In my attempt to acclimate myself to running in the Newtons, it's been mostly a few miles here and there - never exceeding 4 miles in one run. Until today.
Wanting to use them in my 10K this Saturday, I wanted to know what it felt like to go a little faster. I did throw in a sub-7 mile last Saturday on my 4-miler, but that was that. The rest of that run was at a steady pace.
So after work today, I laced my Newtons on again and headed out the door. I averaged about 8:30 for the first couple of miles and then did the next 3 @ lactate threshold pace, with the first mile at the low-end of LT effort and last mile near my VO2max pace:
Mile 3 - 7:26 (HR Avg = 166)
Mile 4 - 7:13 (HR Avg = 177)
Mile 5 - 6:55 (HR Avg = 183)
Really sucked wind on the last mile, but first couple felt pretty good. Final .8 miles back home to make it 5.8 for the evening.
Calves are definitely still sore and might be even more so tomorrow. Not definite yet but leaning towards using them for this Saturday's race. Probably won't PR since I've been so inconsistent in my speed training (also, I won't have my rabbit in this one) but hey - anything can happen. We'll see.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Race Report: Sycamore Canyon (as a Volunteer)
Ok, so I didn't race yesterday. But I did something that I've been meaning to do for a very long time, and that was to serve as a volunteer in a race. And what better race to do it in than in one of Wendell and Sarah's PCTR events?
Sara, myself and a couple of my favorite Runner's World online peeps (Ryan + Lori) got together early Sunday morning and carpooled the approximately 40-50 mile ride up the coast to our destination. We got there with a few minutes to spare (check-in time was 7:15am) so we just waited in my truck to avoid the chilly coastal temps outside. After about 15-20 minutes of witnessing zero activity around us, a park ranger pulled up next to us to inform us that the start was taking place at the previous campground that we had passed a few miles down the coast.
Sure enough, there were Wendell and Sarah and the rest of the participants. After exchanging hugs and greetings, we were immediately assigned to check in the runners that were already trickling in. This part was fun and I got to meet some very interesting people from different walks of life - including a few new faces from the RW forums like James, Deidre, etc. Also ran into Stuart again who would be running the 50K and in my haste and head-spinning, briefly exchanged "hello's" with Penny.
Anyway, the 18/30/50K runners started off first promptly at 8:30am followed by 8K'ers at 8:45am. After seeing them off, my next assignment was to mark down the incoming 8K runners by bib and time. It was interesting to get a behind the scenes look at how they synched up and recorded the times so we could get the results printed and posted up as soon as possible.
Once we captured all of the 8K runners and a majority 18K folks, I switched assignments and joined my friends at the aid station for the 50K runners who would be coming through to refill on water, sports drinks and a smorgasbord of salty/sweet snacks, before heading back out for the final 18K. It was reminscent of pit crews in NASCAR races as one person would fill up a runner's water bottle, another would answer questions, another egged them to eat something...so on and so forth.
We became a well-oiled machine after awhile and really started to enjoy ourselves while trying mostly in vain not to snack on the food ourselves. We stuck around to see Stuart and Rachel PR and a few other friends finish before having to leave to feed our stomachs and get some much-needed rest. Especially for Lori and Ryan who had just completed a 50-mile (!) race the previous day.
All in all, it was a great day in Sycamore Canyon. To those that have yet to give back and volunteer at a race - I would highly recommend it. Especially in a tight-knit community amongst trail and ultra runners.
Sara, myself and a couple of my favorite Runner's World online peeps (Ryan + Lori) got together early Sunday morning and carpooled the approximately 40-50 mile ride up the coast to our destination. We got there with a few minutes to spare (check-in time was 7:15am) so we just waited in my truck to avoid the chilly coastal temps outside. After about 15-20 minutes of witnessing zero activity around us, a park ranger pulled up next to us to inform us that the start was taking place at the previous campground that we had passed a few miles down the coast.
Sure enough, there were Wendell and Sarah and the rest of the participants. After exchanging hugs and greetings, we were immediately assigned to check in the runners that were already trickling in. This part was fun and I got to meet some very interesting people from different walks of life - including a few new faces from the RW forums like James, Deidre, etc. Also ran into Stuart again who would be running the 50K and in my haste and head-spinning, briefly exchanged "hello's" with Penny.
Anyway, the 18/30/50K runners started off first promptly at 8:30am followed by 8K'ers at 8:45am. After seeing them off, my next assignment was to mark down the incoming 8K runners by bib and time. It was interesting to get a behind the scenes look at how they synched up and recorded the times so we could get the results printed and posted up as soon as possible. 
Once we captured all of the 8K runners and a majority 18K folks, I switched assignments and joined my friends at the aid station for the 50K runners who would be coming through to refill on water, sports drinks and a smorgasbord of salty/sweet snacks, before heading back out for the final 18K. It was reminscent of pit crews in NASCAR races as one person would fill up a runner's water bottle, another would answer questions, another egged them to eat something...so on and so forth. 
We became a well-oiled machine after awhile and really started to enjoy ourselves while trying mostly in vain not to snack on the food ourselves. We stuck around to see Stuart and Rachel PR and a few other friends finish before having to leave to feed our stomachs and get some much-needed rest. Especially for Lori and Ryan who had just completed a 50-mile (!) race the previous day. All in all, it was a great day in Sycamore Canyon. To those that have yet to give back and volunteer at a race - I would highly recommend it. Especially in a tight-knit community amongst trail and ultra runners.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Upgrade
Many thanks to Rachel for actually answering my desperate plea for a deal on a Garmin 305. Turns out, she had one she was about to sell after about 6 months of use and helped me save valuable $$ by selling me hers.
Heartrate and speed definitely registered more consistently than my old 301, and it also picked up the satellite signal a lot faster. Did a quick 4 mile run to celebrate and it worked like a charm the entire way. Thanks again!
Heartrate and speed definitely registered more consistently than my old 301, and it also picked up the satellite signal a lot faster. Did a quick 4 mile run to celebrate and it worked like a charm the entire way. Thanks again!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
My New Purchase
..for a mere $175 dollars.
Nope - it's not a new Garmin 305 that I wrote about in the previous post. I decided to throw you guys a little curveball instead. No, what I bought was something I have been equally pining for for some time now, but couldn't get myself to justify the price tag.
Until today. Today, you are looking at the owner of a new pair of Newton running shoes, courtesy of Frontrunners in Brentwood.
Don't know what it was that made me finally take the plunge but my tempo run this morning may have played a part (more on that in a bit).
