Surf City – Change is in the Air
By
Mark Jimenez
On February 8, 2009 I ran my first marathon in Huntington Beach, CA. My good buddy John and I had run a couple of half marathons at that point, and it was time to take the next big step and do a full. I can’t say much about the race except that I finished it. I had no coach, no training plan to speak of, and went in not really knowing what to expect.
Since then, I’ve done the Surf City Marathon every year. It’s been a tradition.
2023 was supposed to be more of the same. In fact, I had big plans for the Surf City Marathon. We even put together a three people who had different goals for Surf City and hired a coach. The plan was to do some detailed blogging and interviews and video the whole thing! Drew, an experienced runner coming back from an injury, was going to do the half. Faith, somebody who had never run a full, was going to do the full. And I was going to do the full with the story of trying to get another Boston Qualifying time under my belt.
Matching Shirts for the Win
That was the plan, but then life got super busy and the blogging and interviews went by the wayside in favor of just getting the training done.
I will say that the coach we hired, Eric Klein, did a great job with the three of us. Eric is a Physical Therapist here in town, working at Canyon Lake Physical Therapy. Having a PT also be our coach came with great benefits. Eric not only gave us running workouts, but he also gave us strengthening and stretching exercises as well. This really was a whole-coaching experience, and it was something unique to anything I’ve done in the past. In the past, whether it be hiring a coach or getting a training plan through something like TrainingPeaks, all I’ve ever had is a run schedule. The added bonus of what Eric brought was amazing. If you’re interested in what Eric can do for you as a coach, please reach out to him at ekleindpt@gmail.com.
Canyon Lake has been voted Best of Las Vegas
So we had a great plan! And we had a great coach! All that was missing was execution on my part. I was the one who was supposed to detail all the progress we made as a group, and I let that get by the wayside. I have no good excuse other than that I was busy and detailing the adventure kept getting pushed back. To Faith, Drew, and Eric, I apologize for that.
Coach Eric Klein, DPT
Back to the plan. Remember what Mike Tyson said about having a plan? “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
I got punched in the mouth. Or rather, in the back.
During this training block I was really starting to feel my age. I’m 45 now, and as I did my running workouts and my long runs I was starting to feel the strain I was putting on my body. This was new to me, I hadn’t experienced this kind of fatigue before. Oh sure, I’ve been tired after long runs and sore after track days, but this was something new. It was kind of an all-body fatigue that I can’t describe as anything other than, “I’m getting older and my body is feeling all these miles.”
Then came the day in December. I had started lifting weights again, I’ll do that from time to time. I was lifting too much, I knew I was lifting too much, but I was on my last set and I was too lazy to go change the weight on the adjustable dumbbells. So on my 2nd to last rep in my last set a piercing pain went through my back right about my left glute. I dropped the weights, rolled on the floor, and cursed a bit.
Faith, Drew, Mark, and Andy
For the rest of the day I could barely walk. I focused on stretching over the next few days, and I made a pretty quick recover. I was actually feeling pretty good about 6 days later when I went out with Drew for a speed day.
From the moment I woke up that day I felt like something was wrong. As I started to run I was in a lot of pain, a different kind of pain. It wasn’t any one spot, it was the entire area around my waist, about where I would wear a belt. I made it through one of the speed segments before I had to stop and hobble back to the house. By the time I got back I could barely walk. I spent the rest of the day hardly being able to walk or move around.
Once again I focused on stretching. Once again, about 7 or 8 days later, I was feeling pretty good. By this time we’re past Christmas. Surf City was less than 6 weeks away. I had missed some long days, but I was still confident I could do the full marathon. I woke up on a Tuesday morning in a great mood. I did my usually morning routine, then went to put my pants on. Here’s what happened.
-Lift up left leg, insert into pant leg.
-Lift up right leg – explosion of pain in my back
I fell to the ground. This was worse than any pain I had ever felt. I cried out, my wife got out of bed in a rush and tried to help. It hurt so bad that I couldn’t get off the ground for 30 minutes. When I finally was able to stand up, my body was twisted and contorted. My right hip was sticking up, my left shoulder was dipping. I couldn’t stand up straight.
I saw both Eric and Dr. Prince, who regularly works on me with ART (Active Release Technique) and both agreed it was muscular. My back muscles were spasming to the point of contorting my body.
Pain, so much pain.
I was able to run in the half marathon despite my back injury
I don’t know how, but I was able to keep my run streak going by slow jogging 2 miles a day, grunting and groaning the whole way.
Slowly I got better again. But as the saying goes, once bitten, twice shy. I was thrice bitten at this point. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. Eric and I talked it through and we decided that it would be best for me to focus on the half marathon at Surf City. That way I wouldn’t risk a more devastating injury as I built up for the Boston marathon in April.
It was a tough choice because I’ve been doing the full at Surf City for so long, but ultimately it was the right choice. Not only that, but it took so much pressure off me that I was able to truly enjoy the race in a way that I hadn’t done before. There wasn’t nearly as much pressure or anxiety before the race, and I had a great time with my friends.
Our singlets said "Beat Carl"
Unfortunately Carl couldn't make it to the race
It was so much fun that I’m considering doing the half from now on at Surf City. There are other races I get to tackle, and I’d say a comfortable place for me at this point in my life is doing one marathon a year.
Hold on, let me look at my calendar.
Great, I have two scheduled for this year. Boston and Chicago. Sigh. Next year I’ll do one a year!
Check out this picture from Surf City. I didn’t notice this during the race, but as I was going through the race pictures I saw this one and I had to smile. Sometimes running is like this. Sometimes you stick your hands in your pockets and just walk it out. Sometimes you run like hell to get to the finish line. The beautiful thing is, either way you’re still moving forward.
Keep Moving Forward
I’m glad I got through Surf City uninjured. Now it’s time to focus on Boston. I’ve been continuing to train my whole body, not just running. But I’m taking it easy with the weights! Nothing heavy! We’ve got a great group of people headed to Boston out of Las Vegas. I can’t wait to see them all there.
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Every Run is a Good Run