I'm Off!

Well...not quite yet. In less than 24 hours, I'll be off. Where? Only one of my most favorite places on earth - Yosemite!







My last trip (where the photos are from) was around this time 5 years ago! What the hell has taken me so long to return??

I will spend the next 4 days and 3 nights there and looking forward hanging out, drinking, rafting, biking, hiking and of course, running. While I stupidly broke my camera post-LA Marathon, I will be borrowing my sister's so will definitely have to share photos when I get back on Monday.

In the meantime, I want to wish all my blogging and RWOL friends the best of luck this Sunday in San Diego. Danica, you deserve a special mention since this will be your 1st and because I feel guilty for talking you into it when I thought I would still be running it. You're gonna do great girl - just treat it as one big party and run it with a smile!

Looking forward to all of your race reports. Run BTTW, kick some butt and have a great time!

Race Report: LA Marathon 2009

*warning - a very looong and pic heavy race report to follow!

Wow, what a weekend.

I had my reservations about running this race - I fully admit that. I was among the masses up in arms about the switch in dates from early March, to Memorial Day in May. In protest, I was going to skip out on this race and run San Diego instead, but since I double-booked and planned a lavish trip up to Yosemite with my friends, I opted to reluctantly register for Los Angeles and pace my cousin to his first ever marathon.

I sure am glad I was wrong - today, you couldn't have asked for better marathon weather. First thing's first though...

The Expo:

Thanks to Jessica, I found out that the author of "Born to Run" Christopher McDougall would be in attendance for only the first day of the expo (Saturday). Knowing my cousin could only attend the following day for bib pickup, I said the hell with it and decided to go both days. So Saturday afternoon after work, I headed downtown.

Immediately, it struck me that both the scale and attendance of the expo was down from previous years. It's pretty easy to point to the switch in dates and the slumping economy for that.

After perusing through the usual fare of expo stands, I spot the Moeben stand which is where the author was to be positioned. Thanks to his YouTube videos, I knew what he looked like but was thrown off by his size (the dude's TALL). I had a zillion questions for the guy (and I haven't even read the book yet - just received it on Friday!) and he happily answered each and every one of them before signing a copy of the book that I brought. Can't wait to read it. After conversing with him for several minutes, I moved aside so he could talk to other curious passerby's and I began perusing the Moeben section.

Now anyone that's been reading my blog is hip to my affinity for sleeves. Well, the Moeben stand was just a sheer orgy of various sleeves both in design and fabric. But as I'm shopping, someone points out Jorge Pacheco to me hanging out with the Moeben peeps (they're a sponsor). Ecstatic about meeting arguably the top ultra runner racing today, I drop what I'm doing and make a beeline towards him. He too graciously obliged to discuss and answer all my questions from his training to upcoming races. Jorge was a bit reserved but plenty friendly and an absolutely stand-up dude. I wished him luck in Badwater and the AC100, and went back to looking.

It was then that I met Shannon, the owner of Moeben sleeves and an amazingly accomplished ultrarunner in her own right. We had a great conversation about her product and her running career and at the end of it, graciously kicked down a nice discount off of a pair of sweet looking sleeves (and they are sweeet).


Our lovely Moeben sleeves owner Shannon showing off her Badwater buckle

I thanked her but realized that my meter was up about 10 minutes ago so I took off in my Vibrams to my car which was thankfully spared a ticket.

Day 2 of the expo was more about business as I accompanied my cousin to pick up our respective bibs and shop for a new pair of shorts, visor and some Gu for him. Then, I picked up some takeout spaghetti dinner for us, went to work, went home, laid out my gear and crashed around 11pm with a 4:30am wakeup call.

The Race:





This turned out to be one big block party. Big ups to the residents of LA for cheering us on. Also ran into a slew of people I knew throughout the course of the race, which was nice. And of course, the weather was near-perfect.

I decided to rock my new Moeben sleeves (which I received many compliments for) and rainbow colored Injinji's (an homage to my bud Ryan). My cousin Kyu (pronounced "Q") ran late as per usual. We went over to pickup Cody a little before 6am and was able to maneuver through downtown traffic, park and be at the starting area with plenty of time to spare. I also ran into my buddy Emil who joined Cody, Kyu and I at the porta-pottie lines. While the boys waited to pee, I opted for my usual race morning ritual of trash bag plus 32 oz Gatorade bottle (lemon lime - very important). You can use your imagination on how to take care of the rest.

