Mountains 2 Beach Marathon, Ventura, CA
My goal for this marathon was to avoid the running twins “stupid” and “ugly” since they are not pretty. I also thought I could finish in the low 3:20s if successful.
I broke the race into three mini-goals. One, run the first half in about 1:39 or so. This would preclude me from going out too fast no matter how “good” I felt. I normally sorta suck at pacing so I was just keeping a tab on the average pace on the garmin and not concerned with any one particular mile. I ended up hitting the half in about 1:38 and change. Part one done.
middle miles of the course
Two, run focused from miles 13 to 20 and not give in to being stupid about the pace. This is where this course was great. These miles were mostly easy down sloping on a tree covered bike path. I didn’t care who passed me and played back and forth with a few people. I got to the 20 mile mark in about 2:31 and knew I had avoided stupid for the most part. Part two done.
Three, run the last 6.2 smooth and steady and finish in good form. Ugly can happen in these last 6.2. I managed to avoid stupid, so I knew by this point I wouldn’t see or look fugly. I was able to start doing crazy mental marathon math in these last miles and knew 3:20 was doable. I passed a number of people in these last miles. As I approached the finish I sped up to a pretty good sized finish line crowd and got my fifteen seconds of crowd fame as I finished in 3:19:11. Part three done!
finish line!
Turns out this is a pretty serious marathon with a lot of folks talking about bqs and stuff. Good course but a lot of it is on shoulders, bike paths etc.. They limit total entries to 1500 or so. A good number of running clubs etc..I had not run a marathon in over a year and a half and I figured out that they're still not easy. duh.
marathon pr - 3:16
Congrats! Sounds like your execution for this race was flawless. Great job!
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.
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delicate flower
Excellent! Nicely done, Ric! You had a plan (three of them, actually) and followed them perfectly. Nice floater.
<3
uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
Great race, Ric. I ran this one last year and hated running past the finish line with (what seemed like) four miles to go. I hope it stayed cool for you. Do you plan on doing this one next year? Maybe we can FE there or at another one.
Hip Redux
That is one sweet finish line pic!
Great job, Ric.
Any time stupid and ugly don't show up, it's a good race.
Awesome job! I agree with Oski, the last picture is awesome with the flags and mountains in the background and you looking really triumphant!
PRs:
5k - 22:53 (May 2015)
10k - 50:00 (unofficial; part of 20k race, March 2015); 50:33 (official; July 2016)
HM - 1:48:40 (Apr. 2015)
I wouldn't care how stupid or ugly I looked if I could run a 3:19. Congrats!
Congratulations. You ran a really smart race.
+100! Trust me, I know both the Stupid and Ugly twins very well and I'd sleep with them if they could give me a 3:19.
Ric, I absolutely LOVE your pics! They are awesome! Congratulations on a great race!
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Super B****
You're flying! That's cheating.
Congrats on a great race!
chasing the impossible
because i never shut up ... i blog
The finish picture is great! Great job sticking to the plan, your finish pictures makes it look easy....
Love both the pics and the race execution. Congratulations on doing exactly what you set out to do. Great job!
I had not run a marathon in over a year and a half and I figured out that they're still not easy. duh.
It definitely is a chore. I have been in that "dark place" in each of mine, coming out of it with a greater appreciation for the task despite falling short of my goals.