Great report Jack. Congrats on the race, as you did finish another marathon. Sounds like a great course. Can't believe I live on the east coast. I'm a west coast guy at heart.
uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
Thanks, you guys. All the internet support is cool.
Baboon: I will give you your prize when we FE.
Hog: My mom had surgery on one lung and it went well. She has to recover for another month or so and then go in for another surgery on her other lung. No, she's not a smoker. So far, it looks like chemo and/or radiation won't be necessary.
Thanks again.
Great report, sorry you and your wife didn't BQ,congrats on a great race!
Mmmmm...beer
I'd have a hard time focusing on racing with scenery like that! Seeing those amazing trees is definitely on my bucket list, one day I'll get out there.
Sorry to hear about your mom, glad the surgeries are going well, we'll be sending positive vibes and thinking about her and your family.
-Dave
My running blog
Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!
I have had THE WORST year ever at work. It was hard coming home from work mentally exhausted every day. I was rarely in the mood to run. It was very difficult to get in a groove with training because I just couldn’t find that groove.
I am not sure if it is practical for you but morning running would solve all of that. I started working out in the mornings a million years ago when the thought of becoming a runner was the furthest thing from my mind, but it is the only thing that survived the many changes I have gone through since that time.
It sounds like the race was a tall task but you toughed it out somehow so kudos for that. It seems you have been training for marathons more often than not the past year, take some downtime and get yourself speedy and healthy again.
Was the entire course shaded?
D2 and irishguy: Thanks guys.
LRB: To run before work would mean that I would have to get up at 4:00 or 4:30 every day and I don't know if I can do that. I always run in the mornings on weekends but then I can go out at 6:30 or 7:00. I agree with you in that I need to take some time off and get my knee right. I will start with a week and then some easy running. And yes, I would say about 90-95% of the course was in shade. Nice!
I am not sure if it is practical for you but morning running would solve all of that.
I echo this - early AM is usually when there is the least chance of life stuff getting in the way. But for me it has meant getting up no earlier than 5; if it meant getting up at 4, I might feel differently.
Anyway, sorry you had all that crap going on. IMHO it is really one of the great challenges of marathons in general - to get a full, solid training cycle uninterrupted by injuries, life stuff, etc. Glad that in the end you were able to run it, and decided to go with the full. I'd say you did pretty well under the circumstances. Although just reading the splits, I feel your pain...been there, done that. I am sure you will get back to BQ; plus before long you will get another 5 minutes to work with.
And yeah, sounds like a truly amazing course. Compare with, say, the LA Marathon? Almost like a completely different sport.
Dave
I would like to run this one someday. Sorry your wife missed her BQ. Were you glad you decided not to do the half?
My number is 5:20 am. While I am usually awake well before that if my number was 4:00, yes that would be rough.
Even when you're bad, you're good! Congrats on another. Super pretty. I would love to run the half there one day. I went to Muir woods as a kid and remember those trees.
~~~~~~~
Traci
Return To Racing
Nice race, Jack. Another California race to put on my list.
Nice job considering all life threw at you. The course and area looks absolutely beautiful, almost makes me want to deal with the cross country flight. Glad to hear it sounds like your mom is doing well, all things considered.
You did an awesome job under the circumstances, Jack. Running a marathon when not fully trained is damn hard, I've learned that. The pictures are absolutely beautiful! I'm glad that your wife is not too disappointed by her race. She will get her BQ eventually, she came too close before for it not to happen. And I wish your mom the best, you're a great son to her. :-)
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
Thanks, guys.
Half Crazy: We met many people from the east. It seems that this is quite the destination race.
Lily: Thank you. You never fail to make me smile.
Barking Mad To Run
Congrats to you and DW, Jack. So sorry your wife did not get her BQ, but pretty damn impressive she did not give up and finished the marathon with calf cramps, that must've been as uncomfortable as all get out for those miles!
Again, congrats, and here's wishing you both a speedy recovery...run for fun for a bit, heal up..and then go out and kill whatever next one you have planned! Wishing you and DW all the best!
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt