Back in January, I signed up to run the new and improved Los Angeles Marathon. This was the 25th running of the event with the new course that started at Dodgers Stadium and "ran the icons" all the way to the Santa Monica Pier. I didn't end up with a stress fracture this year but the running gods were certainly trying their best to hold me to my "No More CA Marathons" Pledge, no matter how easily sucked into the hype I can get.
Thinking back on it my 15 miler two weeks ago was the beginning of the downhill slide. That particular run went horribly. I was beat like I'd run a full marathon after what should have been an easy run. I also can now recognize all the signs of labored breathing after that run for the next week until I ended up with a horrible cough deep in my chest. No matter how hard I coughed I couldn't bring up whatever was down there. I ran 10 miles last weekend with Celeste, Brian and Terry and nearly lost a lung afterward. Monday at work I felt awful and Tuesday I ended up staying home from work. I haven't taken a sick day in years.
I didn't get out for my easy 5 miler on Tuesday. I couldn't. I went back to work on Wednesday and made it the rest of the week, but I was wiped out by the end of the day. Thursday I finally succumbed to peer pressure (mostly from my wife) and went to the urgent care to find out I had a pretty bad case of bronchitis. The PA prescribed antibiotic and an inhaler. I told her I was a runner. She suggested resting a couple more days. Friday and Saturday were a couple of days, so in my mind I was running again on Sunday for the LA Marathon. Even if I had told her about the marathon and she had suggested I not run, I likely would have run anyway, so I figured why ask for permission. Thursday's 5 miler was scrapped, too.
The drugs did some serious damage on the infections but I was by no means anywhere near marathon shape by Sunday. I came home after the expo on Saturday and took a 2 hour nap; not exactly a good omen. I did get to meet Joe and his nephew at the expo. We had lunch in Eagle Rock and then they gave me a ride home.
Sunday morning Terry met me at my house and my wife chauffeured us to Dodger Stadium. We were there soon after 5:30 and got in quite easily. I had that familiar "I can't believe I'm running another marathon" bubbly feeling inside. I really was looking forward to this race. I spoke with Joe on the phone several times that morning but we never managed to hook up in the sea of humanity.
Dodger Stadium was open to the runners, which was very cool. We had access to the outfield and the low level bleaches. I headed straight to the bathrooms but it was apparent very early on that this was one huge area for improvement for next year. The bathrooms inside the stadium are not nearly numerous enough to accommodate 25,000 pre-race bladders/bowels. There were a bank of port-o-lets in the parking lot, but again not nearly enough. By the time Terry had gone a second time and we headed to the starting corrals, we were lined up way in the back.
We were at least 10, if not 15 minutes from the starting line. We heard Randy Newman's "I Love LA" at least 4 if not 5 times before we were racing. It wasn't a problem, just a testament to the shear number of people there. Starting that far back put us behind many, many walkers. The first mile was predictably crowded. A 12 minute first mile was determined by the crowd more than anything. Upon exiting the stadium Terry was able to open it up a little on the downhill. It became apparent right then and there that my bronchitis was not going to allow me to keep up with her. I let her go early and settled in for a long day.
I felt good. I just couldn't muster up any kind of speed or power. I just kinda hummed along at around 11:00 miles, taking a walk break every 7 minutes. I knew it was going to be a long day, but like I said I felt OK. Then I hit mile 19 and the wheels really fell off. There were two 12:00 miles and then things headed up into the over 14:00 range. I was definitely doing the "worn out old man shuffle." I kept up my 7 minute run and 1 minute walk break until mile 23 when the walk breaks started extending themselves to about 90 seconds.
I ran those last few miles off to the right side of the course, mostly to stay out of the way. One nice side effect of that was that I got called out quite often by the spectators which was really pretty nice and frankly quite needed at that point. I knew that I didn't "look good" nor was I "almost there" but it was nice to be recognized by name. I kept going more for them than for anything. I never doubted that I would finish. I just wanted to be done.
Final official time was 5:19:28. This was my third slowest marathon time ever, 60 t0 90 minutes longer than my recent times from last fall/winter. The only ones that were slower were a previous LA Marathon on a 93 degree day (only my second marathon ever) and the Tecumseh Trail Marathon "mudfest." The slow time doesn't bother me in the least. I never had a time goal for LA from the start and I knew the battle with bronchitis was going to bring a challenge to the day that I was certain not to overcome. Just being able to start and finish my 20th marathon was reward enough. (Although the finishers metal is pretty darn cool.)
I'll be back with another post about the good and bad, at least from my perspective, on the 25th LA Marathon Stadium to the Sea.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Variations on a Theme
Thank goodness for taper weeks. No more trying to fit in a 7 to 10 miler midweek in the dark. I just find it difficult to wrap my head around getting out the door for those miles in the winter months. The taper week called for nothing but 4, 5 and 6 miles. Funny that 6 is doable but 7 seems so far.
I usually try to vary my routes on a daily basis but this week, all three runs were on the same basic route. I used the equestrian path in Via Verde as much as possible. Tuesday I ran a 5 mile out and back. Wednesday I covered the same ground, a little less of it though, for my 4 miler. Last night I started at a different spot on the route for my 6 miler that included hills covering some of the same ground from the previous two nights and adding on a couple of the hilly extensions. My go to 3-5 mile route is in the valley between two hills in the Via Verde neighborhood. The rest of the neighborhood is one big up or down hill run. It would be a terrible place to have to learn to ride a bike for a little kid.
One last long-ish run on this weekend of 10 or 12 miles and then next week I even get an extra rest day before the LA Marathon. Time to start checking the weather forecast.
