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Comments: I knew, going into this race, that this would be painful and challenging, both physically and mentally...and well, I was right! Due to my work schedule, lack of sleep and lack of training, this was going to be "just run to finish...no PR" race. Around mile 5 I started to expreince some discomfort in my left quad. In one of my few training runs a couple of weeks earlier, I experienced cramping in both of my quads. This feeling was the same, so I immediately shortened my gait to avoid a repeat. It appeared to work, however, it slowed me down considerably, but that was okay...I kept telling myself, "just finish without walking". By mile 10 I was running with an obvious limp, which was quite noticable as I watched my shadow. Also around the same time, I started feeling the trots approaching...that terrible, gassy, bloated feeling! As the finish line approached, I had no energy or power for any sort of finishing kick, In fact the last 200 yards, I was passed up by few runners, something that I'm not used to, but oh well, at least I would finish without walking :) What would you do differently?: Get some sleep the night before the run, try and schedule myself off from work (if possible) the day before the run, figure out what's causing the "TROTS" and of course, train more...duh!  Post race
Warm down: Warm down consisted of eating my banana as I waited for my wife and cousins. I also walked around and searched in vain for the bathrooms or porto-potties. I found bathrooms with a line that was not moving. so I opted to walk out my "trots" and wait until we got to my wife's cousin's house. Heck, I waited 13.1 miles to use the bathroom, what was another 20 min drive. What limited your ability to perform faster: Lack of adequate rest and training, starting in 'Corral B' and having to weave in and out of slower runners/walkers. Slight quad pain and the dreaded "TROTS" towards the end of the race. Event comments: The course was beautiful, I would gladly run this race again. I do believe that the organizers were a bit overwhelmed by the number of participants. Since this race was part of the new Beach Run series (H.B., O.C., and L.B.), I think it drew more participants than in the past, which is good, however, the organizers need to plan for larger crowds. Also, I believe starting the 26.2 runners before the 13.1 would eleviate the crowds at the start line as well. Very cool medals and tech shirts....which is the only reason I run...haha! Last updated: 2011-04-04 12:00 AM
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United States
OC Marathon
58F / 14C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 919/6561
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 73/274
My pre-race routine for this event was totally screwed. I had to work the evening/early AM leading in to the race. I got off work at 2AM, changed into my running clothes and left San Diego at 2:30AM and headed straight for the OC Fairgrounds parking and shuttle area. I arrived at 4:15AM and was met shortly by my wife and her cousins (my wife went up the day before to attend the expo and pick up our bibs, she stayed in Huntington Beach which is around 20 minutes away). So needless to say, without any sleep and very little training (nobody to blame but myself), I knew this was going to be a challenging and painful run (both mentally and physically).
Not much time for a warmup. We had to catch shuttles to the startline and the shuttle lines were exteremly long. The walk to the shuttles was my warmup and since it was little chilly in the morning, our walk was pretty brisk...pretty much the only warmup I got or needed. Although the temps were a bit chilly in the morning, I knew that it would heat up pretty good as soon as the sun came out, so I wasn't to worried about getting wamed up.