Pasadena Marathon 2011

Pre-race stuff
Back when they decided to move this race from February to May, they sent out an "in training" shirt to those that opted to run on the new date. It worked out for me since I sustained a pretty nasty injury back in early February.

In Training shirt

A lot of my "training" consisted of resting and eating lots of ramen. Also there was a lot of limping through a bunch of races.

Anyways May rolled around and I took Friday off from work to attend the expo. I parked at my usual spot at the Paseo Colorado parking garage. I made it over to the Pasadena Convention Center. I was about 30 minutes early so the expo wasn't open yet. There was already a bunch of runners milling around.

It seemed like the entire expo was not ready to be open at noon. Most of the vendors were not ready. More importantly, there was not enough volunteers to deal with the initial rush. The few volunteers that was there were really stressed out trying to pass out bibs and shirts.

I talked to the guys at the Team in Training booth about joining IronTeam. It seems like they didn't have any idea about the group training for an Ironman.

Race shirt and bib

I bought another Ink n' Burn shirt where a portion of the proceeds go to support the disaster relief in Japan. This would make a great shirt for the Honolulu Marathon or the Tokyo Marathon.

Gaman!

On my way out, I got a bunch of Soy Joy bars from the Soy Joy booth. They were giving out one of each flavor.

The next day, I drove out early to volunteer at the Palos Verdes Marathon. Almost all of the Marathon Maniacs I cheered on during the race, I would see in the Pasadena Marathon.

Race day
I ignored all of the parking directions provided to us. I took back streets that got me to the parking structure without seeing one other car. Good thing I used to go to PCC. I took a quick nap and then went out to the starting line to watch the start of the bike tour. I took a quick picture of the starting line and felt a few drops of rain. I saw Maniac Lan in the VIP tent and she snuck me in. In there I bumped into Maniac Dale and @spectorjosh. I wished everybody a great race and went back to my car to get ready. I grabbed my stuff and headed towards the starting area. I bumped into my old TNT friends at the portapotty lines.

I bumped into more Maniac friends as I got into the starting corral. The national anthem was sung and right on cue, it started to drizzle.

Goal was to finish around 5:30.
Backup goal was to just finish however long it took.

First Half
The drizzle turned into a steady light rain. The first mile was very congested but it felt good. It was the first time since February that I've ran without any discomfort. But I knew it wouldn't last. Mile 2 felt great. But after I saw my split, I kept telling myself to slow down. I saw Maniac Mitch spectating at the mile 4 marker. My bro's friend passes me on the way to mile 5. Mile 6 had a huge downhill so I wasn't pushing the pace. My lack of fitness really caught up to me on my way to the Rose Bowl. I pretty much hit the wall at mile 8. It did not help that my right hip flexor was hurting. I walked a bit to alleviate some of the pain. We Rock Andrea passes me, but I would see her again around mile 10 since she stopped for a potty break. Even though my race had become a big struggle, I loved this portion of course as I got to see some of my faster friends run by on the other side. The rain pretty much started to let up by the time I exited the Rose Bowl and reached the halfway point. I got there in about 2:18. The climb out of the Rose Bowl is a long steady one. It slowed me to a crawl this year. Maniac Rocco passed me around this stretch.
1: 9:00
2: 8:24
3: 8:46
4: 9:33
5: 9:44
6: 8:22
7: 10:07
8: 10:18
9: 12:02
10: 11:11
11: 13:22
12: 11:35
13: 14:17

Mile 4 from Maniac Mitch

Second Half
The 2nd half was tough. It got sunny and I had to walk and jog the whole way. I was passed by a few more of my maniac friends. Some tried to help me out, but I hate holding people back. Once I got through miles 20-22, I knew that the worst was over. The rest of the way to the finish line was mostly downhill. My ailing left leg started to feel tender and sore which kind of had me worried. I backed off a bit at mile 25. At least everything felt okay when I walked. I love the finishing chute for this race. I was cramping up but I tried to just jog as fast as I could. Number 60 overall was in the books!
14: 13:56
15: 16:17
16: 15:10
17: 14:12
18: 13:29
19: 16:26
20: 16:27
21: 13:32
22: 14:07
23: 14:50
24: 14:43
25: 16:02
26.2: 16:23
Finish: 5:32:16

Post-race stuff
I cramped up pretty badly after crossing the finish line. I grabbed a can of FRS and after drinking it everything started feeling better. I also mixed a bottle of Nuun just in case. I was very happy with finishing number 60 with relatively no major discomfort. Since I pretty much met my goal, I am more hopeful that I can get through the rest of my races this year. I seriously didn't think that I would have completed this many after running my first one back in 2003. I'll be at 100 before I know it.

