NYC Half 2011

Travel, expo, and pre-race eating
I took a red-eye flight out of LAX Friday night. I picked a window seat and tried to sleep through the entire flight, but I have a hard time sleeping in a seated position. My lower back started giving me problems. But luckily I slept enough that soon we were flying over Manhattan. It was pretty cool to see the Manhattan lights from the airplane. After landing, I took the Airtrain to Sutphin Blvd to connect to the E train.

I took the train to West 4th Street and walked to Washington Square. The weather was pretty chilly in the high 30s. I took a picture of the arch. Reminded me of When Harry Met Sally. But in the movie, you can see the Twin Towers beneath the arch. So sad.

Washington Square

I then walked over to the Metropolitan Pavilion, but the expo wasn't open for another hour. It was a pretty windy day. I had originally planned to eat breakfast at the Cafeteria on 7th Ave, but they didn't look open. So I walked around some more and decided to eat at McDonald's. I haven't had a sausage egg McMuffin in ages. Afterwards, I walked back to the expo and even though it was still 30 minutes before it opened, there was already a line forming.

Expo at the Metropolitan Pavilion

Line to enter the expo

We were let in right at 9am. It was nicely organized. After picking up my race packet, we were instructed to put on our bracelet before we were given our race shirts. The bracelet was required to enter race corrals and to be given a finisher's food bag and medal. They were definitely cracking down on bandits and the sale/transfer of bibs. I was expecting a much bigger expo but there was only about 12 small booths. I walked through it in a matter of seconds. I think I did 4 laps just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

I walked up several blocks to my hotel in Koreatown... the Hotel Stanford on West 32nd Street which was located very close to the Empire State Building. I hung out in the hotel lobby. I tried to check-in early, but my room wasn't ready. When 11am rolled around, I walked over to Go! Go! Curry! on West 38th Street near 8th Ave in the fashion district. I ordered the Grand Slam. It was a lot of protein on one stainless plate and I enjoyed it very much. Sure it was a big plate of chicken katsu, pork katsu, fried shrimp, sausages and eggs, but it wasn't much of a challenge.

Go! Go! Curry!

Grand Slam#1

After hitting the Grand Slam, I took the subway down to Battery Park to try and visit the Statue of Liberty. The line was insanely long. It stretched for blocks. I decided that I would visit Lady Liberty some other day. So I rode the subway back up to the Penn Station and was able to check into my room. After dropping off my backpack and taking a quick nap, I went back out to visit the Empire State Building. I paid $21 to go up to the observation deck. It was more or less the same trip as I remembered taking when I was younger... you ride 1 elevator up 80 floors and another one for 6 floors. But unlike ~20 years ago when I last went up, there was a lot of lines. It felt like a Disneyland ride with the lines having you go through a gift shop. It definitely felt more commercialized. I took pictures of several famous Manhattan buildings before going back down.

Observation deck

Before returning to my room, I stopped by a CVS around the corner to buy some drinks, a gallon of water, and toothpaste. No more buying snacks. I need to stop eating crap.

Pre-race morning stuff
I woke up around 3:30am to get ready. I ate my Clif Mojo bar and drank my orange juice. I wore enough layers of clothing in preparation for the chilly race. The race weather was going to be in the 30s topping out in the 40s. I wore my Team in Training singlet over my navy blue Nike shirt with arm sleeves and calf sleeves. I wore my windbreaker and track pants to stay warm before the race.

I took the number 6 train up to East 96 Street and walked over to Central Park. While walking around in the dark near the starting corrals... I ended up hanging out with Edwin, a pretty dang fast runner from Florida. He runs his half marathons in about 1:10.

He gives me a few suggestions on how to treat my ailing leg. He had dealt with a stress fracture in the tibia before. After it came closer to the start, I wished him well in his race and I went to go use the portapotties. I then went to the UPS trucks on 5th Ave to drop off my bag. I went to the portapotties one last time before entering my corral.

Starting corral

I was hoping my legs would allow me to run with a normal stride, but I knew it wasn't going to happen just one week after the Safari Park Half Marathon. My goal was to just finish before the 3hr cutoff without further hurting my gimpy legs.

