I flew in to Sacramento on the Saturday before the race.
The night was short... Despite the hotel being full of runners planning an early wake up the next day, the Hotel staff had had the good idea to organize a huge (and quite noisy) party downstairs. The loud music and the loud deejay could be heard though a good portion of the night.
At 3:55 am, I woke up, feeling like I had slept a 4 hour night.. Hmm...go figure.
After a quick breakfast, I was off to the starting line in the race shuttle.
It was a quite rainy, windy, dreary morning. The runners were allowed to stay in the bus until a few minutes before the race, but when I stepped out, I immediately felt the extend of the challenge I was about to face. Never in my life had I run a marathon in these conditions. The wind was strong, projecting a stinging cold rain in my face. The forecast had been right. The runners would be facing this weather probably till the finish line.
The marathon was quite impressive in size. Several thousand runners were waiting in the rain before the start line and the crowd seemed to stretch forever.
The start was a bit chaotic. Runners of all sizes and paces were trying to make their way to the start line and it took me a couple of minutes to find my stride.
My goal, this time, was just to finish the race, but I did start at a 3 hour marathon pace to see how long I could manage it. As it turns out, not very long...
The course was meandering through residential neighborhoods and I quickly took a measure of its difficulty. In addition to an omnipresent head wind, the course was a succession of rolling hills. The hills were never very steep but the course was never flat either. Some long stretches of slight incline in the wind and some shorter and steeper hill quickly eroded my energy.
I managed to stay at a pace between 6:40 and 7:00 min / mile for about 8 miles, slowing down uphill and catching up downhill. I felt my left knee injury from the beginning of the race but once my legs warmed up, it was fine. The pain came and went throughout the race, but never to a point that I could not manage.
The first miles were the worst weather wise. The gusts of wind were sometimes so strong that they would almost me you in my tracks. The rain was relentless and my feet got drenched quickly running through the streams of water crossing the streets. At 12 miles, I already felt really tired. Usually, in a marathon race, I always tell myself that the race has not started until at least the halfway point. The first half should feel easy... Well, this was going to be an interesting race. At this point, the thought of giving up was trying to take a hold in my mind. What the hell was I doing here? Was it really worth it? Even if I ran the rest of the race really well, I could not beat my PR... What was the point of prolonging the pain in this stupid weather?
Every time, I pushed away these thoughts. I would not DNF, This was good mental training. I would not give up the minute it was getting tough.
However, mile after mile my pace slowed down. For a while, I managed to hang on at about 7:30 / mile. By mile 16, I was going about 8:00 / mile. Many groups of runners passed me and every time, I tried to follow them. But I really was not in the shape to hitch a ride behind any of them. The amount of effort required to keep up was way too much for me. I would hang on for about 30 seconds and little by little, let the train of runners drift away.
At mile 20, I was counting every quarter mile and soon the pace slipped close to 9:00 /mile. At mile 24 the 3:25 pacer and his followers passed me as if I was not running.
I really did not want to let these guys go past me. I pushed my pace to follow them.
The difference of pace was quite significant. They were running at about 7:30 min/ mile and it took every ounce of mental strength not to let them run past me. I gathered my strength and accelerated to follow the group. It was quite a radical change of pace at this stage, but I convinced myself that I could maintain this pace for just a couple more miles.
At mile 25, the pacer said:" Okay guys, if you have anything left, just go for it now!". When I heard that, it really triggered something in me. Some unknown resource from the depth of my being commanded me to surge forward.
I pushed hard and ran to the front of the group. Then, I continued at a fast pace for a little while. But very soon, at mile 25.5, I was spent... I slowed down again and the 3:25 pace group caught back up with me. Soon they were slipping away, some 50 yards in front of me. In the crowd, cheering loudly, I heard someone shout at me: " Come on!, you can catch that 3:25 group!" As silly as it might sound, this really helped me refocus mentally... I managed to summon my mental resolve once again and I ran as hard as I could, caught up with the group, and ran passed it.
A last left turn and the finish line was in sight. I accelerated even more, sprinting, feeling almost no pain at this point.
I crossed the finish line with a burst of emotions. Yes, this was my slowest performance of the year, but one of my most epic runs ever.
It was painful from the early stages and I could not wait for the finish line, but in the end, the reward was at the measure of the effort.
I think this is one of the first time where after having mentally disengaged from the race due to pain a fatigue, I forced myself to reconnect and significantly affect my pace. A small victory, and something to keep in mind for future races. Even when you have nothing left in the tank, you actually have lots of energy left. Even if you are not aware of it, a lot of energy is just waiting for your mental strength to unlock it, to unleash it.
I realize that have quite a big reserve to tap into still... Shortly after I crossed the line, a runner tapped my shoulder. As I turned back towards him, I realized that he was not calling me. He was simply trying to hang on to my shoulder as he was loosing his balance and collapsing backwards.
Another example that shows me how far some people are able to push themselves to achieve their absolute best on the day.
It is this mental resolve that really inspires me. It is this resource I am just learning to tap into and my ability to mobilize this hidden energy, to bend my mental limits is something I want to learn to achieve. I will need it in my future races. I can't imagine completing my Ironman without having to rely upon it.
