Juneau Half Marathon, Juneau Alaska, July 2022

 

Full marathon start

I really wanted to run the full marathon, in fact I've never tried harder, without succeeding, to make it to the starting line of a marathon in my life! I should have pulled the plug way back in June, when the weather was already causing me grief, but back then there was no way of knowing it was going to be one of our hottest summers ever. I had a game plan for battling the heat though! This time around I started using liquid IV instead of water and electrolyte pills, as well as Hammer Nutrition's Liquid Endurance formula. We even traveled to cooler places for some of our long runs. I did an 18 mile run in Oklahoma City, but it ended up being about 2 degrees cooler than Dallas, so that run was pretty ugly, then a 21 mile run in Lubbock, which was cooler, and finally, a planned 22-23 mile run in California. Since Juneau is hilly I ran hills, hills, and more hills. A shout out to Chad Costas for the Loving Hill sets. Those were great! 

I'm not sure what caused it, (duh, every marathoner says this), but I started having a strain in my adductor while running, which I managed with stretching and massage, but it got worse towards the end, so that's that. When I got to California I had to run! I had mapped out one of the prettiest runs along not one, but two beaches! It was 55-60 degrees with a marine layer for cloud cover. I managed to run a painful 16 miles, to cover the ground of the two beaches of course, and sealed my fate. If I had felt confident about my marathon training up until that point I think I would have been more upset about the injury, but to be honest I felt relieved. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I switched to the half marathon, hoping I'd be able to at least run that.

Ok so onward to the race! At least Toby and Jamie survived the training for the full, and Jedonna joined us for the half marathon, her first since her foot injury this spring. We went from record 100 degree heat and no rain to 55-60 degrees and intermittent rain, which was a complete shock! The one word that accurately describes Juneau is wet! 

The packet pick up was in a local store similar to an REI. It's a small race: about 50 people for the full, and about 100 for the half. The shirt is probably one of my favorites, as it's a technical shirt with the Alaska state flag design, and not cluttered with sponsor logos. Once I got that shirt I knew I'd hobble through the half no matter what. Sigh, of course I would.

On race morning the four of us drove over to the starting line to drop off Jamie and Toby. Jedonna and I would have to wait 2 hours before we started. Admittedly, although beautiful, the course did indeed appear to be quite hilly as we drove over. Jedonna said to Jamie, "It will all be over soon. It will all be over soon", as if she was going in for a colonoscopy or something! The bathrooms at the park were still locked, so we had to do a quick detour to the porta potties on the course, making for a bit of a scramble. There were no chips, so the runners had to "check in", where a guy manually wrote the numbers down in a notebook and marked the bibs. What year is this?

Can you feel the excitement?

There was no national anthem or music-just some rambling about indigenous people and then a bullhorn. Jedonna and I went back to the hotel to chill out before our race. Of course I had been ready to run since before dawn, so I was a restless mess. I made more coffee that I didn't need and tried to educate myself on Alaska by watching their local cartoon, "Molly of Denali", who, along with her culturally diverse friends and her Siberian Husky dog Suki, get themselves out of Alaskan themed adventuresome jams. 

So FINALLY, Jedonna and I make our way to the starting line to check in, listen to the indigenous people speech, and we are off! The course is laid out as an out and back for both the half and the full, with the full marathoners turning around at mile 13.1, and the half marathoners turning around at 6.55 miles. Having the full marathoners start 2 hours before us allowed us all to finish closer together, which was cool. 

Our turn!

It didn't take long for me to thank God that I didn't run the full marathon after all. The hills were no joke! We never ran flat! It was gorgeous though; a pine tree lined road with occasional water falls and little river crossings. There were a few glimpses of  downtown Juneau and the cruise ships across the water. It never rained heavily, just a constant, cooling drizzle. The temperature hovered at about 55 degrees the entire morning. And of course not a hint of sunshine. In short, it was perfect running weather! 

