Malibu International Marathon

A

     Zuma Beach, in Malibu, CA, has a very special place in my heart. It is a beautiful place where I had planned my first A race, where I first got panic at open water swim, where I first noticed my bike strength was not enough, where I will always be able to watch the ocean without people interrupting my view.

     That is essentially why I was mesmerized by the idea of running a marathon through PCH finishing at Zuma Beach. I knew there would be hills at the last half, and without proper training this would not be a race to get a personal best. But as usual, being this the first event there was a special attraction. And I had to run another marathon for 2009.

     It was a chilly morning (43-45F), and parking was available near the finish line, with shuttles to take the runners to the start. My wife was running the half, and would start at the middle of the full course, two hours later, so we had to go separate ways. There was a small number of racers for the full marathon (331 finishers), and the sun came out right before the start.
      Following my training on forefoot running, I decided to make this my first marathon on flat lightweight shoes, my old pair of Asics DS Gel Racer that I used on my sprint triathlons throughout 2009. Addionally to that, I was three weeks on my low carb diet, lighter and feeling more energetic. My watch battery had died, so there would be no time monitoring, what contributed to decrease my anxiety.

       I felt really good at start, and decided to leave behind the 4:30 pace group, as I was able to run confortably at 9 min/mile pace. When we reached the Pacific Coast Highway there was a strong headwind for about two miles, what required extra energy spenditure. But I kept the 9 min/mile until mile 15, when everything came down, as I started to climb the hills. Probably I had muscle fatigue resulting from the current diet mixed with the different running technique. I had to do walk breaks, mostly on the hills, as I did not have a watch to rigorously follow a schedule. At that point, it became a fun run, and I started to chase the other marathon maniacs and interesting people.

      To help me finish the last three miles, I met a runner training with Galloway using an interesting device to time the run/walk/run schedule. That tiny box with loud beeper really pushed me forward, and we finished the marathon few minutes after 4:30, without being passed by the pace group (that or I was really short of oxygen).

       I ran Malibu more than two months after my last marathon (Kauai Marathon, 09/06/09), and a month after I burned out after Magic Mountain Man (10/10/09), so it was my secret pleasure to finish it. I was finally reclaiming my running form back, in time for Baton Rouge Beach Marathon in 12/05/09, and a happy 2009 closure.
      To have the same result as previous marathons was reassuring, with the new diet, the new technique and the new year to come. I was finally going back to my roots, becoming a better runner and triathlete.

Marathon #20

Sarasota Marathon (02/15/2009) was a fortuitous finding for a business trip. After a week in a conference, to take the opportunity to run my first marathon in Florida was an easy decision. Moreover, this was my eleventh state to run a Marathon, completing my qualification to join the 50 States Marathon Club. I had to do it, even with broken legs.

As usual, it could not be easy. Two weeks after Surf City USA Marathon, in midst of Triathlon training, with a jet lag of three hours. And I had to finish it fast, in order to be able to have time to take a shower and still catch my flight.

The plan was simple: to do run/walk/run, goal time 4:30, 4:40 at least. I knew it would be hard, with tired legs and mind.

It all started in the dark, and sunlight came just when most of the runners were at mile 5; but it was warm and humid: funny as it seems, everybody was drenched in sweat at mile 2.

It is for a reason they call Sarasota Marathon "A Run with a View". Everywhere we ran there was the beach town atmosphere, and most of the places the course interrupted long lines of cars going to beach. At mile 11 there was the hilly point, going over a bridge, to cross back again at mile 20. And that was exactly after mile 11 I knew it would be hard to achieve my goals.

The humid and hot weather made my tired legs feel heavier, and even the compression socks could not make things easier. Negative thoughts came then to my mind, and everything looked ugly. But I kept the pace at about 10min/mile, doing 3min run, 1min walk. It payed back at mile 19, when I saw myself strong and steady, still able to keep the pace.

It was hard to finish the last miles trying to stick to the pace, but that was the first time I noticed my legs were running on their own, just following the watch. I finished at 4:35:23, proud of my feat, limping to the car, from the car to the shower, from the shower to the airport.