Surf City Marathon: Goals?

Ok, so another day of reckoning is upon me. The Surf City Marathon is taking place tomorrow and I can honestly say that I have NO idea what to expect. My last 'long run' took place 2 weeks ago as pacer in the Houston Marathon and runs between then and now have been less-than-stellar due to various reasons.

No excuses though. Tomorrow has the potential to be anywhere from a 3:35 day (absolute best case scenario), to a 4:15 day (absolute worst case scenario). I'll be fine with either. The most important thing to be is that my girl gets her BQ time (3:40:59 or better), so I'll be doing my best to keep pace and encourage her along in the '3:40' group. If I cramp, I cramp and I'll just wave her along while I take my sweet time, taking pictures along the way.

This race is very special to me. Exactly 2 years ago, I ran the half-marathon (then called Pacific Shoreline) which was my very first race ever, and the event that got me hooked on distance running. Also, it's the race that'll help me complete the California Dreamin' Race Series and give me a low level entry into the famed Marathon Maniacs circle (3 marathons in 90 days). In spite of less than optimal conditions (high temps supposed to be in the mid-70's), I'm hoping it'll turn out to be a great day on several fronts.

Tonight, I'm just looking forward to hanging out with my Runner's World peeps and fellow blogger Danica (running the half).

Wish us luck...and goooooo Cardinals!

You Rock San Diego!

I take it back San Diego - you guys are gr-r-r-eat!

Hi Billy,

I’ve checked with the appropriate director and it look like we will go ahead an make a One Time Only Exception to transfer your entry to the 2010 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego. I will save your e-mail until after the 2009 event and follow up with a comp code for the 2010 event. You can also shoot me an e-mail after the 2009 event as a reminder. We do appreciate your patronage and look forward to seeing you in 2010.

Thank you!



You made this runner very happy today. I'll see you guys in 2010!

You rock - stay classy San Diego!

Santa Barbara Wine Country Half-Marathon

Race date: May 9th.

This will be my consolation prize. Since it's about 3 weeks out from San Diego, if any of you guys doing the marathon are looking for a tune-up race, this will be perfect!


But hurry - it's about 60% full as of this morning!

________________

Got in 6 miles this morning with 2 miles at goal marathon pace (target 8:09 - 8:29). Heartrate's still disturbingly high.

Ended up averaging 7:53 or so because my old, antiquated Garmin Forerunner 301 is a piece of crap and keeps thinking I'm either running 6 or 10 minutes miles pace at any given point.

Time for an upgrade? Hellz yeah.

Screw You San Diego!

Thank you for your e-mail and patience, Billy. We are sorry to hear of your schedule conflict and that you might not be able to join us this year. We do, however, have a strict No Refund No Transfer policy. This is the standard for most large races and is true for all of our races. The policy is printed on our entry forms and posted on our website. Once you've registered, you will not receive a refund and your entry cannot be transferred to another race, year or runner. We can still send you your race shirt. If this is of interest to you, kindly reply with your name, address, and shirt size. We will process your request that same day and your shirt will be sent 4 to 6 weeks after the race. Please let us know if you have any other questions/concerns.

A race shirt? That's it? For a race I won't be participating in? Is that the best you can do San Diego??

This ain't over yet. Not yet. The fat lady has yet to sing. Well...since the inauguration anyway.

_____________________

Another off day from running. That's 2 days in a row now since my last failed run. I did however, go on a 30 mile bike ride this afternoon down the coast and back.


Doesn't change the fact that I'm still a morbidly obese schlub who's kidding himself if he thinks he can PR in this Sunday's marathon when he's 10 pounds above his ideal running weight.

But I'm funny that way. I have this strange confidence in myself that's completely unwarranted or justifiable, that some how and some way...it'll all magically come together this Sunday.

Ok, it's clearly time for me to put down this bong. Off to get some munchies.

Long Run Sunday: An 'F'..

..as in 'DNF', as in 'Fail' and - 'Fuck running'!

Yeah, it was pretty bad.

Reminiscent of this run leading up to CIM. It was ardous from the onset, legs felt dead, never really found my rhythm and heart rate was through the roof, even at easy paces (8:45-9). Had 12 miles on schedule, turned around dejected and defeated before I hit mile 5. Tail between my legs, I walked/jogged back the remaining miles home.