I usually try to vary my routes on a daily basis but this week, all three runs were on the same basic route. I used the equestrian path in Via Verde as much as possible. Tuesday I ran a 5 mile out and back. Wednesday I covered the same ground, a little less of it though, for my 4 miler. Last night I started at a different spot on the route for my 6 miler that included hills covering some of the same ground from the previous two nights and adding on a couple of the hilly extensions. My go to 3-5 mile route is in the valley between two hills in the Via Verde neighborhood. The rest of the neighborhood is one big up or down hill run. It would be a terrible place to have to learn to ride a bike for a little kid.
One last long-ish run on this weekend of 10 or 12 miles and then next week I even get an extra rest day before the LA Marathon. Time to start checking the weather forecast.
Sunday, March 07, 2010
The Hat Was for Naught
After starting out this week's training with an accidentally shortened run, it all came together in the end.
I worked out with my trainer on Tuesday after work and then opted not to run. I'm not sure why, normally I would and especially thinking ahead to the after work commitments I had the rest of the week I should have.
My two easy 7 milers this week, Wednesday and Sunday, were extended to 7.5 and 7.7 respectively. I didn't plan it that way its just the way the routes worked out.
Dinner plans with friends on Thursday and small group meeting on Friday precluded running or gym time for that matter. I snuck out at lunch time and ran my 8 miler that included 3x1 mile repeats. Instead of driving over to the dam I ran straight out the front gate. Doing it this way saves quite a bit of time. It takes nearly a 30 minutes round trip to drive back and forth to the dam. The 8 mile run only took 70 minutes. I don't think I was missed at all, except that one of the management team saw me leaving. I've heard he spend some of his lunch hours at the gym.
Saturday's long run was threatened with rain. It seems to have rained or threatened rain very frequently in the last couple of months. We get so spoiled with beautiful weather most of the time, the rain is getting a little old. But I know eventually it is going to be in the 90's with no relief in sight and we'll be wishing for some rain. The CA Cruisers met for a run on the Santa Ana River Trail. We had a pretty big turnout today with a couple of new comers as well. There were at least 25 of us.
It was cloudy but not raining when we started. I wore my baseball cap just in case. We had about a half dozen rain drops around mile 4 and then the sun broke through the clouds for a few miles. I was running with Terry and the girls. Carol and Jamie turned back at the 5 mile point. Jeanne talked Terry into continuing on to 6 miles. I was planning 15 total so I was in for the long haul.
Around mile 9 I was cooked. I couldn't really explain why. I'd felt so good last week on the 20 miler and here I was wondering if I'd even make it back for the 12 mile round trip. I seriously considered calling it quits at 12. When we got back Terry and Jeanne were done. I was beginning to feel a little better and knew that I'd be upset with myself later for giving up, so I headed off on my own for the last 3 miles to make it 15 (2:32). I got it done, but I was beat. I'm still not quite sure why. The rain held off until the afternoon and evening, hurray!
45.2 miles for the week, a tab bit over plan. Next week should be a breeze with only 32 miles on the docket. Only 2 weeks until the 25th running of the Los Angeles Marathon. There's quite a bit of buzz about it on Twitter. I'm getting kind of excited for it, even though it wont' get me a state.
In other exciting news I may get to run as part of a team for the Ragnar Relay from Ventura to Dana Point. When I'd gotten the flyer I was interested but didn't think anyone else would be. I found out this weekend that a Cruiser I haven't seen in a while has a team going and has an opening so I may join in on the fun. I've read lots of posts about relays and everyone seems to have fun, exhausting fun, but fun. We'll see what happens.
I worked out with my trainer on Tuesday after work and then opted not to run. I'm not sure why, normally I would and especially thinking ahead to the after work commitments I had the rest of the week I should have.
My two easy 7 milers this week, Wednesday and Sunday, were extended to 7.5 and 7.7 respectively. I didn't plan it that way its just the way the routes worked out.
Dinner plans with friends on Thursday and small group meeting on Friday precluded running or gym time for that matter. I snuck out at lunch time and ran my 8 miler that included 3x1 mile repeats. Instead of driving over to the dam I ran straight out the front gate. Doing it this way saves quite a bit of time. It takes nearly a 30 minutes round trip to drive back and forth to the dam. The 8 mile run only took 70 minutes. I don't think I was missed at all, except that one of the management team saw me leaving. I've heard he spend some of his lunch hours at the gym.
Saturday's long run was threatened with rain. It seems to have rained or threatened rain very frequently in the last couple of months. We get so spoiled with beautiful weather most of the time, the rain is getting a little old. But I know eventually it is going to be in the 90's with no relief in sight and we'll be wishing for some rain. The CA Cruisers met for a run on the Santa Ana River Trail. We had a pretty big turnout today with a couple of new comers as well. There were at least 25 of us.
It was cloudy but not raining when we started. I wore my baseball cap just in case. We had about a half dozen rain drops around mile 4 and then the sun broke through the clouds for a few miles. I was running with Terry and the girls. Carol and Jamie turned back at the 5 mile point. Jeanne talked Terry into continuing on to 6 miles. I was planning 15 total so I was in for the long haul.
Around mile 9 I was cooked. I couldn't really explain why. I'd felt so good last week on the 20 miler and here I was wondering if I'd even make it back for the 12 mile round trip. I seriously considered calling it quits at 12. When we got back Terry and Jeanne were done. I was beginning to feel a little better and knew that I'd be upset with myself later for giving up, so I headed off on my own for the last 3 miles to make it 15 (2:32). I got it done, but I was beat. I'm still not quite sure why. The rain held off until the afternoon and evening, hurray!
