Napa Valley Marathon – A Coppi Rider’s (?) Perspective

I completed my first marathon on March 1 at the Napa Valley Marathon.

Training

Jean and I started training in December, immediately after the end of ‘cross season. We did our first significant training run in December – a 13-miler in North Carolina with Jean’s brother-in-law Markus. In hindsight, starting in December may have been a little late for a March 1 marathon, but we were both banking on carry-over fitness from the full season of cyclocross. For a training plan, we generally followed an online plan on TrainingPeaks written by Matt Fitzgerald, a prolific author and contributor to Triathlete, Runners World, and other publications. The plan is based on pace zones that are specific to each runner and is designed to be done with a GPS watch or other pace/distance device.

We did all of our long training runs together and naturally fell into a comfortable pace. For me, the pace was a little slower than my goal pace, but for Jean, it was slightly quicker. For both of us, though, the pace was within the training zone for longer-distance runs. We did our faster week-day runs separately, with me doing speed work at my threshold pace (close to goal pace for a 10k). By the end of the program, we did four training runs of at least 18 miles plus a 10k and a half-marathon for time. It was kind of cool knowing that each weekly long run was the longest run of my life. Both of us experienced knee pain during our long runs, probably due to patellar tendinitis (runner’s knee). Mine never got worse than a 3 or 4 on a 10-point pain scale, so I kept on training.

The Race

The weather forecast in the days leading up to the race was dismal: 45 degrees, rain, and a headwind for the entire route. For once, the weather forecasts were completely accurate. Race day dawned at 7:00 am with steady rain, mild winds, and an air temp of about 45 degrees. The rain would continue to fall throughout the race (and indeed, for the next 3 days of our vacation).

I had no idea what to wear. In the end I decided on compression shorts, a Craft sleeveless liner, and a long-sleeve technical shirt. I also wore lightweight gloves, a race belt to hold my GU’s, and a hat. In hindsight, I was probably overdressed, but at least I was not cold. Even though I did look like a complete dork!

Based on my experience with my long training runs (three 18-milers and one 20-miler), I expected that my joints would be the weakest link on race day. Surprisingly, the joints never bothered me. Instead, it was my quads that slowed me down.

I started the race with an "A" goal of 3:30 (8:00 pace) and a "B" goal of 3:45 (8:30 pace). I felt good and fresh at the beginning despite the cold rain, so I started out with the A plan in mind. I held onto the 8:00 average until about mile 20, when the wheels started to come off.

Beginning at mile 15, I started feeling serious muscle soreness in my quads. The muscle pain got worse from mile 15 onward. Eventually, I had to slow down. Coming down a slight gradient at mile 21, when I would normally speed up to take advantage of the descent, I was unable to quicken my pace. I also felt both legs starting to go numb. I had to let the two runners I had been chatting with go and I retreated into my pain cave. I basically shifted into autopilot and gutted out the final 6 miles. Somewhere between mile 20 and 21 I accidentally stopped my Garmin, so I don't know how much I slowed down, but I know I was running between and 9:00 and 9:30 for most of the final miles. Although I dropped off my goal pace, the 20 miles I had in the bank at 8:00 or better kept the overall average at 8:30. I ended up passing one of the two girls in the final mile for a strong finish.

I could barely stand afterwards and was shivering while I wandered around the finish line area looking for JeanBean. We finally found each other and got some hot soup before returning to our B&B for a hot shower. She had a solid race, coming in just a few seconds under 4:00, which had been her "B" goal. My quads were incredibly sore, to the point where I have to back down stairs and pull myself up to get out of chairs. Ouch.

Now, more than a week later, my legs are still trashed. The acute soreness is gone, but replaced with deep soreness. I still cannot put serious pressure on the pedals, so I’ve been spinning higher cadences to try to flush the badnesss out of the muscles.

Ever Again?

Will I do another marathon? That's tough to say. As an athlete, there is always a desire to improve upon a result. You ask yourself: "Could I have met my A goal under better conditions?" "With the value of experience and better training, could I improve enough to qualify for Boston with a 3:20 marathon?" The desire to answer these questions is balanced against the physical toll of the marathon and the time required for training, not to mention the time away from my first love of bike racing. For now, I confidently can say that I won't be doing another marathon this year. As for the future, never say never!