Santa Clarita Marathon Race Report
Joining the marathon club
The drive to Santa Clarita is beautiful. If you are a mountain lover, the city will feel just like home. There’s something magical about this place, and no, I’m not talking about the huge Westfield Valencia Town Center near the starting and finishing line. I can’t really put my finger on it but I felt a strong affinity to the place even though I’ve never been here before.
Parking was an absolute breeze because we were able to park in the spacious parking lot of this gigantic mall. I arrived an hour early to stretch, warm-up, and of course to use the porta-potties.
As a local race event, it was just one gigantic group of runners starting at the same time. I decided to start in the middle of the pack to calm myself down and focus. That’s when I realized my GPS watch barely had any juice left and it was giving me that low battery warning. This wasn’t how I wanted to start the race but I was determined to not let it affect my run. I told myself to trust my instincts and give it my best. Plus, I had Strava as a backup so I could take my phone out from my armband if I really wanted to check my pace.
Mile 1: My pace felt like a 10 minute per mile which was perfect according to my strategy of running a conservative first half, but I don’t know, something in me said I need to pick up the pace a bit. Actual pace: 9:23 / mile.
Mile 2: Okay this time I was passing everybody and even though it felt nice, I had to slow down. I had just passed the 4:10 pacer and the 4:00 pacer was running not too far ahead. My goal was to do a negative split and finish around 4:15–4:30, and already I was ahead of myself. I began to fancy the thought, can I finish under 4:00? Actual pace: 8:03. Never jump your pace like this. It isn’t smart to drop nearly 1.5 minutes from the previous split when racing. Change pace gradually, the slower, the better.
Mile 3: I am now officially part of the 4:00 pack. There’s about 20 of us. Everyone looks confident, especially our two pacers. Both are carrying 4–5 balloons each, with one big balloon shaped “4” to signify our goal time. That’s pretty nice I thought. But it could also be very depressing if you fail to keep up. I had to make a decision: Do I risk bonking later by sticking with this group or stick with my planned pace of 10:00? I reasoned that if I bonk, that’s still a marathon experience so whatever, here goes nothing. Plus, I loved the camaraderie we sort of had. Of course I didn’t really know anybody but our pacers were quite gregarious and they had this warmth about the way they led the group. I liked it so I decided to stay. Actual pace: 8:59.
Miles 4–8: Wow there are aid stations everywhere with lots of volunteers handing out water or poweraid. Nigel, one of our two pacers told us that there’s an aid station nearly every mile. Nice! Nigel also acted as our coach, instructing people to slow down a bit when there was a hill coming and what kind of elevation changes were going to happen in the next few miles. Having this kind of knowledge was invaluable to runners unfamiliar with the course, and especially for a dummy that had a dead watch. I thought Strava was going to announce my pace every time I hit a mile, but it was dead silent. Turns out it was on mute the entire time -_-. Actual pace: 8:58, 8:51, 9:01, 8:59, 8:53. Be sure to charge up your device and if you are used to getting notifications, make sure you check that you have sound turned on! It’s okay to go hard on hills when your training, but when your racing, don’t do that. Instead, slow your pace down a little bit, save energy.
Mile 9: I’m still feeling good and getting a sip of water at every aid station as instructed by Nigel. I normally don’t drink much in my experiences doing half-marathons, but since I’ve never done a marathon before, I trusted Nigel’s instructions and followed everything he said. The group was still going strong. I managed to splash two people behind me while tossing out the excess water cup. I said, “My bad” like four times just in case. To be fair, I splashed the most on myself so I think I did a good job doing some damage control there and not splashing the rest of the group. Someone would later splash me accidentally too. Careful not to splash water or worse, spit at your fellow runners. Always look around first and then aim. While it’s okay to splash water on yourself to cool yourself down, try not to spill too much on your shoes. My socks got wet and I ended up getting a nasty blister. Actual pace: 9:15.
Miles 10–12: Did I say, the crowd support was amazing? The most memorable were these two junior high students playing their trumpets performing that iconic theme from the movie, Rocky. Na-na-na~ Na-na-na~ The other pacer (sorry, forgot her name) did a quick head count and said that we were still doing a great job. The crowd even gave our group a nice compliment saying we were the biggest group holding it together. A few people broke away from the pack to use the restroom or try a different pace. One person that went ahead would later regret that move because once we caught up to him, he couldn’t maintain the pace and eventually fell behind. I wondered if I would face the same fate later on. Actual pace: 9:04, 8:56, 8:59.
Mile 13: Okay, I got a sore left calf. It’s not too bad but I was also beginning to feel some aches in my joints. I tried my best to suppress the inner voice saying, “why is this happening to me right now! I got 13 more miles to go. $@%#!” I realize, I’ve just passed my longest run of 12 miles during my training which was completed at an average pace of 10:30 per mile. If you were wondering, my marathon training did not go as planned because of an ankle injury. The injury took almost a month out of my training, and while I seriously considered skipping this race, I decided to be a guinea pig and try anyway (if you care to read about it, I’ve done a daily blog on training while injured). Actual pace: 9:16.