Of course the first person I saw from our group was Toby, running really strong, with our exchange centered around where the car was parked, then Jedonna with Jamie right behind her! I figured I had a good 6-7 miles in me, and I was right. After the turn around I had to take walk breaks here and there, and even though I knew I wasn't doing my injury any favors I couldn't help but enjoy where I was and what I was experiencing. I looked up and saw my first eagle! We later realized they were everywhere. After I finished we all headed over to the food, which I was excited about, because in the past they had grilled salmon. I had been thinking about that salmon on the run. They had a great spread of sandwiches and pasta, but no salmon! It still hurts to think about it.

Toby caught these pics of us girls finishing:

Stats: Toby ran a 3:21, and got 2nd place in the Senior category.

Jamie ran a 4:03, 1st place masters and declared the RRCA Master's State Champion (we weren't sure what that was all about, but hey).

Jedonna ran a 2:01 and placed 1st in the GrandMaster category.

I ran a 2:27, probably my worst time since I stupidly ran the DRC Half 6 days after the Marine Corps marathon, but they insisted I go ask how I placed. I encountered a guy with a lap top and a woman holding about a hundred tiny scraps of paper in her hand and said "never mind". Gee if only we had the technology...It turns out I came in 4th.

I was lamenting how I didn't get a chance to run the run part of the course that rounded the bend, giving a viewpoint of the Mendenhall glacier across the water, but Toby and Jamie said I didn't miss much, as it was somewhat foggy and most of the course was just more of the same-constantly rolling hills, with the steepest climb at the 13.1 mile turnaround. It was a beautiful course for sure, but could be considered boring at times I guess. No turns, no real change in scenery, an out and back can be mentally draining, no spectators except for a few family members, not many runners, and a bit of traffic whizzing by on the way back.

 I'd recommend this marathon primarily based on it being in Juneau, which was nothing short of a fabulous place to visit! Our remaining trip was over the top, clearly eclipsing the marathon event. Even if you don't run you must go to Juneau! Go whale watching, go out to the Tracy Arm Fjord to see the Sawyer glacier, go see the Mendenhall glacier either in town or along a hiking trail nearby! Eat the salmon. Eat the halibut fish and chips! Juneau Alaska is truly a bucket list place to visit.

Sandy beach at finish line park area

Kentucky Derby Half Marathon, Louisville KY April 2022

 

I refuse to refer to this race as a mini-marathon, as they call it. I bet they think it sounds cute, but the half marathon distance race has a name. It's called the half marathon. Stop being cute. Yes, it is a pet peeve of mine, and many other runners, ha! In hindsight I'm looking like a genius for choosing the half over the full, but I made that call long before race day. This was not a marathon that spoke to me, at least not in its current configuration. Before COVID the course ran entirely along the streets of Louisville, including a run through Churchill Downs, which made sense, as it is called the Kentucky Derby race, but last year they somehow convinced the fine people of southern Indiana to have the runners cross the Ohio river and run along a pedestrian bike path in Indiana for the majority of the race. Yes, it was probably deemed "COVID safe", but I can't wrap my head around what's in it for Indiana when everyone stays in Louisville and spends their money there...Anyhow, for 2022 the race director moved the first half of the marathon back into Louisville, but decided to run the second half out and back along the Indiana bike path again. For this reason alone I decided I didn't want to have anything to do with the full marathon and signed up for the HALF. 

2022 Course

Jamie needed Kentucky for her 50 state quest, and others joined in, so before too long we had quite the crowd from Dallas going to this one! Toby signed up for the full two days after running the Ventura marathon! After Ventura I kept running long and started thinking that maybe if it was a freaky cold day in Kentucky maybe I'd switch to the full, but I google-earthed the second half TWICE to try to get my head around it. It's a rule of mine; I cannot commit to a race unless I can mentally put myself there. I wasn't feeling it, and the forecast started deteriorating, so that was that. 

LSP, Jamie, and Toby for the full, and Tom and I for the half.

