Avalon 50 Mile -- 8:17:28

Summary
Bison, rain, mud, potatoes, crows eating the course markings -- these are some of the highlights of the Avalon 50 mile race! I had a good run overall, finishing in 8 hours 17 minutes 28 seconds. I felt tired, sore, and slow from about miles 37 to 45. ("Why am I doing this?! This sucks!") But then I felt better and had a really nice fast downhill finish for the last few miles. I came in 22nd place, out of 263 starters. (Based on prior years, and bad memory, apparently, I was expecting more like 380 starters.) Most of the race occurred in a light to moderate rain, so the dirt roads became quite slick and muddy in places, which slowed everyone down. I'm happy with how I did and I'm uninjured.

Details

I got the idea of entering this race from my friend Kristin, in the Coastside Running Club. It had been her first 50 miler the previous year and the course was supposed to be pretty and I thought it would be fun to visit Catalina Island. It had been over two years since I've run this far, since Dick Collins Firetrails 50, in October 2012.

The ferry ride was fun and the weather was gorgeous on Friday, the day before the race. In the distance, we saw dolphins jumping and gray whales spouting. There were plenty of runners and even some volunteers on the ferry. For a volunteer, that's quite a commitment to spend $74.50 round-trip on the ferry plus the hotel. Thank you, volunteers!

I chatted with a runner, Colleen, who along with her two friends had signed up for Avalon 50, American River 50, and Javelina Jundred -- I'm signed up for American River 50 and I'm seriously considering Javelina Jundred, too. Cool! Small world!

We checked into our minuscule hotel room, the cheapest room they had at the Catalina Island Inn ($112 / night including tax). The location was great -- just around the corner from the race start.

We went for a nice hike around town... I tried not to hurt myself!

About 3/4 of the vehicles were golf carts! Nice!

That round building is a former casino converted into a movie theater.

I picked up my bib at a nearby hotel and learned that I needed to drop off my drop-bag there. Oops! OK, time to pack my drop bag!

Packing the drop bag led to the biggest equipment decision -- which shoes to wear! I had my Brooks Glycerin training shoes, designed primarily for the road, and my Brooks Pure Grit trail racing shoes. I had run 5+ hour runs in both, and in wet conditions both times, too. But I had gotten blisters with Pure Grit in Quad Dipsea while the Glycerin shoes were more comfortable. So, I decided to take the safest choice and to wear the road running shoes and so I packed the trail racing shoes into the drop bag for miles 19 and 33. As I was slipping and sliding in the mud the next day, I wish I had started with the trail racing shoes!

Brooks Glycerin (left) or Pure Grit -- what to run in?!

I slept well that Friday night, perhaps because I was tired from the long day of travel and the hike. I woke up at 2:15am, well before my 3am alarm, to eat breakfast (two slices of whole wheat bread, a peanut butter Clif Bar, banana). I checked emails and the weather (10% chance of rain, probably in the afternoon). I went back to sleep for 90 minutes and again woke up before my alarm.

Time to get going! I quickly got dressed, applied sunscreen, and put moleskin on my nipples (I finally found a reliable solution to my chafing problems!) and Body Glide on my toes and elsewhere. Jennifer took this picture of me, where I look tired, but I felt good!

I arrived at the starting area at 4:45am and heard that we needed to sign in. They were simply recording our bib #s, which was quick. There was friendly happy chatter in the darkness lit by streetlights. I tried to figure out how to wear my running cap with the headlamp and opted to stick my cap in the back pocket of my running vest.

5am rolled around. I wondered if we were going to start on time. Then I saw people running in front of me. OK, it looks like we started! Let's go!

I settled into an easy pace as we made our way from the Green Pleasure Pier (the central pier in Avalon) straight back on Catalina Ave. We came to a three-way intersection and the runners made a right turn but I didn't see any course markings. Someone pointed out the green glow stick on the road. Aha! Very good. Then a quick left, and we headed slightly uphill towards the back of Avalon.

I was looking forward to the big initial climb, where we get up to about 1,500'. Here's the elevation profile from my Garmin data:

We got to the end of Avalon Canyon Rd and went through Wrigley Botanical Gardens and then hit the steep uphill dirt road. I could see the headlamps of the front runners far ahead already. I kept monitoring my heart rate and I walked two especially steep sections, to keep my heart rate below 150 beats per minute. Otherwise, I slowly ran up the mountain! I felt good! "Take it easy," I kept on telling myself. A light sprinkle started. "Hmm... at least it's nice and cool!" We hit the top at around the 4 mile point and I think my average pace was about 11 minutes a mile at that point.

The first-place woman passed me on the climb. I'll call her Cat Ears, since she was wearing a cap with little ears on top. It looked like she was running with a twin-sister at the beginning -- they had similar builds and matching skirts. I passed her in the first mile and then she passed me a mile later, on the steep initial climb.

