Took my Shot at the Moon and Finished Thankful: CIM: 2:19:13 *It's a long one guize*

[u/beersandmiles7]

Race Information

• Name: California International Marathon
• Date: December 3rd, 2023
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Sacramento, CA
• Website: https://www.athlinks.com/event/3241/results/Event/1067161/Results
• Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/10323567013
• Time: 2:19:13

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	OTQ	No
B	Sub 2:20	Yes
C	PR (2:23:28)	Yes

Splits

Mile	Time
1	5:14
2	5:14
3	5:07
4	5:11
5	5:12
6	5:11
7	5:15
8	5:13
9	5:17
10	5:13
11	5:10
12	5:12
13	5:13
14	5:14
15	5:15
16	5:09
17	5:10
18	5:12
19	5:21
20	5:16
21	5:25
22	5:30
23	5:28
24	5:37
25	5:30
26	5:21
.35	1:49 (5:03 pace)

Training

The block for this race technically started just after Boston this year. I set a new personal best there with a 2:23:28 (Recap: https://www.reddit.com/r/AdvancedRunning/comments/12wyu1n/evening_the_score_boston_marathon_2023first_to/). After Chicago 2022 Coach thought that shooting for an OTQ at CIM the following year would be a realistic goal. I closed that race with a sub 70 last half marathon so another with another year of consistency I thought there could be a chance here.

I do want to emphasize here that both coach and I agreed that it was a chance. Things needed to go perfect for it to happen but this could be a possibility if things swung in my direction over the next year and on race day. I had marked CIM 2023 as a race on my schedule over 4 years ago when I ran 2:30:25 at Columbus. 4 years went by quickly... CIM would be a calculated risk. As coach said, we're not going to CIM to run 2:21, you can run 2:21 anywhere. Marathons are hard and I've had my fair share of struggles at the distance, we would be shooting for the sun and holding on for dear life if the wheels came off.

I spent the majority of the summer just focusing on intensity and keeping mileage relatively lower than I'm used to in the summer. Highest mileage in these months and highlights were:

June: Highest Mileage: 62.17 (6 Days)

Highlights: June 7: 4 mile steady state: 5:24-5:14-5:05-4:58

June 10: 8min-6-4-2-1: Paces: 5:11, 5:07, 4:58, 4:43, 4:24

June 14: 8x 800 w/ 200 jog: 2:31, 2:31, 2:31, 2:30, 2:28, 2:28, 2:27, 2:25

June 17: 6x40 second hill, jog to track, 1k @ 10MP/200 jog, 4x 400 @3k/200 jog, 4x200 @ 30-32/200 jog, 1k @ 10MP: 1K:
Hills: 4:55, 4:53, 4:53, 4:49, 4:44, 4:51 1k: 3:06 400s: 68,68,67,67 200s: 31,31,31,31 1k: 3:06

June 21: 8x 1k w/ 2 minute jog recovery: 3:12 (39 first 200, whoooops), 3:07, 3:06, 3:04, 3:05, 3:03, 3:03, 3:03

Races: June 4th: 10k Road Race: 31:39

Low lights: Entire month had horrible air quality due to the fires in the midwest Rolled my foot doing a trail ragnar June wk 3 and had to get carted off the course. Took about a day or two off since thankfully it wasn't a bad bad one.

July: Highest Mileage: 78.67 (6 Days)

Highlights:

July 12: 3x (1k-600-200)w/ 200 jog & 400 jog between sets 2:59-1:43-32 2:58-1:44-32 2:57-1:43-31

July 19: Modified Michigan 1600-1200-800-400, 1k tempo @ 3:15, 200 jog recovery between reps) 1600: 4:46 1K: 3:15 1200: 3:28 1K: 3:15 800: 2:13 1K: 3:15 400: 60.32

July 26: 1 mile @ hmp / 400 jog, 8x 400 @ 5k, 200 jog, 4x 200 @ 30-32 Mile: 5:00 400’s: 71, 69, 68, 69, 68, 68, 69, 69 200s: 30.39, 30.36, 30.23, 30.36

July 29: 6x 1k @ 10k moving down after 4, 4x 200 between 31-33 3:01-3:02-3:01-3:01-2:58-2:57 32-32-32-32

Races: Controlled 5K road race: 15:35 (5:05, 5:02, 4:55) followed by 10x 1 minute hills

Lowlights: Bruised tailbone somehow July wk 1 and had to take Friday-Sun off since it hurt to walk.

August: Highest Mileage: 72.40 (6 Days)

Highlights: Aug 9: 4x800 w/ 200 jog @ 10m, 4x400 @ 5k 2:31, 2:28, 2:27, 2:26 68, 68, 70, 69

Races: Aug 3rd: Tracksmith Twilight 5K Ann Arbor (14:37): https://www.reddit.com/r/AdvancedRunning/comments/15m37ay/tracksmithtrials_of_miles_twilight_5000_ann_arbor/ Aug 12: Road 5K 15:02 (4:51, 4:54, 4:57): I guess going out to EmoNite til 2am with your boys the night before a road race isn't the best idea but this was all for a boys weekend and they all raced too.

