LA Marathon 2020 recap

So who knew that this was going to be the very last major marathon held in the US in 2020? Not a soul. We were all completely blind to what was right around the corner. 

Preparation

I had my first half of 2020 booked pretty solid. The plan was to kick it off with the Surf City half, do the LA marathon shooting for BQ-10, and then onto Oceanside and Santa Rosa 70.3s. Then recover and build for IMLou in fall. That would have been quite a ride! But the Universe laughed at my puny plans, and the things started to go haywire right from the start.

I kicked off the training on 12/23/2019 about a month off after completing IMAZ. I felt pretty decent but out of shape for sure. However, I almost immediately started having an Achilles issue in the right ankle - it was tight and achy and was not happy 3-4 miles into the run. I tried everything - a brace, different shoes, you name it... It got to the point where I could barely finish out NY day hike. I started stretching aggressively and was doing 4-5 sets of calf raises per day. I ended up taking a full week off in mid January just to calm it down a bit, and started swimming and riding more just to keep the aerobic fitness up. In February I was able to do 5 days a week of running, with some long runs, but no workouts. I think that I might have done a tempo run or 2 but that's about it. I cancelled Surf City obviously, but was still woefully under-prepared. The weekly average for the build was 32 mpw. This was not good at all.

On top of everything else I went for a recon run the Sunday before the marathon and in the process caught some usual March time upper chest congestion that lingered all week. With COVID just starting to become a real thing, it was not a very good omen  of the things to come. I worked from home most of that week, hydrated and tapered (and took a ton of vitamin supplements) and towards the end of the week I started to feel better. But I had no idea what to expect from the race day. 

Went to the LA Convention center on Friday with my friend Sam who flew in from NY to run the LA marathon as well. The rumors were swirling the entire week that the race might get cancelled, and we really had no idea what to expect. The feeling was definitely subdued with the hand sanitizer stations suddenly appearing everywhere. Perhaps it was just my overactive imagination but getting across Figueroa felt like we were crossing a street in Sarajevo during the 90s. We were in and out as soon as we could which was a huge bummer because I usually try to use the conventions to get deeply discounted stuff. 😀

My friend Ankur flew in on Friday and we did our shake out run in GP and I actually felt race ready. Right there after the run while eating a mediocre reheated bagel with equally mediocre cream cheese and yet some great coffee I decided to give it a go and see if Vaporflys would bail me out. On Saturday night Ankur was staying at my place and being a scholarly gentleman runner he showed up with a bottle of delicious Beringer Pink Zin! We had a nice prerace dinner where Ankur ate some not super carb rich vegetarian food, definitely not marathoner mainstream approved, chatted, played with the dogs, and then went to bed at 10pm.

Race day

We were up at 4am.  I had my usual peanut butter and bananas sandwich, and my awesome wife Kristina drove us to the Dodgers stadium. It was foggy (or muggy depending on your opinion of the LA air) and a bit cool, but the weather forecast for the day looked fantastic, not hot temps wise. We found Sam near the gear dropoff and she took some badly lit pics of Ankur and I... Ankur was looking fierce!

We warmed up and I went into my assigned corral A where I saw my friend Jeremiah. The atmosphere was a bit subdued due to the COVID uncertainty just setting in, but we were all pumped for the race and hey - my Achilles was quiet as a mouse. The real question was - will the wheels fall off in Santa Monica or in Beverly Hills due to me being undertrained as hell? If the former, I felt that I could limp to the finish line... if the latter - this was going to be a walk to the pier. And on that cheerful thought we were out of the gate at 6:56am!

I started off pacing myself easy. The section through Chinatown and Little Tokyo is a net downhill and I let gravity carry me. That was fine, though I gave up a good minute right there. The section by the Grand Park is where it really gets going and I felt quite good all the way to the Disney Hall.

I cruised through the next few miles not pushing it too hard and eventually made to Echo Park in high spirits. 

Then came the section through my old bike commute route that I knew all too well. The rollers on Sunset blvd were sharp as always and my quads started to talk to me, albeit very quietly. I was still holding a very good pace (about 7:10 min/mile average) and was starting to worry that I am going to overcook it.  But soon we passed by my office building and then the Chinese theater and I was still pretty gungo ho about my chances, smiling even!

