sf marathon race report
my experience training for my first marathon
trying something new is like a suited sequence in texas hold’em: high potential, good on paper, frequently falls flat on the flop. the thing is, what if it hits? it’s an average expected value hand with a higher variance than your desired pocket aces. but when it hits, it hits.
similar to texas hold’em, no one knows what cards they’ll get dealt. in the end, you decide if you want to play and how much to invest. some people play tight, hoping for at least an ace or pocket in their hand. some people play loose, confident in their ability to make the best out of the worst. at the end of it, it’s a high variance game and the pros know that they’re not defined by one tournament but rather by their lifetime wins.
one particular situation that i despise the most is folding on a hand not because it was the right thing to do but because i was scared of losing money. luckily, it’s low stakes because i play with a buy in size of $20, not my lifetime savings. it’s still a test of how emotional decision making feels and i fall for that trap a lot. looking back, i always regret succumbing to the emotional decision instead of the right decision.
many emotional decisions stem from fear. although running a marathon is nowhere near my greatest fear, it’s undeniably above average. i’d mentally committed for a while that i’d never run a marathon because of fear. but what if surrendering to fear permeates to other aspects of my life? it didn’t feel like the right philosophy. i disliked the idea of a micromanaging boss in the corporate world and the thought of fear dressed up as a corporate boss pushed me to sign up for the sf marathon in march.
training
it was nerve wracking to hear stories of people running the sf marathon and feeling knee pain for months afterwards. the advertised 1700ft total elevation was no joke and the steepness of the hills aren’t what most would call friendly. the advice i got most frequently was to prepare for the elevation.
i work five days a week in office. my commute encompasses a 30 minute e-bike ride which was great for cross training but my work schedule denies any time for workouts during work hours. making time for training was one of the biggest challenges.
i managed to squeeze in an ambitious training schedule of 4-5 morning runs a week before work. between march and may, i included harder runs but past may, i exclusively ran in zone 2. i did this to reduce any possibility of overtraining and fatigue to focus purely on building a strong aerobic fitness with good mileage. my average week consisted of 30mi of running with ~1000ft elevation and 2h of e-biking. my mileage was considered low for marathon training but it’s the best i could do.
my diet consisted of protein bowls from sweetgreens ~8 times a week, peanut butter toasts and milk every weekday morning, and then whatever i felt like eating every other meal. the regular sweetgreens ensured high protein intake (approx 40g protein/meal) and the toasts and milk were great for carbs post-morning workout. for other meals, i’d have pho, bun cha, american brunch or souvla, each of which boast great macros. since june, i cut alcohol.
throughout my training, i also included several fitness challenges that i thought would be fun and beneficial. specifically:
a 5k time trial in late april (link)
a half marathon race in early may (link)
a mile race against my coworkers in late june of which i lost and got second (link)
mt fuji hike in early july (link)
these fitness challenges gave me the confidence that my body was able to withstand a tough workout without flaring up my previous injury. the running challenges made me confident in my base aerobic fitness and the mt fuji hike gave me confidence in handling elevation, especially downhill.
challenges
luckily, i didn’t run into many road bumps throughout training. the main ones were knee soreness in march, a cold in june, and travels and jetlag in early july. the knee soreness eventually went away with some strength training, my cold put training on hold for two weeks and my travels to japan disrupted the possibility for long runs and good sleep.
benchmark and goal setting
my fitness challenge attempts throughout my training suggested that i had a solid aerobic base and my only 20mi long run confirmed that. i did a dexa scan right before and saw that my weight and body fat dropped, my lean mass in my arms and abdomen dropped, and my lean mass in my legs increased significantly. my peak mileage was 42mi in a 7D window with significant elevation.
given these data points, i should be able to finish the marathon at the very least. going into the marathon, my goal was to finish, not get injured and most importantly, have fun.
race strategy
i was pretty happy with where my zone 2 pace was at so i decided to stick with zone 2 effort for the first 20mi and then progressively deplete myself at the end with a negative split. since it was my first marathon and because of the total elevation, i didn’t want to risk going too hard and coming out with an injury and potentially a DNF. i ran this rough plan through an experienced friend and his stamp of approval gave me all the confidence i needed going into race day.
pre-race morning
the marathon started at 5:15am. i slept at 8pm the night before and woke up restless at 1am. i got up at 2:30am, ate half a bagel, oats, strawberries, banana, electrolyte mix and an espresso. i felt fueled, not full. i foam rolled and did activation exercises while watching redeem team for some inspiration. i emptied my system and then called a ride.
