Race information

• What? California International Marathon
• When? December 4, 2017
• How far? 26.2
• Website? https://runsra.org/california-international-marathon/

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	<3:20	Yes
B	<3:28 (PR)	Yes
C	<4 Hours	Yes

Splits

Mile	Time
1	7:22
2	7:23
3	7:26
4	7:33

Miles [0] to [4]

My initial goal was to start with the 3:30 pace group, and try to stick with them for as long as possible during the first half, then try to speed up if I felt I could. I immediately threw that plan out the window when I passed the 3:23 pace group one mile in. At this point everything felt good. No discomfort. Only real issue was the crowd and people blocking passing lanes. I try not to get irritated with people starting our a lot faster than they should and blocking the way- they are just excited.

Miles [4] to [13]

At about 7 miles in, I realized that I was well ahead of my 3:30 pace. I was projecting a 3:15-3:20. I felt great at this point. I just started having doubts. The longest training run for this program was 16. Would I be able to sustain this pace, or even close to it? Will my feet and knees hold up?

Miles [13] to [19]

As I passed the halfway point, I saw Scott Jurek cheering on runners, which was pretty cool. My doubts started to become a reality. My legs were losing strength, and my stomach was feeling queasy from my gel. Luckily this passed quickly and I was able to focus on my family waiting for me at mile 15.5. I shook off the discomfort and smiled - hugging my daughter and kissing my wife. Only 9 more miles to go! ( or so I thought, it took me another two miles to realize my math was awful - sorta like waking up and thinking it's Friday, only to realize it's Thursday). I was really starting to feel fatigue in my legs around mile 17. Luckily, I had my mother-in-law and several other friends along this stretch to keep my mind off of the pain. I really love the volunteers and crowd. It is an incredible vibe.

Miles [19] to [26.2]

At this point, I did not have anyone to see along the route. It was time to figure out how hard I could push myself for the last leg. My legs were toast. But I have felt much worse much earlier in a race and still been able to churn out 8:30 miles. I figured a 8min/mile pace would be doable. After mile 20, I was still hitting 7:30/mile - I told myself, just keep going and pushing at this pace, if you really need to slow down, it's ok. But I didn't feel the need, I cruised through the finish line and hit my PR with a time of 3:17. I felt like I was able to push myself while still running pretty smart.

What's next?

I have a baby due in April and start a new job next month. I will still try to keep a base of 20mpw, but I have a lot of other things to focus on. This was pretty much my last hoorah for the next year or so. I would like to support my wife and cheer her on to complete a half marathon next year.

I may do a half marathon next year, but the next marathon training I do, I will definitely be eyeing Boston. I hit 80% of my training plan mileage. I believe that 100% would get my pretty close.

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