Marine Corps Marathon - Race Report

You’ve got to do this race. We were blessed with wonderful weather; sunny in the 60’s. The course is tougher than it might seem. My final time – 4:05:38 (chip).

I went into this race with less than perfect training. I’ve babied my right foot since spring which meant not doing any speed work in a long time. And although I keep running my left hip hasn’t been 100% since last August. After 18-20 miles it doesn’t so much hurt as just feels really week. Taking all that into account my main goal this race was just to keep things under that 4:00 barrier I worked hard for in 2006. At the very least I was going to enjoy the spirit of our nation’s capitol and cross Washington, DC off the list.

Julie and I planned on running together. More than once Julie told me she was relying on me to pull her through to the end. I wasn’t very confident I would be able to do that but I’d stick it out as long as I could.

We lined up that morning at front of the 3:50 to 4:00 pace group. The official elevation charts shows an incline from the start to mile 3 followed by a 2 mile decline to mile 5, then another long climb up to mile 8 and then down to 10 with a relatively flat course the rest of the way until the final 2 miles. The actual course, at least the first few miles were more rolling than the elevation chart suggested. By accident we found ourselves within striking distance of the 3:50 pace group so we decided to hang with them.

The first few miles were pretty crowded and the streets were often a little narrow for the number of people running through. Mile 1 – 11:09, huh? Mile 2 – 7:20, double huh? Up the hill to the top of mile 3 – 8:56. Crazy splits but the 3:50 pacer was always in sight so we put our trust in them to get us there.

Mile 4 was a really pretty tree lined street going downhill. The tree cover magnified the sound of hundreds of feet hitting the pavement. It was a wonderful sound. By the end of mile 5 we were even with the pace group but then fell back just a little as we worked our way the hills to mile 8.

Mile 4 – 8:06 (downhill)
Mile 5
Mile 6 – 17:26 (8:43 each uphill)
Mile 7 – 8:07
Mile 8 – 8:11

Between mile 4 and 5 is when we cross the Potomac the first time from Virginia to Washington DC. Mile 5 is also the first side by side out and back when we got a chance to see the front runners heading back at nearly mile 9.

The course was still pretty clogged up at this point. We were at nearly mile 10 or so before we hand any real elbow room. Because of the number of runners and the crowded conditions going through the water stations I skipped the first three water stops, relying on my fuel belt. I worried if this was a wise decision but to keep up with the pacers and Julie is seemed necessary. I finally stopped for water between mile 8 and 9. I lost Julie for about half a mile before I found her again. Mile 11 is where we hit the part of the route I was most looking forward too, the National Mall. Crowd support for the next several miles was tremendous. Mile 13 was the half way point right in front of the Capitol Building.

Mile 9 – 8:25
Mile 10 – 8:21
Mile 11 – 8:54
Mile 12 – 8:26
Mile 13 – 8:41

Although we were sticking with the pace group I really felt that we were going too fast. I knew in my head that I only needed 9:00 miles to get under 4:00 and we’d done many that were sub 8:30.

Just before mile 14 as we were about to leave the Mall the pace leaders changed and we were even with the pace group. The new leader slowed things down a bit. The group was about 20 strong and was holding together well. At this point I voiced out loud to Julie my doubts that I could keep going at this pace. Julie admitted that she had been thinking the same thing. During mile 15 I fell back a few paces from Julie and the pace group marched along. At mile 16 I had to visit the port-o-pot. By the time I exited neither Julie nor the pace group were anywhere in sight.

Mile 14 – 8:54
Mile 15 – 9:12
Mile 16 – 11:50

Miles 16 to 19 are the stretch around Haines Point that many people dread due to its lack of fan support. On a bad day the winds of the Potomac can be difficult. I found this section to be actually really enjoyable. It is so different from where I usually run I found it to me quite peaceful. I knew that the “Awakening” was out here somewhere but I never saw it. Ironically in one of the official race photos it is clearly over my right shoulder. I had been focused over by left. 19 to 20 takes you back over the bridge into Virginia again. More than several runner remarked that they had “beat the bridge” which I thought was a little odd since we were way ahead of the cut off pace of 14:00/mile.

Mile 17 – 8:44
Mile 18 – 9:19
Mile 20 – 9:54

Mile 21 to 23 took us into Crystal City, another area with great crowd support and an out and back section. I saw Julie on her way back; she was about half a mile ahead of me at that point. During the westbound route out of Crystal City we were hit with a cold head wind. As my legs were getting increasingly more tired and my pace increasingly slower the wind was not exactly what I needed at that point. Just after mile 23 the Pentagon came into view and I realize that this race was nearing the end.

Mile 21 – 9:55
Mile 22 – 10:03
Mile 23 – 10:36

Things were getting pretty desperate by now but I kept trudging along. I had seen so many inspiring sights along the way: the national monuments, the Marine support at the water stations, countless Armed Forces runners and family member running in memory of fathers that had served years ago or of friends and relatives that had given their lives in service; I had to keep going. Miles 24 to 26 were really odd since we were retracing our steps from the beginning of the race. The feeling was quite opposite from the hope and excitement of the start of the race. I ran/trudged along with others that looked to be in the same shape as me.

Mile 24 – 10:28
Mile 25 – 11:12

At mile 25 the finish line was just to my left. I could hear the announcer counting down the seconds to sub 4:00 finishers. I had less than 5 minutes left to get there with 1.2 miles still to cover. One step at a time. As I made the last right turn into Arlington the final hill was the only thing left to be conquered. I had no final surge to get there but the hill didn’t seem insurmountable. After I crossed through the finish arches and caught a glimpse of the Marine Corps Memorial the emotional toll of the event came to a head.

Mile 26.2 – 13:49 (11:30 pace)

The marathon seemed trivial compared to the significance of the surroundings. Being immersed in the history of the place and the reputation of the Marines was just incredible to me. The fact that my race time wasn’t what I might have liked didn’t really matter. Just being a part of such a well oiled machine was honor enough. I met up with Julie in the reunion area. She had managed to get her sub 4:00 at 3:55. I hung out the rest of the day until the last of our group of 10 had crossed the finish line at 6:50:08.

I would recommend this race without hesitation. And I’d also recommend taking the time afterward to explore all that Washington DC has to offer in terms of history and national pride. There’s no place or race like it.

Photos from Marathonfoto.com

Next Stop, Washington DC

Taper time is maddening. I've been through this often enough I should be used to it, but I'm not. All the runs go well enough, it just seems that all those little aches and pains make themselves fully evident the last week or so preceding the next big marathon.

I was able to make it to Bonelli 2 out of 3 of the weekday runs. If I change at work, leave right on time and go straight there I've been able to get up to 5 miles done before darkness sets in. Next weeks runs will likely be the end.

Saturday there was a 5K in my hometown. Running a 5K in Covina has been on my wish list for a while now but I was never aware of a race. The $30 (late) registration fee and no hopes of a PR convinced me just to get down to the river trail and run with the Cruisers instead.

