CIM Race Report- I am a marathoner (again)

Short Report:

Like i mentioned in my Shashta report, my whole year was planned around CIM. I started training for CIM in late June as soon as Shashta adventure was over. Even though i was running well till March, i knew i had to start from scratch with fresh mindset. I trained hard for 5.5 months leading upto the race. Every single minor details were planned and tested and fine tuned in training. This was something i learned during Shasta trip. Sweat on minor details. Starting from what to eat starting 24 hours before the race, what to eat and when to eat on race morning and finally how much and when to eat during the race. I went into the race with the goal of finishing the race in 5 hours 20 minutes based on how my training had happened and i finished it in 5 hours 22 minutes. No bonking, no hitting the wall. No dying out there. Everything went according to plan from start to finish. I finished with a big smile and sprint to the finish line. 

Was it a perfect race. Nope. There were few things in hindisght which could have been handled better but in general, it was close. I have no regrets. I am a MARATHONER (again). Last time, i did full marathon was 2013. I had forgotten how much commitment is needed when you sign up for a marathon. It still remains the hardest thing acomplished this year, both mentally and physically. 

Long Report:

CIM was always on my radar when i started running as it is a fairly big race and close to home. But on the flip side, it is in December which means training in cold and dark in November. First time, i had registered for it two year back but i did not commit to the training required to get to start line. I also ended up with a back injury when i tried to ramp up too much too quickly. Fast forward to 2018, i repeated some of the mistakes again. My body somehow cannot do 12 months of run training. Considering CIM is in December, it would also mean doing long miles towards the end of year after running through the year. As predicted, i was again feeling burn out by November and i decided to defer my registration to 2019.

By November, I was trained enough to do a half marathon and so i registered for monterey bay half marathon but unfortunately, the race got cancelled due to california fires. So now i had two defered races in 2019. Monterey Bay half in November and then CIM in December. Since monterey bay half marathon was cancelled, i continued training through winter months with the hope of doing Oakland half in March of 2019. 

Fast forward to January, I wanted to break this cycle of not being able finish training. After some serious introspection, I was committed to CIM this year. But to get to CIM, it was important to change the route i took in 2017 and 2018. So this year, after Oakland half marathon in March, i decided to take a break from running. My thought process was if I had to get to CIM in good state of mind, i would need 5-6 months of solid training under my belt. So there was no reason to continue doing random races before that and feel complete burn out by June. Instead, i wanted to spend time getting physically stronger between March and June. Luckily, i came across Asha Climbing program. That program ensured i stay physically active and get stronger with time.

Fast forward to June, i was rearing to go for CIM. After a long time, i was mentally fresh and ready to take marathon training head on. Even though i was starting again from scratch, i was not a typical couch potato. Climbing program helped me strengthen my body and also build decent endurance base. Carrying 40lb backpacks for extended periods of time can do amazing things to your body :)

Training and Nutrition

At high level, training plan was laid out with 2 half marathons before CIM. The goal of those two races was to try out race specific strategy (Nutrition, pacing etc) so those don't become issue in CIM.  Going into the training, i had also made commitment to follow

1) Do most run outside. In the past, I did most of weekday training on treadmill. This did not help me when i went for long runs outside. So to get the most of out of long runs, it was necessary to do short runs outside on concrete rather than treadmill. I had planned to use treadmill only if it is absolutely must.

2) Foam rolling/stretching every single day. Something I had ignored in past. Again a very small thing but absolutely must for getting through training.

3) Strength training consistency. I am not a big fan of gym but if i had to survive marathon training, this was absolute must. However little, but sneak atleast two sessions per week.

With the above template, I started increasing mileage very gradually. I had 5.5 months so there was no need for sharp increase. Initial few weeks were the toughest as legs had forgotten how to run. But once those initial weeks went by, recovery was lot more faster. The goal was to get 4-5 runs a week with long runs in the range of 16-20 (3 to 4 hours). Luckily, i had team asha east bay running buddies who were also training for various races including CIM. For most long runs, I had company and that helped me get through the long miles fairly comfortably. A big thanks to coach Bharathi who ran with me for all my long runs and ensured that i run them at proper paces and don't go too fast too early and always finish the long run with faster pace. 

