Holiday Goods

I must have done something right this year because Christmas was very good to me! Not surprisingly, a few of my gifts were fitness related : ) Imagine that! My mom got me the bright purple Nike tempo shorts I'd been eyeing at work for months, and my dad got me a gift certificate for more yoga and a super fancy bike trainer! I was hoping for a basic trainer, but was totally shocked to get this amazing fluid one from Blackburn. I can't wait to test it out along with the Garmin cadence/power sensor my mom got me for my birthday a couple weeks ago. Yay for cycling!

Although running and triathlon are big interests of mine they aren't the only things I enjoy! My uncle got me this beautiful navy blue dress I had put on my list. It fits perfectly and can be dressed up or down!

I also happen to be a huge movie buff and have a ridiculous collection of DVDs. This Christmas I added 11 more to my collection!

I was certainly spoiled this year and I'm so grateful to have such a wonderful and generous family. I think I did pretty well on the other end as a gift giver, though. I gave my dad a Garmin Forerunner 110 since he's been running a lot more lately and I gifted my mom Fleet Feet's beginner's 5k training program so she can continue the running she started this past summer. Anyone else score some awesome goods this holiday season??

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of 2010... Holy cow! I'll be heading to Marin with my coworker for an afternoon hike followed by a bbq and concert before ringing in the new year at midnight. I'm working on a post recapping this epic past year which I'll hopefully have up in the next couple of days. Until then, here's to an amazing 2011, and Happy New Year my friends!!

That Run

I've been fighting a vicious cycle lately. After CIM I knew I needed a break, which I gladly welcomed. I took many a rest day, bulked up on cross-training, and ran a few times, always keeping it short. But after a couple weeks of taking it easy I started to get a little anxious. After all, I'm going to be running 50 miles in a matter of months! A couple of my post-CIM runs were tougher than expected so I've been worried about my loss in fitness, but instead of simply getting back out there I've been avoiding it and choosing yoga or Jillian instead. Enter: vicious cycle of laziness and lack of running.

Last night the hard truth hit me though. I was surfing the web looking for some examples of 50 mile training plans (not a whole lot, btw) and the common theme was their duration: 16-24 weeks, on average. Some even recommended taking an entire year to prepare! I pulled up my calendar and began to count backward from April 9th...15 weeks. Ummm, shit. Talk about motivation to get my butt in gear! I still don't have an official plan yet. In fact, I probably won't be able to use any kind of super specific plan since my work schedule varies so much. Instead, I want to focus on a few key components to focus on during training, which I'll elaborate more on in a future post. My primary goal, however, is to simply get in as much trail time as possible. I'm hoping to get some advice from my ultra veteran coworker and get some sort of "plan" ready to kick off the new year.

I had the day off today and had made plans to go to yoga later in the day, but after reminding myself of the impending race mentioned above, I decided to go for an impromptu run just before yoga. I didn't set out for any specific distance, but I had time to do 4-5. The nagging rain had finally stopped and the sky broke to reveal a beautiful blue sky, sun streaming from behind the clouds. The grass was a vibrant green thanks to recent showers and the air was cool and crisp. My goal was to keep the pace easy and relaxed and focus on listening to my body. I brought along my Garmin (of course) but didn't allow myself to look at the pace during the entire run. As I started out I was greeted with a nasty head wind but I was so glad to be back out there and feeling good that I hardly cared. For about the first mile I had a weird, sharp, and persistent pain in one of my toes. It was a completely new sensation and I actually had to curl all my toes under just to continue running. After I warmed up it went away, but it will definitely be something to keep an eye on.

Mid-run I decided to do 5 miles. I was feeling good and made sure to reign in my pace when I started to speed up. I even used a trick à la Aron to keep things nice and slow: I avoided my usual fast tempo songs, which always seem to make me push harder. In my previous runs I've started out feeling good but tend to bonk a bit toward the end, but today I felt so good toward the end that I felt like I could keep running for miles : ) I even started singing aloud to myself! When I finished I was surprised to find that I had actually been running my faster pace and average 9:48 over the 5 miles. It was just one of those runs where everything falls into place, the kind of run that is few and far between but is the reason we continue to run, hoping our next one will be that one.

so lovely (source)

p.s. Yoga did not happen unfortunately thanks to holiday hours. Instead I had a little date with Jillian : ) How's two workouts in one day for getting things started on the right foot?!

