packet pickup
I left my house at 10am for my Saturday morning drive to La Jolla. I had planned to spend some time down in SD for old time's sake but due to an unforeseen "emergency" I had to waste my visit by driving right back home. I'm thinking that they need to move the expo to another location with better parking. Every year it has been a zoo hunting for a parking space, but for the 2nd year in a row I was able to find a parking spot right outside of Jonathan's Market. They moved the expo to the recreation center this year. The packet pickup was easier than prior years. But the expo did not have anything that interested me. I went through the RRS run-once shoe sale and did not find any good shoe to buy. And that concluded my extremely short visit to La Jolla. I thanked Jonathan's Market for leaving me a parking space by going in and buying a powerbar before I headed back home.
race day
I woke up at 1am to watch the London marathon. Man I felt like a serious marathon junkie. After watching the Boston marathon and now the London marathon... I just can't seem to get enough of it. I ate my usually wheat toast and orange juice. I've moved away from eating Campbell's soup. I only do that when I feel sick. Right when I was ready to leave the house for the race, I watched Wanjiru win yet again. That guy was amazing.
Since I opted out of extra sleep for some elite marathon action, I was sort of dozing on my drive down to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. I was extra careful not to drive too fast because my friends seemed to all have gotten speeding tickets lately and I wasn't about to join them. There were hardly any cars out at that hour so it was a rather dark uneventful drive. I arrived at 5:30am and parked in the dirt lot. I took a quick nap and then got ready for the race... why are there so many 98 degrees songs on my iPod?
I jogged around the parking lot to warm up a bit. I then hit the potties and found a place to sit and relax. I then went to hit the potties again. After which I was spotted by one of my forum friends, so I hopped back into the line with her. It's always good to run into someone you know, it passed the time much faster. I had originally thought about jogging a bit more to keep loose, but instead I hit the pottie yet again with her. Just as we finished our business, the race was about to start.
It's 7:30am and off we go in the first wave! I used the first couple of miles to gauge what my legs were going to give me. I passed so many people and wondered why these folks started in the first wave for people wanting to run sub 8 min pace. But it's usually because the walkers and slower runners don't want to deal with the 3hr cutoff. I much rather have these folks out exercising and blocking my way than have them waste their bodies away doing nothing. Everybody has been created with so much potential and it's just a shame to waste it.
I was moving pretty well for the first 5 miles and I could see the first challenge coming up quickly. The first major hill was the one up Torrey Pines Reserve. This "hill" has killed me both years and I was much better prepared for it this year. I did not have to walk at any point, but it was every bit as hard as I remembered it to be. Once I got to the top, I was ready for the race to end. But I kept plugging away. This was where I spotted my bunny. She was very tanned and reminded me of my Hawaiian friend, so I dubbed her the "very tanned Hawaiian bunny". She was pretty much running at the same pace as I was, so I followed her. Several times I would pass her but she would pass me right back later. My lower back was giving me problems at around mile 8, but I tried to stay relaxed and was hoping it was just a "bad patch" and luckily it went away.
I was relieved when we finally reached mile 10 where we got to fly down a long stretch of downhill. I took my 1 and only powergel and tried to not go too fast because I had to save enough for the final climb at mile 12. I was continuously passed by much stronger runners, but I had to stick to my game plan. I saved enough strength and was able to power up the last hill and the rest was just a super steep downhill to the finish line. The final stretch was a quick sprint to the grassy finish line and I loved that the crowds were nice and loud. I lost track of my bunny at the end, but her job was done as I was crossing the finish line pretty close to my Goal A.
Splits:
1 - 8:37
2 - 8:07
3 - 8:35
4 - 9:17
5 - 8:00
6 - 10:29
7 - 9:34
8 - 8:46
9 - 8:53
10 - 8:52
11 - 8:27
12 - 8:51
13.1 - 9:56
2007: 2:13:06 (as usual, was dealing with IT-band injury)
2008: 2:17:55 (succumbed to the heat)
Goal A: 1:55
Goal B: sub 2
Goal C: don't die
I finished in 1:56:29
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Salt Lake City Marathon
Getting There
I flew into Salt Lake City on Friday via Southwest. I really do not like flying with them, but anything to save a few bucks here and there. I thought it would be a direct flight but we had a brief stop in Phoenix. After getting into SLC, I got a rental car and headed over to my hotel right next to the Salt Palace Convention Center. After checking in and dumping off my stuff in my room, I walked over to the expo.
The Expo
It was a no frills expo. I was somewhat expecting something a bit bigger. I picked up my race packet and proceeded to visit every aisle. I bought a Superman keychain thingie for the Christopher Reeve Foundation and that was about it. I stopped by Dane Rauschenberg's booth to say hi and see all of the medals that he had amassed in the year that he ran a marathon in all 52 weeks of 1 year.
