Pre-Marathon pic! Taken at about ~ 6 a.m. PST. I was so ready to get moving, to push myself, to endure some exhilarating exhaustion! Eager for this run to begin and excited to be enjoying the incredible scenery of what I now know Big Sur and the California coast has in store. Especially after the past two days exploring the area more by car and less by having moved my legs and body; now, it was time. I was so well-prepared, well-fit, well-fed and well… anxious. I was in the right mind-set to take on the challenge Big Sur Marathon offered!
To recap my training, I knew I would need to be strong, to be healthy and to keep moving through the winter. Big Sur Marathon Course is challenging!
Fortunate thing was that January through April of 2019, our area didn’t feature too much snow, so I was able to run on the roads just fine. It did, however, feature some very, very cold running days. Run after run, it was harsh winter training. That combination of super cold, no snow then a few chilly days with rain or ice made for a BORING LONESOME winter! The landscape was a dreary brown and grey, the air was biting. Training for a marathon was what I had to keep my sanity!
There were a few days where the temperatures would get up there into the 30s and a few into the 40s while the sky would be a beautiful blue. I would take advantage, get my long runs in and do a few trails runs along the AT.
Below a 17 mile run with the temperature topping out at 43 degrees! Felt like spring!
But, when it would get cold or the icy rain returned, I couldn’t stand the winter elements outside, so I would use those days to strength train inside.
Running outside and being outside is always best though. Nature was a great healing tool for my mental well-being. The isolation of winter seemed to diminish by just being out in it all.
Coach Kali helps me during my indoor training sessions I must say.
Back outside, another cold day but this one was sunny! Layers and layers. 
And more strength training when it would get just too cold and too windy.
So considering the miles put in along with the strength training, I felt good. And my appetite was healthy! I will tell you right now, I have never lost weight while getting ready for a marathon. Many people think that running so many miles to prep would shed some pounds, but in reality, the scale will actually read about 3 or 4 pounds higher! Yikes! What!?! (There are exceptions to this.)
With this in mind, eating Nutritiously Well-Fed is key. You need the best, optimum fuel to get you through all the training months as well as the actual marathon itself. Feeling fatigue or worn out due to lack of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, hydration, would be a terrible condition to go into race day. In addition to eating well, timing the eating not only the day of, but the day before and even during the race is also incredibly important. I attended a few seminars about Race Day Fuel Optimization and researched so much in regards to running in a fasted state, running a few hours after eating, what I needed to take in during my race, how much caffeine… how much glucose, refueling electrolytes… all at what time. It was a lot to, well, take in!
Another important aspect of training is the Stress and Rest approach. This is the first marathon I’ve actually taken this approach more seriously. Doing a hard sprint or hill workout session should be followed by a long run that is very easy! Saying that again… very easy! A Long run that is around high 9 to 10 minute miles (relative to your own marathon pace, which mine is on either side of 8:00/mile), walking at times and just allowing your body to recover from the previous day’s stress. This slower pace also allows the body to train using fat as fuel. Running in the orange zone and not the gray zone. ( Look at the irony in those screenshots, it’s an article talking about burning out, meanwhile my phone is at 1% and 2%)
I will do another post to elaborate on these topics more, but I will say again that this was a different approach I took to my marathon training compared to past marathons and it paid off! I did however make a vital mistake that cost me time in the later miles of the race. Talk about that coming up.
So below, off I go into the early morning hours, I woke at 3:15 a.m., got dressed, packed only the items I would need for the morning and for my race. Then walked from my hotel The Monterey Plaza to a garage nearby. At first nobody was out, but eventually I saw the crowd. Everyone waiting to load school buses to take a dark winding drive south along the PCH to the start! No spectators are to ride the bus, only runners! So you’re on your own… but with hundreds of other marathoners.
Remember yesterday I stopped at CVS to pick up some oats and almond butter. Mixed them up with almond milk for my pre-run meal. Leaving to drive to the race start at 4:30, I would arrive at 5:30 as it’s an hours drive. Race began at 6:45. So plenty of time to fuel up! Had my overnight oats and coffee! But… I couldn’t eat. Too anxious. A few bites, and plenty of water. But that was it. I did do a few runs in a fasted state, meaning I didn’t eat much of anything the morning prior to that run so I knew I’d be fine.
Here we are! Clock reads 5:30! Still have plenty of time in the dark to meditate before race actually begins.
Time to meditate and time to go to the bathroom. Tons and tons of port-a-pottys! I got in line at about 5:45. Didn’t actually get to the port-a-potty until 6:20!
Sun is rising and we are making our way to the starting line! I’m so excited! Let’s go, I’m so ready to go!!
And here we go!!!! First through the alpine forest of Big Sur! Redwoods so tall bordering the road, it is a beautiful start!
