Big Sur, CA to Monterey, CA
Temps 49 to 52.
I picked up my packet in Monterey on Friday and decided to take the scenic route down along the coast on Route 1 to San Luis Obispo. I traveled with my former roommate Erin. Leaving Monterey, we drove along course in reverse. Every downhill we drove would be uphill in the marathon. It was mostly rolling hills and a couple of huge hills. Driving along cliffs on the "ragged edge of the Western world" with 20mph hairpin turns was sometimes nauseating and sometimes scary. Traffic was light for Friday afternoon. People who needed to get somewhere quickly took the 70mph highways inland. We stopped for dinner at Morro Bay hoping to catch the sunset. Unfortunately, it disappeared behind the clouds. We took a picture of what we thought was the Morro Rock - a volcanic plug. It wasn't - it was just another 200 feet high rock sticking out in the ocean.
Saturday morning, at the hotel in San Luis Obispo, I realized I didn't pack running socks for the marathon. I was too busy making sure I packed my running shoes after using them at last Thursday's night track workout. I overlooked the Injinji socks. I was able to get a hold of Kelli who was staying across from the Expo and she got me a pair and left it the concierge's desk at the Marriott. We didn't think we could get back to Monterey before the expo closed. Wine took a higher priority.
I carbo-loaded at 8 wineries in Paso Robles. Is wine really a carbohydrate? We ended up buying 19 bottles of wine and got 4 free wineglasses that were included in the tasting fees.One leaded crystal glass had a California warning about birth defects, cancer, or other reproductive harm. Wine contributed just over one-third of the cost of this trip! Erin wanted to go the Firestone winery -- which I never heard of. Apparently, Andrew Firestone was on the Bachelor reality show. Andrew Firestone introduced himself to us but did not try to sell us any wines. I tried unsuccessfully to get Erin to get a picture taken with him or to offer her cell #. At the Adelphia winery, the server was pouring wine into a wine glass as big as my head for a couple next to us. It was a $300 wineglass; a great gift for someone who has everything. I got my picture taken raising the humongous wineglass. This is the essence of carbo-loading. After tasting more than 40 different wines and eating fettuccini alfredo for a late lunch, I was ready to race. Besides, I was getting a headache and couldn't handle any more wineries (: In 2005, I had leg cramps from wine-carbo-loaded in Napa the day before the Sacramento marathon. I ran a 3:44; only a minute slower than Chicago the following week.
On Sunday, I rode the bus shuttle to the starting point at Big Sur. I was worried about riding in a large vehicle on a narrow road on the outer edge of cliffs. It was fogged in and dark so I couldn't see anything that would make me nervous. I saw our Orlando runners at the staging area. I did a 1.5 mile warmup and carefully peed in the bushes among poision oak trees. I spotted Tracey by her curly hair, right after the start. We ran together for about 8 miles. It was nice that she started out slow which kept me from tightening up on the downhills in the first 2 miles. There was a distinct smell of marijuana around mile 2. She went ahead at mile 8 as she is stronger on the hills than I am. She had run a 3:20 in Chicago. I caught up with Tracey around mile 17, sooner than I expected; she was having some muscle and digestive issues. Her goal was to enjoy the sights while still breaking 4 hours. She made it under 4 hours by 14 seconds.
I saw our Orlando relay team at the 2nd exchange point. I couldn't figure out who was running. Mary Jane and Nina was standing around. Jennifer and Dana was running. Karla was walking on the course. I called Jennifer on Monday; she said they ran together. I don't get it but I'm sure they had a lot of fun.
It was a beautiful, scenic course. I stopped to take some pictures along the way including one of the guy playing piano. I spotted Dean Karnazes around mile 21. He was recognizable by his curly hair and calves. Dean's talk on Saturday conflicted with my winetasting so I hoped to catch up with him at the start. I heard that it was oversubscribed. I thought he ran a 3:19 last year and didn't expect to see him on the course. He actually ran a 3:33 last year. He was doing an easy run as he had a 199 mile Providian Relay coming up next week. He is planning on running the relay as part of a 2 person team. I believed he said he ran to the start at Big Sur (52 mile roundtrip?) - it would explain why he was wearing a camel-bak. I was well ahead of pace for breaking 4 hours so I chatted with Dean till mile 26 and at his urging, I kicked it at a 6:19 pace with an overall marathon pace of 8:50 min/mile. This was a pretty leisurely run for both of us -- going at a recoverable marathon a day race pace. Dean said running a 3:15 beats up his legs. I think pushing a sub 3:30 beats up my legs.