If you haven't seen or heard of them before, they are shoes specifically designed to promote forefoot running which many argue to be the more 'natural' and 'efficient' way of running. I started prescribing to that theory right around the time I started running a couple of years ago after my coach adjusted my mechanics to that of a more mid-foot strike as opposed to heel-striking.
I'll let the following video do most of the explaining behind the 'science' of the shoe:
Anyway, to today's workout. Today was another double day beginning with a lactate threshold run in the wee hours of the morning. I drove over to Clover Park again with my mind set on running 11 miles with 6 miles of that at tempo pace. Unfortunately, my body had other ideas.
First of all, the tempo paces were hard to come by. I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not that great at running fast in the morning. But, I obviously need to find a way to overcome that since I don't know too many races that run late afternoon to early evening.
Anyway, I was huffing and puffing my way through the tempo miles when my stomach started cramping with about a quarter of a mile left in my 3rd set. Being the wuss that I am, I decided to finish up that mile, use another mile as a cool down before calling it a morning. Only finished with 6 miles total with 3 @ LT pace:
Mile 3 - 7:17
Mile 4 - 7:03
Mile 5 - 7:20 (stomach pain w/ .25 to go)
I don't know what the main impetus was, but on my way home from work this afternoon, I decided that today would be the day that I finally purchased the Newtons. This would be my 2nd time trying them on and I took my sweet time at the shoe store before finally deciding on a pair I liked. I was determined to try them out right away, but because I can initially only put in a few miles at a time (since it takes awhile for the different muscles in the leg to get acclimated to running in them), I made myself put in no more than 3-4 miles tonight.
A few things that I noticed right away. First of all, they are very light (10.4 oz). Secondly, it was very hard to run at my 'true' recovery pace of around 9-9:30 splits. The legs wanted to move and so I ran them a little quicker than I normally would. This is not to say that it required the same amount of effort. No, there was a little more effort involved - but not by much, at least as far as my recovery heart rate was concerned (usually <150 bpm, averaged 150 bpm exactly on this run). My pace for what turned out to be 4 miles total averaged 8:37. Lastly, they really excelled on the small incline of the freeway overpass that I decided to sprint up on my way back home.
Total for the day for both workouts = 10.2 miles.
My review will remain inconclusive for now as it's just one run. I can tell you that it feels like I just completed a set of calf raises, but I'm sure they will adapt over time. I'm primarily planning on using them for speed work and for shorter races since I'm concerned about too much wear on these $175 pair of shoes (gulp). The guy told me a pair would last 300-500 miles, but I'm not exactly considered 'small' for a distance runner at 180 lbs, so I may go through them a little faster.
In the meantime, good people at Newton - if you feel like sponsoring an average, middle-of-the-pack runner like myself at any point, please do not hesitate. Ironman champ Craig Alexander, I'm not. But I promise to love you guys more than he ever could.
Nope - it's not a new Garmin 305 that I wrote about in the previous post. I decided to throw you guys a little curveball instead. No, what I bought was something I have been equally pining for for some time now, but couldn't get myself to justify the price tag.
Until today. Today, you are looking at the owner of a new pair of Newton running shoes, courtesy of Frontrunners in Brentwood.
Don't know what it was that made me finally take the plunge but my tempo run this morning may have played a part (more on that in a bit).
If you haven't seen or heard of them before, they are shoes specifically designed to promote forefoot running which many argue to be the more 'natural' and 'efficient' way of running. I started prescribing to that theory right around the time I started running a couple of years ago after my coach adjusted my mechanics to that of a more mid-foot strike as opposed to heel-striking.
I'll let the following video do most of the explaining behind the 'science' of the shoe:
Anyway, to today's workout. Today was another double day beginning with a lactate threshold run in the wee hours of the morning. I drove over to Clover Park again with my mind set on running 11 miles with 6 miles of that at tempo pace. Unfortunately, my body had other ideas.
First of all, the tempo paces were hard to come by. I've come to the conclusion that I'm just not that great at running fast in the morning. But, I obviously need to find a way to overcome that since I don't know too many races that run late afternoon to early evening.
Anyway, I was huffing and puffing my way through the tempo miles when my stomach started cramping with about a quarter of a mile left in my 3rd set. Being the wuss that I am, I decided to finish up that mile, use another mile as a cool down before calling it a morning. Only finished with 6 miles total with 3 @ LT pace:
Mile 3 - 7:17
Mile 4 - 7:03
Mile 5 - 7:20 (stomach pain w/ .25 to go)
I don't know what the main impetus was, but on my way home from work this afternoon, I decided that today would be the day that I finally purchased the Newtons. This would be my 2nd time trying them on and I took my sweet time at the shoe store before finally deciding on a pair I liked. I was determined to try them out right away, but because I can initially only put in a few miles at a time (since it takes awhile for the different muscles in the leg to get acclimated to running in them), I made myself put in no more than 3-4 miles tonight.
A few things that I noticed right away. First of all, they are very light (10.4 oz). Secondly, it was very hard to run at my 'true' recovery pace of around 9-9:30 splits. The legs wanted to move and so I ran them a little quicker than I normally would. This is not to say that it required the same amount of effort. No, there was a little more effort involved - but not by much, at least as far as my recovery heart rate was concerned (usually <150 bpm, averaged 150 bpm exactly on this run). My pace for what turned out to be 4 miles total averaged 8:37. Lastly, they really excelled on the small incline of the freeway overpass that I decided to sprint up on my way back home.
Total for the day for both workouts = 10.2 miles.
My review will remain inconclusive for now as it's just one run. I can tell you that it feels like I just completed a set of calf raises, but I'm sure they will adapt over time. I'm primarily planning on using them for speed work and for shorter races since I'm concerned about too much wear on these $175 pair of shoes (gulp). The guy told me a pair would last 300-500 miles, but I'm not exactly considered 'small' for a distance runner at 180 lbs, so I may go through them a little faster.
In the meantime, good people at Newton - if you feel like sponsoring an average, middle-of-the-pack runner like myself at any point, please do not hesitate. Ironman champ Craig Alexander, I'm not. But I promise to love you guys more than he ever could.
Monday, March 23, 2009
I'm Ready
Ok, I'm ready for an upgrade. Suffering from serious Garmin 305 (and 405) envy and I'm ready to move on up to play with the big boys and ditch my antiquated 301.
I was initially going to wait until next month (my birthday) to warrant the unnecessary purchase - especially in this economic climate - but I'm not sure that I can. I suppose at the very least, I can start my research early.
So I need your help. I need to find a great deal on the Garmin Forerunner 305 + HR monitor to justify the upgrade. Perhaps some small corner of the internet somewhere known only by you, the select few? Help a brotha out, will ya? Shaw-shank ya.