45.2 miles for the week, a tab bit over plan. Next week should be a breeze with only 32 miles on the docket. Only 2 weeks until the 25th running of the Los Angeles Marathon. There's quite a bit of buzz about it on Twitter. I'm getting kind of excited for it, even though it wont' get me a state.
In other exciting news I may get to run as part of a team for the Ragnar Relay from Ventura to Dana Point. When I'd gotten the flyer I was interested but didn't think anyone else would be. I found out this weekend that a Cruiser I haven't seen in a while has a team going and has an opening so I may join in on the fun. I've read lots of posts about relays and everyone seems to have fun, exhausting fun, but fun. We'll see what happens.
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Mistaken Identity
It was shaping up to be a mildly hectic week so I ended up running yesterday. Monday is usually a day off and especially after a 20 miler on Sunday I might have expected to take the day off. I was very happy with how good I felt after the 20, almost too good to be true.
In an effort to get in all the planned runs for the week I ended up heading to Bonelli, but stuck to the pavement to keep it a little easier on my legs. I hadn't really studied the plan nor committed it to memory I new there were two "round number" runs bookending a 7 miler was about as specific as I could remember on the run.
I ended up running 6 miles and by then it was fully dark and Bonelli gives me a little heebie jeebies at that point. There were still a couple of bike riding stragglers but I in two separate places last night I came upon lone men walking along purposelessly, or so it seemed. Kind of gave me the creeps especially after listening to the news on the way home about the girl jogger down near San Diego. I'll will be very happy in a couple of weeks when daylight savings time kicks in.
I got home and gave the schedule a look and the "round number" I remembered was actually an 8, not the 6 I ran, but I'm calling it good.
In an effort to get in all the planned runs for the week I ended up heading to Bonelli, but stuck to the pavement to keep it a little easier on my legs. I hadn't really studied the plan nor committed it to memory I new there were two "round number" runs bookending a 7 miler was about as specific as I could remember on the run.
I ended up running 6 miles and by then it was fully dark and Bonelli gives me a little heebie jeebies at that point. There were still a couple of bike riding stragglers but I in two separate places last night I came upon lone men walking along purposelessly, or so it seemed. Kind of gave me the creeps especially after listening to the news on the way home about the girl jogger down near San Diego. I'll will be very happy in a couple of weeks when daylight savings time kicks in.
I got home and gave the schedule a look and the "round number" I remembered was actually an 8, not the 6 I ran, but I'm calling it good.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Good Choices
At least I think they were good choices. This was the last "big" week of training before the LA Marathon on March 21. The week included a speed session with Yasso 800's and the longest long run.
Good Choice #1: The plan called for 10 miles with 10x800. I had a great time doing this workout last summer in preparation for the Heart of America Marathon, but I haven't done much in the way of speed work since then. I find it very difficult to muster up the concentration for those types of drills in the darkness of winter. For this one I opted to run it at lunch time on Wednesday. A meeting-less afternoon was assurance that my post run aroma would not offend anyone. Ten miles in really too much to squeeze into a lunch break, even and extended one. The first accommodation I made was to shorten the run to 8 miles. With the lack of speed work leading up to this, trying for 10x800 seemed unrealistic, so I cut it back to 5x800 and ran them in an average pace of 3:51. I had a 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down.
Good Choice #2: The long run for the weekend was a 22 miler that I'd scaled back to 20, weeks ago since the LA training was compressed a bit. I usually get my long runs in on Saturday morning. The weather gurus were calling for 100% chance of torrential downpours on Saturday. My original plan for the weekend was to hit the gym on Friday after work, run long on Saturday and then run short on Sunday. With the predicted weather I saw no reason to chance the rain. I don't mind running in the rain, but torrential just didn't seem necessary when Sunday's forecast called for clear skies.
When I got home Friday rather than going to the gym I put in the 6 easy miles scheduled for Sunday. Then on Saturday I went to the gym during one of the respites from the downpours. We had the strangest weather (at least for SoCal). We'd have torrential downpours, often with hail followed by bursts of sunshine, then drizzle then more downpours. This went on all day. I was glad I'd run on Friday night.
This morning the rain clouds had dispersed and the sun was shining brightly. It was a beautiful day for a 20 miler. The temperature was in the mid to high 50's. My friend Terry and I ran the Santa Ana River Trail. We kept up an 7:1 run:walk ratio. Around mile 11 Terry was feeling pretty wiped out so she fell behind, switching to a 5:1. I kept on alone and finished the 20 miles in a moderate 3:23 (10:09) pace. Terry wasn't too far behind. I felt really good, but it is runs like Terry had that make you wonder why we ever thought running marathons was a good idea.
Good Choice #3: Terry and I will likely run the LA Marathon together, shooting for a 4:05 finish. This will qualify Terry for Boston a second time and shouldn't be a stretch for me or put me under too much stress running a marathon that doesn't add to my 50 state goal. I'm looking forward to the weekend as Joe will be in town with his nephew from San Diego. It will be fun to hang out again. The next two weekends are relatively short runs of 15 and 12 and then its time for the big one. I'm happy to have entered the taper phase, yet again.
Good Choice #1: The plan called for 10 miles with 10x800. I had a great time doing this workout last summer in preparation for the Heart of America Marathon, but I haven't done much in the way of speed work since then. I find it very difficult to muster up the concentration for those types of drills in the darkness of winter. For this one I opted to run it at lunch time on Wednesday. A meeting-less afternoon was assurance that my post run aroma would not offend anyone. Ten miles in really too much to squeeze into a lunch break, even and extended one. The first accommodation I made was to shorten the run to 8 miles. With the lack of speed work leading up to this, trying for 10x800 seemed unrealistic, so I cut it back to 5x800 and ran them in an average pace of 3:51. I had a 2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down.
