California International Marathon - 2017

Those of you that have been following my blog know that I was hit by a truck while riding my bike on September 30th of this year. This event happened about nine weeks into my training for the California International Marathon. I was devastated. This was going to be my year to finally qualify for Boston. I was also looking for a little redemption after last year's less than ideal performance.

Besides my own plans for running CIM, I had convinced my daughter, Ashley, to sign up and race with me. My sister and her hubby also signed up for 2017. In August, HS signed up for the race as too. Then I got hit by the old, nearly blind, farmer.

HS quit training. He was afraid it would upset me if I saw him leaving the house to go for a run. The rest of my family pretty much gave up training too thinking that I was not going to do the race. At my first appointment with my regular doctor I asked when I was going to be able to run again. At that point, it had only been a week since the accident and she advised me to keep my activity to walking.

My next appointment was nearly a week and a half later. At that point, my doctor referred me to a surgeon to drain the huge hematoma on my backside. After the procedure I asked the surgeon if I could run. He advised me to keep my activity to low impact stuff like swimming and cycling (Seriously!). At least I could officially climb onto my trainer and pedal around Watopia.

My next appointment was scheduled Monday, November 13. The deferral deadline for CIM was November 10. I was going to have to gamble that the surgeon would give me the OK to run. Thankfully, the doctor said it was OK to run again and added that I should stop if anything hurt. No worries there...I can't really feel anything in the injured area anyway. I resumed training. I had lost a lot of time and hoped that my hours on the trainer would pay off.

Pre-Race

We headed up to Sacramento early Saturday morning. Since we had Zoe with us, I figured we would park and then take turns going into the convention center to pick up our packets. However, when we neared the convention center, HS said he would drop me off and circle the block. I said OK.

I hopped out of the truck at the red light and walked quickly to the convention center. Once inside, I maneuvered around the people taking their time. I was on a mission, pick up my bib, get my shirt, get my 5-year stuff and get back outside.  Packet, shirt, 5 year cup and pin...back on the sidewalk waiting for HS. Definitely not as fun as walking around all the exhibits but at least it cut down on my time on my feet. When HS stopped to pick me up, I asked if he wanted to run in and get his stuff. He said he didn't want his shirt because he was not racing.

Once again, Lindsey and Max welcomed us into their home and gave up their bed so I could get a good night's sleep before the race. Zoe wore herself our playing with Rocco and crashed on the floor next to the bed. I had a restless night sprinkled with nightmares of showing up late to the start. I was relieved when my alarm went off. I could finally get up and get the day started. I had a big task ahead of me and I just wanted to get through it.

As I rolled out of bed, I noticed a tightness in my lower back that I hadn't felt before. Great! That's all I needed today. I got dressed, had some coffee and instant oatmeal for breakfast, and then tried to loosen up my back a bit. I was more nervous than I have ever felt before a race.   HS got dressed but I told him that I was just going to have Lindsey drop me off at the shuttle and that he didn't need to go. I was getting emotional as it was, and having him drop me off probably would have opened the flood gates.

In the past, I've fretted about getting to the start early. This time, I wasn't in that big of a hurry to go stand in the cold by myself. Lindsey dropped me off a little after 6:00am and I walked to the line for the shuttle. Within a couple of minutes, I was seated on a Folsom-Cordova school bus chugging up the hill to the start. The driver made a couple of turns then a tight squeeze into a neighborhood. It seemed vaguely familiar, so I wasn't worried.

Some of the other runners were a little more concerned about our location. They started Googling directions to the start and then called out turns to the driver. I sort of chuckled to myself. We aren't lost people. The navigators continued "Right turn! Turn right at the next corner!" As the bus rounded the corner the line of porta-potties could be seen. The driver stopped the bus and announced that we were welcome to stay on the bus as long as we wanted. Most of the runners exited. There was still over half an hour before the start. I kept my butt in the seat.

Eventually there were just two of us on the bus so I got up to go to the bathroom one last time. The remaining runner got up and left too. The line at the outhouse wasn't too long, but seemed to slow as we got nearer to start time. By then I knew I really needed to go, so I waited. Thankfully, I was done and walking to the start line with 10 minutes to spare.

Wrapped in my mylar blanket from last year, I eased my way towards the 4:00 pace group and then hung back a bit. Last year I made the mistake of going out way too fast. I wasn't going to do that this year. I also didn't want to start out with my goal pace group of 3:57 because I was afraid that if I couldn't keep up, I would become disheartened and stop trying. My Garmin was programmed with my paces and I planned on following that to the best of my ability.

Race

After the national anthem, the race started. It was a slow walk to the start line. I heard the announcer call out the 3:57 group and then the 4:00 group. The crowd thinned and I started jogging. As soon as I crossed the start line timing mat, I pressed start on my Garmin. Here we go...nothing to lose. This is the first time that I have actually meant it when I told people "I will be happy just to finish."