The weather was great -- it was foggy and there was a cooling headwind. Temps were 49 to 52 degrees. It would have been prettier with the sun out but I rather run in cloudy, cooler weather. Having seen the course, I knew what to expect. There was only 2 hills of significance - one at mile 10 and other one at mile 22. The elevation gain is over 1000 feet but because it was a major road -- the grade is pretty gradual compared to some trail runs. The course has a net drop of 275 feet. It was a great course for negative splits because the majority of the uphills were in the first half. I hit the halfway mark at 1:57 and ran the 2nd half in 1:54. (3:51:31) I ran this course 17 minutes faster than the Georgia marathon last month where it was 30 degrees hotter.
I learned that the reason I slow down in the last 3 to 6 miles of a marathon is because of the increasing daytime heat. At Big Sur, the temps stayed around 50 degrees - I actually ran faster than average pace in the last 6 miles with the exception of a big hill and waiting for Dean at a port-a-let. Weather may be a good reason to run the middle miles hard before the heat sets in. Other important factors in predicting finish times are - fitness - how fast you can run a 10k. There is also body weight and consuming adequate calories while racing. Long slow distance runs doesn't matter once you have done a few marathons.
I met Vickie Adams, who is a major contributor on Dean's blog, at the finish. She suggested that I could be a pacer at Badwater to test my tolerance for heat. Can a pacer get a pacer to keep me, the pacer, cool?I agree with her that rolling hill courses are easier on the legs. I think you can run faster on a flat course but it beats up the legs more. I am in the lottery for St. George. Dean had said that St. George has some hills that could work against at PR.
On the plane ride back Sunday, I found it amusing that the woman next to me was putting on makeup using a built-in webcam on her laptop to create a mirror. Killer software app!Next stop: Old Dominion 100 in Woodstock VA over Memorial Day. 14,000 feet elevation but on paved and dirt roads. In 5 months, I will have run 480 race miles (5 ultras + 3 marathons + 1 5k) and 216 training miles in 5 months (about 30 miles a week) and learned something at each race. I look forward to getting some needed rest in the summer:)
Temps 49 to 52.
I picked up my packet in Monterey on Friday and decided to take the scenic route down along the coast on Route 1 to San Luis Obispo. I traveled with my former roommate Erin. Leaving Monterey, we drove along course in reverse. Every downhill we drove would be uphill in the marathon. It was mostly rolling hills and a couple of huge hills. Driving along cliffs on the "ragged edge of the Western world" with 20mph hairpin turns was sometimes nauseating and sometimes scary. Traffic was light for Friday afternoon. People who needed to get somewhere quickly took the 70mph highways inland. We stopped for dinner at Morro Bay hoping to catch the sunset. Unfortunately, it disappeared behind the clouds. We took a picture of what we thought was the Morro Rock - a volcanic plug. It wasn't - it was just another 200 feet high rock sticking out in the ocean.
Saturday morning, at the hotel in San Luis Obispo, I realized I didn't pack running socks for the marathon. I was too busy making sure I packed my running shoes after using them at last Thursday's night track workout. I overlooked the Injinji socks. I was able to get a hold of Kelli who was staying across from the Expo and she got me a pair and left it the concierge's desk at the Marriott. We didn't think we could get back to Monterey before the expo closed. Wine took a higher priority.
I carbo-loaded at 8 wineries in Paso Robles. Is wine really a carbohydrate? We ended up buying 19 bottles of wine and got 4 free wineglasses that were included in the tasting fees.One leaded crystal glass had a California warning about birth defects, cancer, or other reproductive harm. Wine contributed just over one-third of the cost of this trip! Erin wanted to go the Firestone winery -- which I never heard of. Apparently, Andrew Firestone was on the Bachelor reality show. Andrew Firestone introduced himself to us but did not try to sell us any wines. I tried unsuccessfully to get Erin to get a picture taken with him or to offer her cell #. At the Adelphia winery, the server was pouring wine into a wine glass as big as my head for a couple next to us. It was a $300 wineglass; a great gift for someone who has everything. I got my picture taken raising the humongous wineglass. This is the essence of carbo-loading. After tasting more than 40 different wines and eating fettuccini alfredo for a late lunch, I was ready to race. Besides, I was getting a headache and couldn't handle any more wineries (: In 2005, I had leg cramps from wine-carbo-loaded in Napa the day before the Sacramento marathon. I ran a 3:44; only a minute slower than Chicago the following week.