Good Choice #2: The long run for the weekend was a 22 miler that I'd scaled back to 20, weeks ago since the LA training was compressed a bit. I usually get my long runs in on Saturday morning. The weather gurus were calling for 100% chance of torrential downpours on Saturday. My original plan for the weekend was to hit the gym on Friday after work, run long on Saturday and then run short on Sunday. With the predicted weather I saw no reason to chance the rain. I don't mind running in the rain, but torrential just didn't seem necessary when Sunday's forecast called for clear skies.
When I got home Friday rather than going to the gym I put in the 6 easy miles scheduled for Sunday. Then on Saturday I went to the gym during one of the respites from the downpours. We had the strangest weather (at least for SoCal). We'd have torrential downpours, often with hail followed by bursts of sunshine, then drizzle then more downpours. This went on all day. I was glad I'd run on Friday night.
This morning the rain clouds had dispersed and the sun was shining brightly. It was a beautiful day for a 20 miler. The temperature was in the mid to high 50's. My friend Terry and I ran the Santa Ana River Trail. We kept up an 7:1 run:walk ratio. Around mile 11 Terry was feeling pretty wiped out so she fell behind, switching to a 5:1. I kept on alone and finished the 20 miles in a moderate 3:23 (10:09) pace. Terry wasn't too far behind. I felt really good, but it is runs like Terry had that make you wonder why we ever thought running marathons was a good idea.
Good Choice #3: Terry and I will likely run the LA Marathon together, shooting for a 4:05 finish. This will qualify Terry for Boston a second time and shouldn't be a stretch for me or put me under too much stress running a marathon that doesn't add to my 50 state goal. I'm looking forward to the weekend as Joe will be in town with his nephew from San Diego. It will be fun to hang out again. The next two weekends are relatively short runs of 15 and 12 and then its time for the big one. I'm happy to have entered the taper phase, yet again.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Solid and Sliding
How did I ever find time to blog. I hate to give it up but with Facebook and Twitter competing for my time its getting harder to keep up. Reading is difficult, but made somewhat easier because so many others seemed to have dropped off the blogger wagon. Posting is difficult. Twitter is my personal fave at the moment. It is short, sweet and to the point. Easy to stay in touch with a lot of peeps without any commitment to a long read or a comment.
On the running front, it was a good solid week of training miles. Four weeks to the day when I break my no-CA marathons for the new LA Marathon Stadium to Sea course.
I took advantage of my carpool situation and the wonderful summer like weather to run 8 and 10.5 miles on Monday and Wednesday during my (extended) lunch hours. It was so nice to complete those medium length distances during the daylight. The 80 degree temps were a bonus. I was definitely in my element.
Thursday I headed straight to Bonelli and got 2.5 miles in on the trails before darkness encroached and then added about 4 more miles on the pavement for a nice 6.6 miler.
Rain was predicted for Saturday morning but we were blessed with a wonderful clear and cool morning for a beautiful lap around the Newport Beach Back Bay. There were so many other runners out there, it was very enjoyable. I ran the first part with Michelle and Jay and the remainder with my friend Terry and her friend Terry. At the end to the loop Terry and I headed back out for a few more miles to bring the total to 15.
Today I headed over to Bonelli for my Sunday Morning Loop but my fave trails were closed due to the land slide that happened on Thursday afternoon. It had rained overnight and I was hoping for a little play time in the mud. The slide was on the far southwest corner of Bonelli near the 3.5 to 4 mile mark of my normal loop. I made do by jumping on the loop at the far end and doubling back a couple of time to make up my mileage.
Total for the week was 47.1 miles. Next week includes the last big long run before LA. Not sure I'll get to cool off in the ocean like last week.
On the running front, it was a good solid week of training miles. Four weeks to the day when I break my no-CA marathons for the new LA Marathon Stadium to Sea course.
I took advantage of my carpool situation and the wonderful summer like weather to run 8 and 10.5 miles on Monday and Wednesday during my (extended) lunch hours. It was so nice to complete those medium length distances during the daylight. The 80 degree temps were a bonus. I was definitely in my element.
Thursday I headed straight to Bonelli and got 2.5 miles in on the trails before darkness encroached and then added about 4 more miles on the pavement for a nice 6.6 miler.
Rain was predicted for Saturday morning but we were blessed with a wonderful clear and cool morning for a beautiful lap around the Newport Beach Back Bay. There were so many other runners out there, it was very enjoyable. I ran the first part with Michelle and Jay and the remainder with my friend Terry and her friend Terry. At the end to the loop Terry and I headed back out for a few more miles to bring the total to 15.
Today I headed over to Bonelli for my Sunday Morning Loop but my fave trails were closed due to the land slide that happened on Thursday afternoon. It had rained overnight and I was hoping for a little play time in the mud. The slide was on the far southwest corner of Bonelli near the 3.5 to 4 mile mark of my normal loop. I made do by jumping on the loop at the far end and doubling back a couple of time to make up my mileage.
Total for the week was 47.1 miles. Next week includes the last big long run before LA. Not sure I'll get to cool off in the ocean like last week.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Pulled the Trigger
Today I registerd for what may become state #17. Super excited. I've wanted to run this one for a while now. Plans are to run with a coworker from the Twin Cities area. Expectations are high. Twin Cities is billed as "the most scenic urban marathon in America". I'll let you know. Training offically starts June 14th.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Surf City Schwag
Race Banner on the Huntington Beach Pier the day before the race, a stormy, wet, windy day.
