Race Report: 2024 California International Marathon
This December, I ran my 3rd Marathon at the California International Marathon and achieved my best time yet! In this post I'll detail my training plan, my race experience, and other notes.
- Name: California International Marathon
- Date: December 8th, 2024
- Distance: 26.2 (26.35) miles
- Location: Sacramento, CA
- Strava: link
- Time: 3:06:04
Training
For my CIM training plan, I followed a combination of the Boston Marathon 20 week training plan and also my running club (Nth Degree) Coach Mike's 8 week marathon build. As this was the third road marathon I've run, I wanted to take it more seriously with my training block. I aimed to run 6 days a week. The ideal schedule would've been 3 speed / intense workouts, with 3 recovery workouts sandwiched in between.
I gave myself a 20 week training block, following the Boston Marathon schedule, which started after we got back from the Pacific Northwest having done the Seattle to Portland bike ride and the Timberline Trail. My aerobic fitness at this point was pretty good; the marathon training cycle would focus on getting the speed needed to run fast. There were some interruptions in my training block (I went camping for a week in August, traveled for a month in October in Europe, and got sick for a week in October) but overall I am happy with the runs I put in. Below are some of the hightlights of my training block.
July
Weekly Mileage (high is bolded): 30 miles, 41.3 miles.
Training Highlights:
July 23: 8x800 Track workout
July 30: Track workout: 400, 800, 1200, mile, 1200, 800, 400
August
Weekly Mileage (high is bolded): 33 miles, 41.1 miles, 49.3 miles, 6.4 miles.
Training Highlights:
Aug 6: 3 sets of (4x200, 200 recovery, mile ). I descended down to 36s for the 200s and 6:24 mile
Aug 8: 3x8min tempo workout, the last set was at 6:22 pace
Aug 13: 5x1200s, fastest was 4:46
Aug 18: 4mi warm up, 4x2mi @ MP (6:52, 6:48, 6:52, 6:43) with 2-3 minutes rest, cool down
Aug 20: Strawberry Hills workout for Nth Degree track practice
Aug 22: 5x1mi @ HMP (6:48, 6:56, 6:53, 7:04, 6:48)
Aug 24: 16mi tempo run
Summary: This was a decently consistent month of building up my running mileage as I started to bike less and shift to running 6 days a week. For the last week of August, I was camping so my mileage dipped a lot. This was basically a rest week which ate into my training, but alas is the balance between a running training plan and other commitments.
September
Weekly Mileage (high is bolded): 42.3 miles, 50.5 miles, 35.5 miles, 50 miles.
Training Highlights:
Sept 7: 4x2mi @ tempo, 7:04 / 7:15 pace
Sept 10: Michigan Miles 1600, 1200, 800, 400, with 1.1mi in between.
Sept 13: 5k TT, ran 20:12
Sept 15: 6mi easy, 8 x (2 minutes at 10k Pace, then 2 minutes at MP). (10k pace ~ 6:30, MP ~ 6:50), 3mi easy
Sept 17: 2 sets of { 4x45s hill, 7 push ups, 7 log jumps, 1.5mi tempo }
Sept 20: 2x2mi @ HMP (skipped 3rd set due to feeling tired)
Sept 23: 12mi Aerobic @ 7:34 pace
Sept 25: Mt. Tam Wednesday Trail Run
Sept 28: warm up (~3.5mi), 3x (3mi @ MP, 0.5mi jog), cool down (~3.5mi)
Summary: I didn't a lot of speed workouts during the first week of September as I was still recovering from the August camping trip. I ended up doing 12 mile long runs (instead of 16) for some of the weekends due to fatigue or having a late night social commiment the night before. During this bulk period of the build, my mileage could have been higher but it means there is an easy area to improve for my next marathon.
October
Weekly Mileage (high is bolded): 22 miles, 44.9 miles, 41.5 miles, 21.8 miles, 44.7 miles
Oct 1: 3x2k 4x400 track workout
Oct 8: 3x1mi, 4x400 (slower due to jetlag)
Oct 12: 7mi warm up, 6x (3min @ 10k, 2min easy), Cool down. Held ~6:26 pace
Oct 14: Set a downhill 5k PR at 19:42
Oct 21: 11.5mi: warmup, 2x4mi @ MP (7:04, 7:14), cool down
Summary: I spent the month of October traveling in Europe. I was able to hold my mileage at a satisfying amount (I ran about 40 miles a week, even with all the travels), however I did fewer speed workouts as the travels and other social commitments made me more tired. I did make a conscious tradeoff of traveling, which compromised my overall marathon performance, but the life experiences I had in Europe were worth it.
