Race Report - Napa Valley Marathon

The 2009 Napa Valley Marathon took place last Sunday, March 1st. I think it was the most scenic course I have run. The course starts in the town of Calistoga CA. It is a point to point course we needed to get to the buses by 6:00 to make the 7:30 start. After going to large marathons like Portland and Boston, Napa was a refreshing change. The small size of the marathon made some nice touches available. You can drop off your sports drink at the start to be transported to later stops – something that is normally reserved only for elite runners. Bag drop off was right next to the start with a minimal line. This lets you keep warm to the last minute. The marathon provided a nice backpack filled with swag at the expo that doubled as your warm up transport bag. It really is nice.
One the race started, we were treated to amazing views of the napa vineyards. Rolling hills kept the course interesting without getting too large. The course is a 400ft net downhill. This looks great on paper but somehow the uphills always seem to outnumber the downhills. That being said, it is a very fast course. I prefer the hills to a dead flat course to give muscle groups a break.
My goal of breaking 3:00 went well for the first half. I was right on my splits. After 14 miles or so, I tried to relax and not push too hard. I think that was the right think to do since as mile 18, I could tell that I was not going to make the finish on pace. The energy level just started to plummet telling me that I was on the verge of bonking.
I guess I just did not put in enough miles before the race. Winter can be a tough time to train. I was able to finish the race running. I think I was at an 8:30 mile for the last couple. Fortunately, I was not too invested. I am happy with my finish time of 3:12. I think it will give me the foundation I need for my next marathon, Boston 2009. Now, I just have to figure out the training schedule between now and then. I think 1 20 miler should do it with so good quality workout.

Hood River – Coolest town ever?

For years, Hood River Or has been a mecca of outdoor sports. Windsurfing and then kiteboarding put it on the map. Ample whitewater kayaking, easy access to Mt. Hood skiing with the longest season in the country as well as better weather than the ‘wet’ side of Oregon makes this a outdoor fiend’s dream. Last weekend they stepped it up a notch with the end of the Mt Hood Cycling Classic. Some real teams are starting to attend like HeathNet and the new Rock Racing outfit. The 5th and final stage was a criterium in downtown Hood River. With a finish in front of Full Sail brewery and perfect seating a the new Double Mountain brewery you could get as drunk as a nascar fan while not missing a moment.

It was great to see HeathNet and Rock Racing battle it out battle it out with kites cruising around in the background. To top it all off, Bill Clinton stopped by to chat in front of the public library for an hour or so at the last minute. Hey, Hillary is probably not going to make it but at least Bill knows a good town when he sees it.

Boston Marathon - 2008

The Boston Marathon is the oldest and the most respected marathon in America It lived up to its reputation in 2008. After our flight from Portland and locating our hotel in east bejesus we headed down to see the US Women’s Olympic trials. That was an exciting start to the weekend. Some amazing runners were in attendance. Joan Benoit Samuelson, winner of the first women’s Olympic event in 1984 ran. An amazing feat after 24 years. Kathrine Switzer, the first women to run the Boston marathon spoke over the PA at the finish. It was amazing event. We were able to enter the Expo after the trials were over. That was the most packed expo I had ever seen. It was all we could do to push our way through the crowd, grab our numbers and go. Next was a pre-race meal. What better place to go than the North End of Boston. We found an amazing place with fresh pasta. The raviolis were killer. Just the thing before a race.
While preparing for the race the next day, suz realized that she had no gloves to keep her warm at the start. I volunteered to donate my new argyle socks to the cause. Fortunately they matched her outfit perfectly. Argyle arm warmers. That is a fashion statement.

We had pre arranged a charter bus to take us to the start. Smart move. It was a mad house at the start. Chilling in a private bus really set us in the right mood for a good race.

My qualifying time put me in corral 4 like a prized cow. It was almost all guys and they looked pretty damn fast. I had better watch those first miles. It is easy to go out too fast. A bit of star spangled banner and we were off. I did end of going out too fast. Those downhills at the start are just so easy. By six miles I was able to back off to my goal pace. I had some little room to slow down on the hills. I had heard about the Wellsley girls and they defiantly lived up to their reputation. It looked like the whole college was out there cheering us on with sighs and banners. They were great. Next came the hills. The hills were Not too steep but some serious rollers. I was happy that I had some room to slow down a bit. Hearbreak hill is just one of many such hills. It does not stand out except for a few extra spectators. Boston finishes up a great. It is mainly downhill into the city with progressively larger crowds. It is really a sporting town. They cheer like no other. My final time was 3:10:58. I hit my goal but did not PR. I am pretty happy with that. Finishing feeling strong and not hitting the wall is a good way to finish the road to Boston.

Now, I just have to figure out the next goal. It looks like 1:23 half marathon will give you guaranteed entry to the NY marathon. Sounds like a good goal to me.