The race medal is one of the coolest ever. The surf board is wooden with the metal medallion attached. (Try as I might I couldn't rotate the top picture, sorry)
The California Dreamin' metal for completing some combination of the Long Beach, San Francisco and Surf City Half or Full Marathons. I did the half option - no more California marathons, remember.
The logo on the California Dreamin' jacket.
The final official results are in:
1:45:11 (8:02 pace)
Splits were - 3 mi 24:13 (8:05 pace) and 8.2 mi 1:04:48 (7:55 pace).
925 out of 11783 overall. I'm still jazzed.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Surf City Half Marathon
I signed up for this race last July. Yes, a little over 8 months ago. I don't normally plan quite that far ahead, but the race sells out early and I wanted to be sure to get in on California Dreamin' Series. At the time I had no real goal other than to finish and collect the really cool metal and the California Dreamin' schwag.
After my PR performance at the 10K in October and without the high mileage of a marathon training program facing me done, I thought I might try to better my half marathon PR. My current PR, set back in 2005 at the Fontana Days Half, is kind of a "soft" PR in that it was set with the benefit of a really nice downhill course. A PR is a PR, but I wanted to legitimize it a bit.
Then I started training based on Bart Yasso's plan in his book "My Life on the Run". I'd used the full marathon plan with success. Unfortunately I found it difficult to complete the quality workouts during the dark and cooler evenings of winter. The couple of half marathon pace runs I did try during the daylight did not go well. To achieve a PR I'd have to run the race at a steady 8:00 pace or less. I'd also heard from others that the course is unusually crowded further complicating PR attempts. A few weeks back I'd pretty much given up any hope of a PR effort at Surf City.
Then race morning dawned as a new day. We'd just had two days of scattered showers with heavy rains, winds and gloomy conditions. This morning the clouds cleared and the rains moved on. The temperatures were in the mid 50's. After the rain everything looks brighter and clearer, even the air is clean for a few days afterward. I decided to line up as close to the front as could. I decided to give it all I could for as long as I could and let whatever happened happen.
The race sent the full marathoners off over an hour before the half. With the half they employed a wave start that went off without a hitch. I was only able to work my way into the 2:00 corral. The 1:30, 1:40 and 1:50 were ahead of me. Being in the 2:00 corral actually worked to my advantage. From the get go I was passing people and that never let up throughout the race. The mental boost from gaining on and then overtaking other runners was huge.
I kept a close watch on my mile splits and was shocked from the get go. The first 5 miles went like this:
8:23, 7:26, 8:25 (including a pit stop), 7:58, and 8:01.
During my training I hadn't been able to sustain an 8:00 pace for more than 3 miles. I'd gone 5 so I just kept on chugging away.
The next 3 miles looked like this:
8:08, 7:40 and 8:00
Incredible. I was even stopping at every water stop for a drink and walking through until I'd downed the liquid and then got right back to it. I'd planned not to use a more formal run/walk schedule.
The 8 mile mark was the final U-turn and it was a straight shot down Pacific Coast Highway to the finish line. I figured 5 more miles at this pace and I'd be done in less than an hour. I hoped I could hang on.
Mile 9: missed the marker
Mile 10: 16:52 - I was a little concerned here, the pace had fallen to 8:26
Mile 11: 7:39
Mile 12: 8:06
Mile 13.1: 8:34 (7:47 pace)
Final time on my watch 1:45:13. Live results on the website show 1:45:11 (still unofficial at this point)
At any rate the 1:45:11 is a surprisingly unexpected PR by nearly 30 seconds. I'm really at a loss to explain it. My training wouldn't have predicted it. I guess being slightly under trained and the near perfect race conditions all fell together to make it possible. With no downhill assist on a basically flat course at Surf City, I'd say I now have a legitimate half marathon PR! And some great schwag to go with it.
After my PR performance at the 10K in October and without the high mileage of a marathon training program facing me done, I thought I might try to better my half marathon PR. My current PR, set back in 2005 at the Fontana Days Half, is kind of a "soft" PR in that it was set with the benefit of a really nice downhill course. A PR is a PR, but I wanted to legitimize it a bit.
Then I started training based on Bart Yasso's plan in his book "My Life on the Run". I'd used the full marathon plan with success. Unfortunately I found it difficult to complete the quality workouts during the dark and cooler evenings of winter. The couple of half marathon pace runs I did try during the daylight did not go well. To achieve a PR I'd have to run the race at a steady 8:00 pace or less. I'd also heard from others that the course is unusually crowded further complicating PR attempts. A few weeks back I'd pretty much given up any hope of a PR effort at Surf City.
Then race morning dawned as a new day. We'd just had two days of scattered showers with heavy rains, winds and gloomy conditions. This morning the clouds cleared and the rains moved on. The temperatures were in the mid 50's. After the rain everything looks brighter and clearer, even the air is clean for a few days afterward. I decided to line up as close to the front as could. I decided to give it all I could for as long as I could and let whatever happened happen.
The race sent the full marathoners off over an hour before the half. With the half they employed a wave start that went off without a hitch. I was only able to work my way into the 2:00 corral. The 1:30, 1:40 and 1:50 were ahead of me. Being in the 2:00 corral actually worked to my advantage. From the get go I was passing people and that never let up throughout the race. The mental boost from gaining on and then overtaking other runners was huge.
I kept a close watch on my mile splits and was shocked from the get go. The first 5 miles went like this:
8:23, 7:26, 8:25 (including a pit stop), 7:58, and 8:01.