I set off with Julie and Gary. We maintained a really easy 10:00 pace. It didn't feel as easy as a 10:00 pace should feel for me. I worried that I would be too comfortable with that pace come race day. Chalk that up to more of the taper goofiness. Although Julie and I are both capable of sub 9:00, Saturday's pace felt right. My legs are still feeling the effects of the 14 miler in the mountains last weekend. About 5 miles into the run I had to make a pit stop and waved Julie and Gary on.

I finished the last 3 miles of the run on my own at 8:00 pace. It wasn't intentional, it was just the pace that I fell into and oddly it felt comfortable as well. That helped ease some of my taper anxiety.

This morning I headed over to Bonelli for an easy 3 miles. When I first woke up it was still a little dark. Since the run was going to be short I waited until 7:00 for the sun to be completely up. For anything less than 5 miles I simply head out the trail and turn around half way . I was just bopping along lost in my thoughts and ended up running past my turn around point. Fortunately just a little. I had to laugh at myself. I'm such a creature of habit I was on my way around for the full loop.

While I was waiting for the sun to come up I was checking my blogs and came upon this timely entry by Dean Karnazes. I think he's done a good job of describing the struggle of the marathon.

The weather here in SoCal is expected to reach the triple digits this week. It's the end of October folks, triple digits! So far the forecast in DC looks favorable. Even if things heat up I'm confident the Marines will be prepared.

My goals in DC are: 1) Give it my best shot at staying under 4:00 and 2) enjoy the pomp and cirmcumstance of our nation's capitol. Seems reasonable enough.

Several people have commented on the Holy Jim Trail. That is its real name. I can't make this stuff up. A cursory search of the web provided this:
TRAIL HISTORY: (From the Cleveland National Forest Website) If you expect that the Holy Jim Canyon is named for a pious, early preacher in the Santa Ana Mountains, you would be very wrong! Jim Smith was a beekeeper who settled in the north fork of Trabuco Canyon in the 1870s. It was said that: "Jim Smith was a talker...no ordinary talker... a man given to blasphemous eloquence. When he started cussing... he could peel paint off a stove pipe." When government surveyors first mapped the canyon, they chose to name it "Holy Jim" rather than "Cussin' Jim," since the word "cussing" was considered neither polite nor appropriate for a government publication.
(http://www.mountainbikebill.com/HolyJim.htm)

Holy Jim! Revisited

Everything was back on track this week when it came to running. I was able to knock off two 5 milers in Bonelli; once running my favorite loop counterclockwise which I haven't done in quite a while. The other run was 6.4 over on the San Gabriel River Bike Path at an 8:21 pace.

Saturday I had one of the best runs I've had in a long while. I was lucky early in the week to get an invitation from Jessica of OCTR to join them for 14 miles. Unbelievably it has been nearly a year since I last joined the group for a run. This run was described as 14 miles near Holy Jim. It turns out it was the same route planned last year but run in reverse. I invited my friend Julie along for the run. I was really close to joining some other Cruisers at the Long Beach Half Marathon, but the trails won out.

Julie and I are planning on being running partners at MCM in a couple of weeks and had each coincidentally signed up to run Jessica's race, the Twin Peaks 50/50, next spring.

The group was about a dozen of us. I hadn't met any of them before today. No one from last year's run with the exception of Jessica were there this time. We started off in a light rain that was soaking a pretty well as we stood around before the start of the run. Once we started running the rain was less noticeable. We were only about a mile into the run before we all peeled off our jackets. One guy, Robert, commented that we were either going to get wet one way or another, from the rain for from the sweat. The jackets were just too warm. The rain ended up becoming a steady mist. The conditions were actually really good for running the trails. The rain/mist kept the dust down and the temps in control. The only drawback for me with glass in the mist is that the bill of the ball cap offers no protection from a heavy mist.

Julie and I fell in behind a strong runner, Martin, on the Trabuco Trail. He warned us about West Horsetheif Trail. The three of us ended up walking the majority of it. I still have a hard time with walking but the more trail and ultra people I hang around the more I realize that it is acceptable. I tried a couple of times to keep up a running posture and realized I was making no more forward progress than Martin and Julie walking so I walked too.

Once we hit Main Divide Road, we waited for Robert, Ryan and Sue. The others were farther back and we decided to head onward as we were getting chilled waiting. Martin lead the way again and Julie, Ryan and I kind of fell into a pack. Ryan is also signed up for the 50K version of Twin Peaks. Ryan has run one marathon and made the move to trail running. There are two official training runs for Twin Peaks in the future and the three of us hope to run them together. There is a third one planned for the week after MCM that Julie and I will miss.

A mile or so into Main Divide Martin had a sizable lead on us and we never saw him again until the end. Julie lead the way on Main Divide. I took over leadership when we began the descent down Holy Jim Trail. I've only run this trail the one other time but it has to be one of my all time favorites. The trail is superbly runnable with great views, even of mist and cloud filled canyons, and the terrain is just technical enough to keep you alert but gentle enough that you can let it flow. It is too bad that Holy Jim is not part of the 50K event.

It was a great 14 mile run in the mountains on a day that the scheduled called for 12. Thanks Jessica!

Today I ran an easy 6 miles with Tyler in Bonelli, on a mostly flat loop around the lake before the family went to Red Robin (Tyler's choice). Everyone had a burger, I had the Fajita Fiesta Pollo Salad with dressing on the side.

I ended the week with a potluck get together with the Cruiser that are headed out to Washington, DC for the MCM. We shared phone numbers, flight numbers, etc and discussed getting around and other logistics with a fellow Cruiser who had done MCM last year. We had a great time and now I'm getting really even more excited about adding DC to my list.

Weekly mileage 36.4 on a planned 32. Next week things drop off considerable to 24 for the week. That shouldn't be too hard to handle considering my recent weeks at sea and in Panama.

Quotable

Fitness begins when you do - slogan on a t-shirt I saw during a long run in Huntington Beach.

When Tyler was home for the break between terms I mentioned an 8 miler that we did together over at the San Gabriel River Bike Path. I forgot to mention another run we took. Monday of that week (way back on 9/24) Tyler still needed to get his run in when I got home from work. I suggested that we give Bonelli a try. I debated which trails to take him on for his inaugural trail run and decided on the trail along the west side of the park. We could get in 3.5 miles with about half of it on trail and half on road.

I described the trail section as "a decent hill at the start, some rollers in the middle with another decent hill at the end." Tyler said "What you really mean is a really big hill at the start, some big hills in the middle and another really big hill at the end!" I got the idea that he didn't trust my judgement when it came to hills.

After about a half mile warm up on the roads we hit the trail and headed up hill. Tyler made it up the whole thing without stopping. I was proud. As we ran along we talked about school and running. About half way through the trail he said "This kind of running is fun." Huh, you think?

When we came to the last "really big hill", he motored right up the 4 or 5 switchbacks like a pro. We cruised back down the road to the car.

Tyler has been home again this weekend, since Wednesday. His birthday is tomorrow. Coincidence? He'll be 20, so we are down to one teenager and one adult (?) child. He's done three runs since he got home Wednesday and all three have been in Bonelli, one on the asphalt picnic loop and the other two on the trail. I think we've got a convert on our hands.

