La Jolla Half Marathon

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

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

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.

Sycamore Canyon 30k

This race felt more like Buns of Steel workout part 2 for me. It was easier than Malibu Creek, but not by much. Coming into this race, I've been feeling really tired mentally. I can deal with physical tiredness, but my mind was just not 100% there. It was like this as well at the Pasadena marathon. Good thing I really love running or else I would just bag it and stay home.

The reason I ran this race was because my friends were going to be there. Hard to believe, but I had initially planned to take this weekend off so that I could rest for the upcoming weekend where I'll be running the Carlsbad 5000 five times for an all day 25k. Also I like being around trail runners. I think they are a completely different breed of runners, probably very high on endorphins.

On to the race... it starts promptly at 8:30 and I started off at a modest pace. I just wanted to take in the views and run a relaxing trail run without caring about the finishing time. But my natural tendency kicked in when we started our first climb. This one girl aka The Bunny takes off and I just followed. She must have gotten tired of me following her because she ditched me a few times, but I caught up to her on the inclines. About 9k later, I reached the first aid station. PB&J's are the best!

The next 12k section was not my favorite. There were sections where it's just climbing. You just didn't have the option of running. It was pretty scary coming back down. Somewhere in the middle I caught up to The Bunny again. But she took off with a group of 6 runners that came up to us. I could not keep up. This was when the race got pretty lonely for me. I crossed this huge grassland area with no one in sight, no one in front and no one in back. The single track was a hard V-shape. I must have rolled my right ankle at least 5 times. I just said to hell with it and walked. I was then passed by a bunch of people. The rest was kind of a blur. I was also in a bad mood because I had ran out of my fluids. Looks like I really do need 2 handhelds. As I was closing in on the aid station, my friend Rachel passed me. I'm pretty sure she knew I wore myself out early on chasing The Bunny. The right ankle was not feeling so hot and the quads were trashed. I hit the restrooms right before reaching the aid station. While the nice folks filled up my bottle, I ate a bunch of PB&J's and a bunch of potatoes. I must have looked like crap because this one old couple that I passed on the way to the aid station offered to drive me to Sycamore Canyon. I said I may look horrible, but I'll get there... it's only 9k more.

For the final 9k it was getting hard running the downhills so I ended up walking the downhills and slogging the uphills. Right before I crested on the final uphill, I passed a girl that asked if I was Pony. It turned out to be Renee. My mind at this point was already on a search for a boulder to sit on, so I welcomed the company. It was nice of her to pace me to the bottom. My quads were not liking the downhill, but our conversation kind of distracted me from the burn. Before I knew it, we were at the finish line. I was kind of spacing out. I just remember Lori telling me to stop eating the food for the 50k people.

I finished close to the bottom at 4:10:45, but I didn't care because I had fun. One thing I've got to do if I want to continue doing trail races is that I really need to get some trail shoes. I don't feel very safe in my road shoes. I know I have pretty strong ankles and pretty quick on my feet, but I don't want to push my luck. My right hip did not bother me. I really hope it will just work itself out. When ever it starts bothering me, I immediately going into the Gallow-walking mode.

One final note: the day that I sign-up to run a trail ultra race is the day that I've completely lost my sanity. No amount of runner's amnesia will get me to sign up for one. :D

Inaugural Pasadena Marathon Redux

Leading up to this race, my coworkers have all been sick and I don't know why they were allowed to come into work and infect everyone else! Send them home! It's also Spring time so my allergies were acting up. I don't like running races while sick or feeling under the weather. There are a couple of things that I tried new in this race. I have been training to run for 30 minutes and taking 1 minute walking breaks. I followed that plan for the first 20 miles of the race. I never really know what to expect for the last 10k. But to better implement that plan, I carried my own drink, which lasted me for the majority of the race. The size of the marathon field was just right. There was absolutely no crowding at the aid stations. I easily ran through since I had my own drink. It was nice that some of the stations had GU. I really need to continue to rehab my right leg so I can do more long runs. It hasn't felt this good for a long time. But I still can't push as hard as I want on the uphills, but it is a lot more manageable now.

During this race it was cold, somewhat windy at times, and raining for a good portion of the race. I wasn't able to park as early as I had hoped. I then was not able to hit the port-a-potties before the start. I just hopped into the starting area and hoped for the best. As is the norm, I started off with an aggressive pace. For me that would be a sub 4 (3:50) pace. I did not hold that for very long. I ended up getting to the halfway point a little past the 2hr mark. The mile markers were off, therefore I am not listing the splits. It's times like this that I kind of wish that I'd owned a Garmin. It was really nice to run through areas that I've trained on in the past. It's much easier when you know what to expect. Just right before the 19th mile marker, I stopped for a much needed potty break.

One thing that I've noticed wrong with the logistics for this race is the parking. I was able to cut through the back way and enter the parking structure at Hill and Del Mar. But everyone was being directed to the other parking structure on Bonnie. It was a shame that there was only a handful of cars parked where I was, when the place can hold thousands of cars. This undoubtedly caused a lot of people to be late for the start of the race. But this is the race's first year, I'm sure it'll get better in each subsequent year.

