M2B Marathon - Making a Comeback, and Meeting My Goals

Ok, I got multiple requests for an in-depth blog on everything about the Mountains to Beach Marathon, which I just ran and BQ'd at on May 24, so here it is... We also have the podcast version coming out soon (Friday) if you'd rather listen than read; Brockstar interviewed me for it!

#TeamBetty2015. One of the most comfortable kit tops I've ever worn. Shop here.

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Last May I practically cried my way through the OC Half Marathon. I was feeling defeated, depleted and not loving it. I was over racing, over feeling that burning pain, and I had zero desire to push myself. At that point I actually was on my road to recovery, but still “sneaking in” a race here and there out of habit—but clearly not recovered. I still finished that race despite wanting to bail, in a 1:43—over 10 min slower than my half-mary PR. Then a week or so later I broke my wrist. The writing was on the wall. Functional health tests confirmed I still had a lot of work to do, as well. I was on my way to success but still had a long way to go.

Fast forward a year and I’m practically a different person than that girl in May 2014—I’m back to the real me, the strong me. I have made a lot of lifestyle changes, and things couldn’t be better. So doing this marathon was more important than just running 26.2 miles, it was a way to test myself to see if I’d do it right and come out ok. My No. 1 goal was (is) not to sacrifice my health for performance. That meant doing things differently, and having a new level of self-discipline.

I guess I succeeded in that goal because I got probably the best news possible the week of the marathon—well before I even toed the line on Sunday. I got back results from my latest batch of health tests that I just did a couple weeks prior (well 2 out of 3 tests; still waiting for organic acids results). My bloodwork, tested via Inside Tracker, looked phenomenal and the best numbers I’ve seen in years. Arguably more important, my saliva adrenal/hormone profile came back superb, and in my opinion this test is more telling for endurance athletes, females especially, and it was the one test I really wanted to see better numbers. My cortisol was near perfect from morning to bedtime, making the right progression and never outrageously too high nor too low, and my sex hormones were back to normal. No longer depleted as I have been in recent years. No more pregnenalone steal taking place. No more tired adrenals. I had a feeling this would be the case because I’ve felt increasingly more amazing every month beginning last fall, and my body is thriving and operating normally like it wasn’t doing for a while there—but verifying all this via a test is still good. Objective data matters too. In fact, Chris Kelly of Nourish Balance Thrive, through whom I get most my health testing done including the saliva and urine tests, said about my adrenal profile:

“I NEVER see a result like this. Never! They are always low in athletes.” (...And he meant that in a good way.)

Going into Sunday’s race I now had the peace of mind that no matter how I finished I had already achieved the most important goal: fixing and maintaining great health.

That said, sure, I could have set loftier marathon goals and I could have trained to race a faster marathon. I could have done speedwork, long tempo runs, more 20-milers, trashing workouts, and more volume (see last post). All that may have made me faster on race day.

I could also have been 10 pounds lighter. I weighed 133-134 pounds a few days before the marathon; to put that in perspective I’m 5’7” and I think I used to weigh 125-127ish when I was in the thick of triathlon and half-IM racing. My current weight is simply where my body wants to be right now. I’m not arguing with it. 

So instead of getting wrapped up in hoopla of faster times, race weight and crazy training, I did the opposite and just focused on me. Most importantly, I embraced the MAF Approach (lifestyle) and as such my goals were entirely appropriate and still a great challenge for me—certainly 3:30-3:35 was not going to be too easy. My goals were well thought out taking into consideration my fitness and my limited long run history, which is very limited, see for yourself:

TP's Long Run History 

(aka anything over 16 miles)

Aug 2011

-8/3: 20 miles at an 8:10/mile avg

-8/28: Ironman Canada, 26.2 at a 10:20/mile avg

-Otherwise, I never ran more than 15 miles in training for that race.

Summer/Fall 2013

-8/10: 21.4 miles at 8:24/mile avg

-Also a couple 17 milers.

This was training for IM Tahoe, which we now know my marathon never happened.

2015

-No long runs over 2hr until final 6 weeks then built to 3hr but with walking and those longer ones were 14.5 16, and 18 miles in that order.

-A 16-mile hike/run in mountains but that was probably 50% hiking.

That’s it.

Furthermore, just because I’ve embraced MAF that doesn’t mean there’s no more speedwork or long tempos in my future, it just means that in my MAF journey those kinds of workouts weren’t appropriate at this time.