Return to Normalcy

Who's to say what normal is. When school started back up in September I was complaining to my son about the traffic and how I missed the normal traffic. He reminded me that there is no normal. There's either school traffic or summer traffic, who's to say summer traffic is normal? Teenager!

At the very least maybe I will get back on track with my training, I've got a marathon in less than 3 weeks.

It has been two weeks since I posted. I've been busy at work but not really keeping up with the running schedule. Here's a quick run down of the happenings in my running world:

Saturday, September 29: Tyler was home for the week between terms. He always likes to find a race to do when he's home. I found a fun 5K, the Huntington Beach Surf & Sand 5K. It is run at 6:00 p.m. on the sand at low tide heading north from the pier. We had to run about a mile to get to the start. We parked far and were running late. Tyler worried about running on the sand. Tyler wanted to try to run this one on his own so at the sound of the gun I took off. I finished in 24:44 and Tyler broke 30:00 for the first time at 29:12. Very cool for him. I was happy with my time since I hesitated a couple of times in the race wondering if I should have waited for Tyler after all. Add the fact that I ran my last 20 miler earlier that morning in 3:04. Lisa and I also celebrated our 23 wedding anniversary that day. The cruise was pretty much our celebration but we did go out to dinner the following night.

I took Sunday, the 30th, off from running.

I finished September with 150.1 miles even with the low mileage cruise week, continuing the steady increase since the crash in May.

Monday, October 1: I did a 5 mile trail run in Bonelli, finishing in the dark. It is that time of year again. It was kind of fun, kind of scary and sad for the end of another season.

Work wise I've spent all my time getting ready for the Latin America Sales Training. Last Monday our team took the red-eye to Panama City, Panama. The 6+hour flight was followed by a 2 hour drive out to the all-inclusive resort where the training was held. There was nothing else around. I made it through my portion of training on Wednesday. I think it went pretty well. The sales teams first language is Spanish obviously but they all understand English well. My only language is English. Besides product training one of our goals was making them aware of resources, and I think we accomplished that. A secondary goal of the regional manager was team building and fun. I am certain that goal was accomplished. I was able to get in two runs around the complex and on the beach for 30 minutes Friday and 34 minutes Sunday.

The training team was treated to a tour by boat of the Panama Canal. It is a fascinating engineering feat. I had Internet access during the meeting so while things were going on in Spanish I took advantage of the time to keep up with all of you.

Monday, October 8: I returned home at 2:00 a.m. (4:00 a.m. Panama time) this morning.
I ended up taking a vacation day. I was just too tired to go to work and it was a beautiful day. I caught up on some things at home since I had been gone for a week and most importantly I headed over to Bonelli for my 5 mile loop at 4:00 to take full advantage of the daylight.

Tonight at 8:00 we had to flip back and forth between Dancing with the Stars and the Cleveland Indians/NY Yankees play off game. Yeah Indians. I don't follow sports too much but we do keep up with things when the play offs come around. Besides it is always fun to support the old home town team. I do feel for Joe Torre though. His sense of normalcy looks like it will be taking a new direction with this loss to the Indians. About DWTS, can we terminate Wayne Newton's contract, please?!

Anyway, 17 days to the Marine Corps Marathon. It won't be a PR by any stretch, but it will be a very memorable marathon, no doubt.

Well Prepared?

Since the middle of the week we’ve been hearing about this big summer storm that was about to hit So Cal, with the worst of it planned for Saturday. We did wake up to wet streets on Thursday and Friday but the remainder of Friday was the sunniest and warmest day we’d had all week. We had received one email planning a Peter’s Canyon run, followed a day later by a reschedule to the Santa Ana River Trail to avoid the possible mudfest on the trail. I liked this option better since I had up to 20 miles scheduled; Peter’s Canyon in a 7.5 mile loop.

I awoke Saturday morning to cloudy skies and damp streets but no falling rain. Since the storm hadn’t live up to its potential yet, I wasn’t sure what would happen as the day progressed. I planned for the worst and brought my hat and even brought some Band-Aids for those areas prone to damage from a wet shirt. I drove through a couple of spots of light sprinkles on the way to Yorba Linda but arrived to an overcast but dry trail.

Julie was there this morning and glad to see that I was back. She was glad to have a running partner. She is capable of running much faster than me, but has been taking a more laid back approach after several years of training hard and racing to AG honors. She and her husband Gary part of the Cruisers group heading of to DC for the Marine Corps Marathon. Julie was planning a 20 miler. I explained my dilemma so we decided to run together as far as we felt comfortable and go from there.

We settled into an easy pace, somewhere in the middle nines, following James and Michelle. The rest of the group faded further and further behind as the miles progressed. The conditions were ideal with overcast skies and temperatures in the low 60’s. Just as we finished up the south leg, at 10 miles, the skies opened up. Within minutes we were soaked to the skin. It continued to rain pretty heavily for the next mile or two and then it began to let up. My hat had been fastened onto my Fuelbelt and I was very glad I had brought it along.

Around mile 13 Julie admitted that if she had been running alone she would have bagged the run. We had discussed at a couple of points just how far we were going to run that day. We had settled at one point to at least run to the wooden bridge where the trail moves to the opposite side of the river. That would have given us 16 miles. My max (based on the majority of votes from last post) was 18. When we got to the point of turn around Julie was determined to get the full 20 done so I hung in there with her.

The last 5 miles got increasingly harder for me. Julie still seemed to be running strong although she said she was tired. While we had run side by side for 17 miles I now starting lagging behind a little. At mile 18 everything below the waist was hurting, especially the weak points of right foot and left hip. My left knee was expressing a degree of unhappiness as well. All my normal signs of fatigue were present: head dropped to the left and my left foot dragging along Lurch-like.

Even with the wet shirt I suffered to tissue damage. The Band-Aids and a little Body Glide did the job. Gary on the other hand wasn't as fortunate.

In keeping with my current training method of not stressing over pace I barely glanced at my watch and only hit the split four times during the run. It wasn’t until I got home that I determined the pace. We hadn’t started right at a mile marker as usual so the first split was 32:26 for something more than 3 but less than 4. The next 2 miles were at 17:44. This was the turn around point for the south leg. The next time I hit the split button was at mile 15. 10 miles in 1:30; right at 9:00 pace. Running with Julie had me going a little faster than I might have gone alone. The next 3 miles were at 29:47 and had incorporated a couple of walk breaks. The next full mile was 9:28 and the whole run was completed in 3:05:54 for 9:18 pace.

To stay under 4:00 at MCM I will need to maintain a 9:09 pace throughout. After struggling today I’m more than worried. I do admit that I haven’t tackled this round of training with my normal zeal. The nagging injuries have really put a damper on me mentally. I want to run, but feel like I can’t perform to my expectations.

Thanks to all who voted on the long mile schedule. I guess by running 20 on Saturday, I’ve made some kind of choice. Even now though I think I will attempt another 20 miler next Saturday and then enjoy a long taper into MCM.