I made my way to the 3:20 race pace crew, not with the intent of staying with them as my hopes would be to aim for a 3:30-3:40 pace. But I felt some inspiring comfort running consecutive fast miles for the first eight miles. I knew my pace up the long two mile climb would slow way down, or so I thought.
Once we get passed the first five miles we start to run towards the coast and the view opens up to farmland and coastal cliffs!
Right about this time, back in Monterey, Dan is lining up for his 5K! We will meet each other at the finish!!
Back to my race, I’m around mile 7 or so and feeling great! The views are incredible and it’s just such an enjoyable run! I am loving how I’m feeling!
Approaching mile 9 and I know the climb is coming up. I prepared for this, with my training and my mental visualizations of the race. Let’s go!
Around this turn and then we start to go up! For the next two miles, the elevation will be on the increase as the climb is up and over and coastal mountain.
STILL with the 3:20 pace group at mile 9 and 10!!!
(A quick look at the relay transition zone below, these people didn’t get the easy part of the relay leg, their entire run is practically uphill!)
Not too many pics running the uphill climb, but I do have video and as you’re climbing, these drums are playing and it’s a beautiful experience as you’re pushing yourself to keep going! And that was just it, I didn’t feel like I was pushing, it felt like I was being pulled!! I was taking on the long hill with no problem, it was amazing! This was a lesson. I know that if I train and I mentally prepare correctly, nothing will keep me back from accomplishing what you aspire to achieve! The universe will actually help you to get up and over that mountain! I visualized myself running up this two mile climb so many times with such ease, it was never daunting when the time came to do it!
Below is a look at my mile splits up until mile 9. An uphill begins between mile 8-9, then a downhill, followed by the mountain climb at mile 10 ending at mile 12!
I was being pulled by the magnificence that is Big Sur! I wish I would have trained this way for the entirety of the marathon! But it is a lesson! Going forward, I have to treat the race as a whole and not just in the intimidating parts. Look, I made it to mile 10 with a 7:22 mile pace. Started to climb and that first mile was a true ascent, my pace dropping to 9:38 but I was with the 3:20 pace pack still. The next mile on the climb was better, and not as steep but still a climb, and was at 8:33. I made it to the top and cruised the next mile making my way towards Bixby Bridge in 7:35!
Approaching the bridge! The iconic Bixby Bridge is in the distance!
Half-marathon mark, over Bixby Bridge!
Drummers for the climb and then a soft beautiful piano for the bridge!
Mile 15 marker below, I’m getting there! You can see that rolling uphill in the distance. A bit hereafter in my training is where I made a mistake…
Below is my race plan. First, look at my runnersconnect password… bigsurpr. Yep, did that!! Onwards, I planned my waking time, my overnight oats from the night prior to having them in the bus ride in the early morning hours. The correct amount of caffeine and the timing of each 100-200mg. The jelly beans with electrolytes, the hydration of water and gatorade. The visualization of each mile, of each hydration station of the downhills and the uphills, when to use each descent and when to attack the climbs. All this… up until mile 18! I didn’t complete the entire visualization to 26.2 miles! To the end. And below this race plan, you’ll see the mile marker at mile 20 hitting a brick wall! i didn’t completely bonk out as it can be called in running. But I had to back off. A bit of me mentally felt the race was over. And for obvious reasons, look at my hand-made, hand-written mapped out race plan! It stops just after mile 19! I should not have done this. 6-7 miles to go is a long way to continue to run and feel good and at Big Sur, those last 6-7 miles are Rolling hills, still climbing up and trying the best way possible to coast down.
No pics between this mile marker and mile 25. I didn’t have it in me to focus on anything else except for each hydration station, each mile being chipped off. I had to pace myself and push to keep it at either 8:30 or 9 mins/mile. I walked through each aid/hydration station, took down as much gatorade as I could without having it bother me. Then picked up the pace step by step to get myself closer to the finish. Seeing this 25 mile maker was a painfully beautiful site. Still a mile to go. But only a mile.
I LOVE this quote above. And I will tell you I have been wondering who this new me is after crossing that bridge. I know, it’s the same person I had been when I was in my teens and twenties, not afraid to push hard and learn more and attack challenges. And understanding mistakes are made along the way but they are all apart of a beautiful journey. At 39 years old, after having run 15 marathons, I ran my fastest marathon ever here at Big Sur. On probably the most challenging course I’ve ever run. There was my truth. Waiting to be acknowledged. I’m not done yet. I’m getting better at who I am! The transformation I’ve endured has developed into me being able to do all the things I want to do! And I want to do more!
That pic above, I found my husband in the crowd at the finish, and just like every other marathon I’ve finished, I said to him “I’m never running a full marathon again.” He laughed, because he knows that’s not true. He’s right. I know what I need to do to train better and more efficiently, more effectively, for the next one.
