Avenue of the Giants Marathon (Race Recap)

Weott, California
Sunday, May 1
Marathon #28
Weather - Sunny, perfect

Heather picked the Avenue of the Giants marathon as her birthday race. Since my birthday is only a few weeks after hers, I invited myself along, registering right away. Then, of course, people asked... "how are you getting there." I assumed, by plane. Until I started looking at the logistics. The Avenue of the Giants is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, and there is no such thing as a direct flight from Denver. Not such a big deal, but flying into the Eurkea airport (about 45 minutes north), was a lot more expensive. We determined that it was worth it to pay a bit more and not have to drive 5 HOURS from San Francisco.

Anyway.

We had already scoped out where the race was starting, so we planned on leaving the hotel at 6, giving us 45 minutes for the drive and then an hour to use the bathrooms, park, etc. Timing ending up working out really well. The marathon starts at 7:45, an hour before the half. It is also the smallest of the three events, so we were able to park with ease. By the time we parked, we weren't sure that we would have time to use the bathroom and then head back to the car, so we put on our throwaways and grabbed all our stuff and headed towards the start.

First time we went through the bathroom lines there was virtually no wait. We took some pictures and cycled through the line one more time before the start. It was REALLY foggy at the start, but we were sure that it would burn off later.

At the start line

Heather got a stress fracture in mid March. She had literally run less than 20 miles in the last 6 weeks. Up until the trip out, we were unsure what distance we were even going to attempt. That was settled when the race director told us that although she could stop at the half marathon point, she would get a DNF. Against better judgment, she wanted to go for the marathon. I, on the other hand, had put in my first ever marathon training cycle and run just about all my scheduled runs. (Well, until the whole lasik thing, then I had to cut some out). Kinda bummed not to see what my training could do for me (if anything), but I was committed to running with Heather. So the goal was "slow and low, that is the tempo" and not to screw up her injury any worse.

With that said, we lined up towards the back. I was still wearing my throwaway as it was a tad chilly in the midst of all the trees. The road we were on was pretty torn up, but very runnable. We chatted and the time was flying by. We were maintaining a slower pace than I even train at, but Heather was feeling good, so we didn't want to push the pace. The course was marked at every mile, and we had been warned that due to the giant trees, we might lose satellite on our watches, so I liked that there were markings. I hadn't really memorized where the aid stations were, but I had thought the first one would be around 2 miles in, and it wasn't until closer to 3. Not a big deal as it was still pretty chilly. Both of us got rid of our throwaways though.

The aid stations all had gatorade (the icky lemon-lime flavor) and water, as well as oranges. On the website, it said that there would be gels at "select" aid stations, which turned out to only be on the marathon course at mile 13, fyi, make sure you have enough for the whole race.

Anyway, we were stopping to take a lot of pictures. I had to stop every hour or so to put drops in my eyes. We walked all the aid stations and had to stop twice on the course to use the bathroom. The course is a double out and back, and the way out of the first out and back, it seemed downhill. However, it didn't seem that uphill on the way back (with the exception of a short climb around mile 11 or so).

At the half way point we joined the half marathon and 10k runners on a wider, two lane road. This road was MUCH easier to run on, as it was very smooth. We were definitely the back of the pack for the marathon, but I don't mind out and backs as I can see other people. I think the most interesting person on the course was a woman doing the half marathon CARRYING A BABY IN A BJORN. What. And she wasn't even last, or even close to last. Around mile 18 my garmin lost satellite. It would take over a half hour to recover it, so I was lost on our pace, and kind of where we were. (Not really, because there were markings every mile).
Heather finally started to have some issues around mile 20. Not where her stress fracture was (right tibia), but hip/glut and IT band on her left side. I'm guessing that she was favoring her left leg, trying to avoid hurting her right. By that point, spirits were definitely down and the chatter lessened, as she was in no mood for goofy chit chat. Did my best to keep her spirits high, but she was struggling. It was also getting really warm. The forecast had the high around 73, and considering I have been running in 40 degree weather, that seemed HOT. Most of the people at our pace were walking, so we actually passed quite a few people in the back half.