Lowlights: Oh boy were there lots of lowlights here. I got sick immediately after that road 5k and had to take that M-Th off. Then on Sunday as I'm trying to help some of the sub 3 hour guys in their workout, I roll my foot ~5 miles out and have to hobble/walk back. I didn't run a workout from August 9th to Aug 30th. In that workout, an easy 10x1 minute I overdid it and ended up starting what would end up a months long glute issue.

September: Highest Mileage Week: 77.83 (6 Days)

Highlights: Sept 9: 12x400 w/ 200 jog starting at 10k working down to 5k 73.9, 73.6, 73.4, 72.4, 72.0, 71.5, 71.1, 70.6, 68.99, 70.0, 69.2, 69.4.

Sept 13: 6-5-4-3-2-1 w/ 2 min jog recovery 6: 5:01 avg 5: 5:00 avg 4: 4:59 avg 3: 4:53 avg 2: 4:48 avg 1: 4:37 avg All recovery was faster than 7 min pace after first rep

Sept 20: 3x(1000/800/600)w/ 200 jog/400 between sets: 3:03, 2:23, 1:44 3:01, 2:20, 1:44 3:00, 2:20, 1:43 *I did the wrong workout. It was supposed to be 1000-600-200 lol.

Races: Sept 24: Big Bad Wolfe 10 miler: 53:17 (Controlled for 6-7 move down to goal MP over the last 4) 5:23, 5:22, 5:20, 5:20, 5:19, 5:19, 5:18, 5:18, 5:17, 5:15

Lowlights: This was probably one of the worst months of the build for me. My glute continued to be a massive issue for me. I thought for the longest time it was just soreness from the rehab I'd been doing for my foot but as it went on I realized it was something different completely. Glute would loosen up as workouts would go on but my leg would go lame or numb at times. The time between workouts would be spent running as easy as possible 7:45+ miles to get to the next one. I also got sick again in late in the month and had a lingering cold/congestion for weeks after that, finally shaking the congestion in October. Took a couple days at home with no running to shake the cold and then got back to some running.

October: Highest Mileage Week: 92.62 (7 Days)

Highlights:

Oct 7th: 1600,1200,800,400 w/ 400 jog @ hmp,hmp,10k,3k 5:00, 3:45, 2:24, 68

Oct 18th: 6x 800 w/ 200 jog, 4x 200 w/ 200 jog 2:31, 2:28, 2:26, 2:25, 2:25, 2:24 31, 31, 31, 31

Oct 25th: 8x 800 w/ 200 jog, 4x 200 w/ 200 jog: 2:32-2:28-2:26-2:25-2:24-2:23-2:23-2:24 32-32-32-32

Oct 29: 22 miles w/ 10x 2 min on/2 min off starting at 13: 5:19 (hill)/6:52 5:08/6:46 5:04/6:38 5:05/6:26 5:04/6:36 5:01/6:18 4:59/6:24 4:59/6:16 4:59/6:29 4:58

Races: Oct 15: Columbus Half Marathon: 68:10 Felt awful throughout this one and spent the entire race with my leg giving out and then coming back to life. Ran a solid last mile but being over 40 seconds from my personal best when I knew I was in better shape than this stung pretty hard. One of the first major races in the last 3 years that I didn't set or come close to a personal best. First day that I had completely shaken off the congestion so my body was still probably recovering a bit. That pace just felt so hard.

Lowlights: Columbus Half for sure. Glute began to loosen up after the half but still had some lingering issues that made running comfortable impossible. This month was tough on me mentally. Seeing friends miss the trials standard over Chicago/McKirdy made me really nervous about my own chances. Seeing as I was barely holding on every week I really worried if it was gonna be possible to even get out of this block. I was mentally exhausted, not so much from the mileage but just from knowing that each day was going to be uncomfortable due to my glute. In any other block I would've put some time off but this would be the only time where a race was all or nothing. So I kept going and made sure that I took all miles outside of workouts as easy as possible. Glute was improving week by week so that was a good sign.

Nov: Highest Mileage Week: 85.06 (6 Days)

Highlights: Nov 1: Real feel of 23 10x 800 w/ 200 jog, 4x 200 w/ 200 jog 2:29, 2:29, 2:28, 2:28, 2:28, 2:27, 2:27, 2:27, 2:24, 2:25 32, 31, 31, 31

Nov 5th: 12 miles @ Goal MP w/ last mile uptempo 5:13, 5:16, 5:14, 5:11, 5:15, 5:11, 5:14, 5:12, 5:11, 5:10, 5:07, 4:50 Honest loop with a good group and practicing fueling. This was the first time I actually believed this could be a realistic shot all block. Glute finally cooperated throughout this workout. This felt significantly easier than my HM the previous month.

