Surf City USA Marathon and Half Marathon - RunMarathon

Went into the day with a goal of 4:30.

Got off to a good start with a 9:58 1st mile but when I saw the 2nd mile at 9:38, I was thinking I needed to hold back. However I was running comfortably so figured I'd just continue with the current pace. (Big Mistake!) I noticed my thighs starting to feel a little sore somewhere around mile 4 which was very unusual. I am not sure if they just never loosened up or the wet pavement altered my stride but in the back of my head I was thinking this could be a problem somewhere down the road. At the 6 mile marker, decided to take the 1st gel and a 30 second walk break to try to get my legs to relax a bit.

Mile 8 was my last sub 10 minute mile for the day but I wasn’t too concerned because I was still way under pace for a 4:30 finish time. We also joined the half marathon course around there and all of a sudden having people fly by me right and left was a little depressing and for some reason I dispised them for it. Mile 12 I decided to take my 2nd and last gel. I had packed 4 but Mike said he read they would have shot blocks at some of the aid stations so I figured I’d only take 2 with me then use the blocks later in the race. However, up to this point I hadn’t seen anything so I was hoping he wasn’t wrong, which he wasn’t because one of the next stations had them. For the most part, from mile 8 to 15, I was able to stay under 11 min pace however after that is where I really started losing big chunks of time towards my 4:30 goal.

About mile 16, the course split from the half marathon and I was pretty envious of those people and actually wished I was part of that group. The marathon course turned around for a fun 4 or 5 mile stretch on the path along the beach that happened to be into a head wind that just ate me up. This was also the 1st comical moment of the race for me. As I was sick of the shot blocks at this point, I grabbed 2 LA Bars off the aid station table. My hands were pruned pretty well at this point so I couldn’t tear the damn thing open. I tried opening it with teeth but I could only manage to rip just a small corner of the package. I did finally manage to get them open but what an effort! Disaster for me struck around 20.5 miles into the race, just before the turnaround as my left calf tightened up. I’ve had this happen before and knew not to try and run through it. Too bad because with the wind at my back I thought I would be able to hold pace on the run back to the finish. That however turned out to be a combination of mostly walk with some easy running until I would feel the calf and eventually both calves start to tighten up. Comical moment #2 was around mile 22 when I grabbed a Smuckers PBJ Crustable sandwich off an aid station table. (I honestly never eat doing a race, I have no idea what came over me.) I probably should have stopped at the aid station because I didn’t think to grab a cup of water to wash it down with and I spent the time it took to get to the next aid station spitting out what looked like paste.

At some point I knew the 4:30 wasn’t going to happen so I just tried to salvage the best time I could and 4:58:16 (by my watch) was the best I could do. It's hard not to be dissapointed missing my goal time but I did take away a lot of knowledge from the race. I also felt physically better duing this race then at the OC and bettered that time by about 15 minutes.

My only other marathon was the OC in 06 which was a complete contrast in terms of weather as it was dry and hot with Santa Ana winds that day. (I think I actually prefer the wind and rain to the dry wind and heat.) I was pretty well prepared for the rain and cold. I had a thermal underware top followed by a long sleeve running shirt then a rain proof running jacket and for the 1st several miles a hefty trash bag along with gloves. I figured I'd peel off layers and stash them on the course if needed and just go back and pick up after the race. I ended up keeping everything on but the gloves and my upper body was fine. Something in the line of running tights or water proof running pants would have been a good purchase for the lower body though.

Matt, Sherri and Keith ran the 5K and Mike ran the half-marathon and I was not surprised when they were not standing in the rain when I finished. (As a matter of fact, I was thinking they would be nuts if they were there.) Got through the chute and started the slow hobble to the car. My ankles, feet and thighs were killing me so any additional walking through the tent was not even considered, besides, I was full from the 5 course meal I had during the race. Half way to the car the thought hit me "What if Mike's not at the car?" He had the keys. The next thought was "Oh, I hope he moved the car closer!" Followed by "What if I already walked past it?" At that point I figured I'd just sit down in the old spot and wait until he came and found me because the thought of walking the parking lot looking for him was not a pleasent one. Thankfully, about that time he pulled up in the car.


I'd say base training. I had 6 weeks of pretty solid runs but no where near the work that needs to be put in for a marathon.


I am already set to make this race in 09 my next (3rd) marathon. Hopfully with a better base of training and more favorable weather, I'll get my time goal.