Race Report: San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon 2009

Warning! Long Race Report ahead! For a shorter version, see previous post.

Yesterday, I ran the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon for the 1st time. Last year, I survived it and ran about 18 miles of it, and had to walk the remaining 8 miles. The day after that race in '08, I vowed to come back a year later, train hard, and run the entire race.

The moment finally came to redeem myself, and I took full advantage of the opportunity. The weather was perfect at the start: low 60s, overcast, slight wind, and a little drizzle. I got to sleep around midnight and had my alarm set for 3:45 a.m. When the alarm went off, I was thrilled that I had gotten sleep this year. Last year, I may have gotten 45 minutes worth of shut eye. After turning off my alarm, I quickly went downstairs, turned on the coffee maker and started eating my bagel. My plan was to eat a little, drink some coffee, and have about 32 oz. of water before heading over to the start. I got 2 bathroom stops in before I left.

Lisa, who is my MVP of this race, was willing to drive me to the start at 4:30 a.m. For those of you that know Lisa, she doesn't like to get up early (and early is before 8 a.m.!). We left on time and traffic was excellent. I got to the Start Village around 5:10 a.m. and actually got to experience the pre-race festivities. Last year, I didn't get to the start until 6:30!!!

I met up with my cousin and his friends and we warmed up, had some more food, took a salt tablet, tested the Cytomax (not bad, definitely better than Accelerade!), and had more water. I hit the porta potties 3 more times before getting into the starting corrals. Last year, we started at the end of the corrals because we were late getting to the start. We ended up having to weave through thousands of walkers, before finding room to run. This year, I started up in corral 6, near the 4:00 pace setter. My goal this year was to run the first mile with the 4:00 pace setter to make sure I didn't go out too fast, and then try to run around 8:45-9:00 pace for the rest of the race.

The race started and we were off. I was much more calm this year, partly because I was familiar with the course and partly because I knew that there were 4 hours of racing ahead of me and I needed to conserve energy. I was most concerned with keeping my emotions in check and staying relaxed. I stayed with the 4 hr pacer for the first mile and was feeling pretty comfortable.

Mile 1 - 8:46 (I thought the pace setter was going a little fast, but it was still comfortable)

The next two miles went by quickly as I tried to establish a relaxed pace and find someone to run with. I'm glad I had my Garmin, because most of the runners along side me were running at a quicker 8:30 pace (which I wouldn't have known if I didn't look at my watch) and I found myself trying to keep pace with them at first.

Mile 2 - 8:41

Mile 3 - 8:50

The next mile was downhill, and I tried not to run it too fast, but ended up banking a lot of time anyway.

Mile 4 - 8:17 (Saw Lisa for the first time!)

After that, I was back on track.

Mile 5 - 8:42

Mile 6 - 8:46 (One of my 5th graders was here to cheer me on. Thanks Jill!)

Mile 7 - 9:01 (Saw Lisa again!)

Mile 8 - 8:50

At this point, we were headed up highway 163 for a 2 mile slight incline. I was feeling pretty good at this point and had a good rhythm. The problem was that I had hydrated too much at the start and had been looking for a place to relieve myself for the last few miles. I didn't want to waste precious seconds waiting in line so I promised myself that I would use the first porta potty that was unoccupied. At mile 9, I finally found one and was in and out in 30 seconds.

Mile 9 - 9:29
Mile 10 - 8:42

At this point I was feeling great. I had made it through 10 miles without much fanfare. I was pretty much on autopilot at this stage and looking forward to transitioning onto Friars Road where the crowd support was excellent. There weren't too many fans on the 3 mile stretch of highway. The last mile of this stretch was downhill and again, I banked some time here.

Mile 11 - 8:13

As we turned onto the ramp and entered Friars Road, I got a shot of adrenaline hearing all the crowd support and cheerleaders. My goal was to get to the 13.1 mile mark, where in my head I believed that the race would truly begin.

Mile 12 - 8:50

Mile 13 - 8:32

Half Marathon Time - 1:55:39

When I hit the official halfway mark, I began to gear down mentally for the real race to begin. I began to set small goals for myself. The first was to get to mile 14 and have another GU with water.

Mile 14 - 8:35

The next mile was where I started to feel some tightness for the first time in my left hamstring. I stopped at the aid station briefly (probably less than 15 seconds) to stretch and squeeze the muscle.

