Saturday, May 2, 2009

Santa Cruz and I Make Peace...



It's been two weeks since I ran Santa Cruz Half and it has taken me this long to be able to blog about it. The truth is simple: I really do not have the time for blogging. I don't like to admit to the fact that I am really this busy but the reality of my life at this time is such that it allows very little time for the non essentials. I know of people that log on to MySpace, facebook, twitter etc... on a daily basis (and sometimes more than once a day) and seem to need that daily interaction for mere survival. I, on the other hand do not. I would however, enjoy blogging daily or even just weekly as the effect of writing has a calming affect on me. The way my life is structured right now however, leaves little time for this little pleasure, so hence the lapse in time... it's not like I have readers clamoring for my very words.... :)

Santa Cruz Half 2009 could not have been scheduled on a more perfect day. Never, in ALL my years of going to Santa Cruz has there ever been a more perfect day at the beach. It was absolutely and divinely perfect! The girls and I rolled into town a little before 7 am and temperatures were already in the 70's. I was ecstatic but knew better then to get too excited as weather in Santa Cruz can change quickly... By the time we found parking and I got my Garmin and iPod strapped on it was time for me to make my way to the start line (we were parked super close) and use the porta potty before the gun went off. The sun was out and very bright and I could feel it warming my back - the perfect running weather for me. Those of you that know me well know how much I hate the cold... It was not overcast as it usually is and that got me even more excited...the heat was one...

I waited around awhile at the start line in hopes of using the porta potty (I had been holding it for about the last hour on the way down) but the lines just didn't seem to be moving at all. I got a little nervous as I have started races before with a full bladder and hate that uncomfortable feeling. I decided I couldn't wait around any longer and decided to start the race anyway. I know the course pretty well and knew that the first bathroom was less that a mile away. And so the gun goes off and we make our way up the very first hill which marks the beautiful start of this race... yeah...my bladder is full and I'm hurtin'. Not a good way to start a race...and all I could think of at that moment was Tim telling me just a few days earlier that one can pretty much tell how a race is going to go by how the first few miles go... "Great," I thought. "I'm screwed." Tim was actually telling me to cut myself some slack at the time and to allow my body to do what I had trained it to do but I was not thinking too positively right then. I knew that if there wasn't anyone in line I could be in and out in about a minute but the chances of that happening were slim. When I ran in, there were only three people ahead of me and I'm trying to calculate just how many minutes I'm going to lose. Luckily, everyone was pretty fast and the stalls (3 of them) emptied out pretty quickly. I lost about two minutes and was strapping on my waterpack as I ran out of the bathroom and back onto the course....aaahhhh I felt soooooo much better...now I could really run.

I've run and biked this course many times and feel very comfortable running it. The first scents of the ocean began to hit my nose and I breathed in the clean ocean air. The first part of the course in not that hilly and only contains slight rolling hills. My breathing felt good, my legs were strong and now that my bladder was empty I felt like this was going to be a great race. I love running those first couple of miles along West Cliff Drive as the ocean is in full view the entire time. I am a big fan of running in places with a beautiful view...sure beats running in places like LA...

At around mile 3 we reach Natural Bridges and we begin to make our way towards Wilder Ranch and the more difficult part of the race as this is where all the hills are. I was maintaining a good pace and was not allowing myself to run any faster than my 9:30 - 9:45 pace despite the fact that I felt like I could. I knew that hills were coming up soon and I wasn't quite sure how I would feel at that point. I had been doing hill training on the treadmill at the gym and felt confident but that is never a guarantee of anything.

Once on the path towards Wilder ranch, we were confronted with piles of horse manure which we had to navigate around and this was a bit of a challenge as that meant dodging other runners who were also trying to either jump over the piles or run around them. It was annoying and at times a bit dangerous as some runners were more cautious than others. This part of the path is paved and serves as a biking/running path for the lucky residents of Santa Cruz but despite the smooth pavement, the enormous piles of horse manure proved to be quite a challenge.

