by Clara Peterson
I ran my second marathon this past December in Sacramento. It was the California International Marathon and I spent months training for it. I chose CIM because it is a fast course, usually has mild weather and it is local. Since having children, I tend to race just a little better when I am closer to home (less anxiety about leaving the little ones I suppose). Additionally, I wanted to choose a Marathon that I would have a shot at winning, which ruled out many of the major marathons, NYC, Chicago etc (but maybe one day!).
The training leading up to the marathon was flawless. I literally nailed every workout (designed by the best coach in the world, Magda Boulet), I got my mileage up higher than it ever had been (about the same as the Olympic trials prep), I didn’t get sick a single day and aside from sleeping on my neck the wrong way one night and waking up with a killer neck ache, there wasn’t even a sign or worry of injury. My new training partner, Chelsea Riley was another secret recipe to my fitness while training. As long as a hung onto her in workouts, I would more than hit my splits!
So leading up to the race, I was so excited as I approached my big day. When I am in good shape I LOVE racing. Who doesn’t right? I ran faster than I ever had on the roads too in the Silicon Valley Turkey Trot (16:00) so I knew not only was my strength there but I had some speed going into this one as well.
But then the buzz kill! I few days out, what runner doesn’t check the forecast right? Well this one was bad! Not only was there expected to be flooding rain, but the wind was predicted to be 20+ mph, a marathoner’s nightmare! Furthermore, several very elite, very fast women who had planned on doing New York (which was canceled due to Sandy) had been entered to the field. So now, not only was my shot at winning less likely, but I would also be taking my 26.2 mile tour of Sacramento through a huge storm!
I still kept a positive attitude though and told myself that the storm would probably let up during the marathon and that the girls added to the field from New York were probably past their peek and wouldn’t be in tip top form. Deep in the back of my mind I knew that this wasn’t actually the case, but I just needed to stay positive if I was going to make it to that starting line.
The day before the race, I drove down with my husband and 3.5 year-old son, Ramsey. (We left our 1.5-year-old daughter, Riley, at home with my sister-in-law to keep it simple for my husband during the race). I tried not to constantly check my i phone for weather predictions, but I couldn’t help myself. The forecast just kept getting worse and worse! The winds only kept climbing! 22 mph, then 26 mph and then before I went to bed it was predicted to be 30 mph and the news was warning the city of Sacramento to stay inside due to the high winds and likely flooding due to the storm.
I had so much anxiety! My negative thoughts before the race: Should I just wait and do a different race? What should I wear to stay warm without getting too wet? What if I run a super slow time, will all the training be a waste? What if I slip on the wet roads and fall? What if my shoes fill with water and my feet get super heavy? What if I am not even top three and don’t make any prize money? This must have been one of the worst nights of my life!
The morning of the race I woke up and checked the forecast again first thing. The winds were predicted to be 38 mph! The highest number I had seen yet!!! At this point I just said, “whatever happens will happen”, I mean it was practically laughable at this point. Well it was until the bus ride to the start!
For those of you who don’t know, CIM is a point-to-point race. This means that you have to take a 45 min bus ride to the start of the race. I literally was peeing my pants the whole ride. Picture this; a school bus ride in the dark (obviously the sun wasn’t up yet at 6:00 am) howling winds, diagonal rain pouring down beating on the windows of the bus and what felt to be hours (45 mins is a long time!) on the way to the start of a 26 mile race in a crazy storm!
By the time I finally got to the starting line, all I told myself was to be tough and go for the win. Obviously the field was stacked, but I knew I could beat everyone out there if I stopped being such a baby about the weather and just raced. I knew I was fit and I knew I could do it.
After the gun went off all of my fears and anxiety finally subsided. I was in my element. Fit and running in a pack of women right on pace despite the rain and wind. (I found this out after the race because I didn’t look at my watch once during the run!) Mile after mile clicked off until it came down to me and an amazing runner and friend names Alisha Williams. Coincidentally this was also Alisha’s second marathon, and her first was also the Olympic Trials (the trials was where I had my first). We ran stride for stride at the trials supporting and encouraging one another that we could do it. She ended up dropping me in the trials with about 3 miles to go, and then it was a bit of a re-peat at CIM as I watched her run away from me with less than 2 miles to go.
Granted that I placed second instead of first, I was still thrilled when I crossed that line. Not only did I PR in what felt like a hurricane, but I was brave enough to toe that line despite the miserable variables. I truly put my big girl pants on that day and raced my heart out.