I also spotted "Barefoot Ken Bob" and snapped a picture with him. After wishing Emil luck, my cousin and I inched our way to about the middle of the crowd while Cody decided to join the 4:00 pace group. After one final pee, I shed the trash bag and a little after 7:25am, the LA runners (heh) were off to the usual tune of Randy Newman's "I Love LA"!

The goal (other than bringing him across the line alive) was to bring him in under 5 hours. Sub-4:45 if things were really going great and he could hang on. But let's bear in mind, his longest run until this point has been a run of about 12 miles. That's right - 12 miles.

I cautioned my cousin that it would be slow going during the initial mile as runners begin zig-zagging every which way to jockey for position. Then there were of course, the walkers (right out of the gate) that we had to get around. The skies were blissfully gray and my cousin and I hummed along for the initial mile before he announced, "I have to pee". The boy must have a bladder the size of a lab rat because we ended up stopping a couple of times in the first 3-4 miles alone. I also ran into a pair of CA Runner's World peeps in Joe and Ingrid in the first few miles. I snapped this picture of their backside before I snuck up on them:



Knowing the first 14 or so miles would be rather drab scenery as we ran through South and Mid-City Los Angeles, I just frequently checked in with my cousin as we ran making sure I pulled in the reigns when he moved too fast, cautioning that he'd need to summon every bit of energy for the final stretch.

Somewhere around 4 1/2 miles after passing USC, I spot a curious gentleman running on the sidewalk off to my right. I quickly realize it's none other than Ultra Marathon Man, Dean Karnazes himself. Although I've met him a few times by now, I re-introduce myself and he seems to remember me. We chat briefly about what he's doing (racing in the marathon after running down from Santa Barbara) and what he's going to do (running down to San Diego from LA to race in the SD RnR Marathon). He moves on, I just shake my head at his crazy endurance.


Hi, I'm Dean. The marathon is just a little warm up run for me.

Now before I get too down on having to run through some of the "lower rent" district of Los Angeles, plenty of people did come out to support and represent. Clapping, cheering, high-fives, the whole gamut. My cousin and I were both enjoying ourselves and I could tell this whole experience was a real eye-opener for him in particular. From the cast of characters that show up to run the race to having a bunch of strangers essentially cheering you on...there's really nothing that can match the experience of running a big-city marathon.

A little after mile 11, we had the one big climb of the day over a freeway overpass that seemed to stretch on forever. For some odd reason, I developed a 'hot spot' on my left forefoot around mile 8-ish and was achy in places that ordinarily would not bother me until the latter stages of a marathon. So this hill did take some effort, and then some. I cautioned Kyu to shorten his stride and increase his cadence and we eventually found ourselves on the other side coming down.

After mile 14, I find myself in much more familiar ground as we march up towards the West Hollywood/Miracle Mile side of town. A little before mile 15, we surprisingly spot Cody walking up ahead looking down in the dumps. He apparently had a rough go of it today and was not having a good day. After running with us briefly, he lets us go and my cousin and I continue on through some of the more affluent neighborhoods.


The marathon gave the residential parts of town plenty of reasons to come out and party as people are giving out water and orange slices, with some folks playing music and just hanging out on their lawns cheering. One guy in particular though after seeing me, does a bit of a double-take and while gesturing in my direction says aloud, "wait...is that Harold?!". I'm a bit confused by this until I realize he's referring to John Cho of "Harold and Kumar" fame (I get this a lot).



While my cousin and I have been doing great up until this point (and much better than the sub-5 I was shooting for), things start to unravel around miles 17 on. Not too coincidentally, this was also the portion where the relatively flat course would start climbing a bit. I do my best to wave him along, all the while making sure he hydrates and Gu's up every now and again. Our paces start to suffer though and I can tell it's going to take tremendous digging for him to make it to the finish line.

