Race Recap: Ogden Marathon

I am still struggling on what to say about this race. On one hand, I fell short of my goal and that warranted a lot of "I'm sorry" & "*hugz!*" texts from my friends. But on the other hand, this race was 100x more difficult than I imagined it to be. Every time someone said "I'm sorry" about my race, I found myself getting frustrated.

Why? 

Because at about 9830198234 points during this race I wanted to give up on myself -- and at 9830198234 points during this race I wouldn't let myself do that. I fought for every mile, and every time someone tried to offer some sort of condolence, I realized that they were putting their own spin on my experience before understanding what I just went through. I gave everything I had during this race, and for that I'm so satisfied with my effort.

So please don't say you're sorry or feel bad for me & instead just read. :) 

Pre-race 

Naomi & I arrived in Salt Lake City on Friday afternoon and I noticed immediately I had a headache. I took an Excedrine, and after the expo & dinner I felt better. But on Saturday morning -- race morning -- I woke up with another headache and wondered if it truly was the altitude instead of being psychosomatic. I took another Excedrine for safe measure as Naomi dropped me off at the buses that brought me up to the start line. 

Naomi & me outside the historic Union Station expo

Bonfires burned in the dark, cool morning at the race start, and all the runners huddled around the flames for warmth. Not long after the sun rose over the mountains, the starting gun was fired and we were on our way back to Ogden by foot.  

The race

I happened to be in the port-o-potty line as the staring gun was fired (awesome), and I got a late start with the 5:30 marathoners. My first mile was spent dodging, weaving, and starting off too fast to catch up with my pack. Dang it. 

Just like CIM, I wanted to negative split this race, treating miles 1-5 as a warm up & doing pace miles or faster for the rest. When I started out too quickly, I tried to reel it in for a few miles to even that out and preserve some energy. I was able to slow it down without a problem -- but when it was time for me to pick it back up to pace miles, my legs wouldn't turn over. I have no other way to describe it except that I felt like my warm-up was my workout. My breathing was slightly labored and my heart rate felt okay, but really it just felt like I was working too hard to maintain what should have been a decently casual pace for me. I was running what would feel like 7:30 miles at sea level, but when I would look at my watch, I saw 8:30s. It was extremely disheartening. I felt like I was working my ass off and my paces were not backing up my efforts. 

Miles 1-5:

1: 7:54

2: 8:09

3: 8:05

4: 8:06

5: 8:07 

source

I told myself before the race to be realistic about altitude & to check back in with myself at mile 5 to assess how I was feeling. By mile 6 I found myself counting the miles I had left (not good so early on!) and thought about my backup plan -- slowing down, enjoying the scenery, treating Ogden as a training run, & signing up for a sea-level race a few weeks out. And that's when I decided to do that -- to just get the miles in and sign up for a different race.

But by mile 7, I convinced myself that I didn't dedicate so much time and money to come to Utah for a training run. So I was going to fight for a few more miles and reassess at the halfway point. 

Miles 6-13

6: 8:15

7: 8:08

8: 8:08

9: 8:19

10: 8:11

11: 8:29 -- water bottle refill

12: 7:54

13: 8:14

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I hit the halfway point in 1:48, and I knew I was pretty far off from my goal. I was getting frustrated when looking at the paces on my watch, so I tucked my watch away and decided to stop looking at it. Instead I was going to run on feel and keep fighting at my race-pace effort. I kept going back & forth with myself on whether to push my body or back off and save my legs for another day. This happened the entire race.

Miles 14-16
14: 8:10 
15: 8:27 -- the Big Steep Hill & water bottle refill
16: 8:18

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My goal was to survive until the Big Steep Hill between miles 14 and 15, and fly down the multi-mile descend after that. The uphill wasn't a problem for me and I passed a lot of people walking up the beast. The only issue was that I wasn't able to fly back down the hill like I wanted. Right as I was finally warming up to the altitude, my legs were toast from the downhill pounding. They felt like wobbly mush.

