California International Marathon (CIM) 2015
December, 6, 2015
The marathon went well for my 5th (4th official) CIM. I had three goals: (1) beat my last year's time; (2) break 5 hours; and (3) have fun. I met all three goals with a finish of 4:48 (beating last year's time by about an hour). I had a lot of fun running the whole thing with my friend Cathy. I ran some parts with other friends too and saw many friends along the course (either in the race, volunteering, or just out cheering). I ran a lot more than I expected too (thought I'd walk more) but it helped having Cathy's company with me. And, at mile 26, my sister-in-law handed me my baby, who I carried the last 0.2 mile to the finish. I do enjoy sharing special finishes with her!
3 favorite moments:
(1) Heading to the start with my husband and running friends. Diane, Cathy and I have done this together five years in a row and nice to see our CIM group has grown. Also, nice having my husband Craig with me at the start (he ran the relay).
(2) Stopping at the "unofficial" FTR cheering spot (set up by my friend Clint and Matt) at around mile 16.5. Seeing so many friends there wearing silly costumes and/or hats brought a big smile. Clint gave me a Coke here, which gave me the perfect boost to get me through the terrible teenage miles.
(2) Stopping at the "unofficial" FTR cheering spot (set up by my friend Clint and Matt) at around mile 16.5. Seeing so many friends there wearing silly costumes and/or hats brought a big smile. Clint gave me a Coke here, which gave me the perfect boost to get me through the terrible teenage miles.
(2) Carrying my baby the last 0.2 miles. Even though, we walked that last part, it was fun seeing her excitement at the cheering crowds and carrying her across the finish line.
3 things I did right:
(1) ran a steady even pace throughout the race. I was happy I did not go out to fast and maintained a pretty consistent pace throughout the whole race (not counting the 0.2 at the end). I ran even slightly faster in the second half than the first half -- a surprisingly negative split.
(2) did good with fueling. Ate gels about every 4-5 miles. Around mile 15, felt a slight pre-cramp twinge in my leg and immediately took a gel. And, I was fortunate that no cramping happened and my legs felt great.
(3) went with my older comfy shoes rather not than the new ones. I had ordered new road shoes, which arrived a little later than expected. They were the same brand as my older road shoes so figured it would be fine. However, I did a test run on the treadmill for a mile the night before and they just didn't feel right. I went with my gut and wore my Altra Superiors instead. Even though it's a trail shoe, they feel comfy and have an extra big toe box. For the race, I had no feet issues so I'm glad I went with my gut on what shoes to wear.
3 Things I Learned:
(1) I've got to do a lot more road specific training if I want to ever get back to my old marathon speed. While I was happy with my time, it crossed my mind many times that my marathon PR (3:48) is an hour faster. I have a hard time imagining how I used to run that fast. I know running on the trails has slowed me down (not to mention having a baby six months ago). While I have my endurance back, to get my speed back, I will need to do more road-specific training.
(2) Need to remember to eat after a hard run. Went a bit too long after the race before getting food and definitely was feeling it in the afternoon/evening.
(3) Motherhood is way harder than running a marathon. Before the marathon, my baby kept waking up crying throughout the night (she normally sleeps through the night). After finishing the marathon, on my drive home, my baby started wailing in the car. So, I pulled over into a parking lot thinking she needed her diaper change. I found out that she had an enormous poop explosion all over herself, her clothes, and her car seat. While she was screaming at full on level 10 melt down, I was scrambling to clean that all up. Then I worked to console her enough to get her back into the car to drive home. Motherhood is like a marathon in that there are many ups and downs. However, in a marathon, I can tell myself how much farther to go. At 20 miles, I know there's only a 10k left. Motherhood, there is no end and no knowing when things will go up or down.
(3) went with my older comfy shoes rather not than the new ones. I had ordered new road shoes, which arrived a little later than expected. They were the same brand as my older road shoes so figured it would be fine. However, I did a test run on the treadmill for a mile the night before and they just didn't feel right. I went with my gut and wore my Altra Superiors instead. Even though it's a trail shoe, they feel comfy and have an extra big toe box. For the race, I had no feet issues so I'm glad I went with my gut on what shoes to wear.
3 Things I Learned:
(1) I've got to do a lot more road specific training if I want to ever get back to my old marathon speed. While I was happy with my time, it crossed my mind many times that my marathon PR (3:48) is an hour faster. I have a hard time imagining how I used to run that fast. I know running on the trails has slowed me down (not to mention having a baby six months ago). While I have my endurance back, to get my speed back, I will need to do more road-specific training.
(2) Need to remember to eat after a hard run. Went a bit too long after the race before getting food and definitely was feeling it in the afternoon/evening.
(3) Motherhood is way harder than running a marathon. Before the marathon, my baby kept waking up crying throughout the night (she normally sleeps through the night). After finishing the marathon, on my drive home, my baby started wailing in the car. So, I pulled over into a parking lot thinking she needed her diaper change. I found out that she had an enormous poop explosion all over herself, her clothes, and her car seat. While she was screaming at full on level 10 melt down, I was scrambling to clean that all up. Then I worked to console her enough to get her back into the car to drive home. Motherhood is like a marathon in that there are many ups and downs. However, in a marathon, I can tell myself how much farther to go. At 20 miles, I know there's only a 10k left. Motherhood, there is no end and no knowing when things will go up or down.