Dr. Phil Maffetone was advising me through this, but it was more like I was self-coached, which was his intention—and a brilliant one. I cannot thank Phil enough for all he’s done for me—my general wellness and athletic performance. He essentially coaches athletes to be their own best coach, and this can be a wickedly successful approach; it’s one that I also implement in when I coach athletes (when appropriate; I have an open system approach). Granted, it’s a terrible business model because essentially I coach myself out of having a job with an athlete haha. I also have to thank Lucho, my BFF, because he's taught me so much over the years that I still carry with me. 

~~~

Back to the marathon.

I wasn’t without some pre-race nerves, of course. And if I had one area where I was still lacking a bit of confidence it was my ability to endure the final ~10k of the marathon at my goal pace. Read my long run history again, and you’ll understand—I was entering unknown territory, big time. So maybe that 3:30-3:35 goal was rather lofty indeed now that you have a better idea of me! That said, on the other hand, I have confidence that when I’m “on” I’m a mentally strong athlete who’s tough as nails and one who can totally dig deep and embrace the suck when it’s hurting like a mofo. Last May I was not that person; I was suffering internally. But this May? Bring it on BABY! I was so ready and so motivated, and in fact I used that lack of confidence for the “unknown territory” to be a motivator instead—a new goal to conquer and nothing or no one was going to get in my way.

So in order to nail the 3:30-3:35 I knew my splits had to fall between 7:50-8:05ish on average, give or take. My athlete Greg has a statistician friend who was also racing this mary and he uses the elevation profile of a course to calculate every mile split to achieve the goal time. This was actually very helpful to see these numbers, but for the race I only sorta memorized the first 6 miles and left the rest to intuition.

Here’s the stats info in the chart below. I like this for a marathon, but at the same time it’s what I want to get away from in my quest to do ultras where predicting splits like this would have no use.

Mountains 2 Beach
Goal Pace: 3:30:00
Mile	Split	Elevation Change
1	8:06	4
2	8:09	16
3	7:56	-46
4	7:56	-49
5	7:52	-66
6	8:30	85
7	8:18	45
8	8:11	23
9	7:53	-64
10	7:57	-40
11	8:01	-16
12	7:46	-104
13	7:43	-120
HALF
14	7:46	-103
15	7:56	-47
16	7:57	-40
17	7:58	-36
18	7:58	-35
19	7:59	-29
20	7:57	-43
21	7:57	-42
22	8:01	-16
23	8:01	-19
24	8:05	1
25	8:04	-1
26	8:05	1
26.22	8:04	0

~~~

Pre-Race

We drove up to Ojai the day before the race, and I was feeling a bit blah and the effect of taper week. I knew I needed some solid rest because the weekend before the marathon I was still feeling some fatigue that I had to shake. I rested hard, and by Saturday I felt that crappy taper feeling big time, which sucks but it means I did a good job resting. I stuck to the plan of not running the two days prior. I did an easy bike on Friday, and a 45min walk on Saturday morning. I didn’t question this strategy (even if I wanted to for a moment). I talked to Phil Friday, and he made a special request asking that we update him during and post-race via texting—if you know Phil, this is special.

At bib pickup I met a guy in line who brought up casual convo (he asked about my Skoras!) and once we got to talking, he was like, “Wait, are you Tawnee?” Turns out he is an EP fan, and just like at Salton Sea, he recognized me by my voice. I loved it! I hope this means the podcast is getting more popular.

We stayed in a VRBO studio rental near mile 13 of the course, and it was perfect. We loved being in a quaint tiny space—we will never want a big house in life. We also loved Ojai, and spent Saturday afternoon walking around town. So peaceful. We saw several moviestars; it’s clear why Ojai is their close-by escape. That evening, we made my standard pre-race dinner that I’ve loved for years—sweet potatoes, chicken, veggies, chocolate—and we ate early to ensure good digestion before the morning. I was eating pretty LCHF all week and the night before the race is certainly an ok time to add in more carbs even for the low-carb athlete—but not carb load. There’s no need to “load” or force food down before a race. Eat like a normal human—including those few large chunks of dark chocolate. I didn’t have wine, just wasn’t in the mood—I had a bit the night before entertaining friends and that was enough.

My barbecue master. Loved the little patio at our studio.

Sweet potatoes, bbq'd chicken thighs, and baby squash sautéed in butter.

Feet up relaxing the evening before the race.

