LOLZLetter 303 | California International Marathon
Welcome,
A late newsletter! This will be a short newsletter this week since I got back late last night from Sacramento, and I hadn't even started the newsletter until before work this morning. It is simply a quick recap of the race. The California International Marathon weekend was a lot of fun. In case you don't follow me on Instagram or Strava, I ran a 3:19.57. It is my fastest time since 2018, but not the time I trained for. It can be hard when you have run faster than you have in a while (or even PR'ed), but it was not the time you wanted. You want to feel grateful, but also you know you are capable of faster times. That has been kind of the theme of my 2024. I've had some *good* races, but not *great* ones. There was always something.
I had hoped I was in the 3:15 range, but after getting sick twice in the last two weeks: the first picking up HmPV from the East Coast and the second, some sort of cold, I didn't feel great. Running just felt hard.
The 6-hour drive to Sacramento was fairly uneventful, except when my nose started to become very runny, and I felt more congested than usual. I started to worry that it would get worse. I could run the marathon with some congestion, but not if something got even worse. I likely had a cold. Luckily, it never got worse, but being somewhat under the weather doesn't make running easier. That cold ended up making breathing feel harder, and my heart rate was higher than it should be.
We stayed near the bus loading station, so getting to the race was easy. CIM has plenty of porta-potties at the start, although I am sure they could always use more. I was warned not to go out too fast, and that's never been a huge issue for me...It takes me miles and miles to warm up. When we started running, I could tell running just felt harder than I hoped. I had tapered and was hoping to feel amazing, but I didn't. I was like, "Oh no, am I going to count miles down from 26 to zero?"
I don't necessarily believe CIM is the fastest course, but I do believe they recruit fast people, and that's why times are so fast. My 3:20 put me in about 2000/9000.
You need to be in your corral early (probably no later than 15-20 minutes prior). Within the first few minutes, I realized I needed to use the restroom, but it wasn't until mile 4 that there were bathrooms. From there, I was running with the 3:15 pacer where I stayed for a bit. The pace (7:26) didn't feel too bad even as we went up and down hills.
After that, I started to get weird waves of having to puke. It would come and go. I don't know what it was, there was some smoke, which I've found after living in Northern California, I'm sensitive to smoke, and it's triggered some migraines. It could be from being sick twice. I stopped at mile 8 in the bathroom and just couldn't vomit. By the time I got out, the 3:15 pacers were long ahead.
So from there, I got weird waves of puking; I would feel sick, then fine, then sick, then fine. I stopped at miles 4, 8, 16, 19, 22. I probably had about 3-4 minutes of standing time, but I never actually barfed. On top of that, I just felt like I had low energy. It was a hard day.
It wasn't until mile 22 that I actually felt decent. I decided to just push the last four miles, and my last mile was my fastest (7:17). I crossed the finish line in 3:19.57. I'm happy to have run faster than 3:20 but unhappy the race played out like I did. I do feel like I could have run 3:15 on a better (for me) day.
It's been a series of weird events this fall, and I've definitely gotten sick more than usual.It also feels like there is a lot going around right now, so hopefully, you stay healthy!
In all, I'm happy to run a faster time than I have in a few years, but like most runners wish it could have been faster. I am not terribly sore today, I’ve been more sore after long runs this cycle but time to rest up with Los Angeles Marathon 3 months away. :-)
If you want to save 10% on the Los Angeles Marathon send me an email.
What's Keeping Me Entertained?
adidas Supernova Prima Shoe Review
November and CIM Buildup Training Log
Athing Mu talks winning gold medals, missing the Olympics, & getting engaged: Athing isn't typically on podcasts so this was fun to hear from her.
Hi Hollie. Congrats on the marathon and sorry you didn’t meet your goal time due to your race day issues. I noticed that I am also picking up colds more frequently and having them last longer. I recently went through some comprehensive blood tests including Immunoglobulins Blood Test. I learned my IgA is low which is the antibody that protects against respiratory infections. Unfortunately there is no cure, but know I know to be more proactive in avoiding colds, etc. The Source Naturals Wellness Formula capsules also help reduce my symptoms and duration when I do catch a cold. I buy them on Amazon. Happy Holidays!