Big Sur Half Marathon

Big Sur Half Marathon November 9^th, 2008

Monterey, CA

On Sunday November 9^th, 2008 I had the pleasure of joining 6,000 runners on the Monterey bay peninsula, to run the 6^th annual Big Sur Half Marathon. I have known of the race for well over a year and knew someday I would want to run it. The decision to run it this year had easily been made this summer when my youngest brother Patrick called and said he wanted to train for his first half marathon. He and his girlfriend live in Santa Cruz, CA just up the road from Monterey. As I am currently in the midst of training for the Houston marathon in January this race would fit in easily to my training and give me a good indication of my current fitness.

The past four months were filled with phone calls and emails with Patrick discussing training, shoes, fueling, and all the necessary details one needs to know when training for a half. It’s been exciting getting the updates on his progress and celebrating his successes as he progressed through his training. Two weeks ago when he called after completing his last long run and longest run ever, 13 miles, he was filled with excitement and confidence as the run had gone well. I was both proud and excited for him. He dedicated himself to his training and was now ready for the race.

My wife Kristin and I flew into San Jose, CA on Thursday. Pat picked us from the airport and we made the 45 minute drive over the hill to Santa Cruz, CA. Stopping by his house to pick up his girlfriend Eileen, we then headed over to Fleet Feet, a running shoe store, to hear Dean Karnazes speak. This was the perfect start to a weekend of running to get to hear Dean speak in a small and intimate setting. I’ve seen him a couple of times before and it’s always inspiring to hear his stories.

Friday Patrick, Kristin, and I headed down to Monterey. We checked into our hotel and then walked over to the expo. As half marathons go this was a big expo. Lot’s of vendors displaying their goods and services. As I was milling about I turned and saw the Runner’s World booth, and there was Bart Yasso. His book “My Life on the Run” recently published displayed prominently. I had read it a couple of months ago, it is an excellent book. I stepped over to the booth and introduced myself. Bart is a great guy, with many stories. As the expo was not very crowded on Friday afternoon, it was nice to be able to just hang out with Bart and talk with him. He’s been to Austin many times as his friend from Runner’s World, Bob Wischnia lives and works here. In fact, he was just here recently and will be next week for the San Antonio marathon. After talking with Bart and looking around, we then headed back to the hotel.

Saturday morning slept in a bit, and then headed out for coffee and a short run. Patrick and I did a few miles on the last 2 miles of the course. It was great to get a little run in, although my hamstring was a bit tight and achy and had me slightly worried about Sunday. That afternoon we headed over to the expo again, this time to hear Bart speak. He did a great hour of slides and stories. Afterwards they had a session with the elite runners. We stayed for the session, but it was less than exciting as the elites were not to talkative. We then headed back to the hotel to rest and relax. That evening we went out for a pasta dinner, where Eileen and her brother Patrick, his wife Sam, their daughter Zoe joined us. It was a good time and fun to meet them. Eileen’s brother Patrick was also running the half on Sunday.

On to race day. Up at 5am. The race start was at 7am. A little food, a cup of coffee, a check on the weather. It had rained over night. It was looking to be in the 50’s temp wise and windy. Coming from Austin it was looking to be a cold morning. The weather looked to be good for racing. We would have to see what effect the winds would have as they were predicted to gust in the 25 to 30 mph range. At 6am we were ready to go. We had a 10 minute walk down to the start. It was cold, and it was windy.

Pre-race they had water available, which was nice, and the lines to the porta-potties were not long. We did our thing hanging around, getting excited for the run, wondering if it will ever warm up. About 10 minutes before the start, shed a few layers, stuffed them in a bag, and took them to the clothes drop. The race was setup in waves, based on your predicted finish time. I was in the B wave. Said goodbyes and good lucks to everyone and head to the start. The corrals were packed but I was able to easily squeeze in and find a good spot. Huddling with the many runners was welcome as it was much warmer. The announcer cheered the runners on, the national anthem was sung, and at 7:05am the race started. Each wave went off at 2 minute intervals.

The course starts in downtown Monterey, does a short out and back, goes around a lake, through town, then heads out the peninsula on another out and back. The turn around here is around 8 miles. The course then picks up a paved trail for 2 miles to the finish. It is rolling with one big hill after the 4 mile mark.

My plan for the race was to take it out easy for the first three miles, see how the hill treated me at mile four, pick up the pace through to 10 miles, and then take it home in the last 3.1 miles. Two minutes after the first wave went off, our B wave was up and we were off as well. Settled into a nice and easy pace and got going. It was crowded as all races are at the beginning so I worked to run my pace and not be to worked up and go out too fast or to try to weave in and out of people. This worked for the most part, but it was also a bit slow. I tried to be patient and remind myself that I wanted to start easy. I was also concerned with how my hamstring would be feeling today. So far, it was fine. My legs felt a bit tight, but not painful. The first mile goes out and back, I came through the first mile at 9:27, and wasn’t too happy. This was slower, by about a minute than I had wanted to start. The combination of a crowded course and tight legs I assumed. I tried to stay patient and just keep running, knowing soon the course will start to thin out. Came through mile two at 8:46 and felt a bit better. In the second mile there was a piano player on the side of the course playing, I have no idea what he was playing, but it just hit me. I do not know why but it just made me a bit emotional. I just felt so good about being there, about being a runner. This is me, this is who I am.