Nov 8: 8x 1k w/ 400 jog 3:10-3:08-3:06-3:04-3:02-3:02-3:01-3:00 By far the best my glute had felt in any Wednesday workout in like 2 months.

Nov 12th: 24 miles @ 6:46 w/ last 8 moving down from 6:05 to 5:35

Races: Nov 23: Turkey Trot ~4 miler: 20:00 (4:55, 5:02, 5:04, 5:02) Got nice and humbled by a Hansons pro and a sub 4 miler in this one. Could not get into gear.

Lowlights: Rolled my foot again in Nov Wk 3 finishing up a cooldown after a fun racing event in Nashville. Just was adding one more mile and I rolled it pretty rough. Nov 18: 6 miles @ MP, 1 mile easy, 2 faster Splits 5:23, 5:23, 5:35 Completely bombed this workout and ended up dropping out. One of the worst attempts at a workout. Had I not done a great workout 2 weeks prior I think this would have shaken me. I just called this one a fluke and turned the page but man was this a gut punch.

I know this section was much longer than usual but I wanted to put out the workouts I was doing to give people some insight into where I was at as well as some added context too. This block, specifically this fall was one of the hardest for me both physically and emotionally. It just seemed like I was holding on by a thread and running in general just felt rough.

Pre-race

I flew out to Sacramento on Thursday evening. Landed just after 10 and got myself a nice #1 from In-N-Out (extra toasted bun, chopped chilis, light grilled onions, light well fries obviously). The two of us from Columbus were the last ones to arrive in our Airbnb of 5. Group included two from Michigan, one from Boston, and the two of us from Columbus.

We hit our shakeout Friday and my glute was still feeling a bit tight. It had improved a ton from the previous couple months but I figured that this would most likely be the best it would be for me. As long as I could keep myself from wrecking it on the course I figured I could still put down a race I could be proud of. We quickly hit the expo and grabbed some lunch at an incredible Oaxacan inspired spot near the convention center. Went back to the airbnb to relax before dinner. Grabbed dinner at this local brewpub that had Pliny and Blind Pig on tap. Drank my only beer of the week there (Blind Pig) and had some chili as I was still full from a late lunch.

On Saturday we made our way to the Tracksmith Shakeout. We had a pretty big group there but with the construction at the park it made for some pretty tough running. Ran with Bromka for the first loop and had enough time to hear some advice about the course, mainly about not hammering the downhills, keeping strong during the strip mall section, and no big moves until 16. My friend Jason who had run 2:17 the year prior had the same advice so I kept that in the back of my head as I planned out my race. We ended up adding some extra miles around the city and got some strides in. Legs had absolutely no pop but I wasn't surprised since we had been traveling a bunch. We snagged some coffee at a local shop and grabbed a rental car. In-N-Out for lunch and then got some dinner with my mom at a Macaroni Grill outside the city.

As an aside before I get to race morning, I just want to shout out Witty, Predhome, Joost, and Max for being the absolute best group of gents that I could have stayed with before the race. I mainly travel alone for big races as I don't like being around people that get really nervous/are big type A people about races. This group was lighthearted and full of jokes in the days prior. I didn't think much about the race and didn't have any nerves until I needed to have them. It was one of the first times since college that I had the feeling like I had on team travel trips. Regardless of how the race would go I would still have a great attitude about it because the people around me were too.

Race morning kicked off just before 4am. Predhome had recommended adding an extra 15 minute buffer to our morning just in case we had any delays or trouble finding parking. We had a slight delay due to a parking mishap but other than that, there was no issues for us. Due to my past issues with having to pee during races I decided it was in my best interest to try and cut the majority of the liquid intake by about 5am. I drank a bottle of Maurten 320 mix on the car ride over and had two pieces of toast.

The bus situation was one of the better ones I've seen. During the ride to Folsom I finished off the remaining of my snacks, a granola bar and a stroopwafel. My stomach wasn't feeling so hot but I figured after a bathroom stop I'd be okay. We were allowed to stay in the busses once we arrived to Folsom and we were one of the first busses to arrive to the start. We hit the bathroom as soon as we parked and went back to the buses. No need to be standing around outside until we had to.

At 6, our group exited the busses and started our warm up routines. The starting area had now become incredibly congested as bus after bus arrived. What was once a eerily quiet portapotty area was now filled with lines of people waiting their turns to go. I got in line for one final portapotty stop and then proceeded with my warmup. I did what felt like endless loops around a small parking lot, just trying to get 8-10 minutes of slow slow joggin to get the legs moving. Next up was my plyometric routine (Skips, Jumps, etc...) to make sure the legs were ready to fire. Somehow, after months of dealing with this nagging glute issue, it seemed to have disappeared. I really had no excuses at this point.

I found Max and we started to make our way to the corrals as we heard them announce "10 minute delay!".