Yeah, it was a little gusty and I'm almost recovered from a cold...but wow. It shouldn't be this hard, should it?

I'd be worried but that ain't gonna get me anywhere. I'm just gonna chalk it up to a bad 2-3 days of running and just cross my fingers that the legs/lungs find their way back to game shape for next Sunday (Surf City).

On the plus side, congrats to all my Runner's World homies for fantastic races at Carlsbad today!

Major Dilemna - Need Your Advice

Ok - so a few months back, my friend Christian sent out an e-mail about a Yosemite trip in late spring. Being one of my favorite places to visit in the world, I of course told him undoubtedly and unequivocably that I was in. The last time I was there was back in August of 2004 - I am definitely due.

Then I forgot all about it.

Flash forward to a few days ago. As many of you know, I officially signed up for the SD RnR Marathon which runs on May 31st. I was all gung-ho for it, printed out my new training calendar for the Pfitz 12/55 plan to start early March, and looking forward to seeing all of my blogging and Runner's World friends that weekend.

Problem? My friend reminded me about the Yosemite trip - the dates? May 28 - June 1st. Ugh!!!

So therein lies my dilemna. I don't know what to do. I obviously have the option of running several different marathons throughout the year - but not many opportunities to visit Yosemite, since camping/lodging sites are in high demand. Therefore, you need to make reservations well ahead of time (we did this last June, so you understand how I could have forgotten).


Problem is, I already paid for San Diego and saw on the website that it is non-refundable/transferable. So if I choose Yosemite, I'm out almost $100.

I need your help - please weigh in. Should I go to:

a) Yosemite with my dear friends

-or-

b) The San Diego Marathon with my running friends?

Anyone see a secret option 'c' in there anywhere??

Involuntary Snot Rockets

You know what the best part about flying back home on the day you just ran a marathon?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

It's the antithesis of what your body wants from you, which is to stretch out, hydrate and relax.

And in my case, it actually got me sick. It's well understood that rigorous activity such as running 26.2 miles can suppress the immune system. So it's no surprise that shortly after my post-marathon flight home, I started to feel the onset of an illness. It began with a sore throat, before escalating into full-blown coughing, sneezing and runny nose. The worst of it came yesterday - but thankfully, the majority of the symptoms have subsided save for a lingering cough.

While I've been taking it easy and resting these past few days, the obvious tradeoff is that I've been inactive since Sunday. No running = drop in confidence. And I have a marathon coming up in a mere week or so (Surf City). It also doesn't help that I've been the heaviest that I've been in awhile (183 lbs) and it ain't from muscle gain either (currently @ 12.7% BF, usually below 12).

I need to get back at it. Although I have to temper that desire because I should be tapering. Ah, stupid running. What do you want from me?

So Very Proud Today

Yes We Can.

Race Report: Houston Marathon

The Start

The morning of reckoning has come. The screenings, fawning over elite runners, and single-handedly stimulating the economy with running gear purchase – over. The only thing left to do was run the race.

My duties as unofficial pacer for my friend Cody had me a slightly anxious given my well-documented episodes of cramping in 4 of 5 marathons I’ve run, but still confident that I could bring him in around the coveted 4:30 (10:18 pace) time he was seeking (his previous PR = 5:00). He’s taken training a little more seriously this go round as evident by a couple of half-marathons in the low-2 hour marks.


After a fretful night of sleep, we finally awoke around 5am tired but eager to get running. A cup of coffee, a trip to the bathroom, an improvised breakfast of a stolen dinner roll from the pasta buffet the night before (I’d completely forgot about breakfast) and I was good to go. I was wavering on the arm warmers a bit but ditched them at the last minute before proceeding to the start. This turned out to be the right call.

Since our predicted time was 4:30, we would be starting out with the 2nd wave which left at 7:10am, about 10 minutes after the 1st and the elites. Using my trash bag + Gatorade bottle trick for the last time, Cody and I set off somewhere between the official 4:15 and 4:30 pace groups, telling him before we hit the starting mat that “there was no way we’re gonna let the 4:30 group pass us”.

The Race

The first few miles involved a small bit of chaos from dodging walkers in the center of the road (seriously people) to dealing with a broken water bottle strap on Cody’s fuel belt. I felt obligated to be there for him as much as possible, so I assisted carrying the bottle of Cytomax for awhile when he wasn’t drinking from it.

