CIM 2019 Race Recap
I set a few goals going into this race…A - 3:30, B - 3:35, C - 3:40 and D - finish injury free.
I ended up meeting my D goal and running a 3:49:44. This is 19:44 from my A goal and about 14 minutes from my last marathon, Chicago 2018. For those of you who aren’t runners-that is kind of a big difference. While I know my time is still a great time, it can be disappointing when you feel so far from your A goal. I was recently telling my friend that when I first started running, I was confused when runners would be upset about a 3:15 marathon it was something that felt/feels like a dream for me. Over the years I realized it’s all relative…that person might normally run a 3:00 marathon or faster. I learned it’s okay to be upset and show it-we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t get upset to some extent!
My race was hard but it might have been even harder for all of those runners who had a DNF (did not finish). I haven’t had a DNF yet but I know that my day may come. It just happens! Sometime’s that’s what is best. In retrospect, I wish I had formally announced my goal E…stop running if I would injure myself more. Runners can be stubborn and want to run through the pain. If I could feel my hip getting to a point that it would be a longer lasting injury, I would have stopped. It is not worth the injury to cross that finish line. I’ve also had many DNS (did not start) races. There were times I was sick or just wasn’t able to put the training in and knew it would result in injury. We have to listen to our bodies. There are so many races out there, but only one you!
The marathon and any race is tough. You put in so much work for that one day that can go wrong in so many ways. Sometimes you can do everything “right” and still have a terrible race day. We have to remember that it is about the journey and the experiences we had leading up to that point that are just as important as the finish. All those days you got up early or fit in your workout after work that you could have skipped…All those times you showed strength and dedication to your mission…it is not for nothing. It also makes that victory taste even sweeter when you get it.
So, yes I am a little disappointed at my race and I am also proud and prepared to learn from this experience to improve for the next one! The tough races are the ones that give me more motivation and determination to work harder and, more importantly, smarter at the next one.
My Race
I felt pretty good for the first 7-8 miles but then it started to fall apart. My left hip started to hurt and that is the hip that gave me troubles years ago. I immediately got worried that I could do some long term damage and started to just focus on slowing down to make sure my hip didn’t start to feel worse. My feet started to hurt too…mostly my right foot that has the worse plantar fasciitis but also my left.
I had so many thoughts go through my head…
“I knew it wasn’t my day…”
“I should just quit…”
“Why?!"
“It hurts…”
“I want to cry right now…”
It was hard to hear all the spectators cheer on the different pace groups as they sped by me. It felt like a little kick to my hip each time that happened.
“Go 3:30!”
“Go 3:35!”
“Go 3:40!”
“Go 3:45!”
At the same time I was feeling inspired by the runners with me that were also struggling just as much if not more than me. I heard one guy tell his friend, who hopped in to run with him for some moral support, that his hip was all messed up and he had to alternate running and walking. He said “I’m going to get there one way or another!” I saw so many runners walking and then starting up running after taking a walk break. That inspired me to keep going even if I had to walk. People think that running is an individual sport but I believe that it is just as much of a team sport. We help lift each other up when we are down even when we don’t realize it.
I started to try to shift my thoughts…
“It is okay.”
“Just take it one step at a time.”
“Go slow and you can make it.”
“You worked hard for this. You can do it.”
“This will make you stronger.”
“It’s okay to be upset but you can’t quit.”
“You are not alone in feeling this way.”
“Listen to your body. Do what you know is right.”
Once I got to mile 25, I decided to see if I could push it a bit. I was able to and felt pretty strong. At first I questioned if I should have continued to push it when I thought things were going bad but I think it was the adrenaline knowing that I was close to the finish that helped. At the end of the day, my hips and feet are feeling it more than they should if I raced without injury. I knew I did the right thing. Dave caught me for my sprint to the finish!
What Do I Think Happened?
There are so many things that could have contributed to this race not going as planned…
Be Injury Free - In order to really perform how I wanted, I would have had to have my plantar fasciitis 100% healed.
Fueling 2 days before - I didn’t really eat very often or well on our travel day. I had some snacks with me for the long travel but think I should have been better about eating nutritious meals that day.