I was initially going to wait until next month (my birthday) to warrant the unnecessary purchase - especially in this economic climate - but I'm not sure that I can. I suppose at the very least, I can start my research early.
So I need your help. I need to find a great deal on the Garmin Forerunner 305 + HR monitor to justify the upgrade. Perhaps some small corner of the internet somewhere known only by you, the select few? Help a brotha out, will ya? Shaw-shank ya.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Race Report: Pasadena Half-Marathon
What a strange and bizarre day. Race day's usually all about pushing yourself, answering questions and facing the unknown...but today also seemed to be about unfortunate turn of events. Anyway, I'm sure that despite the weather, it was a good day for others.
Race weekend started last night when I met up with some fellas from the Runner's World forums at a Souplantation in Pasadena. The 4 of us chatted about, what else - running; specifically goals and certain races that were coming up while noshing on some greens, baked potato and pasta. It's always fun talking with like-minded folks. Ray - who I once considered an equal, has really improved his speed and is someone I feel could easily run a sub-1:30 in ideal conditions. Emil would be running the full and runs one virtually every weekend. Steve was running the half and had ambitions of a sub-1:45 time so we both agreed it would be fun to run together since I was using this race as a training run, more or less.
Fast forward to this morning. With a 4:30am wake-up call, I went about my usual pre-race motions of getting on my gear while sipping my cup of coffee and eating a piece of toast. I was on the road by 5:15am and made the 20+ mile drive up to Pasadena. Parking wasn't too difficult to find once I got beyond the usual pre-marathon gridlock and almost immediately found Ray near the start. As we neared the start time of 6:30am, the light drizzle slowly began to turn into an outright downpour. Ray positioned himself near the front, while I moved in toward the early to mid-start position and stood with many wet and shivering bodies waiting eagerly for the horn. With no signs of Steve anywhere, I began wondering how I should run this race.
When the start was finally announced, I decided to leave the trash bag I was wearing on as it was still raining and started off relatively conservatively.
Mile 1 - 7:47
Feeling pretty good and with a little let up in the rain, I ditched the trash bag and said screw it, "let's race".
Mile 2 - 7:03
Around mile 2.5, a familiar face comes up next to me and sure enough, it's our boy Steve. Although I was donning a combo of ear-warmers and a hat on my dome, he saw and recognized the arm warmers I spoke at great lengths about last night. Content to back off my half-marathon race pace, I settled back a bit to run with Steve and get him his goal.
Mile 3 - 7:37
Mile 4 - 8:20
From mile 3 to about 4.5 was a noticeable, continuous and steady climb and this is where we dropped back in pace first. Seeing that we still had some time in 'the bank', I figured it would be ok. Unfortunately, the ITB band in his left leg started flaring up and we had to start dropping the pace.
Mile 5 - 8:03
Mile 6 - 9:03
Mile 7 - 8:16
Mile 8 - 8:46
Initially he could run on it while clearly grimacing, but as the miles wore on, the pain just grew worse and we started taking walking breaks. We were out in front of the Rose Bowl at this point and this is where 'the incident' took place.
Steve and I were walking/running on one side, while the folks that were ahead were running back on the opposite side after the turnaround point. I started paying attention to a female biker (not sure if she was part of the bike race portion or not) started yelling out, "on your left!...on your LEFT!" to certain, oblivious iPod sporting runners ahead of her. She wasn't going at a fast pace and was clearly a little frustrated that a few choice racers weren't yielding. Then, one of the runners must have moved in front of her because she braked all of a sudden, high-sided and crashed head first into the pavement ahead of her.
Witnessing all of this, I ran over to attend to her and immediately saw that she was in bad, bad shape. Blood started pouring out of her mouth and she was barely coherent lying face first on the pavement. I shouted at the aid station we passed about 75 yards back and started yelling, "MEDIC! MEDIC!". We made sure she laid still and thankfully, a fellow runner who happened to be a doctor, came over and attended to her as did other aids and a motorcycle cop. Steve and I couldn't do much more so we just continued on while I cursed those runners under my breath that were oblivious to the whole incident in front of her.
The rest of the run was pretty much downhill from there (not literally, because this was one hilly ass course). Steve's knee was pretty much shot so a sub-1:45 and even setting a new PR (a sub-1:51 I believe) was out the window. I thought briefly about finishing it up on my own, but figured we had come this far and I was running "chipless" (don't ask) so I stuck with him while we reeled off double-digit splits from miles 9-12.
At a little over mile 11 when we stopped by the side of the road to stretch his ITB a bit, we saw our buddy Robert ("Shacky" to you RW folks) cruising down. After exchanging pleasantries, we let him go by and started up again ourselves shortly thereafter. At one point, I left Steve for a bit to go run with Robert for a little while but he was too far ahead and we were nearing the finish anyway. So I turned back around and at the very least, successfully added a little distance.
We unfortunately missed the 2-hour mark but Steve did tough it out through his worst race ever (his words) and we came across the line around 2:02:XX (I always forget to stop the Garmin).
We met up with Ray and Robert at the end and while Ray didn't get a sub-1:30 as I predicted, he finished at a still very impressive time of 1:36 on a hilly, rainy course. Anyway, after shooting the shit for a bit, we parted ways and I proceeded to add another 2.5 miles at the end while also snapping a few shots of other runners finishing (didn't have my camera for the actual race itself because of the rain). By this time it was pouring down, so I ran back to my car, hopped on the freeway and just missed witnessing my 2nd unfortunate accident of the day - a Prius that ended up flipping over in the fast lane of the freeway. Ugh, horrible.
Anyway, 13.64 + 2.5 = 16.14 miles for the day. I'll take that.
Race weekend started last night when I met up with some fellas from the Runner's World forums at a Souplantation in Pasadena. The 4 of us chatted about, what else - running; specifically goals and certain races that were coming up while noshing on some greens, baked potato and pasta. It's always fun talking with like-minded folks. Ray - who I once considered an equal, has really improved his speed and is someone I feel could easily run a sub-1:30 in ideal conditions. Emil would be running the full and runs one virtually every weekend. Steve was running the half and had ambitions of a sub-1:45 time so we both agreed it would be fun to run together since I was using this race as a training run, more or less. Fast forward to this morning. With a 4:30am wake-up call, I went about my usual pre-race motions of getting on my gear while sipping my cup of coffee and eating a piece of toast. I was on the road by 5:15am and made the 20+ mile drive up to Pasadena. Parking wasn't too difficult to find once I got beyond the usual pre-marathon gridlock and almost immediately found Ray near the start. As we neared the start time of 6:30am, the light drizzle slowly began to turn into an outright downpour. Ray positioned himself near the front, while I moved in toward the early to mid-start position and stood with many wet and shivering bodies waiting eagerly for the horn. With no signs of Steve anywhere, I began wondering how I should run this race.