Mile 15 - 9:01

At this point, all that was on my mind was about getting to mile 16 so that there would only be 10 miles left in the race. My legs weren't getting worse, so I just tried to keep running smooth and easy. I called my brother at this point to let him know that I was 3 miles away from the 19 mile mark where he was going to be cheering for me with his 3 year old son. I remember this stretch of the race a year ago, where my race began to completely unfold. I kept thinking to myself, 'Keep it together. You're doing okay.'

Mile 16 - 8:43

Mile 17 - 8:34

I ran past the GU station here and grabbed two more for the road. 'Come on, Joe. Get to mile 18. No cramping. Not like last year.' At mile 18 last year, my legs were done. Toast. I had to hobble the next 8 miles to the finish line. My thought was that if I could get to mile 18 without cramping, I had improved from last year.

Mile 18 - 8:45

Things were looking okay at this point and I was starting to feel good about my chances. I allowed myself to experience this feeling for about 10 seconds before reeling it back in and scolding myself for celebrating too early. I knew that I wasn't halfway done with the race until I had hit mile 20. At the aid station, I took another GU and stretched quickly before continuing on.

Mile 19 - 8:38

I saw my brother, his son, and his friends at this point and that helped me get up the 2 bridges that I would be crossing in the next mile. Last year, I remember cursing at those bridges and barely being able to get up and over them. This year, I was actually speeding up and passing people.

Mile 20 - 8:25

When I finally got to the 20 mile sign, I was ecstatic - halfway done!!! I took another salt tablet and chased it down with some water. Only a 10K to go. We passed by Sea World and I was feeling decent. I knew I had a shot at not only breaking 4 hours, but reaching my A goal of 3:50. But I knew that if I wanted to hit my A goal, I would need to run the last 6 miles at a faster pace than the first 20. So I started to speed up.

Mile 21 - 8:18

I think I pushed the tempo too hard on that last mile as the adrenaline wore out on me. I slowed the pacing for the next few miles, stopping to stretch at each water stop.

Mile 22 - 8:38

I kept talking to myself to keep myself on track mentally. 'One more mile to go and then it's only a 5K'

Mile 23 - 8:46

This was probably the hardest part of the race for me. Even though I now only had 3 miles to go, I felt like I was running out of energy, and my legs were failing me. I decided to take my last GU at this point. To keep me going, I focused on street signs about 200 yards ahead of me and told myself, 'just get to that point.'

Mile 24 - 8:57

With 2 miles to go, I decided it was time to go for broke. I mustered everything I had in me and turned the last 2.2 miles into a tempo run.

Mile 25 - 8:08

As I was heading into the last mile, I saw my co-worker that had given me great advice about the marathon and was one of the people that had talked me into running the marathon last year. She cheered me on as I headed into the last mile and change.

Mile 26 - 8:18

Only .2 to go. I forgot about the .2 and was almost out of gas. 'Why does there have to be an additional 385 yards? Someone needs to make this a straight 26 mile race.' At the finish line, I could hear Lisa yelling encouragements to me. I flashed her a huge smile and let my emotions loose. I flashed her the 'I love you' sign and pointed to her to acknowledge her significant role in the quest to break 4 hours. Then I let loose with some fist pumps, tears of joy, and screams of elation as I crossed the finish line.

1st Half - 1:55:39

2nd Half - 1:53:16 (Negative Split!)

Official Time - 3:48:53 - 8:45 pace and new PR by 51 minutes!!!

Afterwards as I was walking through the finish line area I took some time to reflect on the journey. 18 months ago, I wasn't even a runner. Without first measuring the cost, I set out to run a marathon a year ago; a race that I had no right running in, because I wasn't properly trained. But I was stubborn and did it anyway and paid dearly for it. So this year I set a goal for myself and promised that I would put in the work and effort to run the marathon the right way. I set a goal of 4 hours and focused on this for the whole year. So when I crossed the finish line and achieved my goal, it was one of the greatest feelings that I have ever experienced and a feeling that I will never forget.

Here are a few quick shoutouts to those who deserve mention:

Lisa and my girls - thanks for believing in me and allowing me to take up so much family time to run

Fellow Bloggers and readers (especially aron, billy, willis, and gary) - thanks for sharing all your training advice and racing tips

God - thanks for running the real race for us through your son Jesus Christ.

Here are some pictures from the race.

Showing off my shiny new medal!

Exhausted

Got to meet Ryan Hall after the race!

