Ojai to Ocean Marathon ..... Stage 7 of My Journey

The 2nd Annual Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon and Half Marathon takes place on Sunday, June 3, 2012. Starting in beautiful Ojai near Nordhoff High School, the marathon course begins at 700 ft. altitude and gradually descends to sea-level finishing near the historic Ventura Pier. Lot of beautiful mountain and ocean scenery. The course is a fast, USATF certified Boston Marathon Qualifier.

 Ojai is a vibrant place with so much natural beauty that it gained fame decades ago when the area was photographed to represent Shangri-La in the 1939 movie, The Lost Horizon.

 

Finish Line in Ventura City,  half mile from this Wooden Pier

Training:

So far, I only logged 47 miles since the OC Marathon(May 6).  My LSD was a back to back 10 miles.  Also, I was able to squeeze 8 miles of rolling hills ran while bonding with grandchildren at Walnut Creek.  The nasty uphill and downhill will surely help me on the June 3 race.  

Ice water foot bath after workout,  ice pack on my knees and 20 minutes spa after workout are some of the stuff I been subjecting my body to keep it loose and ready for my next Journey.

 

OC Marathon .... Stage 6 of My Journey... Result

Race day started at 3:30 am when the alarm clock woke me up.  Everything been ready before I went to bed so by 4:00 am, my wife and I were on 405S freeway heading towards OC Fair, Costa Mesa.  Arrived at the OC fair parking lot by 5:00 am, grabbed my breakfast bag(cereal and banana), hydration belt, told my wife to lock the car and go back to sleep.

A shuttle bus took runners to Newport Beach Fashion Island where the race started. The OC marathon passes through 4 cities( Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa).  Went to my assigned coral and stayed behind  the 5 hr Pacer.  The race started at around 6:00 am, 30 minutes late. I ran with my group until the HM runners caught up with us.  Got carried away by the fast HM runners that I caught up with the 4:55 hr pacer. Ran with my new group up to Mile13 where I had to stop to check what causing the pain at the bottom of my right foot( point #9 ........ no wonder my shoulder also hurt, tight and as if I was carrying 10 kilos sack of rice. The wonder of Internet ..... instant expert). 





At first, I thought the cushion of my Brooks Pure Flow shoes moved and causing the pressure.  The cushion was in placed but the point where it hurt was swollen, same also on my left foot.  Blisters , one of the  dreaded runner injuries came to mind. Sprayed the areas with "Kool N Fit Sport conditioning Fluid".  Resumed running and was able to catch the 4:55 pacer,  stayed with the group up to Mile 19  where I had to stop again to check and spray my foot.  No skin breakout but the pain was getting intense. and started to limp.  I was already on a  walk mode when the 5 hr pacer caught up with me. Pride and stubbornness took over me and I kept up with them up to Mile 22 where pain and poor stability have taken control.

Walked for 3.5 miles where  the 5:10 hr pacer passed me, but as a consolation to my bruise ego, I passed a 4:10 hr pacer who I think  also got injured. Kudos to him though for carrying the pacer banner up to the finish line.

During the 3.5 miles walked, my body got used to the pain and I was able to adjust the landing of my foot and strides that I was able to jog the last .75 mile.  Crossed the finish line fresh and with smile. 

Split Times:
5Km:      34:40     Pace: 11:10
10Km:    1:10:18  Pace: 11:19
7.5 Mi:    1:2557  Pace: 11:28
 Half:       2:29:17 Pace:11:24
20 Mi:     3:48:14 Pace:11:28
26.2 Mi:  5:14:07 Pace:11:59

Your OK if you can smile and look fresh after 26.2 miles

OC Marathon - Stage 6 of My Journey ..... Expo

May 4 ... First day of the OCM expo at the Fairground.  The door to the expo was just opened when I arrived. The line to get in was too long , fortunately, the full marathon registrants were allowed to cut in. Got my  swag/bib and shirt in 3 minutes.  Plenty of time to browse  around (wifey had to join the line and took her 30 minutes to get in). 

Good Luck to me and all the OCM runners !

What's In at  the expo?

For Cramp & Pain

Coconut water

 

 

5 Hour Energy

A guy thought I was a fast runner because of the low bib #.  Told him that I got the number because of my age. Actually, members of the Legacy Club were assigned low bib #.