Napa Valley Marathon

This was definitely a unique marathon for me.  The end result was the same – crossing the finish line and keeping my perfect record intact (16 for 16 for this distance).     I ended up having a completely different pre-marathon routine.  There were a number of things that made this race different

The first is that it rained almost the entire time.  And hard rain for much of the time.  Of all the runs and races I’ve done, I’ve been extremely lucky (or good – depending on how you look at it) in getting good weather.  The only other time it rained on me during a race was my second in Stockholm and it only rained for around 30 minutes, not for hours!  In the end, I didn’t “melt” and the temperatures were not too bad, so that helped.  Also, drank a lot, and hydrated, which is the best way to stay warm on the mountain or in a race.

Secondly, it was the most late I’ve ever been to a start, barely getting there in time.  At five minutes to 7:00 (official start time), we were still running across the adjacent parking lot with half-eaten bagels in the mouth and running to drop off the sweat-bags in the bus that takes it to the finish to pick up.  Had to run in front of the start line and after people starting running, had to run around the runners to get in the pack to start.  In thinking about it, this was not a bad thing, as most runners had to wait in the rain for a long time for the start, and without moving around got a chance to get cold and wet first – before even starting.

(The only other time I almost missed a start was near-disastrous.  After flying to Sydney, Australia in September 2003, I left the hotel in plenty of time for the start, but could not get a taxi to take me to the start.  When I finally did, the taxi could not get to the start easily since they had closed the Harbour Bridge and he had to go all around the city to get there.  I ended up getting dressed in the taxi, and made it to the start with about five minutes to spare also.)

In the race Sunday, I also came close (mentally) to calling it quits early in the race.  At around mile 7 or 8, with the rain coming down hard and the wind picking up (momentarily)  and no end in sight, I started getting worried  about getting hypothermia since I was already thoroughly wet and the thought of 3-4 more hours of this did not seem doable.  But the thought of not finishing was too much to bear and just went on and tried to get through the milestones along the way (get to 10m, get to halfway 13.1m, etc.)  And that was the last of any dark thoughts of dropping out – thankfully.

This was also only the second marathon or any race that I have run without music.  Napa had a total ban on headsets and music players, though a few people used them and and race officials did not ever do or say anything.  For me, even though I had brought my iPod and discrete headphones, it was simply too much hassle with the rain to get them out and I just got used to running without music after a while and never took them out and it was ok.  Still, if allowed, I would also run with music, it makes the time and miles go by and certainly picks up the pace.

Finally, it was also a unique race in that I am not disabled the days afterward (so far).  I would like to think it was the training before hand, or maybe the pace that was run, or just getting stronger, but it is incredibly encouraging (especially when thinking about the 50m race in early April) that if I stay at a good pace, I can go a long time (start slow, finish fast! )  The cheering crowds help a lot, especially when they have been waiting in the rain!

So in the end, it was a lovely and nice day, ran with a big smile on my face for most of the race, and had last night, and today, the immense satisfaction of accomplishment that these things bring later.  Finishing.

Now, I’m all packed for Whitney and with winter storms pounding the Sierras, my next goals are to summit (on my birthday on Saturday) and come back with all my digits and extremites intact!