Marathon: are you ready?

Like we politely say in the US: that is a good question...!

With races spanning from January (e.g. the Arizona Rock 'n Roll) to December (e.g. CIM, aka California International), there is not really a marathon season and you will always find somone close to running a marathon, someone you can ask this loaded question.

Basically, the response will have to integrate many parameters such as:

1. Physical fitness. Have you been able to perform a consistent 16-week training program?
2. Mental. Are you bullish about your goal? Goals can vary a lot here, from completing the distance if that is your first marathon to pacing a friend, having fun, logging yet another marathon for instance for the 50-state marathon collectors, showing what you are capable of after some personal challenges, or aiming at a Personal Record. Hopefully, a reasonable and attainable goal!
3. Logistics. Have you figured out all the pre-race details: where you are staying, how you will get to the start line, what you will wear for the race (taking into account potential different weather conditions), what your crew will be doing during the race if you have people with you. All sort of things which need to be out of the way as quickly as possible to have a clear mind on race day and reduce the stress.
   

Seems like marathon is a big thing, right? Well, indeed, no matter how many marathons you have run, you still need to prepare and get ready for the race and each race is different.

Napa Valley Marathon: am I ready?

Entering the tapering week (rest and/or low intensity running), I feel as much ready as I could hope for, given the circumstances and the situation, a month ago.

First, and not that it has much to see with my fitness level, I have been featured in the race press release written by Mark Winitz, along with 6 other runners. Here are Mark's words from our interview:

Jean Pommier, 45, of Cupertino, Calif. is also familiar with wine and long races. The Vice President of ILOG, a software company recently acquired by IBM, moved to the U.S. from France in 1999. He has never run the Marathon du Médoc, a marathon held in France's Médoc wine country, which is world famous for its wine tasting stands along the course.

In Napa's wine country, however, the dual citizen of France and the U.S. will contend for a specially etched bottle of Napa Valley wine. The wine bottles are awarded to the first place overall and masters (age 40 and over) runners to recognize the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) National Marathon Champions. (The 2009 edition of the Kaiser Permanente Napa Valley Marathon has again been selected by the RRCA as its National Marathon Championship, a designation it has received since 1998.)

Pommier will compete in his first Napa Valley Marathon on his 45th birthday, an occasion he hopes to commemorate with a 2:45:00 finish. Although he's run competitively for just ten years, and sports a fine 2:37:00 marathon personal best, for the past two years Pommier has earned a reputation as a talented ultra-distance runner. Pommier has placed among the top three in a number of ultrarunning events ranging from 50 kilometers to 100 miles. In fact, recently the prolific runner received the 2008 Ultrarunner of the Year Award bestowed by the Pacific Association of USA Track & Field.

(Rectification: like I told you in my post on the 2008 PAUSATF awards, I actually got the coveted Ultra Runner of the Year award in 2007, but Eric Skaden actually got it in 2008.)

With that, you know the main thing: my goal of running in 2:45 (or under...). Based on my latest tempo runs (10 miles in 58:17 last week, and 5 miles in 28:08 this morning) Brad (Los Gatos High School Track Coach) believes I can do much better and I would be cruising at 2:45. These runs were indeed good confidence builders, showing that I have at least a good physical condition.

Mentally, I feel much better than 4 weeks ago when I was off running for a few weeks, and better than after Jed Smith 50K where I was disappointed with my time of 3:51 (against a PR of 3:44 at Ruth Anderson '08). My inflammation along the ankle is not gone yet but Brad's advice helped a lot this week, during which it did not worsen despite the numerous speed work: consistent icing 2 or 3 times a day and light strap around the ankle for support when walking during the day (a simple strap, nothing as dramatic as this serious one, look at the video!).

The logistic should be easy and stress less: driving up to St. Helena on Friday evening (Agnès' friend vacation home), picking up my bib number (245 as in... 2:45!) and visiting the expo on Saturday. I should even be able to drive on the course on Saturday to get a feel of it.

As for the weather, the thing that we really do not control, we are talking about rain coming back to the Bay Area this Sunday and early next week, but it would probably not last the entire week. Hopefully we do not get head wind on race day...

Bottom line, I feel good about the race. Not super trained with the January break, but with a reasonable physical and mental shape to attack the challenge. Counting on a perfect day and a perfect race (no asthma in particular...). And looking forward to seeing some of you over there (Rajeev Patel, Ron Duncan, Mark Lantz, likely many other local runners and, of course, my training buddy, Bob MacDonald, who got the bib #246!).

No snow but a new park

This story started 10 years ago... Shortly after we immigrated to California at the end of October 1998, we got some snow on both sides of the Bay Area, Mt Hamilton over San Jose of course, but also on Skyline Boulevard on the Peninsula. Used to it in France and Switzerland, we were excited to get the kids to play in the snow. Unfortunately, little did we know that the highway patrol did not let anyone driving up Mt Hamilton Road when there was snow at the top...
Ten years later, my will of getting to the snowy ridge fired-up again last Saturday when I saw the white mountains while driving back from Los Gatos High School track. Sure enough, the CalTrans website was confirming that Highway 130 was closed from Joseph Grant County Park on. I guessed it was closed to car traffic and plotted to park at the park and run the 11 miles to the top, and back. The State Police Officer did not buy into this plan and warned me I would be considered as trespassing would I decide to still run on the road. A recent American citizen, I did abide by the law (albeit an unclear one), surrendered and decided to do my long run in the park instead.
At this point, around noon, big clouds were still stuck on Mt Hamilton, blocking any visibility of the famous Lick Observatory, but it was not raining and the temperature was in the 40s. I left my gloves in the car and took off with one bottle of Gu2O. With some pictures of the Ranch House, it was just the beginning of a long photo safari around the Park. After 30', rain started, a cold and freezing one. I did not push the pace, stopped often for more pictures and completed a 20-mile loop around the park in just under 4 hours of elapsed time, ending up really cold and wet. Needless to say, the Officer was still at the same place, protecting his territory, not the nicest way to spend a holiday (President's Day). Hotel trail, Manzanita, Bonhoff, Cañada de Plata, Washburn trails, the 6-dollar entry fee was well worth the afternoon spent. But definitely not a "walk in the park..." Apart from certain sections of the Coastal Challenge through the Costa Rican rain forest, I never be so soaked than this Monday. In several occasions, the trail was disappearing, transformed into a creek by so much water from the persistent storm. Some other sections were quite muddy, the trail being damaged by the numerous cows.
I was the only soul in the park, and my car was the only one in the parking lot. It was quite ultraholic to have chosen such a stormy and cool afternoon to visit these trails. I will need to come back to visit Mt Hamilton and the Lick Observatory, but need to wait until the snow is gone. So long for training in the snow for Western States, you need to drive all the way up to Tahoe for that. No wonder why there are still so many kids and teenagers in the Bay Area who have never played in the snow yet.
Being the only human on the trail, some animals were curious and observed me coming and passing by: a couple of coyotes, flocks of cows, a salamander, four deers, dozens of prairie dogs, a few squirrels, tens of birds, ducks. See my Picasa photo album for some of them as well as some views of this great park over San Jose!