The race
From the very first step, I could only land gingerly with the left leg. The cold weather also made my right hip flexor very stiff. It was a very gimpy awkward uncomfortable hobble. There was no way I could keep up with anyone in my corral. I was placed in the 3000 corral because I was originally going to attempt a 1:45. I stayed off to the side trying not to block anyone. I tried to find a gait that didn't cause too much pain or discomfort. The lap around Central Park was full of uphills and downhills. I took my first walk break at mile 3. I took a Hammer vanilla gel at 1 hour into the race. Then I took a S cap at about 1:15 into the race.

I got a lot of support from the Team in Training folks. Around mile 8 one of the coaches, Erin, came up and ran next to me to check on me. She probably noticed me hobbling. I told her that I was in pain most likely due to a stress fracture in the tibia, but all I was planning to do was to finish and I would be taking it easy once I got out of the park. She told me to seriously consider dropping out if the pain gets any worse. I promised her that I would be careful.

As I approached mile 9 we were running along 7th Ave and headed into Times Square. I stopped to snap a picture. Just to be able to run through here was worth the registration fee.

Running through Times Square

We turned on West 42nd Street and headed towards the Hudson. I slowed things down as my right hip flexor was starting to really hurt. The walk breaks helped with the pain. I took a Carb-boom apple cinnamon gel they were handing out around mile 10. From here to the finish, I just took it nice and easy since I knew I would definitely finish within the time limit. At around mile 12 I took my other Hammer vanilla gel. I somehow managed to run without too much of an awkward stride about 800m from the finish line.
1: 10:15
2: 10:05
3: 10:48
4: 11:46
5: 12:10
6: 13:05
7: 12:27
8: 12:48
9: 11:39
10: 14:13
11: 13:31
12: 13:14
13: 13:12
13.1: 0:53
Finish: 2:40:07

Post-race stuff and more eating
After crossing the finish line, I got my medal and upon walking further, we were given a bag of post race food. The bag had an apple that I saved, pretzels, and bottled water.

Race shirt, bib, and medal

Finisher's medal

This was my slowest half marathon and by far the hardest I've had to try to finish. But I'm glad I did it. It was much easier running a 1:49:xx at Disney World.

After eating the bag of pretzels, I walked over to the WTC area. There was a lot of construction taking place here. That's good to see. After snapping a few photos I took the subway back to my hotel to get cleaned up. I got a few stares from subway riders and during my walk from Penn Station. I'm just glad I didn't pull a Barney Stinson on the subway.

I got cleaned up and watched some TV before taking the subway down to 8th Street NYU to go eat. I walked up to the famed Ippudo NY to eat some ramen! There have been lots of reviews raving about this place. So of course I had to check it out for myself.

There was a huge line of people waiting to be seated. I was seated right away since I was dining solo. I ordered the special Nakasu Kawabata ramen and a Kirin ichiban beer. I'm not a big fan of Japanese beer, but they don't serve Guinness so it'll have to do. :) The broth was very flavorful. I definitely prefer it over Santouka's. It was so tasty and the noodles were good so I ordered extra noodles (kaedama). Ippudo's ramen was definitely good, but in my opinion not really worth the price. But hey, the line is long for a reason. It's really that good that you've got to try it at least once.

Ippudo NY

Kirin ichiban

Special Nakasu Kawabata ramen

Kaedama!

I took the subway back to my hotel and just vegged out. I slept pretty early.

Before leaving for the airport, I stopped by Go! Go! Curry! again to eat another Grand Slam. Katsu overload! There was some snow showers in the morning, but by the time I checked out, it was just a misty rain. I was able to walk around to everywhere I needed to go without getting too wet.

Grand Slam#2 before I leave

I took the E train from Penn Station to the airport. I kind of zoned out and missed my stop. I got off at Jamaica Center by mistake. I even exited the subway before I knew I was at the wrong station. I went 1 stop too far. I had to pay $2.50 to re-enter and ride the train back 1 station. I really need to stop taking naps on the train. The last time that I took a snooze while riding the L in Chicago, the snooze cost me a new irreplaceable Chicago Marathon finisher's shirt. Luckily this time it only cost me $2.50.