Carbo-load
After dropping off the race packet at my room, I headed over to the Gateway to find some food. I ended up eating at California Pizza Kitchen because I had a gift card. Ate a plate full of marinara linguini with shrimp and had a Wasatch unofficial amble ale which was recommended by the bunny/waitress. She was pretty much the only bunny I saw at this race. Too bad she was not running in the race. :D
The Race - first half
I woke up early and took the rail over to the starting line. There was plenty of water available and an abundance of port-o-potties called honey bucket... nice name. The race first started with the bike tour and the early start for the marathon walkers. Then the wheelchair folks took off. Finally came the full and half marathoners. The starting area was a tad cramped at the Olympic Legacy Bridge. I had to walk several yards after passing the starting mats before we were even able to start running. There was definitely a shortage of bunnies in this race. Only about a third were women in the marathon. I think most of them were running the half marathon. It didn't really play a factor because I felt rather fatigued from the get go. I didn't have the legs to be chasing any. The first 5 miles were easy because they were all downhill. The snow capped mountains in the backdrop was nice to look at while running. There came some pretty good rollers after the easy part was over. They weren't too tough, but I knew I wasn't going to have an easy day. While running through mile 12, my lower back started tightening up. This "bad patch" lasted about 2 miles. I had to keep reminding myself to relax as much as possible. When I crossed the halfway mark I felt as bad as I had at the Long Beach marathon. I was on pace to finish between 4:15 and 4:30. Good enough for me, so I continued to trot along.
1 - 8:50
2 - 8:39
3 - 8:25
4 - 8:42
5 - 8:47
6 - 9:03
7 - 9:56
8 - 9:20
9 - 9:47
10 - 9:42
11 - 9:20
12 - 9:54 - hit a bad patch
13 - 10:50 - the hills were getting to me
The Race - second half
The next couple of miles were a bit easier with a much welcomed downhill portion. Then things started getting bad. Both legs and feet felt tired and heavy. Took a pottie break between 17 and 18. I liked that there were no lines at all of the port-a-potties. I finally get to mile 20 and my legs quit on me. My quads and calves all locked up. I had to walk and eat some more shot bloks to get everything to loosen up. After that I just had to switch over to the run/walk method. The cramps would come back every now and then. Mile 25 was a long and steady climb. The sun was out at this point and I just felt like all of my remaining energy leaving me like there was a leak in my body. When I got close to the finish line at the Gateway, I tried to run quickly but everything cramped up again so it was a quick painful hobble to the finish. I'm glad that I dealt with the cramps instead of shutting things down and sitting on bus benches like I did at Long Beach.
14 - 9:33 - yeah for more downhills!
15 - 9:42
16 - 10:32
17 - 10:51
18 - 12:31 - pottie break
19 - 11:38
20 - 11:00
21 - 13:57 - yowzas! both quads and calves cramped up.
22 - 14:21
23 - 14:14
24 - 12:58
25 - 14:28 - long steady climb
26.2 - 16:25 - cramped my way to the finish line.
Finish: 4:43:38 Pace: 10:49
I flew into Salt Lake City on Friday via Southwest. I really do not like flying with them, but anything to save a few bucks here and there. I thought it would be a direct flight but we had a brief stop in Phoenix. After getting into SLC, I got a rental car and headed over to my hotel right next to the Salt Palace Convention Center. After checking in and dumping off my stuff in my room, I walked over to the expo.
The Expo
It was a no frills expo. I was somewhat expecting something a bit bigger. I picked up my race packet and proceeded to visit every aisle. I bought a Superman keychain thingie for the Christopher Reeve Foundation and that was about it. I stopped by Dane Rauschenberg's booth to say hi and see all of the medals that he had amassed in the year that he ran a marathon in all 52 weeks of 1 year.
Carbo-load
After dropping off the race packet at my room, I headed over to the Gateway to find some food. I ended up eating at California Pizza Kitchen because I had a gift card. Ate a plate full of marinara linguini with shrimp and had a Wasatch unofficial amble ale which was recommended by the bunny/waitress. She was pretty much the only bunny I saw at this race. Too bad she was not running in the race. :D
The Race - first half
I woke up early and took the rail over to the starting line. There was plenty of water available and an abundance of port-o-potties called honey bucket... nice name. The race first started with the bike tour and the early start for the marathon walkers. Then the wheelchair folks took off. Finally came the full and half marathoners. The starting area was a tad cramped at the Olympic Legacy Bridge. I had to walk several yards after passing the starting mats before we were even able to start running. There was definitely a shortage of bunnies in this race. Only about a third were women in the marathon. I think most of them were running the half marathon. It didn't really play a factor because I felt rather fatigued from the get go. I didn't have the legs to be chasing any. The first 5 miles were easy because they were all downhill. The snow capped mountains in the backdrop was nice to look at while running. There came some pretty good rollers after the easy part was over. They weren't too tough, but I knew I wasn't going to have an easy day. While running through mile 12, my lower back started tightening up. This "bad patch" lasted about 2 miles. I had to keep reminding myself to relax as much as possible. When I crossed the halfway mark I felt as bad as I had at the Long Beach marathon. I was on pace to finish between 4:15 and 4:30. Good enough for me, so I continued to trot along.
