 6am, when the full marathoners began their race. The half didn't start until 6:45, so I spent some time walking around, chatting a bit, and getting my nerves under control. I looked for friends before the race but sadly couldn't find them. It was a chilly morning and I waited as long as I could before taking off my sweatshirt and turning in my race bag.

By the time we lined up at the start and listened to the national anthem and race director's final words, my nerves were fading and I was getting excited for the race to start.

I lived in San Luis Obispo for 14 years, so to run through the downtown area and past the Mission was very very cool. I absolutely love the first couple miles of the race and can't help but smile. It was everything I had to hold back for those first two miles, especially since it seemed like everyone was flying by me.

I was right on target to where I thought I would be for those first few miles, before the first big hill hits. I felt good, wasn't running too fast, and was prepared to tackle "Cardiac Hill," a 3/4 mile long hill that gains about 140 feet in elevation. It's kind of a beast, but thankfully comes early in the race. There's a nice downhill after you crest the top so you can get your breath back. I felt pretty darn great when I hit 4 miles. I was having a blast!

Right about mile 5 is when we had a chance to see the leader in the half marathon, Cal Poly alum-turned pro athlete Ben Bruce. Part of the race was out-and-back, so he was at mile 9 when he flew by us. He was FAST, and there wasn't anyone even close to him. He was literally running away with the victory. Not too long after seeing him, we saw his 19 weeks pregnant (and also professional runner) wife Stephanie just behind the women's leader. You'd never know she was pregnant! Crazy awesome athletes and very cool to see them on the course. They both ended up winning.

Right before the turnaround at 7.3 miles is another nasty evil hill. It was at this point that I realized my knee wasn't hurting at all yet. I was running a fairly decent race, at about 9:35 pace overall at the halfway point. I was perfectly content with this pace, especially since the race gets easier after the turnaround. There's much more downhill and flat sections, so I felt that as long as my knee held up I'd be able to speed up and run a negative split.

I'm looking down but I still love this pic because
 BOTH FEET OFF THE GROUND!

Aaaaand, I'm still looking down....

Hello, crazy awesome course! Nice hill, huh? (photo from SLO Marathon)

After the turnaround and with that nice downhill approaching, I really let myself relax a bit. I was honestly having a lot of fun, although running a half marathon is never really easy. The beauty of the course was breathtaking and I was soaking it all in. We also got a bit of a headwind after the turnaround that cooled me down a bit, not that it was very warm out. Really couldn't complain about the weather at all.

My knee finally starting snapping at me 9 miles into the race. Stupid knee. It wasn't bad pain, but it was annoying.

I think one of my favorite parts of the course, besides running by vineyards, is getting to go on the railroad bike trail. It's narrow, but it's away from traffic so it's relaxing to me. I know some people feel like it's a bit frustrating for the faster marathoners because they have to navigate the half marathoners as they pass us (they started 45 minutes ahead), and I can understand that. We did have a few of the marathon leaders weave through us, but the half marathoners started to move over to the right a bit more once we realized they were coming through. We are on this trail for about 1.5 miles and it ends on a railroad pedestrian bridge, with a switch back up to the bridge and a switch back down to the road. Because the winds were really picking up, the bridge was actually swaying and making me a little nauseous as we crossed it.

Jennifer Street Bridge at 11.5 miles

Once we were back on the street and I realized it was only about 15 minutes to the finish, I picked up the pace. My knee wasn't feeling any worse, so I didn't think speeding up by another 20 seconds per mile or so would be a big deal, and I felt good! There were lots of people out cheering us on through the neighborhoods and I was on a pretty big high knowing the race was almost over and it was going to be a good race for me.

With a half mile to go, I just smiled and RAN.

2:03:30

I can't begin to tell you how incredibly happy I am about that time. There was a point when I hated the thought of running another half over 2 hours, but I've gotten older and wiser since then. I ran over 5 minutes faster than my awful Austin Half Marathon in February. And this course is tougher. I'll take my 2:03 any day!!

Half Marathon #12 done and conquered. What a fabulous race!! My hometown always makes me proud.