Preparation: Napa Valley Marathon - March 7th, 2010

As the marathon approached, I got caught up in work and other things and did not posted my progress. I intended to go back and cover my real long run of 24 miles and my last Fast Finish Long run, but now they are both a distance memory. But today's post belongs to the story of the marathon - thank goodness I drafted this back in March.

We arrived in Napa, California on Friday the 5th. We stopped by the marathon expo so I could pick up my bib and get my goodie bag. Napa did a very nice duffle this year. Rumor had it there was also a backpack, but there were none to found on Friday - apparently they had not yet arrived. Diane, Hannah (daughter - 12), Sarah (daughter - 10) and I walked through the expo and talked about how to dress for the cold weather. The projection was for 40 degF at the start with temps in the low 50's around my projected finish time. 50 and above is good. In fact, it's great. But 40 is a bit on cool side.

We settle on a pair of Asics sleeves as an alternative to wearing a long sleeve shirt over a short sleeve shirt. I also looked at better ways to carry my gels. I finally discovered that Hammer Gel didn't cause me any stomach issues and since the race was providing GU products, I would need to carry my own. There was an interesting belt that held up to 8 gels and also held your bib. It was light and definitely looked like it would do the job. I just wasn't sure, since I hadn't ever run in anything like it. There was also a pair of Asics shorts that had four pockets across the back waste band. They fit good and seemed like a good solution, but then you're not supposed to wear anything new for a marathon.

Diane remembered she had a pair of $5 gloves with her, so I could use those and just throw them away if need be. That was a better plan than throwing away my $20 running gloves. So we left with just the sleeves and headed up to Calistoga.

The Napa Valley marathon is a point to point course, beginning in Calistoga and ending in Napa. We decided to stay in Calistoga near the start so I wouldn't have to take a bus at 5:15AM from Napa up to Calistoga. That was going to save me a good hour and fifteen minutes on race morning. We arrived at our hotel, The Lodge at Calistoga and got checked in. The hotel is in an ideal location and is functional (well except for the wireless internet that wasn't usable from our room).

Friday was a 30 minute run day, so I put on running gear and headed out to the start of the course. It wasn't a good a run. My legs were very achy, probably from having spent 2 of the last 3 days driving. Both my achilles tendons were sore and I was glad to get back to the hotel room. Then it was time for the pool. Well, actually, the girls hit the pool while Diane and I sat in the geo-thermally heated hot tub. Calistoga is known for it's hot springs. After a quick dip, it was off to dinner, then we all turned in for the night.

Saturday's plan was to drive the course, do some shopping and then scout out where Diane would be able to get to the course to see me run. I made a mental note at the start of the day to stay off my feet as much as possible and I really worked on stretching my calves. Driving the course was probably the most important preparation step I took. The course is advertised as: "the first six miles are rolling hills, and then there is a gradual downhill to the finish." I guess that's marketing at it's finest. Nothing could be further from the truth. I would describe it as gently rolling hills for 23 miles, with a flat finish. Yes, there is a net elevation drop, but once you've run the course, you would probably say it's not relevant.

They are gentle hills, but there are some long grades late in the race - from 21.5 to 23 is pretty much uphill. Since everywhere I run in Colorado involves hills, I wasn't too worried about leg strength, but I was concerned about my time. I was so glad to see the course Saturday morning, because it gave me the rest of the day to come to grips with the fact that there were hills. I am very confident that if I had started the race believing the marketing, that I would have been very discouraged when I encountered the late hills.

After seeing the course, Diane dropped my off at the marathon college and then went to some local shops with the girls. The first session I attended was a roundtable with some notable participants telling stories of one of their most memorable marathons. I came away encouraged. A couple of the stories involved incredible perseverance, and the speakers repeatedly reminded us that we had done the work and were ready to race.

If I had it to do over again, I think I would spend the two days before the race exactly the same way. I made sure to get my running gear laid out, and my oatmeal breakfast all set to go. Then we called it an early night.