This is getting long winded but I wanted to tell you about my run today. Tyler is home for a one week break before the fall semester begins. It is hard to believe that he’s already completed his first year at culinary school. Tyler has kept up his running since this spring when we ran the 5k’s together. He has worked his way up and had 8 miles on his schedule. Right after church we headed over to the San Gabriel River Bikeway. Bryan came along too and road the bike. Tyler knocked out the 8 miles, without a walk break, in 1:27. Pretty cool, huh? 8 miles was more than I really needed but I had a blast running along side my son for 8 miles. I’m hoping to get him over to Bonelli some time this week before he goes back to school.

Sheduling Conflict

I mentioned a big project at work that I’ve been preparing since just before I went to the Caribbean and I’m still working to pull it together. At the end of August I was given the opportunity to travel to Panama City, Panama to conduct technical training on our newest products for the Latin America Sales Team. Pulling together the presentation has been exciting and yet very stressful; a month notice is not really enough time to pull it all together. Add in the fact that my vacation interfered with one week of the preparation. I will get through the presentation. My real predicament is my running schedule.

The Panama trip takes place over the week of October 2 to October 6. I won’t get back home until late on Sunday night. I’ve been following Hal Higdon’s intermediate program so the long runs leading up to MCM starting this weekend look like this:

20 – 12 – 20 – 12 – 8 – 26.2

The second 20 miler falls on the weekend I’m in Panama. It is doubtful that I will be able to run a 20 miler in an unfamiliar place. I’m afraid that 20 miles in a foreign country could put in places I might not want to go or shouldn’t be. I’m seeking advice from my blogging friends on the correct adjustment to be made to the schedule. I have a couple of proposed scenarios below. Please cast your vote:

A: (12-18) – 20 – Panama – 12 – 8 – 26.2
B: 20 – 12 – Panama – 20 – 8 – 26.2

Assuming that I will be able to run 5 to 10 somewhere near the hotel in Panama City. Basically I have the choice of an overly long taper or an abbreviated taper. I appreciate your input.

Have a great run!

A Lack of Valor

The cruise was a blast. It went off pretty much as expected. We drank rum drinks, ate great food, took taxi tours, sat around the pool, shopped, drank rum drinks, ate great food, kayaked in a lagoon, snorkeled, enjoyed wine with great food, and great desserts, napped, sat in the sun, swam in the clear blue Caribbean Ocean, drank rum drinks, ate great food, watched some great entertainment, took formal portraits, shopped, rode a catamaran, rode a jeep, made a quick visit to the clothing optional beach, and don't forget, napped, drank a rum drink and ate some great food. No kids, no work, no TV, no cell phones, just the two of us enjoying our private time together and our public time with friends. Coming back to reality on Sunday night was not a pleasant experience.

We were on the Carnival Cruise ship, the Valor. Our ports of call were Nassau Bahamas, St Thomas US Virgin Islands and St Martin/St Maarten West Indies. We pretty much agreed that St Martin was our overall favorite island. The excursion on St Thomas was a lot of fun, kayaking and snorkeling, but the shopping was too contrived. We had far too little time on each island to really get a feel for them. The locals, at least those employed in the tourism trade, were all super friendly. I was surprised to see so many US and European citizens that had set up shop on the islands. We enjoyed near perfect weather in the 80's with reasonable humidity. Brief rain storms came through 3 or 4 times but only lasted 10 minutes or so and returned immediately to beautiful sunny skies.

The running didn't go quite as well as I might have hoped. The trip started out well with a 5.5 mile run in Miami on Sunday morning before we boarded the ship. I ran across the Venetian Causeway from the mainland over to Miami Beach. The temps were in the mid 70's and a light sprinkle was falling. I really enjoyed running across the causeway, island hopping as I went.

Once on board ship, I was pleased to find out that the track was actually 0.111 miles long; only 9 laps to a mile. Monday morning I got up a little early and headed up to the "jogging" track on Deck 11 and off I went. There were about a dozen other people up there but they were all walking. I was the lone runner. I tried to keep track of laps in my head but by the third mile I resorted to holding up fingers as I went around, 5 fingers on the left hand and 4 more on the right. During the 4th mile I was really losing focus. I struggled mentally but made it through 45 laps to meet my 5 mile goal.

The next day I decided to give the treadmill in the gym a try. Without headphones I watched a show about a girl boxer on the TV. I could occasionally lip read but mostly had no idea what was going on. I made it 3 miles and struggled just to make it to 4 before I called it quits. The numbers on the readout wreaked havoc with my brain. I could not compute mph into minutes/mile nor could I ignore the numbers and just run. I was drawn to watch each tenth of a mile tick slowly away, ugh! This was only my second treadmill experience and it just confirmed to me that I am not a treadmill kind of guy.

I had planned not to run on Wed. and Thurs. I slept in on Friday but headed back up to Deck 11 on Saturday. This was supposed to be the day I attempted the 13 miler. Sad to say I only made it 3 miles before I called it quits. I wasn't physically tired, I just did not have the mental stamina to go round and round, one finger, two fingers, three fingers.... nine fingers, repeat.

I appreciate all the more the joy of the open road or trail so much more. My routes are always out and back or the occasional loop. I almost never cut the out portion short or shortcut a loop so I'm forced to come back as far as I went out. There is no getting off early or just walking off the track. This also explains my struggle with speedwork at the track. It is far to easy to just walk away. Walking away from the middle of an 8 miler puts me 4 miles from the car or home and if I've got to get back there anyway I might as well run.

So not counting the Miami run (which really counts for the prior week) I ran a whopping 12 miles on board the Valor, something I sorely lacked when it came down to boldness and determination in getting the runs in. But running was not the focus of this trip; enjoying the vacation was and I'd have to say "Mission Accomplished".

I'd like to say its good to be back but catching up at work after a week away is crazy, especially with the pressure of a big presentation looming in two weeks that wasn't on the schedule when we planned the trip.

I have gotten two 5 milers in over at Bonelli on Monday and Tuesday and never once considered cutting either one of them short. It will take me another week or so before I get caught up with you. I hope your training and racing has gone well. I look forward to reading all about it.

Sustainable

I ran my 18 miler this morning in 2:48:51, or 9:23 pace. This pace seemed easily sustainable and I could have keep going but the schedule called for 18 so I did 18. I ran today at the Santa Ana River Trail in Yorba Linda where we used to always run with the Snail's Pace training group. It seems like I haven't run there in forever.

I ran today because tomorrow morning my wife and I get on an airplane to Miami. On Sunday we are boarding a cruise ship along with two other couples, friends of ours, for a week long cruise in the eastern Caribbean. I'm not sure how much running I'll be able to get in. The ship has a gym with treadmills, yuck, and an outdoor track that is a whopping 0.10 mile long. That's a whole lot of laps to get the scheduled 13 miler done on Saturday. Saturday is a "fun day" aboard ship, so we'll see how it goes.

Take it easy on me while I'm gone. I finally got caught up on almost all your blogs over the long weekend and a dare to think how far behind I'll be in my bloglines when I get back.

See you in a week. I'll be the one with the nice Caribbean tan!

Oh! The Places I Could Go

The heat wave forced me inside most of the weekend so I spent some time cleaning up my pile on the desk. In addition I received a phone call from my bro-in-law that prompted me thinking about future race plans.

