Motivated Reasoning: NVM vs. CIM

I'm about 2 weeks out from the NVM.  Training has taken a bit of a lull lately mainly due low motivation, high workload demands, and lately, unsavory weather.  As I posted yesterday, I stumbled across a quote by Dick Beardsley who compared the Boston Marathon route to the Napa Valley course.  This was of some concern to me as I've always heard Boston is a nightmare and, well, since I'm not in great shape and never run on hills, am a bit concerned about the route.  Well...I'm not *that* concerned...it's just a race and one must make adjustments...but still...you know.

My marathoning experience is limited.  I've run the California International Marathon 3 times, never once had I trained more than just a few weeks beforehand.  But a comment somebody made on FB made me think about comparability of CIM and NVM.  I have run 11 miles on the NVM route and so I plotted the route on Google Earth for those 11 miles.  I also plotted the central miles of the CIM.  These plots are below. 

I'm one of those who actually thinks the CIM is a tough course.  While it is net downhill, there are significant portion of steady, moderate climbs.  The NVM, I would characterize, as a meandering route with lots of "rollers" (not really hills).  The plots confirm this, more so than I even thought.  There of course will be some imprecision here both in the mapping and plotting; however, the size of the rollers are significantly "steeper" in the NVM than the CIM.  Not having trained on hills at all will make this route a nontrivial run for me ... but again ... it's a race and I'm there to have fun.  Make adjustments.

My overview of the Napa Valley course (based on the 11 miles I ran and based on the full distance I drove) is this:  overall downhill with numerous rollers, some significantly long (esp. between miles 13 and 18).  The main road, Silverado Trail, is heavily crowned and so the best bet would seem to try and veer toward the center of the course.  The road is exposed to the west and so if the wind is blowing from the southwest, it could be a long day.  And...it's a beautiful route.  Whether overlooking the vineyards in the valley or looking up the coast range hillsides, there are very few dull moments.  This is in stark contrast to CIM, which is not a particularly scenic course (but it IS a great event and is well managed). 

Overall, I'm looking forward to March 6!

Out,

Napa Valley, Miles 7-18

CIM Miles (roughly 7-20)