On February 5, I ran the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach, CA. I run this race almost every year. It’s one of the few places in the continental U.S. where I can run a winter marathon and know it won’t be freezing. I also know quite a few runners in southern California, and this race is a chance to see them.
This was my first race in
three weeks. When I got home from the
Houston Marathon, I started to develop a cough.
Within a few days, I was coughing constantly, and I also had a low grade
fever. Then I developed nasal congestion. It took three negative tests to convince me
it wasn’t covid. Then I saw a doctor,
who told me it was probably RSV. I’ve
never had RSV before. It knocked me on
my butt for two weeks.
During that time, I didn’t
do much training. I did my best to get
exercise by walking on a treadmill, but I had to slow the pace down to keeping
from having coughing fits. Even then, I
sometimes had to stop after only two miles.
I was scheduled to run
the Sun Marathon last weekend, but I had to cancel. I didn’t want to get on an airplane if I was
still contagious. I also had serious
doubts about being able to finish a marathon.
Two days before that race, I tried a short run. It was about five times as tiring as usual,
and I was having coughing fits every half block. I had to stop after slightly more than a
mile.
In the last week, I’ve
recovered. I’m no longer coughing, but I
didn’t know if I had my stamina back. I
was pretty sure I could finish the race, but I wasn’t going to try to go
fast. I just wanted to finish.
In the
past, I’ve often flown into LAX, but it’s a pain picking up a rental car at
that airport, and it’s a long drive with unpredictable traffic. It’s much more convenient to fly into the
Orange County airport.
Delta has
non-stop flights from Minneapolis to Orange County, but they only have morning
flights on weekdays. If I flew in on Saturday,
I’d have to take a later flight, and I wouldn’t be able to get to the expo before
they close. I flew in on Friday, even
though it meant an extra hotel night.
I
arrived in time for lunch, so I went straight to lunch from the airport. After lunch, I went to my hotel to check
in. I stayed at the Doubletree Club in
Santa Ana. I’ve stayed at this same
hotel several times. They have a race
package that includes free parking plus transportation to and from the
race. In my experience, they always
treat the runners like VIPs.
In the afternoon I went
for a run. There are probably lots of
good places to run in Orange County, but I wanted to stick to a route that was
familiar. I also wanted to avoid
traffic. I drove to a beach that’s just
north of the Huntington Beach Pier.
There are paved bike and pedestrian paths next to this beach that are
part of the marathon route. I parked my
car and ran a little over six miles.
Interestingly enough, nothing looked that familiar, even though my route
overlapped with the marathon course. I
guess that’s the difference between running a race and running on your own. Everything looks different on race day.
This was my longest run since
the Houston Marathon, by far. It felt
even longer. I’ve recovered from my
recent illness, but I feel like it had a lasting effect on my aerobic
capacity. I wasn’t going very fast to
begin with, but after three miles, I started to slow down. It was a struggle to finish the last miles to
get back to where I parked. I didn’t
know how I was going to run a marathon two days later.
After getting back from
my run, I had some mild pain in my right leg from my sciatic nerve. I usually feel better after running or walking,
but it can bother me pretty badly if I get dehydrated. I didn’t drink anything during my run. I drank a bottle of water afterward, but that
wasn’t enough to rehydrate. For the rest
of the weekend, I was more careful to drink enough.
When I travel to the west
coast for a race, I usually try to avoid adjusting too much to the local time
zone. If I can eat an early dinner and
get to bed early, it’s easier to get up early on race day. This year, I didn’t do a good job of
that. I ate such a big lunch that I didn’t
feel like having an early dinner. I
waited until it was dinner time in the local time zone, and even then, I only
had enough room for an appetizer.
Because I had a later dinner, I also got to bed later.
On Saturday,
I had the luxury of sleeping in. I
initially woke up at 4:30, but I was still tired, so I went back to sleep and
didn’t get up until 6:15. That might not
sound like sleeping in, but in my own time zone it would’ve been 8:15. I never sleep that late.