I was enjoying the nighttime run, cruising along in the dark, in the very light rain. Where's the first aid station? I had the official aid station mileage chart taped to one of my water bottles, with the distances between stations that I added in red:

Well, mile 5.4 comes and goes, and there's no aid station in sight. It's actually at about mile 6.4. I was very impressed that a volunteer was staffing the aid station so early in the morning. Thank you! There were no energy gels. I thought this might be the case. I grabbed some boiled potato chunks and put them in a plastic ziplock bag I carried. I asked when the next aid station was. "2 miles."  Hmm...  that's weird. This mistake gave me doubts about the mileage for the rest of the race.

At 6:33am I no longer needed a headlight to see where I was going. I felt good and was moving slowly and easily. My average pace had increased to a bit faster than 10 minutes a mile.

At the second aid station (mile 11.6, I estimate), Cat Ears stopped and asked for a plastic bag for her mobile phone. Yep, rain and phones don't go together! I was surprised that the first-place woman was even carrying a phone. I dropped off my headlamp and passed her.

The scenery was very pretty along these wide dirt roads. There was occasional vehicle traffic, but it wasn't too bad. I enjoyed seeing the cactus, too, which is an unusual sight for me.

Jennifer took this picture on a hike during my race

Some of the downhills were fast and easy to run. I tried not to get too crazy, but I sometimes got into the low 7 minutes a mile. "Take it easy!" I repeatedly told myself.

I came across a group of crows on the ground, eating something. They were eating the flour course marking! Too funny!

13 miles done. My feet felt a bit sore. Hmm... there's still a long ways to go! I saw a used energy gel wrapper on the ground and I picked it up. I saw a couple more in the remainder of the race, but I didn't feel like I had the energy to pick them up. Be careful with your wrappers, front runners!

At around mile 18.5 (by my Garmin) or 18.9 (by the official chart) I arrived at Little Harbor where I could get my drop bag. I grabbed 4 energy gels from my bag. If I had known what was ahead of me, I would have swapped shoes. Also, if I had known that the race didn't provide energy gels, I would have packed some more.

A while later, I saw my first bison in the race! Cool! Some rangers had driven past me and then when I turned a corner and was coming down a hill, I saw the bison trotting towards a field, away from the rangers. I guess the big guy had been somewhere he wasn't supposed to be.

Around mile 24, I saw the first place runner returning on this long out-and-back section. At first, I thought it was a woman, but it was the first place guy with a jacket tied around his waist. "Great job," I cheered to him. He congratulated me, too. Looking at the map afterwards, I think he was 4 miles ahead of me! He ended up winning. Congratulations, Fabrice Hardel!

I got to the turn-around aid station, stocked up on more boiled potatoes, and asked what mile I was at. "22" one of the guys said. "Oh oh, I thought I was around mile 26!" He said there was a three mile loop to do and then I would return there. "Thank you!" I still don't know what mile that was, but it was probably closer to 26 than 22. I guessed it took me 3 hours 53 minutes to run a marathon, so I was on track for a sub-8 hour finish. I was happy about that, but there was a long ways to go.

I saw what I thought was a bison statue, but as I got closer, it was a bison straddling a fire hydrant! Funny! I saw lots of other runners on this out-and-back section to the turn-around point. It's not a loop, but just an extension of the out-and-back route. I thought of my friend Kristin who got lost around this point and added three miles to her race. I didn't have any doubts about this part of the course. I got to the turn-around cone, ran around it, and headed back to the aid station.

I had been tracking a guy I dubbed Osob (orange-shirt one-bottle). He was slightly ahead of me and I was surprised that he could do this race carrying just one 20oz water bottle.

On the long climb up out of the Isthmus turn-around aid station, I saw Cat Ears walking. :-(  It was a steep climb, to be sure, but if I could run it I figure she was having problems. She stopped and held her hamstring. She was injured. :-(  As I caught up to her, I said "I'm sorry you're hurting." and "Do you need any salt?" She said she had too much salt. The next time I saw her was at Eagle's Nest (where they had bison burgers!); she must have dropped and gotten a ride there. Then I saw her at the finish line, where she had already showered and dressed. Bummer.

The light rain had turned to a moderate rain and this uphill section had turned to mud and had gotten slick and sticky. Big clumps of mud sometimes stuck to my shoes, instantly adding what seemed like a couple of pounds. I passed Osob. He was struggling even more here. I pretty much ran the entire way up, encouraging all the runners headed towards me and receiving encouragement from them. "Colleen! Great job!" I think she was about four miles behind me but was moving well and seemed in good spirits.

I got to my drop bag at mile 33 and I had decided to swap shoes. It was still raining lightly and I was spending a lot of energy sliding around. It took several minutes and four runners passed me, including the new first-place woman and Osob.

