The Green Girl's Long Beach Marathon Race Report

On Sunday, the Green Girl ran the Long Beach Marathon.

My longest training run was scheduled for the evening before I flew out to the East Coast for Tour DaVita. I had planned on doing 20 miles but had to cut my run short to 14 when production issues came up at work.

The Green Girl, Coach Steve, and fellow Sole Runner, Kathleen

When I returned from the bike tour, Coach Steve helped me put together a pacing strategy for the race. Our goal was for me to do a sub-6 marathon. That would require me to shave just over an hour off my marathon PR.

Race morning, I carpooled with my SparkFriend, Jeannie, to the Starting Line.

Coach Steve leading the Sole Runners pre-race body looseners

She lined up for the walker early start and I headed over to the Sole Runners tent.

When it got closer to the race start, Coach Steve assembled the group behind our tent for our body looseners.

We ended with a Sole Runners team huddle before we all headed for our respective corrals.

Pre-race sunrise

True to form, I had to visit the porta-potty a few times before I felt confident enough to line up in my corral.

Mr. Green Garmin was programmed to help keep me under a 13:44 average pace for a 05:59:59 finish.

I chatted with other Sole Runners as we waited for our Corral 5 wave start.

Fellow Sole Runners, Miyuki and Kathleen, with the Green Girl in Corral 5

As soon as I crossed the Starting Line, I turned on my running playlist, zoned out all the other runners so I could find my pace, and tried to convince myself that I didn't need to pee again.

I refused to allow a porta-potty line destroy my sub-6 dreams so I finally gave in around Mile 2 and resorted to ducking behind a vicious bush that stabbed and scraped up my knee.

Fireboat spraying water over Rainbow Harbor

I felt much better after my pit stop and I quickly eased into a comfortable pace.

My body felt really good and my legs felt strong.

I stopped by the Sole Runners Mile 9 aide station briefly and grabbed some of The Green Girl's Famous Salted Potatoes prepared by Sole Runner, Betty.

The Long Beach Half Marathon/Full Marathon split

At the infamous Half/Full Marathon split, I followed the bend to the right.

All of a sudden, I had intense metatarsal pain on my right foot. I had a serious heart-to-heart with my right foot and I let it know I needed it to work with me. It stopped hurting.

I was overjoyed when I saw I had reached Mile 13 in 02:39:16.

The sun was starting to get hot so I increased my sports drink intake at the water stops.

Despite the heat, I was able to maintain a fairly consistent pace and I reached Mile 18 in 03:47:41.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity Einstein

I slammed into the metaphorical wall at Mile 21.

I knew the time had come to pull out my Sole Runners Secret Weapon so I reached into my pocket and opened it up.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. Einstein

This was my opportunity to do a sub-6. I took a deep breath, dug deep, and pushed on.

HillBilly Yoga pacing the Green Girl from Mile 21 to 24

Out of seemingly nowhere, HillBilly Yoga appeared.

I appreciated the fresh legs and easy conversation.

I watched the 05:30 pace group go by but I didn't have it in me to keep up with them.

Mile 23 was the longest mile of my entire life. It was so long that I gave in to one of the hills and walked.

I was suffering from hypoglycemia at this point and it was a struggle for me to maintain any semblance of a conversation. All I could think about was crossing the Finish Line and then getting some sugar - in that order.

The Green Girl and fellow Sole Runner, Kathleen, at Mile 24

Mr. Green Garmin read 05:45:26 when I crossed the Finish Line. My official time was 05:45:21.

Everything came full circle for me when I crossed that Finish Line.

I followed the Couch-to-5k program and completed my very first race at the Long Beach 5k back in 2007. I remember watching the half and full marathoners crossing the Starting Line. I was simply amazed and wondered if I would ever be capable of doing something like that.

I also crossed two items off my Running Bucket List - outrunning Mr. Green Garmin's battery life and running a sub-6 hour marathon.

The Sole Runners Colored Band System

Sole Runners technical shirts

The Green Girl helped distribute Sole Runners technical shirts at the registration table at Marina Vista Park this morning.

I also received a second blue mentor shirt.

As I was registering one of the new members, she asked me how long I'd been with the Sole Runners and I surprised myself when I realized I'd been training with the group since 2008.

LeAnn going over the Sole Runners banding system: green - half marathoners, yellow - full marathoners

After Coach Steve's announcements, LeAnn explained the Sole Runners banding system.

Colored bands were distributed for participants to attach to their hydration belts.

Green indicates you are training for a half marathon and yellow means a full.

Sole Runners doing body looseners

The mentors also verified emergency contact information had been provided for each Sole Runner before they received their training band.

Coach Steve led the ChiRunning body looseners before we all headed out.

By the time we started running, the morning had warmed slightly but thanks to the marine layer, it was still comfortable and not too hot.

Coach Steve leading the Sole Runners

I ended up running with a new Sole Runner, Veronica.

She mentioned she had never run far enough to reach the beach so it became our goal to get her to the ocean on this run.

