So i went into this with no time goal, since i was injured in the fall, was nervous about heat in cali, training through the winter in nj, and hills. And also, i plan to focus on my fall full. This was for fun.
Before the race, i decided to run with ktzmoh for the first 6 miles, since she planned to run ~8:55s, and then drop to 8:40s after that. Shes the perfect pacer, guys. And i even held on for 3 additional miles of 8:40s.
But lets back up... giant hills. Giant hill in the second mile, and again ~5.5. But those were followed by downhills at least.
Somewhere around the halfway point, i realized the downhills stopped, but the uphills continued. The elevation chart LIES. There were uphills, lots of them. And some flat road. But thats it. 'Rolling hills'? Lies. Total lies. So i decided since i had no goal, id run comfortably, not look at my garmin, and just enjoy the scenery. What a beautiful fucking race. The hardest marathon course ive run, by a longshot, but beautiful. We had perfect weather, but the sun was pretty strong (im sunburnt).
Around mile 18 i passed my friend who came to spectate and @vtcupcake 's husband. My friend had a sign just for me, (she was am emotional wreck lol we convinced her to run a marathon next year, and maybe kiawah too lol) it was such a boost seeing them!
Anyway, i took it mile by mile, enjoyed the prettiness, and before i knew it, i was done.
My second slowest marathon, but i had fun, felt strong, only walked through a couple of water stops. And fun was the point. That and the french laundry tomorrow lol
Congrats! As always, you are badass. Glad you had a good race and enjoyed it despite the hills. I don't know how you trained over winter - that alone is a major feat in my book.
ETA: Was this your first NorCal race? Curious how the hills compare to, say, San Francisco. (I’m planning to do a wine country race this summer.)
Yes. I also tend to do very flat races. I considered Philly to be a very hilly full. Ive run the Sleepy Hollow half a bunch of times (you can google the elevation map) and always considered that a very cahllenging course. It didnt compare to this.
Training through winter to run in a race in an area different to where you trained is no easy feat. (I'm constantly doing this to myself lol) But way to go on just listening to your body and having a good time. Congrats on #10!!!!
I hear you on training in cold weather and running in warm weather. My first marathon was in LA in February after training in Indiana and the warmer temperature was brutal!