Bank of America Chicago Marathon Recap (Finally!!!)

If I could use one word to sum up my experience at the Chicago Marathon, it would be OUTSTANDING! Never have I experienced that kind of crowd support while running in the most beautiful city (it's my hometown so I'm biased)! And to top it off, the weather wasn't crappy!

First off, I have to write a little bit about the expo too. It was simply MASSIVE!!

Marathon expo

Held at the McCormick Place, where they typically host huge conventions and the Chicago Auto Show, this was a true spectacle! I got to meet up with my friend Greg along with new friends Zack and Rob and spent 3+ hours roaming this running paradise.

Rob, Zack, Greg, and me

Words of encouragement from my daughter

Besides shopping at the gazillions of running-related vendors, we also got to meet and talk with running legends Scott Jurek and Dean Karnazes. There were also interactive exhibits by Nike, Volkswagen, Bank of America, and more! Oh.. and lots of free cowbells!

Nike interactive display

Scott Jurek

Dean Karnazes

I guess I should mention what I was hoping to accomplish. My goals were as follows:

1. I wanted to at the very least finish the race. I will never take finishing a marathon for granted (see Big Sur recap).

2. If I was fortunate enough to finish, I wanted to break the 4 hour mark.

3. Lastly, if I could break 3:45, that would be my "extra credit" goal.

To help with my timing goals, I swung by the Nike Pace Teams' booth at the expo to sign up with the 3:45 pacing team. Unfortunately they ran out of that particular pacing team's temporary tattoos with the mile splits, so I went ahead and signed up with the 3:40 pace team.

On race day, I woke up pretty early and maybe got 5 hrs of sleep at the most. I had some bananas and peanut butter for breakfast and washed it down with some coconut water and a Starbucks doubleshot espresso. Cramping, especially in my calves, had been an issue during some of my long runs, so hopefully all this extra potassium for breakfast would help with that.

I had a chance to meet up and walk to the race with my friend Han who I know through my local running club. Han said I looked like a marshmallow man. Hey, at least I was warm!

I also got a chance to meet up my friend Brian. I don't know how I forgot this at the time, but it was his first full marathon! Way to go Brian!

Here with my high school friend Brian

Han and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

Ok, so... I started writing this post about two weeks ago and could never just sit down and finish it. Now, it's been almost a month since the race and here's my attempt to relay random thoughts that were running through my mind during the race and what particularly stuck out to me.

Starting corral:  During the singing of the national anthem, the speakers around us weren't working properly, but that didn't stop us! Most of us in the corral did our best to fill in by singing along. Before the start, Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel was introduced and helped send off the runners. As I passed him, I waved and made eye contact and he in return gave me the thumbs up! It probably didn't hurt that I was wearing my bright orange Chicago Bears shirt.

Mile 1: Getting out of the corral wasn't bad at all. As I turned onto Grand Ave from Columbus, there were already huge crowds gathered and I even saw my friends Cindy and John!

Mile 1.5: I noticed that my GPS was on the fritz from going underground and maybe because of all the buildings. I decided that I would just go by the mile splits on my pacing tattoo and run "by feel". I was unsure at the time how it would work out since I'm normally a slave to my watch and its instant pace readings. I then saw (and heard) my mom cheering on State and Randolph! I was still in awe of how many people were lined up cheering everyone on!

Mile 3.5: I still felt good. The temps were perfect! Got nostalgic as I ran by the Moody Bible Institute, a place where I studied a lot during college and who's bookstore I frequented often.

Mile 6: I ran north through Lincoln Park and the nice tree-lined shade. I noticed that my mile splits were quicker than what the pacing guide dictated. I was still running well, but wondered if the quicker pace would bite me in the end. I thought at least I had some minutes banked in case I did need to slow down later on.

Miles 7-8: Overheard a spectator shout "Freshen up guys! You're about to hit Boystown!" That made me chuckle. It was definitely a party atmosphere in Boystown with tons of spectators and its very own team of male cheerleaders!

Mile 9: Heard someone shout my name and saw my friend Don!

Photo taken by Rob after crossing the halfway point

Miles 12-13.1: As I entered back into downtown, I got a welcome surprise as I saw my mom again! I didn't expect to see her on the course anymore and don't know how I picked her out of the crowd! My dad would have been with her, but he was off at one of the aid stations as a medical volunteer. Shortly after that as I made the turn onto Adams, I tried looking for my wife and kids, but somehow missed them. I did see my friends Phil and Young though, which was pretty cool! My friend Rob also got my attention a little after that point which was a nice surprise too! I crossed the half marathon point at 1:46:57, a couple of minutes ahead of where I was supposed to be at, but I was still feeling good.

Mile 17.5: Here was my first bit of trouble. Since it wasn't too warm out, I think I drank too much fluids along the course and at that point my bladder felt like it was going to explode. I stopped by the first porta potty I saw, but it was occupied. A volunteer told me there was another big group of porta potties just a block down so I took off for them. After relieving myself, I noticed that my right knee was stiffening up and it took a couple of minutes of light running to finally get going again.

Mile 19: As I headed into Pilsen, I saw my sister Jessica and my brother-in-law Jeremy! I had expected to see them earlier in around mile 16 in Greektown/UIC and thought I missed them. I thought they were with a group of friends since a bunch of people were shouting my name. As it turns out, they were strangers who were just cheering along! The atmosphere in Pilsen was great and so electric!

Photo taken by my brother-in-law Jeremy in Pilsen

Miles 20-22: This was one of the very few negative experiences of the race for me. My legs were definitely feeling heavier at this point. Up to that point, I took a GU gel or Clif Shot about every 5 miles and ate half a banana at miles 20 and 22. I had slowed down a bit and I vividly remember crazy thoughts were starting to creep into my mind. I was asking myself why am I even running this? A couple of months before this race, I signed up for the California Int'l Marathon (CIM) in early December and at the moment I remembered that fact and was livid! I was angry at myself for not making Chicago my last major race of the season.  I was mad that I still had 6 miles to go. Looking back, I laugh at how ridiculous I was, but at the time I wasn't having any of it. I tried turning my attention to my next stop along the course, Chinatown. I had heard that it was a cool experience with people performing dragon dances. Plus, I spent so much time there with my family throughout the years it would be nice to be back there again. Well, it was disappointing. I don't know if I missed them or if they were taking a break, but I didn't see any dragon dances and the atmosphere wasn't what I imagined it to be. Maybe the letdown was inevitable since Pilsen had been so upbeat and festive. Regardless, that didn't help me at that time and I tried to just keep chugging along.

