Race Report: 2018 Surf City Marathon

On February 4, I race-walked the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, CA.  This is the fourth time I’ve done this race, but I ran it the first three times.  I always had fast times when I ran this course, so I figured it would be a good place to try for a new race-walking PR.  The course is mostly flat.  I also knew it wouldn’t be cold.  Hot temperatures were a possibility, but I was willing to risk that.

The first time I did this race, I was able to get a non-stop flight into John Wayne Airport in Orange County, and I stayed at a Doubletree Club hotel that was nearby.  Since then, I’ve flown into LAX, but I still stay at the same Doubletree Club.  They have a race package that includes transportation to and from the race.  They also treat all the runners like VIPs.

When I was pricing flights for this year’s race, I checked flights into John Wayne Airport.  The earliest arrival was in the mid-afternoon.  Traffic driving up the Pacific Coast Highway to get to the expo can be a nightmare, so I was worried I wouldn’t have time to get to the expo.  Instead I booked a morning flight into LAX and rented a car.

When I registered for the race, I saw the option to have my race bib mailed to me for an additional fee.  Had I remembered they do this, I might have taken the afternoon flight into Orange County.  The hotel has an airport shuttle, so I could have avoided renting a car.  I briefly considered rebooking my flight, but decided to pick up my race packet at the expo.  I almost always bump into friends there.

Huntington Beach is on the way from Los Angeles to my hotel in Costa Mesa, so I drove straight from the airport to the expo.  Traffic wasn’t bad.  I got to Huntington Beach in about 45 minutes.  As soon as I got off the freeway, I stopped at a Sonic drive-in for a quick lunch.  Even with that stop, I still got to the expo in about an hour.

The expo is held in a big tent set up in the parking lot at Huntington Beach.

After the expo, I continued to my hotel, which was about 10 miles away.  I had just enough time before dinner to do a short walking workout.  Then I had dinner with my friends Karen and Robert, who do this race every year.

I was able to get to sleep early, and slept well for the first two hours.  After that, I was restless.  I only slept about half the night, but I woke up feeling OK.

The first shuttle from the hotel was for runners doing the marathon.  The shuttle left at 5:30, so I set my alarm for 4:15, to give myself plenty of time to get ready.  As it turns out, I was already awake before my alarm went off.

The hotel started a limited breakfast service at 4:30 for the benefit of the runners.  I saved my Doubletree cookie from check-in, so I could have that for breakfast as soon as I got up.

When I got up, it was 55 degrees.  That was warmer than I expected, and it made it easy to decide what to wear.  This was clearly singlet weather, particularly when you consider that it was going to get into the 70s before I finished.

I decided it was warm enough that I could get by without wearing any warm-up clothes.  The race had a gear check, but I didn’t know exactly when we would get dropped off at the start.  The drop-off point was in front of the Hyatt Regency, so we still had to walk a few blocks.  I expected it would take 30 minutes to get there, which would leave only 30 minutes before the race started.  That’s enough time for a bathroom stop, but I didn’t know if I would also have time to check a gear bag.

I could have worn a Tyvek jacket.  If I didn’t have time to check a bag, I could tie it around my waist.  I’ve done this in other races that I walked, and it didn’t seem to slow me down.  This time, I wasn’t taking any chances.  I didn’t want anything that might slow be down by even one second per mile.  I was going all in on setting a race-walking PR in this race.  For the same reason, I left my phone back at the hotel.  I didn’t want to carry any extra weight.

I was determined to set a PR if I could, but I wasn’t completely confident.  My previous best was 4:58:01, which was an average pace of 11:22.  Most of my winter training has been on a treadmill.  For some reason, I just can’t go fast on the treadmill.  Anything under 12 minutes seems too fast to sustain for more than a mile or two.  Before this race, it had been two months since I last walked a marathon.  It had been three months since I set my PR.  Could I still go that fast?

It was reassuring to remember that I did a 10K race three weeks ago at an average pace of 10:32.  I also reminded myself that I’ve been gradually ramping up my mileage.  I like to be able to point at recent race results, but sometimes you have to trust your training.