once i got to the start line, i met up with my friends. i did some light activation exercises but kept them light to conserve energy. before i could get through a few exercises, the national anthem started playing. at this moment, it hit me that i’ve just been thinking about the next step for the last few days and not the start line. no eye on the prize, just on the next step. it hit me that i was about to start running a marathon in the following minutes. i noticed how locked in some of the folks around me were with their earphones plugged in.
the race
i started the race telling myself that i should go slower than i think. the temptation to ride the energy from the taper and fuel was strong. but i reminded myself that this wasn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon (!!!).
despite the effort feeling great, my heart rate was a little higher than usual. after trying to control it for a while, i gave up on HR and focused purely on my effort. the first few miles were hectic, filled with people weaving through others as people calibrated to their desired speed.
i stayed ahead of the 3:30 pacers until the first hill when i heard them rushing up the hill. it didn’t take long before the group overtook me. i stuck to my plan, knowing that i’ve done runs at 5-10% elevation too many times and knew what my optimal pace is at zone 2. as i caught up to many of these folks, i was reminded to take a slow deep breath whenever i heard someone panting. again, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. the real race starts at mile 20.
the first section of the marathon provided a glorious view of the golden gate bridge. i remember looking at the end of bridge, realizing that it looked so far, and then realizing that not only do i had to reach that “far” but also needed to come back from it. i reminded myself that running this distance was a privilege afforded by my training.
my first milestone wasn’t marked by a distance but by a pleasant surprise! i ran into three familiar and joyful faces right before entering the golden gate bridge. at this point, i was approaching the 7mi mark as well as the golden gate bridge.
running across the bridge was a lot more fun than my previous experience. some fog lingered but the wind was far from overwhelming and there were enough runners nearby to soak race energy from.
my first obstacle came during the downhill after the golden gate bridge. i thought i had trained for every possible obstacle but the last thing i expected was a steep slanted downhill. the slant took a huge toll on my IT band, leading to immediate tightness and pain. i took a few stretch breaks and slowed down significantly, focusing on managing the tightness instead of maintaining my pace. i’ve had hints of tightness on my past long runs that slowly faded away throughout a run so i clung onto a similar hope for this new tightness. great news: it eventually went away after the slant flattened out.
the rest of the marathon until mile 20 was a blur. i ran across the bridge again to sf, through presidio, richmond and then golden gate park. mile 20 was when i started entering unchartered territory since i’d never run longer than 20 miles. luckily, mile 20 was also where my roommates were stationed and where i gave them an unfortunate sweaty hug for coming out.
surprisingly, mile 20-25 felt okay. i couldn’t maintain my pace at the same effort due to mild fatigue so i pushed my effort level to be a bit above zone 2. i ran on familiar roads, having run the exact same path in last year’s sf half marathon so i felt confident in gauging my remaining energy. i kept getting rerouted along the way and at some point, they rerouted me to a path that had a hill whereas the path that was just cut off had no hills. tough.
mile 25 was a treat after a treat. one of my biggest regrets last year was to not have spent more time saying hi to friends who came out to support. to remember the support, i did my best to take as many selfies friends during the course. i saw friends stationed every few hundred meters. each upcoming station gave me enough excitement to forget that my body’s not in its average state. by the finish line, i saw the biggest cheering station and took a premature celebratory selfie with them before a final sprint.
post-race
i ended the marathon with a 3:30:24 chip time! it was all smiles at the end. my fueling strategy carried me through not only the marathon but also post-race. i found my friends, shared my enthusiasm and deep appreciation for their support, and made plans for the day. i had dim sum twice, took a nap, and then ended the day with daeho and sleepy super smash. i was readjusting myself to not having an upcoming goal and instead, soaking in the completion from five months of training and enjoying good company.
ultimately, i’d want to do another marathon at some point. it’s a challenging experience but it’s so rewarding to see what your human body is capable of doing. there’s a mental high in believing something that you never thought you could believe. it’s reduced the perceived difficulty of many challenges out there and that’s pretty cool if you ask me.
thanks for reading this longer one. this was a fun journey, appreciate you sticking around for it. if you’re ever interested in running a marathon and want to chat, shoot me a message :)
LFG 💪💪💪
let’s gooo 🔥🔥