Only half a mile to go! Photo courtesy of Jeremy

Miles 24-Finish: Once I had made the turn up north on Michigan Ave, I knew that this was the homestretch. I don't think I was able to run much faster though and the last couple of miles seemed like an eternity, but the closer you got to the finish, the bigger the crowds were which helped. Amazingly, in the midst of those huge crowds, I saw my wife, my sister, my brother-in-law, and my buddy Young! I think that helped me pick my pace up a bit in that final mile, although later on my wife would say that I looked like I was in pain. After the infamous "hill" on the Roosevelt Road overpass, it was onto the finish!


I was relieved to be done! My official time was 3:43:03 and I had met all of my goals! While I was happy with my time, the best part of the race was all the family and friends that came out to support me! That coupled with the almost two million spectators made this an experience I'll never forget! I don't know how many times I heard "GO BEARS" being yelled at me throughout the course!

Post-race with my medal and thirst-quenching Goose Island 312 beer

So, kudos to the City of Chicago and the Chicago Marathon management and volunteers! This was truly a world-class race in a world-class town and lived up to all the hype!

Post-race with my family

Chicago Marathon: Ready or not, here I come!

Well, it's officially Chicago Marathon race weekend! I'm a bit nervous, but excited at the same time. Hopefully, all the months of training will be good enough to get me to the finish line. 

My family and I flew into the Chicagoland area earlier this week for a family reunion. It's been great hanging out with everyone, seeing all the old sights, and eating all my Chicago favorite foods! I've probably exceeded the carbo loading recommendations in unhealthy and ungodly ways, but what they hey. I'm on vacation!  

The weather here has been fantastic which is a surprise. Usually I encounter the foulest of weather whenever I come back here. Snow showers in late April. Thunderstorms in October. Blizzards in January. You get the picture. I almost get the feeling it's payback for leaving Chicago. But so far, this week has been picture perfect. It also looks like the threat of rain forecasted for Sunday will prove to be nothing.

I've also managed to get in my last couple of training runs this week. It's been great running around my hometown via some newer trails that connect the entire village. All that's left to do is hit the marathon expo on Saturday and then to the starting line on Sunday.

Can't wait!

Surprising lack of motivation

Two weeks and counting to the Chicago Marathon! I'm done with all my other races and have nothing to focus on but the marathon, so I should be zoned in, right?

Nope.

Don't get me wrong. I've gotten some training in. The past week and a half has seen me complete a 20 mile run (barely), an 8 mile tempo run, a shortened speed work session (cut short as a precaution because of some knee pain), and a bike ride instead of a run. The problem I'm having is the amount of effort it's taking to get me out of the door. Prior to this, I was worried I would try to cram in too much mileage and over train, but it seems I'm having the opposite issue.

I was supposed to log a 13 mile run over the weekend, but I haven't done it as of yet. Tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully I'll be able to get in that long run along with the rest of my prescribed training runs in the little time I have left.

Maybe what I need is some added motivation. Sounds like it's the right time to watch Spirit of the Marathon- Chicago. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll ban myself from eating Chicago goodies like Portillo's or Lou Malnati's if I don't get the training in.

Witness the power of food.

Four weeks and counting to the Chicago Marathon!

The Chicago Marathon is coming up faster than I realized! Since I've been splitting my attention between triathlons and other local races the last couple of months, I haven't solely focused in on the marathon until now. How am I feeling? Nervous! I'm hoping that the training I've done up to this point will propel me to not only finish the marathon, but to do so injury-free and at a pace I'm satisfied with. I have my 20 mile long run to complete this week, so that should be a good gauge of where I'm at. I also have to try to resist the temptation to try to cram in too many miles in the remaining time because it might end up hurting me in the end.  I guess I'll just have to trust my training plan and wait and see what the results are.

So, what have I been up to the last couple of weeks? I raced in the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend during the Labor Day holiday. I also just completed the Tri For Real triathlon in Pleasanton, CA.

Here are short race recaps of both:

Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend:

I signed up to run in the Dumbo Double Dare which consisted of the inaugural Disneyland 10k race on Saturday and the Disneyland half marathon on Sunday. A total of 19.3 miles for the weekend! What was kind of weird though was the climate. It was not only hot, but somewhat humid! Being in California, I'm not used to humidity anymore. Even though this wasn't as bad as say, southeast Asia, it was still noticeably uncomfortable throughout the weekend. Regardless, both races were fun as you got to run through both Disneyland and California Adventures. There were Disney characters within the parks that you could take photos with along the way. The half marathon also took you throughout Anaheim where you got to run past sights like the Honda Center and through Angels' Stadium. There was a ton of crowd support, especially for the half marathon!

What also made this special was the opportunity to run the races with family and friends. I was able to run alongside my wife during the half marathon. It was also her second-ever half marathon! I also ran the 10k with my sister-in-law, cousin-in-law, and another friend. There was also more family that ran the 5k race as well! 

Another cool part of the weekend was being able to meet up with some Endurance Sports Connection friends at a special expo on Friday afternoon. I also participated in the ESC's 3 Little Pigs Challenge where I ate 3 pieces of bacon right after my half marathon. All in all, it was a great time!

I finished the 10k in 46:18 and was #100/7840 overall, #82/2705 men, and #15/445 M35-39.

I finished the half marathon in 2:26:31 and was #4380/15872 overall, #2404/5854 men, #411/969 M35-39

Family photo after the 5k/10k race

Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead after the half marathon

The weekend's bling!

