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December Running Results
24.Dec.2010 California's 2010 autumn racing season ended at the California International Marathon in Sacramento on December 4th. Billed as one of the fastest courses in the country, runners flock to the race looking to score PR's as well as qualifying times for the Olympic Trials and Boston Marathon. A tight-knit group of Craftsbury coaches and runners journeyed west in search of fast times: coaches Brett Ely, Eric Blake and Melissa Rittenhouse were joined by Craftsbury campers Mike Davi and Holly Baker-Wong of Richmond, VA.
Brett, Eric and Melissa were all hunting their respective Olympic Trials A standard qualifying time. The men's and women's Trials will be held in Houston on January 14, 2012. Brett and Melissa have already earned entry with the B standard time (2:47:00). However, athletes that meet the A standard (2:39:59) are guaranteed plane fare and hotel expenses.
On the men's side, no A/B split exists - if you want to race trials, you've got to go faster than 2:19:00. With PR's of 2:41:54 (Brett), 2:43:46 (Melissa) and 2:21:24 (Eric), Craftsbury coaches flew west ready to rumble.
Eric's goal wasn't in reach this go round. He crossed the line in 2:28:19. Eric's report on his race: "It was a great weekend aside from the last 5 miles. I really struggled in. I was still running well through 21 miles at 2:22 pace. After 21 I hit the wall. I literally added over a minute a mile. It's disappointing but I will take a break and make a new goal."
Brett's journey to the marathon start line was a long one. When she was at Craftsbury in July, she was injured. The only running she was doing was in the water of Big Hosmer wearing a running vest. She carefully and conservatively started training again in mid-August. Boston's Tufts 10k was the first competitive test she passed as she rolled on toward December. Brett's resilience and patience was rewarded in California with a strong PR of 2:40:46, a fourth place finish, and $1000 prize money.
"This marathon was definitely an athletic highlight for me, both because it came after an injury that had me wondering if I'd ever be able to train at the level I wanted again, and because I ran with focus and determination every step. No mental lapses, racing without hesitation until the end. It reminded me why I love the marathon so much. It's such a puzzle and even when you have a great day, it's gut-wrenchingly hard." Brett keeps a training journal and she has written a race recap which she was willing to share with us - read it here.
Melissa had a tough race, ultimately making the decision to fight another day. She stepped off at the 20 mile mark when her hip started hurting and she was off her goal pace. "There wasn't a point in continuing and risking injury. The Trials are too important to me. I want to do another marathon because I am still working on a new race strategy of negative splits - I haven't done that yet in the marathon. I am still focusing on the 2:39 and will retry my race strategy in the pursuit of a new PR," she reported after the race.
Camper Holly Baker-Wong went to Sacramento determined to knock down her 3:08 PR. She came away disappointed after she had to drop out at mile 13 with stomach problems. Holly's race report: "I had to stop four times between mile 7 and mile 12! I know this can happen to any runner and it's not a reflection of my training or of me as a runner. But, it was extremely hard...because of the logistics of how far it was for me to go to the race, the cost of the travel and the fact that many of my friends were there. I was so hoping to go and be able to celebrate a successful race with everyone. I have soaked it up and will call it a character-building race. I am now looking for another marathon in February and I will restructure my training for that."
Like Coach Ely, Mike Davi's path to Sacramento was not a straightforward one this year. Davi was injured with a pulled hamstring when he came to Craftsbury in July for marathon week. In addition, he was struggling with an undetermined groin injury that took months to diagnose. He spent his camp week water running with Brett, mountain biking and being a good sport about not being able to run. With 11 weeks to go before the race date, Mike was finally able to train and he put together a superb shortened season of training. He reported that "his workouts were off the charts." He also drew motivation from Holly's work pre-race. Mike coaches Holly and said that she was "running like a superhero, strongly focused on her race."
Mike enjoyed a great day, scoring a 5:00 minute PR with his 2:53:48 finish! Mike's post-race description, "I'd be lying if I said it was easy. I felt like I was constantly battling and pushing, but not in a bad way. At one point, I was confident that I was going to break 2:55 even if I really slowed, but I forced those thoughts out of my head pretty quickly and wouldn't let up. While we were in a rhythm for most of the middle miles, I was always conscious of my pace. The good thing is, I never really looked at the time. I watched my splits but never stressed over the clock. I didn't quite negative split (+25 seconds on the back half) but it was still a well executed race. I left it all out on the course."
Congratulations to our coaches and runners. Brett, Eric, Melissa, Mike and Holly demonstrated grit, resilience and their pure love of running with their races in Sacramento. It's on to 2011 from here!
California International Marathon Results
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