I was unusually thirsty and taking water from my handheld every half mile or so, but I needed to start refilling at more stops since I was running out so quickly. Eventually I started refilling my bottle at every stop and I would also chug a cup of water while I was there. I was taking in a lot more liquids than usual, but I was kind of expecting that up at altitude. The sun was getting higher, the air was getting drier, there was very little shade and no wind on the course, and I was seriously doing my damnedest to hit anything under 8:30. Words cannot describe how hard I was working to do even that.

source

Miles 17-19

17: 8:23 -- water bottle refill

18: 8:16

19: 8:20

And then at mile 20, my stomach had enough of all the water/GU sloshing around & I made my first ever bathroom break during a marathon. There's a first for everything, right?!

Miles 20-24

20: 9:58 -- water bottle refill & bathroom break :(

21: 7:51

22: 8:08

23: 8:04

24: 8:10

source

Once we hit mile 24, the course switched from downhill pavement to a bike path filled with rolling hills (and even the occasional biker coming at us). It got congested as I caught up with the slower half marathoners/walkers, the last marathon relay point, and golf carts trying to get through to bring people to the medical tents. I dodged and weaved some more, just like how I started the race. At this point, my legs were completely dead -- after running for so many miles downhill, my muscles almost didn't know how to handle flatter ground. It was very hard to even stay upright.

This race was no joke -- I felt like an idiot for thinking a downhill race might make a marathon easier. 

Miles 25-26.35

25: 8:56 -- water bottle refill

26: 8:40

.35: 2:54 (8:20 pace)

I saw Naomi and her friend Aaron cheering me on as I approached the crowded finish line grandstands & I did my best to finish strong in front of so many people. I had nothing -- absolutely nothing -- left in me. I may not have PR'd this course, but I sure beat myself up by not taking the easy way out.

Overall this race was wonderful & I recommend it to anyone who wants to run a beautiful and very scenic route. The expo was charming, the swag was above-average (things you actually use in your race bag: Runners World magazine, Kleenex, pedicure set, Shot Blox), and the entire race was well-organized, efficient, and all the workers/volunteers were friendly. The course itself was breathtaking & a tiny part of me wishes I had brought my phone with me to snap some super blurry pictures of all the mountain scenery. Instead, the only way I can describe the gorgeousness of Utah is to tell you to run this race yourself. Just don't try to race it if you're not used to altitude or downhill running. 

In short: This race was a total bitch for me. The altitude nearly killed me and I worked so hard to not give in. I'm satisfied with my finishing time despite the obstacles & I don't want people to pity me for not making my 3:30 goal. Sure, upon careful split analyzing, if I hadn't stopped for water or the bathroom, I would have bettered my current 3:35 PR... but I truly believe I took the breaks I needed in order to make it to the finish line. And I am okay with that. 

A bit longer: I am confident I can sub-3:30 based on this training cycle and this race itself. Some rudimentary calculations of what this altitude race translates to at sea level say I'm capable of running much faster than what my Garmin showed. I personally learned that I'm capable of pushing myself even when my legs won't move & it's hard to breathe. If I can push myself to that extent under those conditions, I know can do anything... at least at sea level. :)

Marathoner x7

Garmin time: 26.35 miles, 3:38:43 -- 8:18 pace

Official time: 26.2 miles, 3:38:43 -- 8:21 pace
Overall place: 384 out of 2,385 
Gender place: 107 out of 1,179 
A/G place: 22 out of 143

Splits:
1: 7:54
2: 8:09
3: 8:05
4: 8:06
5: 8:07
6: 8:15
7: 8:08
8: 8:08
9: 8:19
10: 8:11
11: 8:29
12: 7:54
13: 8:14
14: 8:10 
15: 8:27
16: 8:18
17: 8:29
18: 8:16
19: 8:20
20: 9:58 
21: 7:51
22: 8:08
23: 8:04
24: 8:10
25: 8:56
26: 8:40
.35: 2:54 (8:20 pace)

Super huge thanks and massive hugs to Naomi for totting me around/keeping me company/motivating me/putting up with me this weekend! Despite how hard this race was for me, I KNOW you'll enjoy doing it next year. :) xoxoxo

Countdown to Ogden: RACE WEEK!