I
spent the morning at the hotel. I had a
big breakfast, relaxed for a couple hours, and then did a workout in the hotel’s
fitness room. After my workout, I drove
to the expo to pick up my race packet.
Packet
pickup was inside a tent in a parking lot next to where the race starts and
finishes. After picking up my race
packet, I took the time to visit the booths of various vendors. At one, I had a chance to sample the beverage
that would be available at the aid stations.
I was disappointed to learned that it contains electrolytes, but no
sugar. I’ve seen that at a few other
races, and it’s an alarming trend. The
whole reason I drink a sports drink at the aid stations is to replace some of
the sugar I’m burning, so I won’t “hit the wall” later in the race.
While
I was at the expo, I bumped into Natalie and Robert who both do this race every
year.
Finally,
I got to see some of the VW buses that were on display in the parking lot.
The
Doubletree has an outdoor pool and a hot tub.
When I got back to the hotel, I spent part of the afternoon relaxing in
the hot tub.
The
hotel provided transportation to the race, but you had to sign up for it. Later in the afternoon, I went down to the
lobby to register for the marathon bus and get the wristband I would need to
board the bus.
After having
a big breakfast, I skipped lunch in favor pf having an early dinner. Saturday was mostly a rest day, but I walked
to and from dinner, so I could get some exercise. Then I made a point of getting to bed early.
The
hotel provided a continental breakfast for the runners. It started at 4:30, so I got up a little
earlier so I would have time for breakfast.
I didn’t want to have too much food in my stomach, but it was important
to eat something, knowing I wouldn’t be taking in calories during the race.
The
temperature was in the mid-50s. Normally,
I would consider that warm enough to wear shorts, but I didn’t know if I could
run the whole race, or if I would need to take walking breaks. I wore tights so I wouldn’t get cold if I
started walking. I also wore a Tyvek
jacket to stay warm until the race started.
Ideally,
I would’ve had my phone with me, so I would have the option of taking pictures
during the race. When I went running on
Friday, I had my phone in my fanny pack, and I really felt the extra
weight. I felt like I had a brick in my
fanny pack. I was already expecting to
tire quickly, so I left my phone at the hotel.
I didn’t want to carry any extra weight.
The bus
for the marathon left at 5:30. It took
about half an hour to get to the race.
When we were almost there, I noticed rain hitting the windshield. I wasn’t expecting rain, so I was glad I
chose to dress on the warm side.
In the
past, they always dropped us off in front of the Hyatt Regency. This year, they dropped us off in front of
the Waterfront Beach Resort, which is in the next block.
I was hoping to meet some friends for a pre-race picture in front of the pedestrian bridge that leads from the beach parking lot to the Hyatt. I only had five minutes to get there, and I needed to make a bathroom stop. I walked over to the Hyatt as quickly as I could, went downstairs to use the bathroom, then went upstairs to get to the corridor leading to the pedestrian bridge. I got there just in time for the picture.
I wasn’t sure how fast I would run. I thought the best case – if I could run the whole way – was about 4:30. If I needed to take walking breaks, I might be closer to five hours. I optimistically lined up near the 4:30 pace group.
While
I was in the start area, I noticed the rain had stopped. A few minutes before the race started, I took
off my jacket and tied it around my waist.
I
started at a pace that felt easy. I didn’t
want to feel like I was working to maintain the pace. As it turns out, my first two miles were
about 10 minutes each, which put me just in front of the 4:30 group. I was never too far in front of them. I could always hear them talking.
I used
to wear a plain stopwatch and check my time at the mile markers. More recently, I’ve been using a GPS
watch. I’m glad I did that today, as
some of the mile markers were badly misplaced.
When I reached the mile 2 sign, my watch was already reading 2.3 miles.
My
sciatica rarely bothers me when I’m running.
When it does, the discomfort always goes away by the end of the first
mile. Not today. I was still noticing mild discomfort in my
right leg in the third mile.