I bumped into several friends in the start area.  This is a popular race, so you tend to see the other runners who race frequently.

I lined up in front of the 5:00 pace group, but behind the 4:45 pace group.  There were at least two other corrals ahead of us, so it took about four minutes before we crossed the line.  In the first mile, I was staying a short distance behind the 4:45 group.

Shortly after we got going, I saw Ed Ettinghausen in the middle of the street.  He was holding his “Only 26 miles to go” sign.  I saw Ed several times during the race.  He’s a great ambassador for the sport and really cheers people in this race.  If you don’t know Ed, he’s completed more than 100 races that are 100 miles or longer.

The first three miles were northbound on the Pacific Coast Highway.  I reached the one mile mark in 10:36.  That’s almost as fast as the 10K race I walked in January.  I knew I needed to slow down, so I eased up and let the 4:45 group gradually pull away from me.

In the next mile, I started to feel a cold breeze off the coast.  We were right alongside the beach.  I was suddenly glad that I forgot to take off my gloves before the race started.

In the second mile, I slowed to 11:00.  I was initially disappointed to have slowed down that much.  Then I remembered that this was still way faster than my PR pace.  I eased up a little more.

During the third mile, I heard some music.  It was a recording of “Gangnam Style.”  I like that song, but it seemed out of place here.  I was expecting to hear mostly surf music.

Just before the end of the third mile, we turned right to begin the inland section of the course.  The next seven miles would take us into town and through a park before returning to the Pacific Coast Highway.  It’s the only part of the course where you’re not next to the beach.  As we got away from the cool breeze, I took of my gloves.

I walked the third mile in 11:09.  That was a more reasonable pace, but I was concerned about how much I slowed down.  I didn’t want to keep slowing down, so I picked up my effort.  Over the next several miles, I kept my pace close to 11 minutes per mile.  That was an ambitious pace, but it didn’t seem like it was taking too much effort.

Between miles five and seven, we went through a park.  Up until now, there weren’t many spectators, but there was lots of cheering by kids in the park.  I reached the 10K mark in 1:07:42.  That's only a couple of minutes slower than the 10K race I did three weeks ago.  I wondered if I would regret starting so fast, but it didn't feel like I was working that hard.

The half marathon started at 7:15.  They had a shorter inland loop.  I was about nine miles into the race when the half marathon leaders passed me.  There were several fast runners in a pack.  After they went by, it was about a minute before I saw anyone else.  Then more and more fast half marathon runners sped by me on either side.  It had a subconscious effort on me.  I sped up.

We returned to the Pacific Coast Highway at the same place we left.  Then we turned right to head north and begin an out-and-back on the highway.  Shortly after beginning this section of the course, I reached the 10 mile mark.  I sped up to 10:37 in that mile.

There’s a rule of thumb that if you don’t feel fresh after 10 miles it’s a bad sign.  I didn’t feel fresh at this point, but only because I sped up to a ridiculous pace in that mile.

I was passed suddenly by a swarm of fast runners who filled the road.  It was the 1:30 pace group for the half marathon.  Before long, half marathon runners greatly outnumbered the marathon runners.  I could no longer gauge my pace by the runners around me.  I had to ignore them.

Jon Mahoney caught up to me.  He was running at about the same pace I was walking.  We talked for about a mile.  It helped me re-establish my sense of pace.  I throttled back my effort to something more sustainable.  The next mile was 10:58.  That was the beginning of a long stretch of miles that were in the 10:50s.  It was still an ambitious pace, but it seemed like I might be able to sustain it.

I saw a band that was warming up.  Just as I reached them, they started playing “Pipeline.”  That’s what I needed to hear – some surf music.

Jon and I could see the faster runners already coming back on the other side of the highway.  They were about five miles ahead of us.  I started seeing a few runners I know.  Jon seemed to know everyone.