Oh and as I was boarding the plane, I saw Lindsay Lohan sitting in first class on my flight back home. She's been looking rather disheveled as of late. So sad. I hope she gets her life together and stop wasting a blessed life.

Speaking of blessed life. I certainly felt blessed to be able to fly all the way out to NYC just to eat, sight-see, and run a half marathon. It was very fortunate for me that I chose to run NYC instead of the LA Marathon. In my present condition, I would've never made it through that monsoon in LA!

Inaugural Safari Park Half Marathon

Pre-race stuff

Thank goodness this race had packet pickup available on race day starting at 5am. I left my house about a quarter after 3am. It turned out to be a good thing that I got there a little after 5am. I parked pretty close to the starting line. I walked over to the packet pickup tables where I picked up my bib and race shirt with no fuss at all. I stopped by the restroom near the zoo entrance. There was never any line to use the urinals. I never had to use the portapotties during my time at the park.

Apparently people that did not get to the park as early as I did had a hard time getting to the park. From reading the comments on the race's facebook page, some even missed the race entirely since they shutdown the starting mats soon after the last person in the starting area had crossed the timing mats. I guess it's good that I almost always show up super early to everything.

The Mustang parked across from me

I went back to my car and took a nap until about 30 minutes before the start. I got out to warm up a little bit and my left leg felt very awkward. I stopped by the restrooms again before lining up in the starting area.

I had a somewhat conservative approach to this race. I just wanted to get it done and be well enough to enjoy the zoo after the race.
Goal A: sub 2
Goal B: sub 2:30
Goal C: sub 3

The race

I don't know why I ended up lined up so close to the front. The 1:30 pacer lined up next to me. The first mile was mostly downhill running out of the parking lot. The first couple of strides felt really awkward but aerobically comfortable. I was running side by side with that pacer and was wondering if he was going a bit slow. My left leg started to bother me so I began to slow down. I then let the pacer go ahead and followed him until I saw the mile 1 marker looming ahead. By this point, there was a very noticeable discomfort in the left leg. It became worse on a section that was very cambered. I kept slowing down but it was uncomfortable for the rest of the race approximately 12 or so miles. I couldn't really enjoy the race with the pain. The only animals I remember seeing were a bunch of mooing cows and a flatten snake roadkill. I think they had a zebra in a trailer at the last out-n-back, but it could've been a truckload of manure since it smelled pretty bad. The last 3 miles were pretty painful. It actually felt much better to open up my stride and run the last half mile in.
1: 7:39
2: 8:53
3: 9:29
4: 11:06
5-9: 52:38 (10:32 avg)
10: 11:59
11: 13:00
12: 13:46
13: 12:51
13.1: 1:21
Finish: 2:22:42

Race shirt, bib, and medal

Post-race stuff

I'll admit that running this race was a mistake. The way I went about running it especially the first mile was reckless. I should've stuck to a more conservative plan. But I wanted to see how my leg would react to running a harder pace. It did not react well. But I was able to move around the park after the race without too much trouble. But I knew that I would be in pain for the next couple of days. I'm hoping I'm good enough to walk the NYC half marathon on 3/20, but I'm already making plans on being a spectator instead of a participant.

Lorina and her husband found me near the park exit. They were waiting to buy their "running with the zebras" picture. I went back to my car to drop stuff off and change before going back in the park to visit the animals. I love going to the zoo and this was one of the reasons why I signed up for this race. They gave free entry to runners. I really wish Disneyland would do the same. While I was at my car, I noticed that it was already after 10am and people were trying to get out of the parking lot, but no car was moving. They had said that the roads would be opened at 10am. I guess it was good that I had planned to go back into the zoo.

hmmm... I probably could've used a wheelchair

Running with Marty!

Gorillas

Nice bench near the gorillas

Elephants!

Mufasa! oooooo, say it again!

Timon!

Pumba!

Hyena

Vultures eating bunnies

Mentatsu's stamina ramen

When I left the park, there was no problem getting out of the parking lot. No lines, no backup whatsoever. I drove up to Costa Mesa to have a late lunch at Mentatsu. I tried their stamina ramen. It was pretty good. I could've eaten 2 more bowls.