1 - 8:50
2 - 8:39
3 - 8:25
4 - 8:42
5 - 8:47
6 - 9:03
7 - 9:56
8 - 9:20
9 - 9:47
10 - 9:42
11 - 9:20
12 - 9:54 - hit a bad patch
13 - 10:50 - the hills were getting to me
The Race - second half
The next couple of miles were a bit easier with a much welcomed downhill portion. Then things started getting bad. Both legs and feet felt tired and heavy. Took a pottie break between 17 and 18. I liked that there were no lines at all of the port-a-potties. I finally get to mile 20 and my legs quit on me. My quads and calves all locked up. I had to walk and eat some more shot bloks to get everything to loosen up. After that I just had to switch over to the run/walk method. The cramps would come back every now and then. Mile 25 was a long and steady climb. The sun was out at this point and I just felt like all of my remaining energy leaving me like there was a leak in my body. When I got close to the finish line at the Gateway, I tried to run quickly but everything cramped up again so it was a quick painful hobble to the finish. I'm glad that I dealt with the cramps instead of shutting things down and sitting on bus benches like I did at Long Beach.
14 - 9:33 - yeah for more downhills!
15 - 9:42
16 - 10:32
17 - 10:51
18 - 12:31 - pottie break
19 - 11:38
20 - 11:00
21 - 13:57 - yowzas! both quads and calves cramped up.
22 - 14:21
23 - 14:14
24 - 12:58
25 - 14:28 - long steady climb
26.2 - 16:25 - cramped my way to the finish line.
Finish: 4:43:38 Pace: 10:49
Monday, April 6, 2009
Carlsbad 5000 all day 25k
I hate running 5k's. You have to go hard right out of the starting gate! So what possessed me to sign up to run 5 of them in a row? How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Friday I ate something that my body did not like. I'm guessing they were these crackers because I ate a bunch of them again on Saturday and I had a pretty bad case of the "downsies". That's the least gross way I could describe it. I barely could stomach a thing on Sunday morning. But I forced myself to eat at least a Powerbar or else I would not be able to last through all 5 heats.
I showed up to beautiful Carlsbad at around 5:30am. Was kind of hard keeping the eyes open during the drive. Did not get as much sleep as I had wanted again due to having to visit the bathroom every now and then throughout the night. I picked up my bib and tag#1 at 6ish. Went back to my car to change.
1st heat - Men Masters 40+
25:06, 8:05 pace - I warmed up with very light jogging. Hit the portapotties and lined up for the race. Talked to a 70 year old guy wearing Newtons. He pretty much tells me that they're the next best thing since sliced bread. The race starts promptly at 7:05. I felt hungry. Hit the pace that I wanted 8min/mile. Felt comfortably hard. The 70 year old guy finishes about 40 seconds behind me. That's what I want to be doing when I'm his age! He did not look 70.
2nd heat - Women Masters 40+
24:37, 7:56 pace - At the pace that I was running, I had about 30 minutes to take care of stuff before the next heat. I drank a bottle of Cytomax and picked up my new timing tag. We were given a new one for each heat. Talk about bunny overload! Here's where I spotted my favorite bunny. She was also doing the all day 25k. She would pace me for about 1.5 miles. Then I'd pass her on the hill and beat her by 10 seconds or so.
We had an extra 20min break while the wheelchair racers did their thing. So I went and picked up my awesome Sugoi tech shirt and goodie-less bag. I went to my car to drop the stuff off and facebooked my times for the first 2 heats. I love Sugoi clothing, this is going to be one of my favorite shirts! Very nice looking print design. Back to the races.
3rd heat - Men 30-39
24:39, 7:56 pace - This was my AG so I tried to run as fast as my legs would let me, but not too fast where I would burn myself out. Looks like I failed. The weather was starting to heat up. So I decided to carry a bottle of water with me. I ate a banana and drank another bottle of Cytomax while waiting for the race to begin. In the middle of my first mile, my stomach starts to hurt. But I ignored it. I followed and passed my bunny, but I knew I was dead for the next 2 heats when I was coming down the finishing chute. I had no kick and my legs felt spent. I was pouring water on my head throughout the heat. Apparently I was brain dead as well. After all of the races I checked the results and originally thought I did not get in the top 250, but I was reading the sex place which was 553. I came in 207 for my AG. I should've gotten a medal, but oh well.
