This is such a special race for me. In 1990, when my dad ran his first marathon, I did the 2 mile Marafun with my uncle, which was on the same course (first and last mile) as the marathon. In middle and high school I upgraded to the 5 miler (which no longer exists...tear). When I ran the race in 2006, I PRd by 27 minutes. And yesterday, all I could think about was how much I love this city and how happy I am to call it home again.
I woke up at 3:45 on race day because DS needed to eat, and didn’t fall back asleep. I didn’t feel nervous and I wasn’t dreading the pain like I had for CIM (my last full marathon). I was calm, happy, and excited. DH dropped me off at the start at 6 and I found a section of curb to sit on at the corner of 4th and Salmon, wrapped up in a space blanket, with hand warmers in my gloves. I thought about Ironman and how much I love endurance events. I thought about how many years I’d been at this same intersection either running or cheering for my dad. I thought about how even though I’d only been training specifically for 8 weeks, everything just felt so good.
With about 5 minutes to go before race time, I stood up in my corral as we had a moment of silence for the UCC shooting victims, and then sang the national anthem. I don’t know when they started having the athletes sing instead of letting someone sing to us, but it was really nice. Then wave A was off, which meant it was my turn to run in just 60 seconds! I lined up just behind the 3:25 pacer, because why the hell not? I knew I would run my own race and not push to stay with them if I wasn’t feeling good.
Because I was near the front of the wave, there was no walking at all at the start. They just said go, and I took off running. I started my watch, but promised myself I would just go by feel and not look at it once. The first mile is lined with spectators, and goes right through the heart of downtown. There were taiko drums, dragon dancers at the Chinatown gates, and more taiko drums in old town. I felt FANTASTIC. I was just so grateful to be running and feeling good.
Mile marker 1 came very early (I didn’t check my watch, but heard everyone around me saying we were only at .8), and I was feeling great. A few minutes later I saw the dad of some girls I used to babysit for, and he gave me an enthusiastic “go Cate!!” So did a billion other people, because my name was on my bib, but it’s so great to see people you know. The next few miles included a small climb through a neighborhood, and then a little straight stretch before turning around and cruising back down towards the river. I kept checking in with myself, making sure I wasn’t pushing too hard, and automatically started comparing this to my huge PR race in San Francisco in 2010, when I’d started out feeling just the same way.
From miles 5-11, which was pretty much a huge out and back through an industrial area, there are tons of train tracks and I spent a lot of these miles hoping that a train wouldn’t go through and stop the race (it has definitely happened in the past). There was a ton of great music, there were pirates, and I took my 6 mile Gu right on schedule. Around mile 7, the 3:30 pace group caught up with me and I thought “nope, I’m feeling good enough not to let them pass me,” so I sped up, still keeping my heart rate under control. I caught up with the 3:25 pacer not too much later, and hesitated for a few minutes before passing them, but ultimately I knew I felt strong enough keep going, so I cruised ahead of them.
Around mile 11 the race turns up into Slabtown and northwest, and that’s where the fam had planned to be spectating. I looked hard for them, but found out later I just missed them because I was so far ahead of my planned pace. I was really excited to tell Mike how great I felt and how I just knew I was going to PR the crap out of this race, but I didn’t get to. Oh well! I took my next Gu at mile 12, and then not long after that was on the long, lonely stretch up to the St. Johns bridge.
At the halfway point, I started feeling a little more like I was actually racing, and not just in the “life is perfect, I love everything” mindset I’d enjoyed the first half of the race. There was a little bit of a headwind, so I just settled in and let the miles tick by. The climb to the bridge just after mile 16 was tough but manageable, and I knew that once I made it over the bridge, I’d be back to fun neighborhoods with lots of spectators. Mile 17 was on the bridge, and that’s when I started thinking about the pain cave. I wasn’t there yet, but I knew it was coming and that the honeymoon was over.
The next 5 miles were straight into the sun, which wasn’t my favorite, and I could tell I was slowing down a little bit. I took my Gu at 18 miles, and drank water at every opportunity. It was starting to feel really warm. Somewhere after mile 21, there was a clock that showed I was at 2:47. I tried to do math about how much I could slow down and still PR, but decided I was not going to choose to slow down, I was going to embrace the suck and get this thing done.
Mile 22 was a long downhill, and somewhere around there, the 3:25 pacer passed me. My legs were starting to ache everywhere. I knew my friend was planning to be somewhere before the Broadway Bridge (mile 24) so I started looking for her. Just as I turned a corner to climb up to the bridge,I saw her jumping up and down and cheering. She had a water bottle, which I took a huge drink from, and she ran up the hill with me until I had to turn to cross the bridge. It was an awesome boost.
The last two miles felt SO LONG. I just kept reminding myself I was an Ironman (so I could totally handle this) and this would all be over in 15ish minutes. After what felt like hours, the race turned the corner away from the river, and I knew I only had 4 blocks to go. I heard DH cheering somewhere along that final stretch, and waved to DD who was sitting on his shoulders. Then I turned the corner, excited to FINALLY see what my finish time was, and the clock wasn’t on! I pushed the button on my Garmin as I stepped across the line. 3:27:03, a 5 and a half minute PR.
I am so damn proud of this race. I didn’t do ANY race pace long runs (they were all around 9 minute miles), and I only did speedwork a handful of times (usually on the treadmill). I peaked at 50 miles a week, and tapered pretty much perfectly. I stayed calm and relaxed through the whole race, and even though I slowed down fairly considerably the last few miles, I refused to give up. I don’t have any idea how I managed to pull off this PR, but I’m so grateful for how everything went. It was pretty much a perfect morning.
Yeah you did!!! We were all just gushing over you in the Sunday thread. Absolutely amazing!! (Though I have to say, none of us were surprised.) Congratulations!!
Love of my life baby boy born 11/11. One and done not by choice; 3 years of TTC yielded 4 MMC and 2 CPs, through 4 IUIs and 2 IVFs. Focusing on making the world a better place instead...and running.
I was thinking of you on my bike ride today. I did the redwood rd- moraga- Dublin loop and kept thinking about you the whole time. You are aug a powerhouse!