I think that around that mark I saw the first pro who blew up and was just walking in zigzags. I was hoping to see my co-worker Estela and her husband there but somehow missed her - such a bummer. And just like that we were back on Sunset and ran through my favorite section of Sunset Strip, and then came the big drop on San Vincente that I had truly feared. It is a super steep downhill and both times before it thrashed my legs. This time was no exception!

Since I was still ahead of the 3:15 group, I figured that I can duck into a portapotty and pee and take a 30 second break. Did that at about the 15.5 mile mark, came out and took my first GU and then started talking myself into powering through the Beverly Hills section. 

It was on Burton way were my body definitely started to hurt. We ran into a bit of the wind and it was a slow grind uphill, in preparation for the rollers on Santa Monica and then the Sepulveda section. I made it to Rodeo drive, still had some spunk in me, though started to slow down a bit.

And then we turned on Wilshire and I got caught by the 3:15 group, which was a long time coming. But I hung onto that train, and had them pull me all the way to the turn on Sepulveda. By then I knew that the wheels were getting ready to come off, but I actually had a nice run up Sepulveda. I grabbed a shot of beer from someone once we turned right on Federal way, and even took a sip of Nuun for the 1st time during the run soon after (nasty!). It was encouraging that I was maybe 15-20 seconds behind the group all the way til Bundy Dr... and then the wheels finally came off. Suddenly I was stiff as a board and for every step taken the price was sharp pain. But I knew that I only had to make it past the Country Club and then I could just let roll downhill all the way to the finish line. Which is exactly what I did with the crowds just making me a bit more oblivious to the discomfort. Just a few more miles and we were on Ocean Ave!

I guess that I felt that throwing up some horns was a good idea.

Well, just a few more iterations and I have crossed the finish line for the finish of time 3:15:31, or BQ-4.5.  The Garmin file here.

I guess that I was pretty elated to get there in one piece with no walking. And sure was thankful to the 3:15 group for pulling me through the toughest section of the course! In retrospect, I should have powered through the downhill section on San Vincente and recaptured about 60 seconds... but the hindsight is 20/20.

After getting my morning clothes from the gear check, I reconnected with Ankur who very quizzically asked me to guess his finish time. Being a nice person I said - 3:05 only to be excitedly corrected by my friend who had run a blazing 2:55:14! Holy shit, what a monumental achievement! We walked back to my dad's place to get a ride back to Burbank, well more like limped back... it was a very happy moment indeed with both of us exceeding our expectations. Also happy to report that Jeremiah and Sam also PR'ed and generally kicked ass - and I am so sorry for not joining Jeremiah and his wife for lunch after the race! Had I known that we would not see each other then for 5 more months.... humans and our puny plans.

And just like that it was over. The lockdown started soon after, although Sam and I hung out til Thursday when I drove her to her red-eye from Burbank. She did give me a very important reward before parting ways:

Seems like it was many lives ago, but yet it was right on my birthday! Well, either way it was an awesome time. Hopefully it will get me and Ankur into Boston 202x!

IMAZ 2019 recap

It's funny how things change over time. For a while, I could not really bring myself to sit down and write a recap of what I see as my worst IM race so far. But now that we are in the midst of a cancelled season, and after having spent a ton of time reading numerous threads on the web about various races cancelled/postponed/not coming back at all, I have realized that there is a non-trivial chance of this being my last IM race for a long time... and so, it is time to write it down, because some key lessons were learned on 11/24/2019, and in retrospect there were some bright spots in my IM number 6. Alright, here it goes.

In terms of the gear, I was worried about the desert heat in the middle of the day, so brought with me my old Rudy Airwing helmet and my LG M2 one piece suit. The wind situation was pretty uncertain, so I opted for the trusty Zipp 404 FC set that handled well in any conditions. I definitely remembered the lesson from Boulder and brought my Hoka Cliftons v1 reissue edition shoes. The lower legs felt a little tired from a big hike the weekend before, so I brought some calf sleeves just in case... for placebo effect mainly.

Here's the bike setup for the race.