Merry Christmas!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas full of food, friends, and family. Lots of gifts were exchanged and I got some great new stuff I'll be sharing with you soon! Oddly enough, most of my gifts for my family just happened to come in Fleet Feet wrapping : ) What can I say, I didn't have time to shop anywhere else!

 lots of presents under the tree

 merry christmas from my little reindeer!

Gimme a Break, Gimme a Break

No, I'm not talking about Kit Kat bars : ) Since CIM I've taken a much-needed break from running. I have run a few times, each time a bit better than the last. I can tell that I've lost a little bit of fitness from doing such light cardio these past few weeks, but I'm sure I can get it back quickly. My legs have felt surprisingly good, which I'm attributing to the break and cross-training I've been doing over the last few weeks. I've been going to hot yoga at least once a week and can already see improvements in my practice and increased flexibility. I also broke out my good 'ol No More Trouble Zones dvd for a butt-kicking reunion with Jillian Michaels. I got my coworker, Crystal, hooked on it so at least I have a partner to curse aloud and suffer through the workouts with me : )

she sort of scares me

Besides working out, I also celebrated my 23rd birthday last Thursday. A few Fleet Feet friends of mine went out for a delicious Spanish dinner complete with gourmet cupcakes for dessert : ) I also got a few gifts to spruce up my bike: a speed/cadence sensor from my mom, and a sweet light from my dad. And as a bonus birthday present, I found out the day before that I got in to the Way Too Cool 50k! I'm pretty excited since this solidifies my training/racing plans up until AR 50 in April.

FF girls all dressed up!

polaroid shot at dinner

23

And so, looking forward. I registered for my first race of 2011, a Resolution Run 10 Miler up in Auburn on New Year's Day which I'll be doing with Crystal. I certainly won't be racing it, I'm just hoping I'll actually be able to run 10 miles without them being completely miserable. I'm looking forward to starting the year off with a good run, though. I've also posted my (tentative) race schedule in the right sidebar. So far it's definitely much shorter of a schedule than this past year, but I'm taking on much bigger challenges. I'll officially be starting my training for Cool and AR 50 in January with some help and advice from my coworker (and very-seasoned ultra runner) Diane. This will mean a lot more trails and a lot more time on my feet. I'm also really hoping to keep up with yoga and Jillian at least once a week as the flexibility, balance, and core strength will all be extremely beneficial for trail running and ultras.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas Eve!!

Lottery Luck

Although I haven't really been running much since CIM, I've been eagerly planning my race schedule for 2011 (where the heck did 2010 go?!). While I mentioned my ultrarunning plans and triathlon goals, a couple of hopeful races are not guaranteed. Enter: race lotteries. This past week I put in for both the Way Too Cool 50k and New York City Marathon lotteries and my fingers have been crossed since! I'm hoping to run Cool as both my first ultra and trail race, and also as a training run for AR 50 the following month. As far as NY, that's been on my wish list since I started running, and since I didn't get in last year, I've entered my name again. If I get in, I plan to make New York my goal fall marathon and train hard for a PR. I'll find out about WTC this Wednesday, but New York won't be until March, so I'll have to try and be patient. Wish me luck! Anyone else put in for these races or entered any other race lotteries?

Yesterday morning I went for my first run post-CIM and it wasn't pretty. The lingering soreness in my legs had mostly disappeared by the end of the week and I was getting sort of antsy to do something. So when my coworker asked if I wanted to run Saturday morning, I thought I'd give it a shot and see just how recovered I was. We set out to do 5 miles on my usual loop along the American River, and immediately my legs felt heavy and I was just tired. I thought maybe I just needed to warm up, but after a couple miles I knew it just wasn't going to be a good run. I felt like I was exerting my usual effort and keeping up a good pace, but when I looked down at my Garmin I was running a whole minute slower than usual! We ended up cutting it short to 4 miles, partly due to a time crunch and partly due to my lack of energy. During the last couple miles I also had some pain in my hip joint, so I was more than ready to be done. Later at work, I noticed that my calves had also become seriously tight. Looks like I wasn't quite ready to run, so I'll be sticking to light cross-training for a few more days before I get back on the pavement, including a hot yoga session today to stretch out my tight muscles. How long do you usually take to recover after a marathon?