When the start was finally announced, I decided to leave the trash bag I was wearing on as it was still raining and started off relatively conservatively.
Mile 1 - 7:47
Feeling pretty good and with a little let up in the rain, I ditched the trash bag and said screw it, "let's race".
Mile 2 - 7:03
Around mile 2.5, a familiar face comes up next to me and sure enough, it's our boy Steve. Although I was donning a combo of ear-warmers and a hat on my dome, he saw and recognized the arm warmers I spoke at great lengths about last night. Content to back off my half-marathon race pace, I settled back a bit to run with Steve and get him his goal.
Mile 3 - 7:37
Mile 4 - 8:20
From mile 3 to about 4.5 was a noticeable, continuous and steady climb and this is where we dropped back in pace first. Seeing that we still had some time in 'the bank', I figured it would be ok. Unfortunately, the ITB band in his left leg started flaring up and we had to start dropping the pace.
Mile 5 - 8:03
Mile 6 - 9:03
Mile 7 - 8:16
Mile 8 - 8:46
Initially he could run on it while clearly grimacing, but as the miles wore on, the pain just grew worse and we started taking walking breaks. We were out in front of the Rose Bowl at this point and this is where 'the incident' took place.
Steve and I were walking/running on one side, while the folks that were ahead were running back on the opposite side after the turnaround point. I started paying attention to a female biker (not sure if she was part of the bike race portion or not) started yelling out, "on your left!...on your LEFT!" to certain, oblivious iPod sporting runners ahead of her. She wasn't going at a fast pace and was clearly a little frustrated that a few choice racers weren't yielding. Then, one of the runners must have moved in front of her because she braked all of a sudden, high-sided and crashed head first into the pavement ahead of her.
Witnessing all of this, I ran over to attend to her and immediately saw that she was in bad, bad shape. Blood started pouring out of her mouth and she was barely coherent lying face first on the pavement. I shouted at the aid station we passed about 75 yards back and started yelling, "MEDIC! MEDIC!". We made sure she laid still and thankfully, a fellow runner who happened to be a doctor, came over and attended to her as did other aids and a motorcycle cop. Steve and I couldn't do much more so we just continued on while I cursed those runners under my breath that were oblivious to the whole incident in front of her.
The rest of the run was pretty much downhill from there (not literally, because this was one hilly ass course). Steve's knee was pretty much shot so a sub-1:45 and even setting a new PR (a sub-1:51 I believe) was out the window. I thought briefly about finishing it up on my own, but figured we had come this far and I was running "chipless" (don't ask) so I stuck with him while we reeled off double-digit splits from miles 9-12. At a little over mile 11 when we stopped by the side of the road to stretch his ITB a bit, we saw our buddy Robert ("Shacky" to you RW folks) cruising down. After exchanging pleasantries, we let him go by and started up again ourselves shortly thereafter. At one point, I left Steve for a bit to go run with Robert for a little while but he was too far ahead and we were nearing the finish anyway. So I turned back around and at the very least, successfully added a little distance.
We unfortunately missed the 2-hour mark but Steve did tough it out through his worst race ever (his words) and we came across the line around 2:02:XX (I always forget to stop the Garmin).
We met up with Ray and Robert at the end and while Ray didn't get a sub-1:30 as I predicted, he finished at a still very impressive time of 1:36 on a hilly, rainy course. Anyway, after shooting the shit for a bit, we parted ways and I proceeded to add another 2.5 miles at the end while also snapping a few shots of other runners finishing (didn't have my camera for the actual race itself because of the rain). By this time it was pouring down, so I ran back to my car, hopped on the freeway and just missed witnessing my 2nd unfortunate accident of the day - a Prius that ended up flipping over in the fast lane of the freeway. Ugh, horrible. Anyway, 13.64 + 2.5 = 16.14 miles for the day. I'll take that.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Work, Race, Wind and Fire
So I'm running the Pasadena Half-Marathon tomorrow.
Unfortunately, my mind is a little distracted on other matters right now. It's not set in stone yet so I'm not going to freak out, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned (it's work-related).
Running your own business is stressful work and something I'm still acclimating myself to. It's been a little over 4 years since my dad passed and I quit my marketing job to take over the reigns. I knew shortly thereafter that I just was not cut from the same cloth as he was.
But I am trying.
So at a time when I should be focused on things like carbo-loading, hydrating, etc, I find my mind elsewhere. And that's fine...tomorrow's really a training run more than anything. I know there are sandbaggers who undersell and then run a much faster than predicted time. But that's not going to be me (I'm assuming that I'll be able to stoke the competitive fire that may surface come race morning).
For tomorrow's half, I'm approaching running miles 1-13.1 more at 'marathon pace' than 'half-marathon pace'. I still have my eyes set on May 9th as my goal half-marathon, with a shorter race sandwiched between now and then.
It's supposed to be rainy and windy tomorrow. Yikes. All the more reason to hold back a bit I suppose. I was also planning on running with my camera, but rain might make me rethink that. I'm predicting somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:43-1:50.
Sorry for the lame post. Report to follow tomorrow.
Unfortunately, my mind is a little distracted on other matters right now. It's not set in stone yet so I'm not going to freak out, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned (it's work-related).
Running your own business is stressful work and something I'm still acclimating myself to. It's been a little over 4 years since my dad passed and I quit my marketing job to take over the reigns. I knew shortly thereafter that I just was not cut from the same cloth as he was.
But I am trying.
So at a time when I should be focused on things like carbo-loading, hydrating, etc, I find my mind elsewhere. And that's fine...tomorrow's really a training run more than anything. I know there are sandbaggers who undersell and then run a much faster than predicted time. But that's not going to be me (I'm assuming that I'll be able to stoke the competitive fire that may surface come race morning).
For tomorrow's half, I'm approaching running miles 1-13.1 more at 'marathon pace' than 'half-marathon pace'. I still have my eyes set on May 9th as my goal half-marathon, with a shorter race sandwiched between now and then.
It's supposed to be rainy and windy tomorrow. Yikes. All the more reason to hold back a bit I suppose. I was also planning on running with my camera, but rain might make me rethink that. I'm predicting somewhere in the neighborhood of 1:43-1:50.
Sorry for the lame post. Report to follow tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Works: 10 Mile Afternoon Run
One of my most challenging training runs to date in this cycle. Also the most rewarding. I'm going to refer to this run as "the works". Had a little bit of everything - hills, progression, speed, distance.