November
Weekly Mileage: 52.3 miles, 50.5 miles, 55.7 miles, 29.5 miles
Training Highlights:
Nov 2: 16mi: 2x5mi @ MP (6:58, 7:05)
Nov 8: 5mi @ MP (7:13)
Nov 10: 20mi aerobic long run, averaged 7:26
Nov 12: 8x1000s, fastest was 3:45
Nov 14: warmup, 5.5mi @ HMP (6:42), this was one of my best workouts
Nov 16: 10x400, then 10x (5min @ MP, 1min faster). held ~7:00 for MP part
Nov 19: 5x2000 descend (6:50, 6:37, 6:27, 6:14, 6:06 pace)
Nov 24: the simulation run 30 min warmup, 30 min MP / 5 min smooth Z2, 25 min MRP / 5 min smooth Z2, 20 min MRP / 5 min smooth Z2, 15 min MRP / 5 min smooth Z2, 10 min MRP / 5 min smooth Z2. Held ~6:57 for MP intervals, felt good
Summary: This was my most consistent month of running, in which I zoned into the training. One lowlight was not being able to stay late to a music event as I did my big simulation run the next morning, but it was worth it for my marathon training.
December
Race week mileage: 43.4 miles
Training Highlights
Dec 5: tuneup run: warmup, 5min slower than MP, 5min at MP, 5min faster than MP. I was going to do a second set but I felt fatigued so I skipped it preferring fresher legs.
Dec 8: The California International Marathon Race!
For more details on my training block, you can see this spreadsheet or my strava.
My total mileage over the 20-week training block was 796 miles.
Other Training Notes
Running Cadence One thing I noticed about my running was that I entered the training block with a fairly low natural cadence of around 150. As coach Mike noted, part of this could be due to the fact that I am tall (6'1) and coming from a cycling background, where because the legs are a single system on the bike with the down push of one leg helping the other leg recover upwards, this would translate to a lower running cadence.
The ideal running cadence is 180; so in the first few weeks of training I used my garmin watch's metronome to increase my cadence by increments of 5. I eventually got to around 165 which felt good; I did some of my speed workouts at higher cadences, and the recovery runs at lower cadences, and I ended up running CIM at a cadence of 162. I can look into raising my cadence even more for my next race.
Nutrition Coach Mike recommended an average of 2 grams per bodyweight kilogram of protein every day. After each run I would have a protein smoothie (whey protein, milk, yoghurt, bananas, blueberries) immediately after completing the run to help by body recovery as quickly as possible.
I did most of my long runs eating gels during the run; this way I could simulate the race environment and also keep my body with enough energy during the run. I didn't change much of my diet for the Marathon cycle, I ate more beets as it should help my blood flow (but also made my digestive tract feel bad at times).
Shoes For this marathon training cycle, I used the following shoes:
- New Balance 1080 v12: This was my recovery run shoe, as it wasn't the fastest shoe but had good padding and support.
- Hoka Mach 4: A fast and lightweight pair, I had run the Santa Rosa Half Marathon in this pair of shoes. It was my speed workout shoe but I started running in it less in favor of the Kinvaras as the mileage in this pair went up.
- Saucony Kinvara 14: This lightweight pair was my other primary speed workout shoe. At first my feet were more used to the Mach 4s as the Kinvaras are more narrow and provide less heel support, but over time I started preferring this pair as it had more cushioning and were less expensive.
- Saucony Endorphin Speed 3: These nylon-plated shoes were my race pair, and I did a couple of workouts prior in these shoes to make sure they worked. The shoes were a bit small, leading to black toenails after CIM, but I thought it was worth it for the speed.
- Saucony Peregrine 12: This was my trail running pair of shoes. They are technical shoes that really allow you to feel the terrain, but the padding is a bit lacking so your feet may start to hurt after longer runs.
Health One of my biggest worries during this training cycle was catching COVID. Overall my health was good during the training block, minus a week in October when I felt a bit sick, probably due to some nightlife. That ate a week out of my training block.
Strength Training One thing I noted from my last marathon was that I wished I did more strength training. This Marathon Cycle, I didn't do enough either, oops.
Compromises In this training cycle, I strived to find a balance between my social life at night and the long runs the next morning. I am quite happy with my marathon time, but if I wanted to eek out more time in my performance, for this cycle I skipped a week of training in August and also traveled for a month in Europe; doing fewer of those activities could definitely improve my performance for a future training cycle.
