Yesterday I ran the Half Moon Bay Marathon, marathon # 3 for me.
Short version: This wasn’t a goal race, just one I wanted to enjoy for the scenery and have a positive experience. I surprised myself and finished with 4:37:59, an over 5 minute PR over the SF marathon (SF was my goal race of 2013).
Long version: I signed up for this race mostly because it is such a beautiful setting. The course is mainly on dirt trails and paved bike paths and hugs the California coastline. I didn’t make it a goal race for a couple of reasons. First, it’s 30% dirt trails, which at times can be narrow, congested and rutted. Second, the hardest part of the course is from mile 19 to 25. This is where you climb up to Maverick’s Bluff, run over some dirt trails, descend off the bluff to a lighthouse and then retrace your steps back over the bluff. Below is the elevation profile.
It didn’t seem like a fast set-up up to me, and my main thought was to make sure I left enough in the legs so that I could navigate the hills and more challenging dirt trails at the end. I knew the dead-legged shuffle-run I finished SF with, wasn’t going to cut it on this terrain.
My training going into the race went well. I focused mainly on trying to add more weekly miles and averaged just shy of 40 mpw during the peak 8 weeks of my training. Because this wasn’t a goal race, I also experimented with a less aggressive taper – cutting back to 85% at week 3, then to 60% for week 2. I liked the approach and found my legs ready to go by race day.
Race day came and the weather was gorgeous. 60 -- climbing to 70 -- degrees, almost no wind and great visibility. The views were truly incredible. I wish I had taken some pictures. The only negative was that it was very sunny and a little humid.
We set off at 7:15 and my strategy was to keep my pace around 10:30 on the paved sections and then run the trail sections at whatever felt comfortable. Miles 1 to 3 were executed to perfection and I was really enjoying being out with all the runners, looking at the ocean and birds.
At mile 6 we ran though a little residential area, and I saw my husband there cheering me on. That’s always a big lift. This is where the HM’ers turned around I got to see the lead runners flying by. At mile 8, we turned onto the first dirt trail section and I found, much to my surprise, I was able to hold the pace on the trail better than anticipated. Feeling good, I gradually started to pick up the pace. Around mile 10, I started passing people. I was a bit worried I might be going too fast, but the pace felt right.
I’ll also add that my Garmin and the mile markers were completely out of sync. At the half way sign, my Garmin read 13.5 miles, so I was really never sure exactly how fast I was going. I think this was actually a blessing, as I decided to forget about the Garmin and run by feel.
Mile 16 brought as back up coast and we had to run about ½ mile in the bike lane of Highway 1. This stretch was noisy, unshaded and hot. It was here I began seeing a lot of runner struggling. I’m a mid-pack runner, not fast by any means, and yet I was passing people right and left. Some looked barely able to walk. The folks driving on the highway must have wondered what kind of race this was. I was really surprised by the level of carnage I saw. We hadn’t even reached the tough part yet! I’m guessing there were a fair number of DNFs in this race.
Mile 19 came and brought us to the steep incline up to the bluff. I slowly jogged up and then began navigating the trail sections. It was tough going and I was envious of the runners returning from the out-and-back, almost done with their marathons. Everyone’s face looked etched in pain and determination.
At mile 22 I hit the lighthouse, which was the turn around point. My legs felt really beat up, but I got a huge boost seeing my husband again. He told me as I went by that I was going to do this thing, and I it helped stiffen my somewhat fading resolve. I hadn’t been looking at my Garmin much, but I did the math and realized that if I could just hold an 11 mm pace these last 4 miles, I would PR. I dreaded going back over the trails and bluff, but I was going to do this thing!
If I thought I had seen carnage before, it reached new levels on the run back. Nearly everyone I saw was walking and I also saw several runners pulled over to the side, sitting or standing there panting. One runner was down on the trail being treated by medics. I was feeling incredibly grateful to simply be able to keep running.
Finally I reached the 25 mile marker and I knew it was all downhill from here. There was a great view of the harbor coming down, but I confess I barely saw it as I had my eyes glued to the trail, making sure of my footing. I gave it everything I had coming down the stretch and was thrilled to approach the finish line and see a gun time reading of 4:38:30 as I ran across. Final chip time was 4:37:59.
Here are my splits if you are interested. Thanks for reading. The picture is one DH took of me at the 22 mile turn-around. I wish I has some pictures of the amazing views that day.