More sleep - We got up really early the day of travel and had a kind of late dinner reservation the day of travel. I think in the future we may have dinner earlier and be okay if we are stuck on east coast time still.
Pre-Race fuel - I usually have oatmeal, banana and a bagel before the race. This time I only ate half of my oatmeal. I think it was a combination of nerves and my appetite being a little off from time time difference and our eating.
Hydration - I hydrated pretty well before the race, but I realized that I may not have hydrated as well during. I didn’t pee until 5 pm after the race and I was drinking quite a bit.
The weather - It was pretty cool but there were some periods of time where I felt really hot and it was humid. I don’t think this really had as big of an impact as the other factors.
Overall Race Thoughts
The Expo - The expo was not as big or as exciting as I thought it would be but it ran pretty smoothly.
Race day transportation - I saw some school buses but I was lucky to get on a regular bus that you might get on for a tour on vacation. It was comfortable and warm. You could sit on the bus until the start time but I left early so I could hit up the porta potties. The bus I was catching was scheduled to leave at 5 am and I got there around 4:50. There was a line but it moved fast. I got on the last bus before the second round of buses arrived. I would definitely recommend getting to the buses 10-15 minutes earlier than the scheduled departure time.
Porta Potties - CIM claimed they had 1 porta potty for every 30 runners and there shouldn’t be any issues with the lines. When I first arrived, I went pee about 3 times “just in case”. The line moved pretty quickly. It was about 15 minutes before the start that I noticed the lines get kind of long.
Corrals and the start - It is a self seeded start which means you go to where you think you need to. Sometimes if you are seeded based on previous race times, you can’t get to the pacing team you need/want to so I liked this. The start went pretty smoothly and I don’t feel that people went to a corral that wasn’t appropriate (from what I could tell).
Water and fuel - I didn’t use the water at the stops since I carried my water but it felt like there were sufficient stations. I also liked that there were bananas and oranges along the course. I grabbed a few banana pieces and also an orange. I wish the orange slices were cut a little thinner because it was hard to eat them while trying to breath running, but I was thankful they were out there!
The Finish - Sometimes finishes can be tough because it’s a really long stretch and/or you just feel like it should be sooner. The turns to get to the finish kind of kept it interesting and also made it so that when you saw the finish sign, you weren’t too far away.
Hotels/Lodging - I splurged and stayed at one of the race hotels. It was very close to the finish and the buses. I have stayed at airbnb’s in the past that have been terrible before important races and it can add another element of stress. Sometimes I will stay in an airbnb, but sometimes I just want to be positive that everything will go as planned.
Would I run CIM again? Yes! I didn’t think the rolling hills were terrible and broke up the race a bit. The Boston Prep 16 miler is a beast in terms of hills compared to these hills. I don’t think CIM will be in my 2020 plans because I have Berlin and want to try to focus on one marathon a year these days, but I do hope to come back for my CIM revenge some day!
What’s Next?
I remember that time I couldn’t even run 1 mile without incredible pain and it forced my 3 year hiatus from running. I am thankful I get to run these days and will do everything in my power to keep it part of my life!
Here’s what I plan on doing so I can come back strong for Berlin…
No running - I’m taking at minimum 2 weeks of no running. I took ~1 week off in my training cycle and probably should have taken more. I have read that 6-8 weeks of no running can be helpful for healing plantar fasciitis. I hope that I don’t need that long of a break but I don’t want to start running again until my feet have zero pain during a run.
Strength and yoga - I plan on taking some strength and yoga classes at my gym. Their strength classes are really great for runners because they focus on a full body workout and a lot of single leg/stability exercises. I also want to practice more yoga because I know it will help my hips and also my mind!
Cycling classes - I don’t want to lose my cardio fitness so I want to try to attend cycling classes to maintain what I can and also work my legs in a different way.
Evaluate my training - I want to take a look at what went well and what could have gone better in this past training cycle so I can build my program for Berlin 2020!
Berlin 2020…I’m coming for ya! And I am going to aim for a 3:30 again or maybe even better!