The night was short... Despite the hotel being full of runners planning an early wake up the next day, the Hotel staff had had the good idea to organize a huge (and quite noisy) party downstairs. The loud music and the loud deejay could be heard though a good portion of the night.
At 3:55 am, I woke up, feeling like I had slept a 4 hour night.. Hmm...go figure.
After a quick breakfast, I was off to the starting line in the race shuttle.
It was a quite rainy, windy, dreary morning. The runners were allowed to stay in the bus until a few minutes before the race, but when I stepped out, I immediately felt the extend of the challenge I was about to face. Never in my life had I run a marathon in these conditions. The wind was strong, projecting a stinging cold rain in my face. The forecast had been right. The runners would be facing this weather probably till the finish line.
The marathon was quite impressive in size. Several thousand runners were waiting in the rain before the start line and the crowd seemed to stretch forever.
The start was a bit chaotic. Runners of all sizes and paces were trying to make their way to the start line and it took me a couple of minutes to find my stride.
My goal, this time, was just to finish the race, but I did start at a 3 hour marathon pace to see how long I could manage it. As it turns out, not very long...
The course was meandering through residential neighborhoods and I quickly took a measure of its difficulty. In addition to an omnipresent head wind, the course was a succession of rolling hills. The hills were never very steep but the course was never flat either. Some long stretches of slight incline in the wind and some shorter and steeper hill quickly eroded my energy.
I managed to stay at a pace between 6:40 and 7:00 min / mile for about 8 miles, slowing down uphill and catching up downhill. I felt my left knee injury from the beginning of the race but once my legs warmed up, it was fine. The pain came and went throughout the race, but never to a point that I could not manage.
The first miles were the worst weather wise. The gusts of wind were sometimes so strong that they would almost me you in my tracks. The rain was relentless and my feet got drenched quickly running through the streams of water crossing the streets. At 12 miles, I already felt really tired. Usually, in a marathon race, I always tell myself that the race has not started until at least the halfway point. The first half should feel easy... Well, this was going to be an interesting race. At this point, the thought of giving up was trying to take a hold in my mind. What the hell was I doing here? Was it really worth it? Even if I ran the rest of the race really well, I could not beat my PR... What was the point of prolonging the pain in this stupid weather?
Every time, I pushed away these thoughts. I would not DNF, This was good mental training. I would not give up the minute it was getting tough.
However, mile after mile my pace slowed down. For a while, I managed to hang on at about 7:30 / mile. By mile 16, I was going about 8:00 / mile. Many groups of runners passed me and every time, I tried to follow them. But I really was not in the shape to hitch a ride behind any of them. The amount of effort required to keep up was way too much for me. I would hang on for about 30 seconds and little by little, let the train of runners drift away.
At mile 20, I was counting every quarter mile and soon the pace slipped close to 9:00 /mile. At mile 24 the 3:25 pacer and his followers passed me as if I was not running.
I really did not want to let these guys go past me. I pushed my pace to follow them.
The difference of pace was quite significant. They were running at about 7:30 min/ mile and it took every ounce of mental strength not to let them run past me. I gathered my strength and accelerated to follow the group. It was quite a radical change of pace at this stage, but I convinced myself that I could maintain this pace for just a couple more miles.
At mile 25, the pacer said:" Okay guys, if you have anything left, just go for it now!". When I heard that, it really triggered something in me. Some unknown resource from the depth of my being commanded me to surge forward.
I pushed hard and ran to the front of the group. Then, I continued at a fast pace for a little while. But very soon, at mile 25.5, I was spent... I slowed down again and the 3:25 pace group caught back up with me. Soon they were slipping away, some 50 yards in front of me. In the crowd, cheering loudly, I heard someone shout at me: " Come on!, you can catch that 3:25 group!" As silly as it might sound, this really helped me refocus mentally... I managed to summon my mental resolve once again and I ran as hard as I could, caught up with the group, and ran passed it.
A last left turn and the finish line was in sight. I accelerated even more, sprinting, feeling almost no pain at this point.
I crossed the finish line with a burst of emotions. Yes, this was my slowest performance of the year, but one of my most epic runs ever.
It was painful from the early stages and I could not wait for the finish line, but in the end, the reward was at the measure of the effort.
I think this is one of the first time where after having mentally disengaged from the race due to pain a fatigue, I forced myself to reconnect and significantly affect my pace. A small victory, and something to keep in mind for future races. Even when you have nothing left in the tank, you actually have lots of energy left. Even if you are not aware of it, a lot of energy is just waiting for your mental strength to unlock it, to unleash it.
I realize that have quite a big reserve to tap into still... Shortly after I crossed the line, a runner tapped my shoulder. As I turned back towards him, I realized that he was not calling me. He was simply trying to hang on to my shoulder as he was loosing his balance and collapsing backwards.
Another example that shows me how far some people are able to push themselves to achieve their absolute best on the day.
It is this mental resolve that really inspires me. It is this resource I am just learning to tap into and my ability to mobilize this hidden energy, to bend my mental limits is something I want to learn to achieve. I will need it in my future races. I can't imagine completing my Ironman without having to rely upon it.