The breeze I noticed in the second mile wasn’t there now.  It was a bright sunny day, and without a breeze, I started to get hot.

After about two more miles, I reached the turnaround.  Then I started looking for the halfway mark.  I got there in 2:22:13.  That was a new walking PR for a half marathon.  At this point, I was reasonably confident I would break my marathon PR even if I started to fade in the second half.  If not, I had a half marathon PR as a consolation prize.

Now I was noticing some breeze.  It wasn’t much, but it helped.  It must have been at my back when I was going the other way.

I moved to the left, so I could watch for friends on the other side of the highway.  I saw a few people I know.  Eventually, I moved back to my right, so I wouldn’t miss any of the mile markers.

Way ahead of me I could see a cluster of red and white balloons.  That was a pace group.  I knew it had to be the 4:45 group.  There were well ahead of me, but I was still keeping them in sight.  I picked up my effort in an attempt to get closer to them.  I couldn’t reel them in, but I wasn’t falling any farther behind.

We crossed a bridge over a canal and started a long gradual hill.  Whenever I’ve run this course, I’ve had to work hard to stay on pace here.  Walking, it wasn’t as difficult.  I continued to churn out miles in the 10:50s.

I reached the same spot where I heard “Gangnam Style” earlier in the race.  They were playing it again.  Or maybe they had been playing it this whole time.  I saw a guy wearing a PSY mask and doing the dance.  It was goofy, but it energized me.

To my right, I could see faster runners on the bike path next to the beach.  When I reached 16 miles, I knew I would be joining them soon.

When I made the turn onto the bike path, I still had almost 10 miles to go.  Most of it would be a long out-and-back on the bike path.  I was expecting this section to be congested.  For the most part, it wasn’t.  Maybe more runners are doing the half marathon now.  The lack of congestion was a pleasant surprise, but I noticed something else I’ve never noticed.  The pavement was bumpy in spots.  I never noticed that when I ran on this path, but it made race-walking uncomfortable.

I could still see the 4:45 pace group about a minute ahead of me.  I fought hard to gain ground on them.  I couldn’t gain any ground, but I also wasn’t losing ground.  I was on a long streak of consecutive miles that were faster than 11 minutes, even if only by a second or two.

I was closer to the beach now, and I could feel more breeze off the coast.  I really needed that.  It kept me from overheating.

Just past 19 miles, I reached the Beer & Bacon Station.  This is a tradition at this race.  As I went by, I grabbed a strip of bacon and said I would wash it down on my way back.  It was just juicy enough that I could chew and swallow it without needing anything to drink.

Between miles 20 and 21, I reached the last turnaround point.  Then I started looking for the 21 mile sign.  The breeze disappeared.  Now I was really getting hot.  To maintain my focus, I worked furiously to try to catch the 4:45 group.

Mile 22 took 10:51.  Overall, my time was 4:00:02.  To set a new PR, I needed to walk the last 4.2 miles in 57:58 or faster.  A PR was now in the bank.  It was just a question of how much faster I would be.

When I walk at a fast pace, I’m prone to developing blisters on the backs of my heels.  I had a painful blister on the side of my left heel.  I can suppress a fair amount of pain during a race, but this was too painful to ignore.  The only thing that made it tolerable was knowing I was crushing my PR.  I kept pushing the pace, even though it made my blister more painful.

I was sweating like crazy.  I knew I could finish without overheating, but my shoes and socks were drenched with sweat.  Before the race, I lubed my heels with Aquaphor, but the buildup of salty sweat in my socks was creating extra friction.

To my right, I had good views of the shoreline.  Sometimes I heard waves crashing on the beach.  It was a welcome distraction from the blister pain.  I saw some surfers riding a wave.  Every now and then, I got a breeze off the coast, but it never lasted long enough.

When I reached the Beer & Bacon Station again, I drank a small cup of beer.  I had to pause for a few seconds to pick up a cup.  As I drank it, I was already launching back into a fast pace.