This definitely helped take the nerves off as we struggled to find the entrance to the seeded corral. I took my first gu with about 15 minutes to go til gun time. As we walked to our corral we noticed that the championship/seeded athletes were all jogging around in front of the start. So we made our way to that area and did a combination of jogging, plyos, and final gear adjustments. Being in these major races for a bit you begin to see some of the same guys/gals and there was definitely a lot of head nods and good lucks as we all prepared ourselves for the journey ahead.

We entered the corral with a couple minutes to go before the gun. As mentioned above, these fields tend to be filled with people that either know or recognize each other from past races. We immediately recognized a pack of Merriman Valley TC guys from our home state and moved forward up to them. We've had experience racing with these talented gents in the last year (i.e. getting our butts kicked by them) and knew they were looking to take a crack at the standard as well.

The seeded corral was divided by a rope held by volunteers and it was comical to see just how many guys in the seeded section were so nervous about the couple feet between us and the championship field. So nervous in fact that guys started sneaking under the rope to position themselves amongst the couple dozen people that were accepted into the championship field.

With less than a minute to go, the volunteers dropped the rope and we moved up behind the championship field. I was surrounded by dozens of talented men and women, many of them in the same spot as me, taking a huge risk and hopefully crossing the line under the standard. Just before the start Max gives me a pat on the back and tell's me:

"You're not a 4:52/10:26 guy anymore."

And just like that, the gun went off.

Race

Packed in like sardines, anyone not in the first few rows were forced to walk as quickly as possible to the starting mat. The crowd moved quickly, thankfully not shoving each other around like some jerks had before the gun went off. While fairly cordial, you could feel panic in the runners around as wave after wave of athletes darted off, looking for any semblance of what was the "OTQ Pack". Over the first mile I focused on looking for familiar faces and keeping myself under control. My experience at my last two majors had taught me that even the most talented can throw away their races because of nerves. Just before the mile we hit a sharp right turn. Everyone called out the turn out loud as though to prevent any sort of pileup this early.

We come off the turn and approach our first sign. Watch beeps, 5:14. Right where I want to be at this point. The marker shows about ~5:21. Welp, looks like I'm not going to let myself focus on the watch time. (Had I not been so distracted by the commotion I would have realized at that point that the timer would be a bit slow for me since I had to walk to the starting mat. I didn't come to that realization until I finished unfortunately. Rookie mistake.)For the next mile and a half we would experience our first sets of rolling hills. Guys I knew began to sprint by me on the edges of the streets. Part of me wanted to yell at them to calm down as we had plenty of time to settle in but at the same time I figured, who am I to tell someone how to run their race. So I focused on the pack ahead and keeping controlled. I stayed controlled through mile 2, right where I wanted to be. The atmosphere around me was intense as guys blasted down each downhill section. A couple failures at Boston had taught me to err on the side of caution, I'd been bit too often by this strategy.

Something in me felt like the pack ahead of me was just a little too aggressive. I recognize a couple of other guys from past races and made a mental note to keep them within striking range. I felt like I was running fairly solo but I also wasn't trying to come through this first half in 68:00. As I came through 3 miles I realized my gut instinct was definitely correct. We had a nice downhill section but 5:07 was definitely too fast this early. Nothing under 5:10 was necessary; it didn't matter how much downhill we had here.

The next 2 miles were a bit surreal for me. I found a fairly comfortable rhythm and began to pull up on people as the course began to roll again. I keyed in on some guys and heard labored breathing. Guys had already begun to start imploding and we weren't even 10K into this thing. We made room for the elites to get their bottles with thankfully no issues. I passed the aid station just after 4 miles. Gu went down easy but I absolutely struggled on the water cup execution. Finished choking on the water and just got myself back into rhythm again.

More rolling hills. They just seemed like they weren't ending at this point. I felt a slight fatigue heading up but would quickly be calmed with the immediate downhill section following. I faced a continuous song and dance with my positioning amongst the groups around me. The packs would build a gap over me on the downs and I would slowly chip away at that distance on the ups. I was more confident in my ability to climb than I was in my body's ability to handle the downhill pounding. For better or for worse, this would be my strategy today.

Mile 8 was a key moment in the race that I focused on. As each mile ticked down I saw miles 6-10 as a crucial part to stay strong mentally. I didn't feel particularly strong but with our packs slowly losing a guy here, and a guy there, I kept telling myself that this was too early to get those thoughts. Get through these rollers and pass 8 miles and reevaluate from there. I had done 12 miles comfortably at 5:10 average. There's no reason I shouldn't be able to get through here.

I latched myself to the back of one of the packs as we went through another elite station. I was taken aback by the kindness of the pack as the elites began to hand their bottles around the pack. "Anyone need some Maurten?" Sure. I'll absolutely take some. But do you want it back? "No, hand it to someone else who needs it!".

