Big Sur Marathon Report. It's a novel.

[ktzmoh]

My road to Big Sur started 11 years ago when I saw the place for the first time. There is something so powerful about that particular stretch of rugged California coastline – it really speaks to me on a deep level. When someone told me about the marathon on that first visit, I was completely captivated. It’s the only time of the year they close Highway 1 (except when there are mudslides), and runners have the road to themselves, from the redwoods to the ocean, over the hills and bridges, all the way up to Carmel-by-the-Sea. At that point I didn’t know any one who ran marathons and I hadn’t run since gym class in High School. Actually at that point I was probably both the skinniest and most physically unhealthy I’ve ever been in my life. But for whatever reason I was just enthralled with the idea of doing something like that in a place like Big Sur, and I knew one day I’d do it.

As it turned out, it took me more than a decade to arrive at that starting line.

You all know my physical struggles in the weeks leading up to this. I made some mistakes during training… but the journey is all about dialoging with our bodies and when I pushed, my body started pushing back. My body broke down on several margins after my final 20 mile training run, and I wound up running almost no miles in the 3 week taper in hopes of giving my left leg time to heal.

I taped up like crazy in hopes it might help me run pain free as long as possible and might also prevent me from hurting my knees any more. Nothing will make you feel like an old lady faster than taping up like this when everyone else is wearing little booty shorts.

When I got on the shuttle to the start line (at 4:15am!), I really wasn’t sure if I was healed enough to make it. I had made a promise to myself that I was not going to push through real pain and I’d go out slow and just see how the day unfolded. Here’s how it unfolded:

Mile 1-4 were in the redwoods and a steady gentle downhill. I took that time to just feel out how things were working. My knee felt fine, which was a really good sign. No pain. But holy crap I do not recommend setting out for a marathon without running for 3 weeks. My body was so stiff. My hips were jerky, my calves felt like rocks, nothing was loose. I really needed those miles to ease in and let things get warmed up slowly.

Then all of the sudden I started losing feeling in my toes and my feet. That really freaked me out – I’ve never felt that before and it was so strange. I had to stop at the first medical station to get checked out and they wound up cutting my running capris up the back past my knee. I instantly felt the blood start circulating again. Crazy right? I had worn those capris several times during long training runs and really liked them, but for whatever reason they crossed the line from compression to tourniquet that morning. So they are now in the trash.

I walked for a bit to regain feeling in my feet, and once that got sorted out, I started running again. Right after that, I came out into the headlands and began to run toward the sea. Holy headwind. It was crazy – I had to run with my head down because my hat kept blowing off and it was just nuts. But at the same time, it was really so breathtakingly beautiful. I stopped many times to take pictures and just breath it in.

I was truly so happy to be running there in that beautiful place with no cars, no spectators, just me and the runners around me, all doing the same thing at once. It was such a remarkable energy. It was strange to not have any spectators at all, but at the same time, without anyone else around, the runners all just came together into this fantastic community. Everyone was talking to each other on the course, telling stories and encouraging each other. Almost everyone stopped to take selfies along the way and runners would stop to offer to take pictures for each other.


Anyway, when I finally made it to the big climb to Hurricane Point at mile 10, I felt so much confidence - I knew I had this and I was not intimidated at all. They have a group of Taiko drummers that come down to drum at the base of the climb, propelling people up the massive hill and that was really cool.


The climb was 2 miles and the headwind was intense (they don’t call it Hurricane Point for nothing), but I felt trained for it and I didn’t feel at all miserable. As you crest the hill and come around a bend, you can look down to see this incredibly beautiful bridge at the bottom, that was really an amazing feeling. I felt really good at that point and even thought I might safely start picking up the pace. Alas, the problem with hills is that once you climb them, you have to descend, and the long steady descent was really brutal on my legs. My hips and my IT band started hurting on that downhill and it was more than a little rough. I decided that I should be conservative and just keep going at the same pace  because, although my body had been feeling okay up to that point, it became clear on that descent that it was not fully healed.

But I eventually made it down that hill and I got to cross Bixby Bridge and I got to hear the guy who plays his grand piano out on that road in the middle of nowhere. Extraordinary.

I started struggling mentally when I passed the half way mark. I felt like I had focused so much of my mental energy preparing for the beginning (what was my leg going to do?) and the major climb. But once I got past that, I all of the sudden realized that I still had another 13 miles to go and it felt like such a long way. That second half was really a struggle – the hills just kept coming one after another endlessly. And the road had a steep cant and I couldn’t find a flat place to run. I tried to focus on the coastline rather than my aching body and just kept moving forward, thinking that I needed to get to the next timing mat to let my support people know I was still out there fighting. But I had to really dig deep and my body did not feel strong through that second half.

