Big Sur, California United States 65F / 18C Sunny

Total Time = 3h 50m 21s Overall Rank = 481/3192 Age Group = M35-39 Age Group Rank = 61/292

Pre race routine for this race was a little unusual. I was using this marathon as well as the 125+ mile bike ride the day before (Mt. Hamilton Challenge) as training events for IM Lanzarote in 4 weeks. It was sort of an ironman brick weekend where I would run this marathon on tired legs. When I first hatched this idea, it seemed crazy, additionally so because this weekend was bookended by my first double metric century the weekend before (Tierra Bella) and another hilly century the following weekend (Grizzly Peak). It all seemed so daunting, but for me, i had to be comfortable being able to do all this to be ready for IM Lanzarote which has a very hilly (i.e. 9000'+ elevation) bike course. I was somewhat concerned about my previous injuries earlier in the year (calf tear, bruised knees) since I'm still not quite 100% healed from these. Consequently, during my training, I only trained on the flats to avoid re-injuring or aggravating my injuries. I was prepared to walk or even DNF if I had to to avoid jeopardizing my IM Lanzarote, my A race.

After the Mt. Hamilton Challenge, DW, poweredbyfear (PBF), and I went to a pizza/italian place nearby the ride finish called Vito's Famous Pizza. This restaurant had a solid 4 star rating on yelp with 50+ reviews (unlike some of the other establishments we tried before previous races/rides). It was still fairly early (5:00pm-ish or so), so there were very few people here. We went inside and ordered. We ordered a Ceasar Salad, a large Benny's Favorite pizza (spinach, garlic, jalapeno (which DW mercifully ordered for only half the pizza knowing that jalapeno does not make good race food))(pizzas here are thin crust, NY style), eggplant, and fresh tomatoes), and I also ordered a Linguini Frutti Di Mare.

We sat outside in the seating area in the front entrance of the restaurant, where the temperature was perfect in the shade. The pizza and the salad came out early on and we dug in. DW thought maybe the cheese was a little off, but PBF and I thought it was fine. Actually, I was starving and rarely eat pizza, so i thought it was pretty decent. The salad had almost no dressing on it (I actually didn't realize it was supposed to be a caesar), which was actually fine by me since i don't like much dressing anyway. While we were eating this and waiting for the linguine, they also brought by an extra free small cheese pizza. Sure! Worked for us. DW liked this pizza better, but it was too cheesy for me. My linguine eventually came out. Was okay, nothing special. White sauce, not red (I prefer red). i ordered it for the carbs anyway. The seafood was weak, which in a frutti di mare, is a key ingredient. PBF was not impressed, but I ate most of the pasta (again, I'm starving from the bike ride).

After our repast, PBF heads home and DW and I head down to Monterey. I had already driven down to Monterey the day before to pick up my race packet since I was unavailable all day on Saturday because of the ride, so we could just go straight to the hotel. We stayed at the Clarion on Munras Ave. which was just half a mile or less from downtown.

Our room was clean, small, and very musty smelling. We were only going to be here this one night (and I'd be in the room less than 8 hours), so it was good enough, although it was priced at a gouging race event rate ($160 for one night. though, we have stayed in worse for more with 2 night minimums before). we plan out the logistics for tomorrow morning and then go to sleep at about 9:00pm.

At 3:30am, our alarms go off. DW makes some of the ghastly in room coffee (okay, it's better than nothing). I eat a zone perfect bar for breakfast to restore that depleted liver glycogen of course. I suit up in my team zoot/gu tri suit, which looks a bit like a cartoon. I figured gu is one of the sponsors and I want to see how the tri suit feels running for that long, so what the heck. I put on some warm up pants and a jacket since I know it will be cool before the sun comes up. I also put on my standard day glo yellow pearl izumi cap, which makes me easy for DW to spot at the finish. I pack one vanilla gu and plan to grab an espresso one and an energy bar (i get hungry on the run) from the car later. I also pack my camera. My legs feel pretty good, so I think this whole crazy idea isn't so crazy after all.

We head out at about 4:00am. I need to take a 4:15/4:30 shuttle bus down to the start. Logistically, we're in Monterey, but the race start is more than 26 miles away in Big Sur, so everyone in Monterey has to take the shuttle down. There's only one route to get down there, Highway 1, which is also our race route, so the busses have to be back before the race start. It's a 1 hour drive down and a 1 hour drive back, so this means the last shuttle leaves Monterey just over 2 hours before the 7:00am race start. It's early and it means a lot of lag time before the race start. As we head to the busses, there are already quite a few people walking down and we soon see the busses and the long line of people. I kiss DW goodbye and she wishes me good luck and I head for the line which is already wrappped down and around the block. I'll later realize I forgot to grab another gu and energy bar.

I brought my ipod shuffle with me to fill in all the waiting time. Interestingly and controversially enough, ipods are actually allowed for the race, although i won't be using mine for the race (just the pre-race waiting). once on the bus, i try to get into a not-entirely-uncomfortable position so I can try to rest if not bag a couple zzz's.

I watch for a bit of the ride and I see the rolling twisting curves. I can see that we're by the coast, but it's a dark ocean even with the moon high in the sky. 1 hour later, our bus arrives in Big Sur and drops us off.

There are tons of people already here. Now I remember why I don't like running road races...I don't like all the crowds. I make a beeline for the port-a-potties, of which there are a good number so the wait is not that long. i then wait in "line" for coffee and snacks which is a mess because we're all a mass of people packed together with people coming off the bus and people heading to and from the bathrooms so people are just cutting in wherever. Of course, as it turns out, there were other tables set up with no lines at all. In addition to coffee, i grab a cup of gatorade, half a banana, and a quarter of a bagel and sit down and chill for awhile.

From hearing everyone talking around me, it's clear there is quite a large percentage of people who are not from California. This marathon has quite a big draw and many consider it the most beautiful marathon in the country.

Eventually, I get a bit ancy and figure I better visit the port-a-potties again. lines are longer now. Afterwards, I hang out some more. It's quite a bit warmer so I'm good to put my jacket and pants into the drop bag and drop it off. It's time now to make my way to the start. With a chip start, I don't really care how far back I start. We're asked to back up even further. No problem. A lot of folks are running over to the bushes on the side road to relieve themselves and the race announcers are warning of the poison oak.

Eventually, fellow BTer etknowles (Emerson) walks up to me.



He and I had corresponded a bit before the race and I was glad he found me (the telltale day glo pearl izumi cap does it's magic once again!) so I could meet him (and with all the people I would never have found him). We talk for awhile and talk about what pace we want to go (he's also thinking 4:00-4:30 finish), past races, tris, etc. We also are standing next to a woman who had done Oceanside with the CAF.

Soon enough, it's time to start the race!



none for me.