Tri For Real Triathlon:

This was my last triathlon for 2013 and also the longest triathlon I've raced in. It was in Shadow Cliffs Regional Park in Pleasanton, CA, site of my previous two triathlons. The course was familar, but just longer. The race consisted of a 700 yd swim, ~16 mile bike ride, and a 4 mile run. The swim portion was kind of daunting as I had to squint just to make out the buoys in the distance! Before I hit the water, I decided I just wanted to make it though this swim. Well, during the early stages of the swim there was some excitement, as my goggles got kicked off of my face by a flailing leg. After putting them back on, I immediately went to the breaststroke and continued on swimming, alternating between freestyle and breaststroke. I eventually made it through the rest of the swim without any further issues and went through T1 without any incidence.

On the bike, I tried to not expend too much energy, since I didn't want to be left with nothing on the run. The bike course was the same as the Tri For Fun races in the earlier months, but it was two loops this time around. Other than getting passed by a lot of cyclists on tribikes, the bike portion went okay, without anything major occurring. I took in some nutrition by drinking ~16 oz of some GU Roctane energy drink during this time.  After my second loop, I headed into T2 and got into my running gear with no problem.

The run was the same kind of "maze" like the previous races. It was mostly dirt trails with some hills thrown in. It took about a mile before my legs felt like they were finally in gear. I was tired, but not exhausted, but I kept an 8 min/mile pace to make sure I'd have enough energy to finish. When I got into the last 1/2 mile of the course, I started picking up my pace and sprinted that last 1/4 mile. Overall, I didn't feel too bad afterwards and I think I could have run or cycled harder.

I finished with a time of 1:45:46 and ended up #81/271 overall and #9/24 in M35-39.

I also got to meet a couple of new friends from the Mountain House Running Club which was cool.

Representing the Mtn House Running Club!

In 2014, I'm hoping to focus more on triathlon and step up and compete in an olympic distance race (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) and possibly a half ironman distance race (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run).  Hopefully I'll be able to step to the challenge! But until then, I have a marathon to prepare for!


 

SF Giant Race and Tri For Fun #3 race recaps

SF Giant Race

As part of my ongoing training for the Chicago Marathon in October, I ran the San Francisco Giant Race Half Marathon on August 4th to sub for one of my long runs. I went into this race with little to no expectations since honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect from my body. I had some ups and downs in my training up to that point, mainly with my long runs. I even had to pull my iPod out of storage to provide some inspiration to my long runs. Nothing pumps me up more than 80's new wave and contemporary synthpop :)

The race course was pretty cool with lots of SF sights along the way.  The starting line was right outside AT&T Park (home of the SF Giants) and finished up inside the ballpark. The course followed the outer edge of SF up the Embarcadero all the way down past Chrissy Field where you got a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge before turning around. Along the way, we passed the Ferry Building, Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli Square, Fort Mason, and the America's Cup Park and Village.

Overall, the race went much better than I expected. It helped that the morning was nice and cool and the course was mostly flat with the exception of two small hills. I took a GU gel somewhere between miles 4 and 5 and another one between miles 9 and 10. I was able to keep a pretty steady pace throughout and even managed a slight negative split. Overall I ran the 13.1 mile course in 1:39:04 (7:33 min/mile pace) and came a minute short of matching my PR! I was very happy to say the least!



Tri For Fun #3

I raced in my second triathlon of the year on August 17th at the Tri For Fun #3 at Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area in nearby Pleasanton, CA. This was exactly the same race course as my previous triathlon the month prior. 

The swim went much better this time around. I was able to get some open water swim training in beforehand and in the end, it helped quite a bit. I was more relaxed and started out at a more manageable pace. I still got caught up in the crowd of flailing arms and legs, but I managed to remain calm. I ended up finishing the 400 yd swim almost a minute faster than my previous swim.

This time around in transition, I decided not to clip in my cycling shoes beforehand. I didn't feel like doing a flying mount/dismount and also wanted to see how big of a difference it made. It did end up taking a little extra time to get my shoes on and to get out of transition, but it wasn't a huge deal.

The bike ride was the same as before and I felt a bit more comfortable overall. I remembered my own water bottle this time and had it filled with some GU Brew. I decided not to take any additional GU gels for this race to see if that would help keep my stomach settled. I was able to maintain a ~19 mph avg pace (which is fast for me) so I was pretty happy. I was also glad that no one in red speedos was ahead of me on the bike :)

My T2 was pretty straightforward and I got into my running gear pretty quickly. The 5k run was pretty uneventful which was good, because the last time out I was having all sorts of GI issues. This time though, I was in decent shape and was hoping that I would be able to break the 1 hour mark. Unfortunately, as I headed towards the finish line, I saw that the hour mark had passed, so I just tried to finish as fast as I could. I ended up with a total time of 1:01:47.5 which was 2 minutes faster than my previous time, so I was pretty satisfied.


Next up: The Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare!!

Tri For Fun #2 Race Report

On Saturday, July 20th, I participated in my first triathlon of the year (and second ever) at the Tri For Fun #2 at nearby Shadow Cliffs Regional Park in Pleasanton, CA. It consisted of a 400 yd swim, a ~9.5 mile bike ride, and a 5k run. The bike portion was shortened by about 1.5 miles from the original 11 mile route due to road construction.

I learned that the Tri For Fun series has been an institution for 26 years now and has paved the way for thousands of people to try out a triathlon in a beginner-friendly environment. I missed out on the first race of this year's series, but was able to sign up for the final two Tri For Fun races and the more competitive Tri For Real race in September.

Going into this race, I knew swimming would be my biggest issue. During my triathlon last year, the swim was about the same distance and I distinctly remember floundering about and expending a lot of energy to the point that I had to resort to using the breaststroke for half the time. I definitely didn't want to repeat that scenario!

I heard this race attracted a lot of people, so I tried to get to the park as early as possible. The race started at 7am and I got there around 5:45am. Even though I thought I was early, there were already a good number of people there with all the prime transition spots already taken. Oh well. 