It was a 6 am race start so I got up at 3:45. I was in a phenomenally fabulous mood, and bouncing off the walls with excitement. The taper haze was gone, and race day mojo was in full effect. I made coffee (French press!), UCAN Porridge, and mixed bottles that would be for pre-race and during (I borrowed handheld Nathan bottles from Michelle Barton, and told her I'd use them to channel her badassness). I felt like an old pro because my body knew what was up and I was able to go to the bathroom on command at an ungodly hour. Whew, it’s always nice to get that out of the way! I was feeling pretty full after only eating about half the UCAN breakfast and I didn’t want to stuff my tummy so I left it in the fridge for later. I probably ate about 300-400 calories at breakfast, including the coconut milk in my coffee. I was full but not stuffed.

What nutrition was in my bottles?

All my fueling goodies.

Well, I’ll admit this exact concoction was literally new for me, which I know is a no-no, but it had two ingredients both of which I’ve used and I know work for me—it’s just that I’d just never had them together in a bottle:

For during the race I mixed a 16oz handheld bottle with:

-bottled water (no tap)

-1.5 scoops of plain UCAN

-2 tbsp local honey. 

This equated to 270 calories. It tasted like heaven and it was "strong" but for my purposes just right and taste-wise the right amount of sweetness. I personally loved the thicker texture. This is a mix I’ll keep on using for years to come.

I would also have about 2/3 of a chia gel in the later miles of the race, and all in all about 340 calories total during the marathon.

Sucking down Vespa pre-race. #fatforfuel

Also, before the race I had one 16oz bottle with 1 scoop plain UCAN (100 calories) to sip, which mostly tasted like water and wasn’t thicker like the honey mix, plus I downed 8 MAP, and 1 VESPA Junior (30 calories). The Vespa wasp extract is my new BFF next to UCAN. It really helps athletes stay in fat-burning mode, and I can tell the difference in how I feel, my mental clarity on long runs, and in my nutrition needs (less is more)!

The start line was so mellow compared with triathlons, geez! Too easy. We were expecting traffic and chaos—none of that. Thankfully it wasn’t that cold out, about 52 degrees F, and I was fine in shorts and my Betty Designs Team Kit (love) with matching jacket (love). The Betty top was so perfect to wear during the race, and it stayed in place nice and comfy (didn't ride up). I handed the jacket to John before lining up next to the 3:33 pace guy. 