I was so proud of her when she not only made it to the beach but also managed a negative split on the way back.

Mentor George leading the Sole Runners in Hillbilly Yoga

Post-run, Mentor George led the Hillbilly Yoga.

I love that Hillbilly Yoga not only has unique pose names but is flexible enough to allow the names to evolve.

More than one Hillbilly Yoga pose has been renamed based on a suggestion from a Sole Runner.

Under Armour Rain. Sleet. Snow. Wind. Brave the run. shirt

On my way home from the run, I stopped by Sports Authority to look at capris.

I spotted the Under Armour Rain. Sleet. Snow. Wind. Brave the run. shirt I'd been admiring on other runners at races.

It was on the sale rack so on impulse, I made the second running shirt purchase of my life.

Now, in addition to my Run Run Run shirt, I have this awesome new shirt!

Sole Runners, Pirates, and Hillbilly Yoga

Private Dock No Trespassin'...'er else!

Saturday morning, the Green Girl joined the Sole Runners for our weekly Marina Vista Park run.

Coach Steve offered last words of advice to the LA Marathoners before our run.

As I was running along the Alamitos Bay marina, I finally spotted the pirate trespassin' sign. Argh!

I've unknowingly run past that sign more times than I can count but someone had left the gate slightly ajar so it caught my attention.

Mentor George leading the Sole Runners in Hillbilly Yoga

Post-run, Mentor George led us in some Hillbilly Yoga.

As I mentioned before, Hillbilly Yoga is very different from conventional yoga. There appears to be a strong connection between this yoga style and moonshine.

Mentor George started us off slow with Padmasana, or Lotus Pose. In Hillbilly Yoga it's referred to as 'Bed Spins'.

Hillbilly Yoga from The Missionaries of Position

One of my favorite hip loosening poses is Eka Pada Rajakapotasana, or Pigeon Pose. In Hillbilly Yoga, this pose is called 'Roadkill'.

When it came to Shavasana, or 'Possum Pose', Coach Steve walked us through a visualization of our upcoming race.

I tried to focus on the San Diego Zoo Safari Park Half Marathon. I'm a little apprehensive about the 3 hour time limit so I put a lot of effort into envisioning myself at the Finish Line.

Sole Runners Run and Monthly Social Brunch

The Green Girl joined the Sole Runners for a run this morning at Marina Vista Park.

After all Sole Runner announcements, Coach Steve congratulated all the Buffalo Run runners on completing a challenging race. The course starts at sea level, climbs to a 1600 foot elevation, and then returns to sea level.

I had on a brand new pair of my favorite running shoes, New Balance 1012's. The first run in an unworn pair of shoes is always exciting.

As we headed out for our run, the marine layer dampened the crisp morning air. The cool morning satisfied my penchant for colder temperatures.

I was thrilled to see Mags from Run Happy. We chatted as we ran together.

She had just done the Disney World Half Marathon so she gave me some pointers for the Disney Princess Half Marathon next month.

After the run, we did some Hillbilly Yoga let by Mentor George.

As one might imagine, Hillbilly Yoga poses may look familiar but the terminology is very different from what most of us are accustomed to. For example, one of my favorite poses, Shavasana, is referred to as 'Possum Pose' in Hillbilly Yoga.

Sole Runners Monthly Social Brunch at Hof's Hut by LeAnn

After some Downward Facing Hound Dog and Possum Pose, we all headed to Hof's Hut for the Sole Runners Monthly Social Brunch.

It was a really good time with some filling food and great conversation.

The Green Girl's Track Walk and Stretch

Last night, the Green Girl attended her second Sole Runners track workout at Long Beach State.

After my positive experience last week, I was looking forward to another productive session.

My only concern was a nagging pain in the middle my left hamstring that I woke up with on Sunday. I had applied a couple Phiten Discs and the pain had gone away so I was hopeful I'd be able to run.

I got stuck in traffic and missed the ChiRunning body looseners. I arrived just as they were starting to do the three easy laps around the track.

Once we warmed up, Coach Steve had us start the 100 meter drills. He had us do skipping, high knees, heel kicks, and crossovers. The heel kicks aggravated my hamstring. I opted out of the crossovers again for fear of re-spraining my ankle.

After the drills, we walked a lap before we moved to the fast running. I ran a single lap at a medium pace but the pain in my hamstring became constant so I stopped. I talked to one of the mentors, Matt, and he recommended I walk, do some stretching and ice when I get home. I slowly walked a couple more laps and then laid out my yoga mat and sat down. George, aka 'Hillbilly Yoga', showed me some stretches for the hamstring.

After I felt I had sufficiently stretched my sore hamstring, I got back up to walk a few more laps.

A loud rumble in the sky caught our attention and we all looked up at some sort of large military plane flying overhead.

We followed our track workout with our usual post-run yoga.

When I got home, I iced my hamstring and then did some light stretching and foam rolling before I went to bed. I will book a massage today and take off the remainder of the week to allow my hamstring to heal before San Francisco on Sunday.