The sections in the sun were so warm!

We took a few short walk breaks, but I was really amazing at how much Heather was able to run! She is crazy/a rock star. I had thought the last aid station was about 3/4 of a mile from the finish, and was getting kind a discouraged when it seemed to be taking so long to get there. Turns out, it was like .3 from the finish. Both of us had some kick left and we sprinted past two people in the chute (one of which was behind us in line at the airport and remembered us).

Heather was pretty bummed with our "slow" finish. Since I'm slower anyway, I didn't care. PLUS, SHE HAD NOT RUN IN 6 WEEKS!

Official Time - 5:29:51 (not even my slowest road marathon)
Official Pace - 12:35
Overall Place - 444/522
Gender Place - 197/256
Division Place - 29/36
Garmin Time - 5:30:18
Mile 1 - 11:23
Mile 2 - 11:48
Mile 3 - 11:43
Mile 4 - 11:14
Mile 5 - 12:33
Mile 6 - 12:01
Mile 7 - 14:07
Mile 8 - 11:50
Mile 9 - 11:51
Mile 10 - 13:23
Mile 11 - 13:58
Mile 12 - 11:25
Mile 13 - 12:02
Mile 14 - 11:53
Mile 15 - 11:52
Mile 16 - 14:05
Mile 17 - 14:09
Mile 18 - 14:23
Mile 19 - 33:52 (this is where my garmin lost satellite, pretty sure this was almost 3 miles)
Mile 20 - 12:50
Mile 21 - 12:29
Mile 22 - 12:31
Mile 23 - 13:35
Mile 24 - 12:42
Mile 25 - 11:06

Overall, my watch only measured 24.59 miles, so I lost about 1.6 miles due to the whole big trees / satellite issue.

Collected our medals and headed up to the finish area. I was hungry and wanted beer. SADLY, the "food" SUCKED. A bag of stale chips and peanut butter and jelly wraps were IT. Urg!!! We were in the middle of nowhere, so it's not like we could just drive down the street and get food. As for the beer, apparently only some special "club" was able to get beer. They had a big sign for Eel River brewery, but not everyone was able to get a beer. SO DISAPPOINTING. They did, however, have a food truck where you could BUY food, but our car was a ten minute walk away.

Thoughts:

• Course is beautiful. Hands down, one of the prettiest road races I have run. I LOVE TREES AND GREEN THINGS SO MUCH!!
• Race was pretty well organized, and I liked that there were plenty of aid stations and potties located on the course. Lots of friendly volunteers, the aid stations were never out of supplies and it didn't seem like they were overwhelmed.
• Do not love that the race shirt is a cotton tee. I won't wear it. They did have lots of other options of tops and merchandise to BUY at packet pick up. Maybe if this was a first marathon, or I didn't have a bazillion other x,y,z.
• Cute medal. We think it is a bobcat on it. We did not see any on the course, nor do I know if they live in the area. But cute.
• BUMMER BUMMER BUMMER about the finish area. It SUCKED having to drive back to Eurkea (well over 40 minutes away, just to get food). Was not pleased with that.
• So, if the question is, would I run again? I probably would not, but more because of the expense in getting there. I don't think anyone would be disappointed with the course, and the lack of food and beer could certainly be solved - if you knew about it in advance.

Week in Review (April 26 - May 2)

Holy crap. How on earth is it MAY????

Tuesday (15,231 steps) - Didn't get up early. Again. I planned to run during my lunch hour. However, I left my special eye drops at home, so I had to run to Walgreen's to buy some. I went "the long way" so I could get a semi-decent run in. This was one of the best runs I have had in ages. It was "fast" and cool, and I didn't want to die.