On Sunday, I rode the bus shuttle to the starting point at Big Sur. I was worried about riding in a large vehicle on a narrow road on the outer edge of cliffs. It was fogged in and dark so I couldn't see anything that would make me nervous. I saw our Orlando runners at the staging area. I did a 1.5 mile warmup and carefully peed in the bushes among poision oak trees. I spotted Tracey by her curly hair, right after the start. We ran together for about 8 miles. It was nice that she started out slow which kept me from tightening up on the downhills in the first 2 miles. There was a distinct smell of marijuana around mile 2. She went ahead at mile 8 as she is stronger on the hills than I am. She had run a 3:20 in Chicago. I caught up with Tracey around mile 17, sooner than I expected; she was having some muscle and digestive issues. Her goal was to enjoy the sights while still breaking 4 hours. She made it under 4 hours by 14 seconds.
I saw our Orlando relay team at the 2nd exchange point. I couldn't figure out who was running. Mary Jane and Nina was standing around. Jennifer and Dana was running. Karla was walking on the course. I called Jennifer on Monday; she said they ran together. I don't get it but I'm sure they had a lot of fun.
It was a beautiful, scenic course. I stopped to take some pictures along the way including one of the guy playing piano. I spotted Dean Karnazes around mile 21. He was recognizable by his curly hair and calves. Dean's talk on Saturday conflicted with my winetasting so I hoped to catch up with him at the start. I heard that it was oversubscribed. I thought he ran a 3:19 last year and didn't expect to see him on the course. He actually ran a 3:33 last year. He was doing an easy run as he had a 199 mile Providian Relay coming up next week. He is planning on running the relay as part of a 2 person team. I believed he said he ran to the start at Big Sur (52 mile roundtrip?) - it would explain why he was wearing a camel-bak. I was well ahead of pace for breaking 4 hours so I chatted with Dean till mile 26 and at his urging, I kicked it at a 6:19 pace with an overall marathon pace of 8:50 min/mile. This was a pretty leisurely run for both of us -- going at a recoverable marathon a day race pace. Dean said running a 3:15 beats up his legs. I think pushing a sub 3:30 beats up my legs.
The weather was great -- it was foggy and there was a cooling headwind. Temps were 49 to 52 degrees. It would have been prettier with the sun out but I rather run in cloudy, cooler weather. Having seen the course, I knew what to expect. There was only 2 hills of significance - one at mile 10 and other one at mile 22. The elevation gain is over 1000 feet but because it was a major road -- the grade is pretty gradual compared to some trail runs. The course has a net drop of 275 feet. It was a great course for negative splits because the majority of the uphills were in the first half. I hit the halfway mark at 1:57 and ran the 2nd half in 1:54. (3:51:31) I ran this course 17 minutes faster than the Georgia marathon last month where it was 30 degrees hotter.
I learned that the reason I slow down in the last 3 to 6 miles of a marathon is because of the increasing daytime heat. At Big Sur, the temps stayed around 50 degrees - I actually ran faster than average pace in the last 6 miles with the exception of a big hill and waiting for Dean at a port-a-let. Weather may be a good reason to run the middle miles hard before the heat sets in. Other important factors in predicting finish times are - fitness - how fast you can run a 10k. There is also body weight and consuming adequate calories while racing. Long slow distance runs doesn't matter once you have done a few marathons.
I met Vickie Adams, who is a major contributor on Dean's blog, at the finish. She suggested that I could be a pacer at Badwater to test my tolerance for heat. Can a pacer get a pacer to keep me, the pacer, cool?I agree with her that rolling hill courses are easier on the legs. I think you can run faster on a flat course but it beats up the legs more. I am in the lottery for St. George. Dean had said that St. George has some hills that could work against at PR.
On the plane ride back Sunday, I found it amusing that the woman next to me was putting on makeup using a built-in webcam on her laptop to create a mirror. Killer software app!Next stop: Old Dominion 100 in Woodstock VA over Memorial Day. 14,000 feet elevation but on paved and dirt roads. In 5 months, I will have run 480 race miles (5 ultras + 3 marathons + 1 5k) and 216 training miles in 5 months (about 30 miles a week) and learned something at each race. I look forward to getting some needed rest in the summer:)
No comments:
Post a Comment