Tag: Marathon

2023 California International Marathon Training summary

Prior to the start of lockdowns and the world changing in 2020, I had signed up for my 5th full marathon (California International Marathon) along with one of my good friends. However due to circumstances surrounding the pandemic, that year’s marathon was cancelled. The race organizers were extremely gracious and provided all registrants with a voucher for entry into a subsequent year’s race for 3 additional years. This was the last year to use the voucher so my friend and I agreed to sign up early in the year. I have only done one in-person race since 2019 (my first 30K – here).

I’ve never truly followed a training plan fully in any of my previous marathons – either due to injury, travel, or just lack of focus. This time I wanted to create a plan and try sticking to it in an attempt to break 5 hours (my previous best time was 5:00:03). I created (more like cobbled and frankensteined) a 16 week training plan from a few different plans I reviewed online. I created monthly calendars with goal miles and some idea of how to run them (tempo, race pace, intervals, easy, etc). I tailored it off my work schedule.

Prior to starting my training cycle, I had been running consistently the last few years of COVID. A few years back I had set a goal of running at least 1000 miles a year, which I hit in 2021 and 2022 as well as this year. Before I embarked on this training cycle, I had been heavily relying on treadmill runs. Once I started marathon training I forced myself to do more runs outside (to get my body used to the pounding of outdoor running). I did want to incorporate more strength training into my marathon training plan but failed to do so at a level that I think benefited me. I had been doing some body weight exercises in the first maybe 4-5 weeks but then somewhere along the way that fell off.

2023 California International Marathon Race Recap

2023 California International Marathon Race Recap

I originally signed up for this race in early 2020 before COVID and then when it was cancelled that year the race organizers provided us registrants with a free voucher to run in one of the next 3 years (2021-2023). This was the last year of the voucher so I signed up. I then followed a 16 week training plan (see here for my training).

Expo

The race expo was held at the Sacramento convention center on Friday and Saturday before the race. My friend and I arrived shortly after they opened on Friday (after I picked him up from the airport). Overall it was well organized. Instead of assigning race numbers prior to the expo, they would scan your barcode (on your phone) and then a barcode on the race bib to match you with your number. I thought this was smart as they could just pick up numbers as they went instead of having to have them alphabetized and such. I gearchecked my stuff for after the race (just a light jacket with a breakfast bar in case I needed it) as there was no gear check on race morning. We checked out some of the merchandise and I picked up a few CIM branded t shirts. Something I hadn’t seen before was they had multiple “picture stations” that you could take pictures in front of for the ‘gram.

2017 Big Sur International Marathon Race Recap

2017 Big Sur International Marathon Race Recap

I did it!  Successfully (mostly) completed my fourth full marathon.  I am currently recovering from a hard effort.  I’ll have a separate post about our time in Carmel that is unrelated to the actual marathon itself.

Let’s start with the race expo.  We drove down from Sac on Friday late morning and went straight to the Portola Hotel, where the race expo was being held.  We had the dog with us so I didn’t get to explore the expo too much on Friday but went back Saturday morning to get a better idea.  I had read on other blogs that the expo is typically fairly small for a major marathon and they were correct.  Packet pickup was very smooth.  The organizers were great in sending out emails prior to the weekend letting me know my bib number since that was what you needed to get your bib.  Because there is only one way to get to the race start, I also had to pick up a bus ticket (free) from my pickup location (which was in the heart of Carmel).  There were about 4-5 different areas of pickup for the full marathon.  After grabbing my bib and bus ticket, I got my shirt and gear check bag and the helpful volunteer put everything into the bag for me.  The following morning I walked through the expo.  There were a few of the usual booths for various races as well as a few gear booths selling everything from gels to water bottles to clothes.  The largest merchandise area belonged to Asics, who is one of the big sponsors.  Overall it was a nice little expo area but nothing to write home about.  I did find my name on the Big Sur poster that is comprised of every runner.

I had all intentions of a breakout run on Saturday morning but that fell threw just because I was doing enough walking around with the wife.  The day before the race, we did drive down Highway 1 to Big Sur because my wife had never been.  Essentially we drove the course backwards on our way down and then in the proper direction on our return trip back to Carmel.  The drive really showed me just how non-flat the course actually is.  When you look at the elevation chart of the race, you go “okay, there are a few major hills and few minor ones,” but when you’re actually driving the course you realize the entire thing is essentially either “up” or “down.”  There aren’t actually many flat spots to the course.

Elevation

The drive is when I really did start to worry about my race and my training.  I knew that my trip to Japan as well as my illness didn’t hep matters but I wasn’t that worried about it.  After driving the course, I started to wonder a bit.  I had an “A” and “B” goal for this race.  The “A” goal was to PR the race, which I know is a challenge given the above regarding elevation changes.  My “B” goal was to finish under the 6 hour course time limit, which given that I was overall physically okay I figured I should be able to do.  Honestly I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt but knew that I had signed up, gotten in the lottery, and trained for it so I might as well give it a shot.  Outwardly of course I didn’t reveal my concerns to my wife. Continue reading “2017 Big Sur International Marathon Race Recap” →

Marathon Training Week 12, 13, 14

Hello!

It’s been awhile since my last post and that is because I’ve been on vacation.  My wife and I had planned a trip to Japan during Cherry Blossom season and so we traveled halfway around the world and visited the beautiful country for a few weeks.  I realized after booking the trip that the timing of the trip would interfere with my training for the Big Sur Marathon, but it’s Japan!  I had also read an article on Runner’s World about how a marathoner stopped being so stringent and strict about sticking to the training plan especially when on vacation.  They went on to say that their overall race times didn’t suffer and they were less stressed because they didn’t constantly worry about missing certain workouts.