Around mile 19, I spot Kathy (also from CA RWOL) who just happens to be handing out little cups of beer with her friends. Who am I to turn down some much-needed carbs at this point? Thanking her and shooting down the delicious brew, my cousin and I continue down Park La Brea towards Hancock Park.

He is cramping pretty badly at this point, and he had to stop several times to stretch as were a whole host of others off to the side. Boy could I relate. It started to look like a battlefield out there. I guardedly urged him on knowing we were on pace to a very good finishing time for a newb and wanting to make sure he left it all out there, so he couldn't look back with regret.


Some dude running in jeans...what the hell?

In spite of being just single-digits away, the finish line seemed so far away. My cousin is trying everything at this point to get his legs to keep him moving forward, as am I. We walked, I gave him some salt tablets, tried running backwards, got them sprayed down with Salonpas, stretched some more...the whole 9 yards. Amazingly though, he got through that rough patch and could at least start running again.


In pain and stretching his beat up legs

With Koreatown now in view, I knew that we were just a few measly miles away. We were about 20 minutes ahead of schedule according to my 5-hour pace band and Garmin and wanted to bring him in under 4:45. The dude seriously toughed it out and did his best to keep up with me for the final stretch.


Running into and with 'Ultra Shannon' again


THE best Korean tofu soup in the world. Seriously. Fam and I have been going for years.

The sweetest sounds you can hear in the LA Marathon (or most marathons for that matter) are the sounds of taiko drums beating. Nothing gets your adrenaline, spirits and energy up quite like it. In LA in particular, hearing those drums means you are ever so close to the finish line. So as we made our way towards the finish back to where it all started from in downtown LA, I called on Kyu to finish strong and earn that finish. So with one last final push and the gaggle of crowds to cheer us in during the homestretch, it was all over.



Final time (officially) = 4:42:17

Very proud of that dude. He dug deep and pretty much ran his heart out for that finish. There were some minor post-race activity involving EMT's, getting lost trying to find our car in hilly downtown and a broken camera (mine), but in the interest of shutting up about today already, I'll end things here.

I'll just say that the skies were overcast for the duration, and it wasn't until after we had crossed the finish line, that the sun finally broke through. It was a good day.

Thanks for reading.

This and That

It's funny to have a marathon looming this weekend without tapering much for it. I've cut back slightly here and there, but not by much. Goal remains running a strong marathon in San Francisco. Monday's race will be an extended long run for yours truly while pacing my cousin through his first marathon.

Tuesday: 7.5 miles @ 8:11 (5 x 100m + 15 sec hill sprint), last .5 miles barefoot

Wednesday: recovery miles

Thursday: sluggish 10 miles @ 8:36 (had to walk a couple of times)

Today is another busy day and will probably not have time for a run. I'm still majorly bitter about my Lakers losing Game 2 last night, but hopefully they can rebound with a win in Denver tomorrow night.

Also, the expo for the LA Marathon will be taking place this weekend and I might just have to attend both days to catch certain speakers. I'll take my camera with me of course and while I should leave my credit card at home, I'm going to exercise restraint and hopefully just walk away with some Gu.

Lastly, I gave myself a little haircut on Wednesday. I was intending on buzzing it, but instead decided to play around with it and now sporting a faux hawk-ish 'do now. Maybe I'll post pics later. Or just end up going through with it and taking it all off.

It's still nowhere near as extreme as this haircut I gave myself circa 2006:



Have a great Memorial weekend everyone. Here's hoping I can bring my cousin across the line in under 5 hours!

'8' For Effort

8 = magic number.

That is the pace that I'm hoping to run in San Francisco come July 26th. Coincidentally, that will also be my 8th marathon in my 2+ year running career. But before my 8th marathon, #7 (the LA Marathon) looms this Monday, so I'll have to scale back on my training for San Fran somewhat.

Today, 8 miles was on schedule plus 10 x 100m. Settled for 7 miles @ 8:11 as my 'scale back' workout, (+ 5 x 100m). Threw in some minor hills as part of my SF training including a 15 second hill sprint towards the end. Finished with a .5 mile barefoot run when I got home to make it 7.5 miles total for the morning.

Happy with this workout. Need to keep it going and get back on track. So to speak.

