Ho John Lee’s Weblog

The Big Sur Marathon has a well-deserved reputation for being difficult, scenic, and well run. This is my second time at Big Sur, having run it last year (2004) as well. It’s my 3rd marathon overall, after starting as a novice runner in 2002. I’m continuing to build an aerobic base and improving my running mechanics, so each time out on the course is another experiment and learning experience.

During the past year I’ve maintained a base mileage of 45-55 miles per week, with no major injuries. I’ve regularly logged 13-16 mile runs during the past year, but have only gone up to 18 miles on this training cycle, vs the previous year where I put in four 20 mile runs and weekly hill intervals. From my training log paces and HR data I can see that I’m in better base condition than the previous year, but going in I’m uncertain about how things will hold up after 3 hours on the road.

Pre-race:
We are staying at the Portola Plaza Hotel, which is also where the expo is. It used to be the Doubletree but went independent this year. They still have fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies when you check in, though. The rooms also have coffee makers but no refrigerators, which is moderately inconvenient. The elevators are full of runners bringing in running stuff and grocery bags of food when we check in.

Later we check out the expo floor and some of the speakers. Emily says “hi” to Danny Dreyer before his talk — she’s mentioned briefly at the beginning of his Chi Running book. The “Chi” angle seems to attract and repel an equal number of prospective listeners, but I had come to a lot of the same conclusions about running mechanics on my own, trying to be an engineer about it, and can highly recommend his book even if it sounds too Californian-new-ageish for some. Later I pick up some gloves and disposable rain gear — the forecast is for possible showers. Knowing I need to be up at 4:00am, we’re all in bed by 9:00pm.

Although I’ve set the alarm for 4:00am, I wake up before the alarm to the muffled sounds of bathroom activity all around as at least one person in every room in the hotel prepares for the race. I have a protein shake, half a hotel cookie, half a banana and some coffee and water while getting washed and dressed. The elevators are packed with groggy runners as we head down to the buses.

Since the course runs along the Pacific coast from Big Sur to Carmel along Highway 1, the road is closed to traffic and most runners are bussed in from Monterey and Carmel. The buses load promptly at 4:30am in front of the Marriott across the street, and leave at 4:45am as advertised. The ride takes about an hour. As we ride out, we pass the CHP checkpoints where they are preparing to close the road and the aid stations in the process of being set up. I nibble on a Marathon bar and take in another 8oz of water on the ride in. The buses are too big to turn at the start area, and have to travel another 1/2 mile beyond the start area to turn around before letting everyone off.

There are people as far as the eye can see at the start area. Based on my experience last year, I grab a half cup of coffee then go stand in line for the port-a-potties. By the time I’m done, it’s almost 6:30am and they’re starting to call people to drop their sweat bags and line up by time. There’s no rain and it’s cool but not too cold, so I leave the rain gear and gloves in the bag.

Last year I lined up with the 4:00 group, which seemed a little too slow at the beginning, so this year I move to the back of the 3:30 group. The race starts promptly at 7:00am. It takes a couple of minutes after the gun to reach the starting line.

The race:
The first few miles are mostly downhill from the start to Molera State Park. I want to start easy, around 9:30 to 9:00 pace and get warmed up without spending a lot of energy moving around people. Was thinking about trying out an 8:30 pace and staying there if it felt ok, but also want to be a little cautious about using too much energy early, especially since I didn’t get in as many long runs as I wanted in training. The Daniels pace chart (or try McMillan’s here) says I should be able to hold something like 8:00 pace, assuming I “train appropriately” for the distance, which I probably haven’t. I’m also mindful that I need to pack up the family and drive home afterwards, so don’t want to be totally wrecked after the race.

mile 1 0:09:23 lined up toward back of 3:30-4:00 group, lot of traffic HR 135
mile 2 0:08:56 still lot of traffic HR 141
mile 3 0:08:23 feeling little warmed up now HR 144
mile 4 0:08:15 mostly flat to downhill HR 148
mile 5 0:08:29 molera state park HR 148

Miles 6-10 are flat to uphill with a sharp descent before Hurricane Point. Starting to feel reasonably warmed up now. From previous runs, I’m expecting my HR to be in the 140s at the start, and end up in the 160s. I’m not actually running based on the HRM, but it gives me some feedback about my level of effort. I’d like to mostly stay in the 150’s. The weather is perfect — cool, overcast, a hint of wind, a touch of mist, but no actual rain.

mile 6 0:09:06 little uphill HR 146
mile 7 0:08:10 flat to uphill HR 150
mile 8 0:08:05 mostly flat HR156
mile 9 0:08:14 point sur bridge HR 160
mile 10 0:07:40 steep downhill at end HR 155