It's race week!!

Ogden Marathon training, week 12 -- race week!

Monday:

Goal: 7 mi. easy w/ 2 mi. @ 8:00

Actual: 7.05 @ 8:17

Perfect. I started out this run on an unusually warm SF morning, and when it was time to hit some pace miles, my legs tuned right in. I used a downhill to my advantage during the second pace mile, but overall the effort felt about equal to my marathon goal pace: 8:44, 8:31, 8:36, 8:42, 7:52, 7:38, 8:04

Tuesday:

Goal: 6 mi. @ 9:00+

Actual: 6.02 mi. @ 8:37

Not much to this. Tested out my race-day outfit in a run through Golden Gate Park.

Wednesday:

Goal: 4 mi. easy w/ 6 x 100m pick ups

Actual: 4.2 mi. @ 8:21

I ended this run savoring San Francisco's summer fog because it looks like it's going to be HOT in Ogden this weekend. Oy.

I am taking Thursday and Friday off to rest my legs some more and get myself up to Ogden, and then Saturday morning is the marathon!

When all is said and done, I'll have somewhere around 43.6 miles of running this week & will (hopefully) have completed my 7th marathon. Next you'll be hearing from me, I will do my best to have a thoughtful race report for you with a bunch of stuff I learned this training cycle. Enjoy the rest of your week & thanks for cheering on my boring-ass training! ;)

Countdown to Ogden: Week 11

First things first -- chime in & predict my upcoming marathon finishing time! I am loving reading all of your responses and reasonings.

And secondly, I don't know about all your so-called "taper itches", because all the rest this week has been AWESOME.

Ogden Marathon training, week 11

Monday:

Goal: 7 mi. w/ 10 x 100m pickups

Actual: 7.02 @ 9:19

I'm taking my taper paces seriously. Yes, I am.

 

Tuesday: 

Goal: 8 mi. w/ 3 x 1600m @ 6:55-7:10 pace/1600m recovery 

Actual: 8 mi. @ 7:38

Final speedwork before Ogden! 

What baffles me most about this run is that I did my mile sprints downhill (expected to be faster than normal) followed by a mile running back up that same hill (expected to be slower, and more recovery-ish), and repeated that 3 times. Well, my recovery miles back uphill were much closer to goal pace miles. So that's kind of a nice surprise?! This was further confirmation for me that sometimes when you run until your eyes start to bleed, any pace feels much easier... even when that's a goal pace up a hill, apparently. Super awesome run -- I rode this runner's high for a while.

1-mile warm up (8:30), 3 x 1600m downhill (6:49, 6:49, 6:44 WHAT!!)/1600m uphill (8:16, 8:07, 8:00), 1-mile cool down (7:57)

Wednesday

Goal: Rest

Actual: Rest

Thursday

Goal: 5 mi. w/ 6 x 100m pickups

Actual: 5.15 mi. @ 8:36

Not much to this run... just went out for a cruise. 

The baby buffalo were out during my run through Golden Gate Park. Did you know you don't need to have Instagram to get these blurry edges & out-of-focus pictures? You just need to drop your phone a lot. 

Friday

Goal: Rest

Actual: 10 mi. @ 8:42

I ended up moving my weekend run to Friday afternoon to get a little more heat training in. I cruised through the miles, listened to some music, and enjoyed the warm afternoon. Last double-digit run before Ogden! 


Saturday

Goal: 5 mi. @ 9:00+

Actual: Rest

Whoops.

Sunday

Goal: Rest

Actual: Rest


I probably should have moved Saturday's run to Sunday since I missed it, but my wise friend Renee told me "You can never run too little during taper." So I'm going to live that up & enjoy another day of rest this taper.

Overall, I finished week 11 with 30.17 miles of running. Just a few more days, and then it's time to fly out to Ogden already! 