Long Run Sunday: Chantry Flats w/ the TRC

Joined up with the Trail Runners Club this morning for a "special run" away from our usual Santa Monica Mountains locales, and more inland to Chantry Flats which is about a good 30-45 minutes away. The morning was already very warm when I met up with the crew at 7am but thankfully, the course we would run offered a lot of relief from the blazing sun.

That being said, it was still very hot when the sun did shine on us - the worst of it being from miles 2.5 to about 4 when we made the ascent up a series of switchbacks to Mt. Zion. Thankfully, it mostly descended down for the remaining portion with a lot of shade, cool stream crossings and very fun, leaf covered roads to tear up. I ran with a pair of runners at the front of the pack for most of the way and we just had a blast in nature's playground.

I had initially intended on covering a little more ground by taking a 5 mile option near the end of the run, but unfortunately was out of fluids and stomach was crying for the post-run feast we were to have. Only put in about 9 miles when it was all said and done, but I should probably cut back anyway since I'm running the LA Marathon next weekend (just as a pacer for my cousin). If my body craves more punishment, I'll add more miles tonight.

Before I sign off, I want to give a special shout-out to Ron, who finally got his Boston Qualifier in Sugarloaf (Maine) today with a blazing time of 3:17 and change (his BQ time = 3:20:59). Congratulations Ron - I'm sure today's performance made the journey all worth it in the end!

(You can read all about his pre-marathon prep leading up to Chicago '08 here, although he came up short in that effort.)

Running Barefoot

Last month, my girl Sara sent me this article that really gave me pause and changed my outlook (and now, approach) on distance running.

The basic thesis is that we're doing ourselves a disservice by spending hundreds of dollars in the latest running shoe technology that actually does nothing to prevent injury. In fact, the feet become weaker in the cushy cocoon of the shoe and promotes improper running mechanics (heel striking) whereas by running barefoot, you strengthen the feet and run the way the human body was designed to (splayed toes, on the forefoot, with your legs acting as a natural spring to absorb shock).

While I don't necessarily agree with 100% of what this article is saying (I DO believe the more you run, the more susceptible you become to injury), the main point of the article resonated with me and made sense. So I've started reading up on barefoot running dedicated forums and sites, and it only piqued my interest further. So in my last couple of runs, I've started adding about .25 miles at the end by going completely barefoot. It forces me to engage in each footstrike, run light and surprisingly - run comfortably.

For when I really ramp up mileage, the consensus on the shoe that mimicked running barefoot the most were the Vibram Five Finger shoes:



Your initial response might be to scoff (god knows that was mine when I first saw these on my friend Shacky), but I'm officially on the barefoot running bandwagon and will incorporate it into my every day running as much as possible. These won't replace my regular shoes and no, I won't be running a marathon barefoot any time soon. At the very least, I'm hoping it will strengthen my feet and ankle and reduce my nagging susceptibility to posterior tibial tendinitis.

Here's a video of a VFF rep explaining in further detail:



I'll report on my progress at a later date!

And Now, For My Next Act...

It should come as little surprise that I feel the most unproven in the marathon distance. I need to put in a good performance before I can comfortably go about really bucking down and going aggressively after a loftier goal. I feel that posting a sub-3:35 time will do that for me in San Francisco in late July. And after that, I can reassess my goals for a faster time in a winter marathon (CIM?).

Now San Francisco is not an easy marathon. It is hilly and there is a lack of crowd support for most of the race. But personally speaking, it's one of my favorites - in no small part because San Francisco is one of my favorite cities. And even though it's run in the middle of summer, the city usually provides plenty of cloud cover and cool temps. The early start helps. (my 2008 SFM race report)

Training for this marathon will be a whole other animal. While relatively cool now (in the low 70's here in So Cal), the mercury will invariable rise in the upcoming days and weeks so it'll be crucial to get my training runs in the early morning hours. Also going to incorporate some 'barefoot running' moving forward - will post more about this later.

With 10 1/2 weeks left, I will do an amended 12/55 Pfitz program and use the LA Marathon in a week and a half as a training run. Crossing my fingers for an injury/excuse-free training cycle (for a change).

Time to put up or shut up.

