Due to a parking snafu, I arrived at the start area much later than I'd planned, less than 15 minutes before the start. That meant no time to do a decent warmup or stretch out, so I just did a brief jog and peed behind a bush. The place was mobbed; I had no idea. When I signed up I thought there might be a few hundred people in the race, but it turned out there were more than 5000! I said hi to a few people in the crowd that I recognized from work, but I couldn't find my friend who I'd arranged to meet before the start. Dang.
As an experiment, I'd worn my heart rate monitor to the race, to see if it might help. Normally my resting heart rate is around 55, a good run gets it up to 165, I'll maybe hit 172 during speed work at the track, and my theoretical max HR is 188. My goal was to keep HR around 168 for the race. Two minutes before the gun, while just standing in the crowd waiting for the start, I glanced down and noticed that my HR was 144! Talk about race day adrenaline! At first I thought it might be a bogus reading, so I watched it for a minute and it actually crept up a bit further. I was pumped and ready to go!
At the gun, the crowd of 5000 slowly surged forward at an agonizingly slow pace. I'd intentionally seeded myself well toward the front of the crowd to avoid getting stuck behind slower runners, but apparently I wasn't aggressive enough. The first half mile or so was a frustrating exercise in weaving around slower people, hopping up on curbs, and trying to press forward however I could. After the crowd thinned out a bit, I was surprised to bump into my friend who I'd been looking for earlier. He was going a bit slower than my target pace, though, so after a brief hello I moved ahead.
Two weeks ago during a pretty tough training run, I'd done 14 miles at a 7:29 pace, which left me tired but not completely drained. Based on that performance, I figured I could do about a 7:20 pace for this race, which works out to about a 1:36 finish time. Of course it wouldn't be easy, but I "only" had to hang on for 13.1 miles. My first mile split was 7:54, too slow, but not terrible considering the density of the crowds. Mile 2 was a much more respectable 7:12. We're off to the races!
Around this point, I glanced down at my heart rate monitor again, and was astonished to see my HR was 182! I'd never seen it anywhere near that high, and although I was moving at a good clip, I wasn't exactly sprinting at an all-out pace. Chalk it up to more race day adrenaline I guess. For the entire race, my HR stayed in the 177-182 range. So much for my target of 168.
Miles 3 and 4 were 7:29 and 7:23. Hmm, a little slow, and I was already starting to feel pretty tired. Despite temps in the high 50's and an overcast sky, I was feeling overheated. At the first water stop, I chugged two cups and poured a third on my head. Got to keep going, got to push! Miles 5 and 6 came in at 7:10 and 7:04. Much better, but I was really starting to feel the exhaustion. I'd forgotten the pain of the race, how much it hurts to keep pushing when everything in your body is screaming at you to stop the insanity and slow down! Why do I run these things again? Briefly the thought of slowing to a walk and jogging it out crossed my mind, but I pushed it away. Just keep moving.
Around mile 6, we exited the park onto the Great Highway, and were greeted by an incredible view of Pacific waves crashing on the beach. No wonder this course is rated as one of the most scenic in the country. But the exit onto the Great Highway also brought an unwelcome element in the form of strong shore winds. It was blowing pretty hard, right when my energy was flagging. Not a good sign. I tried to tune out everything else and keep moving, and did miles 7, 8, 9 in 7:13, 7:23, 7:27. Pretty good, but I was getting dog tired. At each water stop I poured cups all over myself, trying to keep from overheating.
Around mile 10 I hit the turn-around, and headed back up the Great Highway in the opposite direction. Uh oh: that stiff shore breeze was now blowing directly in my face, and was definitely a factor. Coupled with a gentle but seemingly endless uphill grade, it didn't look like the last few miles would be fun. Mentally I was having trouble concentrating, and maintaining the willpower to keep pushing. Normally towards the end of races I find myself passing lots of people too pooped to keep up the pace, but this time I was the one getting passed. Miles 10 through 12 were an unhappy 7:39, 7:42, 8:11.
That last 8:11 mile was the worst, and I forced myself to bear down for the last 1.1 and push as hard as I could. Pumping my arms with gusto, I finally re-entered the park and kept up the final kick to the finish. With a half-hearted sprint down the last few hundred yards, I completed the final 1.1 miles in 8:07 (7:19 mile pace), reaching the finish line in 1:37:59. Much better than my 1:49:41 from last July, but still a bit shy of my 1:36 goal.
After a bit of a rest in the finisher's area, I then did the unthinkable: MORE running. My original marathon training plan called for 20-22 miles today, so 20-22 miles I resolved to do. Somehow I slogged out an extra 8 miles through the park's winding pathways, before making my way back to my car and heading home. I was ready for a well-deserved rest and an afternoon spent plopped squarely on the couch watching the Superbowl.
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