I picked out a spot in the middle of the second row of racks (from the transition exit) and set up shop there. I had plenty of time to organize and prepare everything. I thought I had packed everything I needed until I realized I had left my water bottle for my bike at home in the fridge. Luckily, there was a Fleet Feet Sports tent that had bottles for sale.

There were a lot of people there! They announced that there were ~800 or so racers that morning! Mark, the race director said that August's race would attract ~1000 racers! Wow! This makes the race I did last year that had ~30 people look downright miniscule!

Since this was for fun, chip timing was optional. I went ahead and joined 200+ racers who signed up for the race timing. Since I would be racing the same exact course 4 weeks later, I thought it would be a good idea to be timed and be able to compare both race results.

After a short intro from the race director, we got started a little after 7am. We were broken up into waves based on gender and age. I was placed into the first swim wave. I lined up in the 2nd or 3rd row off to the right side. The water was nice and warm, but was pretty "green" with algae, goose poop, etc.

The race started and off I went. If you haven't swam in a triathlon before, not only do you have to contend with the swim itself, but you have to do so while dealing with the obstacle course of flying arms and legs. This was no different. I tried my best to stay off to the right side of the scrum, but found myself going off course after the first minute or so. Once I got myself back on the right path, I quickly realized that my time in the pool had been inadequate once again. There was no security of a wall to push off of. There was nothing to grab a hold of unless I signaled for a lifeguard. I had a bit of anxiety and just wanted to get the swim over with! I was trying to go faster than I normally swam, but this made me grow tired quickly. After the halfway point, I had to resort to a breaststroke to give myself a break. After about a minute, I finally went back to swimming freestyle and finished the swim.  I looked around as exited and realized I was one of the last people in my wave.

As I ran to the transition area, I felt tired and a little disoriented, but managed to get all my bike gear on and headed towards the transition exit in a pretty good time.

As I exited the transition area, I hopped onto my bike which already had my bike shoes clipped in. Immediately, there's a small hill that that leads out of the park and onto the street. I made the mistake of trying to get into my shoes during this climb instead of waiting until I was on the street and I almost fell off my bike! Once I regained my composure, I headed off and tried to make up some time on my bike.

The bike course was pretty flat and uneventful. I was able to pass a couple of riders, but I also got passed a couple of times too. There was one particular guy I was trying to shake though. He was wearing nothing but a red speedo and all I wanted was to get around him so I wouldn't be staring at his red butt the whole way. I was able to pass him initially, but he passed me a couple of minutes later. We took turns passing each other a couple more times when I finally passed him for good. Whew!

In terms of nutrition, I took one Clif Shot and some water about halfway through my bike. I also had a PB&J sandwich about 90 minutes before the race.

As I headed back into transition, I vetoed the idea of performing the flying dismount off my bike since I was still a newbie at it (despite some excellent coaching by my friend Jason) and because there was a downhill leading into it. Despite this, I think I got through the transition pretty efficiently. I chose to wear my shoes (Merrell Trail Glove) sockless and was off pretty quick.

I looked at the run course (on Map my Run) beforehand and it looked like someone just scribbled all over a map. The entire run was on trails within the park and thank goodness it was marked well and had plenty of volunteers to guide you, otherwise, it would have been super confusing. During the first part of the run, I felt pretty good. Then, I felt my belly rumbling. I don't know if it was because I swallowed a lot of the "green" water during the swim or because of the Clif Shot I had taken, or the combination of both, but I was not feeling well. There were no porta potties in this part of the park and I seriously considered running into the woods. The only thing that kept me from doing so was the embarrassment I would suffer if a couple hundred racers saw me in all my glory relieving myself. That and the possibility of being attacked by some wild animal while I was in an indefensible position.

So, I struggled on, slowed down my pace a bit, and prayed that the finish line would come soon. After a couple more zig zags along the race route, I finally saw the finish line. I also saw some nice restrooms right next to me, but decided I could hold out a bit longer and headed toward the finish. Immediately after I finished, I turned around and sprinted to the restrooms, even before I got anything to eat and drink. No need to get into any further details :)

I was surprised at my finishing time of 1:03:49. Before the race, I had set a goal of a sub-1:30 finish, so I beat that easily. I'm sure the shortened bike course had something to do with it and the fact that I wasn't sure how long the transitions would take. Here are the times for each segment:

Swim        Transition #1  Bike        Transition #2/Run   Total Time

00:09:19.0  00:00:49.4     00:27:48.5  00:25:51.9          01:03:49.0 

I ended up finishing 49th out of 220 timed racers. Despite my anxiety during the swim and dealing with GI issues, I had a great time. I'm glad I signed up for the next race b/c I'd like another crack at this course and I'll have some additional time to practice some open water swimming and mounting/dismounting off of my bike beforehand. Hopefully, I'll post a sub-1 hr time the next time out.

After the race

Back into the swing of things (Brazen Dirty Dozen Race Recap)

I suffered a minor setback in the middle of June when I strained my calf. The injury cost me my first week of marathon training, but I wanted to play it safe and took some extra time off to make sure everything was fine. I definitely don't want to deal with any type of long-term or nagging injury. I finally shook off the injury and started up running and swimming at the beginning of July. It was nice to be back to working out!

On the July 4th holiday weekend, I escaped the heat wave we were having here in Northern CA and ran a couple of races along the coast at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. I ran the Dirty Double, back to back races at the Brazen Racing Dirty Dozen. This event was pretty cool because there were already a number of runners out on the course who were participating in 6 hour and 12 hour endurance races. Two of my MHRC friends Matt and Sunny teamed up for the 6 hr race, while another friend Josh ran the 12 hr race. CRAZY!

I ran a 10K race at 11am and a 5K race at 12:10pm. This essentially fulfilled my long run requirement of 9 miles for the week. Going into the races, I was a little worried since my endurance wasn't exactly up to par. A 10K run earlier in the week had me run/walking the last 2 miles. It was also in the mid-80's and sunny. I was hoping that the cooler weather and the overall race atmosphere would push me through with minimal issues.