The pacing plan was this: anticipating slower splits and warmer temps for the 2nd part of the race (mid-70s), we would "bank" some time in the 1st half to hopefully still meet our time goal. With the exception of mile 1, we started hitting splits right at or slightly below 10 min/mi for the majority of the initial miles. Since I had on a 4:30 pace tag on my back, I got several questions from marathoners asking me “if I was on pace”. I told them confidently we were right on the money.

Mile 1 - 10:43
Mile 2 - 9:51
Mile 3 - 10:03
Mile 4 - 10:02
Mile 5 - 9:47
Mile 6 - 9:35

Around the 7-8 mile mark, a familiar looking woman sidled up next to us to say ‘hi’. She was a woman who had attended a screening and purchased the DVD/soundtrack of the movie the previous day at the expo. She told us again how much the movie meant to her (she had lost her father as well) and told us she was listening to the soundtrack as she ran. Awesome.

Mile 7 - 9:43
Mile 8 - 9:47

Around miles 8-13, I saw that 2 minutes had grown into about 3 ½ minutes in the "bank". I didn’t keep Cody apprised of the mile splits, rather I told him we were right on pace with some time to spare, but told him to let me stress about it. There were times I actually had to pull him back a bit when he was running out in front. Otherwise, we ran well with a little extra to use later. And boy, we’d sure need it.

Mile 9 - 9:58
Mile 10 - 9:48
Mile 11 - 10:27 (walk break through aid station)
Mile 12 - 9:46
Mile 13 - 10:19

I remember my legs feeling rather prematurely achy around miles 9-12 and this had me mildly concerned. But I silently pressed on, knowing this was a very manageable pace for me and putting all negative thoughts on the backburner.

We hit the half-marathon mark at 2:11:XX but admonished him to not think of this as the halfway point. I’ve always broken the marathon down like this: 1st half – 20 miles, 2nd half – the final 10K/6.2 miles.

Throughout the marathon, I made sure he kept hydrating and taking his shot bloks, and kept asking for assessment reports to the point of annoyance. He was clicking off the miles pretty well until about mile 14-15, when we hit a fairly steep incline on a bridge and he asked if we could take a walking break. Knowing we were still good on time, I said we’d walk the way up and then commence running down the other side of it. He was still doing relatively well, but the sun was steadily rising in the sky, as were the temperatures.

Mile 14 - 9:54
Mile 15 - 10:35
Mile 16 - 10:25

The crowd support all along this race was just fantastic. Since our names were printed largely on our bibs, we were getting tons of “Go Billy!” and “Atta boy Cody!” from virtually start to finish. I know they kept me in energized and smiling and were simply the best part about the course by far.

Around mile 17, Cody was definitely feeling it. I first noticed it when my normally loquacious friend (that's putting it mildly) started saying less and less as we ran on. Then he vocalized that he was hurting and doubt started to creep in. This is when we would be tested – I as a pacer, and Cody as a runner.

(It was also when my old Garmin 301 decided to act up again so remaining splits remain unreliable and thus, undocumented.)

I thought about all the tricks in the book starting with telling Cody to dedicate each of the remaining 8 miles at the 18 mark to someone different. He seemed reluctant to play along but some people came to mind so we did that for the next couple of miles. When that stopped working, I told him to visualize an invisible rope pulling him along when I was out in front. I told him that the pain that he’s feeling now is nothing compared to the ordeal his father underwent after he was diagnosed with the brain tumor. When times got really tough, I pinned a now scrunched up picture of his dad to the back of my visor so he’d visualize why he was doing what he was doing. Really, ANYthing to keep him putting one foot in front of the other.

We took another walking break between miles 21-22. He told me he was really trying and sounded apologetic that he might let me down. I told him not to worry so about the pace but silently wondered if we would in fact, hit the sub-4:30 goal at this point. I kept checking the splits up to this point and we were now running in the high 10 minute paces and slowly losing time. The 3 ½ minutes in the "bank" was shrinking with each passing mile.

Somewhere around miles 23-24, the 4:30 pace group came up behind us almost out of nowhere. Remembering what we swore to each other at the start, Cody started to pick it back up again as I let out a small sigh of relief. We were back on track.