Miles 14–17: After the half-marathon mark, there were definitely less people out cheering. Makes sense because the majority were doing the half-marathon or the 5k race. There were 1140 half-marathoners vs. 325 marathoners. Still, the police officers controlling the traffic and several dedicated neighbors provided more than enough support. Plus, at every mile mark, there was an aid station. And the people there provided a ridiculous amount of energy, time and time again. The sore feeling in my left calf eventually went away, and now, I was just enjoying the awesome view this course provided. If something feels off in your body, don’t stop right away. As long as it’s not a new kind of pain you’ve never experienced before, hang in there and see if things improve. If you’ve done the work in training, give your body some time to adapt to the discomfort. Learning how to listen to your body and making your best judgment in times of uncertainty is part of becoming a better runner too. Actual pace: 9:11, 9:14, 8:51, 8:58.
Mile 18: Something strange happened. The guy behind me (I was second to last in the pack), signaled to somebody and later a car pulled up and picked him up. What the hell was that? Was he giving up? Was he cutting the course? The Santa Clarita Marathon is a Boston qualifier and is a USATF certified course. If his plan was to cut the course to qualify for that race, shame on him. Maybe he had to go #2 real badly. Who knows, that’s none of my business. This is also the mile I really started to struggle. I had energy, but my feet were killing me. The constant desire to walk kept infecting my inner mind. And then all of a sudden, I heard Nigel say, “WRONG WAY”. One guy ahead of us took the wrong path at the fork. My concentration was pretty broken at this point and I just followed where Nigel went. Then I realized Nigel was going the wrong path to catch up with the guy that was heading the wrong direction. The feeling that I had to go back a few steps really sucked and took away valuable energy. Actual pace: 9:01. Don’t listen to music (or at least turn the volume down) when you run. You need to be aware of your surroundings and if you are going the wrong direction, you might not be so lucky to have a pacer come save you.
Mile 19: I started fading away from the pack. That’s when I realized our pack that was once strong just a few miles ago was reduced down to 7–8 survivors. I didn’t want to look back because I didn’t want to know that I was last in the group, but I was pretty sure I was dead last being about five seconds behind the rest. That seems short but it’s a pretty big distance. Is this where I fail? I try my best but I keep falling more and more behind. And then suddenly, I hear footsteps. It’s Nigel. He’s running fast to catch up with the pack after helping the guy who went the wrong way. I tell myself, this is my chance. I follow him as closely as I can, pretending there’s a dinosaur trailing right behind me. Somehow, I am keeping up with his speed and I am back with the group. We are now just five people including the two pacers and myself. He tells me later that he completed this mile at a 7:15 per mile pace. And he is in his mid 50s! Much respect! Actual pace: 9:02.
Mile 20: I’m still right behind Nigel. He asks me how I am doing. I lie and say, I’m feeling good. I ask him, “are we doing a negative split?” He says, “yeah we should be about 15–20 seconds faster.” I say, “that’s perfect” even though in my mind, I’m thinking “oh no… that means I can’t slow down from here on out.” I was hurting pretty badly. No cramps but my legs were starting to feel numb. I think it’s the runner’s high kicking in because rather than pain, I was feeling some serious tingling like sensations that you can get with local anesthesia. The balloons from the pacers kept hitting my face so that made my face feel numb too. I told myself in my inner voice, “knees high, and quit being so stupid running too close to the pacers, that’s why the balloons are slapping you you idiot.” Actual pace: 9:03.
Mile 21: Nigel said that I was doing really well. He mentioned that marathon is not something you rush. He took every hill very carefully and told his other pacer to slow down when she started to pick up speed, reminding her that, “this isn’t your race. “You are to pace the group.” I liked this guy because he knew how to lead. I definitely took some mental notes from Nigel. Nigel assured me that I was going to be fine the rest of the way because I was able to carry a conversation with him. That was a great confidence booster. Actual pace: 9:10.
Miles 22–24: We passed a lot of people who rushed ahead earlier on. Some looking way fitter than I am were struggling really badly. As marathon legend, Bill Rodgers once said, “the marathon can humble you.” I was seriously dying in some of these miles. Everything felt uncertain. Yet I was amazed at what my body was capable of with limited amount of training. How is it that I am able to keep this pace up when I was on the verge of dropping out of this pack earlier on? That was five miles ago! “Let’s do this!” I told myself. Marathon is a mental race more so than a physical race. The physical stuff is already done during practice. How you execute during the race is largely determined by your attitude. Don’t doubt yourself, stay positive and keep moving forward. Actual pace: 8:57, 9:00, 9:05.
