Mission Accomplished: Calistoga to Napa, 26.2 miles

Well, I finally did it: the Napa Valley Marathon, a year later than planned, definitely much more slowly, but with a wonderful running companion by my side the whole way and a pleasantly strong finish. Because I'm tired and writing this only for some closure, here's the brief version:

• Grumbling knees during training made me very nervous about completing the course within the 6-hour limit. My longest training run was just under 20 miles and my pace snail-like. My goal became simply to finish.
  
• The weather was pretty stinky - but after all, what kind of idiot signs up for a March marathon? :)
  
• The rest of the pack hared off like they'd heard there would be free wine at the finish. (Was there? Did we miss it?)
  
• We set out slowly and for several miles were in the rather depressing position of third-from-last. But we did overtake a fair few folk after mile 22 :)
  
  
  Photo: Napa Valley Marathon
  
  
• The only scary part was when my knee squawked suddenly and very loudly at mile 18. Yikes, 8 miles still to go. I fed it 2 Tylenol, walked for a bit and made a deal: if it settled down and allowed me to continue, I'd never ask it to go this far again. We reached a truce, the jogging re-commenced, amazingly pain-free.
• By mile 20 I figured out I had a 'budget' for 15 minutes per mile and would still be within the time limit. This gave me enormous confidence, and we started to overtake a few folk who had started out perhaps a bit fast. Far from hitting the wall, I realized I was plenty strong enough to finish and sped up a little for each remaining mile.
• We crossed the line in 5 hours 36. More importantly, our marriage had also stayed strong, with no cross words or insults traded!
• I was the very lucky and surprised recipient of a Wholefoods gift basket as a result of a random drawing during the awards ceremony. Hubby kindly carried it for me, and reported lots of respectful looks from people who presumably thought he'd won the race :)
  
• The distance was far, far easier than I'd anticipated, probably because my pace didn't drain my glycogen reserves. The training (both the time commitment and fatigue after long runs) were the truly hard part for me. That, and the deal I made with my knees, mean no more marathons for me. But I'd love to do some more halves and the Skirt Chaser sounds like a whole lot of fun! I'm switching now to shorter and hopefully faster distances.

Photo: Napa Valley Register

Tips & thoughts for slow/first-time runners considering signing up for Napa:

• This is a small marathon with lots of thoughtful touches and great volunteers.
  
• If your pace is likely to be under about 4.5 hours, or you have a running buddy, I reckon it's a nice one to do.
  
• But if you're on your own and slower, it's likely to be a long and lonely slog at the back of a thinly spread pack: I would have struggled hugely without hubby to chat to.
• If you're slow, bring your own Gu: this was supposed to be available at two aid stations but the first had run out.
• Also if you're slow, be aware of somewhat inconsiderate traffic which won't hesitate to share the road with you, especially during the first half :(
  
• Plan for rain and if you get better weather, that's a bonus. In any case, you'll be able to wait on the warm, dry bus until shortly before the start.
• Much has been written about the unkind camber of the road - in fact I didn't find this a particular problem. However, if you're slow, you'll probably have to run in the bike lane anyway, to steer clear of the cars.
  
• It's not an ideal course for supporters, but definitely possible at strategic points.
  
• Worst case, there is a sag bus to pick you up and get you home.
• Finishing facilities are great and indoors, with proper restrooms, showers, and food.

Many thanks to:

• The NVM organizers, especially for deferring my entry from 2010 to 2011 and allowing hubby to do likewise, so we could still run together.
• The hundreds of wonderful volunteers who worked in the rain and cheered us on.
• Oak Knoll Inn for their unofficial aid station featuring home-made sorbets!
  

The Significance of Steam

This would be a good moment for me to remind us all that this is supposed to be a running blog. Sadly, due to my wonky knee, I have been enduring self-imposed rest for nearly a week now.

To cheer myself up and make me feel like I'm still doing something useful towards my March marathon, I very reluctantly took myself off to swim instead.

OMG. I will never, ever complain about dark, cold, drizzly runs again. Swimming at an outdoor pool in December really should qualify as an extreme sport.

On Wednesday evening I visited pool number 1, which was giving off more steam than the Night Mail pulling up Beatock. Three lanes out of four were marked for 'Slow' swimming, but the triangular torpedoes freestyling up and down appeared unaware of this fact. I shivered on the edge (looking most fetching in ski jacket and towel) and willed myself not to run away. A full five minutes passed before space became available and I dared insert myself into this thrashing throng. At that point, things did improve. The torpedoes turned out to be fairly friendly and not too concerned at me doing a hybrid doggie-paddle-breast-stroke up and down their pool. 4o minutes later I made the dash back inside, grateful for the cover of all that steamy darkness. Alas, this California pool really had been constructed for the summer months - the changing area was tiny and freezing. I literally threw my clothes on and scuttled to the relative warmth of the car.

In view of the torpedo situation and igloo-like facilities at pool number 1, I decided to try pool number 2 last night. It's closer to work but the lap-swimming hours are not as convenient. Happily, this is a larger facility (what luxury, a lane to myself) and the changing rooms even had heat! Alas, I should have been suspicious at the comparative lack of steam coming off the water. Heck, I could even see right the way from one end of the pool to the other. The water was breathtakingly cold and for someone like me who doesn't move very fast, 30 minutes was about as long as I could tolerate. I never earned my penguin diploma in high school and really don't want to start now.

Of course, only the very dedicated will choose to swim outdoors in December. I have new respect for those who choose to do so, but am more determined than ever to resume dry-land activities as soon as I dare.