Race Report: Santa Barbara Wine Country 1/2 Marathon

Just got back from a crazy weekend in Santa Barbara. The fires in nearby towns kept all of us on edge wondering if houses would be spared or if the fire would spread, and least importantly in the grand scheme of things, whether we would be racing or not. This was actually something that would not be confirmed until morning of, given the severity and unpredictability of the air quality (in spite of it being at least 30+ miles away).

After an early dinner at a nearby bar where fried and fatty foods were plentiful and I had a "black and tan" beer to chase it all down with, we retired back to Cody's mom's house (located in Goleta, where it was a good deal away from the fires) to catch my Lakers take Game 3 against Houston. In a good mood after their win, my girl Sara and I went to bed a little after 10pm.

Before my alarm even had a chance to go off at 5am, I was up about 20 minutes before and decided to get ready. Coffee, bathroom, tape nipples, mix my bottle with Nuun, etc, etc (forgot the HR Monitor though). We were on the road by 6am and walking to the start a good half an hour before gun time. After milling about upon arrival, I decided to do some strides to loosen up. But stupid me, I step right through the starting mat and the thing starts beeping like crazy. Admonished to not pass through it yet (and fully embarrassed by the whole ordeal), I continued about my business. Finally, when we were ready to set off, I gave Sara one last kiss, wished Cody luck (he ended up with an awesome 13+ min PR btw) and positioned myself about a dozen rows behind the elites.



I charged right up the minor hill right at the start sticking to the left side to pass the initial wave of folks. After a couple of turns in the small town of Santa Ynez, we were started running through some local neighborhoods where barns and open fields were plentiful. I of course, took off too fast and when I saw 6:50ish pace on my Garmin, I immediately pulled back the reigns a bit.

Not too far in, I notice that an extremely fit older gal (late 30's?) and I are running about the same pace. With nary a word exchanged between us, we start working together for the next few miles taking turns pacing but on the whole, running side by side. My goal was to start off conservative (around 7:45 pace) but feeling good at the pace I'm running (around 7:30 pace) and having someone to run it with, I decide to keep it right at my overall goal pace and see if I can hang on.

Mile 1 - 7:26
Mile 2 - 7:36
Mile 3 - 7:32

Still running in silence except for the occasional synchronized snot rockets as affirmation that we're in this together, we continued on. I didn't think much of it when she bypassed the initial water station, but after passing on the second I felt bad that she did so just to keep pace so I made my first and only attempt to communicate with her by offering a pull of my water bottle. She smiled and politely declined. On we went right around 7:30 pace.

Mile 4 - 7:38
Mile 5 - 7:31
Mile 6 - 7:40

We hit our one and only source of major crowd support along the course at around mile 6 when we ran through the town of Los Olivos. It was a sudden but welcomed change on an isolated and frankly, drab stretch of running til then. 10K mark was hit somewhere around 46:50-ish.

A little after the 6.5 mile mark, the hill that looked so tiny and innocent on the elevation map, showed up in all its glory. A seemingly endless, nearly a half-mile steep ascent up this switchback road.





I took it on fairly conservatively figuring I'd catch the over-eager runners on the other side. It still had me gassed and completely thrown for a loop at just how steep this climb was. Finally, a water station came into view and it was the peak. I stopped to take my one and only GU Roctane and was subsequently passed by fit older lady. I started the descent down in an attempt to catch her. Unfortunately, that would be the last I would see of her until the end.

Mile 7 - 8:41

The descent offered up the first real nice view of this "wine country" that we're supposed to be running through. I charged down the hill (more difficult to do in my Newtons than expected) in an attempt to get my average pace back down to the 7:30's. In retrospect, perhaps I took the next several miles a bit too hard even though they were somewhat of a decline. That, combined with the climb between miles 6-7 had sapped my energy pretty good.

Mile 8 - 7:27
Mile 9 - 7:11
Mile 10 - 7:19

The last 5K would be tough. Already hurting from miles 8+, I can usually sum up some mental toughness to carry me through the last few miles in a race. But I just wanted the stupid race to end. Had very little left. And when the series of hills hit between miles 11-12, I did something I haven't done in a half-marathon in a LONG time. I walked. A few times actually.