Once again, have you predicted my finishing time yet? Well, do it! All the cool kids are.

Your Turn -- Guess My Marathon Time!

I'm taking a page from Courtney's blog, where she recently played a game where her readers predicted her recent (kick-ass) marathon finishing time. She gave me permission to steal her game.

SOOOO...

If you aren't aware yet, I'm running my 7th marathon just 10 days from now -- the Ogden Marathon in Ogden, Utah. And I want to hear your guess on how you think I'll finish!

My goal for this race and my training paces have been centered around a 3:30 finish. I announced that as my goal right from the get-go.  

However, there are a couple caveats to this race.

1. The race is at altitude and my ass has been training at sea level. I've read plenty of scary research on how this may affect performance. I've also heard plenty of varying opinions on how this may not affect performance. Go ahead and use your own judgement when making your guess because I have no idea how it'll affect me. I've never run at elevation before, let alone race. Ever.
2. The race is net downhill. The course isn't nearly as downhill as many other races, but the elevation still looks exciting... 8 miles of downhill, rollers/gentle uphill for 9 miles, downhill for 7 miles, and then flat for 2, where most runners' legs forget how to work. There is one steep hill at mile 14 that, based on reports I've read, tends to wind even the most experienced marathoners.

And because I want to be fair...

A few things you may want to know before making your guess (as if I haven't bombarded you with enough information regarding this training cycle):

1. I ran just two 20-milers this training cycle, as opposed to 3 or 4. However, I ended up setting PRs during both 20-milers. My overall average paces for those two runs were 8:05 and 8:00, respectively. During both of those 20-mile runs, this pace was not casual. I was working my tail off.
2. During this training cycle, I set a new half marathon PR. I finished officially in 1:42:11, but my overall pace (since the course ran long) was 7:38. I hit the 13.1 mark in 1:40:28.
3. My current marathon PR is 3:35:45 (8:12 pace) at CIM last December. I was shooting for a 3:33. The race was at sea level.
4. I have done 6 previous marathons -- but this will be my second marathon where I'm attempting a goal that I feel is a hair beyond my reach. 

Well, what's your best guess? What do you think my finishing time will be? 

The person who guesses closest will get something cool. I don't know what that prize will be yet, but it'll be awesome. :)

Please submit your prediction before May 18th. GOOD LUCK!

Countdown to Ogden: Week 10

A week full of many ups, and one solid fall down...

Ogden Marathon training, week 10

Monday:
Goal: 20 mi. @ 8:30-9:00
Actual: 2.43 mi. @ 7:54 pace

After feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to run after taking nearly 4 days off for my brother's wedding, I hit the streets Monday morning, raring to get my missed 20-miler in. Perhaps I was moving too fast or maybe I was not thinking clearly, but just after mile 2 I felt myself flying through the air, landing on both my knees, knocking my left hip, skidding across my palms, and somehow landed by rolling onto my back (!!??). First things first: I looked up to make sure no one saw me fall (*whew*; no one!). Then I started assessing the damage while I sat in the grass stunned. My ankles were feeling fine, so I didn't roll or dislocate anything. My right knee was scratched, the hip I landed on felt a little sore, my hands were bloody, and my elbows were banged up. All of that was okay by me. But sadly, my left knee was swelling like a balloon.

I have no idea what happened or how I fell, but given how much pain my left knee was in and how quickly it was growing, I couldn't go on. I gimped into a nearby bathroom to clean my wounds, called the gentleman to come pick me up, popped a few ibuprofen, and started icing immediately. 

So long, 20-miler.

 

Tuesday:
Goal: 10 mi. @ 9:00+
Actual: 10.06 @ 8:00

I set my alarm early to assess how my knee was feeling and if I would be able to fit in a few missed miles before work. I hopped out of bed and felt very minimal pain, wrapped up my knee anyway, and headed out for a test run. Apparently I felt fine -- my pace was faster than expected, but I felt good & went with it. It was nice to really, truly be back out running after what was essentially 5 days off.

