Dumbo Double Dare 2013

Friday
I left work during lunch time to drive over to Disneyland to pick up my race packet. It was one big clustersmurf just to park your car or to find out that there were no parking spots available at the usual Downtown Disney parking lot. They eventually diverted us off to an offsite parking lot which I believe was for $10. I just turned around before entering that parking structure. Eventually I drove around and found a curb next to Denny's that did not have any tow-away signs. I even stopped inside to ask if I could park there. The employees actually didn't know. But I figured that there were no signs and that it was far away enough from Disneyland that I should be okay. It was also blazing hot, so I was pretty sweaty by the time I made my way over to the expo. Then there was a very long line for the expo. After snaking my way through the line and down the ramp into the bib pickup area, it was pretty easy from there. One thing I'll give Disney is that they're good at controlling crowds and lines. I picked up my bib and the commemorative pin that I had bought before heading back up to the exhibition floor to pick up my race shirts.

Pin and race bib

There was a line getting into the expo with the shirt pickup in the very back. They had separate lines for different sizes for each of the race categories. The line for medium happened to be the longest for those running the Dumbo Double Dare. The expo was pretty crowded and I needed to get back to work so I just stopped by Lasting Commemoratives to pick up a free Disney artwork that you had to preregister for with your email. I then walked back to my car hoping that it was still there and not towed away. Thank goodness it wasn't! I gave away the Alice in Wonderland 10k shirt to one of my coworkers who collected anything Alice. If you ever want any of my race shirts, just let me know. Chances are I'll give it to you. I donate quite a few to Goodwill or my younger brother.

10k shirt

Dumbo Double Dare shirt

Half Marathon shirt

After work, my coworker took me out for my birthday dinner at the Mastro's Ocean Club in Newport Beach. I think Mastro's has the best steaks that I've eaten, but it's probably not the best food to eat the night before a race. The steak was huge and I sure as heck was not going to put it away with a race the next day! We both thought that the snap peas were pretty darn good. I probably should have stopped drinking after the two bottles of wine. The next day I definitely regretted having that last martini. But heck we were celebrating my birthday. I normally don't eat anything sweet, but I make an exception when it's for my birthday and it's a dessert from Mastro's.

Justin Cabernet

Sautéed shrimp

Salmon Tartare

Jack London Cabernet

Tomahawk rib eye steak

Dirty martini

Birthday cake!

Saturday
I woke up feeling pretty crappy and dehydrated. I thought to myself, "glad it's only a 10k today instead of a half marathon!"

I got ready and made my way down to Disneyland and parked before 4am. For some reason they let me through with free parking. It looked like I got there early enough that they assumed that I was a volunteer.

Saturday free parking

The 10k race started at 6:15am, so I took a nap in my car for a little bit. After using the parking garage restroom, I went to the staging area to check out the place. They had the usual Disney entertainment and pre-race warm up. As it got closer to the starting time, I made my way over to the starting corrals.

Staging area

This way to the corrals

Alice in Wonderland 10k
In the starting corral, I bumped into my friend who had just completed the 5k. See, there are crazier people than me! After the usual Disney pomp and circumstance, we were off! The first mile felt okay. Then during the second mile, I was already starting to taste last night's dinner and especially the martini. By mile 4, I started to feel nauseated. So I slowed it down a bit and just cruised it in. The course was pretty nice, but there was a big gap between the second and third aid stations. Good thing it was only a 10k. It was a pretty warm day and I just wanted some water to dump on my head.

Running for turkey legs

1: 7:57
2: 8:21
3: 8:40
4: 8:51
5: 9:23
6: 9:16
6.2: 1:33
Finish: 54:01

I was sweating up a storm as I collected my medal and grabbed a box of post-race snacks. I guess it was a good thing to sweat out all of the alcohol. I bumped into my friend at the finish area. I always love bumping into a fellow Disney fan. We took a bunch of pictures before parting for our separate ways. Of course we would all see each other again the following day.