My feet and legs were getting progressively more sore. I was feeling sluggish and losing motivation. I hated not understanding the course or knowing what to expect. The uphill was relentless. My pace and my heart rate were slowing down and I couldn't seem to help it. I was getting sick of boiled potatoes. Negative thoughts were popping up constantly. "This sucks. Why am I here? I don't want to run long races again. Why did I sign up for American River 50 mile already?" I wanted my body to shut up. "OK, body, I got the message. Things hurt. Just keep moving please! I promise we'll deal with the problems when we finish." Someone had recently shared this song on Facebook, so I started playing David Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World on a tight loop in my head, to help me shut out everything and just keep moving.

Who knows, step stepNot me, step stepNot him, step stepThe man who sold the world step step

Around this point, Vic (as I learned his name later) passed me. He had the most amazingly carefree and positive attitude. He had such unrealistically low expectations of himself, that he was on his way to an incredibly surprising finish! He wanted to run the race in "11 or 12 hours" and he wasn't wearing a watch and he didn't know what distance he was at. (Well, neither did I, within a mile or so, but at least I had a GPS watch!) He wanted to finish in the top 65% of the runners. I told him that he was on track for finishing in 8 hours 20 minutes! I congratulated him on pacing himself well and having a strong race. He slowly pulled away from me as I struggled. My average pace kept falling and I was looking at a 8:30 or 8:40 finish.

We climbed into a cloud and the rain was very light. I knew there was a nice long downhill to the finish, but I didn't know when! I kept playing the song in my head. Finally finally, I crested a hill, got on a paved road, and it was a delightful fast downhill. My feet and hips and quads were all sore, but I was able to move pretty well, about 8 minutes per mile here. I had seen on a map earlier that this section of the highway had an 8% grade which wasn't too steep at all. I didn't need to brake constantly.

I saw Vic up quite a ways ahead, taking a pee break, and I tried to speed up. Some guy was coming up on my heels and he steadily passed me. I didn't know how much longer the race was. 2 miles? 3 miles? 4 miles? I couldn't really be sure.

We rounded a corner and there was the most beautiful sight to behold... Avalon! And the green pier of the start/finish! It looked a lot like the photo at the top of this blog post, but from the other side of the bay. (Measuring this afterwards, this was 0.7 miles from the finish.) Woo hoo!!! I poured on the speed. My legs felt good. I caught up to the guy who recently passed me. "I hope you're not in my age group!" he said. "43" I replied. "53" he said. "Nice! Way to go!" My heart rate monitor, strapped around my chest, slid down towards my waist because of my increased pace. I slid it back, up. (Annoying!)

I don't recall seeing course markers here, but it seemed obvious how to get down to the main street. I poured it on. I thought of my friends Mor and Carol and our Tuesday morning speed workouts with my running club. I blew through a stop sign and waved at a pick-up truck to wait for me. There were cheers. Jennifer!! I sprinted to the finish line. Whew!

I was very happy to be done and I felt good about myself, having gotten through what was for me a long tough distance. 8 hours 17 minutes 28 seconds.

I chatted with Vic for a bit. Great job, Vic Marlow!

After showering and eating, I saw Colleen and then her friends finish. Good job, Colleen Slick!

Colleen (far right) and her two friends, finishing their first of many big races this year

Race HQ!

Later that night, I chatted with an older guy at a fish and chips grill. He said he had run this race 24 times (but not this year) and that he didn't think the current race director was very good because he didn't respond to emails quickly and he never fixed the mileage charts. "The miles are all wrong on the aid station chart. The only correct one is the turn-around." While chatting, another finisher came hiking in. It's dark now and there are scattered cheers. The guy said that one older racer started the previous night at 9pm. Wow! Talk about an early start!

I was able to walk normally that night. The next day, Jennifer and I went on a hike to the botanical gardens and I felt sore, but not too bad. I was able to walk down stairs normally, for example. I've felt much more sore after some marathons! Perhaps all those slow miles saved my legs?

I highly recommend this race. Thank you, volunteers and race officials!

Travel Tips

• I was told to get my hotel early. I had no problems reserving a room on October 18 (three months before the race). I can recommend the Catalina Island Inn. Their cheapest rooms cost $112 a night including tax.
• The ferry can fill up. I bought tickets nine days in advance for the Friday 12:15pm ferry from Downtown Long Beach. The tickets are $74.50 round trip.
• We took a taxi from LAX to Long Beach for $67 including tip.
• Going back to LAX, we took Uber for $33.50 (no tips required). There was a line of taxis at the pier but an Uber driver was minutes away, so we went with Uber. We learned that Uber can't legally pick up from LAX and so if you want to save money, you have to leave the airport and then use a cheaper driving service (like Uber or Lyft). That was my first experience with Uber and it was very positive. The driver said he loved his job.