Meanwhile, I was enjoying myself immensely from about mile 20 on. The "runner's high" as it were, hit me and would proceed to carry me through the finish. I was smiling, conversing with the crowd and just really got to enjoy the marathon again. Legs, while tight - were showing no signs of cramping. And a 'hot spot' at the bottom of my right foot was virtually painless during the remaining miles. Add to it all, I actually had my first beer during the course of a marathon a little before mile 25 - a first!


But I still had a job to do. I came to Houston to bring Cody across the line in under 4:30 and I was going to be damned if I didn't give it my all as a pacer to convince Cody to give it his all. By mile 25, I turned to Cody and said, "look - you know I don't ask much from you but for the last mile or so, I really want you to dig deep and give me everything you have". We were still on pace and so close. He started to pick it up again.


The finish is one long chute down a street that probably runs about half a mile in length. With the finish line now in sight, we picked it up some more, took in the energy of the crowd to bring us home strong and...success! Unofficial chip time for Cody = 4:28:42!

I was very ecstatic. There is something truly magical in setting an ambitious goal and meeting it, and it's just as gratifying to be that person who pushed and paced another runner in accomplishing said goal. Especially considering the bleak moments we faced and the obstacles we overcame in the latter miles. I was very proud of Cody for gutting it out.

Hmm...I could definitely see myself doing this again.

*Edit to add - video of finish:

Expo Mania

Greetings again from Houston. I had no idea that the lobby of the Hilton offered free wi-fi all this time...urg! Time to catch up a bit.

Just done after 2 days of expo and about 4 screenings of the movie. Met a lot of great and interesting folks here. And the FOOD - my god, the food. Probably gained close to 3-4 lbs just in the last 2 1/2 days.

Let's start from the top. We checked into the hotel on Thursday and went out for a 3 miler with Cody (who I'm here to pace to a sub-4:30 time tomorrow). After going out to an awesome tex-mex dinner, we come back to our hotel and we spot Meb in lobby! In case you're not familiar with him, he won the silver medal in the marathon in Athens, Greece in '04 and is a very accomplished runner in distancing ranging from the 10K to the marathon. He will be toeing the line with a prestigious group of other elites as well.

Speaking of whom, the following morning a press conference for the elites in both the half and the full took place, and I was about as giddy as they came. The first athlete I spot is elite and Olympic qualifier, Brian Sell who I chatted up a bit and got a picture with. Very nice guy.

The press conference started shortly thereafter and guys like Meb and Sell came onstage as some of the top American names representing the half-marathon field, with Kate O'Neill as one of the top females. On the marathon side, 3-time Houston winner David Cheruiyot (PR 2:10:36) was back but has his work cut out for him as elite runner and 4th place Olympic finisher Deriba Merga of Ethiopia entered for the first time (PR of 2:06:38) is highly favored to win it. Here are some more pics:

The press conference for the elites

Kate O'Neill, who was an absolute pleasure to talk to

David Cheruiyot, another nice guy

Dire Tune - who is not running this year but came to support her friend

Me w/ Deriba Merga, who was on-pace to medal in Beijing but ran out of steam in the final lap

As far as our movie was concerned, I thought it was a success with many copies of the DVDs sold along with some very positive feedback from viewers of the film. I got to meet some fantastic folks whose stories were highly touching and inspirational and something I will not soon forget. There were definitely some lull periods between showings but just tried to make the best of it by either stuffing my face or going shopping - both very dangerous prospects for me.



Runningwise, I did get some modest mileage in (3 on Thursday as I mentioned, 2 + strides yesterday). The unfortunate part of being at the expo for the past two days is that you're on your feet a lot and they are definitely sore. Tonight calls for nothing but a carbo-load dinner and perhaps some jacuzzi time.

Tomorrow morning, they have been forecasting slightly less-than-optimal race weather with high humidity and temps potentially reaching the low 70's. I would love to have 'pace leader' in my resume in the not-too-distant future hopefully so this will be an interesting trial-run of a 4:30 pace group of 2. For myself personally, I'm treating this as a glorified training run before my goal race in Surf City in 2 weeks.

Wish us luck and my best wishes to my friends running PF Chang Rock N' Roll Arizona tomorrow!

Greetings from Houston

Hello all!

Currently on Day 2 of 4 in Houston. First day of expo went great. Met many elites, showed the movie and helped stimulate the economy with my purchases.