10k medal

Saturday
I showed up pretty early since the half marathon started at 5:30am. But I was unable to score free parking this time. Parking cost $16. Again after taking a brief nap and using the restroom, I headed over to the staging area. Then I got into my corral and just found a spot to sit down. Since I knew that I wouldn't have any zip in my legs, I didn't bother to make me way closer to the front of the corral. I just wanted to finish somewhere under 2:10.

Starting line

Disneyland Half Marathon
I love this race and it is the one race that I look forward to each year. Also since I'm a legacy runner, I pretty much know the course forwards and backwards. In the past 7 years, the course has not changed much. This year's course was pretty much the same with a few tweaks. This year Rudy, the awesome race announcer, gave shout outs to legacy runners and people with birthdays. I guess it makes you feel a bit special to be in both categories. Again with the usual Disney send off, we were off!

The first couple of miles were pretty fast, dark, and had us outside of the park. The fun part came when we enter the park. First we ran through California Adventure then through Disneyland. I pulled over near the It's a Small World to take a picture with Cinderella and Snow White.

Cinderella

Snow White

After leaving the park, we ran through the streets of Anaheim heading towards the Honda Center. It was getting hot and I was a bit tired, so I kept the miles slow. After Chicago, I wouldn't want to cramp up again in a half marathon. After running along the Santa Ana River Trail, I noticed that we took a slightly different route into the Angel Stadium parking lot. I was able to pick up the pace a bit during my favorite part of the course, running along the warning track through Angel Stadium. After exiting the stadium, we headed back towards Disneyland. I made an effort to try and increase the pace with each mile to ensure that I would reach my goal.
1: 8:52
2: 8:45
3: 9:06
4: 10:49
5: 9:08
6: 10:06
7: 10:44
8: 10:14
9: 11:14
10: 8:38
11: 11:13
12: 10:03
13: 9:34
13.1: 0:44
Finish: 2:09:10

Again I bumped into a bunch of my friends at the finish area. After taking a few pictures together, Marathon Mitch and I went to Earl of Sandwich to eat lunch. I had a Stella and a pretty pathetic looking ham and swiss cheese sandwich. It didn't taste too bad but I'm not sure that I would eat here post race again.

DDD medal and post race ham & swiss cheese sandwich

Previous years:
2012: 1:59:22
2011: 1:58:03
2010: 1:52:28
2009: 1:54:40
2008: 1:55:07
2007: 2:06:38
2006: 2:02:37

From looking at my results for each year, I've been slowing down the past three years. I'll have to work on staying healthy so I can start getting faster instead of slower. I'll definitely be back each year for the half marathon to maintain my legacy status, but I'm not sure that I will continue to run the Dumbo Double Dare. It's just too expensive and too much trouble for an extra 10k. The expo was pretty chaotic because you had to attend the expo on Friday in order to run the 10k on Saturday. The expo in the years past haven't been as crazy since people could go on Saturday instead. Oh well, we'll see. I'm known from time to time to go against what I've said. Just two more years until the big 10th year anniversary! Can't wait to see what Disney will do to celebrate!

Bulldog 50k DNF

Pre-race
This was one of those spur of the moment bad ideas. The idea looked even worse as the weather forecast for the race just kept getting warmer and warmer. But what do you expect with a race in late August? I made the early drive out and got there a little after 5am. I parked at the corner of Las Virgenes Rd and Mulholland Highway and walked over to the Malibu Creek State Park to pick up my bib. Bib pickup started at 5:30am. I walked back to my car to get my stuff and rest a bit before heading back to the starting area.

Malibu Creek State Park at dark o'clock

The race
The 50k race started at 6:30am with a 9 hour time limit. I went into this race just planning to run one loop or 25k and to reassess from there. As they were making the last minute pre-race announcements, a friend from high school came up to me. I instantly recognized him even though we have not seen each other for about 20 years. What a weird place of all places to bump into each other. We ran the first couple of miles together before he took off since he's definitely a stronger runner and I'm still trying to build up my endurance. I took it pretty easy, stopping along the way to take pictures. I carried with me two handhelds, one with water and the other with an electrolyte drink.

