This weekend was a success. Starting with Friday night I had a huge plate of pasta and got all of my stuff ready for the long run and went to the store to buy some ice, sports drinks and pretzels, but came home with saltines. That night I ate an entire packet of saltine crackers and began my hydration, so that the heat on Saturday wouldn’t affect me quite as much.
During the night I woke up in anticipation of the run, knowing full well that I was ready for it, but was able to fall to sleep for the few more hours that were necessary to have a successful run. At around 6:15 I woke up and turned off all of my alarms, I wouldn’t leave for the run until 8, but I wanted to have everything ready and not be rushing around at the end trying to make it on time. At 6:45 I began hydrating and had an apple. Some of the tips for the race are to wake up 2 hours before and hydrate, and to eat simple carbohydrates between the last meal 18 hours before and the race. I decided to bring along some saltine crackers in my hydration belt, and begin the race by drinking sports drinks.
I drove over to Hellyer Park in San Jose, and at 8AM it was already beginning to heat up. By the time I arrived at about 8:35 it was probably in the high 70’s. It didn’t bother me too much as it guaranteed that my muscles would warm up fairly quickly and considering I’ve spent the last 4 years in Tucson, Arizona this heat isn’t too bad.
There were 4 of us that started on the 20 mile route, which consisted of an out and back of 9 miles, and an out and back of 11. I started with 2 of the mentors, Amer and Sara, who gave me a bunch of advice about San Diego
Start slow, but faster than the massive crowd, otherwise I’ll have to swerve around them later, which will add miles.
Cut the corners to shorten the distance, because apparently most marathons are actually longer than 26.2 miles because of the route taken.
There is a slope during a few miles, so take that really slow, and even maybe walk.
Go to the later water stops, because everybody stops at the first few.
Setting up all of my gear the night before, and specifically before going to dinner so that I can just crash right after.
I really appreciate all of the help and hope that I can follow all of these pieces of advice and have a great marathon!
So the actual run:
It was a really nice day, a little hot, but manageable, and there were so many bits of pollen in the air it looked like it was snowing. Some of the parts where trees were situated the entire ground was covered 10 feet by 10 feet.
The first 4.5 miles to the turn around point went by really quickly, passing a cycling velodrome, a golf range and course, some people picking up garbage, a large pond, and some campsites. Much of the first half of the course was shaded, so it provided at least some relief from the weather. Plus we were running on black pavement, so the heat around us was slightly increased.
The first 9 miles I felt really good, not really tired, and I had kept up my food/hydration plan. Drink every 5-10 minutes, eat a saltine cracker, drink again, and have a GU packet every 40-45 minutes. For the much of the first 13.5 miles I was alone, just enjoying the scenery and taking in the messages my body and mind were sending, when to drink, when to slow down, cut that corner, walk, eat, take a GU, stretch my arms, etc.
At the 13 mile water stop there were already a few people there and one of the honorees I have run with on 2 of the previous long runs stopped and asked me to wait for him to get some water and then we could run together for the remaining 7 miles. Keith and I strolled on, not quite knowing where the turn around was, just that it was an addition 1.5 miles out. We talked about a sign that was posted, about how if it’s raining not to go into a field, which was pretty obvious because it looked dangerous, which brought up an interesting story from Tucson, and then one from Phoenix. We talked about monsoons, and flash flooding. It was nice to have somebody to talk with, especially towards the end when my legs began to tighten up slightly. When we neared the turn around point we saw one of the mentors that had previously sped up at the 4.5 point and looked like he was running 6 minute miles. He urged us on and we continued, occasionally passing by other team members. In some ways I just wanted to keep on running, the hot weather hadn’t really affected me, and because I had a really good game plan going into the run, I remained hydrated and my energy levels were at perfect levels.
Because I had been going at about a 9:40 pace for the entire run I felt really great. We met up with Amer again (the guy who ran off) after he had taken a dip in the lake and said it felt amazing. Our pace was around 9:15 for a few miles and then we started to crank it up. My legs felt really great and I just started pushing it. Amer has a GPS watch that tracks pace and he would update me on our pace, 8:50, 8:05, 7:50, and then I was gone. I ran that 7:50 pace for part of the 19th mile, maybe half a mile, and then slowed down, because it had taken a slight toll on my body. When I got to a bridge with some good shade I slowed down and relaxed, knowing there could only be about 1.5 miles left. The terrain looked familiar and I couldn’t wait for a few turns that I recognized, because that would mean I had a very short distance left to run. Around this point I started seeing more team members, and tried my best to lift their spirits.
Finally I reached the familiar landscape and just kept on going, finishing with fairly fresh legs. I definitely could have ran another 6 miles if I had taken more GU packets and had enough hydration to do it. The marathon will be interesting, in that it will be a similar climate to this long run, which I am happy about because my muscles liked it, but I feel bad for people who like to run in the cold, because it will really put a strain on their bodies.
The advice I can give for anybody that wants to run 10+ miles, is to know your limits, the climate, and be prepared both mentally and physically.
After the run, we hung out and talked, got and gave some advice, talked about the run, if there was any pain, the usual stuff. I drank a whole bunch of sports drinks and had some more saltine crackers. During the entire run I did not have any plain water. After another 30 minutes or so I began getting ready to leave and still felt really good.
When I got home I used a foam roller to loosen up my muscles and then took a shower and got ready for the ice bath. I wasn’t sure what to expect because it was my first one, besides the Pacific Ocean which didn’t feel so great because I had to do it alone, since everybody had finished before I got there. I got the water in the tub and then got in and added the ice. It wasn’t too bad, just cold. After finishing, I saved the water and planned to use it in the garden once it warmed up.
The rest of the day I hobbled around because my foot was raw from a previous blister, but other than that my legs were still a little tight, but felt pretty good.
The next morning I had expected to wake up at 2:30 in excruciating pain, but to my surprise I woke up around 7 and felt amazing. My pre-race and post-race activities and preparation had helped me ensure that a positive experience did not turn to the dark side.
In closing, 20 miles wasn’t too hard, but it would definitely not be possible with proper training, nutrition and a good game plan. Had the weather been similar to San Francisco 2 weeks ago, I probably wouldn’t have finished in such high spirits, let alone finish. I highly suggest ice baths for anybody running extended distances, and proper hydration is crucial. If you’re drinking water, definitely get enough salt and electrolytes to counter what you lose during extended exercise.
I am looking forward to the marathon which is in 13 days, and the post-race fun in San Diego for 3 days.
Thank you to everybody that has supported me through this endeavor and to those whom have donated. If you’re interested in contributing to my fund raising it is not too late, the website is still open, and everything really does help.
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/rnr09/rgreenfield
Have a great week,
Ryan
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