Miles 11-12 go up, and miles 13-15 go down Hurricane Point. The 1st mile up is steeper. I’m trying to stay mostly aerobic and maintain constant level of effort. The splits and HR seem to match the course profile on the ascent. On the way down, I’m trying to practice more efficient descents and am happy to see a faster pace with a lower HR. My running form is improving over time, and after the race I also note the absence of blisters or blackened toenails, unlike last year. When I started running, I wanted to minimize excess and mechanically inefficient motion, mostly with the goal of injury prevention. This also turns out to be a good thing for distance running.

mile 11 0:09:59 1st mile hurricane point ascent HR 162
mile 12 0:09:14 2nd mile hurricane point - flatter HR 161
mile 13 0:07:01 descent - trying for efficient form HR 157

Halfway split is around 1:52 or so.

mile 14 0:07:55 mostly descent, some uphill HR 154
mile 15 0:08:25 palo colorado canyon HR 155

Last year I remember being mentally prepared for the 1st half of the course, but really not as well rehearsed for the 2nd half of the course, starting at mile 15 and out. This year I spent some extra time mapping out the hills so I’d have a chance of remembering what was coming up. This year I also experimented a bit with less water and Gu during the race than last time, hoping to feel less “sloshy” and avoid some potty breaks. This generally worked pretty well, although I approached a mini-bonk during miles 16-17 which was reflected in my dropping HR even while I felt like I was working reasonably hard. A few minutes after reloading with water and carbohydrates I was getting back toward normal ranges.

mile 16 0:09:26 ascent to rocky point, starting to feel sluggish - note dropping HR HR145
mile 17 0:09:57 feeling underfueled/dehydrated, load up at 16.8mi station HR132
mile 18 0:09:16 starting to recover HR147
mile 19 0:08:59 don’t remember much HR149
mile 20 0:09:06 don’t remember much HR149
mile 21 0:07:13 this split seemed short HR 150

Last year, I remember being surprised at the Yankee Point ascent. It’s large enough to be challenging, especially if you’re tired, weren’t expecting any substantial hills, and there’s no end in sight. This year, I know that it’s about a mile, with the steepest half mile at the end.

mile 22 0:11:54 ascent to yankee point HR145
mile 23 0:09:24 highlands inn HR147

At this point I feel like I’m on home turf. We’ve been on weekends and vacations in Carmel enough that I know the rest of the course both from driving and from a few runs. The split time here is 3:22:30, my legs are holding up ok and it looks like I’m safely coming in under 4:00 for a new PR. Unfortunately, I can also feel that I’m not going to get much more speed out of my legs without triggering a cramp, so I’m definitely looking at something over 3:45. This is also the part of the course where the road is significantly tilted to one side, and there are some up and downs coming, so I’m just going to hang in here and plan on finishing in reasonable shape.

mile 24 0:08:46 point lobos HR153
mile 25 0:08:35 past monastery beach HR154
mile 26 0:09:12 approach to finish area, short hill near end HR152

There is a clump of people chugging through the end of mile 26. I’m not too focused on the time, but it is a race, and I’m curious whether I can manage a little speed at this point. Not much, it turns out.
end 0:01:33 feel ok, but I only manage to pick up to 7:45 pace HR163

Final score:
chip time 3:50:34, official time 3:52:36, 8:48 average pace
1st half: ~1:52, 2nd half: ~1:58
565/2872 overall, 457/1807 men’s, 87/310 men’s 40-45

Improved time by 13:09, moved up 364 places overall.

Other notes:

• Took it easier during the taper this year, no long/hard runs for 3 weeks
• Larger meals on Thursday, Friday, not Saturday to avoid “digestive bulk”
• Increased water and electrolyte intake during last 3 days pre-race
• Spent more time planning the 2nd half of the race

Post-race:
Aside from improving my time, one of the other goals was to finish in working condition. Unlike last year, we didn’t spend the afternoon at the Monterey Aquarium and Fisherman’s Wharf, but we did pack up and drive back an hour and half to Palo Alto. I’m noticing that today I’m feeling my abs and my arms feeling a little more sore than last time, which is consistent with the running mechanics I’m trying for. I’m taking a day or two off from running, but I’m not too sore and don’t seem to have any blisters, strains, or creaky joints so that objective has also been met.

At some point I’ll sign up for a “fast” course and see how that goes, but I have enjoyed both outings at Big Sur and will probably do it again at some point, if not next year.

The two guys at the Monterey Herald got through ok, too!

This entry was posted on Monday, April 25th, 2005 at 11:03 pm and is filed under Running, Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tags: running, marathons, big sur