Around mile 4.5 or so, and right before we reached the Historic Farmhouse, I saw this guy bleeding, running in front of me. I slowed of bit to see if he was OK but didn't stop completely until I came right up on him and saw that his forearms and knees were bleeding and he seemed to be struggling. I stopped, turned my iPod off and asked if he was ok and if he needed anything. He thanked me and said he was fine... I doubted it but I think his pride kept him from succumbing completely to the his fall. I did not see him fall but knew that those piles of manure had had something to do with it. I guess those waivers the race officials always have us sign are for occasions just like that...He was a bit embarrassed I think and I could tell he just wanted to move on so I picked up the pace again and kept going... I know I lost some time there but it seemed unnatural to not stop and ask the guy if he was ok. So I lost a minute or two.... (:

I was well on my to Wilder Ranch by now and the elite runners were already coming back and we were cheering them on as each one ran past us and back to the start line...it took several minutes before the first female passed by us - at least the first ten guys ran passed us before the first female passed us... everyone cheered her on... God was she truckin'! I think she gave us girls a little motivation to pick up the speed. I know I did.

I was eating a gel and downing a bottle of water about every half hour. The temperatures had definitely risen and I was happy about that. Most runners were not happy and some were already complaining. The water stations were packed as runners were stopping to drink and hang a bit... I managed to get several cups of water at every station and fill my bottle on the way out...I was trying to make up for the lost minutes...

Once off the trail and back onto Wilder Ranch's paved path, I met Steph at the top of the last big hill. From there until the finish line, I had my own personal photographer and motivator and this helped considerably. By about mile 9 I was getting pretty tired and the question that comes up for me at least once during a half and several times during a full marathon, "Why am I doing this?" came to me yet again and I went through the mental list of the reasons I subject myself to what some would consider pure torture... at the top of list is always: "Because I can."

The last mile and a half of the race were by far the most difficult for me, far more so than running the hills at Wilder Ranch and I was beginning to feel fatigued. This part of the race has only rolling hills as the course is back on West Cliff Drive now but the fatigue was getting to me. Up until this point I was feeling pretty sure that I could beat my last time of 2:10 and thought for sure I could at least beat it by a minute of two. Given the fact that I had run my last SC Half after being up all night with an RA attack I felt good about this one even if it was going to be close... I hit mile 12 and really didn't know if I could finish. My legs were tired and even though my breathing was not labored I was fatigued. Steph was still riding her bike and cheering me on and snapping pictures the whole time. I didn't really seem to notice anything anymore, I just felt my legs and my feet as they hit the pavement with each step. How in the heck did I ever run 5 marathons? HOW?!!!? What has happened to me? I knew it was going to be close but Oh God I wanted to beat my last time even if it was only by a minute..... I was close to reaching the last downhill that takes one to the beach and straight to the finish line and I looked at my watch and knew that there was no way I was going to beat my last time. I was already over by a minute... As I reached the downhill, I sped up and prayed to God for strength and to not slip and fall as I ran downhill. I saw Steph again but sped by her still picking up speed. I knew that once I hit the sand my speed would slow down again and I wanted to have a good momentum going. I hit the sand and the first step into the thick sand almost stopped me...I picked up each foot which seemed to weigh as much as lead and ran through the finish line.....2:12... time to reconcile...Cool medal (not as cool as last time), great looking T-shirt and great tasting food...

We spent the rest of the day in warm, sunny Santa Cruz. We ate at Aldo's, enjoyed the sun and the sand, and had fun watching the dogs play in the water...by 4 pm it was in the 90's and I could not have been happier. It was the perfect day at the beach.... I was of course disappointed with my time but everyone kept reminding me of what 2008 had done to me...it wasn't anything I didn't know, just stuff I preferred to ignore I guess... Two hospital stays in 2008 and two in 2009, plus all the other stuff that had happened with my house and my job and I guess that I was ok...I was only off by two minutes despite everything. I'm gonna beat this thing...

I'll be back next April...

1 comment:

tjohnson1970 said...

You finished. It didn't beat you, so from where I stand, you won this round whether you beat your time last year or not. :)

Thanks for taking the time to update. Sounds like you have a full plate.