California International Marathon (No. 9)

What can I possibly write about a race that I have completed nine times? Believe it or not, there always seems to be plenty.

FARRAH FAWCETT KNEES

Ok, this may sound stupid and vain, but I spent a lot of time this year worrying about what to wear. You would think I would have this figured out by now, but sadly I don't. I fret about the weather and worry about being too cold or too hot. I also worry about hideous race photos and Farrah Fawcett knees. 

What are Farrah Fawcett knees? Short answer, they are loose skin that wrinkles and bunches up as your foot strikes the ground. It's the worst possible time for a photog to snap a pic. I prefer pics where both feet are hovering above the ground in complete defiance of gravity ;-)

OMG! Farrah Fawcett knees!

I call this phenomenon Farrah Fawcett knees because of the National Enquirer (or other gossip mag) that had a picture of Farrah running. At the time, she was probably close to my current age.  The picture was taken at just the wrong moment making her leg look horrible (see example above). 

I don't know why that photo or the commentary that went along with it stuck with me. I just remember being angry (and horrified) that they would publish something like that...and they called it out...like look how bad her legs look!! I really didn't think much about the picture again until I saw the 2024 IRONMAN California picture above of my own legs.

I hemmed and hawed all weekend before settling on compression shorts. Unfortunately, I found a couple of ill-timed race photos that proved my shorts only offered a mild improvement. 

Well that didn't work LOL

SHUTTLE CHANGES

I will be the first to admit that I absolutely HATE change. For the past several years, I have been dropped off at the shuttle location on Folsom Blvd. and Greenback Lane. It had become a familiar site on race day morning. 

This year, I pulled up the CIM website to double-check the drop off times and I didn't see my "normal" location. I tried a few other sources but everything sent me back to the original site. The two closest options were:

• Location: C/D - Folsom - All buses leave Locations C+D continuously between 5:00AM-5:30AM (No buses guaranteed after this time)
• Locations: E - Granite Bay - Buses leave continuously between 5:15AM and 6:15AM

Since location C/D was recommended for people off of the 50 Corridor, I figured it would be my best bet. I also assumed (shame on me) that we would be allowed to stay on the bus after being driven to the start. I mean, really, it's a 10 minute drive, the race directors couldn't possibly expect people to stand around in freezing temps (by California standards) for that long.

HS and I made the quick drive from our house to the drop off location on Iron Point. The drop off was much smoother than at the old location. Shortly after 5:00am, I gave HS a kiss and hopped out of the car. After a short walk across the street to the Folsom Outlets I found plenty of waiting buses.  I boarded the first available bus and tried to relax. I don't think I looked relaxed because no one would sit next to me. 

After a short ride up Folsom Blvd, the bus slowed and made a u-turn. Everyone on the bus started to stand and, to my dismay, began to exit the bus. It was 5:25am!!! The race wouldn't start for over 90 minutes. My first thought was to find a phone and call HS to come and get me. Ugh! I dutifully followed the pack up to the start area. 

My mind drifted back 11 years to my very first CIM. The race that actually did have freezing temps. I remember huddling near the exhaust vents of a bus just to stay warm. I only had to do that for about half an hour on that day...not an hour and a half. This time, being a seasoned CIM veteran, I walk up to the first bus in the line and waited for the driver to open the door. I was granted entrance and slowly walked up the aisle to an available seat. I was warm and sitting. Things couldn't get much better.

Correction, a short while later, my seat mate decided to get off the bus (must be my RRF...resting race face) so I had the whole seat to myself. I slid over to the window and curled up, resting my head against the seat back. Now things couldn't get much better. I closed my eyes and tried to block out the conversations going on around me.

Time crept by slowly. Eventually, more and more runners began to exit the bus. I checked my watch and decided to wait until 6:25am to leave. The plan was to hit the porta-potty and then go to my starting area. The lines at the potties moved very slowly. I thought I saw Donnie Osmond a few lines over, so that took my mind off of things (Note: I checked the results, no Donnie Osmond LOL).  After my turn in the dark, cold blue box, I had about 10 minutes to get to my starting area. 