Another full day and showing at the expo tomorrow, frustrated by my lack of internet access, and eating a whole lot of barbeque and 'tex mex' stuff (checked in at 186lbs this morning at the expo!).

Many pics and stories to follow soon. To all that's racing this weekend, best of luck!

Bye for now.

50K Record Attempt

My best wishes to elite marathoner and Facebook compadre, Josh Cox who this Sunday will attempt to break the American (and world) record in the 50K at the RF Chang Rock N' Roll Marathon being held in Arizona. He will be running to win the initial marathon distance, and then run an extra 5 miles or so around a nearby track at ASU Sun Devil Stadium.

The current American world record is held by Michael Wardian with a time of 2:55:05. The world record is currently set at 2:43:38. More on the story here.

Check out this awesome training video of Josh running with Olympian Ryan Hall for the initial 1:45 and then continuing on to finish this 30+ mile training run up in Mammoth:



Best wishes to Josh this Sunday - I'll be rooting for ya!

Hot Time...Winter in the City?

The reduction in mileage lately has been 1 part taper (Houston, T-minus 5 days) and another part giving-my-ankle-a-break to help it heal. But where has proper tapering ever gotten me in past? With my ankle feeling better lately and a second marathon (my goal race) in Surf City coming up in a mere 2 1/2 weeks (not to mention my first ultra in about a month), I can't keep slacking on my runs.

After getting out of work early, I headed for my favorite local trail at the tail end of the afternoon. It was still hot and windy when I got to the trailhead, but it just sounded so much more appealing than putting in mileage on the road with temps still hovering in the mid-80s (yep, not a typo).

The first 3.5 miles on this trail as I've mentioned previously are almost all uphill - almost 700 ft in elevation gain. It's a brutal way to start any run but today in particular was a bit tough. I was feeling a bit lethargic and not really into it...when I spot someone up ahead. It's a mother actually pushing a stroller up on the trail while RUNNING. Are you effing kidding me??

I slowly gain on her and I see that she's wheezing and red-faced. We're only a mile into from the start but trust me, those initial fire roads can make your heartrate redline no matter how fit you are. Can't imagine pushing a stroller up to boot. The only words I could think of saying to her at that moment was, "man - you are hardcore!", to which she could only offer up an out-of-breath laugh. She really did motivate me some and after passing, I gave it a little more effort.

Unfortunately, that only lasted another mile or so before I said screw it, and squeezed down some GU Roctane around mile 2 and a half or so. The one great thing about running on trails is that somehow, I worry less about pace and just instinctively, take in the beautiful scenary that's all around me. There's the lush bush and trees of the canyon below and on a clear day like today, the coastline and city are in full view at certain points on the ridge.

I reached the top of the trail at mile 3.5 or so and kept going down dirt Mulholland for a couple more miles before doing an about face and heading back. I'd removed my shirt at this point and while the sun was dropping lower and lower on the horizon, it was still very warm out and I had a nice sheen of sweat and salt coating my skin. Real sexy, I know.

Thankfully, most of the way back was downhill and when it was all said and done, 10.10 miles were covered just as the sun was starting to set.

Time to Rock N' Roll!

...er, eventually.

As of a few minutes ago, I have officially signed up for the San Diego Rock N' Roll Marathon on May 31st. To prepare for it I am embarking on my 2nd Pfitz plan, only shortening the week (12 -with proper base mileage established leading up to it) and lengthing my long runs slightly to deal with the excessive cramping issues in past races.

This will be my 2nd SD marathon after my first race had me falling a bit short of my then sub-4 hour goal (cramps again), crossing the line at 4:04:XX. It's still way early to predict time, but I certainly hope I come within spitting distance of my sub-3:30 goal. We'll see and adjust after Surf City next month and see how my training goes.

ps - thanks again Robert for the discount code!

Pictures: So Cal Half-Marathon (1/10/09)

Giant kudos to my gal Sara (1:38:XX) and to fellow blogger Danica (1:48:XX) for PR-ing in a major way this morning at the Southern California Half Marathon...you guys made me very proud!

In short, it was a warm and windy day for a race - but a great day nonetheless 'crewing' for my gal and meeting up with fellow bloggers and Runner's World forumites (why didn't I run this again?!).

Here's a little sampling of the day - enjoy:


Runners toeing the line.


Me w/ blogger extraordinaire - Danica.