I work only a few blocks from the state capital

Wednesday (14,529 steps) - Had my "one week" follow up for my lasik. Can start cutting back on the prescription drops, and everything is looking good. Run club after work with A! A struggled a bit as she has soccer practice after school and she was tired.

We went to Garbanzo's for dinner after. Haven't been there in ages, it was so delicious. Started packing for this weekend.
Thursday (18,916 steps) - Mainly because the forecast was looking bleak, I actually got up early and did a run. 4ish miles along the lake at sunrise... really, nothing can beat that!

Clouds, they are a-rollin' in.

Gymnastics and Tokyo Joe's. Finished packing.
Friday (12,174 steps) - Rest day! A had a dentist appointment, and then I took her over to our friend's house where she would be spending the weekend. She had the day off from school, but I still had to go to work. Womp. Our flight out of Denver was at 7:30, but because it had been snowing all day, I left work a tad early to meet Heather at her house and drive over to the airport. Traffic wasn't bad, parking was easy. We grabbed a drink and got Mexican food to go. Our flight was on time. OH WAIT, JUST KIDDING. Long story short, we sat at the gate for ALMOST TWO HOURS. Why? First class catering effed up and their food wasn't on the plane. Finally, after the passengers started to revolt and were asking to get off the plane, the pilot made the executive decision to depart. We were pretty sure we wouldn't make our connection. Bought TV, tried to watch "Joy," but it was so hard to hear, that I pretty much know nothing about what happened, other than she invented a new mop. We landed in San Francisco with about 15 minutes to make our connection. We did make it to the gate, and were told "due to weather in Eureka, we may have to turn around and come back." Luckily, that didn't happen. Landed on time, airport shuttle picked us up. By the time we got to our hotel it was after 1 am. Eesh.
Saturday (20,166 steps) - Got up fairly early and had breakfast at the hotel. Pretty decent buffet style with eggs, bacon/sausage, potatoes and french toast. And THEN we went for a short, easy run by the water.

Quick showers, then took the shuttle back to the airport so we could pick up our rental car. We drove up to Trinidad, took pictures and went for a short walk.

We stopped at Lost Coast brewery in Eureka for a beer and lunch.

We then took an incredibly scenic drive down to the Avenue of the Giants to pick up our packets. Fun afternoon!

One of the best pictures I think I have ever taken

Spent some time relaxing at the hotel and then went to get pizza for dinner. Because, carb loading. In bed not quite as early as planned, around 10:30.

Sunday (60,099 steps) - Avenue of the Giants marathon, recap to follow.

We ended up having burgers and beers at Lost Coast again. Why mess with a good thing? And no, we didn't bother stopping at the hotel to shower first. Spent the remainder of the evening watching tv (we watched Mean Girls, lol). We were too lazy to go out for dinner, so we just ate in the hotel restaurant (grilled cheese, fries and cheesecake).
Monday (14,115 steps) - Last day in California. I wanted to do a short shake out run, so got up about 20 minutes before Heather for a 15 minute jog. Kinda painful, but I knew I would be sitting most of the day. After breakfast we drove up to the "Trees of Mystery." Sounds cheesy, but it was pretty neat! Took tons of pictures, went on a nature walk, and rode a gondola.

View from the top of the Sky Ride

This tree started growing DURING THE CRUSADES???

Stopped in Trinidad on the way to the airport to get food (and had a mimosa while we were waiting). The Eureka airport is so small there is not a gift shop, or food, with the exception of a vending machine. A ONE GATE AIRPORT. Flight to San Fran was fine, uneventful. Landed a few minutes early in Denver. Went to Heather's to get my car, then picked up A right around 10 pm. Stopped at Old Chicago for take out mac & cheese because I was staving and knew there was no food at home. Phew.