I warmed up for about 10-15 minutes, mostly easy and never going over MAF. I didn’t look at pace—I know me and even warmup pace could potentially get to my head.

~~~

The Marathon

Great race photography at this race! In fact, they offer the low-res photos for free, now that's something this day in age!!

I had on an iPod, which was a first for me, and something I enjoyed for this kind of racing. My playlist consisted of mostly Girl Talk (my go to), Led Zeppelin, Queen and a few random songs from Beatles, Tom Petty, No Doubt and Junip.

Start line, go time!

During the race, the only data I ever looked at on my Garmin was actual pace, average pace and miles. Never once did I look at heart rate or time. I really didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to start playing the numbers game of “am I going fast enough based on how long I’ve been running?” Or, “is my HR too high and I’m going to blow?” Turns out my HR was nearly perfect for what it should have been given my MAF HR and goals.

I started running with the 3:33 pace group and that was working fine with my RPE and splits. But by mile 4ish I had pulled ahead of that group, and while that made me a bit nervous, I felt confident in the pace I was running and stuck with it.

The M2B course was lovely; a point-to-point from Ojai to Ventura (mountains to beach) mostly on a bike path. Even though I’m a marathon novice, it’s clear this is a pretty easy forgiving course that can make dreams come true; however, looking at course ratings there are plenty of marathons that are gauged as even easier, which I find hard to believe. I guess living in hilly OC I’m used to climbing. But this race has about 500 feet elevation gain total, and about 700 feet descent. Plus plenty of pancake flat miles (or close to it).

Here are my splits and HR to give you an idea (compare that with other chart above with the 3:30 predicted splits and elevation change!):

Mile	Time	Avg HR	Max HR
1	8:03.0	155	163
2	8:07.3	159	169
3	7:49.9	164	170
4	7:49.6	162	167
5	7:55.2	162	167
6	8:26.2	165	170
7	8:14.2	167	174
8	7:54.8	167	171
9	7:52.2	162	171
10	7:50.3	161	164
11	8:05.7	162	166
12	7:48.1	159	165
13	7:47.3	156	159
14	7:42.7	157	163
15	7:55.1	161	165
16	7:55.3	161	165
17	7:53.9	163	169
18	7:55.8	167	172
19	7:58.1	168	172
20	7:50.1	170	173
21	7:51.1	172	176
22	8:04.5	173	177
23	8:11.9	175	179
24	8:02.5	177	180
25	8:05.0	176	180
26	8:14.2	177	180
0.34	2:37.5 (7:41 pace)	180	181
Summary	3:30:01 (7:58 avg)	166	181

I felt really good, scary good, just the right amount of effort—pushing myself but not dying—and the miles were ticking by so fast. It was weird. As someone without a deep long run history it was so cool to feel like the miles were coming and going in a way that felt normal—I was not fearing nor dreading the distance whatsoever. I was really just living in each mile and each moment, not worrying about finish times—sounds cliche but it's true. I think a healthier state of mind and body allows for this; it's when we are weak that we get scared and nervous and outcome-oriented. 

Somewhere in the middle miles the bike path tucked away into the mountains and the scenery was incredibly peaceful and gorgeous; it reminded me of our Big Sur backpacking trip (except this was flat and/or downhill—miles 12-14 were speedy!). Meanwhile I just kept thinking: breathe, stay calm, stay loose, and in control of effort and form. I remembered wise words from ER telling me to soak it all in. I was.

At mile 13, I was averaging a 7:58 pace, on target for the 3:30 with a little wiggle room. I was still feeling great but certainly not like I was going too easy—and I knew I had hard work ahead.

More on nutrition

Each mile, I was taking about 1 oz of the UCAN+honey mix from my bottle and it was settling perfectly. I did not feel the need for any more calories than that. The mixture was a thicker liquid (not as thick as gels though) and I made sure to get sips of water at aid stations at times, but not every aid station. That bottle lasted me for 17 miles. From there, I had an emergency chia gel by Huma just in case, which I had about 2/3 of after mile 20.

You might be wondering: only 270 calories for 17 miles (and ~340 calories total for the entire race when you add in the chia gel)? It may seem like only that amount of nutrition seems too low but I assure you it was not. Quite the opposite, I felt like if I had any more I might be risking overdoing it and gut distress. Overall I think this nutrition protocol in a race shows the real-world benefit of being fat-adapted. You simply need less, and this is good because you drastically decrease your risk for GI issues! (For the record: I think the old me used to race a bit more under-fueled at times, so I know what it feels like to race depleted and on fumes. This was not that situation.) 

Hitting the wall?

By mile 17 I was still feeling ridiculously great, and having a blast. Mentally happy, strong, fully engaged, and physically solid. I was running somewhere between the 3:28 dude and 3:3 dude, a solid pace, yet, I was surprised how many runners around me had poor mechanics—or maybe I’m just overly analytical of form due to my profession (sorry!). My splits were looking good and my average pace dropped to 7:56. I was now thinking sub-3:30 could happen. But since I wasn’t concerning myself with the finish time; I just acknowledged the idea of sub-3:30 but didn’t obsess over it. By then the scenery wasn’t as nice—oil rigs and some industrial areas tucked between the highway and mountains. It was also warming up but not hot—mid to high 70s I'd guess but a blue sky and glaring hot sun, no more shade. I stayed diligent in quickly grabbing water at aid stations, but not every aid station. 

Everyone says how they hit the proverbial wall at mile 20. I was getting nervous I might follow suit. As mile 20 approached I thought, “This is it. This is where shit’s going to get real and you will likely be tested. This is the only part that was really in question and now it’s here.”

Mile 20: Good.

Mile 21: Good.

Me: Smiling.

Mile 22: Uh-oh.

There it was. Finally the legs were starting to scream bloody murder and holding goal pace started getting hard. This was in no way a nutritional bonk, it was all inexperience and lack of muscular endurance for this kind of racing.

