Napa Valley Marathon

26.2 Miles. 

5 months of training.

640 miles in 3 states and 2 countries.

3 hours 44 minutes 37 seconds.

The last few weeks of training I felt really good about everything. The running was going well and I was preparing myself mentally. After running a few 20-milers, I felt as though I could handle it. 

The weekend started off great. We saw Hey Marseilles on Friday night at the Showbox in Seattle. They were awesome as usual. After 3 sad hours of sleep, we were up and headed to the airport to fly to San Francisco. Jen picked us up and we went to the expo to pick up our packets and bibs. 

At the expo, we walked by a booth promoting the Santa Rosa marathon. Dustin declined the flyer and casually mentioned he had run it last year. I noticed the man handing out the fliers had on a Badwater shirt. After recently reading so many books on ultra marathons, this caught my attention (Badwater is a 135-mile ultramarathon through Death Valley in July). I turned back to him and asked if he'd run it. 15 times, he replied. Then he really had my attention. I pulled Dustin back and told him and we ended up chatting with him for a good 15 minutes or so. He asked us about the marathon and what our goal times were. He also gave us some advice: 

1- Run the first 5 miles slower than your pace. This gives you time to warm up and get into and it and you can make up for the time later. 

2- Start at the back. It's all about chip time, not gun time. Starting at the back gives the crowd time to get going and you end up passing people at your own pace instead of fighting the crowd at the starting line. Dustin promised to do so in the race. 

Arthur Webb wished us luck and asked Dustin to email him with our results. I felt honored to meet such an accomplished runner.

We talked dad into taking us to drive the course. It was helpful to see the course so we knew what to expect. We also took a small detour to the Chateau Montelena winery. :) 

Back at the house, we had an awesome welcome:

We had a great pre-race dinner and then prepped for the morning:

Dustin's mile split times

Jen got up early and drove us to the starting line in Calistoga. The drive was quiet. I was busy getting my stuff together, trying to make sure I didn't forget anything. Dustin had been quiet since the night before... he was so focused. And Jen just let us be - although she said she called David on the way home... just to talk (she's not one for long silent drives). They didn't allow spectators at the start, but I knew everyone would be waiting at the finish line. 

I was nervous, but felt a lot of excitement that morning. I was looking forward to just getting it done. The anticipation of the race that last week had been getting to me. I just wanted to be done. 

We walked to the start and dropped off Dustin's water bottles (they allow you to bring your own to be placed at specific water stations) and then got in line for the bathroom. The lines weren't moving very quickly... and it was nearing the 7am start time. When we got out of the porta-potty, we were surprised to find that the race had already begun. We just laughed that we had missed the gun start in this epic moment, but since he wanted to start at the back anyway, neither of us were too worried (there were plenty of people still getting started and a few still in line for the bathroom). We shed our sweatshirts to the donation pile and wished each other good luck. I took off and he stayed behind to let the crowd get a head start and disperse. 

I had been told that there were 4 parts to a marathon. Part 1 is the first half - miles 1-13.1. Part 2 is from 13.1 to mile 20. The third part is mile 20 to 23 and the last part is the last 3.2 miles. 4 parts... and they would be equally as challenging. I kept that in mind. As I said earlier though, I had run 20 before, so I figured I could make it that far at least without too much difficulty. 

I started off feeling great. I was running at a pretty good pace and it felt effortless. I kept thinking about what everyone said about the first few miles and I kept telling myself to slow down. But I just felt so good! I figured as long as it felt good, I'd keep up the pace I was going. I tried to enjoy the scenery and it was turning out to be a beautiful day. Dustin caught up to me around mile 2 and went flying by - looking strong. The sun came out and I shed my sleeves. 

The first half went by fairly quickly and without any trouble. I crossed the halfway point at 1:49... less than a minute after my Seattle half time (and half PR to date). Part 2 of the marathon proved to be more difficult than I had expected. By mile 18 I was struggling and I wasn't sure why. Probably because I thought I'd get to mile 20 so easily... but it's still 20 miles! Just because I'd done it before doesn't make it easy. 

My pace had slowed and I was already trying not to think about how many miles I had left. I was getting really nervous about my time. I had a secret goal of 3:45, although I would have been happy with anything under 4 hours. By mile 20 I wasn't sure I'd even make that. I had slowed down - clearly I had gone too fast in the beginning. I wanted to quit. I wanted to cry. And I still had a long way to go. 

For those first 18 miles I had done a pretty good job of eating frequently and staying hydrated. I must have given up after that because I had some gatorade at mile 21 and it tasted like the best gatorade I'd ever had in my life. The miles couldn't come fast enough. Each one seemed longer and longer. I really wanted to give up then. I really wanted to cry. I was afraid of disappointing everyone with my time... and mostly disappointing myself. I knew no one else cared - they were just happy seeing me finish. 

I felt so sluggish... my legs were heavy. My pace made me angry and I tried to convince myself to suck it up and run faster. I think I did for one mile. I finally hit mile 24 and that's when I realized that even if my last two miles were really slow, I could still make my goal. That made me hopeful, but it didn't make my legs feel any better. 

I got to mile 25 and lost it. I stopped on the side of the road and bent over with my hands on my knees. I wasn't sure how to go on. A woman running past me encouraged me to keep going - she told me I just needed to keep running, keep breathing. Somehow it helped. I started running again and thanked her. She kept encouraging me even as I ran past her. She caught up with me a few minutes later and asked me my name. She kept telling me I could do this. I kept telling myself I'd see my family in less than 10 minutes and it would all be over. 

We turned and headed down the residential street and in a few more steps turned a corner and I could see the high school where the finish was. I was so happy. There were people cheering everywhere and I was energized momentarily. But what they say is true - that's the longest 0.2 miles ever. I finally got to the school and eventually saw Ellie in the crowd. She saw me and ran ahead to alert the others I was coming in. 

Getting to that finish line was the hardest thing I have ever done. And I've never been more proud. I was greeted by a volunteer who handed me a bottle of water and then guided me to get my medal, get my picture taken and then point me in the direction of food. I wasn't sure if everyone got this kind of treatment (which in fact they did) or if I just looked really delirious (also probably true). I exited from the course and Ellie came running over and hugged me, followed quickly by Jen, Dustin, David and eventually Dad (he had volunteered to give massages at the race and was a few minutes late to the finish - I wouldn't have even known, I was so out of it). The woman who encouraged me those last few miles was at the finish as well and congratulated me. I hugged her and thanked her. I don't know if she'll ever know how much she helped me. 

Dustin was wearing his Boston shirt that I had gotten him as a congratulations for qualifying for the Boston marathon (I had given it to Jen to give to him after the race). And he did it! He finished in 2:57:02 (qualifying time for Boston is 3:05). I was so happy for him!

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do - walk, sit, eat... so we stood around for a few minutes as I tried to gather some thoughts and tell them about the race. They were all so proud. 

We went to the food tent and ate some minestrone soup while I recovered. They were posting official chip times as they were being updated and I was thrilled to see I had officially beat my goal by 23 seconds. I was still shocked I did that. My miles in the first half were apparently fast enough to make up for the slower second half. 

I was exhausted and drained, both physically and mentally. We talked about the race for most of the day. I tried to remind myself that my first half marathon was also challenging, but that those have gotten easier over time. Having the experience of one marathon will help prepare me for the next... and hopefully they'll get easier as well. 

We'll see just how true that holds up in 6 weeks... just 7 days after the Napa Valley Marathon, we signed up to run the Vancouver Marathon May 5th. 

The training continues.....