Pre race announcements

Heading up Bulldog Road

Great views

Steep climb

Steep downhill

Above the clouds

Everything was going okay until I reached the Tapia aid station. This was when the cramps started to set in. I had been dumping more water on my head than I had been drinking. After leaving the aid station, I knew that I was having heat issues. I just kept dumping water on my head and walked a bit to cool down. As I made it into the next aid station, I was actually feeling better but I knew that I should drop out. I drank a bunch of water and went to the restroom. They filled up both handhelds for me and I just decided to head back out and hike the second loop.

Thought about dropping out at 25k

The carnage
Temperatures eventually got into the mid 90's. I arrived at the aid station with really bad leg cramps. I stayed there for a little bit taking in some extra salt tabs, bananas, and an electrolyte drink. The cramps subsided before I left the aid station. I thought I could just walk up to the next aid station. But at a little over 6 hours into the race, the legs locked up. I had to sit down. I found a shady area to sit. I just sat there drinking from my handheld. A short while later the sweepers came up to me. They forced or strongly urged me to get up and walk with them. So I got up and walked with them, but it was painful. I kept moving until both legs cramped up to the point where I was a statue but the muscles were twitching in pain. They had to carry me to the side of the road so that I could sit or more like lay down in some shade.

They then radioed in that they have a runner that can no longer move. They sent up a truck to pick us up. They drove us up to the next aid station where I was able to catch a ride with the volunteers back to the starting area. Once I was dropped off, my legs were working again.

In hindsight, I should not have tried to walk with the sweepers. Because if I could walk, I would've been walking and not sitting. I should've just told them to send somebody to come get me. There's something about my body and heat. It just shuts down after 6 hours. This was pretty much the same as Montaña de Oro back in 2009 except this time I had plenty of salt with me. I should probably work on cooling myself better the next time that I'm in a race with warm temperatures or just drop out like I had originally planned. Better yet, I should probably avoid running longer distances during the heat of the summer.

ET Full Moon Midnight Marathon 2013

Traveling
I left for Vegas pretty early on Saturday. Which made me wonder why I was hauling ass the whole way up to Vegas??? I even forgot to slow down as I reached a notorious speed trap right after crossing the state line. As a result, I was pulled over going 91 mph... 21 mph over the speed limit. Sure there was another car going faster than me, but I really deserved this one. The Nevada trooper was definitely shooting fish in a barrel. As soon as he was done with me, he was rushing off to pull over another driver almost rear-ending me in the process. Cha-ching! That only means that I'll be spending way less in food and shopping while I'm in town. One way or another I'm supporting the Vegas economy. :)

Food
I drove over to my favorite ramen shop, Fukumimi Ramen, to eat lunch. It wasn't open yet, so I milled around until it opened. I tried their Kogashi ramen which I haven't seen before on their menu. Just like their other menu items, this one was good.

Kogashi ramen

Pre race stuff
This is a pretty interesting race. Other than the Vegas RnR Marathon, this is the only other race that I've run that's done in the dark. I've always enjoyed running this race. But as a morning person, getting ready for this race is actually pretty hard. My body is thoroughly confused by this race. I stopped by the nearby Albertson's to pick up some drinks before checking into my favorite hotel by the airport, The Hampton Inn. At about 4pm, I headed over to the Hard Rock Hotel to pick up my race packet. After saying hi to a couple of my friends, I went back to my hotel room to relax and force myself to take a short nap. I laid out my race gear and had a bunch of Inversion IPA's to help with the nap.

