Beginners and Beyond

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Santa Rosa (CA) HM - RR with a few pics in living color! (Read 82 times)

Jack K.


uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI

    Who: Jack Klompus (DW Doris ran the marathon)

    What: Santa Rosa HM

    Why: DW wanted to try for a BQ before the application window so I went along and ran the HM

    Where: Santa Rosa, CA

    When: August 24, 2014

     

    Background:  When I started training for the HM my goal was to run a 7:10 pace which would have given me a 1:33 and change.  One morning, about three or four weeks into it, I got up to run and I could barely hobble my way to two miles. The pain in my right light was so intense the only time it would stop was when I stopped. It even hurt when I walked.  Long story short, it turned out I have piriformis, the injury that is literally “a pain in the butt.”  My running basically stopped and the only thing I could do was roll and stretch (thanks for the tips, Baboon).  Needless to say, my training and goal were done at that time.  After a few days I resumed running, but my mpw came down to 15-25 mpw from 45.  I was mad, but whatever, injuries are part of the game, I suppose.  Now my goal was to run the race based on how I felt on race day, finish without stopping, and have fun.

     

    Pre-race: Santa Rosa is about a seven hour drive north for us, so we took off Friday and had a nice road trip together. DS is still home from university so the kids stayed home alone and took care of everything. They are good kids.  My cousin lives up in a city called Pleasonton so we stayed overnight with her and her two kids. That night her brother (another cousin, duh) and his wife came over for dinner and the three of us went out to a bar for some beer. Normally I would not do that on a race weekend but my plans of a PR were shot so what the hell. I had a few pints of Lagunitas and even sang two karaoke songs; “Lips Like Sugar” and “Ring of Fire.”

    We drove up to Santa Rosa in the morning and went right to the packet pick up. It was at a winery a few miles from our hotel, the dreaded Motel 6 (only thing available).  This race has some nice swag: hooded sweatshirt, long sleeve tech shirt, bottle of red wine made at the winery, lots of Power Bars and stuff, massages. Good, good stuff.

     

           Packet pick up at the winery.

    Some of the swag and the nicest race bib ever.

     

     

    Race day: DW and I were awoken at 3:20am by the big 6.0 earthquake. The hotel was really rocking back and forth and the power went out. We were concerned the race would be cancelled but it was ok.

     

    DW’s marathon started at 6:00 and went on a different course than my HM, which started at 7:00.  I watched her start and then I just wandered about the race area. The start and finish were at a park. The marathon was a big loop and the HM was an out and back.

     

    I really stretched a lot before I went in the corral. My butt injury has been better but it still flares up at times, with the sharp pain going down the back of my right leg.  Based on how I had been running since my injury, I wanted to go out at a nice and easy 8:45 pace, see how I felt and then maybe pick it up at the halfway point.  I started in the back third of the corral (there were about 1500 runners) and left.

     

    As often happens, I started a bit faster than I would have liked; 8:20. The first mile or so was in the downtown area and then the course went along a creek bed or something. There were hundreds of old oak trees so there was a lot of shade. We ran by wineries so there were grapes, lots and lots and lots and lots of grapes.  I was feeling ok after a few miles so rather than slow down I just stayed there. I fell in step with a gal from Baton Rouge, LA and we chatted for a few miles. My longest run in many weeks was only six miles so I was a little worried about what might happen after that. The turn around was around mile 7 and my feet got tangled with another guy’s. Of course I fell down and he didn’t but he was a good guy and helped me up and spend the next half-mile apologizing to me and making sure I was ok.  Runners are pretty cool people.

     

    When I got to mile 8, I noticed something nice; my breathing was perfect! I was breathing easy and not huffing and puffing like people around me. I was still holding my pace, give or take some seconds, but overall I felt good.  At mile 9, I had the sharp pain go down my legs a few times. It hurt, but I wasn’t stopping. Also at this time, my legs were getting tired. This was the longest run I had done since I got hurt and my legs were reminding me.  I kept going and even tried to kick the last 1.1 miles. By the end I was breathing hard and my legs were just about done, but I finished without stopping (except for the fall at the turn around).   I remember at mile my hips were hurting and I wanted it to be done, kind of like mile 24 or 25 of a marathon.  My time was 1:48:16, about 13 minutes off my PR, but I was happy with it.

     

     

    I got some Power Bars and water and walked around a bit and stretched and then went back to the finish line to wait for DW. It was cool to watch people finishing because most of them were happy to finish with whatever time they had. Lots of smiles and cheering and I liked that. DW’s BQ is 3:55 and in her last marathon she ran a 3:55:32.  I was waiting watching the clock and I saw her coming down the chute.  Her face was an ashen grey (like last time) and she had a gun time of 3:56:30.  I ran to get her because I knew that was not her chip time.  When I found her I remembered why marathons suck. She was grey, was sweating profusely, and was

    chugging water like it was going out of style. It took her about ten minutes to come to her senses and the first thing she said to me was “Effin’ sixteen seconds.” Chip time…. 3:55:16!!!  She is ok with it. She knew she did all she could during the race and she trained perfectly. Next time.

     

     

    Race review: If you want a destination race and you like wine, put this one on your calendar.  Even if you don’t like wine, put it on your calendar. I don’t like wine but DW and I are probably going to do this one again next year.  It was well-organized, super easy packet pick up, no BS, great swag, etc… I like smaller races so this was perfect. Oh, the marathon had about 1600 runners and they also had a 5k that had about 1000.  So yes, I highly recommend it.

     

    Thanks for reading.

    Zelanie


      Congrats, Jack!  I'm glad you were able to pace yourself so well after coming off an injury.  I do remember seeing your halfway split and thinking "He's running at about my pace", so it was good to see that your finish time was still well ahead of what I can do. Wink

       

      I still think that your DW has some serious marathon talent to be that consistent in her first two marathons.  Too bad that you can't both apply together for next year, but clearly a BQ is in her future!