Forum ringleader and all-around great guy, Charlie (finished sub-1:25!)


Sara kickin' some serious asphalt.


Runners negotiating the twists of the bike path.


Leader and eventual winner of the race.


Me and the Runner's World gang.

Running For My Father DVD - Now Available!

Allow me to put on my 'salesman' hat for just a second while I use my blog to promote the release of our DVD today - now available for purchase!

From the composer who brought you the music to ULTRAMARATHON MAN comes a new story. Follow Cody and his family as he travels through grief, pain and perseverance in his quest to run 26.2 miles. Featuring interviews with Dean Karnazes and JB Benna. “Running” time: 26:22 (plus special features)



$12.99 + S & H*. Profits to benefit the Brain Tumor Foundation. Thanks for your support guys!

*For my readers: for a limited time, if you click on the 'Brain Tumor Foundation' logo after the link, you can get the DVD at an introductory price of $10

Happy Birthday King.

Yup, I am a closet Elvis fan - nay, fanATIC. Had he lived, he would have turned 74 today.

So happy birthday Elvis Aaron Presley. Long live the King.

I now leave you with one of my favorite Elvis tunes (and currently, my ringtone):

Twin Peaks 50/50 - Cancelled

So Twin Peaks 2009 has been cancelled by the race director, Jessica due to logistical difficulties.

A shame since it was tapped to be my very first ultra, a 'birthday run' for my girl Sara to run 30+ miles on her 30th, Stuart's first 100K and yet another meetup with a couple of Runner's World online friends. Alas, it was not to be. Oh well, shit happens.

I do feel bad for Jessica since this race is her baby and thus, could not have been an easy decision on her part. But when there are too many obstacles in the way, perhaps it's best to shelve it for next year rather than providing a less-than-quality race.

So this begs the question...what next?

Well, I was initially intent on running an ultra (a 50K or 31.06 miles) on that same date, so I immediately started poking around. First stop was to see what Sarah and Wendell at PCTR had going for that weekend. Wouldn't you know it, I see that on that same date (2/28) that they have a very, very appealing race taking place up in the Sequoias. Of course, this would mean incurring added expenses for a flight out to Oakland + lodging, but wow - does the course look nice!

Another possibility is waiting a week and running the ultra in Malibu Creek (3/8). Was already planning on running or volunteering here, but this recent change to my race schedule might force me to stay out at Malibu Creek State Park a bit longer.

We shall see. To be continued for now..

Posterior Tibial Tendinitis

It's official - got back from a nearly 3-hour long appointment from my foot doctor this morning. We did a series of x-rays, evaluations and tests before he confirmed what I'd suspected all along: that I am suffering from posterior tibial tendinitis.

The good? I can continue to run on it as long as the pain doesn't worsen and I keep icing, stretching and doing some recommended tendon strengthing exercises a few times daily along the way. He also told me to avoid treadmills (no problem) and hills for awhile. I'm still supposed to see a physical therapist in the upcoming weeks.

He also confirmed what I'd long suspected all along too - that one leg was in fact longer than the other. Only thing that threw me off, was that it was my right that turned out to be longer when I thought it was the other way around. Oh and apparently, I'm "severely bow-legged" (insert joke here).

Finally, he fitted me for some custom orthotics which while expensive, should aid in my problematic running gait. When I also told him about my theory that the source of the problem stemmed from me doing my VO2max speed workouts in neutral, lightweight trainers this last marathon cycle, he pretty much agreed with me (but wanted to see those shoes).

All in all, it went better than I could have hoped for. While it was a long appointment, he was very thorough which is something I didn't get from the initial doctor I saw. I'm going to approach running in the next several weeks very cautiously and scrutinize what my ankle tells me. But I can still run, which is the best part.

Add to it all, he turned out to be a just fantastic doctor (who's also a marathoner - a 3:47 PR!) so I'll have someone in my neighborhood for future visits.

Long Run Sunday: Westridge Canyon

When I went to bed last night, I had every intention of meeting up with the Trail Runners Club this morning to run one of my favorite trails in Sycamore Canyon. However, when I woke up with a sore ankle from last night's 6 recovery miles, I decided to err on the side of caution and forego the run with the club since running on uneven surfaces might exacerbate the injury.