The first mile of CIM is almost entirely downhill. In the past, I have found it hard not to get caught up in the frenzy and adrenaline and run this mile faster than intended. This year I listened to the warning beeps on my Garmin and slowed down the best that I could. I was still running faster than I planned, but not nearly as fast as I did last year. The first mile always feels so good, it's easy to forget that there are 25 more to go.

The next few miles felt pretty good. The tightness in my lower back eased up and I was getting into a rhythm. Since Lindsey and Max live fairly close to Oak Ave, they were going to walk over with HS and the dogs to cheer me on. I figured that I would be passing them at about 7:30am somewhere around 3-1/2 miles into the race. The thought of seeing them really raised my spirits. As I neared the park where they would be, I kept scanning the sidelines. I moved to the left side of the course so I wouldn't miss them.

My two biggest fans

Eventually I saw HS, Lindsey, Max, Rocco and my big puppy, Zoe. I waved at them and called out Zoe's name. I think there were too many people for Zoe to focus on who was calling her name. At the moment I passed them, Carrie Underwood's "Something in the Water" started playing on my iPod and I let out an audible sob and started to cry. I quickly tried to pull myself together. Who starts crying at mile 3 in a marathon? LOL

Last year I carried a water bottle, but I really didn't find any advantage to carrying something around for 26.2 miles, so I left it at home this year. Instead, I went back to basics and hit the aid stations every three miles for the first half of the race. As long as you pinch the cup at the top, you can still run and get the liquids in your mouth and not down the front of your shirt. During the second half of the race as I started to get a little warm, I started drinking every mile or two.

Somewhere around mile 15, I started to feel my quads. They were beginning to burn. The one thing that my injury really derailed was my hill training. Prior to the accident, I had done quite a bit of running up at our cabin in Arnold. From our cabin, you can go up or you can go down, but flat is not an option. Unfortunately, after I was given the OK to run again, I never incorporated hills back into my training. I think I was afraid that hills would be too much and would aggravate my injury.

My Garmin confirmed that I was still within my desired range, so I kept pushing forward and prayed that my legs would hold out. Aerobically I felt good, so I had that going for me :-) As I neared mile 20, the pain in my legs grew but I noticed that I was still passing people here and there. I did some math in my head and reasoned that as long as I remained in front of the 4:00 group, I would still technically have a qualifying time.

Checking my pace just after the 20 mile marker

My programmed pace for the last 6 miles was a few seconds per mile faster than what I had been running. The plan was to really "race" the last part of the course where it is nice and flat. Unfortunately, I just couldn't find that last gear. My legs were done. It was going to be a mental battle to the finish.

I knew that with less than six miles to go that I would be finished in under an hour. An hour, I reminded myself, is nothing. This race is hopefully going to take less than four hours. IRONMAN Vineman took an additional eight and a half. This is nothing. Each step is one step closer. Just keep going. I was soon within two miles of the finish. Even if I ran the last two miles at a 10:00 minute pace, I was going to be finished in 20 minutes. 20 minutes! That's it. Keep going.

Sometime during the last mile, I thought, "Who cares about Boston? Just walk. Nobody expects anything out of you this year." I imagined a little devil perched on my shoulder whispering negative thoughts into my ear. Where is my little cheerleader angel when I need her? There was only silence. I checked my watch several times a minute trying to make the calculations in my head. My Garmin distance was a bit off of the course markers but I figured I would still make the four hour cut off.

Almost done

Someone called out my name and snapped me back to attention. I looked to my left and saw my family cheering for me. That was all I needed. I knew I was almost there and I wasn't going to disappoint them  by walking the last quarter mile. I rounded the final turn and saw the finish line and ran as fast as my legs would allow.

As soon as I saw HS on the side, I went over to him and gave him a hug and said "I did it." Tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't believe it. Not only did I finish a marathon a little more than two months after being hit but I had finally achieved the elusive Boston Qualifying time that kept me coming back to this course over and over again.

Official time - 3:58:37
Boston Qualifying Time (50-59 Female) - 4:00:00

Congrats from Zoe!

Post Race

For the 2018 Boston Marathon, runners had to be 3 minutes and 23 seconds faster than the qualifying time for their age group. So, although I ran a qualifying time, it is doubtful that I will actually make it into the race. That's OK.

After the race, I really wanted to ring the BQ Bell. The line was huge and my family was less than thrilled about standing around even more just for a photo op. I said we could just go, but they said we could stay. Eventually I made it to the front of the line and I FINALLY got to ring the bell... five years after my first CIM.

Afterward, my brother-in-law bought me a "Boston Qualified" shirt! 

"Boston Qualified"

You would think that this would be the end of my CIM journey. However, as soon as the re-run special was posted, I signed up for 2018...and so did HS. Of course, my sister and brother-in-law are running 2018 since they deferred this year. Looks like it will be a great group. I'm hoping to remain injury free next year so I can run the race fast enough to actually make it to Boston.

#endureandenjoy #Garmin #CIM #marathon