Photo thanks: Steve Knight, Kristin Thompson

Wow, that felt great!

Considering how unfit I've felt in the last couple of weeks, today's half marathon went staggeringly well.

(Can you see me on the right, in the yellow? Kidding.)

We had close to ideal weather and Beloved Husband was a wonderfully supportive wing-man, never letting on that he was bored with this gentle trot!

Hats off to the race organizers for plenty of toilets, oodles of volunteers, and well-enforced starting corrals. It was a pleasant, if undramatic, course around the neighborhoods of San Jose, with lots of support from local residents (thank you, San Jose-ans!) and the promised rock bands every mile.


We enjoyed seeing and applauding the leaders from the other side of the road (they were somewhere around mile 12 and we had yet to reach 6!) but then got a huge boost when we were at the same point and encountered the resolute walkers going the other way.



My chip time was 2:08:51, which gave a big yah-boo-sucks to my previous (February 2008) equivalent of 2:20:ish (gun-timed, foul weather). And I was thrilled that my overall pace was under 1o minutes per mile.

Age: 37 Gender: F

Distance	HALF MAR
Clock Time	2:11:41
Chip Time	2:08:51
Overall Place	4110 / 9892
Gender Place	1516 / 5599
Division Place	300 / 993
Age Grade	52.2%
Pace	9:50
Ttlrace	9892
Ttldiv	993
Ttlsex	5599
5 Km	31:41
10 Km	1:02:57
10 Mi	1:40:32

If you're good with numbers, you'll notice I sped up as the race progressed. :) Per Beloved Husband's advice, I took it easy until half way, sped up a little between miles 7-11, and then got a serious wiggle on for the last 2 miles.


I'm also sending warm thoughts and hopes to the guy receiving heart massage from the paramedics, right before the finish line. Sincerely hope he is OK and that he'll complete his last tenth of a mile, another day.

Photo thanks: San Jose Rock n Roll Half Marathon

Previous running history

This morning I was pondering how I came to believe I have 26.2 miles in me. Or 13.1 in each leg, that sounds easier, doesn't it? :)

I believe I can trace my running career back to 1997, when I took part in a 5km Race for Life charity event as part of the British Airways team. At just 25 years old, I struggled to run the entire 3 mile distance.

How funny that I now do twice that before breakfast without blinking; I get a huge kick out of beating my 25-year-old self and look forward to my 60-year-old self doing 3 hour marathons. But I digress.

At our next Race for Life, my friend Audrey said she enjoyed it so much she planned to do a 10k. Good grief, that seemed an impossibly long distance and utterly unattainable! Even though Beloved Husband and I would go for runs in Bushy Park, I never really got the hang of it and 3 miles felt like a long way.

In 2004, hubby and I moved to San Francisco and found ourselves living on a flat piece of land, with views of the Bay and easy, safe, scenic trails outside our front door. Winter was mild and it was unusual for both Saturday and Sunday to be wet. We started to jog more regularly.

Bay to Breakers is a famous San Franciso 12k race, although I use the term race mildly - it's more of a moving party and if you're a serious runner, you'll probably steer well clear. However, being new in town, we wanted to give it a try. Despite the wet and slippery tortillas on the course (don't ask) we survived intact.

This was followed by the Emerald Across the Bay Race, which is still one of my favorite routes: one way across the Golden Gate Bridge from Sausalito to Ghiradelli Square.

And whaddya know, a 1/2 Marathon followed in February 2008. To date, that is the furthest I have ever run.

Photo thanks: Roy Appleyard, Gene Cohn Photography

218 days to go

Wow, well, OK, I've gone and done it.

I've signed myself and Beloved Husband up to run in the Napa Valley Marathon in March 2010. Ooh-ee. No going back now! I haven't told him yet - do you think he'll be OK with it?

I knew there was no way I would take all this seriously unless there was an actual date in the calendar and money committed. I'm just not one of these people that can train for something hypothetical.


The good news is:

• The course is very slightly downhill
• There's usually a tail wind
• You get 6 hours before (oh shame), a stragglers bus comes to scoop you up and deliver you to the finish
• The event seems pretty small and friendly
• It's a point to point course, the only way is forwards!

And the bad news:

• A March marathon means training in the winter - dark and wet runs are likely
• Race day itself could be really foul weather
• I'm expecting there will be far fewer supporters on the course, compared with San Francisco.
  

But I can do this, I know I can!

Photo thanks: Napa Valley Marathon 2009.

Reasons not to run a marathon

1. It takes a load of time to train. You need to be out there 4 or 5 times a week, and it chews up your weekends.
2. I'm pretty sure it's bad for your body and joints, to be doing all that pavement-pounding.

Um, and that's is really. Am I going to let 2 tiny little reasons stand in my way?

If they can do it, why can't I?

Still chuffed to bits with my marathon running hubby, we spent time tonight on the computer looking at the race results and times of him and others.

I began pondering the efforts of women roughly my age, who took 5 or 6 hours to complete the San Francisco Marathon. Hmmm. Can you tell where this is heading?

A 6 hour marathon is equivalent to a pace of more than 13 minutes per mile. Even on my slowest days, I rarely take more than 11 minutes for a mile. I'd just need to practice a bit, to do that 26 times. Or, at my current level, I could pretty much run a mile, walk for 3 minutes, and repeat.

I've never thought of myself as a competitive kind of person, and I've been heard to say often enough that I've no wish to run a marathon. But if they can do it, why can't I?