I've received a few questions from people about why I chose to do the 21 mile run and not the marathon. Well, when I decided to train for the San Diego marathon back in December, I asked my friend Shannon if she would train with me (she ran with me when I trained for the Honolulu marathon in 2007). She couldn’t commit to the San Diego marathon but suggested the Big Sur marathon (closer to home). We checked the website and found out that the marathon was sold out, but there were still spots available for the 21-miler. So we signed up for it. The 21-miler was a month before my marathon, so my training schedule needed to only be slightly modified to fit it all in!
After training for 17 weeks, I felt ready for the race. I had ran 18 miles just 2 weeks before and felt great. Ryan and I drove to Monterey on Friday afternoon and met up with my parents. We stayed at the Navy Lodge at the Naval Postgraduate School (my dad is retired military). The hotel is located on the campus and was originally named Club Del Monte. It has quite the history! Originally built in 1880, destroyed twice by fire and rebuilt, it is one of the “most beautiful places in the world”…a few presidents have even stayed there.
Saturday we went to the Expo to pick up my race packet and information. There are always a ton of vendors selling anything and everything related to running. It’s so fun to walk around and look at everything. Ryan and my dad had a great time trying all of the “goodies” being handed out…including fruit shakes and energy chews used to give a runner energy during a long race (e.g., Clif Bar Shot Bloks (which I use), sport beans, etc) while my mom and I checked out the official race apparel. I ended up buying a blue running tank top that said “Big Sur International Marathon” on the front (I’ve ran in it a few times and LOVE it!). After the Expo, we headed down Fisherman’s Wharf for some lunch. As much as I wanted clam chowder in a bread bowl, I stuck to pasta to load up on my carbs.
We finished lunch, got in the car, and drove the course along Highway 1. I just remember thinking, “oh man, there are a lot of hills”. After driving the course (and kinda freaking myself out) we checked out the 17-mile drive which takes you through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach. It was SO windy, but the views are just beautiful. 
We headed back to the hotel to make an early dinner (pasta of course) and play some scrabble. Then it was early to bed for me. Because they close down Highway 1 for the race (we run along Highway 1 the entire way), all race participants needed to be bused to the start. The latest bus pickup time was 4:45am!
So the alarm went off at 3:45am. I got up (tried to be quite so I didn’t wake everyone else), got dressed, toasted a bagel, gathered everything I needed, put some sweats on over my race clothes, and headed out the door with my dad. He drove to Shannon’s hotel to pick her up then dropped us off at the bus pickup area. Thank goodness I put sweats on because it was FREEZING! The bus took us to the start where we sat in a parking lot for 2 hours until the race finally started at 6:45am. It was awful. I was cold and with that much time before a race, it’s impossible to not sit and wonder if you’re ready for it. I kept thinking about all the hills I saw yesterday when we drove the course…I didn’t train for hills…San Diego is a flat course.
FINALLY the race started. Shannon and I weaved through the 1000s of people trying to find an opening. It took a while for people to spread out since it was only a 2 lane road.
The route was breath-taking! Running along Highway 1 the entire way with the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other side…it was incredible.
Because the highway was closed, there weren’t many spectators (which was weird)…mostly just the people at the water/aid stations. We did see the famous grand piano player at mile 5. It was pretty cool…this guy is dressed in a tuxedo and plays a grand piano on the side of the road for the entire race. They hook speakers up so they can project the music. It’s quite the experience running with this amazing view of the ocean and hearing such beautiful music. My favorite song he played was the theme song from Rocky :)
The course was tough, but not as tough as I had made out to be in my head. The uphills weren’t bad…it was the downhills that killed me. Running downhill is so hard on your joints. My knees and ankles were not used to that kind of abuse. But my knees didn’t start bothering me until about 2 miles from the finish line. I just kept telling myself, “come on, you can do it…just 2 more miles”. Running is such a friendly sport (as long as you’re not battling for 1st place, which I was not). I stopped a few times to stretch when my knees would start to hurt and runners would pass by and yell “Come on, you can do it. Keep running!”. It is so inspiring! So I kept running…through the pain. And before I knew it, I saw the finish line! All of a sudden I got this burst of energy and my knees didn’t hurt anymore, so I picked up the pace, stood a little taller, and finished strong! I heard Ryan and my parents cheering for me just as I passed them on my way to the finish line.
It was an amazing feeling! The ceramic medals we received were all handmade. Shannon and I grabbed some snacks at the finish, walked (err, limped) around, then met up with my family and headed to a friend’s house to shower. As soon as we got to the house, we both had a beer. We needed to replenish all those carbs we burned and what better way than with a nice cold beer :) Trust me, a beer has never tasted SO good!
Up next…San Diego Rock n Roll marathon! 18 days and counting!
Here is a quick 2-minute video of the Big Sur race.
We headed back to the hotel to make an early dinner (pasta of course) and play some scrabble. Then it was early to bed for me. Because they close down Highway 1 for the race (we run along Highway 1 the entire way), all race participants needed to be bused to the start. The latest bus pickup time was 4:45am!So the alarm went off at 3:45am. I got up (tried to be quite so I didn’t wake everyone else), got dressed, toasted a bagel, gathered everything I needed, put some sweats on over my race clothes, and headed out the door with my dad. He drove to Shannon’s hotel to pick her up then dropped us off at the bus pickup area. Thank goodness I put sweats on because it was FREEZING! The bus took us to the start where we sat in a parking lot for 2 hours until the race finally started at 6:45am. It was awful. I was cold and with that much time before a race, it’s impossible to not sit and wonder if you’re ready for it. I kept thinking about all the hills I saw yesterday when we drove the course…I didn’t train for hills…San Diego is a flat course.
FINALLY the race started. Shannon and I weaved through the 1000s of people trying to find an opening. It took a while for people to spread out since it was only a 2 lane road.
The route was breath-taking! Running along Highway 1 the entire way with the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other side…it was incredible.
Because the highway was closed, there weren’t many spectators (which was weird)…mostly just the people at the water/aid stations. We did see the famous grand piano player at mile 5. It was pretty cool…this guy is dressed in a tuxedo and plays a grand piano on the side of the road for the entire race. They hook speakers up so they can project the music. It’s quite the experience running with this amazing view of the ocean and hearing such beautiful music. My favorite song he played was the theme song from Rocky :) 
The course was tough, but not as tough as I had made out to be in my head. The uphills weren’t bad…it was the downhills that killed me. Running downhill is so hard on your joints. My knees and ankles were not used to that kind of abuse. But my knees didn’t start bothering me until about 2 miles from the finish line. I just kept telling myself, “come on, you can do it…just 2 more miles”. Running is such a friendly sport (as long as you’re not battling for 1st place, which I was not). I stopped a few times to stretch when my knees would start to hurt and runners would pass by and yell “Come on, you can do it. Keep running!”. It is so inspiring! So I kept running…through the pain. And before I knew it, I saw the finish line! All of a sudden I got this burst of energy and my knees didn’t hurt anymore, so I picked up the pace, stood a little taller, and finished strong! I heard Ryan and my parents cheering for me just as I passed them on my way to the finish line.
It was an amazing feeling! The ceramic medals we received were all handmade. Shannon and I grabbed some snacks at the finish, walked (err, limped) around, then met up with my family and headed to a friend’s house to shower. As soon as we got to the house, we both had a beer. We needed to replenish all those carbs we burned and what better way than with a nice cold beer :) Trust me, a beer has never tasted SO good!
Up next…San Diego Rock n Roll marathon! 18 days and counting!
Here is a quick 2-minute video of the Big Sur race.
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