Back at home, celebrating with my 3 girls!!!

3:48:53!!!

• Absolutely perfect day for running - cloudy with a little drizzle, temps in the 60s.

• Had a number of awesome supporters including Lisa, who made it to 3 different stops on the race, my brother and friends, a student, a co-worker, and lots of friends. Thanks for your support - it certainly made a difference.

• Ran my heart out today including running a negative split.

• And the icing on the cake was meeting Ryan Hall afterwards and getting his autograph!

• Race report to follow soon - I'm heading over to my parents tonight for a family celebration!

Marathon Goals

It's hard to believe that the San Diego RnR Marathon is less than a week away. I've been eyeing this day for a full year now; a chance for redemption and to truly "run" the race and not just complete it. After surviving the race a year ago, I vowed to never submit myself to this kind of torture again. This promise lasted about 24 hours as my thoughts quickly turned to going back and gaining redemption for myself AND preparing for the race properly and running it the way it was supposed to be run. So the grand plan was formulated:

• Take the summer off to recover and heal with lots of swimming and a few runs here and there
• Use the fall to build up a good mileage base of 30-40 miles/week
• Train for the SD RnR using the Pfitz 18/55 plan

I've never worked for something this hard and this long before. It seems kind of unfair that it all comes down to one day: either my legs show up or I blow up. And then it's back to the drawing board. Now I do realize that I put myself in this predicament given that there are many races to choose from during the year and I only chose to race once. But that's the way I wanted it and after this Sunday, I'll reflect on the process and create a new plan and vision for my running.

For now, it all comes down to Sunday. Here are my A,B,C goals for the race:

• Goal A: 3:50 - this translates to an 8:45/pace. I've been training at that pace for the last few weeks and I don't think I'm quite comfortable at that pace for 20+ miles, but who knows how things will pan out on Sunday.

• Goal B: Sub 4 - 9:09/pace. This has been my major focus since the day after my first marathon blow-up. I feel like this pace is realistic given my training run paces and I feel pretty good about achieving this goal. I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't be extremely disappointed if I didn't hit this goal.

• Goal C: New PR. A PR is always a PR and that's worth celebrating even though my current PR is 4:40.

As for the week ahead, I still have a few runs left including a 12 miler tomorrow in my "dress rehearsal" gear, I'm hoping to get lots of rest (getting to bed around 10 p.m.), and planning to eat sensibly.

For those that have the day off tomorrow, enjoy the time off and to everyone else, have a great week!

3:51 - Foreshadowing?

This past Sunday, I had originally scheduled my last 20 mile long run. However, because it was Mother's Day, I was going back and forth between running it on Saturday or Sunday. Saturday morning, we celebrated my niece's 4th birthday at the Strawberry Fields in Carlsbad. My cousin, who is also running the San Diego RnR, was there, and we decided last minute to go run together that afternoon.



He has completed a few triathlons before, including an Olympic distance one in Hawaii, but has never run more than a 10K. His training for the RnR has been off and on, and most recently disrupted by a sprained ankle. But he was feeling good, and wanted to try and run 15 miles with me. We decided to go to Lake Miramar to run because it was a 5 mile loop, and it would be an easy way for him to run 15 miles, and me to get in another loop to make 20.



My plan for this long run was to run it slow and try to stay on my feet for as long as possible. I had run my last few long runs at close to marathon pace, so I figured that I should try to run this at true run long pace - MP plus 2 minutes. My cousin is trying to run his 1st marathon in 5 hours (11:00/mile+ pace) so I had no problem keeping the pace slow.



We completed the first loop in a little less than an hour, which was a bit slower than I was hoping for. When we returned to the parking area, he stopped to grab another Gatorade, and we were off again. The second loop was about the same pace, but he was now definitely feeling it in his legs.



He was debating whether or not to go one more loop, and I convinced him to at least try it. He restocked with Gatorade and I took a GU. The first mile and a half were fine and then he started to cramp. We walked a quarter mile and then tried jogging slowly for a little bit. He started to cramp again and we began walking again. He was resigned to walking the final 3 miles and I was debating whether or not to just run ahead. I didn't want to leave him behind so I ran to the next quarter mile marker and then back to him. I did this a few times before he decided that he was feeling up to jogging again. We started slow again, and this time we made it to the completion of the loop without his hamstring cramping up again.