First I found note about some races I wanted to run next year. My initial intent was to finally run some of the California races I've put off in favor of the state goal.

Feb 2 - Twin Peaks Ultra

Mar 15 - Catalina Marathon

Apr 27 - Big Sur Marathon

I of course checked each of the sites today and was freaked to find that there are only 9 spaces left for Jessica's little 50K romp through the mountains. I better get on it soon. Earlier this evening I received this email from the Cruisers:
Everyone,

Big Sur has multiple races on Sunday, April 27, 2008. They have a marathon (6 hour drop-dead time limit), 21 mile, 10.6 mile, 9 mile, and 5 K race on that day. And they also have a marathon relay.

Monterey is about 6 hours driving time and 360 miles from here. You can get more information from this web site.

http://www.bsim.org/registration.htm

Please email us with your interest in this event. The 21 miler will probably fill in a few weeks.
Is there any other suggestion you have as to what event 10 to 20 of us can do together in 2008?

Dorothy and John

Sign me up!

My brother-in-law just spent a week with his Dad in Pennsylvania. Dad is convinced that we are coming to PA in Nov 11 to run the Harrisburg Marathon. Unfortunately my wife can't get away from work then and I really would rather she go with me. We've told her Dad we will be there someday but probably not 2007. He uses all the tricks he can to get us to come for a visit.

In addition, the BIL is moving his family to Houston and has invited us over whenever I'm ready to run TX. The Houston Marathon is January 13, 2008. It fits into the schedule nicely. I confirmed with Eric that Houston is a "concrete jungle"; not my favorite running surface but it will be hard to pass up the free lodging someday.

Not done yet. During the desk cleaning I came across a left over ticket on Southwest that needs to be used before Dec 1. I checked the calendar at Marathonguide.com so see if there was any thing I could sneak in between Marine Corps (Oct) and Rocket City (Dec).

I found a couple of races that look interesting:

Nov 18 - The X-Country Marathon, near Tampa, FL

Nov 17 - The Louisiana Trails Marathon, Shreveport, LA

Southwest flies to Tampa but not to Shreveport.

If I was a Marathon Maniac worth my stuff I would do all these races, one a month for six months. All that still only gets me to the next level, 2 Stars - Silver. This could be fun.

Predictable

If nothing else, I am at least predictable. Come Saturday morning with 17 miles staring me down I headed down to Huntington Beach. It seems like this summer if I'm not at Bonelli I'm at HB. Just to change things up a little I parked at the far north end, actually Bolsa Chica, at the 10 mile mark. I usually park farther south at the 4 mile mark.

With the recent frustration over my pace and with the hip acting up I decided to ignore the mile markers as much as possible. Just running seemed to work out well a couple of weeks ago when I ran south into Newport Beach. Running south first and then heading back north later was a smart decision. There was a nice cooling breeze in my face on the way back when I needed it the most.

My left hip starting complaining around mile 10 or so. My right foot even complained a little. After I finished I headed down to the ocean and took a dip (I told you I was predictable). The cool water sure feels good on tired legs. I sat on the beach for awhile, had some water and food and watched the surfers and paddleboards. I could have sat there all day, all weekend even.

I was very happy to see my final time of 2:33:07. Almost dead on 9:00 pace. I'm happy with that. It is a little maddening though when I think back to my training for SEAFAIR last spring. I distinctly remember the moment when I was running 20 with Jeff and realized that at mile 18 I was running 8:30 miles. That was an ego boost beyond compare!

I really don't know what to expect at Marine Corps. 9 minute miles still keeps me under a 4:00 marathon, but certainly not where I had hoped to be. I had originally thought that marathons 5 months apart would give me plenty of time to recover and rebuild. Instead my body (and mind) has revolted.

The hip started hurting last year about this same time. I was running a lot of my runs on the hills in Bonelli then too, taking full advantage of the long days and off road running. I wonder if there is something inherently wrong with my gait that all those rolling hills just aggravates. My left side is my weaker side. Another contributing factor to the slow down could be my weight. I weighed in Friday. I'm Lifetime at Weight Watchers. The end of August marked 4 years at goal...but this time I was 2 pounds over. I'm up 10 pounds from this time last year. That's got to be a contributing factor. Time to renew the commitment. No ice cream and cookies at least until after MCM.

Sunday morning was 7 in Bonelli; hills and hip be damned. It was hot even at 7:00 in the morning. It has been well over 100 for almost a week. If Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer, I expect the temperatures to cool down come Tuesday morning. Can I get a second?

I ended the month of August with 135.6 miles. A nice steady increase from May's all time low of 44.6. The plan calls for 18 next weekend which I will do on Friday. Hope everyone is enjoying the long (hot) Labor Day weekend.

Singletrack

Tuesday I headed to Bonelli yet again. I went out my usual route for 2 miles out, 2 miles back. I do a lot of my midweek runs here. I sometimes think about switching things up a little and running elsewhere, but then I think why? I'll be back on the roads in the fall.

The way these runs usually go, I walk to the freeway overpass, hit the watch and take off. For the 4 miler I get to turn around point and head back. Once I'm back over the freeway overpass I hit the watch again to see how long I was gone. I can't get much simpler.

I usually have the roads to myself. I occasionally see mountain bikers, other runners, hikers and even horse riders. Tuesday within a couple of hundred yards of my turn around point I came upon 2 horse riders. If I turned around as usual I would be running right back past them in a minute or two. So instead I decided to keep going. At the far end of the park or about half way around the 5 mile Sunday morning loop version of this run I am very near the main road through the park. I decided just to head back via the road.

About a half mile down the road I began to notice a trail just off to my left. Upon investigation I found a sweet little single track. Three years ago when I started running Bonelli much of it was singletrack. As I've mentioned before most of those have become wide fire roads due to extremely dry conditions. The little single track was a whole bunch of fun to run. It was more technical than the fire roads, although still really easy to run. All the rocks gave the eyes and ankles a nice little work out. The singletrack eventually came to an end on a little section of fire road I usually don't take. That particular road is a short cut of my normal loop.

Tonight I headed back over there with the intent of finding where the single track really begins on the opposite end. So I took the short cut fireroad to where I had ended on Tuesday and ran the singletrack in the opposite direction. One cool thing about tonight's run is that I was the first person to run the trail today. I know that because it rained last night (yes we had a freak thunderstorm overnight, believe it or not) so all the previous tracks were wiped clean. Mine were the first prints on the trail. It was kind of like being the first person to walk through fresh snow.

It turns out the singletrack comes out at about the 3 mile mark of my usual route. The trail connects at an acute angle over my left shoulder so I wouldn't really notice it. There is even a sign that says Parkside Trail 1.0 mile that I've never really noticed before. I guess I was just focused on going where I knew I was going and not really paying attention.

Wednesday I took the day off due to another commitment. I may on Friday night, I may not. We are in the middle of the hottest week all summer, 110 degrees Wednesday, so skipping the run isn't very hard to do. 9 miles so far this week.
______________________
So the big question of the week is what did I bring for goodies last Friday? Nothing too terribly exciting. My wife happened to be making a trip to Sam's Club that evening so she picked up a couple of trays of those big muffins for me. They usually have a variety pack. Each muffin is probably a good 400 or more calories. I bring them on most of my days because not a lot of other people do.

