Reverse Goofy Challenge

1/31 Sunday - 3.4 miles in 28:06 at approx. 8:16 pace. 14:10 out, 13:56 in.
Legs felt fresh. Haven't felt this good in awhile. It was a tad colder today so I wore long sleeves. I started off slow, but decided mid run to try and match yesterday's run. This time I didn't feel winded coming up that last hill.

1/30 Saturday - 3.4 miles in 28:04 at approx. 8:15 pace. 13:58 out, 14:06 in.
It was a very foggy morning. It felt great to be running in somewhat cold weather with gloves on. I felt winded coming back up the last hill. Still no discomfort in my Achilles or any body part. Since I felt so good, I decided to sign up for the Disneyland and La Jolla Half Marathons. I would not miss Disneyland since I've ran it every year since the race came into existence. The La Jolla Half Marathon will be somewhat harder since I'll be running the Country Music Marathon the day before.

Carlsbad Marathon

Restaurant & Hotel
Sorry, no restaurant or hotel reviews since this was a "local" race. I still had to drive over an hour one way just to get to the expo and again for the race.

Before the Race
I had a bout with nasal allergies leading up to the race, but what was worse was coupling that with gastritis... probably from stress. Definitely not something you want to deal with when you plan to run a marathon. Needless to say, I had to visit the portapotties quite a bit before the race. The official race drink was Ultima. Um, yeah, no thanks. I'm glad that I always carry my own fluids and only take water from the aid stations. The night before the race, I carbo-loaded with Spam fried race... my comfort food. It seemed to have worked as the stomach calmed down. I got to the parking lot around 4:25am and it was cold. I bumped into my friend Louis, who also knew the best parking spot. I wished him a great race and advised him to run a sub 2 half marathon by running every mile at 9 min pace, which he did. I'll take credit for his sub 2 PR. :) While heading to the starting area, I ran into Gymgirl and later into James and his friend that he was pacing.

1st Half
Just like last year, the race started in the dark at 6am. But this year they gave the marathon their own separate start which really eased the congestion at the start. We did not get any light until about mile 2. I made sure to keep myself in check. Of course I wanted to run the first few miles harder, but I made sure to keep things slow since my weekly mileage leading up has been a whopping 3 miles a week and 19 total miles since the Vegas Marathon. Early on the 4hr pace group was in sight, but they slowly but surely crept away from me. Then the 4:15 group ran past me later and I had no interest in staying with them. The climb at miles 7 through 9 really drained me. The downhill at mile 11 though 12 was most welcomed. But I was exhausted. I completely bonked and smashed into the wall at mile 13! I was hoping to reach at least mile 18 before that happened.
1: 9:30
2: 8:50
3: 9:23
4: 9:32
5: 9:30
6: 9:35
7: 10:00
8: 9:42
9: 10:17
10: 10:28
11: 9:09
12: 9:50
13: 10:57

2nd Half
I started taking more frequent extended walk breaks. At this point, I was grabbing a GU whenever one was dangled before me. I tried to jog as much as I could, but my legs were dead. They had not seen this much action in awhile and they were protesting. Mile 18 was brutal to me this year as it was last year. It's not that steep of a climb, but once you're done with the climb you know that every step you take will be one step closer to the finish line. I took a much needed bathroom break at the end of mile 18. I tried to revive the legs a few times, but it just wasn't happening. If I ingest too much of anything, my GI would let me know. I did get to see NYCJoe heading out when I was around mile 20. The rest was just walking/jogging with the back of the pack half marathoners. They did rope off a lane to the right for the marathoners which was a nice change from last year. I attempted to run as I got close to the mile 26 marker, but I started to cramp up on the homestretch. I just kept moving because I knew that the long day was finally over with a banana waiting for me.
14: 12:00
15: 12:14
16: 12:33
17: 12:58
18: 16:26
19: 17:39
20: 13:22
21: 13:15
22: 13:54
23: 15:28
24: 14:32
25: 13:36
26: 14:51
26.2: 2:11
Finish: 5:11:57

After the Race
I headed over to Bobby's Hideaway Cafe to meet up with my RWOL friends. I caught them just as they're finishing up their meals. I warned them that I'd take my sweet time out there. As planned, I didn't eat anything. I rarely can stomach anything a few hours immediately after sucking down countless GUs and whatnot during a marathon. It was good seeing everybody. I'll see some of them again at Surf City.

After snapping a few obligatory photos, I headed up north to Costa Mesa to eat my ramen. Sometimes it's better to travel solo, as I was able to bypass the usual waiting list to sit at the counter. So I had my ramen and thus concluded the Carlsbad Marathon. I might have to change the title of my blog since I've definitely increased my ramen intake and made a significant cut back on the red meat.

Feeling Better!

1/16 Saturday - I ran my 3.4 mile route at a comfortable 8:15 pace in 28:04. 14:00 out, 14:04 in. There was no discomfort at all with the Achilles before, during or after. I even wore my cheap shoes to make sure I do not run too fast. Because I feel almost 100%, I will attempt to run the Carlsbad Marathon next weekend. At first I was thinking of downgrading the race to a half marathon or even a DNS. I know my endurance will be really lacking, but the Achilles needed the rest.

I won't run this coming week to give the Achilles even more rest. My plan to run Carlsbad will be to run an even 9 min pace from start to finish. That might be a bit hard since the course is full of rollers.

Too Much Too Soon!

12/29 Tuesday - My ailing Achilles had been feeling nearly 100% so I decided to take it out for a little spin. I ran my usual out and back 3.4 mile route at a relaxed 9 min pace. It felt really good to be out running again. But on my way back, I felt weakness in Achilles. The same feeling that I felt during the Vegas Marathon. I figured that I really should not be running just yet, but if I did, 3 miles is the limit.

1/1 Friday - There was no soreness after the 3 mile run, so I decided to run the Rose Parade route with a bunch of other runners. Overall it was a great experience. Everyone should do it at least once in their lifetime. Again I was very eager to run. The route was about 5 miles. We were suppose to run to the starting area of the parade to view the floats. Then run back before the parade starts. So the total would be about 10 miles. I started off at a slow 9:30 - 10 min pace to warm up. Then I took off with a couple of runners that were running between 8 - 8:30 pace. It felt good, but then about 3 miles into the run I started to feel weird sensations in the Achilles. It was as if some was giving me acupuncture. Anyways, I made it to floats. Somehow I lost my Power Balance bracelet when I took off my gloves. On the return run, I jogged back with my TNT friend. We ran at about 9:30 - 10 min pace. I felt a little bit demoralized, but was glad to have a friend to keep me company. 5 miles, let alone 10 miles was definitely too much too soon! It was a bit sore after I took a nap.

1/2 Saturday - Today I'm able to walk without a limp so that's a good sign. But I'm definitely laying off running. I will have to find another form of exercise. Anybody want to go bike shopping with me?