I would love to run this race again... preferably with two good legs. The course was challenging with a lot of rolling hills. I'm not a big fan of flat courses. I thought the organization was pretty good for an inaugural event. Mile markers 6 through 8 were missing since they had to make a late adjustment to the course. They gave out GU packets near miles 8 and 10. One thing the runners did not like was that the finish line was tucked around a corner. You could not see it running up to it. They gave out Powerade and other goodies right after crossing the finish line. The race shirt and medal looks good. One last thing, the race took place on a Sunday when we switched to daylight saving time. Fortunately for me, I'm a morning person so the time change did not affect me. But a lot of runners complained about losing an hour of sleep.

Red Rock Marathon 2011

Pre-race Stuff

I left for Vegas on Friday morning at around 6am. I bought gas at $3.69 a gallon before hopping on the freeway. Thankfully it was a very uneventful drive. Once I got into town, I got off of St. Rose Parkway to head towards the REI in Henderson. I forgot to bring my water bottle, so I went and bought a new one. This time I tried out the CamelBak Podium Chill bottle.

Afterwards, I headed over to the Albertsons on Warm Springs Rd. to buy some drinks and snacks. I bought sweet tea, orange juice, water, and some Keebler Chips Deluxe Chocolate Lovers cookies. I then drove across the street to eat at Ohana Hawaiian BBQ. I got the usual garlic shrimp.

I drove over to the Emerald Suites right next to The Orleans to see if I could check in early. They put me in a room on the 3rd floor. The building had no elevator. While I was walking up the stairs, I saw used linen, towels and bagged garbage all along the hallways and stairs. I first thought nothing of it and figured everything would get picked up later since I checked in early. I put the drinks in the fridge and tried to turn on the TV. But it wasn't responding to the remote. So I manually turned on the TV. The channel up and down buttons were sticky and would sometimes get stuck jumping a bunch of channels. I watched ESPN while eating some cookies. I then took a nap before heading over to the Red Rock Casino Resort to pick up my race packet.

I got there a little after 5pm. Red Rock Casino was pretty nice. I should've stayed here instead. For some reason I kept missing the Rock's Lounge, but eventually I found it. After picking up my packet, I headed over to Monta Noodle House to eat some ramen! I ordered the tonkotsu ramen with nitamago and the mini mentaiko bowl. Good stuff.

Red Rock shirt - front view

Red Rock shirt - back view

Monta Noodle House's mini mentaiko bowl

After returning to my room, I noticed that all of the crap was still out in the hallways and stairs. I watched some TV and went to sleep pretty early. But I awoke in the middle of the night with a wicked stomach ache. I believe the cookies were a mistake. I suspect that they were what made me sick. I tend not to do too well if I eat too much sugar. I prefer salty food... beef jerky, salt & vinegar Pringles, pretzels, etc.

Race Morning

I managed to sleep a little more and woke up to get ready. I drove over to Red Rock Casino to catch the bus. Before getting on the bus, I used the casino restroom one last time. It was a tad chilly, so I brought my arm sleeves. In hindsight, I should've brought my gloves as well. My fingers were frozen stiff during the first 2 miles of the race. On the bus, I bumped into Maniac Casey.

Out-n-Back shirt

It was a short ride over to the starting area. It was still pretty dark when we were let off of the bus. Casey and I hung out near the van at the starting area. At dawn, we bumped into a few of our friends since it was bright enough to see people's faces. We got in line for the portapotties. A few minutes before the start of the race we snapped some pre-race photos.