Squeezin' Em In

No matter how hard I try I can’t seem to manage more than a weekly post these days. Maybe that is enough.

Last week was just like every other week, 5 days of running with Monday and Friday scheduled as the rest days. But it didn’t exactly turn out that way. I made my mileage goal (almost) but not in the way it was originally on paper.

Monday – I enjoyed my rest day.
Tuesday – I put in 4 miles O&B (out and back) on part of my Bonelli Sunday Loop.
Wednesday – over to Bonelli again for 5 miles on the Cottontail O&B.

Then things started moving around a little. I already knew that I wasn’t going to be doing my long run, a relatively easy 11 miler, on Saturday because we were scheduled to go on a bike ride/beach outing with friends. My original plan was to get up about 30 minutes early on Friday and head over to the Santa Fe Dam, lay down the 11 and get to work a little late. But, on Wednesday I was reminded that I had Friday Goodies this week.

Friday Goodies have been a department tradition going on at least 10 years. We rotate around weekly for treats. With about 2 dozen people in the department you get the honor of bringing in the eats about twice a year. The treats run from the predictable donuts, on up through bagels, muffins, even frozen waffles with fruit, syrup and whip cream. We often get homemade goodies and a couple of times a guy brought in an electric skillet and made omelets for everyone (haven’t had that one in a while). On your Goodie Day is not a good day to be late to work. The masses descend on the coffee area at 8:00 on the dot and there had better be something there. It doesn’t have to be good; it just has to be there!

I really didn’t want to get up earlier to make sure I was there when the vultures landed. I already had other plans Friday night. So, when to do the 11 miles?

I decided on Thursday night right after work. I had originally planned another 4 in Bonelli like Tuesday. The question was how to turn the 4 into 11. I finally realized that Bonelli is 3.5 miles from home, so I ran there, did my 4 miles and ran home. 11 miles just like that. I thought I was pretty smart for figuring that one out.

Friday – I had just enough time between work and my other commitment to get 4 miles done at the Dam.

Saturday we had fun riding “The Strand” from El Segundo to Redondo Beach. I’ve lived in California 23 years and had never been on that particular beach. It is truly a west facing beach. Many of the other So Cal beaches face more southerly. Our group rode back and spent the night at a hotel near the beach.

Sunday – I got up early and ran down Manhattan Beach Blvd about 2 miles and then ran north on The Strand. I had quickly devised this route at the business center in the hotel and turned around at what was the 3 mile mark rather than the 3.5 mile mark I intended. (I had notes in my pocket but neglected to check them.) So I got in 6 instead of 7. It was a beautifully cool morning that left me with a longing to move to the beach. 30 miles for the week.

David and others have asked how my foot is feeling. I am happy to report that it is nearly completely better. I get an occasional twinge and soreness now and then but it doesn’t seem to bother me much on the run.

Sadly this week the hip decided to act up in a big way. I find this rather peculiar on a cutback week. It started bothering on Wednesday when I was trying to push the pace a little and then would act up in each subsequent run. Since Sunday it has ached nearly non stop. It has been a year that this thing has been nagging me. This is especially frustrating since I am now at the point that the schedule really begins to ramp up in preparation for MCM. I may need to scale back the mid week runs just as I did last year before St. George. I’m sure you know how much I don’t like that thought but as someone else said recently, “you’ve got to listen to your body” and “think long term.” I missed my last chiropractor appointment nearly a month ago and haven’t rescheduled. It may be time to do that, too. Grrrrrrr.

On a totally unrelated non-running note; has anyone seen the new Lewis Comfort Tiffany stamp? It is way too nice of a piece of art to stick on the cable bill just to get thrown in the trash. I used to collect stamps as a kid. This one makes me want to get into First Day Covers all over again.

A Change of Pace

By the end of last week I was decidedly tired but not so nearly mentally and physically fatigued as the week before. All my miles this week, except for my Saturday long run, were accomplished on the trails and roads of my favorite little park, Bonelli.

I did my runs there for a couple of reasons. The lack of mile markers removes a lot of stress and the rolling hills dictate a slower pace. So mostly I just ran by time knowing that I at least covered the minimum mileage specified each day.

Monday and Wednesday I did the same out and back on part of my Sunday morning loop for 4 miles each. Tuesday I put together the trail along the 57 N with part of the Cottontail Trail for a 7 miler. Sunday morning I did my usual 5 mile loop, clockwise, preceded by the Picnic loop for a different 7 miler.

Saturday I headed back down to Huntington Beach for my 15 miler. I was hoping for a better outcome than last week's 14 miler. Saturday morning coincided with a big race event in HB, the Huntington Beach Distance Derby, 5 and 10 mile races. I had run the 5 miler back in 2003, just a couple of months after getting started running. My goal was to come in under 50:00. I know I was close. One thing I remember about that race was that I turned on my final kick too soon and struggled to get the the finish line; lesson learned. After the race me, the wife and both boys went to Ruby's on the end of the pier and got in just in time to order breakfast.

Saturday I parked near my usual spot near the 4 mile mark but rather than heading north into the congestion of the Distance Derby I headed south toward Newport Beach. Another big reason for heading this way was the lack of mile markers. I had pre-mapped the route the night before. The route was from Beach Blvd in HB south past the jetty, into Newport Beach, down Seashore Drive behind the first row of beach houses, then hitting the bike path at 36th Street past the Newport Beach Pier and Balboa Pier and then getting dumped onto Balboa Street when the bike path ends at D St, and following the alley between Miramar and Ocean Blvd to where it ended at Channel Rd near the Wedge. The out and back made a nice 15 miler. The lack of markers meant all I had to do was run, stress free; no obsessessing over splits, no mental fatigue.

Although I had gotten started 4 hours earlier than last week there was much less of a breeze and the temps were warmer. This run was a nice change of pace from the HB run I'd done several times recently. The only real downside of this run is the nearly 5 miles of concrete on the Newport Beach bike path. I finished the run in 2:13:26, just 3:26 more than last week for an extra mile and a pace of 8:54, sub 9:00, woohoo.

I ended the week with 37 miles. This was the 2nd week of the mileage build so this week will be a cut back week again. This weekend we've got a bike ride and overnight stay planned with some friends so getting in even the shorter mileage on the weekend will be a challenge. I'm thinking some vacation time on Friday may be in order.

Stick a Fork in Me

What happened to the lazy days of summer?

Since I last posted, 8 days ago, I've run 6 times for a total of 40 miles. 36 for last week (right on target) and 4 tonight. Remember my post of July 22? Well I'm still feeling that way; sluggish, always tired, etc. At the risk of getting whiny, my frustration level with my running is at an all time high. My paces are all around 9:00 or more, even on the best days. As my son would say in an instant message, meh or bleh.

Let's start with this weeks long run of 14 miles. Bryan wanted to go paintballing again so I took the day off on Friday to get the run in. This turned out to be a good idea that meshed well with the plans for the rest of the weekend. Normally I drop him off by 9:00 and then I'm at the Huntington Beach by 10:00 and on my way before things warm up too much.