Race day morning was exciting! There were about 8,000 runners total, with all of us starting the race at the same time! It's been a very long time since we've had this experience, so it was really special. I liked that we were with the full marathoners for almost all of our race. We were shoulder to shoulder the whole time. There were spectators out in full force, and the water stops were spot on with tons of volunteers, including kids (I always get a cup from the smallest one and thank them). Mike Murgas found me early on, so we ran together until just before Churchill Downs (around mile 8 or so), but we never saw anyone else, but later others had stories of who they saw or ran with along the way. The run through Churchill Downs was amazing! We ran through the main entrance and ran alongside the race track, where training was taking place. Very cool experience!

After exiting Churchill Downs I started feeling the effects of the weather. It was pretty warm, but the main issue was the humidity. Once the sun popped out it started warming up really quickly. From that point on I had to walk the water stops and slow down, but still stayed within myself to enjoy the last few miles as much as possible--look around at the old buildings and the people all around me. As we split from the marathoners near the end ("mini runners turn right"...grrrr....) I could truly feel it, their pain, and it made me sick with worry.

Tom found me right away, and then the Murgi and the Brinks! Half marathoners all happy and ready to drink the beers! They all had the bourbon shots too!! Yes, our post race finish was lively and fun, which I absolutely knew would not be the case for the marathoners...

Half marathons are fun!

I knew Toby would be ok until after he finished (then he'd need to lie down and die), but I didn't know about the girls. At least they'd see each other on the out and back, so that would help. What I didn't know is that they were running together and both suffered greatly, but at totally different times, so they truly pulled each other through it. Jamie had "stomach" issues very early in the race when LSP was feeling fine, and then once they crossed into Indiana LSP started struggling when Jamie was actually feeling better. Both say they wouldn't have finished without each other and to see them come through the finish chute holding hands was something that still makes me cry. 

Not like us half marathoners at all

It took quite a while before they "came back to life" at the finish, but Tom and I pilfered their beer tickets so we managed ok, ha. On the walk back to our hotel we stopped at a great place for a proper celebration of a great day!

Stats:

Toby ran a 3:24, LSP ran a 4:20, and Jamie a 4:22. Toby placed 3rd in his age group and LSP placed 2nd! To add insult to injury the marathon course was a bit long! Toby's Garmin measured 26.65! Oh, and I ran a 2:12 half and so so grateful I didn't run the full. I had FOMO about not running across the bridge until I saw the steepness of it! No thanks!

ouch!

In summary...the marathoners didn't like the second half of the marathon, as I feared. Maybe they'll go back to the original course, who knows, but if I return to Kentucky to run a marathon I think I'll go elsewhere, however I do recommend the HALF marathon and the trip to Louisville! 

Marathon #57: Ventura Marathon, Ojai/Ventura California Feb 2022

Design by local artist who was at expo

Well here I am writing up another marathon race report! I was pretty sure the marathon I ran in December of 2020 was going to be my last, due to the back pain I was dealing with. It's been a long road of recovery, which warrants its own blog whenever I get around to it. As my back started improving I started thinking about running marathons again, dammit! A friend of mine said she was finally done with marathons and was so happy to say that the one she just ran was indeed her last! I was jealous. I wanted that feeling for myself. Maybe I'll just run one more marathon and this time if I decide it's my last it will be on my own terms. I went into the training, a) to see if my back would tolerate it, and b) to see if I could live with the fact that my finishing time AT BEST would be 4:30, but realistically could be as slow as 4:45. This is all me and my ego and my reluctance to accept that being in my 60's has anything to do with it...anyhow, on to the race report itself! 