Mile 25: This is it. Nigel is telling me if I want to go ahead, now is the time. I’m like what the hell are you talking about. How can I go any faster. I am dying right now. I’m even getting sleepy. My eyes are noticeably blinking slower than before and I don’t feel good at all. My legs feel super numb and I just want to sleep now. Am I going to faint? I’ve never fainted in my life so I have no idea what happens right before fainting. I think of my family, my friends, and decide to take a leap of faith and give it all I’ve got. Actual pace: 8:57. Breaking away from the pack was a very gradual process, unlike my earlier miles. Never increase your speed abruptly. It should be an invisible transition.
Mile 26: I’m now alone and I have no idea what kind terrain or if there are any hills coming up. I feel naked not being part of the group. I miss the balloons, although I don’t miss getting smacked repeated on the face by them. I could hear Nigel yell something at someone but I can’t really understand it. Am I imagining it? I don’t know, I’m feeling sleepier. I try opening my eyes and also squinting my eyes to see if that helps. Nope. I drink my final water/poweraid and splash what leftover from head to everywhere. I’m feeling awake again and just as I regain some of my senses, I see a tiny hill coming. I’m thinking, “oh wtf, seriously right now?” In retrospect, it’s only like two basketball court long but that shit was not a nice surprise. Actual pace: 8:58 (I don’t think this is an accurate measure by Strava, I was a good distance away from Nigel’s pace group, I’m thinking more like 8:30 pace).
Final .2 miles and Finish: Why is this stretch so long?! Oh my god. Just as I turn the corner, I see the finish line. And what the hell, it’s an uphill again. One guy who I saw walking earlier is now running really hard and I hear him coming closer towards me. He passes me with ease and even though I don’t like being passed, I have absolutely no energy left to kick any faster. Still, the competitive spirit fires me up to increase my pace just a bit more. I finish not too far behind him, and now my attention is all about locating that medal. WHERE IS IT?! OH THERE IT IS! There are cheerleaders with their pom-poms congratulating me. I don’t remember if it was a young lady or an older lady that put the medal around my neck, all I know is that she was like an angel to me, telling me I’ve just been granted a second chance in life. It would be like Edward Snowden hearing the news that he had been pardoned by the president. I don’t know how but I was just so damn happy that I was done. Yet rather than feeling like I got my ass kicked by this marathon, I felt like I conquered it. I ended up crossing the finish line at 3:59:44 (gun time). And since I started from the middle of the pack, I knew my actual time would be faster. My official finishing time was 3:59:06. Although I was hungry as hell, I had to thank and congratulate the pacers. I walked back and I shook Nigel’s hand and from there everything is a blank. I normally go crazy with the after race snacks, but I only took two of the good stuff (gummy snacks) and milk. I met up with my awesome mom who chose to wake up at 4:30am to follow me to the race and support me at the finish line. After taking a photo, we sat down to enjoy the post-race award ceremony. I didn’t win anything, but hey, I finished 81st out of 325 overall. 69th out of 209 men. 10th in my age group! I am officially a marathoner baby!
Do I recommend the Santa Clarita Marathon? I highly recommend it. Overall it’s a flat course and the view is terrific. The pacers are very knowledgeable and the running community in this city is super tight-knit. The runners, the volunteers, the police officers, all gave me the impression that the whole city was running together. I will definitely come back to set a PR here next year.
Summary:
I did not achieve a negative split. I barely missed it by a couple of seconds (I actually ran a pretty consistent 9 minute pace throughout the entire race). I didn’t really care because I really pushed myself in this race and finished way ahead of my goal time of 4:15–4:30. My goal in every race is to be a little crazy and see what I am made of, and this race was no exception. I never walked, I never became pessimistic, I never gave up, and ended up completing my first marathon with a sub-4 hour time with injury derailing my training. What I can tell you is if you get injured, don’t call it quits too early. I mean of course it depends on the severity but if you see an opportunity, take it. My ankle injury was annoying as hell to deal with, and I wasn’t completely healed when I got back into training. But I tried my best to listen to my body and really believe that I could race strong on marathon day. I know hindsight is 20/20, but I believe that you never know what you can do without giving it your best shot. If you have to dropout of the race while running it, then dropout, at least you tried. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. As always, I’m just sharing my experience. If you choose to follow them, you are doing it at your own risk.
Thanks for reading. I skipped the last couple days of my 30-day daily blog series because I wasn’t running anyway and just wanted to mentally prepare myself for this race. So I am sorry for not delivering on that promise :) I hope that this detailed race report makes up for my failures, and I hope to continue the daily blogging habit in the future. But for now, I will be focusing on recovering my body and mind for the next couple of days.
Sincerely,
The New Sub-4 Hour Marathon Demigod, Michael
P.S. This was a super long post. Thank you very much for reading. I hope some of the insights I’ve shared will help you in your next training/race. Again, I highly recommend this beautiful course and the awesome people that made it all possible. I had an amazing time and I think you will too. Hit that ❤ or leave a comment if you feel like doing so! Ask me any questions about the race event, marathon experience, I’d be more than glad to respond back. Happy running!
11.11.2016