In theory I was about 25% fitter in mid-November based on the Elevate app as compared to my pre-Boulder fitness level. By the end of November I had logged about 1800 miles more vs the previous year. I had my bike dialed in real good. I was swimming well and often. It looked good, and I was heading into the race thinking of going sub 10 hours. With that mindset I drove to Phoenix and got there late on Thursday night. The whole place was drenched from the rains in the last 2 days - so much for the desert! 

Day 1

Woke up on Friday and had to switch rooms the first thing in the morning. I ended up with a room right next to the elevator after the check in since I got there so late and at night the noise drove me nuts. The hotel clerk was super accommodating and I ended up with a massive room upgrade too! That was a good start. I ate breakfast after moving, went food shopping, got the necessities (PB, gatorade, bagels, turkey, Budweiser 😀) and met up with my buddy Brad at 11am at the IM village. We got checked in, went down to Tempe lake, made sure it is still there - and it was pretty gnarly looking water quality wise as always, with debris and dead fishes.

After enjoying the view, we made plans to grab dinner later on. I went back to the hotel, assembled the bags, checked the bike... realized that I was probably short a tube, a GU or 2 and possibly a CO2 cartridge. Made plans to stop by a bike shop nearby before dinner to get the missing items. 

Took a nap and then headed downstairs for some hot tubbing. Almost drowned my cell phone, had a bit of a scare with the water getting into the charging port (hair dryer to the rescue), and then drove to the bike shop. After buying the stuff I was looking for and receiving a sage advice to get some Gatorskins to avoid thorns inflicted flats on the Beeline highway, I met Brad for some beer and Mexican food near ASU. We talked about the weather, whether it makes sense to pre-swim tomorrow, old work anecdotes... He had to leave early to pick up his wife from the airport, and I drove home, and was in bed by 10.

Day 2

Got up at around 6:30 am and did a quick pre-ride/pre-run near the hotel. It was pretty chilly and I did not do anything too strenuous. The area was not super bike friendly or perhaps not friendly period

and so I was back in the lobby for breakfast by 8. 

I had my drop off time at around noon, and I drove to Mill ave. Everything went well, except for somehow getting stuck behind a very slow moving train at the rail crossing for good 15 mins! After the drop off walked around the village again, but headed back by 1. Later at night met Brad (and his wife Mara) again and we tried to get into an Italian restaurant near their hotel, but it was packed. We ended up in a place that looked a bit like Chucky Cheese's but had decent sandwiches. Brad told me that he had swam in the morning and the water was cold. I joked that now he knows what to expect and is already infected with the TTL bacterium. And yep, more dead fish and odd colored things were in the water during the swim!

Well at least we will have a protein snack available if it comes to it. Was back at the hotel by 9:30, and in bed by 10.

Race day

Got up at 3:00am, ate 2 bagels with PB and bananas and a Starbucks espresso. The forecast looked perfect - mostly mid 60s to the low 70s, some overcast, no real wind. Was out of the door by 3:50 am, parked at the same lot as I did on Friday.  The T1 was the usual chaos. Found my bike, attached the bottles, the batteries and the Garmin, pumped the tires to about 90 psi, checked on the gear bags... tried to meet up with Brad, but we kept missing each other. Went to the water at around 6:40 am. It was still dark, but the sun was poking through the clouds. Lined up with the 1:10 group and started making peace with the Universe once again.

Swim

I took it pretty easy early on but got into a good rhythm after 200 yards. However, by the time we got to the 1st bridge, I started to get cold. By the time we turned around I was very cold - as in starting to shiver. No idea why - the water did not seem that cold... but yeah I should have listened to Brad. The swim to the Tempe bridge was the worst. I wanted to quit several times, and caught myself looking longingly at the paramedics who would rescue me from this watery hell. I tried to go faster but the muscles were not having it. The last 800 yards were done on pure adrenaline. It almost felt like I was struggling for my life in some bullshit 2 mile swim, how pathetic. Never been happier to see the finish platform before. Total time 1:27:48, Garmin file here.

T1 

We had to run from the exit point near the museum back to the park - about 600 yards. I was so cold that I was not thinking clearly.... and took off my weitsuit. That was a seriously dumb move. I got even colder by the time I got to the tent. Had to sit full 20 mins near the heater (which got crowded quite fast), sip some chicken soup and shiver in my space blanket. Eventually I got warm enough to put on my bike gear with removable sleeves and head out. Total time 28 mins. 