Avalon Race Tips
Here are some tips to clarify, correct, or add to the website:

• The aid station mileage chart has some problems. For example, the first aid station is more like 6.3 miles instead of the listed 5.4. I might try to construct a more accurate aid station mileage chart, using Google Maps.
• The elevation profile chart implies that there are 2 miles of flat ground at the end, but that's not the case. It's just 0.4 flat miles from the end of the steep downhill section to the finish line.
• You leave your drop bag for the Little Harbor aid station (miles 19 and 33) at the hotel when you pick up your bib the night before the race.
• The course is well marked with green glow sticks early in the morning and with signs and white flour on the fire roads. It seems difficult to get lost, although be sure to go straight unless told otherwise and understand that you need to get back to the pier when you finish.
• If there's a chance of rain, I would recommend wearing trail racing shoes. The mud can get sticky and slippery.
• No energy gels or energy blocks are provided.

What went well

• The race organizers and aid station volunteers put on a really good event. Thank you!
• I finished a 50 mile race!
• No cramps! Presumably I didn't run too fast early on, and taking a salt pill every hour helped.
• I trained reasonably well, getting in a 31 mile training run about 2.5 weeks before the race. I can probably count the Quad Dipsea at the end of November, about 5 weeks before the race. I did as many speed workouts and weekly long runs as I could, while recovering from Quad Dipsea and then tapering for Avalon.
• I'm really glad I had my trail racing shoes in my drop bag. If I had known it was going to rain so much, I would have worn my trail racing shoes from the beginning.
• Moleskin for nipple protection worked great! I wish I had started using moleskin for previous long races.
• I didn't get any blisters, although I did get chafing on my neck, from my running vest.
• No trips or falls.
• I think I was well-hydrated. I urinated four times during the race. I didn't need to poop. (I avoided eating fiber the day before.)
• Carrying a small ziplock bag for aid station food was a win. I was able to restock my supply of boiled potatoes each time. Although I was getting sick of potatoes, I'm glad I could carry them because I don't think I could have eaten enough otherwise, or I would have had to spend much longer at the aid stations, to cram down a few hundred calories as fast as I could.

Things to improve

• The course mileage chart has some problems. Although I had searched and read a few other race reports, I didn't find anyone else's GPS data. It would have been useful to have had better knowledge of what to expect.
• I may not have been getting enough calories. I could have carried more energy gels perhaps.
• I don't know how, but I would like to not get chafing from my running vest. Body Glide wasn't enough.

Random data

• I weighed 167.0 lbs two days before the race and 165.4 lbs on the day before the race.
• Garmin data
• Results
• Took two ibuprofen, once around mile 28 and then again 90 minutes later. The first one helped with soreness but I couldn't tell any difference from the second one.

Quad Dipsea -- 5:32:32

I had never run any of the Dipsea races -- the regular Dipsea, Double Dipsea, or Quad Dipsea. Some friends from my running club said they would sign up for the Quad Dipsea and I checked the calendar and asked my wife, and it was a go! The Quad Dipsea runs 7 miles from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach. Then we turn around and come back. And then go out again. And finally back again. That's a total of 28 miles. 28 miles might sound like just a little more than a marathon (26.2 miles) but it's the 9200' of elevation gain that make this race special! It much harder than many 50 km (31 mile) trail races.

I met two friends from my running club, Chris B. and Omar, at my house at 6am, and we were parked and in line to get our bibs shortly after 7am. I was grateful that it wasn't raining at the start/finish. I saw other friends there, like Mike (below). My sister-in-law's boyfriend, Matt, even showed up and said "hi". Cool!

As the race time drew nearer, I settled in 20 or 30 feet back from the start line, and finally, promptly at 8am, we were off!

The race quickly goes uphill through a residential area and up three long flights of stairs. The race organizers say there are 686 steps in these first three flights. There was some congestion with the runners in front of me, but I didn't want to go any faster and I quickly hiked up the steps two-at-a-time. We had a long ways to go!

My heart rate quickly climbed into the high 150s and low 160s, which was higher than my target of around 150, but I figured I would recover on the downhills. It didn't quite work out that way....

The trails were gorgeous and lush, and I was thoroughly enjoying the experience. I couldn't enjoy the scenery too much because I had to stay focused on the terrain in front of me. There are many many tripping hazards.

I was carrying one 20oz water bottle, starting with water, and I ran out with about 15 minutes until the first aid station -- Cardiac Arrest. I filled up with sports drink and drank only sports drink for the rest of the race.

We went through a little forested area and I'm still not sure if it was raining or if the trees were so moist, that the rain was coming just from the trees. It was a surreal environment because the clouds were in the tree tops and so it was like running in twilight.

Coming down into Stinson Beach are some of the most beautiful views in the Bay Area. The trail is smooth and very runnable and there are long sight lines down to the beach. Somewhere around here I encountered the first place runners returning. Awesome! I recognized Dave Mackey followed closely by Chikara Omine, and then a little while later, Jean Pommier. I cheered them on.