During the 10K race

The 10K race consisted of ~ two loops of the course and measured out to be a total of 6.45 miles. It was mostly on dirt trails with a couple of hills mixed in. A good portion of the trail was along the coastline which was great! I tried pacing myself so that I would have some energy left for my 5K afterwards, but I tried keeping up with my friend Jason who was out in front of me. Jason was actually participating in the Dirty All Day which included the 10K and 5K races in the morning and another set of 10K and 5K races in the late afternoon. Another crazy runner! In the end, I couldn't catch him and I was pretty gassed. In the 20 minutes between races, I tried my best to get hydrated with some electrolyte sports drinks and some coconut water.

Along with Jason, my wife Winnie and my buddy James would be joining me in the 5K race. This was James' first ever race! He had been running around his neighborhood for a couple of months now and wanted to check out a timed race. I had recommended this particular race to him because of my love for Brazen races, the cool climate, and the infamous BBQ spread afterwards! :)

The 5K was available as a gun start only. I'm assuming it was because the 10K race was still finishing up and the timing mats weren't available for the start. The 5K was a single loop and was a total of 3.37 miles. I could tell I didn't have much left in my tank and ran slower than my 10K pace. Jason was way out ahead of me from the start, so I had no chance in trying to catch up to him. The race was pretty uneventful, but the light hills, especially the last hill before the finish, were a bit harder to climb this time around.

Jason in the front on the left and me in the back on the right after the start of the 5K race.

Winnie and James after the start of the 5K race.

All in all, this was a good day of running. Although I could tell my conditioning wasn't where I wanted it to be, it felt good to finish without walking, without injury, and with a decent result.

10K race stats:  Distance: 6.45 miles  Time: 49:02  Pace: 7:37 min/mile

Overall: 9th/102  Age Group: 2nd/8th in Men's 35-39

5K race stats:  Distance: 3.37 miles  Time: 26:52  Pace: 7:59 min/mile
Overall: 14th/122  Age Group: 2nd/7th in Men's 35-39

Jason won our age group in both races! He also placed in our age group later on and finished 2nd and 3rd in the afternoon 10K and 5K races! I have to step up my game if I want to have any chance in keeping pace with him the next time out.

Me and Jason with our respective age group medals.

My wife finished 2nd in her age group in the 5K! This marks her second ever age-group medal!!

Family photo after the races

My friend James finished 4th in our age group in the 5K and an excellent 28th overall!! Great first race James!! Time to find you another race! :)

Me and James afterwards

In the endurance races, Josh ran 40.44 miles in the 12 hr race (solo!!) and in the 6 hr race, Matt and Sunny combined for 40.42 miles total and 2nd place in the 2-person team competition!! Way to go MHRC!!!

Next up: My first triathlon of the season at the Tri For Fun #2 in nearby Pleasanton. It's a beginner-friendly triathlon and I can't wait for it!

RNR... Rest and Rehab

Haven't posted anything in a while. Honestly though, not a whole lot has been happening.

May was filled with absolutely NO RUNNING as I tried to recover from my IT band woes. Instead, I found myself filling my time with rest mixed in with low-impact workouts like cycling, indoor rowing, and even some yoga. Cycling and rowing have particularly piqued my interest and in particular, rowing seems to provide a more balanced approach to keeping my body healthy. Regardless, there's something missing from all those activities that running seems to fill.

On Sunday June 2nd, I went for my first run in 5 weeks. I definitely was excited and had adrenaline flowing through me as if it was race day. The first mile went a lot faster than I anticipated, but I could tell the lack of running had really taken a toll on my conditioning after the second mile. I made it through a little over 3 miles and the run went ok overall. A couple of hours later though, my left knee/IT band was hurting. Great.

I was frustrated and upset. 5 weeks had gone by and nothing had seemingly changed. What was I going to do next? Thanks to a suggestion from my friends Brian and Chris, I checked out some hip strengthening exercises based on info like this: http://news.menshealth.com/it-band-syndrome/2012/07/27

I gave the hip exercises a shot. I performed a couple sets of the exercises daily and went out for another run four days later.  I ran a little over 3 miles again, but this time, no pain was present afterwards! Amazing! I can't believe how fast I saw the results! And it was just in time for my next race.

On Saturday June 8th, my family and I ran in our town's annual race, the Mountain House Kite Run. The race was under new management by the Mountain House Flag Football, Inc, a local non-profit organization that provides numerous sporting opportunities to kids and adults in our community. Our local running group, the Mountain House Running Club, also played a pivotal role in organizing this race.  Kudos to the race directors Andy, Corey, and Matt and the countless number of volunteers in making this the most successful race in our young history!

My wife was running the 10k that morning and I was signed up for the 5k. Race day first started out though with both of my kids running in the kid's fun run. This was my son's first race and maybe my daughter's last??? She claimed she's retired from running. We'll see about that :)

Given the hot conditions and my general lack of running fitness, I ran the 5k a lot better than I anticipated. I ran the flat course in 21:51, good enough for 7th overall and 5th in my men's 30-39 age group! Better yet, no IT band pain afterwards! Yay!!

After the MH Kite Run

Unfortunately, since that race, I've only run twice with the last time out resulting in a calf strain. Hopefully, this is only a minor issue since my 16 week training for the Chicago Marathon has officially kicked off. Also, as part of my training, I have a handful of races to prepare for in the coming months including running the Double Dirty (back to back 10k and 5k races) at the Brazen Dirty Dozen, the half marathon at the SF Giant Race, and the Tri For Fun Triathlon Series, a set of beginner-friendly triathlons locally.

I'm hoping to stress more cross training during this round of marathon training (thus the triathlons), so that I'll be in better overall shape come October in Chicago. Hopefully my body will oblige.

The 2013 Big Sur International Marathon- Epilogue Pt 2

Here's my recap (finally!) on what happened on race day in Big Sur:

Naturally, I had a hard time going to bed on Saturday night, especially at 9pm. I had to attempt to sleep super early since my alarm clock was set for 2:30 AM. I had to be at the shuttle stop in downtown Monterey by 4am since it was about an hour's drive south on Highway 1 to Big Sur.

