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We had a fantastic weekend enjoying Catalina Island and spending time with friends both old and new. And that's good 'cuz the race was a little on the ugly side. I quote now from the post-race report:
How do we describe Saturday's Catalina Marathon? In 26 years of producing these events it was the worst conditions any of us have encountered for an event. We saw rain, hail, wind, mud, and everything in-between.
The trip started well enough, with an on-time flight being met by the wonderful Margie who had made all of the (excellent) arrangements. After a quick tour of NewRoads office, Ken (my running partner) drove us to the helipad for our flight to the island. He and Betty Lou would join us the next day. We checked into our hotel, and begin to explore the town. Everything was easy walking distance, and he we enjoyed a quiet dinner by the sea.
After a late sleep, and a big breakfast we continued our wanderings, visiting the casino (which has nothing to do with gambling), and walking along the pier. After a cup of coffee and a browse in the bookstore, we went to meet Ken and Betty Lou and Deb and Mel at the ferry. Deb was running her first 5k at Catalina. We shuttled up to the hotel, got everyone settled and then met for lunch - serious carbo-loading ensued.
After our lunch we took a two-hour tour of the island via truck/bus. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed the views from the top of the ridge and the cookies at the Airport in the Sky. I think my nerves kicked in just bit on the ride down. It felt a little steep, and I knew I would be running that road the next day.
Packet pickup was at 5:30 - the line was long but it moved pretty quickly. We got our numbers, picked up some extra GU and then stared at the map for awhile. They kindly provided an elevation profile so we could prepare ourselves for the climbs. Our dinner was right next door, and we all enjoyed the pasta - especially the Runner's Special which was lots of veggies and penne pasta in a light sauce. It was the perfect pre-race meal. We took the shuttle back to the hotel, and tried to sleep.
Saturday morning pre dawn: overcast, but nice temp. Ken and I made our way to the ferry for the boat ride to the start of the race. While waiting in line, it begin to sprinkle. By the time we got to the start it was raining. It rained for about 10 hours. Steady. 4-6 inches fell on an island that only gets about 15 inches a year. At this point I would like to remind you that this is a trail run. Trails are not paved. They are dirt. Here's the formula: Dirt + rain + hills = mud = footing? what footing?
We started off and quickly realized that whatever time goal we had dreamed of was now a distant memory. The goal was to finish, without slipping off the side of the hills, with a smile on our faces. Which we did! We walked a few of the up hills (because they were steep) and we walked a few down hills (because otherwise we would have slid all the way to the bottom). The going was very tricky throughout because of the mud. We saw one very bad fall, but EVERYBODY who saw it stopped and helped which was really cool to see. The rolling hills took their toll - I don't know how I could have trained for these hills (even without the mud) in Dallas. Luckily, Ken was willing to walk otherwise I would have been running it alone. The only disheartening part was that I thought we would hit the final, big downhill about mile 17, when instead it wasn't until about 22. Surprise! This not only meant that the uphill was longer, but that the downhill into town was steeper. (See the elevation profile for an overview). Overall Ken and I were pretty evenly paced. I think had the conditions been better, we would have finished somewhere between 4:45 and 5:00 hours, as it was with the mud and rain and stopping to call on the cell phone, and grabbing a beer at mile 25(!), we finished in 5:14:54. We were both pretty pleased with that and headed straight to food area to get our finishers shirts and medals. This one we definitely earned. I had packed a small disposable camera, but after 2 shots it gave up, so I didn't get many pictures from the run itself. It actually was a very pretty course, and in good weather you would have amazing views. We even saw some buffalo!
After hot drinks and hot showers, we went to the Catalina Country Club and camped in front of the fireplace in the dining room for about 2 hours where we sipped on bloody marys, ate as much as we could, and relived the race for our fan club, without whom the race would not have been possible. After a trip back to the hotel to nap, we wandered back into town via the fabulous and cheap shuttle that the hotel provided and ate some more. I call the evening "Death by Appetizers." We went back to the Galleon in town and ordered all of the snacks on the menu, and some interesting drinks, including Buffalo Milk which is ice cream, creme de cacoa, banana and some other kind of alcohol. It tasted just like a choco/banana shake! One was plenty...
In the morning we saw Deb and Mel off at the ferry, and then took the road to the heliport. The normal route was closed because of landslides, so we got to go a different way and see a little more of the island. The weather of course was beautiful and the flight was uneventful. We checked out our digs at Ken and Betty Lou's new pool house, checked on the koi pond, and then headed off for wine tasting and snacks. Once back at the house we enjoyed great food (prepared by Justin and Robin), good company (provided by all those mentioned plus Rob and the kitties), and a nice sing-a-long in the hot tub. Harry Chapin, anyone?
An early morning on Monday - off to the airport. Our flight boarded on time, but we sat on the plane for 2 extra hours while they dumped fuel (so we could take off in the high winds). Naturally since they dumped fuel, we had to land in Palm Springs to re-fuel so we could make it back to Dallas. Luckily I had a book, but you should never leave a post-marathon runner stuck in a small seat for that long without food. I was a tad bit grumpy. :)
The results were posted Monday - I finished in the middle of my age group (where I always finish). Ken finished fifth in the (as he says it) "old fat guys" division, and Deb - in her first 5k - broke 29 minutes and finished 5th in her age group. Way to go team!!