I got to the turn-around -- 1 hour 16 minutes had passed. Not bad! I was tentatively hoping for about a 5 hour finish, so I was basically on track for that, but I felt that I may have pushed too hard already. Time to go back!

The return trip was fun because I could look out for other friends and we would wish each other good luck. I was feeling the effort. I also started feeling chafing on my nipples, but tucking my totally soaked shirt into the front of my shorts helped a lot. I came across Matt again who was out hiking the trail and he took some pictures. Thanks for being out there, Matt! Unfortunately, the photo was mostly a blur of me:

Going down the stairs was rather treacherous. I slipped a little bit on the first set of stairs and I landed softly on my bottom. No big deal. I got to the turn-around at the start/finish in Mill Valley and that leg had taken 1 hour 18 minutes. Not too bad. I felt good. Time to go back up the stairs! I was feeling good. I think this photo (bought from Facchino Photography) was taken on the third leg, but I'm not completely sure:

About half-way through this third traversal of the course, around mile 18 or so, I started feeling cramps in my legs. Oh no! I took another energy gel right away. I slowed down. The descent into Stinson Beach started getting ugly and at one point, I had to stop, as both quads had locked up. I was in survival mode now, trying to keep moving as best I could while preserving my legs. Other runners passed me. There are a lot of huge steps and rocks on this part of the Dipsea trail and I kept on telling myself "no heroics, just be careful and keep moving". The third traversal took 1 hour 26 minutes -- 10 minutes slower than my first traversal which amounts to almost a minute-and-a-half per mile slower.

The final traversal was more difficult still. At various times I either struggled a lot with uphill running or with downhill running. The final descent of the stairs was especially slow and painful as I didn't feel like I could go down the steps two-at-a-time. I got passed by about 5 runners on these last stairs. The finish line came in sight. Yay! The last traversal took 1 hour 32 minutes. Ouch!

Here are my four traversal times, with each one being 7 miles, 2300' of elevation gain, and 2300' of descent.
1:16
1:18
1:26 Ouch!
1:32 Double ouch!
-------
5:32 finish time

All-in-all, I really enjoyed this race! Yeah, even though I struggled for about the last third, I enjoyed the scenery, camaraderie, and the challenge. There's plenty of room for improvement and I would like to run it again in 2015.


Random Data

• My Garmin data
• Official Results

Chicago Marathon -- 3:00:52

Wow, Chicago knows how to put on a race! I was impressed over and over again at the scale of this marathon and how well-supported it was. I heard that there were 12,000 volunteers for us 41,000 runners!

I had a really good race! I felt strong and kept up a good pace for the entire race, with my fastest miles towards the end. I started about a third of the way back in the second corral, Corral B, which positioned me with runners who were aiming for around 3 hours 20 minutes. I never felt too crowded though, and the psychological benefit of continuously passing runners the whole race was nice.

I ran the first half in 1:30:51 and the second half in 1:30:01. I monitored my heart rate, aiming for the low 150s for the first five miles and then gradually increasing to the high 160s and low 170s towards the end. That gave me a finish time of 3 hours 52 seconds, which is the 7th fastest of my 23 road marathons.

Details

The morning of the race, I woke at 5am and immediately ate a small breakfast of about 2.5 slices of whole wheat bread, a Clif bar, and a banana. I took the train for a short ride from our rental house and arrived at my designated Gate #1 at about 6:40am. Security was tight, as expected, in response to the stupid delusional Tsarnaev brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon in 2013.

The weather was great, being nice and cool in the morning, like around 47F as I recall. I only had a very slight urge to use the bathroom, but as a good practice I wanted to go one more time before the race. Unfortunately, it was too crowded!

After standing in line for about 10 minutes and estimating that I would need to wait another 20 minutes to use the porta-potty, I realized that I would miss the 7:20am cut-off to be in my corral in time for the 7:30am start. I left the porta-potty line and went to take off my warm clothes and drop off my drop-bag.

As I was entering the corral, people from other later corrals were being stopped from entering corral B. Why do slower runners feel like they need or deserve to get up front? They're just going to become obstacles to those behind them. After entering the corral, I saw that there were more porta-potties! Oh, well, it was too late now. I felt OK. I tried to get myself situated between the 3:20 and 3:15 pace group.

After some nervous waiting with thousands of runners packed in around me (I tried to do some gentle stretching, but it was difficult), we were off! Well, the runners far in front of us started. A short couple of minutes later I crossed the start line in a run and then things were fine as far as the crowds were concerned. I appreciated being forced to not run too fast at the beginning. We were soon running through a big tunnel. Neat! When crossing some of the bridges, there were carpets laid upon the steel grate to give us better footing. Nice!