First of all, the Ventura marathon is not the marathon that runs entirely in Ventura along the coastline. That would be the Seaside marathon. This race starts in Ojai, and finishes in Ventura. Not to be confused with the Mountains 2 Beach marathon, which does the same thing, but actually finishes on the beach. This one sticks around Ojai a little longer, "normally" finishing in downtown Ventura. I say normally, because this year the city of Ventura didn't permit the race to finish downtown, forcing it to finish on the outskirts of town instead. This change forced the race director to add the lost miles on the front end, in Ojai, resulting in not one, not two, but THREE loops back across the starting line. Also, no finish line beer festival, which cut me deep! The added loops/miles in Ojai increased the elevation to close to 500 feet before heading mostly downhill to Ventura. No, this was not the race I had signed up for, but hey, maybe it would seal the deal on that final marathon decision...

My marathon running buddies would be Laura (LSP), and Toby, his first marathon since his accident in 2020. Tom Patterson would be our heroic sherpa and traveling spectator for the day. It was a beautiful crisp cold morning in Ojai for the race start! LSP and I got choked up when they played the National Anthem. I had a lot of gratitude in that moment for many things in my life. 

Forecast was mostly cloudy...

At one point on the course a man with a bullhorn said, "If this is your first pass, turn right". Ojai was pretty so I was enjoying the scenery, but I knew what he was going to say next time around...before we got to that point though, the top runners came screaming by. There were SO MANY sub 3 hour runners, including the top 2 females! This is not the crowd they have had in the past! Anyhow, I came across the bullhorn guy: "If this is your second pass, turn right". UGH. This was truly the lowest point in the race. These loops were hilly and taking their toll. Not to mention passing through the start line yet again. As we encountered the bullhorn guy one last time we were finally told, "If this is your third pass go straight". Whoo hoo we were finally heading west! This was just shy of 11 miles. 

We ran through downtown Ojai before hitting the bike trail, which we stayed on all the way to the finish, so it was a nice, short little lively stretch. It was about here that the 4:30 pace group came along, so I tacked onto them for a bit, but when I hit the trail I could tell my legs were already feeling a bit beat up, so I mentally braced myself for what was to come, let the pace group gap, and settle into whatever pace my legs would allow. The bike trail was gorgeous! It was mostly shaded by pine, eucalyptus, and palm trees! At some points we would be parallel to the road to Ventura, which allowed spectators to repeatedly see their runners. I was staying pretty close to two young girls who had a huge group following them along the way. It broke up the quietness of the trail, but the quietness was quite nice, to be honest. I didn't play much music!

It was somewhere around mile 21 where the unraveling began. My left calf was ever so slightly starting to cramp. I had been diligent about my electrolyte pills and water, so I felt like it was the terrain getting to me. No, I don't care for downhill, indeed, when the trail turned upwards my calves were relieved. Still, the sun was out in full force, as our shade was now gone, so I started walking the water stops, drinking 2 cups each time. The girls were starting to struggle too-as I passed them I came across their caravan and told them this is when they need you the most! I never saw them again, but I'm sure they finished! As badly as my legs felt, my back was fine! Was never an issue-so grateful for that!

The scenery on the outskirts of Ventura was dreadful; a water treatment facility, oil rigs, a yard of abandoned trailers, but I don't think it mattered much. I was taking way too many walk breaks. My legs were just giving me fits. I was doing the math....looking like a 4:40 finish...what say you? Are we still having fun? On the last mile before we rounded the corner to the finish my right hamstring cramped up and I was like holy hell I'm going to be hobbling down the barricaded finish, what a sight! Once I turned and heard people cheering I got really choked up and realized that I was finishing yet another marathon and it felt just as exciting and meaningful as the first one. Marathon, I can't quit you!

Never gets old

The finish area, although not in Ventura with a beer festival, was in a nice grassy soccer field, which I thought was fine enough. But we did eventually have to go to where the beer was, of course.

Stats:

Toby ran a 3:16, which is nothing short of amazing, given where he has come from. He texted his surgeon his results, saying, "You gave me hope the moment I arrived in the ER". He was blown away.

Laura ran a 4:02! 

I ran a 4::41. It's a new era. Time to embrace it.