CIM (Race Report)

CIM has come and gone, marking the end of racing for 2010. It didn't quite go as planned, but was a fun experience nonetheless.

Leading up to CIM I didn't have a whole lot of time to rest. I had to work the entire week leading up to it (including Saturday) and since it's the big local marathon, it meant our local running store was pretty slammed. Like I mentioned before though, I didn't really feel like I was running a marathon, right up til the morning of. My training (or lack thereof) consisted of just 5 runs since Clarksburg a few weeks earlier, the longest being 10 miles. Whoops.

I was up at 5am and began my usual pre-race routine. I brought my toast with pb with me to eat on the way to the start up in Folsom, about 20 minutes away. It's kind of nice to run a local marathon for a few reasons:

1. sleeping in your own bed
2. no crazy early wake up calls
3. relatively easy to get to the start
4. familiarity with the course
5. easy for friends and fam to see you!
6. easy to get home after

Much to my surprise we didn't hit any traffic and I was dropped off about a quarter mile from the start line. I figured my next stop would be the line for the port-o-potties, but instead I was greeted with a long line of empty port-o-potties, just waiting to be occupied. For a moment, I thought it was a joke. Were they out of order? Locked? No and no, there were just so many port-o-potties that many of them had no lines! Talk about a runners dream : ) I quickly popped in one and then headed to the starting area. On the drive over I had looked up the hourly forecast, and despite the previous claims of rain, I was happy to see that it was supposed to hold off til later in the afternoon. Sure enough, as the sky began to lighten the clouds were breaking and we could see a clear sky emerging : ) And luckily, unlike last years' freezing temps, we were dealing with balmy temps in the lower 50s.

clear skies!

I walked toward the start line looking for my (faster) coworkers who were running as well. I found Crystal pretty quickly thanks to our matching bright yellow tops. We chatted for a while which helped keep my mind off what was coming, then we finally found Alex just before the start. We took a couple quick pics then I headed back through the throng of runners toward the 4:30 pacers. There were two of them, a guy and a girl, and they both seemed pretty enthusiastic. A few minutes later and we were off!

Fleet Feet buddies : )

The first few miles I stayed just ahead of the pace group. I had heard the first 10 miles were rolling so I wanted to keep them in sight so I'd conserve my energy and not get carried away. Right off the bat, however, I found that their pacing was pretty off. I was running pretty close to the goal pace and yet they kept falling farther behind me. Then at other points in the race they were going nearly a minute faster than goal pace. In the beginning, my strategy worked pretty well. Since I was a ways ahead of the group I could walk short parts of hills or walk through an aid station to take a Gu. The course was indeed rolling, definitely more so than I was expecting, but I just tried to use the downhills to my advantage.

The race started near Folsom Dam and took us through nice, quiet neighborhoods with families out on their long driveways spectating. There was even a stretch of farmland, complete with that pleasant farm aroma : ) I took my first Gu around mile 4.5 but when I went to grab a salt cap from my pocket, I was greeted with powder - all 5 of my caps had exploded! Total bummer. Just before the 10k point we passed the first relay exchange which meant getting passed by lots of fresh legs. Around mile 10 we made our way into old town Fair Oaks with lots of spectators and a nice, long downhill. Around mile 10.5 I saw my first familiar face, my dad. I kept running along, feeling pretty good if a little tired. I reached the halfway point right on time - 2:15 - and somehow spotted another coworker of mine, Julia, who was out there cheering us on. The day had become much warmer than expected, especially in the direct sun, so I eagerly peeled off my arm warmers and gave them to Julia.

mile 10.5

quick wave to dad!