I enjoyed the sights and the spectators and the whole vibe. I tried to take it easy, keeping above 7 minutes a mile.

The miles pleasantly cruised by. I steadily passed runners, jumping from one group to the next. I came upon pace setters that were identified by bibs on their backs. I was concerned when at the 7 mile point I came across two guys who were a part of the 3 hour pace group. Oops, I thought I had gone too fast! I realized later that the pace group people were all over the place and these guys were far behind the actual 3 hour pace. I wanted to take it easy the first half, so I didn't mind. My goal was to finish in the low 3 hours, like 3:04 or 3:03.

At the 13 mile mark, I came across the first casualty -- some guy was walking stiffly with what looked like cramps. Perhaps he went out too fast.

Finally the half way point came. 1 hour 30 minutes and 51 seconds. Sweet! I felt like I had a really solid workout but I had plenty of energy left. I gently increased my effort and monitored my heart rate every couple of minutes.

I was surprised at how there were more than a few overweight-looking people running at nearly a 3 hour pace still.

Somewhere around mile 16 or 17 I latched on to a slender fast woman who was steadily passing people too. She was the only other runner I saw around my pace who apparently had my strategy of starting off slow and finishing fast. I started thinking that I had a chance at a 3 hour finish if I could gradually increase my pace and finish strong.

Around the 18 mile mark I was looking for Jennifer and Claire, but I didn't see them. I learned later that they were there looking for me, but they didn't see me either.

At some point around the 20 to 21 mile mark, my heart rate hit 169 beats per minute and with 5 or 6 miles to go, I felt like it was too risky. I slowed down a bit and the fast woman I was following gradually pulled away from me.

A runner asked if I wanted to finish her drink. She had just taken a small sip. Sure! I was going to skip that aid station otherwise. Nice!

I was still passing people steadily and I felt tired but still really good as the last few miles passed by. I was looking forward to finishing though! I realized a sub-3 hour goal was impossible but I still wanted to do as well as I could. There was a helpful sign for "1 mile to go" and then 800 meters (which was dispiriting actually), then 400 meters. There was one short sharp hill before the final downhill straightaway. Ugh... I felt weak all of a sudden going up that. The finish line was in sight! I put in a good strong finish. Woo hoo! 3 hours and 52 seconds!

The finish area was the best I've ever seen for a road race. There were hundreds of volunteers ready to assist, starting with a sports drink, then your medal, bottle of water, prepared bag of goodies, a banana, protein drink, and then a freshly poured beer! Yummy! There were many medical personnel, too, ready to assist runners with cramps, for example.

Weather-wise, I never felt hot, but after some miles in the occasional bright sunshine I appreciated the return to the cool shadows. After crossing the finish, I suddenly had a lot of sweat in my eyes which stung, so I dumped water on my face to wash my eyes. That's why my shirt is so wet in the photo above.

This was my 23rd road marathon and my first Chicago Marathon (or "Bank of America Chicago Marathon" as it was carefully branded so frequently) and this was my 7th fastest. Here are the fastest road marathons I've run:

1. New York City Marathon 2010 -- 2:55:52
2. California International Marathon 2011 -- 2:56:40
3. Oakland Marathon 2010 -- 2:59:03
4. Las Vegas Marathon 2010 -- 2:59:04
5. California International Marathon 2007 -- 2:59:36
6. Napa Valley Marathon 2011 -- 3:00:06
7. Chicago 2014 -- 3:00:52
8. California International Marathon 2012 -- 3:01:32
9. Oakland Marathon 2013 -- 3:02:07
10. Boston Marathon 2009 -- 3:03:33
11. Santa Rosa Marathon 2014 -- 3:04:16
12. California International Marathon 2006 -- 3:04:56
13. Avenue of the Giants Marathon 2012 -- 3:05:05
14. Boston Marathon 2007 -- 3:05:31

Things that went well:

• I think I ran well and paced myself well.
• I didn't feel weak except for a bit at the very end.
• I didn't have any cramps.

Things to improve upon:

• I got to the park at 6:40am which ended up too late to use the main porta-potties considering the 7:30am start time. The porta-potty line was way too long, like 30 minutes. I had to leave the line. Fortunately, I was OK during the race. I saw that there were many porta-potties in the corrals, so for next time, I should drop off my drop-bag and then go straight to my corral.
• I should have been in the back of corral A or the front of corral B, given my finish time.
• I need slightly better skin protection. Body Glide isn't protecting my nipples well enough. I also got a blackened toe nail and a blister on another toe. My purple Firetrails 50 shirt was distinctive ("Good job, Purple!" spectators shouted) and lightweight, but it was a little tight around my armpits and I got some chafing there.