This is where it got all mental.

I thought of everyone—John, Phil, Lucho, my family, Michelle, friends, Endurance Planet fans, everyone who dropped a line to wish me good luck, even people I don’t know personally but whom I respect. I drew strength from all of you. I drew strength from within. Together that was a lethal combo and enough to keep me going.

By now we were in Ventura and that gave me peace of mind—the finish was near. However, that also meant the rest of the miles would all be flat, not more downhill advantage.

I was heating up. Interestingly a few things started happening to my mechanics that had never happened in all my life: I think my left glute decided to take a break because my left foot/lower leg started getting all wobbly and landing really weird, and as such it seemed like the knee would be the victim if shit really hit the fan—I was so cautious and mentally thinking about firing that left glute. On the other leg, my right calf, deep in the soleus, was in a knot and on the verge of a cramp. That calf had been tight during taper so I’d been babying it. I was just hoping that sensation would stay just at that—a sensation. It did. Whew. The left leg never got worse either. (No bad pain ever erupted.) Overall, it was interesting to see my body wanting to shut down its efficiency as it entered the unknown territory at this pace I was trying to hold. I can't say it enough: it honestly became 100% mental finishing the race.

I grabbed for the chia gel around mile 22; it was a kind I’ve used. I wanted to see if that would do any magic despite feeling zero need for nutrition. It didn’t do anything. I knew I wasn’t bonking.

I was in pain.

If anyone saw me miles 23-26.2 my expression was likely that of a person in pain and hating life. I was not hating life, I promise, but I certainly felt like shit. I was hitting my proverbial wall. At this point we were back on concrete on the Ventura boardwalk. Concrete, oh great, I thought—ouch.

My pace slowed a tad, but miraculously not too much and not enough to let the 3:30 goal slip away. Thank goodness. For the  record, once I saw how I was able to run I threw 3:35 out the door and it was all about 3:30. These final miles to achieve that were all mental. It was probably the closest I’ve ever been to overriding the Central Governor with success.

At mile 23ish you actually pass the finish but then the course turns away (no!) and you run another mile-ish out before turning around and heading home—that always sucks, right?! That last out and back felt like 20 miles alone.

At last I could see the finish. I had about a half-mile to go and even that sounded too long, ugh. But I could see it. Finish line glory. I laid down the hammer and got back to a sub-8 pace, finishing the last half mile around 7:40 pace! I have no idea how.

Seriously digging deep at the finish. #paincave

IPA at the finish? Nah, green juice please! (And plenty of wine later lol.)

I saw John at the finish, he high-fived me and I read 3:30:21 on the clock as I passed the finish; that’s the first time I’d seen anything related to my overall time. I think my first thought was, “Oh hell ya... but so close to sub-3:30? Really?!” You guys, my half-Ironman PR is 5:01… I am that person who gets so close yet so far.

I was elated with 3:30:21, don’t get me wrong! To me it was as if I executed the race perfectly. For my first open marathon on limited training and having no experience racing this distance? BAM! I will take it. I couldn’t have raced, paced and fueled any better. It’s rare I finish a race feeling totally satisfied, but on this day I did.

As it turned out my official time was 3:30:01—taking into account when I crossed the start line after the gun went off, duh! Even closer to that sub-3:30. Next time?

Speaking of next time, my performance should lock me in for Boston 2016, which I’ll certainly do.

Seeing this race data was immensely satisfying.

This was not so satisfying. Note to self: Armpit chafe is real.
Next time Doc's Skincare chafe stick is going in the pits too,
not just thighs and chest/HRM strap area.

Post-Race

After dying on a grassy area near the finish in which John had to help me lay down and get back up, I actually felt great all that day, high on life with the marathon shuffle in full effect as we walked around town—holy sore! I downed a green juice that I’d made prior and I was so glad I had that quality nutrition to start the recovery process. I talked to my family and Phil—Phil even said “you’re amazing” (again if you know Phil he’s a loving guy but doesn’t just throw those words around, you have to earn it from him and when he says something he means it).

Put all this in the juicer for a tasty post-race treat. #recovery

John and I spent the rest of the day playing around Ventura and Ojai, eating great food, drinking wine, shopping, walking, talking about everything, planning the future… talking about more racing ;)

Overall my biggest success all ties back to the health status I maintained this year while training. I didn’t train a lot at all for this event and didn’t really understand what racing a marathon really felt like. Many people spend a lifetime trying to get their BQ, and I respect that greatly—I did not take my achievement for granted whatsoever. That BQ means a lot especially given the situation.

I was/am truly lucky I to get the best of both worlds: health and performance just the way I want it. It makes me so excited for the future adventures ahead, but first I gotta recover these legs of mine, and the chafe:

If you have any more question on my race, let me know.

Here are several more pictures of post-race fun & eats:

Shenanigans in downtown Ventura - random piano on the streets saying "play me?" Sure, why not.

Post-marathon dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant. Pate, salad, pizza (not gluten free), wine. #splurge

A lil wine tasting? Yup.

Breakfast the morning after - avocado, 3 eggs, kale and fennel sautéed in butter and coconut oil. I truly love eating healthy, quality food.

Recovery hike the morning after - a magical trail, and legs full of DOMS.