Honda LA Marathon ........... Stage 5 of My Journey

March 18, 2012

After 2 weeks of recovery and contemplating if I am going to continue "My Journey," I finally  registered to participate at the Honda LA Marathon.  Blood and other lab tests do not   show any disease associated to my cramping. I am also going to start a PT session tomorrow.

I resumed slow running a week ago with a new style of shoes "Brooks PureFlow".  It's light compared to ASICS Nimbus## , a type of shoes I been wearing since I started running.  Today, I will test run it for a 13 miles slow run/jog  and hopefully Brooks PureFlow  is the answer to my problem.  

Test Run Update:
 10:00 a.m - Just finished a 10 miles test run of my new Brooks PureFlow shoes.
 No cramps, no calves and knees pain/soreness. Things are looking good.
 Distance: 10 miles
 Time: 1:44:01
 Pace: 10:23

My Journey Schedule:
Stage 1 ............. 10/09/2011 ... Long Beach International Bank Marathon
Stage 2 ............. 11/06/2011 ... Santa Clarita Marathon
Stage 3.............. 12/04/2011 ... California International Marathon
Stage 4 ............. 02/05/2012 ... Surf City USA Marathon
Stage 5 ............. 03/18/2012 ... Honda LA Marathon
Stage 6 ............. 05/06/2012 ... OC Marathon
Stage 7 ............. 07/29/2012 ... San Francisco Marathon
Stage 8 ............. 09/26/2012 ... Santa Rosa
Stage 9 ............. 10/07/2012 ... Long Beach International Bank Marathon

9 Marathons within 365 days.  In between Stages, I might do some 10K and HM events.

Surf City Marathon ......... Stage 4 of My Journey. Done!!!!

A perfect weather for a Marathon Event at Huntington Beach. The City known for Surfing and The Beach Boys. 

This is Stage 4 of My Journey and might be the end of my journey to MM silver label membership.  I started the race behind the 4:45 hrs pacer.  I trained and ran my LSD at this pace and confident that there will be no problem sticking to it. Unfortunately, my right calf injury started acting up again at mile 19 and on the last 6 miles, got cramped several times.  Did more walking than running/jogging.  On the bright side, I didn't have a mental meltdown like at CIM.  I was able to run/jog the last 1 mile and look good when my name was called by the announcer as I crossed the Finish Line.

My new AG (70 - 74) was loaded with strong and competitive runners.  Of the 19 runners, 3 run under 4 hrs, 3:27:46 being the fastest by a 72 years old.

Results:
AG: 70 - 74 
Net Time: 5:11:57
AG Place: 9 out 15

Split Times:
3 Miles:      31:47 ....  Pace: 10.36
6 Miles:      1:03:18 .. Pace: 10:33
12.2 Miles: 2:10:54 ....Pace: 10:44
20.9 Miles: 3:56:35 ....Pace: 11.20
26.2 Miles: 5:11:57 ... Pace: 11:54

Priceless Moment!  

With Finisher and Beach Cities Challenge Medals.