The course felt easier than it looked on paper. It was hilly, but not terribly bad. I finished in 4:21:25. A new PR, which is nothing spectacular, but good enough to beat Oprah's marathon time back when she was "skinny" Oprah. She's one of the reason why there's lots of recreational marathoners these days. I swear Oprah can get anybody to do anything. Anyways, I went for a steak afterwards. Surprise surprise! While I was eating my steak, my left pectoral muscle was cramping for what some unknown reason. The waitress came by and asked if I was alright when she saw me massaging my chest. If I could read her mind, she probably thought I was having a heart attack! :D To be honest, I did not really enjoy the steak... *gasp*! But it's true. I haven't been really enjoying red meat as of late. These days I crave seafood more than anything. Seafood, pho, and ramen.

Well that's 3 marathons down. At least 9 more to go for 2009. I seem to be getting better which each race and at this rate, I should go sub 4 by the middle of this year! But somehow I wouldn't bet money on that! :D

What's wrong with me?

Since the time that I've decided to take running more seriously, I'm finally beginning to make some progress. The first 4 years or so I've done really bad result-wise, but I've learned the most about my body.

• My lower back used to give me serious problems. So I've been working on my core a lot more diligently and it has paid off. It still bothers me a little, but nowhere near how it was in the past.
• My right hip is a mess. I cannot power through when it starts to hurt. If I back off on the pace, some times it'll go away. Running hills has been helping somewhat.
  
• I've discovered that I do not enjoy running flat courses. I like the course to have uphills and downhills. My legs become retarded when I hit flat areas. I tend to slow down and have a hard time concentrating. I think it's a mental thing.
  
• I need more endurance. I seldom run past 12 miles on my long runs mostly because I'm afraid of re-injurying my IT band. I hope to be able to work my way up to at least 20 miles. When I'm racing my paces should be in the 7:30 - 7:45 range. Instead I run in the 8:30 - 8:45 range to compensate for the lack of endurance.

Okay, I have a lot to work on in 2010... if I survive 2009. Either I will break the bank, my legs, my will, or all of the above. No, I will not be an ultra-marathoner in 2009. I need to feel comfortable with the marathon first before I tackle anything longer.

The Pasadena marathon is coming up soon! I can hardly contain the excitement! I need to come up with a strategy soon.

Malibu Creek 25k

Super Butt and Thigh Workout/Hike-a-thon 25k recap...

So I signed up for this race because I knew a bunch of the people running it and I wanted to train for the hills that will be in the Pasadena marathon. This race was pretty brutal. It was definitely overkill and not what I had in mind for my hill training. The only other trail experience I've had was the Cheseboro half marathon in Agoura Hills. That was a cake walk compared to this race. I practice on pretty steep hills in my neighborhood, but nothing would have prepared me for miles and miles and miles of climbing. The first half of the "race" was almost pure hiking for me. Then the second half was a quad-thrashing downhill romp to the finish line.

I was able to hang with my faster friends at the very beginning stages. But once we hit the first big climb, I could not keep up. I also fumbled and dropped my shot bloks which I paid for later in the race. We even got to cross a creek... that made me feel like a real trail runner. You could tell that a good majority of the people did not enjoy it. I have no problem getting my shoes or feet wet while running. That's probably because I like running in the rain.

The next 10k was the hiking portion for me. When it wasn't too steep, I ran as much as I could handle. I had to hold off because my left Achilles was bothering me. I really had no choice. If I continue to push harder, I was running the risk of hurting my Achilles even further. So backing off and swallowing my pride was the smart thing to do. I was trying to be patient and waiting for the downhill portion. I also realized that if I want to keep doing trail runs, I need to invest in a handheld bottle. Time to stop being cheap and using regular water bottles. Friends have bought me 2 fuel belts but I do not like wearing them. If anyone wants them, let me know.

The next 5k or so was the sometimes scary downhill portion. I'm a pretty good downhill road runner, but trail running is very different. I could not get a rhythm due to uneven terrain. The quads were screaming before I could cover all of the 5k. Again I had to back off near the end because I needed to keep myself injury free so I can complete my long term goal of running at least 1 marathon a month for this year.

Next came a somewhat technical portion... lots of rock and puddle hopping for me. A frog even croaked at me when I ran by. That was cool. I felt like I was travelling through some place exotic. I was pretty much running solo at this point.

About 2 miles from the finish line I was starving and wishing I had stopped and picked up my shot bloks that I dropped early in the race. I also saw a lady riding a horse and was entertaining thoughts on how to get a ride to the finish line. People started passing me, but I didn't really care. Mentally I was done. I hate it when that happens. Mind pretty much said we're out of water... no shot bloks... we're walking. It wasn't until someone on a bike told me that it was just a dip and a left turn to the finish line that I started to think about trotting. Then I cross paths with my friends going back out for another loop. I was so glad that I was done and not going out for loop number 2! I finished in 3:05:21 according to my watch, but somehow they missed me crossing the finish line and put me down as unknown runner #2 at 3:06:22. That was weird because I wasn't moving very fast at that point. Also it did not take me a minute to cross the starting line. I had hoped to finish in under 3 hrs but that was close enough for me.