When travelling from central New York to California in December, you’re going to make a vacation out of your marathon plans.

We left Syracuse on Wednesday and arrived in sunny San Francisco at 2pm.  We drove to Carmel-By-The-Sea to visit with Teddy and Xenia for a couple of days before leaving for Sacramento where the CIM events are held.  Although the weather was far from warm, 32 degrees for 4 easy miles Thursday morning, up and down those Carmel hills, it was the scenery that was so refreshing. Those four miles of hills which didn’t feel so bad helped with lacking confidence going into this race.

Friday morning, we headed for Sacramento.  We drove into town via the race route, starting at Folsom Dam and weaving back to Sacramento to the Sheraton host hotel, right next to the expo.   The course was very rolling which I had read in the recaps but thoroughly expect this course, boasting one of the top ten Boston Qualifying courses, to be noticeable for declines. It occurred to me that this may not result in the bump up in corral placement for Boston 2019 I had hoped.

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Empress Tavern (https://www.empresstavern.com)  Friday evening.  A unique restaurant near the theater and a roar with show-goers getting an early meal in before curtain time.  I started with butter lettuce salad (less bacon) and salmon as a main.

We did some walking and enjoyed a night cap at the hotel lounge.  Not very impressed with Sacramento at this point but very comfortable with the hotel location for the expo, Saturday races and of course the finish line for Sunday’s marathon.

Saturday presented a major change to my 28 marathon routine.  It began as normal with a 3 mile shake out run close to the hotel.  I was a bit creeped out because there were so many homeless people in Sacramento, something we are not used to in central New York.  I even witnessed a drug exchange which was disturbing but helped fuel my run a bit quicker back to the hotel.

After waiting for Ted to finish his swim and weight workout, we headed to the restaurant for breakfast, sweet potato in hand with the intension of asking them to microwave it for me.  The hostess said  “No problem. How do you want it cooked?”.  She soon returned, raw potato in hand and told me the chef would not cook it. For one, they didn’t have a microwave and two they are not allowed to cook food from the outside.  Down to the desk I went with my potato and continued to get no help. No microwaves in the building.  I find this hard to believe and they did not inquire or go out of their way what so ever with any suggestions.  I was determined to not get upset about this change to routine.  I mean, COME ON! It was only a potato and I was sure to eat enough fiber and nutrition without it.   Breakfast was an egg white omelet with hash browns and dry wheat toast.

We made our way to the expo at 9:30 am.  At 11 am, coach John G. was running the 5K and we wanted to watch runners as the starting line was less than a mile down the road.  The expo was easy to get around. Very quick to get my bib, shirt and peruse the other vendor wares. I didn’t buy any extra shirts as I had done all my big spending at the NYC marathon a month earlier.  Besides, I wasn’t impressed with the selection.

At 11 am we watched the 5K race start and finish.  At 12:30 pm, we met with coach John and two other gals running under his training watch.   Lunch was unusual for Ted and I.  The restaurant was Eat Beast and Bounty (https://www.eatbeastandbounty.com/brunchmenu/).  Ted had the avocado toast and I had the Soyrizo bowl.  It was such an enjoyable lunch for me, not sure about Ted because he was with 4 runners talking about running.  Coach John said he would see me tomorrow at the 25 mile mark of the race.  Mixed feelings about this. 1. I looked forward to the boost to the finish line but 2. What if I was at a walking crawl by that point?  I didn’t want to disappoint.

Following lunch, we wandered back to our hotel.  I got my things in order for race day and read through motivational quotes and other quips to calm my mind.  This was my key race for the fall and the goal was to place for better seeding at Boston 2019.

We had an early 5:45 pm dinner at Il Fiornaio (https://ilfornaio.com/sacramento).  A small portion fish with plain pasta. Now it was time to calm my thoughts and try to sleep.  Put my head down and closed my eyes at 8:30.  Sleep did not come easily, probably around 10 pm.

RACE DAY:

The bus to the starting line was right outside the hotel, scheduled to leave at 5am. I set the alarm for 3:40 am. Ate a Clif bar and drank an electrolyte drink. Used the bathroom a gazillion times. Took a Honey Stinger Waffle with me for the bus ride and a banana, with 2/3 bottle of water.  The starting line would be cold so I took throw away clothing consisting of wide leg sweat pants so I could remove over my sneakers, sweat shirt with neck cut away so I could take it off over my visor, a large sweater, a blanket and a clear plastic bag.

All correspondence indicated we could stay on the bus up to 15 min. to start time.  I dressed for cold in case this didn’t work out.  When I left for the bus from the hotel at 4:50 am, the line wrapped around the Convention center. I was not able to get on the bus until 5:35 am.  I already had to pee.  It was a long bus ride. We arrived at Folsom around 6:20. I exited the bus and got in line for the porto potties.  This race also boasted having more porto potties available per person than any other race. This did NOT make a difference. By the time I was through the line, it was 6:53 and time to line up. Only one trip to the potty before race time.  THAT always makes me nervous.

The marathon began at 7 am.  An easy start just under a mile downhill then up a little popper and continuous rolling hills the rest of the race.  I could see the 3:55 pace group ahead but John and the other runners at lunch the previous day suggested not running with a pace group.  I made it my aim to catch up and stay just behind the crown surrounding the flag bearers.  The pace felt good and I thought it smart to keep in check by staying with them.  I listened to the talk around me, trying to get my mind off all those ups and gentle downs along the way.  The water stations came up quick.  I missed a few because of the crowding, they only had them on the right side of the road.  Water first, NUUN second.  I began drinking the NUUN after the half.   I brought 1 GU, 1 pack of sport beans, 1 pack of Chomps.  I ate 4 beans at 4 mile point. Ate my GU at 6 ½ miles.  More beans at mile 10.  Took a Clif Gel handed out around 12 miles.  Ate two chomps around 15 and took another Clif Gel handed out around 18 mile point.  Finished with more chomps around mile 21. This fueling worked well for me without bloating and constant energy feed.

By 17 ½ I wanted to try running ahead of the 3:55 group.  It wasn’t a struggle physically to do this but it was a mental challenge when I began to tire by mile 21.  On a rolling hill course like this, by the time the flatter ground comes, you’re getting a tired and it makes it difficult to appreciate.  So as the course flatten out, I was tired and it still felt like a challenge.  At mile 25 I saw Coach John.  It was important to dig deep and turn on the speed.  I ran my final mile at a 8:28 pace.

Final finish was 3:53:06.   31 of 209 in age group. 3630 overall of 7830. 1382 of 3644 female runners and 401 of 1683 master females.  Not bad stats but not the bump up for Boston I wanted but it is a BQ for 2020.

So how was the California International Marathon that I have had on my bucket list for years?  It wasn’t what I had envisioned and I can’t really explain what that was. It wasn’t scenic in my definition of “scenic”. It wasn’t the Boston Qualifier course I thought it would be. It was smaller than I thought. Sacramento wasn’t a California area we ever want to revisit.  However, the organization, support, location of host hotel to buses, finish line and expo was 100% A-One!.

Compared to the other 27 marathons I have run, this is in the top 10.

Joanne

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