I don't really remember the next few miles, but I do remember thinking that time seemed to be going by fast and the miles seemed to tick by faster than usual. Despite my belief that the hills were over at this point, there continued to be some rollers as we continued along Fair Oaks Blvd. Just past mile 15 I started to get pretty tired and my stomach started to act up. I started burping up the Gu in my stomach and I just couldn't get it to settle. The 4:30 pace group was getting closer and closer and finally around mile 16 they had caught up to me. Based on how I was feeling at that point I knew I couldn't keep up with them for another 10 miles, nor did I want to. I started to feel a bit apathetic, so I forced myself to hang on til mile 17, then I let them go. I was feeling pretty miserable at this point, but thankfully around 17.5 my dad rolled up on his bike. I took several walk breaks as he asked how I was doing and if I needed anything. I was parched so he got me a water bottle from a police officer and I took another Gu. It was nice to have someone to complain talk to and eventually I started running again.

 mile 17.5ish

 trudging along...

i always smile for a camera : )

that orange was so gooood!

Slowly my stomach started feeling better, although by now my body was aching pretty badly. I trudged along, breaking up the miles by landmarks and walking when I needed to. I saw another coworker, Diane (my future pacer for AR50), around 19 which gave me another little boost. I saw my mom for the first and only time around mile 20 and finally got a couple salt caps in me. We crossed over the J street bridge where Fair Oaks Blvd. becomes J street, with the American River running underneath. It had started to cool off at this point which felt great, and I could tell the rain would be coming in just a couple hours. I saw my aunt at mile 22, ready with iPhone video recorder in hand, then continued along what had been the first part of the Run to Feed the Hungry course. J street was packed with spectators and had beautiful fall foliage as well as signs of Christmas : )

 thumbs up on the bridge

 American River

 J street bridge

fall colors along J street

My dad had stuck with me on his bike all this way but as we entered midtown some cops started hassling him to "get off the course". Let me explain. All four lanes were open for runners, but only the right two were being used. My dad was riding (extremely slowly) next to me in the inside left lane, away from all the other runners, not causing any problems. Being the type of person he is, he stopped to argue with the cops while I continued on, hoping he wouldn't get himself arrested. Luckily, he always caught back up to me : ) At this point I was ready to be done. I was running more now with only a few short walk breaks, and I saw more familiar faces, two coworkers and coaches, which gave me a final boost toward the finish. The last mile I picked up my pace and soon I spotted the Capitol. I gave my dad my race belt and said good-bye then followed the crowd and noise around the corner for the last .2 miles.

 on to the finish!

I somehow found a finishing kick and sprinted to the finish right in front of the state Capitol, elated to be done. While I didn't quite get my 4:30 goal, I still managed my second fastest marathon time - 4:43:15. I got my medal and space blanket and made my way to a bench to sit down and wait for my parents. Per usual, my legs began to throb and I could feel 3 toenails ready to say adios. My folks finally found me and we took some pics in front of the Capitol and the giant Christmas tree before heading out. My calves were insanely tight, to the point where I had to walk straight-legged to the car.

 done!

oh hey, Capitol

 CIM finisher

 mom ♥

me & dad, my personal pacer

 

Although I didn't exactly train specifically for CIM, I'm so glad I did it. It was fun to run a course on my home turf and to have so many familiar faces out there. I am extremely grateful to my dad for biking alongside me for the last 8 miles - I can truthfully say that I would have walked a lot more and been in a far more bitter mood had I been alone. Thanks again, dad! Luckily I didn't have to work the next day, but I have been extremely sore and stiff the past couple days. I'm only now starting to move without hobbling or wincing. CIM certainly closed off my 2010 races with a bang, and will be a race I remember for a long time to come.

CIM, marathon #8

Game Plan

So, here we are on the eve of CIM. It's a very strange thing, because it doesn't seem like I'm running a marathon in the morning. I've only run 5 times since the disastrous Clarksburg 20 miler thanks to burnout and nagging aches. I just don't feel like I'm coming off of marathon training, probably because I haven't. My legs don't exactly feel fresh and raring to go, but I'm simply hoping that this break will have ultimately done me some good. I think I've lost a little bit of fitness, but honestly, I just did a marathon like a month ago, so I must still have some left (right?!?!).