Sought out to run 8-12 GA miles. Decided to add some hills to keep the mind stimulated.
The first couple of miles, I just tried to go out nice and slow to loosen up. Felt like dog shit. Legs felt sore from yesterday's double + speed and stomach was like, "are you kidding me?" after my stupid decision to consume the near-900 calorie Chicken Burrito Ultimo from Baja Fresh. Both eventually felt better as the run went on. I hit the first hill right before mile 1 and took that one nice and slow.
Mile 1 - 9:17
Mile 2 - 8:33
Next huge hill came around the 3 mile mark. Took that one on a little more aggressively.
Mile 3 - 8:34
Mile 4 - 8:39
By mile 3.5, I hit Clover Park and legs automatically started to pick it up a bit. Did the next 3 miles there running the approximately .85 mile loop a few times.
Mile 5 - 7:43
Mile 6 - 7:25
Mile 7 - 7:56
Left the park at about 7.5 miles into my run and took a mile to recover.
Mile 8 - 8:19
Then for the next mile, I decided to pick it up and run it at LT pace on tired legs. Took the next .25 miles to recover before picking it up again, this time at about 10K pace until I hit mile 10. Took last .5 miles to recover.
Mile 9 - 7:16
Mile 10 - 7:16
Total mileage for the day = 10.5 miles @ 8:12 pace overall. Felt good about this run, but my legs might hate me tomorrow after 2 straight days of speedwork.
Time to go pig out some more tonight!
Sought out to run 8-12 GA miles. Decided to add some hills to keep the mind stimulated.
The first couple of miles, I just tried to go out nice and slow to loosen up. Felt like dog shit. Legs felt sore from yesterday's double + speed and stomach was like, "are you kidding me?" after my stupid decision to consume the near-900 calorie Chicken Burrito Ultimo from Baja Fresh. Both eventually felt better as the run went on. I hit the first hill right before mile 1 and took that one nice and slow.
Mile 1 - 9:17
Mile 2 - 8:33
Next huge hill came around the 3 mile mark. Took that one on a little more aggressively.
Mile 3 - 8:34
Mile 4 - 8:39
By mile 3.5, I hit Clover Park and legs automatically started to pick it up a bit. Did the next 3 miles there running the approximately .85 mile loop a few times.
Mile 5 - 7:43
Mile 6 - 7:25
Mile 7 - 7:56
Left the park at about 7.5 miles into my run and took a mile to recover.
Mile 8 - 8:19
Then for the next mile, I decided to pick it up and run it at LT pace on tired legs. Took the next .25 miles to recover before picking it up again, this time at about 10K pace until I hit mile 10. Took last .5 miles to recover.
Mile 9 - 7:16
Mile 10 - 7:16
Total mileage for the day = 10.5 miles @ 8:12 pace overall. Felt good about this run, but my legs might hate me tomorrow after 2 straight days of speedwork.
Time to go pig out some more tonight!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
AM/PM
Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone.
Just thought I'd check in for the day...been a hectic one thus far. But wouldn't want it any other way. Ah, who am I kidding? Put me on a beach in Hawaii with a mai tai in hand any day.
But I digress. Today was a rare double day, although they were shortish ones at that.
Morning: 5.2 GA miles @ 7:43 pace + ~2 @ LT (7:06, 7:02)
Evening: 4.5 miles recovery @ 9:03 pace + 6 x 100m
Legs felt good for a change, but still feel a bit behind aerobically. Need to follow through on the LT runs as well as get my long distance endurance up. Not going to be a slave to the schedule though, rather let it provide a good framework for what I should be doing on a day-by-day basis.
The above was just for me - although you may look. Have a good evening everyone.
Just thought I'd check in for the day...been a hectic one thus far. But wouldn't want it any other way. Ah, who am I kidding? Put me on a beach in Hawaii with a mai tai in hand any day.
But I digress. Today was a rare double day, although they were shortish ones at that.
Morning: 5.2 GA miles @ 7:43 pace + ~2 @ LT (7:06, 7:02)
Evening: 4.5 miles recovery @ 9:03 pace + 6 x 100m
Legs felt good for a change, but still feel a bit behind aerobically. Need to follow through on the LT runs as well as get my long distance endurance up. Not going to be a slave to the schedule though, rather let it provide a good framework for what I should be doing on a day-by-day basis.
The above was just for me - although you may look. Have a good evening everyone.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Long Run Sunday: A Tour of West LA
7am - about to get started
Running over the 405 overpass right near my place heading west
~mile 2 - running through the Santa Monica Airport
~mile 3 - dirt path next to a local golf course
The famous Main St, running north and south about a block and a half away from the beach
At approximately mile 4.5, we once again hit the relatively empty Venice Boardwalk
The Santa Monica Pier
The sign for the pier itself
~mile 6.25 - the runner's mecca knows as Palisades Park
~mile 10 - the very affluent neighborhood of Brentwood
Southbound on Barrington Ave, about a mile away from home
Covered 17.05 miles for the day. Kind of bonked from miles 14 and on but was happy that I was mentally able to push myself through it and finish. Have a good day folks.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Just Beachy
It's pretty great living in Southern California, I ain't gonna lie.
When it's sunny out, my impulse is to always head west to the beach. And that is precisely what I did for this today's run.
Even for an afternoon, Venice Beach (where I started my run) was pretty crowded. Throngs of tourists, weirdos and hipster locals littered the Boardwalk making it virtually impossible to run through. For the early part of my run, I had to move over to the adjacent bike path until I got near the Santa Monica Pier and things opened up a bit.
I continued up north towards Will Rogers Beach going at a steady pace. It was good to get back to run in clean air and exercise along with like-minded runners/bikers/bladers. Aerobically, I felt decent but the legs were still a little heavy from last Sunday's run. But I am really behind on my schedule this week (not that I'm stressing it too much) and wanted to get some mileage in before it was over.
Turned around approximately 5.5 miles in and started the journey back south. Started to feel it a bit on my way down and my left IT band started getting a bit sore inexplicably. I slowed down the pace a little bit, fought back through the crowds, kicked it up the last mile or so and ended up back at my car with exactly 11 miles completed at 8:34 pace.
More running to come this weekend. Still undecided about Pasadena next weekend. To be continued.
When it's sunny out, my impulse is to always head west to the beach. And that is precisely what I did for this today's run.
Even for an afternoon, Venice Beach (where I started my run) was pretty crowded. Throngs of tourists, weirdos and hipster locals littered the Boardwalk making it virtually impossible to run through. For the early part of my run, I had to move over to the adjacent bike path until I got near the Santa Monica Pier and things opened up a bit. 
