Viva Las Vegas!

Greetings! I made it! It was a rather rough marathon, but I did better than I had anticipated. It was rough for several reasons. I caught a cold a few days before the race. The temperature at the start (6am) was in the high 30s. It didn't get into the 50s until around noon time. I only took off my gloves twice during the race. I can tell you that Vegas is a weird place for a marathon. Walking to the starting line, I crossed 3 casinos. At 4:30am I came across lots of drunk people heading back to their rooms. I'm sure they all thought that I was crazy waking up so early to run a marathon just as I thought they were crazy for partying all night. And it was rather strange running down the strip. Vegas is not a place I'd care to visit anymore. I only ran it so that I can cross off Nevada as I move one state closer to joining the 50 States Club. I finished in 5:49:04, just under the 6 hr cutoff. Legs felt great, but the cold just got worse after that. But now I feel 100 times better... I can breathe much easier. This coming year I will again attempt to break 2 hrs at the half marathon. But more importantly I'm going to train conservatively, so I won't hurt myself anymore. 2007 has been my best year so far. Only injury I had was at the beginning of the year running in cheap New Balance shoes. They are a good brand, but not for me.

If you want to see a race or run a race, let me know. It's one of the most fun and rewarding experience you'll ever have in your life. Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season! Thank you for your support!

Tentative Schedule for 2008
1/20/08 - Carlsbad Half Marathon
2/03/08 - Surf City Half Marathon
2/10/08 - IE Half Marathon (maybe)
3/02/08 - Los Angeles Marathon
4/27/08 - La Jolla Half Marathon
6/01/08 - San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon
8/31/08 - Disneyland Half Marathon (best race ever!)

Fires!

Some one put out the fires! I cannot go running this whole week with the air being so bad. I suppose this is forced tapering for the Santa Barbara half marathon that's coming up in 2 weeks. I love this small half marathon. I will have to remember to run this one a little bit easier this year since I'll be running the Las Vegas Marathon in December. I am really looking forward to carbo loading at The Buffet or any buffet.

Nike Run Hit Remix

So I was in Chicago for a whole week for work. I always end up eating too much good food on these trips. But this really makes my job fun in that I get to travel one time out of the year. I love to travel. But anyways, I didn't get back home until Friday night around 12am. Woke up Saturday morning to run the Nike Run Hit Remix. This race is really targetting people my age since all of the bands/groups were big when I was in high school. MC Hammer was at the finish line, but I didn't go check him out to see if he was wearing his genie pants. =)

The weather was rather hot this year... still having problems running in heat. I was trying to run at a 7:30 min/mile pace, but I was dying by the halfway point. Since I was getting nauseous and laboring to keep my running form, I had to pull up and walk a little. My gun time was 44:50, about 3 mins slower than last year. They gave out a nice looking red shirt made by Nike, but they were terrible for running.

Happiest Race on Earth

What did I do for Labor Day? I ran a half marathon during red-flag heat alert at Disneyland! It was fun last year and despite the heat, it was enjoyable this year as well! I was on pace to finish under 2 hrs, but I faded quite a bit in the later miles. I've never been a strong runner in hot weather, so I am happy with my finishing time, 2:06:38. It is definitely the happiest race on Earth... better be since it costs more than some of the full marathons that I've run. =)

Change

People are always telling you that change is a good thing. But all they're really saying is that something you didn't want to happen at all, has happened. - You've Got Mail

I've started going to a new church. One that I'll most likely stay at for a long time. I know people there which should make the transition a little bit easier. I already terribly miss seeing the same faces on Sunday. I can say that it's not easy being a newcomer to a new church. Just feels like you don't belong. But before you know it it's going to be January... a new year, out with the old, in with the new.

I'm actually kind of apprehensive about the upcoming Disneyland half-marathon. They are forecasting very hot weather for that day. My body did not react well at all to heat this past race, so I'm thinking that I'm going to have to take it easy.

America's Finest City Half Marathon

I made it, but it was definitely a struggle to the finish line! It was close to 80 degrees at the starting line at 7am. Tried to run my regular pace of 9 min miles. Held it for about 6 miles before the heart started feeling weird. So I slowed down and started walking more and more, drinking water while dumping water on head at every water station. Last year I did it in 2:07:33. This year I finished in a rather disappointing 2:13:46, but glad to be alive! =) Not sure if I want to do the half marathon triple crown again next year. I'm sure the itch will return soon enough. Went to see the Dead Sea scrolls exhibit later in the day. Pretty interesting stuff. I would very much like to visit Israel one of these days. My next race will be at Disneyland, the day after my birthday! Call me crazy, but I can't find a better way to celebrate another year of life!

Death of the Xanga

Wow, I must say that Xanga had its day in the sun. It was good while it lasted. I will post all of my racing news and such here from now on.

If you have a moment, please visit my racing site: http://www.teamduke.org/goto/emil
I will be running a half marathon this coming Sunday in San Diego. It looks like it's going to be a hot day, but I'll be done by 9am so I'm not too worried. Really looking forward to seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls after the race in the San Diego Natural History Museum.