Alaska Run

------- Aboard Sapphire Princess Cruise Ship

May 22 to May 29, 2011

First Run - Along The Coast of Vancouver Island.  At 5:30AM, went to the upper deck and ran around. It was cold, windy, wet and the ship was rocking from side to side. The cruise crew thought, I was crazy. A lap is about  third of a mile. Its a good distance considering all the obstacles, I had to go thru. I ran 2 miles.
I had to run/train because for the next 6 days, I will be eating a lot and I will run on June 5 in Ventura, CA.



Second Run - Toward Kitchican.  This time, I got smart. I ran around the aisle of the staterooms. Don't have to worry about being thrown overboard.  So as not to disturb the other passengers, I ran with no shoes(minimalist runner). After 3 miles, I felt pain on my calves.



Third Run -  After a tour/shopping at Kitchican downtown, a friend mentioned about the promenade deck. I scouted the deck and it's indeed a nice place to walk and run. There is a light traffic and a favorite deck for smokers. At around 3:00PM, I decided to run in spite of having just run in the morning and the pain on my calves. After 2 miles, I stopped running.  The pain is now unbearable and got worried as it might not heal before June 5.  

Fourth Run - Towards Victoria/Canada. After resting (no running) for 2 days, I ran 5 miles at about 6:30AM  at the promenade deck. Felt stronger and ran at faster pace with no pain.

Fifth Run - Along the Coast of Vancouver Island en route to Victoria. At 6:00AM, I decided to run on  a treadmill at the fitness center.  With music and TV, I ran 6 miles.  With the ship swaying from side to side, it's like running on rolling hills.

Final Run/Walk - This is the most challenging part of the run. Disembarkation,  immigration, TSA, transfer  and  boarding lines completed my work out/training while on cruise to Alaska.  Despite of  the running and walking, I gained 5 lbs. I have 5 days to get to my running weight of 132 lbs.

Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon



One of my goals when, I started running, is to join events in cities located along the Pacific Ocean. Ventura which is near Santa Barbara  is a perfect fit of this goal. 



The Walden Surfboards mile markers


The Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon is 26.2 miles of mountain and oceanfront scenery. Starting in beautiful Ojai, California, the course begins at 700 ft. altitude and gradually descends to sea-level finishing near the historic Ventura, California Pier. The course is a fast, USATF sanctioned Boston Marathon Qualifier.


The USATF Sanctioned O2O Half-Marathon is a fast, beautiful 13.1 mile course consisting of 2 loops near the Ventura oceanfront, and finishing at the historic Ventura Pier with the Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon finishers.


Date and Time:
Sunday June 5th, 2011 6:00am

Old Age Not An Excuse, It's an Advantage!!

I like to share an e-mail  I received from fellow senior citizen runner, Joe Saley.  His resume shows that old age is not an excuse of not living a healthy and active lifestyles.  I ran with him at the Condura Skyway Event and he kicked my ass ..... I am younger than him.

Joe SaleyRunner(Slow),Retired USN & USPS

Thanks for the tip on how to start a blog site. I will try to start one soon. You are right. Us senior runners should motivate and encourage the younger ones and even other seniors to be into running/jogging or even walking when we talk about our running experiences and all. Thanks for guys like BR(http://baldrunner.com) and Amado(reinier6666 ) who are very good role models.

Setting a goal is good as it helps one to train harder and if it is not doable there's nothing wrong about it as long as one tried one's best. As for dreams, all of us have dreams. I think it is nice & healthy to dream. I'm a dreamer myself.

I have ran the NYC marathon 13 times; 11 consecutive times (2000 to 2010) and in 1994 & 1995. As a NYRR member, I easily got in from 2000 to 2008. In 2008, NYRR started the 9 + 1 for members where one has to ran & finish 9 NYRR qualifying races and do volunteer work once in a NYRR race. This has to be done a year before the NYCM. I have already done next year's volunteer requirement so all I have to do are the 9 races. After next year, I will have completed 15 NYCM and that automatically gets me in future NYCMs. For Boston marathons,( please pardon the bragging) I've done 5 consec. of them when I was younger(62-66) in 2003 to 2007. I'm dreaming of my 6th in 2012. He, he.

Once a runner, always a runner is what I say. Don't complete your journey yet. Keep running/jogging/walking as long as you can. As we are getting older, we don't have to be fast, I might say, just keep going. That is my ultimate goal. This should keep me fit, busy(aside from baby-sitting my 1-yr,4mos. baby girl apo) and away from the hospital.

Coming from Benguet in the northern Pinas, our common language is Ilocano but we also have our dialect; Kanka-na-ey & Ibaloi( btw, similar to Pangasinan). Most of my H/S classmates in Baguio City High School '53-'58 were from Pangasinan so I understand a few Pangasinan.

Joe

Recap 2 of OC Marathon w/ Pictures

Start Line
Arrived at the OC Fairground/Shuttle pick - up station at 4:30am and the line was already about quarter mile long.  I arrived at the Start Line in Newport Beach at about 5:30am.  The corrals were already packed.  When my corral was let go, had to run slowly and carefully because of the crowd. I ran a good portion of Mile 1 on the sidewalk.



The Scenery
After leaving the start line at Fashion Island, ran down to Corona Del Mar, past Inspiration Point and up Bayside and several sweet neighborhood streets, then up through the Back Bay and finally finishing at the OC Fairgrounds.
Cheerleaders throughout the courses with cheers, water hoses and signs.



The Goal

The goal to just have fun quickly turned into a crazy expectation. Having a good night slept and good reading on my lung capacity and no pain on my knees (1st time I ran without knee support), I decided to run the half mary  under 2 hrs. I knew, I will be running way beyond my comfort zone but this is my last chance,  unfortunately my effort was not enough.  I was on target till mile 10 but really got tired on the last 3 miles.

I was approached by a medical aide after I crossed the finish line to make sure, I was OK. 

The OC Marathon Event had the misfortune of losing a runner in  2009 & 2010



Finish Line

Time: 2:02:41
                                AG Place: 2nd (my first 13.1 medal finish)



What's Next ????
Training For My 2nd Full Marathon

Orange County Half Marathon Results

After running 10 Half Marathons, I finally got my first podium finish (2nd Place) this morning. My finish time is few seconds off my PR, but considering the  course, I would rate my performance this morning as awesome.

Half Marathon Results:  65 - 69 Age Group

Net Time: ...................... 2:02:47

Division Place: ............... 2 /27

Overall Place: ................ 1902 /6559

Volunteers Waiting For The Finishers

Early Finishers

Dog Tired Finisher