I continued up north towards Will Rogers Beach going at a steady pace. It was good to get back to run in clean air and exercise along with like-minded runners/bikers/bladers. Aerobically, I felt decent but the legs were still a little heavy from last Sunday's run. But I am really behind on my schedule this week (not that I'm stressing it too much) and wanted to get some mileage in before it was over. Turned around approximately 5.5 miles in and started the journey back south. Started to feel it a bit on my way down and my left IT band started getting a bit sore inexplicably. I slowed down the pace a little bit, fought back through the crowds, kicked it up the last mile or so and ended up back at my car with exactly 11 miles completed at 8:34 pace.
More running to come this weekend. Still undecided about Pasadena next weekend. To be continued.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Video: My First Ultra - Malibu Creek 50K
It's been 2 agonizing days of hobbling around and not being able to run (not to mention falling off my schedule a bit). But I don't really care - it was definitely worth it. And I must be suffering from "runner's amnesia" (as a friend put it), because I'm already looking at another 50K next month (seriously...somebody smack some sense into me).
Anyway, I'll get the Pfitz program restarted tomorrow and right this ship again. In the meantime, I leave you with this little video I put together of Sunday's trail race. Enjoy:
Anyway, I'll get the Pfitz program restarted tomorrow and right this ship again. In the meantime, I leave you with this little video I put together of Sunday's trail race. Enjoy:
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Race Report: Malibu Creek - 50K
Did you know that the BlackBerry will automatically update main time come daylight savings?
Yessir...I found this out the hard way AFTER I had already consumed my morning cup of coffee and was getting ready when - I spot the time on a another clock and it reads the correct time: an hour early. The alarm had gone off an HOUR early! Ugh...this is how my day started.
I rendezvous'd with Sara, Danica and some Runner's World friends near the entrance of Malibu Creek State Park around 7:45am. The start time for 25K and 50K runners would be 8:30am. I was very much looking forward to seeing them all again. In fact, we've been anticipating this race for about a month now. One thing I didn't truly appreciate was the distance and the elevation of this race. It. Was. No. Joke.
The morning was chilly (by So Cal standards ok?) and we all huddled together in layers chit-chatting near the start where I ran into Stuart, who was also running the 50K distance. Next thing I knew, Wendall announced the start of the race via his bullhorn and we were off!
Sara and Danica were heading back from the bathroom at this point, but since they were doing the 25K, I wanted to stick to the 50K runners as close as possible because I knew I would need their company later - especially for the 2nd loop (the 50K'ers would be running the 25K loop twice). Once we were off the paved road of the parking area, the single track roads led us up a series of windy switchbacks which was a really fun way to start off (as long as you weren't stuck behind a slowpoke listening to their iPod). Like an army of marching ants, we zig-zagged our way up and down, left and right. I was feeling really good at this point and loved being out on the trails again.
We weren't running too long when we came across a stream crossing. It wasn't exactly raging whitewater rapids, but it certainly wasn't a trickler either. We were going to get wet. So again one by one, people went in shoes first into the water to cross, while others actually plopped down on the dirt to start unlacing their shoes before entering. I got a good chuckle out of that.
With squishy feet, we plodded along and hit our first aid station. Sarah and Wendell (the race directors) laid out a smorgasboard of sweet + salty goodness for their runners. Everything from gummi bears to boiled potatoes (my favorite). Since it was still early, I briefly noshed on some potatoes and took a quick swig of water. Then - the climbing would start (our 1st of 2). And boy, did we climb. For about the next 6 miles, it was a seemingly non-stop hike up the rocky fire road up to the summit. I took on this portion with Stuart and a new friend of his, which provided some good company. We ran when we can, but it was mostly a treacherous death march up to the top.
The higher we'd climb, the more spectacular the views became. Sparkly blue ocean to the west, and finally - nay, mercifully - when our descent began down Bulldog Road, beautiful lush green valley off to the east as far as the eye can see. After hitting up another aid-station, we descended for the next 4 or so miles before we reached the valley of the park again. I made sure I did not descend at breakneck speed to conserve my already tired legs as much as possible. And they were tired. How on earth was I supposed to do this a 2nd time, I began to wonder.
Sara had caught up before I made the run down and our friend Rachel from Runner's World was with us as well, so we ran together until we reached the 25K mark (back to the start)...after nearly 3 hours of running/climbing/running. Sara decided to run back until she met up with Danica while Rachel and I had another loop to do. After briefly deliberating the option of DNF'ing, we decided to finish what we came out here for and set off for the 2nd half.
Immediately, it was obvious that most of the runners were done for the day as the start of the 2nd half was limited to but a few crazy, but like-minded souls willing to push themselves to the absolute limit. I ended up running/climbing with Rachel for the majority of it, griping to each other why we were putting ourselves through this. Repeat of the 1st 25K - switchbacks, stream crossing, climbing, climbing, climbing...
By mile 18.5, I felt my first onset of cramps in my right calf. Somewhere around miles 21-23, my legs were just completely shot and all I could feel pain and aching resonating from them. I was pretty dehydrated when we hit our last aid-station before making the final descent down, so I took my sweet time taking down fluids and snacking on some boiled potatoes dipped in salt, while the aid was nice enough to top off my bottle.
The final jaunt down was slow and painful. I could barely lift my legs at points and stepping on the various jagged rocks that littered the road was equally painful. Instead of focusing on the pain, I decided to focus on running the tangents on the road to the best of my ability, if for no other reason than to keep my mind somewhat stimulated. We passed and chatted with a couple of other runners along the way but nothing really distracted me from the fact that I was running on fumes and extremely sore legs.
By mile 29 or so, I was just over it and wanted to be done with. So I took off at the fastest pace I could muster - which wasn't that fast, probably around 8:30-8:50 pace - and wanted to reach the finish as fast as possible. But I guess I underestimated the distance to the end and got gassed with a little less than a mile to go. Catching my breath for a second, I regrouped and started up again intent on finishing strong til the finish.
I cannot tell you how happy I was when the finish finally came into view and I had my running buddies there cheering and screaming my name. I flashed them a big smile and crossed the line at 6:19:30 (according to my Garmin - race clock was about 15 or so seconds faster) after 31.09 miles. After some slapping of hands and exchanges in congratulations, we cheered on some other finishers while downing cans of soda and some excellent chili courtesy of our favorite RD, Sarah.
After milling about for another hour or so, the RW group decided to get some grub. So we all caravanned from the park to a 'Pho' place (a favorite Vietnamese dish amongst us forumites) near where I live in West LA and chowed down on some righteous carbs/protein/sodium and shared some yuks. It was the perfect end to what was a great day...save for all the running.