Random data:

• I ate an energy gel every 40 minutes and drank plenty of sports drink.
• I ate breakfast at 5am which consisted of two pieces of whole wheat bread, a Clif bar, and a banana, for a total of about 550 calories.
• Weighed 164.0 lbs recently.
• Garmin data.
• Over 41,000 racers started and 40,802 racers crossed the finish line. I finished in 1,100th place. (Wow, this was a big race.) I was 132nd in my 40-44 age group.
• Official results.

I run a lot of trail races, too, and I notice some cultural differences between trail runners and road runners. With that in mind, I have a few tips for my fellow road runners:

Do:

• Thank the volunteers! It takes thousands of people donating many hours of their time to make the race happen. (I was told 12,000 volunteers worked this marathon!)
• Be aware of the runners around you. Try not to suddenly slow down or stop in the middle of the road or in front of an aid station. Try not to cut someone off while turning a corner. Runners wearing headphones are more likely to do things like this.
• Smile, high-five people, cheer occasionally! This doesn't cost any appreciable time and you and those around you will enjoy the experience more.

Don't:

• Don't drop your cup right at your feet! Thousands or even tens of thousands of runners are behind you! The road can get slippery with all the empty cups and it's difficult for the volunteers to rake them away when the road is crowded. It's very easy to crumple the cup and toss it to the side of the road or aim for a trash can if the race includes them.
• Don't throw your empty energy gels on the street and especially not on bike paths. It's not nice to make someone pick up your sticky mess with their hands. Just put the wrapper back in your shorts pocket or into an empty paper cup that you crumple and throw to the side of the road.
• Don't drop your discarded clothes right at your feet after the race starts. Thousands of racers behind you will have that tripping hazard and have to navigate around your trash. Toss your clothes to the side. If you can't throw that far, hang on to your clothes until you can get rid of them in a better way.

Thank you, Chicago! We had a wonderful five day family vacation there. And thank you, Jennifer, for watching Claire during the race and supporting my running. Love you!

Santa Rosa Marathon -- 3:04:16

This was my first time running the Santa Rosa Marathon and was my 22nd road marathon. I had heard good things about it from friends, and I was not disappointed!

The DeLoach winery was a lovely setting for the expo.

I had a nice pasta dinner with my friends Dana and Veronica. Thanks again, Dana for finding that restaurant and using a Groupon coupon. I then retired to my hotel room to get ready for the race!

Although I had my alarm set for 3:30am, to give me time to eat and get ready for the 6am start, I was woken up with a huge jolt at 3:22am. It was a 6.0 earthquake that was centered about 25 miles away in Napa Valley. I quickly got out of bed and onto the floor and waited for the rolling to stop. It was a long quake and was the second strongest I've ever experienced, with the first being the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989. I checked Twitter on my phone and it appeared that the world hadn't come to an end, so it was time to get ready for the race!

Parking was easy and there were plenty of porta-potties, since we marathoners started an hour before the half-marathoners. I met my friends Dana and Veronica before the race start.

As 6am approached, I was surprised that the workers were still setting up the start line and there was a big rental truck blocking the road, but within minutes of the start, everything came together, and we were off!

I was planning on watching my heart rate and taking it easy at first and hopefully ending up with a 3:03 finishing time. The course starts off with many turns as we're exploring the cute downtown of Santa Rosa. Then we got on to a bicycle path next to a river and that was scenic. The miles drifted by easily enough. I tried to keep my heart rate in the low 150s and I was steadily passing people. There were small handfuls of spectators and I high-fived the high-fiving specators (mostly kids). I made sure to thank the volunteers and sometimes the police, too. It was fun and scenic.

On this scenic bicycle path, I saw a runner in front of me toss his empty energy gel packet to the side of the trail, into the grass. I felt like saying something, like "I've volunteered at races before, and let me tell you, I hated picking up energy gels on the side of bicycle paths. There are no street cleaners coming through here. Someone is going to have to pick up your sticky trash with their hands." But I didn't say anything. This is one of the big differences between trail runners and road runners. A trail runner would never intentionally throw trash on the ground in the middle of nowhere, far away from an aid station.

The course worked its way alongside some wineries and running next to the rows of grapevines was pretty. When we got to the DeLouch winery, we ran on the driveway and through the winery building! Neat!

The half-way point eventually came and I was feeling the work-out. I forgot to check my watch at that instant but I guessed that I ran the first half in about 1:33. Looking at the results afterwards, it was 1:32:22.

I gradually increased my effort and I passed the 3:05 pace group at around the 14 mile mark. I was wondering if I could possibly get in a 3 hour marathon. I thought I would try to get as close to that as I could. In hindsight, I should have been a bit more cautious and just gone for the 3:03.

Eventually we marathoners merged into the back of the half-marathon. There was plenty of room on the bicycle path and the slower half-marathoners mostly stayed to the right. I found it uplifting to have more runners around and for me to all of a sudden be much faster than those around me.