Now, 'technical' trails are one thing. Running almost entirely on fire roads is another. With my trail gear already laid out, I figured I'd head for soft surfaces while getting in some hill training along with the scheduled long run by running at my favorite 'local' trails at Westridge Canyon. With the Houston Marathon looming a mere two weeks away, I had figured on somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-16 miles.

Um...not exactly.

It's funny how things play out. I showed up fully intending on putting in the aforementioned mileage, but somewhere along the run, I decided to keep going.

I woke up around 6am and eventually made my way to the trailhead a little before 8am. Dressed in a sleeveless shirt and shorts, I immediately noticed how cold it was as I stepped out of my truck. It's a good thing I brought some sleeves and gloves. Once I was ready, I set off on the initial 3.5 mile climb up the dirt road. While it was a gorgeous morning on the surface, the cold winds in the canyons were whipping around in full force, making a 50+ degree morning feel considerably chillier. The hikers I passed here and there were bundled up pretty good, making me wonder if I should have brought along my ear warmers too.

I hit the dirt roads of Mulholland once my initial climb was done, and proceeded to head westward. I had only packed 2 GU Roctanes and zero salt capsules figuring it would be a medium long run at best. Was already kicking myself at mile 5 when I consumed my first gel since it was around this point that I felt like pushing myself further. Oh well. Onward I went.

The road was rarely level as if it wasn't a climb or a descent, there was some camber in either direction. This bothered my ankle some but tolerable. I've never gone beyond 6 mile mark at Westridge/Mulholland but today, I kept right on trucking along enjoying the scenary and exchanging pleasantries with the occasional hiker/runner passing by. I still felt good so I said what the hell and kept right on going. I hit mile 10 at about the hour and a half mark and decided to turn around here. Since it was a pure out and back, 20 miles would be the order of the day.

The hills on the way back definitely felt more pronounced as I had to hike them with more frequency than the first half of the run. I did my best to keep them brief and took in my 2nd and last GU around mile 12 and hoped it would fuel me for the long stretch back. The ankle was definitely sore during this stretch, as were my right hamstring and left glutes. Good times.


Mercifully, I hit the water station at mile 16 and change as I was all out of Cytomax. The next 3-4 miles were mostly downhill (thankfully) and I took the opportunity to relax some and take in the awesome views of the distant city and oceanline. The sun was now high in the sky and while still cool, I was caked in salt and eager to finish the run. When it was all said and done, I reached my the starting point at little over 3 hours on my feet, 20.05 miles completed.

With my body now craving some sodium, on the way back home I pulled into a KFC for some chicken strips, a chicken sandwich, cole slaw, mashed potato + gravy, and a large Dr. Pepper.

Hey - I gave my body what it craved. And I just ran 20 miles. Leave me alone.

2009 Race Schedule + Goals

Ok, so it's a new year and a new slate. I am entering year 2 of running competitively and thus far, pretty pleased with the strides and progress I've made. I've PR'd in each marathon I've run in:

Mar 2007 - 4:58 (LA Marathon)
Mar 2008 - 4:20 (LA Marathon)
May 2008 - 4:04 (SD RnR Marathon)
Aug 2008 - 3:53 (SF Marathon)
Dec 2008 - 3:45 (CIM)

Now this streak of PRs will come to an end for Houston obviously, but I'm more than ok with that. I'll just focus on improving on my 3:45:XX for Surf City.

By year's end, my goal for the marathon will be a sub-3:30, a sub-1:35 half-marathon and a sub-43:30 10K. Ambitious for me, but certainly doable.

Here is my preliminary race schedule for the upcoming year:

1/18 - Houston Marathon (as pacer for friend to a sub-4:30 time)
2/1 - Surf City Marathon (goal: sub-3:40)
2/28 - Twin Peaks Ultra (the 50K...my first ultra!)
3/8 - Pacific Coast Trail Runs, Malibu Creek (volunteer?)
3/22 - Pasadena Half-Marathon
3/29 - Pacific Coast Trail Runs, Sycamore Canyon
5/9 - Santa Barbara Wine Country Half-Marathon
5/31 - San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon
7/26 - SF Marathon
12/? - Santa Barbara Marathon

I'll probably make a few tweaks here and there but this is how it's playing out thus far. Wouldn't mind traveling out of state to run a race too.

Anyway, here's to a very successful new year to all of us - both in life and in running!