Mile 3 came and I had hit an 8:28 pace. This is where I wanted to be. So now I’m feeling good and ready to keep it cranking. After mile 4 comes the one and only big hill, I was ready for it and kept a good pace. It was a long hill, with a right turn at the top, with a bit more climbing. Crested that and was feeling ready for the downhill to follow. Picked up the pace coming down using gravity to my advantage. At the bottom of this hill was an aid station where I planned to take my first gel. Miles 4 & 5 were 8:21 and 8:34. I was on track and kept it up and over the hill.

We were now out on Ocean Ave. heading towards the ocean and the turn around just past mile 8. I knew this is where I needed to focus, be strong, keep my pace going. I knew that I was not going to pick up the pace, just wasn’t feeling it. I thought of my former coach Amy and her advice on effort based racing. Run the best race you can on that day. I knew what that meant and I knew that I could do that today if I kept at it. I came through mile 6 at an 8:26 pace. I was holding steady and feeling good. The course had thinned and it was easy to run free. However now that we were out on the peninsula the winds were there in full force. I tried at times to tuck in behind other runners, and was amazed at what a difference it can make having someone block the wind for you. However, it was hard to find another runner at the same pace I was running. The road was rolling and curved here and there. I worked to run the tangents as much as possible. It’s funny how many people don’t run the tangents. They just go where everyone else is going. Whatever, I know I don’t need to run any farther today than I have to.

Mile 7 was a bit slower around 8:48, not sure why, water stop, or wind or rolling hills. Mile 8 was 8:34. Just prior to the 8 mile mark I saw Eileen’s brother Patrick, he was running strong, we high five’d each other as we were on the out and back portion of the course. Made the turned around after 8 and knew I was heading for home. Time to dig in and keep it going. Mile 9 was an 8:33. Feeling good. Mile 10 was an 8:37. Feeling consistent through here. Hamstring is fine. Legs are tight, but not bad.

I saw my brother Patrick coming the other way, gave him a huge cheer and a high five. Shortly after saw Eileen and cheered her as well. A moment later came upon Kristin who had made the 10 mile turn around point. Said hello and woo hoo, and kept on running. The wind was pretty much at our backs now as we were heading back to town. Probably one of the hardest elements of this race, if you are racing it, is being distracted by the unbelievably gorgeous views. I allowed myself to peek, see the crashing waves, the sea lions, and sea gulls. Only for moments here and there, otherwise I was focused and determined to keep on pace.

At the 11 mile mark I hit an 8:18 pace, feeling good, here is where we make the turn onto the paved hike and bike trail and take it to the finish. Time to pick it up and close the deal. The path was fun to run on, not too crowded, easy running. The only hitch was that they diverted us off the path, down onto Cannery Row, and then back onto the path. It was a slight downhill, and then a gradual incline up Cannery Row, the incline was not welcome. Back on the path and cruising along, hit mile 12 at an 8:11 pace. Feeling good although I’m eager to get to the finish and be done.

The last mile felt like it was all downhill, it was time to close the deal. Felt strong through to the end, although I was spent by now and really, really wanted to be done with running. Crossed the finish line in 1:51:59. Which is a 5 minute and15 second PR for me. Extremely happy.

Post race, the rain started, it was cold. Freezing. Soon Kristin came in. She had a great 10 mile run. I was pleased for her. Soon after that, my brother Patrick was coming in. It was so great to see him finishing his first half marathon. I was screaming and shouting and running along the side of the course cheering him to the end. He had a great run and I’m extremely proud of him. A bit later Eileen finished as well. I had gone out on the course to run a short cool down run, I ran into Eileen and her brother, he was there running her into the finish. I turned and joined them in the last mile of the run. She had a tough day out there battling a knee issue. Nevertheless, she finished.

We hung around the finish line festivities, basking in the glory of the day. Of a job well done. The rain had stopped and soon the sun came out. We found a nearby coffee shop and treated ourselves to a cup of Joe and a little post race conversation. We then walked back to our hotel, ice baths, and to pack up and head back to Santa Cruz. The afternoon was spent enjoying a few beers and a burger at Seabright Brewery and lot’s of talk about running and racing and future plans. Good times indeed. While I am extremely pleased with the run I had, I am so proud of my brother Patrick. Both he and Eileen have done so well over the past several months. (She ran her first half marathon just 3 weeks ago in San Francisco.) They have embraced the running lifestyle are working to get fit and healthy and are hoping to be runners for the rest of their lives. I could not be happier.

The Big Sur Half Marathon is an excellent race. One I would recommend to anyone. It is well organized, has a great expo for a half. Moreover, Monterey has a course that cannot be beat for scenic beauty.

I’m feeling positive about my training and racing. I think I have a better feel for running and racing half marathons now. I beat my 3m half time by over 5 minutes, and that is a very fast course. So I feel good about that. I believe I’m inline with where my fitness should be as per my goals for the marathon. I feel like I have a better sense on how to manage a race now. I do believe in effort based racing, it makes sense to me. Although I did need to look at my splits each mile, I think with time I’ll be able to run more by feel than by a stopwatch. In fact in hindsight I think I could have not looked at my watch at all after mile 3 and finished with the same exact time. I was in a groove and pace at that point that I held steady and was able to pick up towards the end. I negative split the course by about a minute or so. I feel great about that. I certainly think I know a bit more today about how to run a half by how I felt that day than I had before. The half marathon is perhaps the perfect distance. Not so long that training and recovery take a significant chunk of your year. However, not so short that you can just go and run all out and finish no matter what. I think more people should run more half marathons, more often. Coincidentally we have one of the best races in Austin coming up December 7^th, the Decker Half Marathon. You know I’ll be there!