Several months ago I talked my original running buddy from Santa Barbara, Tom, into signing up to run CIM with me. I would be moving back to Sac, so it seemed like a great way to keep in touch and then eventually meet up again. Unfortunately the plan has changed. A couple days ago his dog got really sick so he opted to stay with him and back out of CIM. I can totally understand the decision, although I'm admittedly bummed we won't be running another marathon together. And so, with the turn of events, I've had to rethink my goals. Above all, I will be running this, not racing. My body is just not prepared to push it and mentally I just don't want the pressure. I've decided on a plan of action, however, complete with a back up plan. I'm going to start out with the 4:30 pace group. I really enjoyed running with a pacer at the Urban Cow Half and set my PR there. As I've said before, I'm terrible at running even splits so it's great to be able to have someone else worry about that. I think this would be a reasonable pace for me, slower that most of my runs have been for a while, but it would give me a PR by 4 minutes. Now it's very possible that I could have a bad day though, and in that case I will drop back and hopefully catch the 4:45 pace group. I've come to terms that it could go either way.

Despite the forecast earlier this week proclaiming dry skies for Sunday, it's currently looking like it's going to be a wet one. Now I love running in the rain, but I'm not so sure about running a marathon in the rain. I have my outfit laid out, but since it's only going to be wet and not freezing (thank goodness) I'm only going with one layer - Brooks capris, Nike t-shirt with arm sleeves, and my earwarmer headband. Hopefully this is a winning combo. If it ends up being a downpour, I'm just totally screwed.

CIM outfit, minus visor, plus arm sleeves

This will be my final race of 2010, 6th marathon this year, and 8th marathon overall. I'm looking forward to the experience of running in my hometown, seeing a ton of familiar faces, and the accomplishment of covering 26.2 miles. My parents will be out on the course as well as several coworkers so I have that to look forward to. I'm just really hoping for a good day, wish me luck!

Run to Feed the Hungry 10k (Race Report)

Hello friends! I'm a little late getting to this, but better late than never, right? I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday weekend : )

My Thanksgiving started out early and cold! It was just below freezing so I made sure to layer up - capris, long sleeve race shirt, Nike jacket, and earwarmer headband. Since the race starts so close to us we biked there to avoid the traffic that comes with a race of 25,000+ people. As we rode along the bike trail the ground was covered in frost, but luckily the ride helped us warm up. We got there with enough time to spare, locked up our bikes, and made our way to the start. The 10k started about a half hour earlier than the 5k, and although I wasn't sure if we'd signed up for the right race, we had no problems lining up at the start line. We tried to find a spot in the sun without much luck, but before we new it the gun sounded and we were off!

 oh hey, giant turkey

 crowded start

smiling, despite the cold

My dad has been training for this distance and was expecting to finish in just over an hour. The first couple miles were ridiculously crowded so it was hard to find a rhythm. Eventually we decided to hop on the sidewalk which was much clearer. We made our way into East Sac and when we hit mile 1 I noticed we were a little ahead of the expected pace. We felt good so we just continued on, enjoying the clear, crisp morning. Eventually the crowd thinned a bit and we were able to run on the street. It was starting to warm up, especially in the direct sun, and I was beginning to wish I could ditch my jacket. The course took us past McKinley park and into shady midtown which felt great. We reached mile 3 with a sub 10:00 average pace and my dad was feeling good!

 so many people!

McKinley Park

ohhhh we're halfway there!

Halfway done we headed away from midtown back toward East Sac. The fall foliage on the course was absolutely gorgeous. With the clear blue sky as a backdrop the colors really popped : ) With about a mile to go we emerged back on the street where we had started and merged with the 5kers. As soon as I saw the finish I picked it up a bit and my dad put on a final surge as well. I glanced at my watch and saw that we were going to be close to breaking an hour, but there were a lot of people to dodge. We crossed the line and immediately were stopped in our tracked by a wall of runners. I glanced down at my watch - 59:36. Unofficial, of course, but still counts in my book!

simply gorgeous

ahhh shade

 looking good!

one mile to go...

done!!

My dad was pretty thrilled by our results. We ran much faster than he had been training so it was a nice surprise for both of us. I have to say I was a little impressed, too! Great job, dad! We stuck around in the post race area for a while, saw some familiar faces, then realized it was still pretty cold and headed home. I love that I can share running with my dad, and this race is becoming a really fun tradition. I'm already looking forward to next year! The rest of the day was spent relaxing and nibbling on snacks, trying to save room for the main event. We had a few relatives over and kept it nice and low-key. My mom and aunt made a delicious feast that sent me into a food coma, but not before I'd consumed some homemade pumpkin pie : )

me & dad

nom nom nom

Now that Thanksgiving is over, bring on the Christmas music and decorations! I ♥ the holidays : )

Something to be Thankful for...

