Well, bad timing is bad timing. I got nailed by the flu starting last Sunday with a mild sore throat, but which crescendoed into a nasty sore throat by Thursday, then full-out body aches and congestion over the entire Fri-Sun weekend that totally took me out, and it then made its move into my lungs starting yesterday so I'm hacking up a storm so badly that I can't even contemplate running today.
As a result, I'm bailing out of the race that I was expecting to set my lifetime PR at this upcoming weekend at the Napa valley marathon. I just canceled the hotel reservation (fortunately, just making the free of charge cutoff.) I've had an awesome 18+ wk training block, but I know from experience that racing right at the tail end of a flu (not a cold) is a really bad idea. Unlike non-flu injuries (like a sprained ankle) that might knock you out for a week before race day and which you can bounce back with pretty much no degradation, the flu tends to do something to your overall energy levels that you don't see until you start really pushing yourself - and then you promptly underperform by huge amounts. Been there, done that, so I'm not going to try it again.
As sad as this whole situation is, I'd be lying if I said I didn't anticipate it. I've learned the hard way since moving to sunny California for the past 10 years, that while I get the immense luxury of training and even racing (!) in months that are normally ice and snowlocked in the East Coast, there is also a huge battle against colds and flu for the entire winter and spring. It's just as bad as it is on the East Coast, despite being warmer outdoors. In my past 10 years, I've gotten derailed from my major Jan-March "A" races by flu or nasty colds over 50% of the time, and this time was no different. And remember - I'm the type of person who will train my way through illnesses that would knock most folks on their back, just because I'm that way, so it takes a lot for me to bail from a hard-prepped race day.
So in anticipation of this setback (which I gave myself at least a 50% chance of encountering) I planned and even registered early for a backup marathon on April 28th - my birthday incidentally! - where I can try again for the BQ/PR. The course I chose was intentionally the very fastest course I could find, as this backup course was supposed to also be a backup in case I actually raced Napa and for whatever reason, missed the BQ cutoff.
It's the REVEL Mt Charleston Race. It's a staggering 5200 ft drop over 26 miles, spread almost completely evenly at 2-3% decline with no major quad-killing steeper descents. And essentially zero climbing. It really is as close to legal cheating as you can get - I'll definitely put a "*" by my race result after I run it because it smacks me as so unfair to compare a result run here to something like the San Francisco Marathon which climbs 1100+ feet with no overall drop. Alas, when you're dealt a setback, you've gotta swallow your pride, and make the most of it.
It was fortunate that I did register very early for this race - it sold out last month, as I expected. And as favorable as the decline is, there are some potential issues with weather (if it's too hot) and the altitude (starts high!) but all in all it should be a near-surefire fast course. This course sported the highest BQ rate of all marathons last year except Boston, with over 40% BQing (compare to 20%+ being a monster high rate for the next closest races.)
I'm also not gonna lie - if I run this thing, I'm looking real hard at running a sub-3:00 marathon (6:52/mi). I wish I could say I'd go for the 2:55 for a NYC qual time but that's a 6:40/mi which is def out of my reach even with the decline.
Till then, I'm going to recovery fully from this doggone flu (can't even run today due to incessant coughing), and then hammer it for the 2 months I've got before race day. Take no prisoners!
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