As we
were nearing the end of the 4th mile, we went up a gradual hill, and I fell
behind the 4:30 group. I wasn’t committed
to any particular pace. I continued running
at a pace that felt easy enough that I might be able to sustain it for the
whole race.
In the
next mile, we ran down the biggest hill on the course. Running downhill aggravated my sciatic
nerve. I not only had mild pain in my
right leg, but I also felt soreness on the right side of my lower back. Fortunately, it went away when the road
leveled out again.
Running
down the hill, I sped up a bit. Without
really trying, I caught up to the 4:30 group again.
Next,
we entered the first of two small parks.
I started talking with one of the other runners who was following the 4:30
group. Somehow, carrying on a
conversation made the next few miles easier.
I easily kept up with the 4:30 group.
After eight
miles, we started running up the same hill that we had run down earlier. I didn’t want to risk tiring myself out on
this hill, so I eased up and fell behind the pace group. At the top of the hill, there was an aid
station. The pacers often slowed down
going through aid stations, so I caught up to the group again.
As we reached
the nine mile sign, we started seeing the fastest runners in the half marathon
going the other way. They started an
hour and 15 minutes after we did, and they were just starting a section of the
course that we were about to finish. For
the next mile, I moved toward the center of the street, so I could look for
runners I know. I didn’t see any. We only saw the faster runners before turning
onto the Pacific Coast Highway to begin the first of two long out-and-back
sections.
For
the next few miles, I ran with the 4:30 group.
It took more effort now, but with 10 miles already behind me, I had more
confidence that I could maintain my effort.
Most
of the aid stations just had water and a sugar-free electrolyte beverage. Near the 12 mile mark, there was an aid
station that also had Chargel, which is a gel drink. It tasted like mashed up strawberries. If took time to get the cap off and squeeze
it all into my mouth, but it was my first opportunity to drink something with
calories. I washed it down with some
water. I was afraid I would fall behind
the group, but the pace leaders also took extra time at the aid station. When we reached the turnaround, I was still
right behind the group.
After
the turn, I noticed the sun was out. For
the first time in the race, I started to feel hot. Thankfully, it clouded up again later. Otherwise, I would’ve regretted my clothing
choices.
We reached
the halfway mark almost two minutes ahead of schedule. The pace group was staying on the right hand
side of the road, but I moved to the left to get as close to the median as I
could. I started looking to see if I
recognized any of the runners who were still going the other direction on the
other side of the highway. I knew
several runners who were doing the half marathon, as well as a couple runners
near the back of the pack in the marathon.
Running
well to the left of the pace group, I accidentally got ahead of them. For the next few miles, I was running on my
own.
At 16
miles, we made a U-turn onto a bike path alongside the beach. No sooner did I make the turn than the pace
group caught up to me again.
Shortly
after we started running on the bike path, one of the pace leaders told us he
planned to get to the last turnaround a little ahead of schedule. We was expecting a headwind in the last five
miles, so we wanted us to have some extra time in the bank before we got there.
He
also told us that this was a good time to ask ourselves how we were feeling. If it was a struggle to keep up with the
group, we might want to slow down.
It was
at this point, that I found myself falling behind the group. To keep up with them, I would need to work
much harder. I still had 10 miles to go,
and I didn’t want to burn myself out.
Over
the next few miles, I slowed down by 15-20 seconds per mile. It seemed like I was falling farther behind
the pace group than I should be. Before long,
I couldn’t even see them anymore. I knew
I was doing the right thing by slowing down, but it was discouraging how
quickly I fell behind.
Over
the next few miles, I realized why my surroundings didn’t seem familiar during
the training run I did on Friday. When I
was on my own, I stayed on the pedestrian path, and I was careful to avoid
running on the bike path. During the
race, we used the bike path. The two paths
sometimes diverged, with the pedestrian path being farther from the road.
There
was another reason. When I was doing my
training run, I didn’t go as far before turning around. As we got farther north, the surroundings
looked much more familiar.