At this point, the total elasped time for 15 miles was a whopping 3 hours and 10 minutes (12:40/mile pace). My legs were tired from being on the road for so long, but at the same time, they were itching to stretch out for a quicker paced run. So I decided to run the last lap on my own and just see how fast I could go. I had forgotten my Garmin so I didn't know what my time was until I finished the lap. I felt pretty good throughout and finished the last 5 miles in 41 minutes (8:12/mile pace).

Overall, I was glad to have spent 3 hours 51 minutes on the road, which hopefully will be the same time that it will take me to complete the RnR marathon. The run itself was okay, because so much of it was run at a slow pace. In some ways, I'm not even sure if I can call it a long run because I walked good portions of it.

Oh well, either way, I'm done with it. Now it's TAPER TIME!!!

4/1200m Intervals are TORTURE!!!

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of running a brand new set of intervals. I've only started running intervals under my first Pfitz training cycle. The first set, which consisted of 5 sets of 600m repeats with 45 sec. of rest between, was relatively easy. In fact, my thought after my first ever interval training session was, 'This is fun!' Then came the next level of intervals which was 5 sets of 1000m repeats with 2 minutes of rest in between. That was run at the same pace as the 600m repeats, and the extra 400 m no longer made intervals fun.

This week, I had on tap the third level of intervals. This called for 4 sets of 1200m repeats with 2 minutes of rest in between. My first thought was that there was no way I could run this distance at the same pace as the other intervals. I was dying at the end of the 1000m intervals and I would still need to run another 200m. But in the end I decided to HTFU and at least try and see what would happen.

The plan was to run 10 miles total including the intervals. I started running at a slow pace, knowing that I would need all my energy to complete the intervals. After running 5 miles, I slowed to a jog for about a minute to get ready for the first 1200m. When the minute was up, I sped up to a shade under 7:00 mile pace. At first it felt okay. My leg turnover wasn't too fast and my breathing was okay. After 400m, my legs started to tire and I was doubting whether I could finish another 800m. The good thing was that I had, "Eye of Tiger" blaring on my MP3 player to give me motivation. I made it through the next 400m and now only had 400m to go. At this point, I just tried to keep a quick leg turnover and relax my arms. Somehow I made it to the end and slowed down to a walking pace. The intervals call for a 2 minute jog, but my heartrate was so elevated I had to walk. Before I knew it the 2 minutes were up and I was back to sub 7:00 mile pace. The second set was worse than the first, but not quite as bad as I thought it might be. The rest definitely helped me out.

At this point, I was halfway done. My legs were doggone tired, but I knew that if I could get my mind motivated I could fight through the last 2 intervals. The 3rd set was even tougher, as expected, but I pretty much gave it my all, and didn't know if anything was left in the tank for the last one. Looking for a motivation, I thought about the Biggest Loser episode on Tuesday. I thought about Ron (a 50 year old dad weighing a tad under 300 pounds) walking a marathon on a bum knee. It took him over 13 hours, but in the end he finished. Now, whether or not he actually did it without help (it is Reality TV) is another story, but I didn't care about the truth. I just needed motivation. So I thought about Ron finishing, and it was just enough to get me through the last interval.

With that out of the way, the rest of the week calls for another 10 miler on Friday, a 5 miler on Saturday, and then my last 20 miler on Mother's Day. I've been running my long runs at a quicker pace the last few weeks, so I'm thinking about truly running my long run at MP+90 seconds and staying on my feet for a good 3 1/2 hours.

Happy TGIF everyone and have a great weekend!!!

NO MORE SPICY PASTA!

I spent the last four days in one of my favorite cities, Seattle. We were up there for a family wedding, and I was able to take a few days off so we could sightsee with Lisa's family. The trip overall was fabulous, with great eats and breathtaking sights. To start off, my brother-in-law got us a steal at the Marriott Residence Inn on Lake Union via Priceline.

The going rate there is in the high $100s/night, but he was able to negotiate us a rate of only $70! We primarily ate around the area and had views of the Space Needle and Mt. Ranier.

While we were there, I celebrated my 37th birthday. I thought about doing a special kind of run to commemorate my 37 years here on Earth. Maybe I could run for 37 minutes OR run 3.7 miles OR run for 3 hours and 7 minutes. After debating for awhile, I finally decided on something completely different and gave in to my daughters' desire to go swimming in the hotel pool. So while they went swimming, I relaxed in the hot tub and gave my legs a rest. The later half of the day was dedicated to the wedding. Afterwards, while walking to the car to drive back to the hotel, I passed by a coffee shop (Seattle has plenty) that caught my eye.