At some point around mile 20 is or maybe 21, the road turned inland and I no longer had the ocean to keep me moving forward. I knew I’d finish though, so I just tried to focus on what it would feel like to cross that finish line. That kept me going for the most part. At mile 25, the last hill came along. At that point, I was done and really just wanted that hill to go to fucking hell. When I finally saw the finish line I got really emotional. I cried big ugly tears and I saw that my babies were there and I got to kiss them right before I crossed the finish line. And I did run across the finish line – I didn’t limp. Although I didn’t feel as strong as I had hoped, I felt like a fighter. I cried as I walked through the chute, and then my kids came through the barrier and walked with me as I got my medal. I’m so ridiculously proud of having earned that medal and I have a new respect for the marathon distance. I knew it would be hard, but I had no idea just how hard those last several miles were going to be. And now I’m sore – everything hurts and I don’t recall if I’ve ever been this sore in my life.

Looking back, I made a bunch of mistakes during training and I learned from them the hard way. I went all out at a half marathon in the middle of training and I didn’t have the time to fully recover before the volume really picked up. I started having IT band problems right after that, and when I worked through that, I began having problems on the other leg with my adductor. My hips weren’t strong enough and my glutes weren’t strong enough. I trusted the race time predictors to set my pace for training, but I didn’t listen to my body telling me that it was too aggressive. That really cost me. I ran my 20 mile training run at a 9:34 pace feeling solid and then wound up having to run my marathon at 11:40 min/mile. To be fair, that course was so difficult – there isn’t a chance in hell I’d have been able to come in under 4:00 even if I was fully healthy. But I have to own the mistakes I made as a first timer.

I also learned that marathons are fucking hard.

Bottom line, that was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done in my life. But it was also one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had and I am so glad I made my first such a remarkable course. I will definitely be doing other marathons down the road and I look forward to a huge PR next time - which will be something very flat lol.

[Mushe]

You are just amazing, ktzmoh! Thank you for sharing your journey, and congratulations on digging down so deep and finishing that awesome race!

[jene]

You are awesome! Great job and way to go! And you are correct, marathons are fucking hard.

[chw57]

You did it!! Fantastic job. I totally know what you mean about the last half being kind of a let down, but you stayed strong and finished. So happy for you!

[andrealynn]

I teared up reading that. You are a badass. Great job pushing through.

[mrs.jacinthe]

You are so inspirational! Great race recap and congrats again!

[clseale]

What a fantastic recap!! You are such a fighter & you have so much to be proud of. I'm so happy that you were able to have this experience on the course that stole your heart 11 yrs ago. What a journey! Congrats, marathoner!!

[bluedaisyus]

You are so amazing! Congratulations!!!

[fuckyourcouch]

This is such a great recap! You are an amazing fighter. Great job!

[labbie]

Awesome recap- you did an amazing job, and I'm so happy you were able to run that race for yourself and really take it all in. It's such a mental game out there and you were tough as hell. I love that your babies were there with you, what a perfect ending. I hope you have a speedy and uneventful recovery.
Congratulations!!!!

[hannahb]

Congrats marathoner! Love the recap. I'm so so happy for you. Every training cycle is such a learning experience. learn from your mistakes and on to the next one

[taratru]

I love every word! It's such an awesome story. Congrats again!

[lb2006]

Congratulations MARATHONER! I loved that instagram video. Job well done

[sadlebred]

Congratulations!!!!!!

[thom]

This is really beautiful. I'm just so happy you finished your marathon dream for the first time in Big Sur. From your descriptions I would love to even see it sometime.

Huge congrats and speedy recovery to you!

[kams]

What a recap! An incredible 11 year journey - congratulations! You made my feet ache to run big sur. The marathon is truly a force of its own - great finish.

[gt7301b]

Amazing recap and perseverance conquering the marathon!

[G22]

I love your recap! You did awesome for your first full and fought the constant bumps. Way to go! Congrats!

[bostonmichelle]

Congratulations!! Amazing recap and pictures!!

[juliabug]

Love it! I teared up when you described seeing your kids at the finish. You should be so proud of your strength and perseverance. Congratulations again!

[Brit]

What an awesome journey! Congratulations!

[cinco]

You're not just a marathoner, but a BIG SUR marathoner! I think that gets a special asterisk for being particularly badass. I'm so impressed with how you handled all the things that came your way during training/taper, and how you used your strength to push through to the end. Heal up and you will crush CIM.

[al320]

Amazing recap! Congratultions! You earned every bit of it!

[marcyiam]

That Course Sounds Both beautiful and difficult. i love that you fulfilled a major goal that you've had - and took the time to enjoy moments of it.

Congrats on your marathon!

[shellfish26]

Amazing. You did it. I have been waiting to see this race report and truly enjoyed reading it. Congrats!

[runaways]

Congratulations! I'm so happy you were able to finish, and I love your pictures!

[libbygrl109]

Loved your recap! Such an amazing journey. Congrats!

[mrshandy]

Wow! What an amazing story of perseverance and guts! You did it. Huge congrats, marathoner!

[ilovecandy]

Congrats on being a marsthoner!

[katyintx]

 Wow, I loved your race report! You kind of made me want to try that marathon some day! I mean, it sounds awfully hard, but incredible.

Kudos to you for persevering through your injuries, through the tough course, and through the mental struggles.  Congratulations on your first marathon!