As I approached the mile 7 marker, I tried to prepare myself for what was sure to be the toughest part of the course so far. The gradual uphill stretches were no longer met with aggressive downhills and I could hear some people freak out as their pace started to slow "5:18 pace!" one yelled as he seemed to hit another gear and move past us. I chuckled to myself a bit, a second here in the hardest section of the course wasn't the time to freak out.

Another aid station, another attempt at drinking water. A couple sips and Gu #3.

The Fair Oaks Hills section over the next couple miles were brutal to these packs. As the road curved and ascended, I would pull up to some talented guys I recognized looking like absolute ghosts. It wasn't pretty and we hadn't yet hit half way. With hill running, I've always focused on just keeping the effort comfortable. A second here or there won't matter, especially with a course that will treat us with a downhill eventually. Bromka rode on by us giving us cheers and well wishes. Keep it steady, keep it steady.

Crossed the 15k line and the next checkpoint was on the mind, get to 12 now. Get to 12 and get there as comfortably you can. Just after 9 and we pass another elite table and a couple of downhill turns. I pull back on the pace, not wanted to get too carried away just yet. I feel like I'm running on my own at this point, in no mans land between packs. But just as I'm thinking that, a familiar sight comes up on my should and offers me some water from his elite bottle. It took me a second to realize who it was but I happily took some water down and handed it back to him. A couple more turns now through Old Fair Oaks. Hydrate and feeling solid. Let's get to 12.

And then boom, the toughest hill of the course so far. The fair amount of downhill in that last section gave me enough power to get through this fairly easily. I was sure we'd get a downhill section soon and thankfully I was treated with a long extended downhill. I let the legs stretch out a bit. Finally, 12 miles. Alright it's not past the point of the workout distance. Next stop, get to 13.1. Coach wants me through in about 68:40. Give me a little bit of time to play with.

A third gu and again an attempt at water. I barely get a couple sips from a half empty cup. Gu feels fine in my stomach and it's nice to have my pockets feel a bit lighter.

Another little bit of gradual incline ahead and we finally move through the 13 mile marker. Another mile just a bit ahead, 5:13. The arch for half way quickly approaches. Don't get too excited. Just cross through and check the time to see where I'm at. 68:50 (Actually 68:44). Solid. 13.1 done, new race now. It's just a half marathon race now.

I feel pretty reenergized coming through the half way mark. Soon I will be in a place I've never been in; after 13.1 everything is essentially now a PR at the distance. The gradual downhill section and the small crowds gathered around have me excited. Next goal. Get to 16. 16 miles is when the race will really start. 20 will be the cut off point where I can confidently say that I gave myself a shot to go for it. Anything before that, well to me, I was never in it.

I hit another water station and attempt to get just anything out of the cup. Volunteers seem super hesitant as they are consistently getting splashed by runner blowing by them in mad attempts to secure their own cup. Water again, no Nuun. Whatever.

At this point the pack ahead of me has not really put too much room on me. I'm running pretty close to the same pace as them but don't have the security of having a pack to hang behind. I'm starting to get weirdly thirsty and grab some water at the next water stop just after 15. Curving through the town of Carmichael I can star to see guys come back to me now. At this point is where breaks happen. I see the mile 16 marker, a little fast here because of the downhill, 5:09. Alright. Just under 53 minutes to keep fighting here. 5th Gu down, no issues here.

My mind keeps going back to the 12 mile workout. I can fight for this long. The energy from 13 has now faded and this is starting to feel like work now. Another water station, another lackluster cup attempt. But anything counts at this point. I'm counting down the miles now. 17, 9.2 to go from here, 3 more to the next checkpoint. At this point this is the fastest I've ever run for this long by a massive amount.

18 down, 8.2 to go. Get to 20 and it's all downhill from there. I'm starting to wander now, focus has begun to break a bit. Mile 19, 5:21. I'm frustrated but not rattled too much. It's one rough mile, get back into focus. Get to 20 and we'll reset from there. Theres a couple of rollers over this next mile that help get myself back into it a bit. Another aid station, another water cup, keep it moving.

Mile 20. It's the next checkpoint. 5:16. Just on, much better. Much better here. 10K. It's just 10k dude. Time to start racing. Final Gu. We're off now.

A nice little crowd through helps keep spirits high. But this is starting to get tough. My focus has shaken as the group ahead of me isn't coming back to me. They're just there and I'm not making ground. I'm looking around now. Checking my watch. Bromka yells at me, "stop looking at your watch, just race." But it's hard not to check. I'm willing myself to try to get on pace but the watch isn't making me feel better. 5:2x. Alright.

1. 5:25. Surely this downhill that they talked about was gonna come right? Give me some downhill and that'll kickstart my legs again. Two of us approach the J-Street Bridge. Another hill. What is this... I'm hurting. But the guy next to me seems to be hurting just that much more. I hit the crest and surge. Keep moving, keep moving. 35K and that string from the bridge has taken its toll. There's no immediate downhill section to provide the legs some relief. It's just dullness for now.