I wore pink to support my friend who is currently battling breast cancer. :(

Race gear, wearing pink to support breast cancer awareness

Inversion IPA

All gone

Getting to the race
A little before 8pm, I made my way over to the Hard Rock Hotel again this time to catch the bus to the starting line. I thought it was pretty nice that they even had a separate bus designated for the Marathon Maniacs. It was good to see a few familiar faces on the bus. After about a 2 hr bus ride, we were dropped off at the starting area. We took a group photo at the "black" box before our friends that were running the half marathon had to get on the bus to go to their starting line.

Taking the bus with friends from the Hard Rock Hotel to the start

Runners gathering at the starting area

Pre-race photo at the "black" box

The race
This race is pretty much all uphill for the first half and mostly downhill in the second half. After about the first 3 miles, I swore that I would never drink so many beers before a race. My head hurt, my breathing was labored, and I was feeling a bit nauseated. I had to regroup a little, slowed down, and just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I was feeling pretty miserable. When I finally reached the halfway point, I was starting to feel better. Even though I felt like puking whenever I ate anything, I kept forcing myself to eat my ShotBloks. What's tough with this race is running into the headlights of the cars taking people back home. The light caused some disorientation as my eyes kept having to adjust back to the darkness. I basically stared at about 2 feet in front of me and used the visor to block out as much of the light. You're not done with those pesky car lights until you've reached the Little A'Le'Inn at about mile 20. The next 10k or so was a climb to a turnaround point before making your way back to the finish line at the A'Le'Inn. During the climb, my legs started to cramp up. I kept leapfrogging with another guy who was clearly also suffering from leg cramps. The legs finally loosened up during the last mile, so I was able to run most of it to the finish line a little after the break of dawn.

Pretty close to the finish line, picture from Gio

1-2: 19:28 (9:44)
3: 9:09
4: 11:00
5: 12:37
6: 13:16
7: 14:28
8: 12:34
9: 13:51
10: 13:39
11: 16:32
12: 17:23
13: 15:55
14: 12:34
15: 11:55
16: 13:39
17: 11:58
18: 11:50
19: 12:29
20: 13:18
21: 18:12
22: 13:46
23: 14:18
24: 14:51
25: 14:01
26: 12:06
26.2: 1:58
Finish: 5:46:49
Gun: 5:46:57

Post race thoughts
I've run this race 2 other times and this year's shirt and medal was my favorite! Definitely makes me want to return next year. After crossing the finish line, I just wanted to get back to my hotel room, get cleaned up, and take a nap. I went inside the Inn to check out the post race food. There wasn't much that looked appealing so I went back out and caught the next bus back to the Hard Rock Hotel.

One of my favorite medals!

Post race food
After checking out of the hotel, I met up with one of my good friends to eat at the Wicked Spoon. It was my first time checking it out. It is definitely now my favorite Vegas buffet. The portions are well controlled. Most items are put into individual sized containers. That really helps with people that hoard certain food items. Their carving station was also pretty good with beef, sausages, and chicken. I think this place is better than the Bacchanal Buffet over at Caesar's Palace. But I would still go to The Buffet over at the Bellagio as they were the first to raise the bar and kept that bar high for a long time. Now the Wicked Spoon and Bacchanal have raised that bar, but with that comes long lines and a heftier price tag. It is my observation that most people that eat here do not eat enough and should just eat at a nice regular restaurant.

Wicked Spoon!

Plate#1

Plate#2

Plate#3

Going home
After resting a bit, I began my trek back home. It was raining cats and dogs! It rained so much that one lane of the highway was flooded. It was crawl. Once we've gotten past that section, the flow of traffic then picked up. Until next time.

Heavy downpour, freeway was partly flooded

Montaña de Oro 50k 2013 - DNF

Travel day
The trails of Montaña de Oro are very nice and full of beautiful scenery all around. But they are also not very easy. Unfortunately for me, I've always been injured or out-of-shape whenever I come here to run the 50k. Besides running or attempting to run, I love visiting the nearby Morro Bay. I used to come here on family trips when I was a kid. Nowadays, I come back here to eat and run. My favorite restaurant here is The Galley.