Seeing my namesake on the window, I had to stop by for an Americano. It hit the spot and I was feeling energized after an afternoon of wedding dancing with Lisa and the girls. When we got back to the hotel, it was time to watch Game 7 of the Bulls vs. the Celtics. Having grown up in Chicago, my sports' loyalties still remain in Chicago. In the 80s and 90s we were definitely spoiled, having the best basketball player on the planet in Michael Jordan. We watched the first half in the hotel room and then decided to go have some dinner and catch the second half at a restaurant nearby. We walked across the street to a row of restaurants and decided on another narcissistic choice: Joey's.

The game was on inside at the bar, the place was pretty hip inside, and the menu items looked excellent. At this point, I was thinking about maybe getting a run in after dinner, since Sunday was definitely booked and I needed to get my long run of 17 miles in. After browsing through the menu, I decided on a seafood pasta dish: seafood linguine. Bad mistake. The food was terrific, but I would pay for it later on that night. Game 7 was exciting, but the Bulls just didn't have enough to take out the defending champs. When I returned to the hotel room at 8 p.m., I quickly changed and headed to the exercise room with my 2 gels, MP3 player (nope, still don't have an iPod), and water bottle.

The exercise room was small, but they had a TV. Being that I was the only one in the gym, I got to handle the remote control and volume. I flipped to an ESPN classic of the Rumble in the Jungle: Ali vs. Foreman. The first 2 miles were run at 8:57/pace. Then, my stomach started to rumble. Pit stop #1.

After relieving myself, I got back on and started to run again. I picked up the pace a little and ran the next 7 miles at 8:48/pace. I took a gel at mile 7 and was feeling good again. At mile 9, the rumbling started again, and soon after, I was back in the bathroom. After another good cleansing, I got back to running and soon after took another gel at mile 11. Less than a mile later, I hit pit stop #3. At this point, I was just happy to be near a bathroom and glad to be almost done. Wanting to finish off the run strong, I ran the last 5 miles @ 8:00/mile pace. I was thankful to be able to complete this leg unimpeded.

• Overall it took about 2 hours, 33 minutes, including all pit stops, to run the 17 miles (9:00/pace). And the one thing that I will never ever do again is EAT SPICY PASTA before a long run!

Thanks for reading and have a great week everyone!

Back on the Bandwagon

It's been awhile since my last post for a variety of reasons. Here's how life has been hitting me lately:

* Got sick for a weekend - NOT the swine flu
* Hosted cousin's family with a newborn for a week (6 kids in all, their 3 plus our 3)
* Trying not to stress out about my job for next year(teacher's union decided to take a pay cut, which may in the end save my job)
* Got my annual physical and eye exam (everything looks good so far)
* Watched my two oldest daughters win their respective spelling bees! (Katie spelled the word, "Colossians" and Emma managed to spell one word correctly after her only competitor spelled, "leg" incorrectly =)

In the midst of all this, I've continued my marathon training as I approach my final month. Although I only ran 4 times last week, it was probably my toughest training week I've had. Here's a summary of that week:

Tuesday: 8 miles easy (run in 90 degree weather, still a little sick, one of the worst runs ever!)
Wednesday: 9 miles w/5x1000m @ 6:50/mile pace (I have never done 1000m intervals and this was by far much harder than the 12 miles with 7 at LT pace)
Saturday: 12 miles - 9:00 pace
Sunday: 20 miles - 14 @ 8:33 pace, overall 20 miles @ 8:51/pace

I originally had 17 miles scheduled for Sunday, but since I had missed a 20 miler previously because of injury, I thought it would be a good time to add a few more miles. I was definitely spent at the end of the run, but I felt good running the 14 miles at 8:33 pace. At this point, I'm feeling pretty good about being able to run under 4 hours. Now, I'm starting to think that a 3:50 marathon may be possible. Am I fooling myself?

This week I travel to Seattle for a family wedding. It's probably not the best time to be traveling, given the recent news with the Swine Flu. I'm leaving Thursday and won't be back until Sunday evening. I have a 17 miler that I need to squeeze in somewhere; it'll probably be on a treadmill early in the morning. At this point, I'm just hoping to return to San Diego with everyone in my family healthy.

Have a great week everyone and stay healthy!