11th California International Marathon in the books.
A little over a week after I had pulled up with my hamstring issue during the annual Thanksgiving Run to Feed the Hungry, I decided I’d give the CIM a try wanting to keep my streak alive (plus, I just really enjoy the CIM and running through the neighborhood I live in East Sac). I knew it was a fifty/fifty proposition and my nagging left hamstring issue could stop me in my tracks, but to me it was a calculated risk worth taking relative to the challenge of running a marathon (not easy even when healthy).
Upon arriving in Folsom at the starting line, I decided to line up with the 3:45 pace group which is a bit slower per-minute-pace than I’m typically striving for, but I knew it was important to let my hamstring warm up a bit. The first 8 miles or so was really touch and go; I could feel my hamstring start to tighten with a sharp tug but then sort of loosen up again. It was pretty terrible and uncomfortable and my mind was vacillating from one extreme “it is going to pop any moment now and I will have to call my wife to come get me” to “it is ok and I am going to ignore it.” At the time my wife was monitoring my status via the course tracking app; she too thought I’d be pulling up to call her.
I kept on moving and by the mid-point (13.1 miles) my left hammy and leg was sort of numb. So, I kept going and next thing I was heading across the J Street bridge into East Sacramento. My wife who had been monitoring my progress knew I would make it to the end so she and my kids, some of their friends, Dirk-san and several other dojo family members saw me as I passed them on the way to the finish.
The last 5 miles overall was plain and simply a struggle. I’d not been running as much distance in prep for the CIM due to my various injuries, so I did not have much left in the tank. But that is the thing; there are times where it really is just pushing through, not matter what. Just keep moving…feel the struggle and accept it for what it is. And thank goodness, it is my 11th completed CIM that is in the books.