Around mile 23 – my energy levels just dropped and my legs felt heavy and both calves got very tight and I couldn't move as fast as before, especially up short little hills. I may have made a mistake with my energy gels during the race. I was feeling full and so I delayed my last energy gel (the 4th) until about 15 minutes before I finished. Maybe if I had eaten it on my original schedule (every 40 minutes) I would have been better off. So, the last few miles were much more of a struggle and I got passed by a handful or two of runners. Finally, the finish line came in sight and I finished with a good sprint, giving me a finish time of 3:04:16. Whew! I hung out for a while, picked up the free fleece jacket, and ate the free pancake breakfast. Yum!

So, all-in-all, I'm happy with how I did and I highly recommend the Santa Rosa Marathon. The race was very well organized. The schwag offered by the race was exceptional – long sleeve tech shirt, fleece jacket with a hood, bottle of wine, tote bag, and a nice huge finishers medal. The entry fee was $135 (including the mandatory Active.com fees). There was a pancake breakfast after the race, too. I bought the mug for $10 at the expo.

Random data:

• Results are here.
• I weighed about 166.2 lbs.
• There were 1,657 finishers in the marathon and 1,450 finishers in the half-marathon.

Mt. Ashland Hill Climb -- 2:21:21

Working hard, heading uphill, of course. :-)

Beautiful Ashland, Oregon, is the location of this crazy race, the Mt. Ashland Hill Climb. I ran it once before, two years ago, when it surprised me with a ridiculous last half mile of scrambling straight up a steep mountain top. Although the race is only 13.3 miles, I think it's fair to say that it's about the equivalent to 20.5 miles of your typical relatively flat marathon road course.

I ran the race well and paced myself well, and I'm very happy to have shaved off 4 minutes from my previous attempt. I finished 24th, out of 230 finishers.

I got a good laugh out of my Garmin data, especially for the last half mile or so. I think it took me about 16 minutes to go the last 5 or 6 tenths of a mile.

The course is mostly shaded, and although the predicted high in Ashland was 91F that day, I never felt overheated. I didn't carry any water bottles and I drank a cup or two of sports drink at each aid station. I ate one energy gel, around 54 minutes into the race.

My training was somewhat unusual. I didn't exactly taper for this race, since I'm focused on the Santa Rosa Marathon which is just two weeks after this race. So, I ran a slow 12 miles, two days before the race. I bicycled a few miles the day before the race and the morning of the race.

Jennifer, Claire and I enjoyed river rafting on the Rogue River and Jennifer and Claire attended a play at the Shakespeare Festival while I ran the race.

That's my big girl. 12 years old!

Random data:

• Results (click on '2014'): http://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=16404#
• Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/566604883
• I chatted with a volunteer, Des Barnes, who ran Miwok 100K this year and plans to do Tahoe Rim Trail 100 next year. Cool! I plan on running TRT 100 also next year.
• Met Win Goodbody, who also ran the Boston Marathon this year, which I ran also.

Pacifica Rocket Run

Coastside Running Club members in the race

I ran this 5 mile race in Pacifica for the first time yesterday. It's held annually on July 4, and it's an informal and affordable ($20 race-day registration with t-shirt) and small (80 people?) race on the streets of Pacifica, with a good-sized hill in the middle.

The start was about 3 minutes late

I saw the kids line up at the front, and I knew from past races that they were very likely to sprint at the beginning and then quickly fade. The race started a few minutes past the scheduled 9am start, and then with a police escort at the front, we were off! The kids at the front sprinted ahead and then quickly faded. :-)

Us older runners soon worked our way to the front, with my friend Dan chasing a 20-something young man decked out in patriotic running gear. Then came Alon, my friend Mor's brother who was visiting from Israel. Then it was me, chasing Alon. I glanced at my watch -- 5:37 average pace. Oops. Then 5:45 average pace a bit later -- that's better.

Around the one mile mark, I was feeling good and I slowly pulled ahead of Alon, putting myself in third. I didn't feel like I could push any harder.

At the 1.7 mile mark, we turned left from Linda Mar Blvd on to Alicante Drive. This is a steep climb up to about the 2.1 mile mark. I saw Dan put on a burst of effort and pass Mr. 20-Something to put himself in first place. I pushed extra hard here too, thinking I could recover on the downhill. However, the recovery never really happened! The gradual downhill back towards the start felt quite difficult and I just tried to hang on. I maintained about the same distance from the second place guy of maybe a 100 feet.

I was happy to be able to finish in 30 minutes 50 seconds (6:11 per mile pace) and third place overall.

Working hard to finish!

We waited a while for all the runners to finish and then the age-group awards were handed out, 6 deep in each age bracket (10 year brackets for adults).

The age group winners

We had a wonderful breakfast at Mor's house afterwards. Thanks, Mor! Was a nice day! Jennifer promised to run the race next year. Who knows, maybe I can get Claire to run it, too.

Here is my Garmin data.