Marathon #32: First Light Marathon, Mobile Alabama, January 2012

This marathon was on my list because it benefited the local L'Arche Mobile, which offers community services for special needs people in Mobile, and because the course itself had good reviews on marathonguide.com. With a large, mostly looped course, it would provide a great tour of Mobile, starting off along streets lined with historic southern colonial homes with spanish moss hanging from the tree branches, then passing through the Univeristy of Southern Alabama campus and neighboring Azalea city golf course, and finally back into the downtown area to the finish in Bienville Square.

I am relaying on memory, because I never did a write up after running this one, so I don't have many details, but Toby, who was injured, followed Jamie and I along the course, so I do have a lot of photos to share. In summary we loved this marathon, although it was pretty hilly and on race day it was a bit warm and extremely humid, so it did have its challenges.

Our typical pre-race eeeeee!!

Command central, complete with mango Gatorade for us!

Early on the route

Jamie on the hills

Downhill aerial shot!

A very happy finish!

A classic, one of my favorite pics!

I did have an epiphany of sorts in this marathon that has carried me forward, and it has to do with aging and letting go of that rope...Right from the start I was trying to hold a 9:00 pace and it was a struggle. I felt myself getting angry about it and stubbornly pushing through it mile after mile until around mile 8 it hit me. If  I don't let it go, somewhere down the road things will get really ugly and I'll have a miserable experience. If I do let it go and accept whatever the clock says then I will enjoy the run as much as one can enjoy the marathon distance, through to the end. So I did it. I let go of the rope. From that moment the anger lifted and later in the race I had enough energy to power up some pretty big hills and I never resorted to walking any of the course, even though I was really feeling the effects of the weather and the hills near the end. At the finish line a special needs person from the L'Arche community put a handmade medal on my neck!

The handmade medals, priceless

Jamie loved this marathon too! She ran a 3:58 and I ran a 4:07. We both placed on our age groups, so our awards were canvas paintings from members of L'Arche Mobile!

I highly recommend this marathon, and would gladly go back to run the half if others want to go check it out!

Kudos to Toby, who knows how to take care of us!

Marathon #29: California International Marathon (Sacramento), December 2010

This marathon boasts, "The Fastest Course in the West" on their elevation map, which depicts a primarily downhill course, but the scale can be deceiving, because the total elevation loss is a mere 340 feet. That's not a screaming downhill course, as one would assume by looking at their chart. It can be a good PR course choice, but the trick is to run conservatively in the first half, where there is a lot more rolling terrain, and take advantage of the downhill on the second half, where the terrain is less rolling. Maybe this is why it seems like there's a love it or hate it feeling among runners I know who've ran it? As for me, I loved it, and it's still one of my favorite marathon experiences, but for many reasons, some of which are very subjective. I have to rely on my memory here, because apparently I never did a write up on this one, probably because it was one of those marathons where everything went right. Obviously those kind of marathons are rare, and as great as they are they don't leave me much to write about. Anyhow, here goes...

This marathon was on my list not because it's fast but because this area is one of my top considerations for retirement. It's a point to point course, starting out near Folsom Lake and finishing in downtown Sacramento just outside the state capitol. Along the way it runs through several small residences such as Citrus Heights and Fair Oaks, with farms in between. There are the occasional eucalyptus or pine trees, both of which I miss so much here in Texas.

Jamie liked my idea of heading to the Napa and Sonoma Wine Valleys after the marathon, as it's only about 45 minutes away. We would run the marathon and our guys would fly in that night and we'd hit the road the next morning.

We had near perfect race weather, 50's, no rain, although a little steamy (wet) at the start. Jamie and I separated right away and I didn't see her again until around mile 15. She was not enjoying the course as much as I was. We ran together for the awhile and we passed a band playing Ventures music. It's pre-Beach Boys surfer music and it ROCKS. Anyhow, that really got me all fired up, and I think it helped Jamie for awhile, but I lost her around mile 20 at a water stop. I found myself holding a decent pace on the last 10K. I could really feel the aid of the downhill all the way into downtown. The crowds grew along the streets as we came into Sacramento, and as we rounded the corner the capitol was in sight as we crossed the finish line. It was a great finish!

At this time I had already started slowing down in marathons, and hadn't broken 4 hours in the last 4, but was happy to run a 3:53 that day, so yes, in my opinion it was a fast course.
Jamie was not a happy camper and I think she would disagree with me about the fastness of the course, so there you go. At any rate, we had a blast afterwards!

Wine touring was sometimes painful!