Just kidding. Kinda. Who cares...1st ultra in the books!
Big congrats to my girl Sara for completing the 25K (and more) in spite of running with a hurt leg. And congrats to Danica for completing her first trail race...you guys were missed at post-race chow!
Stay tuned for a video I may or may not put together in the next couple of days. We'll see. Thanks for reading.
Yessir...I found this out the hard way AFTER I had already consumed my morning cup of coffee and was getting ready when - I spot the time on a another clock and it reads the correct time: an hour early. The alarm had gone off an HOUR early! Ugh...this is how my day started.
I rendezvous'd with Sara, Danica and some Runner's World friends near the entrance of Malibu Creek State Park around 7:45am. The start time for 25K and 50K runners would be 8:30am. I was very much looking forward to seeing them all again. In fact, we've been anticipating this race for about a month now. One thing I didn't truly appreciate was the distance and the elevation of this race. It. Was. No. Joke. The morning was chilly (by So Cal standards ok?) and we all huddled together in layers chit-chatting near the start where I ran into Stuart, who was also running the 50K distance. Next thing I knew, Wendall announced the start of the race via his bullhorn and we were off!
Sara and Danica were heading back from the bathroom at this point, but since they were doing the 25K, I wanted to stick to the 50K runners as close as possible because I knew I would need their company later - especially for the 2nd loop (the 50K'ers would be running the 25K loop twice). Once we were off the paved road of the parking area, the single track roads led us up a series of windy switchbacks which was a really fun way to start off (as long as you weren't stuck behind a slowpoke listening to their iPod). Like an army of marching ants, we zig-zagged our way up and down, left and right. I was feeling really good at this point and loved being out on the trails again. 
We weren't running too long when we came across a stream crossing. It wasn't exactly raging whitewater rapids, but it certainly wasn't a trickler either. We were going to get wet. So again one by one, people went in shoes first into the water to cross, while others actually plopped down on the dirt to start unlacing their shoes before entering. I got a good chuckle out of that. 
With squishy feet, we plodded along and hit our first aid station. Sarah and Wendell (the race directors) laid out a smorgasboard of sweet + salty goodness for their runners. Everything from gummi bears to boiled potatoes (my favorite). Since it was still early, I briefly noshed on some potatoes and took a quick swig of water. Then - the climbing would start (our 1st of 2). And boy, did we climb. For about the next 6 miles, it was a seemingly non-stop hike up the rocky fire road up to the summit. I took on this portion with Stuart and a new friend of his, which provided some good company. We ran when we can, but it was mostly a treacherous death march up to the top.
The higher we'd climb, the more spectacular the views became. Sparkly blue ocean to the west, and finally - nay, mercifully - when our descent began down Bulldog Road, beautiful lush green valley off to the east as far as the eye can see. After hitting up another aid-station, we descended for the next 4 or so miles before we reached the valley of the park again. I made sure I did not descend at breakneck speed to conserve my already tired legs as much as possible. And they were tired. How on earth was I supposed to do this a 2nd time, I began to wonder. 
Sara had caught up before I made the run down and our friend Rachel from Runner's World was with us as well, so we ran together until we reached the 25K mark (back to the start)...after nearly 3 hours of running/climbing/running. Sara decided to run back until she met up with Danica while Rachel and I had another loop to do. After briefly deliberating the option of DNF'ing, we decided to finish what we came out here for and set off for the 2nd half. Immediately, it was obvious that most of the runners were done for the day as the start of the 2nd half was limited to but a few crazy, but like-minded souls willing to push themselves to the absolute limit. I ended up running/climbing with Rachel for the majority of it, griping to each other why we were putting ourselves through this. Repeat of the 1st 25K - switchbacks, stream crossing, climbing, climbing, climbing...
By mile 18.5, I felt my first onset of cramps in my right calf. Somewhere around miles 21-23, my legs were just completely shot and all I could feel pain and aching resonating from them. I was pretty dehydrated when we hit our last aid-station before making the final descent down, so I took my sweet time taking down fluids and snacking on some boiled potatoes dipped in salt, while the aid was nice enough to top off my bottle.
The final jaunt down was slow and painful. I could barely lift my legs at points and stepping on the various jagged rocks that littered the road was equally painful. Instead of focusing on the pain, I decided to focus on running the tangents on the road to the best of my ability, if for no other reason than to keep my mind somewhat stimulated. We passed and chatted with a couple of other runners along the way but nothing really distracted me from the fact that I was running on fumes and extremely sore legs.
By mile 29 or so, I was just over it and wanted to be done with. So I took off at the fastest pace I could muster - which wasn't that fast, probably around 8:30-8:50 pace - and wanted to reach the finish as fast as possible. But I guess I underestimated the distance to the end and got gassed with a little less than a mile to go. Catching my breath for a second, I regrouped and started up again intent on finishing strong til the finish.
I cannot tell you how happy I was when the finish finally came into view and I had my running buddies there cheering and screaming my name. I flashed them a big smile and crossed the line at 6:19:30 (according to my Garmin - race clock was about 15 or so seconds faster) after 31.09 miles. After some slapping of hands and exchanges in congratulations, we cheered on some other finishers while downing cans of soda and some excellent chili courtesy of our favorite RD, Sarah.
After milling about for another hour or so, the RW group decided to get some grub. So we all caravanned from the park to a 'Pho' place (a favorite Vietnamese dish amongst us forumites) near where I live in West LA and chowed down on some righteous carbs/protein/sodium and shared some yuks. It was the perfect end to what was a great day...save for all the running. Just kidding. Kinda. Who cares...1st ultra in the books!
Big congrats to my girl Sara for completing the 25K (and more) in spite of running with a hurt leg. And congrats to Danica for completing her first trail race...you guys were missed at post-race chow!
Stay tuned for a video I may or may not put together in the next couple of days. We'll see. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
My First Ultra
My first 50K is tomorrow in lovely Malibu Creek State Park. I have no idea what to expect.
2 x 25K loops. A net elevation gain of 5,940' for 31.05 miles. Yikes.
I'm going to be running with fellow bloggers like Stuart and Danica, along with a whole slew of Runner's World forumites. It's going to be great times sprinkled in with sheer torture and bad cramping I'm sure for 6-7+ hours under the sun. With the carbo-load dinner out of the way, it's now time to run.
So looking forward to it. Full race report to come tomorrow night. Don't forget to spring forward kids. I'm tired - good night.
2 x 25K loops. A net elevation gain of 5,940' for 31.05 miles. Yikes.
