Surf City Full Marathon, February 2, 2025

Overjoyed & proud to have turned in a 2:56 @ @Surfcitymarathon on 2/2, catching 21st overall, 5th in my division, & breaking the spell of 3 years of beautiful but crash-and-burn marathon performances I’ve had since PRing @ @CIM '21 w/ a 2:54

#jackandjilldownhillmarathon '22, @nycmarathon '23, & @venturamarathon ’24 were all incredible events, & I’d recommend them highly to anyone looking for fast and/or epic challenges for 26.2 miles, but different issues slammed my splits to the ground @ each one, & I’ve grabbed the challenge of meeting my own personal standards again w/ optimism, lots of support, & am thrilled by the results I met yesterday.

My training went very well thanks to my Chaski coach, Zandy Mangold, I put emphasis on tapering throughout the weeks (75, 67, 41, & 21 miles before go-time), & took a hard taper of no running or working out @ all in the 3 days leading up to Sunday.

I got to my race as early as I could, connected w/ friends, made a few new ones, warmed up, & got to the finish line feeling positive & well-prepared to bring my full engagement & fortitude to a demanding day.

I grew up in Orange County, have done the Surf City half twice before (my half in '21 still stands as my PR w/ a 1:18, aiming to drop that ASAP), so the setting holds a special place for me personally.

It was an extra pleasure to have part of the course loop through the Huntington Beach Library side of Central Park, which also played to my benefit as I knew the terrain very well, & I enjoyed taking a turn to find the Mesa View Middle School band seated & playing by the lake (where I went to middle school a minute ago),

Nagging concerns of all kinds are always with us, & I’ve had an on-off injury where the semimembranosus (center of the 3 hamstring muscles) connects w/ the medial side of my knee flares up under long durations of running.

The matter hasn't bothered me in quite some time, but there were a handful of random moments when the pain point sparked up during the race

I took the signs in stride, controlled what I could, & when the pangs showed no lasting power or increased frequency, I stayed the course of 6:40ish splits by feel, minimizing watch-checks along the way.

As dependable as ever, the cumulative load of mileage made holding pace difficult towards the end.

My splits fell off in the home stretch, especially where a tiny bump on the bike path deflated me pretty good.

Being gentle w/ myself, concentrating on form, & drafting off the energy of my fellow runners & supporters alike was a gift, and I pushed as hard as I could to catch what I could.

Tons of hugs & celebration found me @ the finish line & expo, exchanging stories & gear/event/runner-speak is one of many favorite parts of the community, & I got a welcome abundance of all the above & @truemoo chocolate milk samples before heading home.

On the @puma #pumafstrnitroelite2: the decoupled heel & forefoot sections have a big fan here, as the decrease in weight & the nimbleness that comes w/ feeling a sharpened aim & placement of each segment lends itself to speed, & arched as this is w/ an 8mm drop, the designers have framed an excellent equation around encouraging mid- to toe-striking, but still bringing in plenty of support for the heel as well.

The foam rocks, the fit was perfect, & the upper felt strong & supportive, but I'll say the carbon plate is the most aggressive I've felt, which is excellent for distances up to a half marathon for me, but I'll look elsewhere for full marathons in the future.

Not that the shoes held me back at all, far from it, I just know a softer feel will be preferable during this amount of time spent in fatigue, which I've found in other brands.

With 41 days/less than 6 weeks to @lamarathon, & my focus is locked on a healthy buffer of recovery before doubling down on the rebuild & a ravenous appetite for mileage, carbs, & adding to my best life.

Stay up & meet tough w/ flexibility & happy Monday, everybody!