The 30th annual CIM was an epic experience. I write this the morning after the marathon, between trips hobbling to the kitchen and trying to elevate my legs as far above my head as possible. The Ministry of Funny Walks has nothing on the morning after a marathon:
My taper went well, I could feel pent up energy accumulating as race weekend approached:
Tuesday: 40 minutes at 9:00 effort
Wednesday: 30 minutes at 9:00 effort
Saturday: 25 minute shake-out jog on the home stretch of marathon course
Totals: 37.26 miles, 3665'/5397' elevation gain/loss, avg heart rate 150
I skipped 30 minutes on Thursday to attend a screening of The Dipsea Movie by Sam Lueck at Sports Basement. The film detailed the 2010 event, where a young girl battled a veteran and outlasted the field in the handicapped, staggered start race. I enjoyed seeing the race footage, and hearing Frosty and Nikki Kimball talk. I spent some time talking running with friends, and got a good night's sleep.
On Saturday I drove the marathon course on my way to the expo in downtown Sacramento. It ended up helping tremendously during the race, as I had a good idea of what laid ahead. Once in the expo, I got my bib and swag, talked with someone I had met at the Dipsea screening, who happened to be the Vespa Rep. We talked training and race nutrition and he gave me some samples. I have been curious about the product since Timothy Olsen won the 2012 Western States 100 while using the supplement, which claims wasp extract and royal jelly can tune your metabolism to burn more fat and need fewer carbs/calories. It is one of the more expensive training supplements, which is one of the reasons I have not tried it yet, but I look forward to trying the samples.
Fleet Feet had some good deals. I got 20% off a Trigger Point Cold Roller, which claims to be an adequate ice bath alternative. Since Kuani has no bathtub, I figured it would be a good addition to the PT equipment on board. I also bought some arm warmers for race morning. I broke them in on my shake-out jog.
Running the last mile and a half of the course was great advice from Tim. Especially since the pouring rain returned while I was running. It gave me an opportunity to accept the weather and also provided some landmarks to motivate me during the home stretch, noting where I could first see the Capitol Dome and such. I ran past one expo attendee who was jogging through the rain with his jacket pulled up over his head. "Planning on running that way tomorrow?" I asked. "This is great practice right now!"
The race itself was a tremendously satisfying experience. Although I missed my goal of 3:40 by five minutes, the whole event was a surreal journey I will never forget, and I was at peace with my performance well before I finished. It was obvious, amongst the crowd of runners at the finish, who had been able to come to that conclusion and who had not. I am still turning over the memories and collecting my thoughts for the race report, which should be up later this week.
In other news, I signed up for the Way Too Cool 50K lottery this morning. Yesterday, on the way home from the marathon, I cursed the fact that the lottery opened the day of the marathon. I could not bring myself to think about it, but this morning, I realized it was silly not to sign up; once the pain wears away, I will be ready to hit the trails hard. Way Too Cool has been on my radar for a long time.
So, my marathon training cycle comes to a close, and with it, my 2012 racing season. I met most of my goals and stayed healthy enough to give them an honest attempt. The year was a huge improvement over my first two years running. Coach Tim has me easing back into training this week, and I am anxious to get off the pavement for a while, although I'll need be able to weather another "road" marathon in the first half of the American River 50 Miler in April.
No comments:
Post a Comment