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary
4:37:59.2
26.70
10:25
1
10:31.1
1.00
10:31
2
10:32.6
10:33
3
10:29.5
10:30
4
10:17.3
10:17
5
10:21.6
10:22
6
10:15.8
10:16
7
10:19.6
10:20
8
10:19.3
10:19
9
10:23.5
10:24
10
10:23.7
11
10:04.8
10:05
12
10:25.8
10:26
13
10:29.6
14
10:15.5
15
10:24.1
16
10:20.7
10:21
17
10:12.2
10:12
18
10:34.1
10:34
19
10:16.0
20
11:00.2
11:00
21
10:27.4
10:27
22
10:28.1
10:28
23
10:37.4
10:38
24
10:30.7
25
10:53.9
10:54
26
10:26.4
27
6:39.2
0.70
9:31
Life is good.
Hip Redux
A surprise PR, sweet! I love HMB, it's so pretty.
Nice job getting that thing done! :P
uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI
Man, I love surprises like that! Your mile splits are like clockwork and even at mile 19 you only slowed a little. That must have been a beautiful race. Great job!!
Smaller By The Day
Wow...that is awesome. Whoever put that course together is evil though. Who puts all the hills at the end like that?
Improvements
Weight 100 pounds lost
5K 31:02 Sept. 2012 / 23:36 Sept. 2013 (Same Course)
10K 48:59 April 2013
HM 2:03:56 Nov. 2012 / 1:46:50 March 2013
MARATHON 3:57:33 Nov. 2013
hop, hop, hop...
You did an amazing job on that. Even with those hills at the end your splits were fairly consistent. I like that you're still smiling amidst the carnage at mile 22. It looks like a mostly beautiful course but, Awood is right. Who puts hills like that at the end of a marathon!
MM #8764 / HF #6535 / Double Agent #668
PRs: 5K - 27:43, 10K - 57:14, HM - 2:06:18, FM - 5:22:42
~How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were supposed to be?~
Skirt Runner
NICE JOB!!!!! You look so happy still even at mile 22! Your splits are so consistent, with a slower mile exactly where one would expect it (that HILL omg) and not even close to as slow as I'd have expected it to be looking at the elevation profile....you hauled ass up that thing!! Amazing job....congrats on a strong race and PR!!!!!!
PRs: 5K- 28:16 (5/5/13) 10K- 1:00:13 (10/27/13) 4M- 41:43 (9/7/13) 15K- 1:34:25 (8/17/13) 10M- 1:56:30 (4/6/14) HM- 2:20:16 (4/13/14) Full- 5:55:33 (11/1/15)
I started a blog about running :) Check it out if you care to
PS my boyfriend and I went to Half Moon Bay 2 summers ago....he played golf on the course there while I got a massage...... what a beautiful area!
Great job on an interesting course. Congratulations on the PR!
Great job, OOTB! And a big improvement from SF and not that long ago! Great pic! Congrats.
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
Runs4Sanity
Awesome job and great surprise PR, sounds like a beautiful race!
*Do It For Yourself, Do It Because They Said It Was Impossible, Do It Because They Said You Were Incapable*
PRs
5k - 24:15 (7:49 min/mile pace)
10k - 51:47 (8:16 min/mile pace)
15k -1:18:09 (8:24 min/mile pace)
13.1 - 1:53:12 (8:39 min/mile pace)
26:2 - 4:14:55 (9:44 min/mile)
SheCan
Congratulations on the PR! Great job hanging in there, especially those final tough miles...very well done.
Cherie
"We do not become the people who this world needs simply by turning our backs on anyone we don’t like, trust, or deem healthy enough to be in our presence. " ---- Shasta Nelson
Caretaker/Overlook Hotel
Great job!! Nor Cal coastline is beautiful. I have a buddy who lives in HMB though I've never been. I know it's nice & views are gorgeous so it must've been a great race to run on.
Love how they set you up for the end with the torture in the last 7 miles. As if 19 is just a little warmup for the legs, right?
You did great!
Next up........Big Sur!
Randy
Well done! Maybe not having it be a goal race meant that the pressure was off and you could enjoy the day? It looks like you barely slowed down, even in the uphill towards the end- nice! And you look pretty happy for 22 miles in the pic!Congrats on the new PR!
delicate flower
Great job, Blue! Congrats on that PR! That was some good execution. Your splits look great, even on those yucky looking hills in those late miles.
<3
Thanks everyone for all your comments.
When I picked up my bib, I mentioned to one of the organizers that it was a bit tough to have all those hills at the end. He said "I find hills are a nice change of pace and can refresh the legs." After silence stretched out between us for a minute he added, "at least that's how I'm trying to sell it."
It's also interesting, they sent out an email saying they admit to having issues with the course distances and marking, apologizing, and saying they would provide more information later. I think the first half may have been marked too long and I wonder if that's why I saw so many struggling runners. If you were trying to pace yourself by the markers and a watch, and the markers were farther apart than a mile, you're going a lot faster than planned. I know by mile 5, there was a 30 second delta between my Garmin pace and "marker" pace. I could see some people being freaked out and speeding up to catch up to their goal pace.