Mile 11 - 7:38
Mile 12 - 8:33

I ceased caring about time, effort and the stupid sub-1:40 time I so craved when I targeted this race. A pair of cyclists were riding alongside some of the runners and tried encouraging me on. But the hills obliterated me and I just couldn't dig deep. "Trail runner" my ass.

Thoroughly disgusted with myself, I told myself to HTFU and go BTTW for the final 1.1 miles. I shut out pain, negativity, doubt and just kept turning the legs over. The crowds in Solvang slowly came into view and so I just kept pushing and pushing. I was running alone (or so I thought) when I rounded the corner and made a sharp left down the final .1 stretch to the finish line.

Mile 13 - 7:06

Thinking I had home stretch all to myself, I let off a bit looking for my girls when I see a dude passing me right at the finish. With less than a 100 yards to go, it was too late at that point and he beats me by a second. Soured but thoroughly tired, I'm just glad this race is over. A click of the Garmin reveals a new PR...by a whopping 16 seconds:

1:40:28 (officially).

Damn. Oh well. After grabbing a finisher's medal (which was horrendous looking btw) I see Sara right after the finish line where she's there with Cody's mom. I offer up a shrug and a wry smile a bit disappointed with the overall outcome, but probably right in line with what I had put into preparing for this race (which wasn't much, quite frankly).



It wasn't a 100% BTTW effort, but I'll take it for now - no excuses. I'm absolutely positive I can get closer to the 1:35 time I'm longing for if I truly put in a dedicated and focused training cycle. It certainly didn't help matters that a possibility that the race would be canceled was looming in the few hours leading up to it, putting my mental preparation in a state of disarray. But today was more of an example of putting out what you put into it. And to improve upon today's time, I'll just have to put more into my training before race day.

How bad do I want it? That's the question. Today...not so much. Next time, it will be different. I promise you that.

Mini-Fart Before SB

Rough day at work, led me to running today's planned recovery as a mini-fartlek type workout. Started with a warm-up, then a mile @ HMP, followed by a mile @ MP, then a hill sprint and a couple of strides thrown in at the end. 4 miles total. Feel better now. So does my ankle.

So tomorrow afternoon, I'll be driving up north to the Santa Barbara area to run the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half-Marathon. Plan is to get there before the expo closes, maybe attend this Bart Yasso dinner/wine event, and hopefully hit the sack early.



Strategy? To start out fairly conservative for the mild climb until mile 7 (~7:35-7:45 pace), then pick up the pace a little for the back part of the course (sub-7:35 hopefully).

Goals? A) a sub-1:38, B) a new PR (sub-1:40).

..or at least run BTTW til the very end. Leave it all out there.

We shall see on Saturday morning.

My Running Bucket List

Races I'd like to run before I "kick the bucket":

1) Western States 100
2) Boston Marathon
3) Flora London Marathon
4) Berlin Marathon
5) NYC Marathon
6) Chicago Marathon
7) Mount Diablo - 50 Miler
8) Comrades Marathon
9) Big Sur Marathon
10) Avenue of the Giants

A rather banal list, I know - especially since it covers all the majors. I'm sure I'm missing something here...got any suggestions that can bump some of the aforementioned races from the list?

Lowered Expectations

Alright, so as I wrote back in February, I embarked on my 2nd round of Pfitz with the intentions of improving speed for this Saturday's half-marathon. My stated goals, while ambitious, were probably do-able had I stuck with the game plan:

'A' goal = 1:35 (7:15 pace)
'B' goal = 1:38 (7:30 pace)

Instead, I found myself running a couple of ultras which meant reduction in miles pre and post race, battling the onset of posterior tibial tendinitis on my OTHER ankle (after being fitted with orthotics), and just one BS excuse heaped on other BS excuses to forego several training runs. If I had to give myself a grade on how my training went, I'd give myself a 'C-'.

Disappointed with my last 16+ mile week (to put it mildly) and wanting to see how realistic hitting at least the 'B' goal this Saturday would be, I set out to do 3-4 at HMP this morning. Unfortunately, paces (which were run by effort) came hard and heavy and felt more like they were the tail-end of tempo runs than a pace I could sustain for a full 13.1 miles:

(2 mile warm-up)

Mile 3 - 7:34
Mile 4 - 7:35
Mile 5 - 7:36

I wanted to add in a fourth mile, but was too beat up to do it and talked myself out of it. Left leg (PTT + hip/buttock) were bothering me on the last mile.