Finisher's medal

I walked back to the corner of Hill and Colorado to cheer on my friends. Maniac Fancypants Ed also was there when he finished his race. After cheering for awhile with Ed, I walked back to my car and headed to my favorite restaurant in the area, Steer n' Ale, to eat a steak.

Super-stockyard steak

Palos Verdes Marathon 2011

After being forced out of the Point Fermin park, this year they had a new course. It is a shame. I loved that course. However Palos Verdes is a nice area, so I'm sure there were nice views along the way.

PV, an awesome place to run a marathon

I love this race so much that I couldn't stay away even though I'm on the disabled list. So I volunteered. Most of the volunteers were high-schoolers. I parked at the city hall located very close to Hawthorne Blvd and Palos Verdes Dr. I then boarded the shuttle for the starting area. On the shuttle I ran into the track/cross-country coach from the university that I work at... talk about coincidence. He had brought one of his runners to attempt an A standard qualifying time for the marathon at the NAIA nationals. He needed to run a 1:14:xx.

When we got dropped off, I wished them well. I headed over to the volunteer tent and picked up my t-shirt. I wasn't given much direction since I was an unattached volunteer. So I wandered over to the registration tables. I was then pulled by the Prime Time folks to help with late registration. Fun stuff.

Volunteer shirt

Maniac friends

I saw my fellow marathon maniac friends, including some I haven't seen in awhile. I left the registration tables to see the start of the race. This year, the half marathoners and marathons started together. Also they had timing chips this year which allowed them to combine the start of the 2 races. After shooting some pictures and a video of the start, I went back to the table to help with the 5k registration. I guess I was meant to volunteer since a lady was short $2 and I covered it for her. Good investment. We were still registering people as the 5k race was underway. After the last person, I got up and walked down to the little expo. I talked to the ladies at the Team in Training booth. I calculated the time and I went up to the course to see the first runner from the half marathon/marathon come through.

Starting line

Star Spangled Banner

On your mark... get set... go!

1st male half marathoner from CUI

1st female half marathoner

Expo

After cheering on the runners for about 3 hrs, I walked over to the shuttle line. The line was very long and everyone was grumbling about it. I have a feeling that logistics is going to force them to change the course again. I took the shuttle back to City Hall. After a morning of volunteering, I worked up a pretty good appetite. I headed over to the Mitsuwa in Torrance for a late lunch. I ate some delicious chicken katsu.

Katsuhana - chicken katsu

Country Music Marathon 2011

Before the race
I left early Friday morning out of LAX. Landed in Nashville around 2pm. I picked up my rental car and headed over to the convention center in downtown to attend the expo. I parked in the same parking structure as I did last year near 2nd and Commerce. It was a couple of blocks from the convention center. I picked up my race packet and headed over to the stage next to the Nutrilite booth to see Kara Goucher. All of the seats were already filled. It was standing room only.

Expo

Guest Speaker List

Kara Goucher on the stage

I thought I was pretty quick in lining up for Kara's autograph, but there was already a pretty good size line. When it was my turn with Kara, I thought I'd give others a chance to meet her so all I did was take a quick picture, had her autograph my bib, and wished her well in next year's Boston Marathon. It was about 30 seconds tops. I'm sure I'll see her again at some other race.

I signed up the Los Angeles Rock n' Roll Half Marathon just as I had planned. I got a pretty nice "free" shirt for signing up. Somehow I also signed up for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon... not how I had planned. I guess my leg is feeling much better. I got out of the expo before I had the chance to spend any more money.

Free shirt

Getting out of the parking structure was a pain. There was a huge line. It ended up costing $10 to park there. I'll have to look for a new parking place if I come back to run this race.