After we got to the paintball fields, we found out his friends weren't going to be there until 11:00. He asked me to wait so that he could have a place to keep all his gear until they got there. Of course I did. That big S on my chest doesn't stand for Super Dad, it stands for Sucker.

By the time I got to HB and started running it was 12:40 p.m., not exactly the ideal time to be starting a 14 mile run. The temperature was in the low 80's and luckily I was blessed with a cooling breeze directly off the ocean so I was cooled in both directions of this run.

Since this was a long run I decided on an easy pace. The pace the first few miles ranged from 8:50 to 9:00. By mile 4 I was considering walk breaks but I managed to hold them off until I got out the the turn around at mile 7. At that point I took half a ClifShot and walked for a good 2 minutes before getting going again. I ended up taking a walk break every two miles on way back at 9 and 11 another short one at 13 before I talked myself into just getting this thing over with. The last 4 miles felt like mile 22 to 26.2 of a marathon. When I was done, I was D.O.N.E. DONE.

My final pace was 9:17, which is really where my long runs should be, but 14 is not really long and I felt like it was a huge effort to keep up that pace. I can point to a few things that may have attributed. The temps were warm. The run got started late. I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast at 7:00. I don't know. If I feel like this now, what I am going to feel like when I hit the mid 40 weeks? I put my 13 mile time into the McMillan calculator and ended up with a 4:17 marathon, Yikes!

Some may say that I'm overtraining, but I have a hard time believing, or maybe just a hard time accepting, that line of reasoning. There are plenty of runners out there doing may more than 36 miles in a week, with some significant interval and speedwork added in. I'm just slogging along. I averaged 37 miles a week for over 20 weeks last year training for SEAFAIR, my sub 4:00 break through.

The mileage was all put in as planned the rest of the week. 4 on Tuesday and Thursday. 7 on Wednesday and Sunday. One bright spot in the week on Wednesday I headed over to the dam right after work for the 7 miles. I wanted to put in 3 x 1 mile repeats. I warmed up for about 2 miles and then took off. My goal pace was 8:00 miles. I got the first one in at 7:37. I ran an easy recovery half between the intervals. The second and third repeats came in at 7:45 and 7:41. So there is some speed in these poor tired legs after all.

On to this week. The schedule is pretty much identical to last week except that the long run bumps up to 15 miles. I have considered taking an extra day off, but I really don't like that idea much. It is late (AGAIN) and my to do list doesn't get any smaller sitting here. I'm off to bed.

Thanks for reading through my little rant.

Where Oh Where?

My schedule called for 9 miles. By Cruiser buddies were planning on a long run at Huntington Beach again. They were hoping for something longer than 15 so were planning on getting started at 6:15. We usually get going around 7:00. I was OK with the early start but my inner tree hugger started questioning the logic of a 90 mile round trip drive for a 9 mile run.

I thought I'd check with my work buddy Terry to see where she and her friends were running. They too were meeting at HB for a 20 miler, but they were getting started even earlier at 5:30. It looked like I'd be on my own for the 9.

I had several options but in the minimize the carbon footprint vein I wanted to stay as close to home as possible. The obvious choice was the San Gabriel River Bikeway or possibly the service road up to Cogswell Dam. Ultimately I decided to go back over to Glendora Ridge Motorway that I had run back in March. I did a quick view of my map from then and figured out that up Garcia and then east on the motorway to Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) was about 4.5 miles.

I overslept some and started up Garcia at 8:00 on the dot. Garcia is just a crazy run. I had woken with a headache and running up that hill wasn't making it any better. Luckily as I went along it improved and before I made it to the top it was gone. That mile up Garcia was once again the longest mile ever. It took me 21:04 to "run" up Garcia. You can bet there were plenty of walk breaks up that thing.

Once I hit the motorway things smooth out considerably. The first mile is a long slow uphill and then the road continues it rolling nature all the way to GMR. I felt pretty good, but lacked any real umph to get up some of the hills. The 7 miles or so out and back on the motorway took me about 1:22. During the run a deer crossed the road about 20 yards in front of me. I didn't have my camera but I doubt I could have gotten it out quick enough to get a shot.

I knew that all the way to GMR was more than 4.5 miles, but less than 5. When I'm running I have a mental block about turning around except at a known landmark. The point that the motorway meets GMR is a perfect turn around point. I just ran the route and figured out the mileage when I got home with gmaps. The route ended up being 4.8 miles for a 9.6 round trip. Close enough to the 9 on the schedule but that 0.6 is getting written into the log book too.

My final time for was 2:00 on the dot. For 9.6 miles that means 12:30 pace. I can't really figure out, except for the climb up and down Garcia, why this run takes me so long. My pace last time on a 16 mile run was 12:15. I don't get near this pace in Chino Hills. There's just something about this route that takes it out of me. All in all, slow pace not withstanding, the run along the ridge is a keeper. The views down into the San Gabriel Valley to the south and the rest of the mountains to the north and the challenge are worth the trek up Garcia.

Miles for the week: 26.7 (on a cut back week)

Next week things ratchet up just a bit more. The short runs mid week become 4 milers and the long run becomes 7. I've got a 4 miler down pat. I will have to go looking through the logs for a 7 mile route. It has been a while since that distance has been on the schedule.

Today I got good news from Joe. He's officially entered into Rocket City. So Wes, are you in yet? Anybody else care to join us in Alabama in December?

The IPP, Yeah You Know Me

Monday morning a woke to the sounds of the alarm at 6:30 a.m. But it wasn't my own alarm. It was the Hampton Alarm Clock Radio (you can actually buy these things!). I was in Naperville, IL with plans to visit a customer later that morning. I had flown out Sunday afternoon. As you would expect I had done some Internet searching and found what I thought would be a good place to get in my run.

What I found was the IPP (the Illinois Prairie Path). The IPP is over 40 miles of rail trail throughout Dupage and Cook Counties. I drove over from Naperville to Warrenville and parked at the Warrenville City Hall just steps from the IPP. I jumped on the path right at the 5 mile marker and headed west. My schedule called for 3 miles. Running west from City Hall to Ferry Rd was just a little over 1.5 miles. The out and back gave me a nice little 5K.

The thing I like about these rail trails is that it gets me off the road on a well groomed easy running path. It is nice to be away from traffic, although Warrenvill is not exactly congested.
The IPP is a mostly hard packed dirt and crushed limestone path about 6 feet wide with 3 feet of grass on either side. The trees and undergrowth were thick on either side. It was like running down a green hallway with the sky as the ceiling. At times the trees converged overhead for a run through a green tunnel.

My first mile came in at 8:28. I hit Ferry Rd (0.55 miles) in 4:35 and then headed back. On the way back I started feeling pretty good so I pushed just a little. I finished the last 1.55 miles in 12:19 for a 7:57 pace. That sure felt good. I haven't seen sub 8:00 since I don't know when.

The customer visit went well. The new product was removed successfully. All parties involved; doctor, assistant, patient and patient's Mom and of course me; were all pleased. Mom was so happy in the end with the braces that she had them put on her daughter as well. I was back home before the clock struck 12:00 midnight.