One thing I prepared that night was my Elevation Tat of Big Sur's race course. It was a pretty nifty thing that I saw at the race expo. Basically, it was the elevation map of the entire course in the form of a temporary tattoo! It also had all the aid stations mapped out. Pretty cool stuff indeed!


Well, I somehow managed to catch some sleep and woke up on time. I made sure I had my breakfast packed for the bus ride along with all my race essentials like my Spibelt, GU packets, and bib. I also made sure I lubricated every inch of any possible "problem" area with Body Glide along with a healthy dose of sunscreen.

My wife and my dad dropped me and my friend Melissa off at the shuttle area a little before 4am and we were able to hop right onto a bus. It was weird driving through the darkness and expecting to run a race in a few short hours. Looking outside at the foggy shadows and being unable to make out a great deal of what I was seeing made we yearn even more for the gorgeous landscape I was expecting out on the race course.

Before we got to the starting area, I wanted to eat my breakfast (2 Smuckers Uncrustable PB&J sandwiches, a banana, and coconut water) so I would have plenty of time to digest it and hopefully avoid any GI issues on the race course. My mind was at ease though because I had driven down part of the highway the day before and saw packs of porta potties lined up every couple of miles in case nature did call.

We arrived at the starting area around 5AM where the cold temps and darkness awaited us. It was probably in the high 40's at that time so it was pretty nippy out! I can't remember what Melissa and I did to pass the time besides complaining to each other how cold it was and wishing the race would start sooner.

Around 6:15AM, I hit the bathroom one last time and made my way to my starting corral. The sun was finally starting to rise amongst the trees in Big Sur and I was ready to get this race started!

I found the 3:35 Clif Bar pacing team that I was going to attempt to run with. It was definitely ambitious and in retrospect utter foolishness, especially since my training had faltered leading up to this, but I thought why not. I could always fall back to one of the other pace teams if I wasn't feeling up to it.

After the start, I felt pretty good. The first section through the woods of Big Sur was a slight downhill and I was able to average ~7:45 min/mile. Then at mile 4, problems arose. I felt a shot of pain on the outside of my left knee. Was this my IT band flaring up? I slowed down my pace and hoped that the pain would subside.

A few miles later, with the pain not going away, I had to shift gears mentally. Going into the race, I had set some loose timing goals, but I also wanted to try to enjoy the whole experience. Well, right around mile 9, my attitude would be put to the test when I threw those timing goals out the window. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that I wouldn't be able to run the rest of the race healthy. But, I decided I was going to attempt to finish this race and to enjoy the sights along the way as much as possible. So... I whipped out my camera phone and started taking pictures.

Taiko drummers at the foot
of the ascent up to Hurricane Point

Along the road up to Hurricane Point

Not coincidentally, I made this decision right before the ascent up to Hurricane Point, the roughest part of the course. It was about a 500 foot elevation gain from miles 11 to 12.

It was horrible.

I basically had to walk the entire way uphill. I stopped a couple of times to stretch out my IT band to see if that would help. I was so desperate I wrapped my headband around my thigh to see if that would alleviate some of the pressure off my knee. I was wondering to myself how I was going to manage the 15+ miles still to come.

Some reprieve from the pain came around the halfway point of the race. After reaching the summit of Hurricane Point, I picked up a second wind on the downhill descent towards the iconic Bixby Bridge. The sights were spectacular all around. From a distance, I could hear the famed grand piano playing and that seemed to lift my spirits. All in all, it was a memorable sensory experience with the music and the landscape!

The Bixby Bridge

The second half of the race entailed more of the same strategy. I mainly walked/jogged uphill and jogged/ran downhill. Unfortunately, the pain did not go away. Thankfully, with all the beautiful sights, the great volunteers, the lively on-course entertainment, and the mass of fellow runners, I was inspired to continue doing my best on my way to the finish line.

The miles were going by slowly but surely. I saw numerous Clif Bar pacing teams go by, but I didn't care. What concerned me was that I didn't have any way of letting my family know what had happened since there wasn't any cell service in the area. They were all going to be at the finish line based on the estimated finish time I had given them that morning. Obviously, I wasn't going to come close in finishing in that time span and I didn't want them to worry about me. When I reached the Carmel Highlands after mile 20 or so, I finally had cell phone service and I texted my wife to let her know it was going to be a LONG time before I finished.

The last 6 miles took what seemed to be an eternity to complete. I had been warned in the beginning by veteran of this race that while Hurricane Point was bad, the Carmel Highlands were pretty brutal too because of its undulating hills. Not exactly what my body was needing at that point. Somewhere along that span I got passed by fellow Team for Life teammate David Wingard (http://rundavidrun.org/) who was zooming his way into the home stretch. That was definitely cool to see!

In the final mile, I could hear the crowds of people from a distance, and couldn't wait to get to end! As I approached the finish line, I first saw my wife and son to my left cheering me on. I then saw the rest of my family along with my friends John and Bernadette right before the finish line.

It was finally over!! I officially finished in 4:24:12. Here's a link to the race data from my GPS watch:
BSIM GPS watch data

Thanks to my friend John for the photo!

I received my finisher's medal, but before I could rendezvous with my family, a medic saw me hobbling and asked if I wanted to go to the medical tent to get checked out.

I agreed and she escorted me to the tent where an orthopedic surgeon saw me. I told him I assumed it was my IT band that was causing all my pain. He said that could very well be the case, but based on my symptoms and where the pain was focused, he thought it may have been a stress fracture. He told me to get some crutches and to see my physician back home for further evaluation.

While the doctor's news alarmed me, at that moment I just wanted to go to the Lazarex/Team for Life tent and meet up with my family. I eventually found them with the help of my friend Bernadette and hung out with the Lazarex staff and Team For Life teammates. I also gorged myself on chocolate milk, a couple bags of chips, and some donuts. Hey, I just burned 5,000 calories!

In retrospect, this was the most difficult athletic challenge I've ever taken on. Between the mileage, the hills, the wind, and the slanted road (I'm serious, it was annoying!), the reputation of the Big Sur Int'l Marathon as being one of the world's toughest marathons was well deserved. My injury made it even harder.