4th heat - Women 30-39
28:03, 9:02 pace - Wow, this heat reminded me why I hated running 5k's. It was pretty demoralizing running the first mile in 9 minutes. My bunny was nowhere in sight. My goose was cooked. Again I carried a bottle of water and kept dumping it on my head. I tried to get in under 28, but my legs throughout this heat felt like they were filled with lead and had 10 lb weights strapped to each leg. Also as I was walking over to the starting line for the 5th and final heat, I noticed that my right foot was sore. So I sort of had a pimp limp.
5th heat - Men/Women 29 and under
29:05, 9:22 pace - I tried to put out whatever I had left in the tank. Which wasn't much. I got to the first mile in under 9 minutes. But I was running on fumes. This one time I poured water on my head, I heard girls behind me say, "did he just pee on himself?" Anyways, I resisted walking and shuffled along. The last turn for the finish line was the most welcoming sight that I've seen in a long time! I tried to speed up to come in under 29, but obviously I failed.
Final verdict: my endurance is getting better, but I still need a lot of work. I love the events that Elite Racing puts together. They successfully brought me back to this event with this new 25k all day romp. Everything went smoothly without a hitch.
Friday I ate something that my body did not like. I'm guessing they were these crackers because I ate a bunch of them again on Saturday and I had a pretty bad case of the "downsies". That's the least gross way I could describe it. I barely could stomach a thing on Sunday morning. But I forced myself to eat at least a Powerbar or else I would not be able to last through all 5 heats.
I showed up to beautiful Carlsbad at around 5:30am. Was kind of hard keeping the eyes open during the drive. Did not get as much sleep as I had wanted again due to having to visit the bathroom every now and then throughout the night. I picked up my bib and tag#1 at 6ish. Went back to my car to change.
1st heat - Men Masters 40+
25:06, 8:05 pace - I warmed up with very light jogging. Hit the portapotties and lined up for the race. Talked to a 70 year old guy wearing Newtons. He pretty much tells me that they're the next best thing since sliced bread. The race starts promptly at 7:05. I felt hungry. Hit the pace that I wanted 8min/mile. Felt comfortably hard. The 70 year old guy finishes about 40 seconds behind me. That's what I want to be doing when I'm his age! He did not look 70.
2nd heat - Women Masters 40+
24:37, 7:56 pace - At the pace that I was running, I had about 30 minutes to take care of stuff before the next heat. I drank a bottle of Cytomax and picked up my new timing tag. We were given a new one for each heat. Talk about bunny overload! Here's where I spotted my favorite bunny. She was also doing the all day 25k. She would pace me for about 1.5 miles. Then I'd pass her on the hill and beat her by 10 seconds or so.
We had an extra 20min break while the wheelchair racers did their thing. So I went and picked up my awesome Sugoi tech shirt and goodie-less bag. I went to my car to drop the stuff off and facebooked my times for the first 2 heats. I love Sugoi clothing, this is going to be one of my favorite shirts! Very nice looking print design. Back to the races.
3rd heat - Men 30-39
24:39, 7:56 pace - This was my AG so I tried to run as fast as my legs would let me, but not too fast where I would burn myself out. Looks like I failed. The weather was starting to heat up. So I decided to carry a bottle of water with me. I ate a banana and drank another bottle of Cytomax while waiting for the race to begin. In the middle of my first mile, my stomach starts to hurt. But I ignored it. I followed and passed my bunny, but I knew I was dead for the next 2 heats when I was coming down the finishing chute. I had no kick and my legs felt spent. I was pouring water on my head throughout the heat. Apparently I was brain dead as well. After all of the races I checked the results and originally thought I did not get in the top 250, but I was reading the sex place which was 553. I came in 207 for my AG. I should've gotten a medal, but oh well.
4th heat - Women 30-39
28:03, 9:02 pace - Wow, this heat reminded me why I hated running 5k's. It was pretty demoralizing running the first mile in 9 minutes. My bunny was nowhere in sight. My goose was cooked. Again I carried a bottle of water and kept dumping it on my head. I tried to get in under 28, but my legs throughout this heat felt like they were filled with lead and had 10 lb weights strapped to each leg. Also as I was walking over to the starting line for the 5th and final heat, I noticed that my right foot was sore. So I sort of had a pimp limp.
5th heat - Men/Women 29 and under
29:05, 9:22 pace - I tried to put out whatever I had left in the tank. Which wasn't much. I got to the first mile in under 9 minutes. But I was running on fumes. This one time I poured water on my head, I heard girls behind me say, "did he just pee on himself?" Anyways, I resisted walking and shuffled along. The last turn for the finish line was the most welcoming sight that I've seen in a long time! I tried to speed up to come in under 29, but obviously I failed.
Final verdict: my endurance is getting better, but I still need a lot of work. I love the events that Elite Racing puts together. They successfully brought me back to this event with this new 25k all day romp. Everything went smoothly without a hitch.
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