...I finally got back out there. After my 20 mile death march, I knew I was burnt out. But I also think I was a little scared. Scared that some of these nagging aches and pains were something more. Scared that I would lose my fitness. Scared that I have a marathon in 2 weeks. With these fears came a lack of motivation, and so, I didn't run. For seven long days. And remarkably, toward the end of my week off, I found myself itching to hit the pavement. I was jealous when I heard my coworkers chatting about their recent runs. I even tried a couple of mornings. I had the best intentions, but when my alarm went off both times I let the mind games talk me into staying in my warm bed. Part of me knows this rest was much needed, both physically and mentally. But the other half of me, the part that has been training and racing for the better part of the past two years, felt a little guilty. How could I be taking 7 days off when I have a marathon to run soon? How can I run 26.2 miles when I had to hobble through 20? I know that these feelings are normal and will pass, and I know that many of my fellow runners can sympathize, but they still sucked.

This past Monday, I laced up my shoes. I had the day off so I started running in the afternoon when the weather was absolutely perfect - cool and crisp with a nice breeze. Dark rain clouds loomed but kept their distance. I intended to take it easy, but without looking at my Garmin I let my legs do whatever felt good, and good ended up being a little faster : ) I finished up 5 miles in 47 minutes, a little sore, a tad tired, but feeling refreshed at the same time. Afterward I even forced myself to roll out my legs on the Grid, and oh man, that was a good hurt!

Since I essentially took the weekend off from running I was hoping to get a "long" taper run in early on in the week. I am, after all, still in marathon training : ) So I took advantage of another day off on Tuesday and set out in the early afternoon for an easy 10 miles. I went the opposite direction on the bike trail than I usually do for my shorter runs and the change of scenery was just what I needed. I also wore my new Brooks capris and love them! Will have a review coming soon. The weather was, once again, perfect. The trees were a sight with their rainbow-colored leaves and the grasses were bright green thanks to the downpour we had over the weekend. A few miles in I was brought to a standstill when I spotted something moving in the middle of the river. A closer look revealed two deer, one big, one baby, swimming across the river! I almost didn't believe my eyes when they climbed out on the opposite river bank. Simply amazing.

I continued on with a little more pep in my step, passed William Pond Park, crossed over the footbridge, then turned around when my watch chimed 5 miles. I took a Gu and a salt cap when I got back to the park which gave me a needed energy boost for the last few miles. I was keeping up a pretty decent pace, and the time passed smoothly as I rocked out to the new Rihanna CD and some of my favorite Glee songs (most notably from the Rocky Horror episode). At one point I was belting out the lyrics to "Time Warp" while simultaneously gasping for breath! I kicked it up a notch for the final mile and finished with an average pace of 9:44 min/mi. I felt pretty good throughout and afterward, and man did I need a good run to lift my spirits.

brilliant. and such a fun song to run to!

Tomorrow my dad and I will be continuing a Thanksgiving tradition we started last year by running in our local turkey trot, the Run to Feed the Hungry. The race is huge, so it's hard to actually race it, but it's a great way to start off the holiday and have fun. It's a huge family event and benefits a great cause, too. My dad and I have been planning on doing the 10k (we did the 5k last year) but after checking the website tonight it looks like we may have accidentally registered for the wrong race! So we may be doing the 5k again after all. Either way I'm really looking forward to it : ) Anyone else running or racing before stuffing themselves silly tomorrow?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Clarksburg Country 20 Miler (Race Report)

It's taken me a while to write this, and truthfully, I just didn't want to. Obviously, this race did not go well. And so, mainly because I don't want to relive my misery, I'm going to make this race report as brief as possible.

Some quick background info first. Clarksburg is a race put on by my store, meaning I could get a comped entry. This year it was offering a 5k, half marathon, and 20 miler. The timing of the race (just 3 weeks before CIM) made the 20 mile race a perfect peak long run substitute. Seeing as I've had to do most of my long runs solo lately, I thought it sounded great to run this one in a race atmosphere with lots of other runners and in a new place on an unfamiliar course. Plus, it was free! Well, in case you've forgotten (I certainly seemed to), I had also run the Marine Corps Marathon just 2 weeks previously. I'd run a couple times since, though, and seemed to feel fine, so I figured 20 would be fine, too. Wrong, oh so wrong I was.