At the time of this post, it's been almost 4 weeks since the race. I haven't run a single lick since then per my physician's orders. After a week's worth of testing and evaluation, no stress fracture was found (thank goodness!), but I do have an inflamed IT band. I'm hoping to return to some light running soon since I have the Mountain House Kite Run 5K coming up in June. I'm doing some cross training in the meantime (cycling, rowing) to prevent me from losing all my fitness. If all goes well, I'll be starting up my training for the Chicago Marathon in October.

Yes, I am a glutton for punishment.

Thanks again to all of you for all your support! It truly made a difference when I was out on the course!

The 2013 Big Sur International Marathon- Epilogue Pt 1

Two weeks have already passed since I ran Big Sur. Looking back on it, it was the most difficult race (or athletic event for that matter) that I've ever participated in. The legendary beauty of the course was matched equally by the difficulty of it. To complicate things, an injury I sustained during the race made things even more difficult. Any finishing time goals were eventually supplanted by the goal of just finishing the race PERIOD! Even if I was healthy, this race would have kicked my behind. All in all though, I'm glad to have run this race and I'll never forget the entire experience!

The entire weekend was a memorable one! My wife, kids, and parents, all made the trek down to the Monterey peninsula for the weekend's festivities. My daughter kicked off the weekend of racing by participating in the JUST RUN! Just kids 3K that Saturday morning, which was held in neighboring Pacific Grove along the oceanfront. It was the furthest distance she's run and she swore before and after the race that she's retiring from running. While she walked (and sightsaw) the majority of the time, I'm glad she participated in it and was able to finish a course of that length. Hopefully I'll be able to convince her to not turn in her running shoes quite yet.

I was able to meet my fellow teammates from Team For Life at a lunch hosted by the Lazarex Cancer Foundation on Saturday. We were able to hear a little about why we were each there that weekend. There was one teammate's story that particularly stood out. David Wingard announced that he will attempt to break a record and hike the 2,180 mile long Appalachian Train in 40 days in June 2013. That would smash the current record that stands at ~46.5 days. He will have to average over 50+ miles a day!! What's his motivation? He's doing this as a fundraiser for Lazarex! Whoa!!! David is the MAN!! You can follow his quest at rundavidrun.org.

We also got the chance to learn more about the charity's mission and the people they serve. One of the highlights was meeting Ben, an extraordinary VIP patient, and his family. We heard about his difficult and incredible battle against two types of cancer and of how he's been helped by Lazarex. It was an eye-opening experience and I was so honored to represent him and this charity on race day.

Also, the top fundraisers were announced at the lunch, and because of the generosity of you, my family and friends, I was the #2 fundraiser at this event! Thank you so much for your support of this great cause!! If you are interested in learning more about the Lazarex Cancer Foundation or would like to make a donation, you can still check out my donation page at Randy's Lazarex Fundaraising Page.

Lazarex Cancer Foundation staff, VIP patient Ben, and the top 4 fundraisers

Speaking of support, I got to meet a couple of friends throughout the weekend. I met up with Linda and Greg from the Endurance Sports Connection on Saturday at the race expo. I've known Greg for years now and he's been one of my biggest supporters ever since I started running. It was my first time meeting Linda, who's one of the co-founders of the ESC. She is truly a running inspiration and a running maniac, or more appropriately a Marathon Maniac! She was here as part of the B2B, or Boston 2 Big Sur Challenge where you run the Boston and Big Sur marathons in a 13 day span. Crazy!!

Me, Linda, and Greg

My friends Bernadette and John were also in town and at the race on Sunday morning. I'm so grateful and humbled that they came out. They are both fierce competitors in their own right, so maybe I'll be cheering them on one day when they run Big Sur (hint hint) :)

Well, since I have a lot more to share (I'm quite the blabbermouth these days), I'm going to continue my recap of the weekend in my next post.

(to be continued...)

A renewed outlook

As Sunday's start of the Big Sur Interntional Marathon quickly approaches, numerous thoughts and emotions have been swirling around in my head. At the time of this post, 11 days have passed since the tragic events at the Boston Marathon. I first heard the news in my car as I was driving home from out of town and couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had just finished watching the pro men's and women's races just hours before.

As the story and coverage unfolded, all I could think about was how close this hit to home. My family, friends, and I have been at numerous finish lines as participants and as spectators. Some family and friends even contacted me to see if I was in Boston for the race. Why on earth would would anyone want to target this scene of accomplishment and encouragement?

In the weeks just prior to the Boston tragedy, I had been a bit discouraged as I prepared for Big Sur. But like many others, the events in Boston have helped put things in perspective. I believe I have a better, more positive outlook going into Sunday's marathon along with a sense of peace. Helped along greatly by the constant encouragement of family and friends, I'm just going to go out and just enjoy my first full marathon. There will be the beautiful sights and sounds of the Pacific Ocean, numerous on-course attractions, and 4500 inspiring runners racing next to me that I'm looking forward to.

Also, I'll be running on behalf of the Lazarex Cancer Foundation which will make this race even more special. I can not say enough about how grateful I am to all my family and friends that have pledged their support to this charity. Because of them, I was able to raise almost $1700 for this charity. Thank you so much!

I think most of all though, I'll be looking forward to seeing my wife, kids, parents, and friends at the finish. I'm sure it will be that anticipation that will carry me through the last couple of miles.

Can't wait!

The dog days of training

Marathon training over the last couple of weeks has been interesting to say the least. A cold and a nagging cough wiped out almost 3 weeks of my training. When I recently tried to restart my training, things definitely felt out of whack. Feelings of sluggishness, slower pace times, and an overall decreased level of fitness greeted me in my first couple of runs. That's to be expected, right? Well, that wasn't the most alarming development.