Wednesday:
Goal: Scheduled to rest, but I wanted to make up missed miles from the weekend
Actual: 4.06 mi. @ 7:49

I couldn't sleep any longer on Wednesday morning, so I ran a loop of my neighborhood before work. I wanted to make this a double day and log some slow, steady miles in the evening to make up for my missed miles, but I got sidetracked and called it good with just my morning run. Once again, my knee was feeling strong and I went with what my legs wanted.

Thursday:
Goal: 7 mi. @ 8:00
Actual: 20 mi. (!!) @ 8:00 (!!)

BAM! Ballin' on a school night!

Thursday was a pretty magical day for me. My training plan had 7 written in, but by mile 2, I could tell I was going to have a great run. The first two miles clicked away at what felt like an effortless (and still fast!) pace, so I decided I was going to at least try for 10 miles.

Once mile 5 rolled around, I debated about turning back for an out & back, but ended up running a few more laps of Stow Lake. 10 miles quickly became 13, 13 became 15, 15 became 17, and then I decided to head home. I started feeling a little dizzy & light-headed since I didn't bring proper fuel with me (I always carry a GU with me and I took it at mile 13, when normally I'd take 3 or 4 for a run of this distance), but figured it would be good to train my body to tap into stores it doesn't normally use. I treated my last few miles as a cool down, but enjoyed pushing my pace during the random miles I tacked on.

And my pace -- that's another story. I knew I was pushing it, but I wasn't fixating on my Garmin. While I kept adding on miles, I also kept pushing myself just a little harder: "Let's just do one more mile at goal pace," "Okay, how about one more mile now?" "If you get too tired, you can always take the bus home -- heck, why not try to race the bus home?" 

I was playing all sorts of crazy mind games with myself on Thursday, but this was by far one of my most successful and confidence-boosting runs I've ever had. And 20 miles on a school night?!? Geez.

20-mile splits: 8:04, 7:55, 7:53, 8:06, 8:11, 7:58, 7:53, 7:57, 7:46, 7:48, 7:46, 7:45, 7:59, 7:58, 7:54, 8:01, 8:14, 8:19, 8:10, 8:29

A new 20-mile PR, and a still-bruised knee.

Friday:
Goal: 10 mi. @ 9:00+
Actual: 7.71 mi. @ 9:29

I met up with Courtney in Golden Gate Park before work, but my legs were not having 10 miles, no matter how "recovery" they were. I slept like crap (imagine that -- restless leg syndrome after running 20 miles before bed), and trying to attempt 10 more miles 12 hours later wasn't working out. Courtney and I ran a few together, and then I headed straight to Starbucks and enjoyed my morning by not killing my legs instead.

Saturday:
Goal: Rest
Actual: Rest

Love.

Sunday:
Goal: 6.2 mi. @ 9:00+
Actual: 7 mi. @ 10:23

On Sunday morning, Cate, Courtney, & I carpooled over to Walnut Creek for the lululemon anniversary 5k/10k fun run. I had a super awesome time chatting it up and running with Pavey and XLMIC. XL & I began discussed pacing strategy for Ogden, and having their company in the heat made this morning so much better. XL & I may or may not have gotten a little lost on the way back after a quick bathroom break, but oh well. The time on our feet and the great company made the extra distance worth it. :)

lululemon Walnut Creek anniversary 5k/10k fun run

 

Jess & I were finally able to convert Katie to TEAM NEWTON!!!!!!!! Finally!

 Brunch with everyone afterward -- I seriously have the coolest friends. (P/s: Happy birthday, XL!!)

Overall, I finished week 10 with 51.28 miles of running. This isn't quite as "peak"-ish as it probably should have been (I wanted to hit ~60 miles), but I feel like the runs I completed were the best they could have been & I'm so satisfied with ALL of my paces. I've never felt more ready to taper both mentally & physically, and I'm soooo looking forward to taking these next two weeks easy. It's all downhill from here!

MF-ing TAPER TIME!!!!!!!! 2 more weeks!