Napa Valley Marathon

Originally Kevin & I had planned to go up to Napa for a little racing and wine drinking. When I got this new job I realized I had some sales training to be back for on Monday. I also couldn't get the time off we had planned so soon after starting so we cancelled Kevin's flight and I flew out alone. Thankfully one of my dearest friends, Katie, lives out there. She was willing to pick me up and haul my a$$ around wine country. Bummer, for her!

We got up to Napa on Saturday morning and did packet pick up. I had told myself I wasn't going to do any tastings on Saturday, pre-race. BUT, one of my favorite wines is right in Sonoma and we weren't going to have time to hit it the next day so we stopped in. Twist my arm, I'm such a lush! It was well worth it though, check it out - Valley of the Moon. Their zins are to die for! We also discovered an orgasmic Port wine while there. They just released a well aged brandy and this port is infused with it. Holy moly it is some tasty decadence. It's in the wine cellar for a special occasion. Blogging is a special occasion, right? At the rate I've been doing it lately it might be :)

I digress...the night before the race we went to The Culinary Institute of America! Wowza, the food was almost as good as the vino! It's a must do if you are ever up that way.

Ok, on to the race...the forecast had been calling for rain all week leading up to the race. I was cautiously optimistic that it would hold off but Saturday afternoon the slow drizzle started and as soon as I woke up race morning I heard it coming down. Fantabulous! Fortunately, it wasn't too cold. Actually, it was about perfect racing conditions at a comfy 50*!

The race starts in Calistoga and runs down the Silverado Trail Road into Napa. The scenery couldn't be better and the course is flat or slightly downhill!

It was a fairly uneventful race for me. I wore too much thinking I would get cold. Within the first mile I had shed 1 layer. My goal for the race was to break 3:30. Based on the training runs I had done at altitude I knew I could do it if I could just be patient in the first half of the race. I have a bad habit, like most I think, of going out WAY too fast. I ran my first mile right at 8' pace. My goal was to run 8' miles through the half, re-evaluate, then drop it from there. A few miles in I had settled confortably into a 7:55 pace. It felt easy but I decided to keep it steady. Another runner started running with me. We chatted quickly about our finish goals and he asked if he could pace off of me. It was a nice distraction. I was feeling great, getting my nutrition spot on, and holding my pace between 7:52-7:55 each mile. And yes, it was still dumping rain! It was one soggy run all day!

By 18 I was feeling the fatigue but I wasn't slowing. At this point I decided I would re-evaluate how I felt at mile 20 and decide if I could pick it up the last 10k home. By 20 I was feeling ok but didn't feel like I had much more to give. I decided to just keep it steady at 7:53ish. At this point my stomach wasn't feeling great either. I was having reflux and having trouble getting another gel down, which I could have used. I stuck to water and a few tiny sips from my flask. Blah!

I picked up the pace the last mile, mostly from adrenaline and wanting it to be over as quick as possible. I crossed the line officially in 3:28:15! I had my garmin on and I clocked the course a bit long which sucked when I thought I was almost there, I had another half mile to go. Boston qualifying time was 3:40 so I beat that by over 10 minutes. All I came away with was this...

Sorry, if you just lost your lunch. All in all, I was stoked with my time and felt I executed it well, in comparison to my past open marathons. I was really hoping to pick up the pace the last 10k and everything in my training indicated I could do it. It just wasn't happening on race day for some reason. Oh well, no complaints and I'm not disappointed! I learn something new with every marathon I do and I'm loving the distance more and more. My goal for Ironman Canada is to run a 3:30-3:35 marathon. I know with the fitness I have now and the time I still have to put in I can do it,. with allot of hard work this summer. In 2009 I ran my IM marathon only 3 minutes slower than my early season open. WTF, right? Crazy~if you ask me!

All in all it was a great weekend and a great race! I would do it again in a heart beat. It was a small race (2200 runners) and a spectacular course. And the wine tastings the next day were awesome! Well, fun until I threw up in the bushes outside one winery!