The Race
The California International Marathon advertises itself as the fastest course out west. Living in San Francisco, it was very convenient to drive two hours over for the race, and my friend Avi joined me for the weekend and helped a ton with logistics.
I woke up at 4:40am to eat my breakfast consisting of overnight oats, coffee and eggs. I elected to stay the night before closer to the start line, and Avi dropped me off at the CIM shuttle stop around 5:30am. I had a nice conversation with a guy who flew in from Boston to run CIM and he noted that the East Coast time difference helped him wake up for CIM.
We got to the start line around 6am, having an hour to spare. I spent 20 minutes inside the gas station at the start line (I bought water and some snacks to support the business!), and then I went to the bathroom line afterwards. However, the bathroom line was very long (I waited from 6:25 - 6:55am), so I did not have time to do any proper warmup before the race.
CIM is a point-to-point, net downhill race. The recommendation for CIM is to run the first half conservatively (there is more downhill the first half, but as the hills roll, there are also more uphills), so you can take advantage of the fast flats the second half. My goal time was a 3:05, so I targeted around a 7 minute mile pace. I didn't go too fast the first half, splitting between 6:56 and 7:07, with my average pace slightly above 7 minutes. CIM's miles 6 through 10 are known as the "Fair Oaks hills" so I eased my pace, as I did not want my heart rate to exceed 170 (looking at my last marathon, my heart rate was too high in the middle third, so I faded more the last third.)
The downhills picked up for miles 10 and 11, which I split 6:50 and 6:48 respectively. After these two miles, I was back at a 7 minute mile pace. I split 1:32:10 for my first half, which I was pretty happy with. After the half marathon mark, I stopped limiting myself, as I split 6:57, 7:00, 6:56, 6:57, and 7:01 for Mile 14-18. At this point I was still below a 7 minute mile average, but I was starting to tire. I split 7:06 and 7:09 for miles 19 and 20, and at this point I re-adjusted my expectation to hold a 7:10 mile pace rather than a 7 minute mile pace, since the latter was becoming increasingly improbable. I saw the Nth Degree Cheer Tent at mile 21.5, in which Steph gave me my emergency electrolyte bottle (and instead of looking good for photo ops, I was definitely looking like I was struggling through the race).
After crossing the J street bridge at mile 21.8, my goal was to simply hold on. I walked a bit at the mile 22.2 aid station as I was starting to cramp, and I saw the 3:05 pacer group pass me. I stayed with them for about a mile, but as they were still going for 6:58 miles, I let them go after a mile. I walked another bit during the mile 24.7 aid station, but overall I'm happy that I more or less completed this marathon without walking (as opposed to the last two marathons, where at CIM 2022 I needed to walk a bit after mile 21). My last five mile splits were 7:21, 7:24, 7:14, 7:23, and 7:09 (with a 6:30 final surge towards the finish), which reflects the nature of me just trying to stay on.
While the last few miles definitely was in type II fun territory, it is also such a rare feeling, and a unique life experience. My legs burned at mile 25, feeling like they were on fire yet I still willed myself to accelerate. In high school I often was passed at the end of races, but I felt really good for having a better kick than the others around me and passed a few people towards the end. My second half for CIM was a 1:33:54, which I am quite happy with the relatively small gap from the first half. Immediately after the marathon my legs became rigid sticks, unable to bend and move, and it took me a while to find my friends to meet up after the race, but even that is a unique human experience, to know how much you can push yourself and how your body can have such different feelings. So special also is the runner's high after the race, the feeling of completing a multi-month long project, hitting a goal you set for yourself.
For my nutrition during the race, I had 8 gels in total. I had a mix of the 60ml SIS Isotonic Gels (some with Caffiene, some without) and the Maurten Gel 100 (some with Caffiene, some without). THe SIS Gels are isotonic so they are easily edible without water, the Maurtens were more solid in nature and were a bit harder to swallow without water, but provided more calories. I brought 7 gels, eating a gel approximately every 3 miles (with one 15 minutes before the start). I had one of the course gels, the Precision Caffiene Gel, which actually tasted quite good (usually I do not fully trust course gels). I had a total of 450mg of Caffiene in gels, but I wish I brought one more caffiene gel for some more energy at the end.
Other Notes
If you are in San Francisco, please feel free to message me if you'd like to meet up. I primarily run with the Nth Degree Athletic Club and have track workouts every Tuesday night at Kezar stadium. Please come by and join us!
My friend Krish recommend the book Advanced Marathoning which goes in depth on how to train for a marathon.