What's worse is I started having thoughts of self-doubt and fear creep into my psyche. Now, don't get me wrong. It's not like I never had to deal with thoughts of cutting a run short or flat out quitting because I didn't feel like running, but this was different. This time it seemed that these thoughts came on earlier and were relentless. Instead of visualizing myself overcoming my obstacles and continuing on, I was picturing myself giving up and just saying to heck with all of this. I got a glimpse of this in the Badger Cove half marathon that I detailed in my last post, but I thought it was the result of me being ill. Apparently, that was just the beginning.

I set out to run 18 miles with a friend after I recovered from my illness. This was not a smart idea from the get go, but I wanted to get the mileage in anyway. Well, between my lack of fitness, unforeseen GI issues, and my mind telling me to give up, I ended up walking the last 2 miles and called my wife for a ride home. That was humbling to say the least.

Fast forward to April 7th when I ran the Hollywood (CA) Half marathon. I placed a lot of importance on this race (prior to me getting sick) as an indicator to see how my marathon training was progressing as well as hoping to break my PR. This "mostly flat" race turned out to be "not really flat" and that was unexpected. What was most troubling though was the fact that I again wanted to throw in the towel, this time in the last 5k, and just walk the rest of the way. No amount of mental encouragement on my part seemed to get me out of that funk. My legs weren't cooperating either. I don't know if it was my nutrition during the race or if my fitness level still wasn't up to par, but I was not feeling it and that just fed my negative thinking. If it wasn't for the pace group leader behind me yelling out all sorts of motivational encouragement, I would have finished a lot worse off. As it was, I finished with a time 5 minutes slower than I wanted.

As I write this, it seems pretty ridiculous that I'm complaining about a finishing time that's off by a couple of minutes. I think the reason I'm so disappointed is that ideally, I was supposed to be in my best shape and a PR in this half would have validated that. Also, I set some ambitious goals for myself in the marathon. This race result is now making me question these goals of mine. Heck, if I barely made it through a half marathon at a pace slower than I wanted, how on earth am I going to make it through the full thing at my goal pace?

Injury has also crept in the picture. On my last long run, I noticed pain on the side of my right knee. With the help of friends and the internet, it looks like I have IT band syndrome. Hopefully, I'll be able to manage it with a combination of stretching, reexamining my stride, foam rollers, and a brace I'm trying out.  This is obviously not a welcome development.

Looks like I have a handful of things to really focus on in these last couple of weeks leading up to the marathon. Reevaluating my goals and expectations, mental toughness training, and recapturing my fitness will definitely be keeping me busy.

Big Sur is coming quick!!

Hills are Horrendous (Brazen Racing Badger Cove Half Marathon Race Recap)

About a month or so ago, I thought it would be a good idea to incorporate some hill workouts in my marathon training. After all, the hills at Big Sur are what I hear people complaining about the most. What a better way to do this than join a Brazen trail race!  I looked at Brazen's race calendar, and saw that the Badger Cove half marathon would fall on March 16th, a week where my long run was scheduled to be 12 miles. Perfect timing... or at least I though it was.

Well, fast forward to this past weekend and it was time for my first trail half marathon. I was already kind of worried about this race, since I've never run a half in this type of terrain. Brazen labels this as part of their "Ultra Half" series, which makes it sound even more dubious. To make things worse, the week leading up to this race was not a good one. Work was super crazy and on top of that, I caught a cold. Basically, a whole week of training leading up to the race was wiped out. On race day, I still wasn't feeling well and had a nagging cough that kept me up part of the night. I finally resorted to taking some of the "good" cough medicine, but that left me feeling kind of hung over that morning. I contemplated about pulling out of the race, but I decided to go through with it and I promised my wife I would try to take it easy if I wasn't feeling up to it.

The race was held at Lake Del Valle in Livermore, CA. This was my first chance to go there and it was beautiful! It was just south of the vineyards and wineries of the Livermore Valley and had gorgeous views everywhere.

The start of the race was a brisk 48 degrees. The Mountain House Running Club was in full force and well represented in all the distances (5k, 10k, half).

The race started and all seemed well. I moved up to one of the groups up front and tried maintaining a pace of 7:30 min/mile while I was on the flat terrain. Once we started running uphill, that's when some issues arose. I don't know if it was my cold, the cough medicine, or all the above, but after the 2nd or 3rd mile, my mind was starting to wander (more than usual) and thoughts about quitting crept into my mind. Questions raced through my mind like, "Why are you running this? Why aren't you in bed resting?" Valid questions, but strange nonetheless. I actually considered dropping out at that point. I tried to ignore these thoughts and pressed on ahead, but it seemed like I couldn't shake them, especially during those uphill climbs. What to do...

Eventually, I think the physical issues overwhelmed the mental ones as I was having a hard time with both the uphills and the downhill segments. I was finding myself walking the majority of the uphills and struggling down some of the steep downhills. There was one particular downhill segment that I had to run through twice where I almost lost my footing on both occasions because it was so steep. I was noticing that my knees were taking a beating because of the downhills.  At one point I came close to injuring my left knee because of a particularly bad jolt I had experienced on a descent, but thankfully, it wasn't anything serious.

I don't know how I got through the two loop course, but I finally made it to mile 12 and the home stretch. Home free, right? Uh uh. My left calf muscle started cramping up. I tried numerous times to stretch it out, but every minute it would cramp back up again. At one point, I let out a high pitch shriek and a woman behind said, "I know that cry! You cramping up?" Yes ma'am, I was. Thanks for asking. With the end in sight, I tried to jog as painless as possible to the finish line. With my arms barely held up in some silly attempt at a victory salute, I crossed the finish line almost doubling over immediately. It was finally over!

Post-race, I gladly indulged in the free sports massage to get my calf worked on. I also realized that I didn't really cough during the race. That didn't stop my cough from returning afterwards, but it was a small blessing I guess. Actually, it was a small miracle that I made it through the race and managed a decent time. I have no idea how that happened. This was the toughest race physically and mentally that I've run to date. Hopefully, this will make Big Sur a little more manageable.

Race stats: Distance: 13.1 miles, Finished in 1:54:09, 8:43 min/mile, 23rd/240 overall, 5th/24 in Men's 35-39, Total Elevation Gain/Loss: Approx. 2,250’