The
path was mostly flat, but occasionally it would dip down and back up. On each of these dips, I briefly felt
discomfort in my right leg from my sciatic nerve. I’ve never had that problem this far into a
race.
In the
past, there used to be an unofficial aid station called the “beer & bacon
station.” Last year, it wasn’t
there. This year, I learned why. The race used to be on the same day as the Super
Bowl. When the NFL added an extra week
to the regular season, it pushed the Super Bowl back a week. The guys who did the beer & bacon station
where there for a pre-race tailgate party.
No Super Bowl on race day = no beer & bacon station. I also noticed there were far fewer
spectators on this part of the course.
That was probably for the same reason.
As I
was running north along the bike path, I saw faster runners coming back. I spotted a couple runners I know, and I also
noticed all the faster pace groups. As I
got close to the turnaround, I saw the 4:30 group on their way back.
I
looked at my watch as they passed me. I
checked it again when I reached the turnaround.
A minute and 16 seconds elapsed since they passed me. Doubling that, I was about two and a half
minutes behind them.
After
the turn, I had just over five miles to go.
I picked up my pace as much as I could.
I knew I couldn’t catch up to the 4:30 group. I could never make up two and a half minutes
over the last five miles. My hope was
that I could get back to my previous pace, so I wouldn’t fall any farther
behind.
A 4:45
pace leader caught up to me. I knew he
shouldn’t be this close to the 4:30 group, so I asked him if he was ahead of
schedule. He said he was, and he explained
why. Most of the 4:45 group were with
another pacer who was several minutes behind us. This pacer only had one runner with him, and
he was helping him to run the best race he could. Over the next four miles, my splits ranged from
10:11 to 10:17, yet I fell behind the 4:45 pacer.
During
this stretch, I finally had an opportunity to see runners I knew who were still
on their way out. There were other
out-and-back sections, but I always finished them before the friends I was
looking for got there.
By the
time I reached the 24 mile sign, I could see the Huntington Beach Pier in the
distance. I knew it was farther away
than it looked. I also knew that the
finish line was several blocks past the pier.
Still, it was something I could run toward that I knew was close to the
finish.
At 25
miles, I looked at my watch and realized I was going to break 4:30. The 4:30 group was way ahead of me, but they
were two or three minutes ahead of schedule.
I had
to get past the 26 mile sign before I could finally see the finish line. I ran as hard as I could, and I finished in
4:28:52. That greatly exceeded my
expectations. It’s slower than most of
my recent times, but I felt much stronger today than I did on Friday. On Friday, my average pace was a few seconds
slower, yet I struggled just to finish six miles. Today, there was never any question that I
could run the whole race. I started with
no time goal, but I fought my way to finish in less than 4:30.
This
race always has cool finisher medals with a surfboard theme.
In
addition to the medal, we also got a towel.
After
finishing, I saw my friend, Karen. Karen
was waiting for Robert, who was just a couple minutes behind me.
I
walked through the finish area quickly, skipping most of the post-race
food. All I had was a snack bar and a
bottle of water. I also skipped the beer
garden and walked straight to the pickup point for the bus back to my hotel. There were only two buses, and I finished in
time to get on the first one. If I
missed that bus, I would have to wait another hour and a half for the next one.
When
we got back to the hotel, we were greeted with a standing ovation from the
hotel staff. The kitchen staff were
banging pots and pans. Then they gave us
each a water bottle and a warm Doubletree cookie. They do this every year, and it never gets
old.
After getting
cleaned up, I went to the SoBeCa district for lunch. There’s a place called The Lab that has several
restaurants and shops. One of them was a
pizza place I had never tried before.
I always
used to watch the Super Bowl in the hotel lounge after the race. I can’t do that anymore, but this year the
Grammy Awards were on the same day as the race.
I don’t know if that will be the case every year, but I may be starting a
new tradition of watching the Grammy Awards after the race. It’s the only awards show that I actually
enjoy watching.
No comments:
Post a Comment