       

      The pics weren't showing up for me for some reason.  Maybe it's just that the server is down or something?  I will check back later.

      Jack K.


      uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI

        Thanks Zel. Smile I can see the pics on my phone and iMac. Maybe there is a problem with tinypic. It seems like every time I use it it wants to hassle me.

        Zelanie


          They're showing up now.  That is a nice race bib!  I would feel bad getting it crinkled.

          MothAudio


            Man, that's rough. Don't believe the B.A.A. give the 59 second cushion.

             Youth Has No Age. ~ Picasso / 1st road race: Charleston Distance Run 15 Miler - 1974 / profile

             

            LRB


              My butt injury has been better but it still flares up at times, with the sharp pain going down the back of my right leg.

               

              Oh man, it has been so long since I have had to deal with it that I completely forgot about that awful, awful pain!

               

              Everyone is different but for me it came down to weeks and weeks of light dynamic stretching before most runs, light static stretching after some runs, but overall an emphasis on stretching as a lifestyle (during the day and/or night) not something I just do.

               

              Hopefully someday it will be a distant memory for you, too.

               

              That is some really nice swag and a nice, solid run despite your issues.  You running strength and experience shows in your splits.

               

              You are already on the right path so continued healing and recovery to you and a big ups to your dear wife for giving it all that she had!

              wcrunner2


              Are we there, yet?

                Nicely done, J. K. Those turnarounds can be dangerous even when you're careful. I'll take the long way around and swing very wide. It's worth the second or two I might lose. Good to see the consistent pacing. I take it the course profile exaggerates the slope since you didn't mention hills. I'll have to put this on my short list, though I expect this could have some hot temps normally.

                 2024 Races:

                      03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                      05/11 - D3 50K
                      05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

                      06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

                 

                 

                     


                delicate flower

                  Man, that's rough. Don't believe the B.A.A. give the 59 second cushion.

                   

                  They do not.

                   

                  Sounds like a great weekend, Klompus!  Really bummed for She-Klompus for getting so close to that BQ.  Pretty impressive though with her first two marathon showings.  She's got lot faster marathons in her.  It took me three marathons to get under where she is right now.

                   

                  Nice to hear your toches behaved enough for you to run the HM.  Stay on top of that stretching and rolling.  It'll take months of doing that until the pain completely goes away, and then you'll want to keep up with the routine maintenance.  Nothing wrong with going easy in that HM.  Hell, I was 18 minutes off my PR in my February HM and actually tried in that race.  Big grin

                  <3

                  happylily


                    Wow! Congratulations to both of you! It's too bad about your injury, Jack, but for the minimal training that you were forced to do, you still pulled a very respectable finish time. And as for your wife... oh man... I would be so upset! She has to find another race soon, 6 weeks maybe, and try again. I've had faster times in my second attempts of a season on a few occasions. She has that BQ in her, that is certain! She's a natural, plus she did her homework right. Huge congrats to her! Looks like a beautiful race, I wouldn't mind doing it while on vacation sometime in the future (minus the earthquake, if possible. I'm not good with earthquakes. ).

                    PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                            Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

                    18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

                    Docket_Rocket


                      Great job, both of you. We are considering Santa Rosa for next year, actually.

                       

                      I am still in shock about the no alcohol the night before a race  WHAT?

                      Damaris

                       

                      As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.

                      Fundraising Page

                      tracilynn


                        I feel for her for being so close once again. She is so fast and just a natural!   is she planning the next one yet?

                         

                        I had a piriformis thing once too and I remember rolling around on a tennis ball and then it would hit THEE spot OMG excruciating pain!

                         

                        Good job Klompus And mrs K!

                        ~~~~~~~

                        Traci

                         

                        hog4life


                          Way to go Jack and Mrs Jack! I need you to pace me some day, lol. Or I'll just need to try to keep up with you.

                          fourouta5


                          Healed Hammy

                            Really  nice RR Jack, you write it well and give the details that help us learn and also get a sense of your feelings.  Bravo.

                             

                            Sorry about your injury, I had what I thought was Piriformis for a long time, turned out to be a partially torn hamstring which I completely severed during a fall.  I was able to run during training and had to sit on a pillow all day, but the butt pain never went away, never.  Watch it closely to make sure your diagnosis is correct.

                             

                            Good race, your pace on the 2nd half is really good considering it was uphill the entire way.  My guess is that would have been a 10 sec per mile difference on a level course.  So this was a nice good moderate tempo run for you.  I remember last year or so you were running low 8:00's for the La Jolla half and was impressed at that --- till you showed that course profile.  Biggest bad ass hill I've seen in an HM, bet you were glad you didn't have that monster this time .

                             

                            Bummer for Mrs. K but its nice that you both share the joy and passion for distance running and can do destination races together.  Lucky guy.

                            Brrrrrrr


                            Uffda

                              Congrats on not dying out there Jack. Smile Seriously though, you turned in a respectable run given your almost absent training. I'm right there with you though, for different reasons of course.

                               

                              I was really hoping your wife would break through that BQ barrier. She has turned in two sub 4 hr marathons, which is great in its own right. One more training cycle and she's got it.

                               

                              Congrats again to both of you. It sounds like a fun weekend - especially the beers and karaoke!

                              - Andrew

                              bluerun


                              Super B****

                                Falling during a race is my nightmare -- glad you're okay!!  And from one hobbled person to another, nice job out there.

                                 

                                I don't travel for races, but I like that bib (I save them).  I might be tempted. 

                                chasing the impossible

                                 

                                because i never shut up ... i blog

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