During my training I hadn't been able to sustain an 8:00 pace for more than 3 miles. I'd gone 5 so I just kept on chugging away.
The next 3 miles looked like this:
8:08, 7:40 and 8:00
Incredible. I was even stopping at every water stop for a drink and walking through until I'd downed the liquid and then got right back to it. I'd planned not to use a more formal run/walk schedule.
The 8 mile mark was the final U-turn and it was a straight shot down Pacific Coast Highway to the finish line. I figured 5 more miles at this pace and I'd be done in less than an hour. I hoped I could hang on.
Mile 9: missed the marker
Mile 10: 16:52 - I was a little concerned here, the pace had fallen to 8:26
Mile 11: 7:39
Mile 12: 8:06
Mile 13.1: 8:34 (7:47 pace)
Final time on my watch 1:45:13. Live results on the website show 1:45:11 (still unofficial at this point)
At any rate the 1:45:11 is a surprisingly unexpected PR by nearly 30 seconds. I'm really at a loss to explain it. My training wouldn't have predicted it. I guess being slightly under trained and the near perfect race conditions all fell together to make it possible. With no downhill assist on a basically flat course at Surf City, I'd say I now have a legitimate half marathon PR! And some great schwag to go with it.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Return to Bonelli
The ground hog may be able to keep spring from coming but he can't keep the days from getting longer. It has been noticeably lighter each day when we leave work and remaining lighter once I'm home.
Today I make a quick change and then a bee line for the park and ride near Bonelli. I left the parking lot at 5:35. It was probably already after the official sundown but there was still plenty of light to see the trails.
I ran on of my shorter routes that combines trails and roads. The first 2.25 miles or so are trail with the rest pavement. I had plenty of light to navigate the trails, but by the time I hit the asphalt it was definitely dark.
I used the new phone/gps and was a little disappointed to see the distance came in at 3.8 miles. I've always called this route at 4 miles. I guess its close enough for government work, as the saying goes. That 0.2 miles haunts me just a little, it is the end of a marathon. Who wants to only run 26 miles and take credit for 26.2.
I'm not quite obsessive enough to go back an change my running journal, but I will only take credit for 3.8 today and I'll measure it a couple more times to see what I get. Regardless I enjoyed the midweek foray back into Bonelli.
Four days to go before the Surf City Half and the weather forecast seems to have improved, thankfully.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Gadgetry
As usual, I loaded up my Christmas wish list with running related items - a couple of books, socks, a new running log, Moeben arm warmers, a really cool jersey from Pearl Izumi and entry into the LA Marathon. I got the socks and the running log. Something else I've been eyeing for some time was a smartphone. I'd personally never spend the money on one, but I was intrigued by the cool factor. Santa (my wonderful wife) got me the Droid for Christmas because she knew I'd never actually go get it for myself.
I've been having fun with it as you can tell from the picture posts since Christmas that are coming straight from the 5.0 megapixel camera and I changed my email address to a gmail account to take full advantage of the Google enabled Droid.
I've always run with nothing more than a watch. To determine distance I rely on friends with a Garmin, marked routes or my favorite standby gmap-pedometer.com. I downloaded a trial application the other day to use with the Droid - Run.GPS. The map up there is of my 4 miler on Saturday evening.
I was very happy to see that the route came in at least 4 miles. I was very afraid of finding out that my old standby routes were all under distance as compared to a GPS. The route came in at 4.11 miles (I hit the lap button in the car on the way home and added a few extra tenths by accident). I'm all excited about being able to see the map.
I used it again this morning on my run at the beach. It kept great track of the time I was running, but I forgot to enable the GPS satellite part of the program so it only tracked the actual route for 8.32 miles. I ran with my old running partner Brian. The 10 miles was the longest he'd gone in years. Our pace was slower than my usual but it was a good to help Brian get back into the swing of running the longer distances. The pace chart clearly shows where we took walk breaks and a bathroom break as well.
Running with gadgets can be fun! Something else to take up my time, gaaah!
This was a really off week for running. I didn't do a very good job of sticking to the schedule. There was no focused workout, only easy runs. I managed 19 miles for the week. Next weekend is the Surf City Half. Pretty much all bets are off on me reaching anything even remotely close to a PR.
With today being the end of the first month of 2010 - time for the monthly update: 143.5 miles.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Go Figure
Unprecedented!
Torrential!
Severe Winter Storm Front!
Whatever.....its just rain.
....and I'm a wimp, it was raining cats and dogs when I left work so headed to the gym treadmill to knock out the 4 miler on the schedule.
When I walked out of the gym, the rain had stopped. Go figure!
Torrential!
Severe Winter Storm Front!
Whatever.....its just rain.
....and I'm a wimp, it was raining cats and dogs when I left work so headed to the gym treadmill to knock out the 4 miler on the schedule.
When I walked out of the gym, the rain had stopped. Go figure!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Rest Day Interrupted
It rained pretty much all day today. Fairly hard at times, almost horizontal according to my wife as she was trying to pick up her lunch at the drive through window (chicken soup, not a burger, FYI). When we left work I was surprised to see clearing skies.
I took full advantage of the opportunity to get a run in even though today was a scheduled rest day. I wasted no time in changing into my running duds and out the door I went for the Bonnie Cove 5.
It was supposed to be an easy day. I finished the run, much to my surprise, in 42:43; an 8:32 pace. Now that's more like it. I guess after two weeks of feeling a little under the weather and some slow paced runs I was finally feeling it.
I hope the respite in the rain was just a lucky break. We really need it around here.