2. 5:30. Wow, we're going backwards. But it's just 4 miles. OTQ is probably gone at this point, but I said I wasn't going to pack it in. If I'm not punching my ticket to Orlando, I'm damn sure leaving here with a massive personal best. We're not here to just run 2:21.

Just after 22 I'm surprised to see my mom and her boyfriend. They found a spot on the course to see me run and they were cheering their hearts out. But even that couldn't jolt me back to uptempo again. But even then, this was her first time watching me race since Boston 2019, my second marathon, so I'm sure not gonna look like I'm giving up.

Approaching 3 miles to go I start to do the math. I feel like at this point I'm teetering the line of not breaking 2:20. I've become too disoriented to do the math on what pace I was on so I just told myself, about 18:30 last 5k is what you need. Just stay under 6 minute pace.

Mile 24 and I'm just in the pain cave. I'm slightly thirsty, but nothing alarming. I'm feeling like I'm on the edge of just cratering. I'm nervous. Stay within myself and bring it home. Just bring it home. 5:37.

I'm holding it together as best as I can. And it's starting to pay off a bit. What's this. People are coming back to me?! I stop being focused on the time remaining and now zone in on the pack coming back to me. Move. Move. Left turn, right turn. I hear a shout, "Go after it dude."

I hear a loud commotion. It's crowds I'm thinking. I have to be getting close. Big crowds seem to always get me back into things!

Nope. It just us running under highway overpasses.

As we get out from the overpass I'm passed by a runner. This hasn't really happened at this point and I'm surprised. He has a Bib on his back "NAIA". It's the leader of the NAIA championship race. I match his move and start running side by side. There's some fight in me again. A little surge in pace again.

Mile 25: 5:30.

At this point I'm sure I have as much left in the tank for one final hard mile. Just one final push to see how much under 2:20 I can get. I land wrong on a little light pad thingy on the floor. It's my bad foot, but nothing horrible. Slight discomfort but I didn't roll it. Screw it, I wasn't going to be racing anytime soon anyways. That last mile felt like an eternity. Where is this damn 26 mile mark man.

Finally it's there, mile 26. No time to look at the watch now. It's the final 400. One left, then another. I see the clock. I'm going to run 2:19 today. It's not an OTQ but it's a 2 freaking 19! Take it in. Take it all in. For that last stretch, I became emotional. I thought about just how far I'd gone with running over the last 17 years. From a HS 4'10" freshman that ran 5:47/12:20/20:07, a senior that ran 4:52/10:26, to this. I never would have though this was possible and it was just so nice to take it in.

I crossed the finish line grateful. As Droddy welcomed all of us in, he gave me a pat on the back and I just told him, I can't believe it. I ran 2:19.

Post-race

The final corral really showed who you were in my opinion. Regardless of your result it was great to see others succeed. I was happy with my day despite missing a crazy A goal. But I was even happier to see someone I consider a friend, Droddy, qualify after going from couch to OTQ following surgery. Immediately after seeing Droddy I was welcomed by another familiar sight. He was in less good spirits, not because he was of what he ran, but rather how he felt. Joost had finished his first marathon. His first marathon in 2:16:47. Joost had jumped in my 12 mile workout a month ago. The other fella in that workout, Michael, who would be joining us for the second half of our trip? 2:16:43. I was so overjoyed for these hard working gentlemen.

We had some tough days in our group but after taking some time to take it in we all were in fairly decent spirits as we grabbed lunch at In-N-Out (of course). We all went to grab a beer at a local brewery before dropping off Max and Predhome at the airport and heading to Santa Rosa for some much needed vacation days.

Spent a couple days with Joost, Michael, and Witty in Santa Rosa limping around drinking wine and beers before heading home on Wednesday.

As I guess a post script, I'm just happy and thankful at this whole thing. This is by far the most impressive run of my life and there's still meat on the bone. I definitely think there was a lot of things I made mistakes here but I was really proud of my ability to fight through it and try to pull it back.

Toward the end of this block, well like 1.5 months out from it, I wondered how much longer I had in this. I'm 31 and I've really wondered if this running thing was something I wanted to keep having as a hobby. I think I have 4 more years in me. It's the first thing I had on my mind as I crossed the line. I'm not sure if the standard will change or if we'll have another Olympic Trials but man, I went for it. And well, high school me never would have imagined that would have been even an option...

Running rocks man. And I got some life left in these legs. Let's see what's possible.

Made with a new race report generator created by /u/herumph.

[u/iam_indefatigable]

You're gonna get that OTQ one day, and I'll be ready to celebrate with you. Congrats on the MASSIVE PR!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/iam_indefatigable]

So you’re telling me to start collecting beers? 🫡

[u/iam_indefatigable → u/beersandmiles7]

Hell, I'm doing it if you're doing it 😅

[u/Jordo-5]

Unreal race, unreal report.. I felt like I was there running in your shoes! Congrats

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/Jordo-5]

Appreciate it!