Bike

The first few miles through Tempe were a struggle. Was still cold, shivering and not quite seeing straight. Tried eating a a Clif bar that I taped to the top tube, and after about 15 mins I started feeling a bit more normal. The first lap on Beeline was not bad, and the turnaround came up quite quick. I lost the sleeves, stopped for 20 seconds to stretch the back and flew down that hill. During that stretch for the first time in the morning I felt fine. A bit better than fine perhaps. The second lap came and went quick but I started to get that grinding sensation in the lower back and the slow ambient heat from the desert was starting to bake me ever so slowly. On the way back into town I got a new set of bottles from the special needs and a cold cola, chugged half of it and continued. The goal was to start preserving energy for the run since I knew that the 3rd loop will be a struggle - and always is.

But to the contrary it went pretty easy. I had to push some watts up to get to the turnaround, but coming back felt quite good save for some chafing in the nether regions. Unfortunately the spec needs already chucked my bag, so I could not get my lube... but the good people manning the station gave me some Vaseline and it helped. I pulled into town feeling kind of exhausted and having to dodge the pot holes on Rio Salado. Bike time 5:53:18, Garmin file here. 

T2

It went quick. I left the shoes clipped in as always, grabbed my bag, threw on the HR strap, changed socks, put on shoes, calf sleeves, race belt, a hat and sun glasses and was out of the door. Total time 5 mins.

Run

I knew that the swim and the T1 fiasco killed any chance of it being a PR or anything close to it. I also knew that during the first 20 mins of the bike I burned a lot of matches... so the goal was to run a steady pace of about 8:20. I was planning to stick with the trusty diet of cola and water, and an occasional Clif shot or 2. It seemed doable pretty much until mile 11 or so where I started to feel (quite suddenly) that the bottom is about to fall out. In fact I was panicking that I could not even make it to the split to the 2nd lap. I got there though and the next 3 miles went ok, but once I crossed the lake I felt that I had to hit the portapotty which meant peeling the top off from my sweaty skin... and that's when the run/walk started. From that point everything was bugging me. The M2 suit was chafing, the glasses were hurting my nose (I ended up chucking them), the shoes felt wooden... The race was effectively over and I sort of limped along to the finish line, although I ran up that pesky Curry Road hill with some spark. It was a weird feeling - the stomach was perfectly fine, but the energy was just gone. I walked the 24th mile aid station and after that jogged to the finish line in darkness. Mike Reilley butchered my last name for the 2nd and the final time that year - here the finish chute video. Thanks Mike nonetheless. 

Run time 3:59:03, Garmin file here. The total time was 11:49:24 good for the 80th place in M45-49.

Post race:

Well I was exhausted. Ate some food at the finish line with some equally beat up triathletes. Tried looking for Mara or Brad, did not see anyone. Went back to the park, collected my stuff, reconnected with the world and limped back to the car. Got to the hotel at around 7:15pm, ate a little bit more food and had a beer finally. Mara texted me as I was eating, and confirmed what I saw on the live tracker - Brad was walking. I grabbed some Gatorade and water and headed back to the park. Eventually found Brad and Mara, and they were walking roughly through mile 15. Brad was looking wrecked, and definitely could not hold down any nutrition. We walked together for about 30-35 mins, tried to talk Brad into finishing since he had time... then I crossed to other side of the lake from the museum site to meet them there since my feet were starting to kill me.. That's when Mara texted me that Brad gave up after feeling dizzy from dehydration and got carted back. Shit. I walked back to the park, checked the med tent, he was not there... his bike was still in transition... kind of went back and forth and then Mara told me that he was ok. Knowing that his mood was probably not great I headed back to the hotel now completely exhausted. The day ended up like this.

The day after I got a hold of Brad, exchanged some texts, he was alright just tired and obviously upset about the DNF. I was not happy either, but it was what it was. I started planning ahead to 2020 (lol, goes to show what we know), stopped by the Cosanti store in Paradise Valley and got my wife a bell she wanted to hang by the front door. Drove back, listened to the podcast... and that was the end of the 2019 season. Though I had lots of Trislide left!