Finally Cracked it

After taking a few years off marathoning, this was the year. I signed up for the Portland marathon in August. The schedule for the left just had enough time to get a couple long runs in before the race in November. I was suprised with a good finish. With a good PR at that race, I had the bug. I could make Boston for sure. I signed up for the California International Marathon scheduled for the next month in Sacramento. It was a great race but I did not perform as well as I had hoped. Wine tasting in a Napa and poor meal planning did not help any. I a great time but finished a couple minute of my Boston cutoff of 3:10. So it was with much anticipation that I signed up for the Arizona marathon in Phoenix. Looking at the calendar, Phoenix was the only real marathon this winter. It would be the only chance I had to make it this year.
The course was great. The course was senic an flat as a kansas prarie. Weather could not have been better. As one of the speakers said, it was no excuse weather. My race plan was meant to get me across the line just before my cutoff. 3:10:59 would have been fine with me. We started with a 20ish person pace group at the start. It was obvious that they were a bunch of guys who wanted to qualify for Boston. Our pace group leader seemed to be strong. It wasn’t until 10 miles in that he mentioned that this was only his 2nd marathon. Not a good sign. Later, he dropped back when he saw his wife having a hard time. Oh no! Who was going to pull my ass to the finish? The group soldiered on with a more or less steady pace. I tried as best I could to keep on pace.
Mile 20 came up hard as usual. I started to think of all kinds a great reasons to stop and start walking. Hey, this is just for fun isn’t it? I don’t really care what time I get. I think the cost of the trip and knowing that my wife had already signed up for Boston kept me on going. One foot, two. The last 4 miles seemed to be an eternity. The struggle really was keeping a positive outlook. Little mantras are the only thing that seem to work. “there is only success” “ there is no failure” and “anyone can run 5 miles”, “anyone can run 2 miles” did the trick. Soon I was running into Sun Devil stadium with a minute to spare. Yeah!

Next stop Boston. Maybe I can hang with Lance for a few miles...http://dailyviews.runnersworld.com/2008/01/its-official-la.html

CIM Marathon - Mania

So, I must be a bit hard headed. Went to Sacramento a couple weeks ago to run the CIM Marathon. It was a great time, got to do some wine tasting and see M+C new pad. The race was also a good time. Great crowd support and a nice course. I could make lots of excuses..like my watch broke at the starting line..traveling didnt agree with me...but really I just came in 2 1/2 minutes too late to qualify for Boston. Oh well. I am going to give it another go in a few weeks in Arizona. Hey, it is a rock and roll marathon. How fun is that?

Slipstream-Chipotle bosses planning Tour debut

So, on one hand, I was happily surprised to hear the there is a team taking over where Postal Service/Discovery left off for the TDF. It was a sad day when discovery announced that they were closing up shop. With the best run ever in the Lance days, it is surprising that they did not have the momentum for the long run. I always thought it would make more sense if Discovery aired the tour. Instead we have to pick up the random OLN station from Canada.

Although, argyle is way cool, I am not sure I want a subsidiary of McDonalds who slings Americanized tacos and Chimmy Chongas, Chipotle/Slipstream to represent the US to Europe and the cycling world. At least the Postal Service had a noble heritage.

Well, regardless, if a US based team can put together a world class team, I will be rooting for them. Go team argyle.

http://www.velonews.com/race/int/articles/13632.0.html

My Portland Marathon - Close but missed the mark

Having trained for the ½ ironman this year, I had a good endurance base going into the summer. I figured a go at the Portland Marathon would be fun. I ran a 3:34:41 back in 2004 to my frustration. I went out too fast and fell apart at the end. That was my second try at Portland and I didn’t improve much after all that training. Motivated to put in a decent time, I headed up to Seattle a month later and put in a 3:29:04 time on that course. I was pretty happy with this since I ran even splits and finished strong on a hilly course.
This year, I figured, why not try to qualify for Boston. I have always wanted to go and my time of 1:29 at last year’s run like hell ½ marathon gave me some hope that I could do it. So with a lot of biking but not much else, me and my best girl suz started training. Since we were late and had other things going on, we ended up missing all the organized 20 milers with the local training group. We threw together a self supported 22 mile training run in Forest Park. It was a fun run but I ended up injuring my knee and spend the next couple weeks nursing that.
Last Sunday, we showed up at the start of the Portland course. The forecast was for rain but it turned out quite nice with just a sprinkle or two. The temperature was perfect in the high 50s topping out in the low 60s. This year they had pace groups every 5 mins or so. This was perfect. I mentally told myself, you just gotta stick on that 3:10 leader and you will get there. The first 13 miles or so where perfect. I stuck around the group, just going ahead for aid stations and a quick porti-potty stop. The pace did start to feel really fast. As the St. Johns bridge approached, I knew I was not going to stick on the back. The group did slow down for the approach ramp but not enough. I slowed way down and fell behind the group. I am glad I did. The one thing I think I have learned is to listen to your body on these things. Push a little past that tipping point and you end up walking 5 miles at the end. From 20 miles on, I ran my own race. We had quite a head wind so I tried to sneak in behind clumps of the big guys. I think it was a big help; mentally if nothing else. Having given up on my 3:10 finishing time, I just focused on keeping up a good rhythm. I recognized a number of runners that were formally in the 3:10 pace group walking as I went past. I definitely felt good about slowing down for the bridge. Pretty soon I was crossing the steel bridge and back into downtown. I heard them call out the time of 3:06 at 25 miles. Damn, know way to run a 4 minutes mile plus. I pushed on the end got 3:13:34. About 2 ½ minutes off the Boston cut off. I felt good that I left all my game on the course and ran the whole distance. There is not much more I could ask for. 16 minutes off my PR is a big accomplishment but I could not help but thinking that I really want that Boston time.
Looks like I am going to be chalking Portland up to a training run and heading down to Sacramento for the California International Marathon. A downhill point to point race in another city sounds perfect. I love Portland but I hate the Portland Marathon. With a dull course and a bad personal history, it is not a fun event. I figure I should have not problem shaving 3 minutes off my time. We will see on December 2nd.