My 5K on the IPP ended the month of July for me with 115.8 miles. Although the hip and foot aren't without their moments of complaining things are coming back together slowly, ever so slowly. I'm about a third of the way through the schedule for MCM.

Life's a Beach

David asked just how does one “accidentally cut a route short”? Rather than running my usual Sunday morning Bonelli loop I had ventured out onto the streets in my neighborhood. I headed out on my Bonnie Cove 5 route. The route has many right and left turns on some of the same streets that I use for other routes and distances. I hadn’t run the BC5 since earlier in the spring. By Sunday, I was beat. Couple that with the fact that I don’t compute well on the run and I made a right turn one block too early. About 50 yards down the street I suspected that I had turned early but wasn’t up to backtracking. I confirmed my mistake when I got home, so 5 became 4.7.

Thanks to all for the suggestions and encouragement on last weeks malaise. Anne suggested vitamin B. I used to take B as part of a daily regimen including C, E and glucosamine & chondrotin. I ran out of B four to six weeks ago and haven’t made a trip to the store for more since I had plenty of everything else.

I believe Michelle suggested a massage, which luckily I had already scheduled for Monday along with a chiropractic adjustment. I also enjoyed her seemingly contradictory suggestions of focusing on healthy eating and indulging in something decadent. I suspect much of the problem can be attributed to a diet a little too far on the decadent side for too long. I’ve been getting away with it for quite a while now (remember my love of ice cream and cookies).

This week was a much better week for running. All my weekday runs were done in Bonelli, in part because I just plain enjoy running there and in part to keep the pace easy. Monday evening and Friday morning I did an out and back route on the Sunday morning loop for 3 miles each. On Wednesday night I did a different out and back on the north side of the park for 6 miles. I think having a rest day in between each run helped out. During these runs I wasn’t rocking the speed but at least the legs felt up to the task.

Saturday, I met my Cruiser buds down in Corona Del Mar for a run along Ocean Blvd then ultimately onto the beach down to Crystal Cove. This was a 12 miler that included 5 miles of running on the sand. The tide was relatively low so we had some great hard pack to run on. I got to run with Michelle. She has been experiencing a battle with plantar fasciitis as well. She has also been struggling with here speed since coming back. I could certainly relate.

As we ran along the sand on a beautiful sunny morning I couldn’t help but think to myself that a run can’t get much more “California” than this. We finished the run in 1:50 with is about the same time as last weeks 12 miler on the HB bike path. We followed up the run with coffee and bagels at Bruegger’s Bagels on PCH in Newport Beach.

I stuck to the streets around home this morning for 6 miles. I could tell today that three straight days of runs were beginning to take their toll. I was about half way through the run before things finally began to flow. I finished off the week with 30 miles, as planned.

Next week is a cut back week, again. It seems like I just had one but I’ll take it. It will be just a few more weeks before I break the 15 mile barrier on a long run. I will eventually get in a 17, an18 and two 20’s before MCM.

It's Late

I started a post earlier this evening but never quite got it done. I also realize it wasn't heading in a very positive direction so instead I'll just put up a quick recap of the week.

The good:

A 5 mile run in Bonelli with a collegue from corporate.

A 3.5 mile run near Portland

A 4 mile run in Huntington Beach on Friday and the rest of the day playing in the surf with my oldest son.

A 12 miler run in Huntington Beach, again, with the CA Cruisers.

A 4.7 mile run on Sunday morning around home. (I intended on 5 but accidently cut the route short).

Overall, meeting my mileage goal for the week of 29 miles.

The not so good:

I feel sluggish during my runs.

I was wiped out after a measly 12 miler.

My whole body is really stiff and sore.

Work Related Runs

My company is part of a huge conglomerate based in the part of the country where "Don't ya know?" is a common phrase. We have a small contingent of people; scientist and engineers, up there working on projects for us. On occasion we bring them out to work with us for a week or vice verse. It's a good thing.

One of the guys is out here this week. When I heard he was coming I invited to go on a run. We met last year, so I knew he was a runner. He has run three marathons in past - Twin Cities, twice and Grandma's, his PR at 3:28. Unfortunately at his age it doesn't come close to qualifying him for Boston. I know that when I travel I like to find a place to run. So I took it upon myself to be the running tour guide.

Monday was the only real night that worked out. When I planned this thing the heat was in the mid 80's which is still tolerable. Then last Friday and over the weekend the temps were into the high, high 90's until well past sundown. Luckily Monday things cooled back down. By the time we left work at 6:00 them temps were in the reasonable mid 80 range.

We of course headed over to my favorite trail for my 5 mile Sunday morning Bonelli Loop. I had warned him about the hills in advance. I had a great time and I think he really enjoyed it too. He agreed that the last big hill was pretty killer, but we made it up. It turned out to be one of the slowest times for the loop, but I think that was due to my non stop chatter. Normally I'm running this thing alone and in silence.

And then since my wife was at her gym class and Bryan was at work he and I headed downtown for some Mexican food and a Dos XX's.

Today I'm up in Portland, actually somewhere in the Beaverton/Tigard area at a Embassy Suites in Washington Square. I'm up here for a study group to sit in on a presentation by one of our regional managers on bonding. This is something that fits within the responsibilities of my current job, so I'm here to learn from the master.

I landed in Portland at 7:00, grabbed the rental car and drove over to Tigard. I quickly checked in and changed to get out there while the sun was still up. The nice thing about being so far north is the fact that daylight lasts so much longer than I'm used to in SoCal. Official sunset was listed as 8:55 but it was still plenty light enough nearly 30 minutes after that.

I only needed 3 or 4 miles today. The plan was to head over to Greenway Park. I quickly left the hotel to head over to the north side of the park only to make a wrong turn and ended up on the freeway. Off the freeway and exit later and back to the right street only to be met by a train blocking the intersection. I was able to turn around and tried to get to the southern end of the park and was again blocked by the train. I was afraid that the precious daylight was going to wear out before I got there.

Finally the train began to move and traffic slowly thinned out. I drove down Scholls Ferry Road and could see the trail off to the right. I pulled into a shopping center and parked. I wasn't sure if you were allowed to use the shopping center parking to access the trail but I took my chances. The sun was setting any slower. I was able to head north on the trail until I hit Hall Blvd. Along the way there are many places that you can jump onto the trail from the neighborhood that abuts it. There are basketball courts and play grounds interspersed along the length of the park. It would be nice to have something like this literally in your backyard. The only downside I could see, is that it would drive the poor neighborhood dogs absolutely crazy.

After I got back to Scholls Ferry I took the bridge under the road and continued south until I came to Windsor Place where I turned around and went back to the car. I ran for 29:11 and figure I covered about 3.5 miles (8:20 pace). Breathing some of that same air as Iron Mike must have been a good thing.

When I got back I took a better look around and turns out I was parked in at a shopping center that included the Portland Running Co. Ironic. By this time tomorrow I will be back home and will rest for 2 days before running again. Today's run marked 5 days in a row, a milestone that hasn't been seen for a while and for the most part my body is holding up.