So where does this leave me? For now, I'm attributing it to a late start and warmer/humid temps - but it's not likely that I'll hit my goal, or even PR. Serves me right. Still, I'm going to go BTTW and leave it all out on the course. May the cards fall where they may.

Following the race - training for San Francisco!

Malibu International Marathon

Holy crap...I just heard about the inaugural Malibu International Marathon to take place on November 15th. It's a point-to-point, starting in Camarillo and ending near Zuma Beach. How can I not run this??



Only problem is, it would throw off exacting revenge and training for CIM on December 6th. Worth it? Stay tuned...but I am very excited about this race.

Long Run Sunday: Racers and Pacers

This morning, I volunteered to take my cousin out for his first double-digit run (yes, I realize the LA Marathon's only 3 weeks away). I've been trying to give him a good kick in the arse to get his training ramped up since we signed up, but it's been one excuse after another in avoiding the long run (usually 4-8 milers here and there). So this morning, I decided to get him out there and pace him for a planned 12-14 mile run.

Now leading up to this run, it hasn't exactly been a stellar week for me either. In fact, it's been downright abysmal. A 3 day layoff from running following my 50K DNF debacle and a 3+ and a 2+ miler to my name so far. But with my focus of running well in the Santa Barbara Wine Country 1/2 marathon next week, I wanted to give my body all the rest it screamed for. Either way, a new PR might be a stretch at this point.

I picked him up at 7:30am and set out towards Venice Beach. After parking the car about 4-5 blocks from the beach, we started off in the direction of the Santa Monica Classic 5/10K nearby since I knew a couple of friends running in it. We get there almost simultaneously as the gun went off for the 10K at 8am and soon, several elites are blowing by us. I half contemplate trying to run along with them at their speed to see how long I can keep up, but I'm already not feeling that great in spite of the slower paces I'm running with my cousin.

Soon after, the rest of the runners are coming down and I spot my friend Price who's jamming in his Newtons near the front pack. And a little bit later just after the 1 mile mark, I spot Cody who is running in his first ever 10K. I run alongside him briefly and ask what time he's shooting for. He tells me he's trying to maintain about an 8 min/mile pace. I told him to shoot for a sub-48, tell him I'll try to rendezvous near the finish and wish him luck.



My cousin and I then broke away from the street of the race and headed down a block or so to the bike path. From there we ran towards the pier and the climbed up the Palisades Park where the 5 and 10Kers would be finishing. We proceeded to run opposite the direction of the race on the dirt path just next to the street where the race was taking place. After about a mile and a half, we turned around to head back the way we came, not before my cousin took his very first GU shot.


From here, it's a straight shot to the finish and after spotting Price again, I see Cody a little while later right on schedule for a 48 minute finish. From about mile 5 to 6, I decided to run alongside him for some moral support. I offered up a couple of words of encouragement but I can tell he's kind of hurting at this point, so I just remained quiet most of the way and ran alongside him on the park side, but careful to remain off the actual course. He was really jamming at this point, running at about 7:00 pace for the final stretch and at mile 6, I stopped and waved him home (think he finished right around 48:XX).



Once my cousin caught up, we kept running back the way we came and briefly chatted with Cody after the finish before continuing on. Now even though we were running at his paces (9:15-9:30 mile), my left leg started to bother me. Probably a carry over from last week's race, but also a lingering problem with my left orthotic I think. My left hip and ankle was bothering me and gradually grew worse as the miles wore on. Adding to my left leg issue was my cousin complaining about a 'hot spot' growing on this right foot.

So we decided to cut the run a bit short, finishing at 10.3 miles for the morning (still a mileage PR for him). He's got a tall task ahead of him in the remaining 3 or so weeks to get his butt in gear before his 1st marathon, no doubt. But if he's smart about pacing and focuses on just finishing, he should be able to make it out alive.

But I will say that I most certainly would not want to trade places with him that following morning after the marathon. Oh yes, he'll learn. And I'll be right there to say I told you so.