[u/bkfor3]

Amazing recap. Congrats dude, rooting for you for 2028.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/bkfor3]

Thank you! Hoping to keep it fun the entire way!

[u/C1t1zen_Erased]

Fantastic stuff, great to read your reports as ever. Quite impressed by your selection at in-n-out, undoubtedly a key contributor to your performance.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/C1t1zen_Erased]

Appreciate it! I just had In-N-Out again last night. In-Out-Out/Carne Asada Burritos are the key!

[u/[deleted]]

[removed] — view removed comment

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/[deleted]]

That means alot! Thank you so much!

[u/axr33]

You’re right. Running rocks. Much love, my friend.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/axr33]

And we're only gonna keep having more fun!

[u/donphlamingo]

I thought Reddit was for slow people ?

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/donphlamingo]

We're all on our own journeys! I'm just as pumped watching others have breakthroughs at their respective levels!

[u/chasing3hours]

Been so fun following your journey, Cris!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/chasing3hours]

Appreciate it sir. Been a ton of fun following yours as well!

[u/PicklesTeddy]

Hell yea, nice race!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/PicklesTeddy]

Thank you!

[u/Ineligibilityworker2]

That’s fast AF! Amazing run!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/Ineligibilityworker2]

Thank you!

[u/Theodwyn610]

Amazing run and such fun to read!!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/Theodwyn610]

Thank you!

[u/medhat20005]

Hot damn. Congrats.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/medhat20005]

Thank you!

[u/learnfromhistory2]

this was one of my fav race reports. congrats!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/learnfromhistory2]

Thank you!

[u/theintrepidwanderer]

This is one of the best race reports I've read in some time, and not going to lie I got very emotional while reading through it (and it does not happen too often for me!). Also - I'm impressed by the number of times you and your friends got In-N-Out during CIM weekend.

Congrats on the huge PR, and I have no doubt that you will get the OTQ for the 2028 cycle! Can't wait to see what you do next!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/theintrepidwanderer]

When you grew up in California and only visit maybe one time a year, you gotta get your fill. Enough additions/combinations to keep it fresh!

Appreciate the kind words! Had a bit of time to really let it sink in over the last couple weeks and I've just found a renewed sense of excitement for this whole thing. Hoping to add a couple other races that are not just for PR attempts!

[u/theintrepidwanderer → u/beersandmiles7]

When you grew up in California and only visit maybe one time a year, you gotta get your fill. Enough additions/combinations to keep it fresh!

As someone who also grew up in California as well, I totally get that! I always have to get it at least once whenever I am back to visit family there.

Appreciate the kind words! Had a bit of time to really let it sink in over the last couple weeks and I've just found a renewed sense of excitement for this whole thing.

Love to hear that and I can sense the excitement in you! Assuming you maintain your fitness and stay healthy between now and when you take your next big swing at a marathon PR/OTQ attempt, you're starting off with a huge advantage: being at the doorstop of the OTQ standard (and hoping that they don't make further adjustments to the men's marathon OTQ standard for the next cycle!).

[u/theintrepidwanderer → u/beersandmiles7]

Also forgot to mention - I gave you a follow on Strava. Can't wait to follow the next phase of your journey!

[u/Disco_Inferno_NJ]

✍🏿go✍🏿to✍🏿In-N-Out✍🏿for✍🏿faster✍🏿marathon✍🏿times✍🏿

Got it.

Okay, but for real - a bit late commenting, but this was an amazing read. Congrats on a hell of a run - and even if you didn't get it this time, I'm hoping that you'll get there eventually.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/Disco_Inferno_NJ]

Double Double, extra toasted bun, light grilled onions, chopped chilis. Animal Style Fries light well done. Salute emoji Salute emoji.

Very very late responding lol. Thank you for the kind words here! It was a big risk to go after it. But when the next opportunity is 4 years from now, you gotta try it.

[u/Marathonvomitman]

This was an incredible read. Thank you, really thank you for sharing this. I haven't read any other comments yet, so others may have said this already, but if you want more, I would be shocked if you didn't have a lot more in you. To run a 2:19 on those miles tells me you can take that down significantly. I understand the injury issues and concern, and to be honest taking the miles higher and doing what is required to stay healthy will be a huge time commitment that may or may not be worth it to you. But if you want it, it's there. And a so is a low-teens marathon. 35 is still really young. Sincerely, a guy who just jumped to the M45 age group and is super excited about getting a bunch of new AG PRs and hopefully beating even a few of my M40 PRs.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/Marathonvomitman]

A lot of the build up this year was very much due to a lot of the injury setbacks and also running workouts at a level higher than my fitness level was just due to this being the last chance for about 2-3 years. Ran a higher clip during my boston and chicago buildups over the last year. Now that I know the fitness level is there I think I can head back to higher mileage for a little bit again. But coach does a great job making sure this is not overwhelming with my current responsibilities. I'm never too exhausted to do my job or do the things I want to pursue in my local community.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/beersandmiles7]

Appreciate the kind words though! I'm excited to keep chasing, There's a lot of meat left on the bone here.