Stats:

• 155,230 steps
• 40 miles run
• No cross training, except our nature hike, lol
• No strength/stretching

Everything Else:

• It was "staff appreciation week" at my job this week. We had special "meals/treats" every day, which was nice! I got a Target gift card from the firm, flowers and an Amazon gift card from my attorneys, won a day off with pay, AND, I also found out I won the quarterly "perfect attendance" award, good for $100 Visa gift card. Pretty exciting!

• Nothing else....

Weeks in Review (April 12 - April 25)

Somehow this got away from me last week, so I'll just combine a few weeks. Blogging wasn't always this complicated...

Tuesday (18,573 steps) - Took another rest day. I did, however, do a long yoga video instead. Turns out, even if I complete a super slow ultra, I'M TIRED. No plans for the evening, but found out that it was "National Grilled Cheese Day," so A and I went to Village Inn for dinner. I was thoroughly UNIMPRESSED. I also ordered soup - which was lukewarm and had a hair in it. Sandwich I had to send back because the cheese wasn't even melted. At least it was a kids eat free night, so that made it sorta worth it.

Wednesday (20,028 steps) - Skipped a morning run (again) and did a lower body video. After work we went to run club. Totally bamboozled by Runner's Roost with a mini ceremony at the start acknowledging A's accomplishment at 24 Hours of Palmer Lake. They gave her an honorary MUT Roost team shirt, a hat and buff from Salomon, a Nothing Bundt Cake, a package of Oreos (because she loves them, of course), flowers, AND a season pass to Elitch's. I wish I had the foresight to videotape it. It was so unexpected and touching. I love my running community so much!!!

Heather finally started to run a bit this week and we jogged over to the track and did three miles. Such a fun night. We went to dinner at Noodles with Dan and Heather.

Thursday (20,439 steps) - A dry and unseasonably warm morning (no jacket!) and I decided to run along the lake since we have a bunch of snow in the forecast and wanted to get in some dirt before it got muddy.

Got a few minutes of yoga in. A had gymnastics and Tokyo Joe's for dinner.
Friday (19,596 steps) - Normally a rest day, but really want to get a run in before the weather hit, so I did a short loop around the neighborhood. Another day where no coat was needed, but I could definitely tell a cold front was coming in.

Almost stopped at the store after work, but people were already preparing for the Snowpocalypse, so we just got some dessert at Kneaders instead. In bed early.
Saturday (18,514 steps) - I had my alarm set with the intent to go to the Runner's Edge group run and get anywhere between 8 and 12 miles in. Within minutes of waking up I received the email that the run was canceled due to weather. So instead, I went back to bed and didn't get up until almost 9. LAZY. A and I watched TV for a few hours, gorged ourselves at IHOP for a late breakfast, and then went to see Kung Fu Panda 3. Eventually went for a 5ish mile run in the basement inferno. Also did a lower body video and some stretching. Went to bed early because I had a headache all afternoon that I just could not shake. Snowed all day, and all night.
Sunday (17,775 steps) - Pretty much the only other day in the foreseeable future that I didn't have to wake up early. Sadly, I just could not sleep past 7. Such a failure!! Looked outside and saw it was still snowing, and we had a decent amount of accumulation overnight (although no where NEAR what other areas around town got). A made Andes chocolate mint chip pancakes for breakfast. Did an upper body video, and then we went roller skating for a bit.

Picked up pho for a late lunch, and then binge watched TV and napped until I went out for a short run.

Only one area was slushy, the rest was relatively dry. Only in Denver can it snow for 36 hours straight and the roads be dry almost immediately. Not complaining, it was great. A joined me for a yoga/stretching video, but otherwise, most of the evening was spent on the couch. LAZY WEEKEND.
Monday (9,708 steps) - Alarm set, but didn't feel like getting up, so I didn't. Man, I'm really taking this taper business seriously. With Heather being injured, we are no longer running the marathon, and I certainly don't need to run a ton for a half. Instead, I'm catching up on all that sleep I've been missing lately. Took A to school a bit early, and then went to Runner's Roost for about an hour for the Boston Marathon viewing party. It was a lot of fun and I was wishing that I didn't have to go to work. Nothing else.
Tuesday (16,061 steps) - Slept in. Again. This is getting way too easy to do. Did a loop around the neighborhood after work. Nothing else.

