Run The Parkway 20 Miler Race Recap 11/4/18

I ran the Parkway 20 miler earlier this month as a training run for the California International Marathon or CIM. It was my second time running it as I ran it last year as well. You can check out last year's recap here. I enjoy this run because it is the best way to get 20 miles in if you are training for the CIM.

PACKET PICKUP: Packet pickup was at the Fleet Feet store in Sacramento and I picked up my stuff on Saturday. Actual pickup was quick and easy, I even did some shopping afterwards. I love shopping at the Sacramento store because it is so much bigger than the one in Davis. The shirt is the same design as last year but this year the shirt color is green.

RACE DAY: I woke up early for this one. I carpooled with my friend Maria and she was at my place around 5:40. We got to William B. Pond Recreation area, where the race starts, around 6:00am. 

The race starts at 7, so we were there pretty early. We opted to go earlier so we can park at the Recreation area rather than the school where you had the option to take a shuttle to the start. When we got there, we headed to the Fleet Feet Training tent. It was nice to hang out with the fellow trainees. Here's a group shot.

The line for the porta potties was pretty long but it moved along. I had time to spare to line up to the start.
For this run, I didn't have much of a goal but I planned on running it with my coworker Kristine. She's training for her first marathon and we are about similar pace. The run started right on time at 7am.

It's always fun when you have a friend to run with. :)

 The course runs along the Parkway and it is a beautiful trail.

There are free race pictures which is great. The only thing I wish they could improve on the pics, is if there was an easier way to search through them instead of going through all of the pictures. As you can see from the pic below, we were having fun. :)

At mile 12, we were both feeling good and strong. We stuck with the 4:05 pacer for a while and our plan was to stick with her till about mile 20 and pass her but we ended up passing her even before the half marathon mark.

 Crossing this bridge, I knew we were close to the half marathon point.

This is the part where those that are doing the half stay right and us 20 mile runners stay left. I remember this section last year as I am not a fan of seeing the finish line long before we actually finish. But already knowing it was coming is what made it easier this year for me. 

I knew there was a turnaround point and for me it seemed like forever for it to come. The turn around was a hill up to a higher trail which you can kinda see in the pic below. 

At mile 19 our plan was to pick up the pace, which we did but I was actually struggling a bit.

Here are more of our free pics. It was great running with Kristine.

 Here's a more serious shot. :)

I was so happy to see the finish and we both sprinted when we saw it. Here we are with our medals. Kristine did awesome for her first 20 miler.

Some shots with some of the Fleet Feet Crew and trainees.

Thanks Fleet Feet for providing post run drinks and goodies!

Love that there is a beer garden at the finish along with pizza! Here's a pic of me and Maria enjoying our beers.

My results:

Not bad as it's actually a PR from last year! It was another great run! It's the perfect 20 mile training run for CIM. 

Happy running!