At 23 miles, I was disappointed to see I had slowed to 11:01.  That ended a streak of 13 miles that were all under 11 minutes.  I reminded myself that I lost at least two seconds at the Beer & Bacon Station.  I suspended judgement and tried to get back under 11 minutes in the next mile.

Mile 24 was 11:02.  Now it was a trend.  I saw slowing down, although not by much.  I continued to work on picking up my pace.  By now, the 4:45 group was pulling away.  I could barely see them.

I looked ahead and spotted the Huntington Beach Pier.  I knew the finish line was past it, but not by too much.  Every minute or so, I looked at the pier.  It never seemed to be much closer.

Mile 25 took 10:57.  I was able to pick up my pace.  I only had 1.2 miles to go.  With a little less than a mile, I felt a sharp pain in my left heel.  I could only conclude a blister had torn open.  I couldn’t put weight on my left heel.  I had to shorten my stride, so I could plant my weight on the ball of my foot.  If this happened earlier in the race, I probably couldn’t have sustained my pace.  I was close enough to the finish that I could quicken my stride enough to compensate, knowing I only had nine or ten minutes to go.

I got back onto the Pacific Coast Highway.  I wouldn’t know exactly how far it was to the finish until I got to 26 miles.  I couldn’t see the finish line yet.

I was surrounded by runners and walkers who were doing the half marathon.  I weaved my way through them.

Finally, the pier looked closer. Then I reached Main Street.  I was passing the pier.  I saw Ed Ettinghausen in the middle of the street.  He was at 26 miles holding a sign that read, “Only 26.2 miles to go.”  Finally, the finish line came within sight.  I worked hard to get there as quickly as I could.  For a couple minutes, I didn’t notice the pain from my blister.

I finished the race in 4:46:07.  That’s a race-walking PR by almost 12 minutes.  My second half was slower than the first half by 1:41, but that’s not too bad.  Taking the first half at such an aggressive pace wasn’t a blunder.

This race always has cool finisher medals with a surf board design.  This year was no exception.

I was talking with friends in the finish area and mentioned my painful blister.  Then one of them noticed the blood on my sock.  Clearly the blister that tore open was a blood blister.

I stayed long enough to get post-race food and beverages and make a bathroom stop.  Then I walked around to the front of Hyatt Regency to wait for the next bus back to Doubletree Club.  Walking was slow and painful.  Standing there waiting for the bus didn’t feel much better.

When we got back to the hotel, the staff was lined up in the lobby to give us a standing ovation.  They do this every year.  They do it every time one of the buses gets back.  They also gave us each a Doubletree cookie and a cold bottle of water.

When I got back to my room, I took off my shoes.  My sock looked like this.  It was a brand new pair of socks, but this one went straight into the trash.

After I washed my foot, it didn’t look that bad.  It was still painful if I applied pressure, but it was no longer bleeding.  I did my best to clean up my shoe with a towel.

The Surf City Marathon is always held on Super Bowl Sunday.  I like watching the game on the west coast, because it starts at 3:30.  Deb thought it was strange that I was going out of town on a weekend when the Super Bowl was being played in Minneapolis.  It’s not like I was going to get tickets.  If I was home, I would have been watching on TV.

Putting on shoes took a shoe horn and some gritting of teeth.  I didn’t feel like going anywhere to watch the game.  I watched it on the big screen TV in the hotel lounge.  It’s not the first time I’ve done that.

This morning, I had to drive back to Los Angeles to fly home.  I expected to encounter rush hour traffic, so I allowed extra time.  It was slow in a few places, but not nearly as bad as I expected.  Rush hour traffic in Minneapolis is worse.  I got to the airport early, only to find out my flight is delayed.  On the bright side, it gave me time to finish this race report.

My left heel still feels like it's been shredded.  I'm walking mostly on the ball of my foot.  It may take several days to heal.  That's going to make training difficult for a few days, but it was worth it.

Race Statistics

Distance:  26.2 miles

Time:  4:46:07

Average Pace:  10:55   

Lifetime Marathons/Ultras:  349