Of course I had good intentions of doing some runs while on my trip to Japan.  I packed a few sets of running clothes and also planned on doing some laundry while over there.  Just prior to leaving, I managed to get in a very short run during week 12.  This turned out to my only run of week 12.

3/28 – 2 miles

Once we arrived in Japan, we did the normal touristy thing and did a TON of walking.  My wife’s phone provided us with an indication that we were walking anywhere from 5-10 miles per day.  A lot of this involved going up and down stairs so I count that as my workouts of the day.  I still did want to at least get some actual running in and managed to get a treadmill run done at the Park Hyatt Tokyo.  The neat thing about the gym/pool at the hotel is that it is located on the 47th floor.  If you’ve seen the movie Lost in Translation, you’ll know the pool.  The treadmills sit on one side of the building with full-length windows overlooking the city.  It’s a fantastic view.  Here’s a link to some views (pictures are not allowed in the gym): pictures.

4/4 – 4.25 miles

I figured that I’d get in a few runs (maybe 2) in Kyoto and call it a day for runs on vacation.  Of course the night before my first planned in Kyoto, I woke up at midnight with chills, fever, and diarrhea.  This went on to afflict me the rest of the trip and so now running was to be had.  I barely ate anything for 2 days while sick and was overall sick.  We returned to the States this past week and after getting on some medications I’m doing better, though not 100%.  While at work, my co-worker pointed out that I only have 2 more weeks until the Big Sur Marathon.  I know that I’m in my taper but since I barely have done any running for for almost 2 weeks I decided to jump back into it.

Thursday – 4 miles

Saturday – 6 miles

Sunday – 4.44 miles

Total – 14.44 miles

While not an ideal total for 2 weeks from race day, I’ll accept it.  Like I said, I’m still not 100% and my GI is still having some re-structuring issues.  Hopefully it irons itself out over this next week.  Overall I’m still happy with where I am and still look forward to the race.  I’m not dreading it yet.

Happy Easter!

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-StewsCat

Marathon Training Week 10

I got back on track with my running in week 10.  I also changed up my training schedule to try to make it better with my new work schedule.  Rather than running Tuesday/Thursday, I switched it up to Monday/Wednesday.  This also allows me to have a rest day before my long run day (Friday).  This week was a drop-back week for my long run.  I again did a mixed effort run where I did the middle 4 miles of the 10 miler at a quicker pace.  Sadly my “quicker” pace these days is actually not all that fast.  I’m not sure if it is due to the high mileage I’ve been putting in causing me to be more fatigued and slower or if it is age-related (diet-related, weight-related, etc).  I definitely feel okay though know that with the increased days and miles, I’m putting a lot more stress on my body than I have before.  I certainly am quite cognizant of how my body is feeling because I have much experience with injuries in the past.  I definitely do NOT want to hurt myself before this marathon like I did with the last one (that was not a fun experience).   Wednesday’s treadmill run happened after I had dinner and surprisingly wasn’t too bad – considering I did it about 30 minutes after finishing my dinner.  Saturday’s 7 miler also was on the treadmill and I did some long incline walks/runs to try to build some hill mileage into my training.  I probably should be doing more hill type stuff but we’ll see what happens.

Here’s a summary of last week’s running.

( ) = # of miles on my plan

Monday – 4.5 (3)

Wednesday – 4.1 (6)

Friday – 10.03 (10)

Saturday – 7 (8)

Sunday –  4.25 (5)

Weekly Total – 29.88 miles (32)

We’ve not had any rain for a while so things have dried out a bit and all the previous wet weather has caused a lot of plants to blossom early.  It is quite pretty out although my allergies have been driving me nuts as of late.

 

 

My long run also took me through some interesting neighborhoods along with a small park that I like because they have an actual restroom (yes I do plan many runs around where I can make pit stops).

Other fun things that happened this week included making some bread for a work potluck.  One of my coworkers has some health issues so we were all trying to come up with low-fat recipes to bring.  I figured I could just make some bread since I already had some dough sitting in the fridge just waiting for me.  I had made the dough for sandwiches but decided to switch it up and use it for dinner rolls.

I really find it fascinating how yeast works.  I just love watching how bread rises and gets so big!

For this recipe, I did an egg wash on the dough and baked it for ~23 minutes (internal temp hit around 205F).  The small cast iron was a tester for my wife to make sure it tasted okay.

I got her approval and took it to work and it was a big hit.

This past week we also hit up one of the local Korean BBQ places, Blue House Restaurant.  We had been once not too long after they opened last year.  They have an “All-You-Can-Eat” option.  I noticed they added a lot more cuts of meat to their selection and as they started bringing meat out I realized they changed up how they were serving it.  When we first came, each meat order came as a large plate of meat.  This time they only brought out essentially a one to two person portion.  This is smart because it allows us as patrons to try more types of meats rather than getting full on just one type.  I definitely went to town and had the Kalbi, Bulgogi, octopus, pork bulgogi, shrimp, chicken.  It was all very good and we cooked it up right at the table.  I’m always a fan of Korean BBQ.  The banchan (“side dishes”) were only okay at this place and not as plentiful as it is at other Korean establishments we’ve visited.

Since it was St. Patrick’s Day, we had stopped by a local micro brew, Sactown Union Brewery, for a few beers before dinner.  I had a Nitro Stout that they just released on that very day called Big Fella and then the Carpe Noctem (a coffee oatmeal stout).  At Blue House, we shared an OB (Korean beer) and a bottle of their Pomegranate soju.   The soju was a bit too sweet for our tastes.

Overall a pretty good week for both running and eating.

-StewsCat