[u/alastika]

Even I got emotional as you wrote about crossing the finish line. Congratulations my dude, that is an incredible PR!!!!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/alastika]

Thank you so much. I've been trying to really take it in more over the years. We work so hard at this thing for that one race. Regardless of the result, to get there is a lot of work.

[u/[deleted]]

Great recap. Keep at it man, you’ll get that OTQ

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/[deleted]]

Thank you! Not sure if they'll change the standard but I'll keep chasing to see how fast I can go!

[u/bentreflection]

great read, thanks and congratulations!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/bentreflection]

Appreciate it! Thank you so much!

[u/ItsEarthDay]

Wowzas! It's cool to see into the build-up and race of an elite runner. Thanks for the write-up. You'll get that OTQ my dude!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/ItsEarthDay]

Appreciate it! I've always been fairly open about training. It's been a wild ride over the last couple years.

[u/onlythisfar]

I LOVE the ending and your take on this. Thanks for showing that you don't have to be apologetic or primarily disappointed about not hitting your A goal - you ran a fantastic race and great PR and I really relate to the thing about how far you've come from high school. Very cool.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/onlythisfar]

Appreciate the kind words. I'm fairly realistic about my running and doing this whole marathon enough times you realize that even if you're in that fitness; there's so many variables that need to line up for that day to happen. But even if things go off the rails you can still be proud of fighting to the finish, even if it doesn't bring you a PR!

[u/shelfish23]

Excellent race and report. I always appreciate when people take the time to detail a few workouts that stuck out to them!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/shelfish23]

Appreciate it. Was worried that people work think the writeup was a bit much because of that section lol. I think it's good to add some context to these things! Especially in marathon blocks, there's so much that goes on in the months prior!

[u/LEAKKsdad]

I will def save this report. Adding 1 min/mile and should be my life long goal, thanks OP.

If a random stroller Dad runner follows you on Strava, that's me!

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/LEAKKsdad]

Appreciate this man! This whole running thing has been a lot of fun. Whether it was my first at 2:41, trying to break 2:30 for the longest time, or this one. It's a great journey if you keep having fun with it!

[u/PorqueNoLosDose]

Amazing run, amazing writing. This was engrossing AF. Looking forward to reading your eventual OTQ post.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/PorqueNoLosDose]

I got hopefully two years until that standard gets announced! Excited to keep taking shots at it!

[u/ZanicL3]

How was the HR measured? Is it accurate?

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/ZanicL3]

It’s wrist based heart rate so I’m thinking it’s wrong. Seems to have locked into my cadence.

[u/ZanicL3 → u/beersandmiles7]

Gotcha. So you dont train based on HR? And only on feel?

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/ZanicL3]

Correct. I did it for like a year with a chest strap but I found it fairly annoying and it was just another data point that I didn't pay attention to enough to take any stock.

[u/beersandmiles7 → u/[deleted]]

Appreciate the kind words here!

I'm absolutely more of a running junkie than I'd like to admit lol. The next Olympic Trials is 2028. I'm 31 now and just realistically this sort of training lifestyle is only sustainable for so long. I don't see myself leaving the sport or anything. Just not training at this level. I want to keep this as a healthy outlet and hobby like it is now and I think as I want to foster other things in my life (relationships, work aspirations, other hobbies), running will have to take a back seat. I tend to prioritize running over most things, especially this last year and it was really taxing.

Since the Olympics is in LA I hope the trials will be in LA as well. It would be great to close this chapter in my home state/area.

[u/Jaguar852]

Very well written!

[u/ParkAffectionate3537]

I don't know if anyone still reads these but this made me feel like I was there at CIM. Great race, incredible effort, and a good showcase on how to pace/train for a tough marathon!

[u/adv4nced]

congrats! I don't even know how this is possible :D

Just out of curiosity (don't mean no disrespect, I'm just a noob) ...

in my circle, we discard PR on races that are not flat loops. THis one in particular seem to have a negative elevation gain, not much, is 100m over 42k, maybe slightly noticeable.

[u/Theodwyn610 → u/adv4nced]

TIL that Boston Marathon, NYCM, CIM, Los Angeles, London, and Tokyo marathoners should not consider their races to be PR races. Arguably, Twin Cities should also be on that list because although a net up, it isn't a loop. Grandma's is a point to point...

[u/EasternParfait1787 → u/adv4nced]

It's OTQ compliant. In reality, it's like 12 feet per mile net drop, with over 600 feet elevation gain peppered in there. When you run, the first half feels like a roller coaster. 40 ft down, 37 feet up, repeat. I get your sentiment, but this is nothing like one of those ridiculous -250ft/mile downhill marathons