I took Friday off from work and drove up early in the morning to make it into Morro Bay to eat lunch. Along the way, I took a break at a Walmart Neighborhood Market. I've never seen one of these before. I bought some Pringles and some drinks before heading back on the road. I made good time and got there before the restaurant was open, so I drove to the Morro Rock first to take some pictures.

Morro Bay

Food
As soon as the restaurant was open, I went in to get a table. I was there so early, I had beaten even the senior citizens. I ordered a glass of the End Post cabernet sauvignon and the Surf and Turf, which was a bacon wrapped filet and a Maine lobster tail. Man, I would be perfectly content if this was my last meal on Earth! It was pretty much perfection.

End Post Cabernet

Surf and Turf, bacon wrapped filet and Maine lobster tail

Lodging
For some reason, I booked my hotel or more accurately a motel at the Motel 6 in Santa Maria which was about an hour away from the Montaña de Oro state park. So I drove down to Santa Maria to check in. They gave me a room in the back corner which was fine. The room was clean but I noticed a few important things. First, there were no towels. Second, I found some bullet casings as I was parking the car. Hmmm... maybe somebody went hunting nearby. :) Third, it was practically impossible to close the room door unless you slam it very hard which I only realized after getting ice and some towels and finding my door was ajar when I got back.

Motel 6

Pre race "preparation"
I laid out my race gear before starting on my drinks and the Pringles. I had been dealing with a bunch of crap lately, so I decided to drink some beers to help me not to think about them for even a short while. Also I know it'll make me feel like crap the next day so I would have a good reason to drop out of the race. With a rickety left leg, I knew that my chances of finishing the 50k was slim and none. But still I wanted to run on some softer surface to test the legs out. I will have to say that getting through a 6-pack of Union Jack was not easy, it was by far my biggest accomplishment for the weekend. It sure made it much easier to fall asleep.

Race gear

Union Jack

Pringles

All gone

Race day
Check-in started at 7am and the 50k race started at 8am, so I took a shower and got ready to head over to the race a little before 6am. I got to Spooner's Cove a little bit before 7am and parked in the little parking lot next to the start/finish area. I bumped into a few of my friends, exchanged pleasantries, picked up my bib, and went back to my car to take a quick cat nap. After gathering my stuff and using the restroom, I headed over to the starting area. Just in case, I had packed enough stuff in my pack for a 50k, but I wasn't holding my breath. 50k's are hard enough without injuries.

Interesting shower, reminded me of a Star Trek transporter

Race bib

Starting line

The race
The first couple of miles felt fine as the course was pretty flat at the beginning. The legs were starting to feel normal again. But the left leg still felt a bit awkward. When the climbing began, I could definitely tell that my lungs are still not there yet. I was breathing way too heavily even though I was only hiking. That was actually fine until I started feeling nauseated. I'm sure the Union Jacks had something to do with that... but I kept pushing forward as I had plan to do at the minimum one orange (Valencia Peak) loop. It took what seemed forever before I reached the Valencia Peak. I picked up a poker card and started eating a Stinger waffle before heading back down to complete the loop. That only made me even more nauseated. The poker card system was to prevent people from cheating or cutting the course.

Climbing

More climbing

Reached Valencia Peak

Since I was feeling pretty miserable, my left leg was getting pretty sore, and I could barely keep food down, I thought it would be wise to drop out and call it a day. The girls at the aid station kept encouraging me to get back out on the course and were not accepting any of my excuses until I mentioned that I was just returning from a tibial stress fracture. It took me almost 2 hours to cover that first loop and that was plenty for me on this day. There will be other races and one day, I will come back here and finish this damn race!

Dropping out

12k - 1:56:00 DNF

Post race
I hung around the finish for a little bit before driving home. Again I cannot mention enough that this place is an awesome place to run! Even though I dropped out so early, it was a good sign that my left leg was getting much better. DNF's are definitely not failures. You can learn a lot from any run... even the ones that end prematurely.

Finish line

Awesome place to run