Maniacs pre-race photo

Starting area right before 6am

First Half

I made sure to keep it slow from the very beginning. I was aiming for 10 minute miles. I resisted every urge to pick up the pace. I thought I was going to have a nice pain-free jog-a-thon until I came to a slight downhill on my way to mile 5. I felt discomfort in my left leg. Again I felt the discomfort on each little downhill. It hurt to engage the left calf. It was cool to see the Galindos at one of the aid stations. When we crested at mile 9 and started the huge downhill to the visitor center, I knew I was in for some pain. This section was very demoralizing. As everyone behind me zoomed by me, I kept having to slow down. There was also some need to dodge the half marathoners heading the other way. My one and only portapotty break during the race was right before I got to mile marker 13.
1: 9:57
2: 10:00
3: 11:36
4: 10:10
5: 10:49
6: 11:42
7: 11:28
8: 13:13
9: 10:10
10: 10:45
11: 13:48
12: 13:33
13: 15:23

Second Half

The two laps around the visitor center was hard for my leg having just trashed it coming down the long hill. It was a tough climb all the way to mile 18. I hiked most of it with maniac Diane but eventually she took off so she could finish under 6 hrs. There was again very noticeable discomfort during the big downhill back down to the starting area where we finish. Once again I was being passed by people behind me. All I was doing was trying to move without hurting the bad leg too much. I tried to pick it up a little bit starting at mile 25, but I was starting to cramp and the gentle downhill to the finish was causing discomfort in my left leg... making it hard to jog. Once I knew that the finish line was just a few hundred yards away, I finally opened up the stride and ran it in.
14: 15:18
15: 16:39
16: 16:41
17: 17:14
18: 18:12
19: 18:42
20: 17:00
21: 16:29
22: 15:52
23: 15:41
24: 17:08
25: 14:55
26: 15:04
26.2: 1:52
Finish: 6:09:19

Post-race Stuff

I stopped dead in my tracks shortly after crossing the finish line. The volunteer took off my timing chip and hung the medal around my neck. It was very cool that my friends waited for me to finish. One even brought me some water. I originally joked that I'll probably be taking about 8 hours to finish. After a few post race photos, we hopped on the bus back to the Red Rock Casino.

Finish

Maniacs at the finish

Finisher's medal

Calico Racing puts on fun races with challenging courses. The Red Rock Canyon Marathon was no different. It was hard, but it was well worth the hurt. The organization is top notch and the race director really takes care of the runners. Calico races are still fairly small with only 175 marathon finishers in this race.

After I cleaned up a little bit in the casino restroom, I went to my car and was ready to pull out of the parking lot. But there was a van blocking me. Apparently the driver who had also ran the marathon was feeling faint. They switched out the driver and moved the van so I could leave. I went back to Monta Noodle House to eat more ramen! This time I got the tonkotsu ramen with nitamago and nori. I also got some gyoza. I got some stares from people since I was still wearing my Out-n-Back shirt and had my compression calf sleeves on. Oh well.

Monta Noodle House's tonkotsu ramen with nitamago and nori

After I got back to my room, I crashed on the nasty sofa and watched some movies on TNT. They were showing all 3 of The Librarian movies. I haven't seen them before and they were quite entertaining. Reminded me a lot of Indiana Jones but a tad more cheesy.

Let the Recovery Begin!

Took a shower and slept. Next day before leaving for the M Resort, I filled up the tank for $3.56 a gallon. I headed over to the M Resort to eat at the highly touted Studio B Buffet. I got there at around 8am. I found out it didn't open until 9am. So I walked around the casino which helped with the achy left leg.

I ate 5 plates. When I was getting my 4th plate, the waiter cleared my table thinking that I had left. This buffet was pretty good, but it's about the same in quality as the Rio World Carnival Buffet or just about any other premium buffet on The Strip. I suppose you could say that this place is better if you like the included all-you-can-drink cheap beer and wine. I didn't bother with that, I just had coffee and orange juice.

Studio B buffet

Studio B buffet - plate 1: warm snow crab legs and breaded butterfly shrimp

Studio B buffet - plate 2: tempura shrimp, cocktail shrimp, green beans, mahogany chicken

Studio B buffet - plate 3: cold snow crab legs, breaded butterfly shrimp, green beans

Studio B buffet - plate 4: lox, green beans, kalbi, teriyaki wings, pork rib

Studio B buffet - plate 5: pear, cantaloupe, pineapple

The tables around me kept changing people and sometimes I wonder why other people eat at buffets. They usually don't even eat half the amount of what I ate and I'm barely eating my money's worth. They're better off paying the same amount for higher quality food.