Nutrition was broken down into pre-race and in race nutrition. After lot of trials and errors in training, I followed a specific plan for last 5-8 weeks for all my long runs. I wanted to make sure my stomach is not going to have any issues in race. For most Friday's i only had big bowl of pasta with simple tomato sauce. On Saturdays, 3 hours before the long run, eat 2 cliff bars and drink 16oz of electrolyte and then have a gel 30 minutes before the run. It was crucial to get it 3 hours before the race to avoid porta potty breaks in the race. Something i learned in Monterey half marathon where i cramped everything in two hour window and had to stop multiple times for porta potty breaks. Having 3 hour window helped me digest everything before the run. Once the run started, aim to get ~300 calories per hour. 160 calories from gel (1 every 30 minutes) and rest from electrolyte drinks. To make sure i can mimick the intake, i also switched the electrolyte drink to what was going to be served on course. Nuun endurance. I always aimed for 15-16 oz per hour which roughly translated to 150-160 calories. 

I followed the same protocol for all of long runs starting from 16 miles all the way to 20 miles while making mental notes on how i am feeling while running. When i finished my 20 miler (~4 hours), i immediately told Bharathi, if i feel this good in race, i am far certain to finish the race without issue. For once, nutrition was certainly working well for me. 

Pre-Race Night

Pre-race night was certainly one of the most nervous nights i have experienced in last few year. After going to bed at 9, i pretty much woke up every 30-40 mins right from 10 PM. The plan was to get up at 3:30 and start having the food for 7 AM start. Since i was getting up so many times, i decided to start chucking down electrolyte every time i woke up. Luckily, by 3:30 i was done with electrolyte and only had to worry about solid foods which was not an issue for me. In hindsight this was good move as all porta potty lines in the race were long and would have wasted several minutes just waiting in line. Lesson learnt from half marathon.

Race

Like i mentioned in the short report, race itself was really uneventful. I had put several hours in making sure it stays that way in the training. As soon as the gun went off, i was in the zone and was keeping an eye on pace to make sure i am not doing anything stupid. From my training experience, i knew miles 13-20 are the miles which are mentally tough and then miles 20-26 are physically tough. To make sure i stay distracted from negative thoughts for miles 13-20, i had carried my headpone with me which i only turned on after mile 13. Music helped me stay distracted till mile 20. After mile 20, it was just about mentally toughing it out for remaining time.

For most race, i felt in control. I did not experience any bonking. Mentally, i was there for all 26.2 miles. I had run through all scenarios in training and was prepared for each section of race, mentally as well as physically. I was also able to smile and sprint to finish line. 

Final Thoughts

When i had started training, if someone told me that i would be able to finish this well I would have taken it any day. Couple of things i think that i need to figure out for next race.

1) Fuel belt. During most long run, i trained with a specific fuel belt. But i never loaded it up with 10 gels. With that weight, it kept sliding down in the race. I spent every single walk break adjusting it for first hour or so before i got completely fed up with it. I threw the fuel belt and moved all the gels to pocket. I only kept one bottle in hand for emergency water need. This was bit unexpected and it turned out i had to waste crucial minutes refilling the bottles at aid station. For next race, i need to figure out better fuel carrying option.

2) Better strength training. My goal was to push after mile 20. Mentally, i was prepared for it but physically, my body was not ready for it. I had passed the 5:20 pacer in mile 2 and had planned not to see him again. At mile 24, when he passed me, i tried super hard to stay with him. But physically, my body was not ready for push. My thought is with better and bigger focus on strength, i might be able to over come the physical aspect of racing.

What next

Back in 2011 when i got introduce to edurance world with team asha, i always made sure i get the training right for any event. Somewhere, i lost that crucial aspect in 2017,2018. Haphazard inconsistent training, signing up for every race that shows up in calendar and running those race with no or very little training ending up with bad experience or more worse with injury. It feels like 2019 has been good comeback year. I only signed up for races for which i truly wanted to train or had a purpose in larger scheme of things.

This year, i ended with 4 half marathons and 1 full marathon and no injury and no deferrals. I haven't decided on any races for 2020 but i am far certain i will not be signing up for full marathon.

Right after finishing the race, first thing that crossed my mind was i want to get faster at this. My PR for half marathon is 1:50. I want to get close to that. In 2019, my best time for half marathon was 2:20 in Oakland. I want to move it closer to 2 hours as first step. So atleast for 2020, i want to focus on getting stronger and faster at half marathon distance. Which races and how is still in works :)