 Clarksburg - cute town, ugly race

We had a late start (9am) so I was able to sleep a little more than usual. I got ready quickly and made my way out to Clarksburg. I actually had never been to, or even heard of, this little farming town before this race, even though it was just a short 20 minutes away, across the Sacramento River. I made it just in time, hopped into a port-o-potty, and just as I got to the start line the gun went off! I had no time to get my bearings or stretch before I was off and running. With the frazzled start I started out way too fast, clocking a couple sub 9:30 miles. The course started out on a nice tree-lined road before spitting us out onto an uncovered straightaway with fields on either side (there would be many more of these over the 20 miles). There wasn't a whole lot to look at so I distracted myself by watching other runners. About 3 miles in we started getting passed by uber fast runners, with a mix of half and 20 mile bibs - spent the next several miles extremely confused by this. I still don't know why they passed us.

 early on when i was still surrounded by other runners

 i made sure to start running when I saw a camera : )

I got to mile 5 and I was done. Toast. I had nothing left energy-wise, and no desire to run the rest of the race. This was definitely a first for me. Not the crash and burn thing, but the lack of motivation to finish a race. For the rest of the race, had there been an official race vehicle patrolling the course I would have hitched a ride back to the start. From mile 5 things only got more miserable. I started to add in walk breaks, but the remaining mileage was overwhelming. I watched my goal time slide away from me, and did not care - I only cared about how the hell I was going to finish this thing. Around mile 7 we headed out on a loop and eventually I made it to the half way turnaround. At this point I just could not wrap my head around the fact that I had to do all that again. My legs also got really bad at this point and continued to get worse with each mile. 

 

 only halfway. kill me.

 finally, some shade!

this was the most green i saw the entire race

My walk breaks were now far more frequent and my walking looked more like hobbling. My hips ached like never before and I had a new pain in the back of my left knee (guessing an unhappy hamstring). For the rest of the race I leap frogged the same runners, all of us struggling, many limping, but all moving forward, albeit slowly. Even in the worst of times, running still has that element of camaraderie : ) The next few miles wound through a shady road alongside a creek and were mostly downhill (mercifully). The road was also pretty cambered, though, which really sucked for my legs. I somehow made it to mile 15 and was back on the first part of the course which we would follow back to the start/finish. Those last 5 miles were painful and ugly. The long straight stretches between farm fields made them that much more brutal. I would not wish them on anyone. Thankfully at mile 18.5 I spotted my coworker, Jeff, who walked a bit with me and offered me some words of encouragement before sending me on my way for the final miles. Seeing a friendly face gave me a little boost and I actually picked up my pace a bit.

 miserable and just focused on finishing

 the scenery for most of 20 miles

the final miles

I've never wanted to finish a race more than I did at Clarksburg. My time of 3:53:12 was no where near my goal, but I was so over the race I barely cared. I collected my medal unenthusiastically before collapsing on the grass for a few minutes while my legs throbbed. I finally dragged myself up and hobbled back to my car. I just wanted to get out of Clarksburg and be done with it completely.

coming into the finish. thank god.

finally done

Although I've tried to put this race behind me, I have reflected on why I crashed and burned so badly. Probably the biggest (and most obvious) factor was MCM. I just wasn't as recovered, mentally or physically, as I thought I was. Plus, I've raced a lot this past year, especially the longer distances, and I think I may finally be experiencing a little burn out. Some other things that I think played a role, too,  were my nagging hip pain and warmer than usual weather (mad worse by the late start). In the days after I talked to a couple other people who did the 20 miler and had a rough day so at least I wasn't alone. I know we've all had those horrible runs and/or races, and I've been trying to put it behind me, but it's been easier said than done. 

I took an entire week off from running. My legs really needed the break and mentally I just couldn't get out there. This would be perfectly fine and expected except that I'm supposed to be running CIM in a couple weeks : / I did a little hot yoga to try and stretch my muscles out, which felt great, and today I finally got out and ran. More on that tomorrow. Clarksburg, consider yourself done and done.