On my way to eat, I stopped by a Walgreen to pick up some snacks and drinks. I then drove to the Longhorn Steakhouse right across the street from the hotel.

I ordered a Bass Ale and the filet with shrimp and lobster. I love surf and turf. Lately I've been opting for more surf and less turf. I love southern hospitality... I had about 5 different people check up on me during my meal. I almost wanted to shoo them away. :)

Carbo-loading!

Filet with shrimp and lobster

I drove across the street to my hotel. This year I stayed at the Crossland Suites near the airport. This was about the cheapest suite you can get. But I didn't pay much and I definitely got what I paid for. I knocked out watching the TV.

Race day
Woke up, got ready, and drove myself the the LP Field by 4:30am. I took a nap in my car before walking over to the shuttle stop. The bus took us over to Centennial Park. I had on my windbreaker, but it really wasn't that cold.

Shirt and signed bib

While waiting for the start I ended up talking to Dennis, a 72 year old running the half marathon. Runners are cool. He finished in 1:48:36. I hope I'm in such good shape when I'm his age. Actually after I heal up, it'll take a while to build back up to that shape. I used a couple of portapotties to empty out the bladder. As we got closer to the start, I checked my gear bag and headed for corral 3. On my way there, I ran into The Endorphin Dude. We snapped a photo and wished each other well in our survival race... my legs aren't working and he had another marathon the next day. Crazy darn maniacs! :)

My conservative goals:
Get to half at 2:30.
Run 2nd half in 3:00 - 3:30.
Finish between 5:30 - 6:00.

First half
I got into Corral 3 which was for people planning to run a 3:30 marathon or a 1:45 half marathon. I hung out at the very back so I wouldn't get in anybody's way. At the very back there was a blind runner being guided my poles, one in each hand. Shortly after the national anthem, we were released about 3 minutes after the first wave was released. Even though I started at the very back of my corral, there were people going slower than me. I was jogging and it just felt awkward. There was discomfort but nothing that I would count as painful. My plan was to run 3 miles before taking a walk break to take my gels and S cap. I was able to move much better on the uphills, but they felt like mountains. As I approached mile 13, I slowed down a bit as I saw that I was going to be ahead of schedule.
1: 9:36
2: 9:27
3: 9:59
4: 10:53
5: 10:50
6: 10:32
7: 11:02
8: 11:32
9: 11:58
10: 11:53
11: 12:16
12: 14:15
13: 13:53

Second half
During the 2nd half, I just felt like walking the rest of the way. It was getting quite warm. I really had to force myself to jog. One TNT coach insisted on running with me for almost 2 miles until we got to Shelby Park. I had a beer around mile 24 after taking the loop around the lake at Shelby Park. I couldn't believe how badly I bonked here even though I was jogging the whole time. My legs were cramping really bad in the last 3 miles, so I walked most of it. I knew I had a cushion to get it done until 6 hours but only if I continue at the 15ish min/mile pace. Too bad I used it all up. :) I stopped briefly to encourage and take a picture with The Endorphin Dude. On the home stretch, I just could not get the legs to work. I hobbled to the finish line and was very glad to be able to finally cross Tennessee of my list.
14: 14:15
15: 16:23
16: 14:52
17: 15:13
18: 16:06
19: 17:06
20: 16:51
21: 15:37
22: 15:56
23: 15:39
24: 17:29
25: 17:38
26: 16:10
26.2: 2:46
Finish: 6:00:07

After the race
After a long walk around the stadium, I found the UPS trucks to pick up my gear bag.
It was another long walk to my car. I had to hurry up and change out of my race clothes. I had to make it back to the airport to return the car. I made it with about 5 minutes to spare. Good thing Nashville doesn't have crazy traffic.

Finisher's medal

This was definitely a survival git-r-done marathon. Last year's race was cut short due to severe storm. So this year I just wanted to finish, cross off TN, and hopefully not hurt the left leg too much in the process. The left leg didn't really bother me much in the pain department. It just felt awkward. The right hip flexor was a little sore, but definitely did not hurt as much as it did in my other races. The heat made it tough and the S caps that I was taking helped but I've been so out of shape since the injury. I guess everything is healing up since I didn't have a limp the day after the race.