I took full advantage of the opportunity to get a run in even though today was a scheduled rest day. I wasted no time in changing into my running duds and out the door I went for the Bonnie Cove 5.
It was supposed to be an easy day. I finished the run, much to my surprise, in 42:43; an 8:32 pace. Now that's more like it. I guess after two weeks of feeling a little under the weather and some slow paced runs I was finally feeling it.
I hope the respite in the rain was just a lucky break. We really need it around here.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Wet Runs in the Forecast
Although I just announced my intentions to run the Los Angeles Marathon, my schedule has been geared with an eye toward that as well as the Surf City Half - which is in three weeks by the way. I've been sticking to Yasso's Half plan during the week and hybridizing the long run distances between his Half and Full plans.
I'd planned 16 this weekend. Running buddy Terry had planned 14. She invited a couple of her old friends (old as in long time friends, not old as in aged friends). I had invited the "kids" along too. Brian was able to make it, Celeste was not. The run was very fragmented as Terry's friends were running 10, Brian has finally worked up to 8. I ran a mile before we started, ran 8.5 with Brian and doubled back to catch Terry and then a final four miles with Terry to end up with 14, a nice compromise between the two plans. Brian and the friends necessitated a slower pace, which worked out well with the way things have gone the last two weeks. When Terry and I were alone we cranked up the pace noticeably, but still ended the run with an overall pace of 10:21. It was really nice to feel strong at the end of the run.
Later that day I'd gone for a hike in Bonelli. I came around a corner upon a little Chihuahua dog, who immediately did a 180 and scampered back from where he came. It is not usual, although probably not very smart, for people to let their dogs off the leash on the trails in the park. I've always encountered friendly dogs and owners, thankfully. I expected to come upon his owner as I got further around the corner, but there was no human attached to the dog. I tried to get the dog to come to me, but he was a skittish little bugger. He ran around another corner and I never saw him again. He was about a mile onto the trail into the park. I fear that unless he followed the trail back out the poor little guy is going to become coyote chow or hawk bait.
This morning I got up and went to the gym on my own (the trainer is still on his snowboarding weekend in the local mountains). I worked out chest and biceps and abs for good measure then headed over to Bonelli for a 6 miler on my usual Sunday Morning Loop. It was still bright and sunny at 11:00 when I was done. When I was done I was famished. I had only eaten a handful of raisins before going to the gym. I'm not sure why. I usually eat oatmeal or a pb&j before a workout and running. The veggie burrito from Taco Ready I had for lunch sure hit the spot.
The rain that has been predicted for the last couple of weeks as finally arrived. Next week's training will be interesting.
Only 3 weeks until race day. This coming week I have the last speed session before the race. It is another half marathon pace workout. I'm not sure exactly how I will fit it in. Besides that run, the others are easy paces at shorter distances - easier to fit into a rain challenged schedule. I really don't mind running in the rain, but we usually get enough of a break to get in a few miles out of the wet stuff. We'll see how it goes.
I'd planned 16 this weekend. Running buddy Terry had planned 14. She invited a couple of her old friends (old as in long time friends, not old as in aged friends). I had invited the "kids" along too. Brian was able to make it, Celeste was not. The run was very fragmented as Terry's friends were running 10, Brian has finally worked up to 8. I ran a mile before we started, ran 8.5 with Brian and doubled back to catch Terry and then a final four miles with Terry to end up with 14, a nice compromise between the two plans. Brian and the friends necessitated a slower pace, which worked out well with the way things have gone the last two weeks. When Terry and I were alone we cranked up the pace noticeably, but still ended the run with an overall pace of 10:21. It was really nice to feel strong at the end of the run.
Later that day I'd gone for a hike in Bonelli. I came around a corner upon a little Chihuahua dog, who immediately did a 180 and scampered back from where he came. It is not usual, although probably not very smart, for people to let their dogs off the leash on the trails in the park. I've always encountered friendly dogs and owners, thankfully. I expected to come upon his owner as I got further around the corner, but there was no human attached to the dog. I tried to get the dog to come to me, but he was a skittish little bugger. He ran around another corner and I never saw him again. He was about a mile onto the trail into the park. I fear that unless he followed the trail back out the poor little guy is going to become coyote chow or hawk bait.
This morning I got up and went to the gym on my own (the trainer is still on his snowboarding weekend in the local mountains). I worked out chest and biceps and abs for good measure then headed over to Bonelli for a 6 miler on my usual Sunday Morning Loop. It was still bright and sunny at 11:00 when I was done. When I was done I was famished. I had only eaten a handful of raisins before going to the gym. I'm not sure why. I usually eat oatmeal or a pb&j before a workout and running. The veggie burrito from Taco Ready I had for lunch sure hit the spot.
The rain that has been predicted for the last couple of weeks as finally arrived. Next week's training will be interesting.
Only 3 weeks until race day. This coming week I have the last speed session before the race. It is another half marathon pace workout. I'm not sure exactly how I will fit it in. Besides that run, the others are easy paces at shorter distances - easier to fit into a rain challenged schedule. I really don't mind running in the rain, but we usually get enough of a break to get in a few miles out of the wet stuff. We'll see how it goes.
Early Bloomer
First bloom on my saucer magnolia shrub (magnolia x soulagiana). I planted this nearly 8 years ago. After this bloom cycle we will likely get another before summer.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Sub Par
My wife made it back to work on Wednesday after having slept pretty all of the previous 96 hours. She was exhausted in the early afternoon and was home by 3:30 then and again today. I fought it off better, but I'm still feeling the effects.