Wednesday (15,312 steps) - Slept in, but only because I had plans of going to run club. BUSY day, most of which did not involve actually being at work. A had her awards ceremony in the morning (for being in the art show):

Had a secretary meeting that ate up my lunch hour, then I had to go to my lasik pre-op appointment. Everything still looking good for Friday! Traffic was a nightmare getting A after work, as well as driving into Denver for run club. We still got in a few miles and of course had a great evening. We went out to dinner with Heather at Noodles & Company (again).
Thursday (23,838 steps) - Since I haven't been running, and wouldn't be getting a long run in over the weekend, I actually got up and did 7ish miles before work.

It was a pleasant run, and I did a bit on the trails, although they were still muddy from the snow we had over the weekend. Bah. Gymnastics and Tokyo Joe's after work.
Friday (11,381 steps) - Last run in glasses!!!

Run around the neighborhood and then dropped A off at school and then went to Heather's house so she could take me to my lasik appointment. Everything went well and the remainder of my day was spent dozing on Heather's couch.

We picked up A after school, ordered pizza and started on the Cherry Creek Sneak after party decorations.
Saturday (15,765 steps) - Up earlier than we needed to be. Stopped at IHOP for breakfast on the way to my post-op appointment. It's crazy to me that 24 hours after having LASERS in my eyes that I'm cleared to drive... Everything looked good, yay! Headed up north for a quick jog (yes, I was cleared to do this), then took A to her very first soccer game I haven't had much of an opportunity to watch her play, but, she is really good!

Quick stop at home for showers and taking care of the kitties. Stopped at Elitch's to pick up our season passes, then headed back to Heather's house. More party decorating, and a trip to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. My eyes were pretty tired so I rested a lot on the couch.
Sunday (14,208 steps) - Up EARLY for the Sneak party! People started dropping by around 7 am. There was still quite a bit to do, getting food ready, taking out the trash, etc. Ended up partying until about 1 pm. I am too old for this.

Runner's Roost team picture!

A and I went to Elitch's, having enough time for a few roller coasters

THEN, headed over to Green Mountain for Roost Lakewood's "Trails and Ales." I wasn't really prepared for a run (no running sunglasses, no sports bra, no trail shoes, no water). I did a short 2 mile out and back - and it was GORGEOUS.

A went with Maureen and Colfax for a hike up to the summit.

A is one of the tiny people along the ridge - she ran down

We then went to Westrail Tap & Grill for a beer and THE MOST GIANT PLATTER OF NACHOS EVER.

So exhausted. Pretty much went to bed as soon as I got home.
Monday (14,283 steps) - Enjoyed getting sleep and didn't get up early. We have been having wasps sneak between our storm door and main door, so after work we made a trip to Home Depot to get something to seal up the doors better. Our neighbors came over and helped, but turns out that what we really need is some gorilla glue. We will have to go back another night to get this fixed.

Stats:
Week ending April 18

• 124,633 steps
• 18.8 miles run
• No cross training
• 120 minutes of strength/stretching

Week ending April 25

• 110,848 steps
• 19 miles run
• No cross training
• 5 minutes of strength/stretching

Everything Else

• I'm obviously taking this taper business seriously. Back to back ultra weekends DRAINED me. Not hitting quite the mileage I should, but I really needed a break! 
• Lasik is nuts. It's so weird to be able to see without contacts/glasses. Using eye drops every twelve seconds is annoying, but I'm quickly adapting and becoming addicted.
• Other than that, "goal" marathon is this weekend! Plans obviously have changed a bit with Heather now being injured. We may do a marathon, we may do the half. It's looking like it will be a last minute decision.