THE PLAN (SORT OF)

My plan this year was to push myself and run with the 3:55 pace group. Last year I ran with the 4:00 group, so why not do something different. The only problem with 3:55 is that this group was headed up by my friend and coach from last year, Karyn Hoffman, along with her boyfriend, Scott. 

Official CIM Pacer Photos

So you may be wondering what could be so bad about knowing the pacers. The answer is simple, I was afraid that they would push me out of my comfort zone, especially if I got a bad attitude mid race and decided I just didn't feel like running. In the past, these two would race IRONMAN Cozumel sometime around Thanksgiving and then head back home and run CIM an couple of weeks later like it was nothing. I knew they would have no sympathy if I started whining about doing IRONMAN California at the end of October.

My plan to remedy this situation was to be in the group, but stay far enough behind that they didn't know I was in the group. By the time I got to the starting corral, this wasn't a problem. There were hundreds of runners in the area I wanted, so I hung out towards the back. Occasionally, I saw the 3:55 sign pop up above the crowd, so I knew I was in the right spot.

Unfortunately, just like last year, I lost the pacers as soon as the race started. I knew they were well ahead of me when I heard the announcer call out Karyn's name as she crossed the start line. By the time I crossed and finally started to run, I could not find the sign. I checked my Garmin and saw that I was running too fast. I tried to slow down, but my adrenaline overrode my brain.

RACE

I battled my pace for the first 10k as evidenced by my splits below. My extra speed paid off only in that I finally caught up with Karyn and Scott and was able to slow to a controlled pace. I prayed that I wouldn't pay for those speedy miles. I kept a safe buffer zone and followed along silently as we made our way downtown. 

The middle miles seemed great. I had a chance to chat with a teammate from last year's training program, When my hands got a bit too toasty in my gloves, I was fortunate to see my next door neighbor on the sidelines in Old Town Fair Oaks. I handed her my gloves as she tried to snap a pic. 

After doing this event so many times (and now living in the area) landmarks are easily identifiable and I no longer try to do any mental math to figure out distances, besides my pacers were in charge of that, I just needed to keep them in site and trust the process. 

I spy...on the right side of the picture :-)
(Photo credit to Alex Chiu for taking this pic, and Karyn Hoffman for sharing)

Feeling sneaky

And then I reached the dreaded "Why am I doing this?" point. 

The last 10k was a mental struggle for me.  I decided to slow my run and walk the aid stations. As I entered the last 3 miles, I fought the urge to just walk. I was dangerously close to the "F*** This!" moment where I want to completely give up. 

Final push to the finish

I reminded myself of IRONMAN California just about 5 weeks prior. After that race, I kicked myself for the amount of walking I did, especially in the last few miles. So, during the tough final miles of CIM, every time I wanted to start walking, I thought of IMCA and kept shuffling along...and it paid off!

Smiles now that the end is near :-)

POST RACE

I crossed the finish line about a minute behind the pace group. I found Karyn and Scott and said "Hello". I admitted to secretly following them along the course, and if they don't read this, they won't know I backed off at the end. My earlier speedy miles offset my final miles and I ended up :18 seconds behind them and :05 faster than my best time. 

Running a PR, no matter how small, 11 years later is a great feeling. It was also my third Boston Qualifying time, but I don't plan on registering for that race again. Boston is a one and done race for me. I prefer to stick close to home and enjoy my Christmas tradition of running CIM.

See you next year!!

NOTES FOR NEXT TIME

2024 temps: 40 at race start, 60 at race finish.

Shuttle location C worked out fine, be prepared to find a spot on another bus to keep warm. Wear an old bathrobe for extra warmth. 

Do not wait any longer than 6:25am to hit the porta-potty, lines are slow.

Clothing: Compressions shorts were OK. Would have been better later on with short sleeved shirt. Hands got warm with running gloves around mile 10, maybe get cheap pair to discard next year.

Running slow is preferable to walking.