Tuesday I took a big goose egg on the schedule against a 7 miler. When I got home from work I felt like I needed a nap. By the time I felt even remotely like running I decided it was too late.
Yesterday I had an appointment with the trainer (he has a ski weekend planned this weekend so he worked me in mid week). It was supposed to be a speed day, 6 x 800's. There was no way that was going to happen. Instead I ran to the gym, ran a mile on the treadmill at the gym and then ran home after the workout - 5.7 miles in total instead of the 8 that was planned. The trainer made me end the workout with a crazy burn out. 10 pushups using 20 lb dumbells then jump up and do 10 curls with the dumbells, then back to pushups for 9, up for 9 curls, down for 8 pushups, up for 8 curls.....all the way to 1 pushup and 1 curl. Its a lot harder than it sounds. After finishing that the idea of having to run home didn't seem nearly as good as it had when I got there.
Tonight I finally got out for a 6 miler; the same one I did last week. I got the pace down a little bit to 9:15. My legs still fell like lead and I'm just generally lethargic, but I was glad I wasn't asleep at home like my poor wife.
2010 is getting off to a slow start. Maybe it will be like that lion/lamb thing in March and I can expect great things at the end of the year! What do you think?
Tuesday I took a big goose egg on the schedule against a 7 miler. When I got home from work I felt like I needed a nap. By the time I felt even remotely like running I decided it was too late.
Yesterday I had an appointment with the trainer (he has a ski weekend planned this weekend so he worked me in mid week). It was supposed to be a speed day, 6 x 800's. There was no way that was going to happen. Instead I ran to the gym, ran a mile on the treadmill at the gym and then ran home after the workout - 5.7 miles in total instead of the 8 that was planned. The trainer made me end the workout with a crazy burn out. 10 pushups using 20 lb dumbells then jump up and do 10 curls with the dumbells, then back to pushups for 9, up for 9 curls, down for 8 pushups, up for 8 curls.....all the way to 1 pushup and 1 curl. Its a lot harder than it sounds. After finishing that the idea of having to run home didn't seem nearly as good as it had when I got there.
Tonight I finally got out for a 6 miler; the same one I did last week. I got the pace down a little bit to 9:15. My legs still fell like lead and I'm just generally lethargic, but I was glad I wasn't asleep at home like my poor wife.
2010 is getting off to a slow start. Maybe it will be like that lion/lamb thing in March and I can expect great things at the end of the year! What do you think?
Monday, January 11, 2010
Breaking The Rules
As you may or may not know I have a rule against running any more marathons in California before I finish up my 50 states goal. In 2008 I decided to break that rule and signed up (and paid for) for the Big Sur Marathon and the Catalina Marathon, with plans to run the Big Bear Marathon in the fall. A few days before Catalina I got the news of my stress fracture in my right tibia. The first two were officially DNS and the third I never signed up. I was healthy enough by year end to run the St. Jude Memphis Marathon in December 2008, my one and only marathon that year.
As you also know I'm a sucker for a gimmick. My hometown marathon, the Los Angeles Marathon, is mixing things up a bit this year with yet another new course and new date. This will be the 25th running of the LA Marathon. The last time I ran it (and swore to never run it again) was the 20th running. The new course is a point-to-point course starting at Dodger Stadium and running to the beach in Santa Monica. The marathon was traditionally run on the first Sunday of March, for 23 years, until last year when they changed the date twice finally settling on Memorial Day. Registration was significantly down from prior years. This year it has moved back to March but a couple of weeks later. Another nice change is the 7:20 a.m. start. The race has traditionally started at 8:30 or so to enhance TV coverage, but in LA often put us into the heat of the day, as evidenced by the 93 degree day in 2004 when I ran it the first time. This year my friend Terry is running it hoping to qualify again for Boston in 2011. Joe and his nephew John are running it. So at the risk of taunting the running gods I've signed up.
The 25 anniversary, new route, home town appeal, Terry, Joe and John - how could I not run it. I'm not sure I'll run with Terry. I have nothing to prove so there's little to gain by attempting a 4:00 marathon. I'm not sure what Joe and John are planning pace wise. It might be fun for the three of us to run together, but if John is hoping to break 4:00 as he did in San Diego, he might consider running with Terry. Who knows?
Let's just hope the running gods are kind to me this time around.
As you also know I'm a sucker for a gimmick. My hometown marathon, the Los Angeles Marathon, is mixing things up a bit this year with yet another new course and new date. This will be the 25th running of the LA Marathon. The last time I ran it (and swore to never run it again) was the 20th running. The new course is a point-to-point course starting at Dodger Stadium and running to the beach in Santa Monica. The marathon was traditionally run on the first Sunday of March, for 23 years, until last year when they changed the date twice finally settling on Memorial Day. Registration was significantly down from prior years. This year it has moved back to March but a couple of weeks later. Another nice change is the 7:20 a.m. start. The race has traditionally started at 8:30 or so to enhance TV coverage, but in LA often put us into the heat of the day, as evidenced by the 93 degree day in 2004 when I ran it the first time. This year my friend Terry is running it hoping to qualify again for Boston in 2011. Joe and his nephew John are running it. So at the risk of taunting the running gods I've signed up.
The 25 anniversary, new route, home town appeal, Terry, Joe and John - how could I not run it. I'm not sure I'll run with Terry. I have nothing to prove so there's little to gain by attempting a 4:00 marathon. I'm not sure what Joe and John are planning pace wise. It might be fun for the three of us to run together, but if John is hoping to break 4:00 as he did in San Diego, he might consider running with Terry. Who knows?
Let's just hope the running gods are kind to me this time around.
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