I'm going to be running with fellow bloggers like Stuart and Danica, along with a whole slew of Runner's World forumites. It's going to be great times sprinkled in with sheer torture and bad cramping I'm sure for 6-7+ hours under the sun. With the carbo-load dinner out of the way, it's now time to run.So looking forward to it. Full race report to come tomorrow night. Don't forget to spring forward kids. I'm tired - good night.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Just the Facts Ma'am
Another 4:45am wakeup call to get in my 10-11 mile run before 8am.
Coffee, bathroom, computer...out the door by 5:30am.
46 degrees at start. Ear warmers, gloves, sleeves...the works.
iPod Shuffle loaded with new U2 album among others (not their greatest).
First 2 miles: 8:58, 8:49 (still trying to warm-up)
Hit Clover Park by 2.85 mile mark.
The park is an approximately .75 mile rolling, windy path.
Picked up pace a bit, did several loops.
Started to head back a little after the 7 mile mark.
Last 2 miles: 7:54, 7:53.
Total for the day = 10.80 miles @ 8:18 pace.
That was fun.
Coffee, bathroom, computer...out the door by 5:30am.
46 degrees at start. Ear warmers, gloves, sleeves...the works.
iPod Shuffle loaded with new U2 album among others (not their greatest).
First 2 miles: 8:58, 8:49 (still trying to warm-up)
Hit Clover Park by 2.85 mile mark.
The park is an approximately .75 mile rolling, windy path.
Picked up pace a bit, did several loops.
Started to head back a little after the 7 mile mark.
Last 2 miles: 7:54, 7:53.
Total for the day = 10.80 miles @ 8:18 pace.
That was fun.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Pfitz: Week 3 of 12
Well, I'm currently in week 3 of this Pfitz 12-week training cycle and so far, so good - at least on the health front. Fitness (and hopefully, speed) will come as I get further into my program I'm sure.
While I've been pretty successful in getting in the early morning runs, I haven't been as successful in taking steps to shed the weight I sought to lose when I started a couple of weeks back. Hovering somewhere between 183-185 lbs (@ 12-13% BF), I can definitely feel it at the tail-end of my runs when it feels like I've been running around with a weighted vest.
I suppose I figured the weight would magically disappear as the mileage increased, but I can't rely on that this time around. So I'm going to take some important - but not impossible - measures to change up my diet, throwing out most products that I've cavalierly consumed in the past.
This will entail more cooking with less eating out, more 'raw' snacks (fruit, almonds, etc) and less soda/high fructose syrup type drinks. To prevent myself from going completely batty, I'll leave myself open to the occasional indulgence. And I'll probably still leave energy bars in there for convenience, but will scrutinize nutritional content a little more. It's all about eating sensibly...not restricting myself to some diet, per se.
And coffee will still remain a staple. No way I'm giving that up.
While I've been pretty successful in getting in the early morning runs, I haven't been as successful in taking steps to shed the weight I sought to lose when I started a couple of weeks back. Hovering somewhere between 183-185 lbs (@ 12-13% BF), I can definitely feel it at the tail-end of my runs when it feels like I've been running around with a weighted vest.
I suppose I figured the weight would magically disappear as the mileage increased, but I can't rely on that this time around. So I'm going to take some important - but not impossible - measures to change up my diet, throwing out most products that I've cavalierly consumed in the past.
This will entail more cooking with less eating out, more 'raw' snacks (fruit, almonds, etc) and less soda/high fructose syrup type drinks. To prevent myself from going completely batty, I'll leave myself open to the occasional indulgence. And I'll probably still leave energy bars in there for convenience, but will scrutinize nutritional content a little more. It's all about eating sensibly...not restricting myself to some diet, per se. And coffee will still remain a staple. No way I'm giving that up.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Ryan Hall: Video of Gasparilla 15K Race
Awesome video of Ryan Hall's 15K race in Tampa, FL from this past Saturday (courtesy of FloTrack). Overall winner - obviously, as the only elite in field - with a finish time of = 43:26, shy of U.S. World Record time of 42:22.
He's currently in training for this year's Boston Marathon and will also be racing in a half-marathon against the world's best in Haile Gebrselassie come March 14th. Best of luck Ryan!
(favorite part of video was shirtless runner #4443, trying to hang with Ryan for the first few yards)
He's currently in training for this year's Boston Marathon and will also be racing in a half-marathon against the world's best in Haile Gebrselassie come March 14th. Best of luck Ryan!
(favorite part of video was shirtless runner #4443, trying to hang with Ryan for the first few yards)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Trail Run: Will Rogers
Ok...so Pfitz called for a 15 mile long run. The Trail Club was doing 13.5 miles today. Ended up splitting the difference and finished with 14.15 miles at Will Rogers park.
It was an extremely scenic run with enough varied terrain to whet just about any appetitite. It had it all - scenic fire roads, shady single tracks, descending switchbacks, thigh burning climbs...the works. Hold the pickles.
It was also very warm and sunny out (sorry East Coasters) - knew it right away when we met up with the group near 7am and the temps just continued to rise as the sun did. I ended up finishing my 22 oz bottle of Cytomax at about mile 12 and it became a real struggle from there on out.
Along with battling the heat, tired legs and dehydration, the park was filled with hikers, runners and mountain bikers today to take advantage of this great day. The last couple of miles were also very hilly which had me cursing under my breath for the duration.
Still, it was quite a welcomed change from the drabby run last week. I also ran almost the entirety of it with the lovely Miss Sara, which was nice too. After re-fueling and rubbing elbows with the rest of the group at the finish, Sara and I got cleaned up and had a proper meal at Du-Par's (a famous pancake place here in LA) and enjoyed the great sunny afternoon outdoors.
Malibu Creek 50K in one week (gulp)!
It was an extremely scenic run with enough varied terrain to whet just about any appetitite. It had it all - scenic fire roads, shady single tracks, descending switchbacks, thigh burning climbs...the works. Hold the pickles.
It was also very warm and sunny out (sorry East Coasters) - knew it right away when we met up with the group near 7am and the temps just continued to rise as the sun did. I ended up finishing my 22 oz bottle of Cytomax at about mile 12 and it became a real struggle from there on out. Along with battling the heat, tired legs and dehydration, the park was filled with hikers, runners and mountain bikers today to take advantage of this great day. The last couple of miles were also very hilly which had me cursing under my breath for the duration.
Still, it was quite a welcomed change from the drabby run last week. I also ran almost the entirety of it with the lovely Miss Sara, which was nice too. After re-fueling and rubbing elbows with the rest of the group at the finish, Sara and I got cleaned up and had a proper meal at Du-Par's (a famous pancake place here in LA) and enjoyed the great sunny afternoon outdoors. Malibu Creek 50K in one week (gulp)!
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