Honda LA Marathon ........... Great Event!!!!!

Great Day for Running though it didn't start this way.  Weather forecast was cold, wet and windy.

My race day started at Santa Monica. At 3:45am, I walked from the hotel to the shuttle pick up station. The shuttle took us to the starting line at Dodger Stadium. After picking up a banana and water, I went to one of the empty expo tents for shelter. Body heat from other runners inside made waiting a bit comfortable.... 3 hrs wait for me.  Plastic garbage bags were available in anticipation of rain.

During the starting ceremony, the elite runners, who are from Kenya and Ethiopia, were introduced. Some City officials were also introduced. The Mayor of Los Angeles got the cheers and the former owner of the Dodgers got the boos.  At this time runners were taking off their jackets, sweaters and etc. Lots of runners are smart to leave their jackets by the side of the street and some are plain stupid to leave their shits in the middle of the street. All these discarded jackets and etc will be collected and donated to charities.    

I joined the 5 hrs group and stayed with the pacer till Mile 23 where my right calf tightened and in pain but no cramp. Fell behind but didn't panic and able to recover and finish strong at the last 2.2 miles.

Course was pretty good, challenging, passing through well known landmarks(Hollywood, China town, Little Tokyo, Beverly Hill, etc.) and lined up with enthusiastic supporters/spectators. Hydration stations at every mile manned by students  and entertainment at strategic locations.. 

Strong gutsy wind greeted runners at Mile 23 and it came at the worst stretch of the run where most runners, like me, are running/walking on determination and guts. A left turn at Ocean Blvd/Highway 1/Route 66, runners were greeted by thousand of  spectators and smell and cold breeze from the ocean signaling  that the finish line is near.  Runners gave all they got (NOT RECOMMEND) and with cheers and motivations crossed the Finish Line.

Shore Hotel Lobby. Tired but Happy to Finish Stage 5 of My Journey

Performance
Finish Time: 5:02:10
AG Place:   11 out of 81

Split Time:
10K - 1:10:06
20K - 2:19:27
30K - 3:30:29
40K - 4:46:29

				Actual Pace
Mile 1	-			10:51
Mile 2	-			10:36
Mile 3	-			11:01
Mile 4	-			10:48
Mile 5	-			11:36
Mile 6	-			11:25
Mile 7	-			11:16
Mile 8	-			10:54
Mile 9	-			11:15
Mile 10	-			11:03
Mile 11	-			10:58
Mile 12	-			11:02
Mile 13	-			11:28
Mile 14	-			11:29
Mile 15	-			11:01
Mile 16	-			11:20
Mile 17	-			11:31
Mile 18	-			11:07
Mile 19	-			11:13
Mile 20	-			11:33
Mile 21	-			11:10
Mile 22	-			11:40
Mile 23	-			12:21
Mile 24	-			14:35
Mile 25	-			11:38
Mile 26	-			12:01
0.2 mi	-			11:00

Honda LA Marathon ........... Training Update!!

This morning, I ran my farthest LSD since SurfCity Marathon(2/5), a 16 miler. Calves seems to be alright. It tightened up at miles 7 and 12 but didn't develop into a cramp. This will be my last LSD and will just do gym workout and lots of stretching till the LA Marathon (3/18). 

Mile 1	-		10:39
Mile 2	-		10:57
Mile 3	-		10:49
Mile 4	-		10:55
Mile 5	-		10:57
Mile 6	-		10:53
Mile 7	-		11:06
Mile 8	-		11:20
Mile 9	-		11:19
Mile 10	-		10:45
Mile 11	-		10:49
Mile 12	-		10:59
Mile 13	-		10:58
Mile 14	-		11:28
Mile 15	-		11:34
Mile 16  -	11:26

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.

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

This oceanfront course is a California dream. Run on Pacific Coast Highway, past the famous Huntington Beach pier and wind through the legendary surfing beaches of Southern California. Surf rock riff bands entertain along the way and the finish line beach party includes a beach side beer garden in the California sun.

"The Perfect Start/Finish"

Picture this..."a start wreathed in light fog, led out by a covey of restored classic woody sedans and lifeguard vehicles," complete with surfboard storage on top! Marathon & Beyond Magazine calls it a "perfect start/finish." All races begin to the soundtrack of the Beach Boys' Surfin' USA and the cheers of local surfers from Huntington Beach's original surfing club, The Longboard Crew.

Surf City, Here We Run!

"The Journey"

On February 5, I will run Stage 4 of my Journey to the Marathon Maniac Silver Level Membership.  It will be my 4th full marathons in 5 months and 1st on my new AG(70 - 74).

"Training"

My training is hampered by a calf (behind the knee) injury caused by challenging Mount Diablo and trail running in northern California.

Training was limited to the following:

  1.  10m  - 1

  2.  13.1  - 2 (1-road race)

  3.   15m - 2

  4.   Several 10k and 5k

Will try a  20 miles LSD run before taper week.

Southern California Half Marathon ...... Goodbye AG

Last Sunday I bid goodbye to my AG(65-69) by running the KP Southern California Half Marathon.  With 4000 participants, it's one of the biggest low profile event in Southern California. About  50% of the participants are high school and middle school students from the Orange and Los Angeles Unified Schools. It had the atmosphere of a high school athletic event with coaches, trainers, boosters and tents.  Nice to see these enthusiastic youngsters up this early.

Before the Race

My Trainer and Sponsor

Starting Line

After the 13.1 Mile Run

Results:
 Time:                        2:05:18
AG Place:                  6th out of 15
Overall Place:            1354th out of 3954

It's been a great running year for me and what a way to bid goodbye to AG (65-69).

Last AG Year Performance:
1. Set 10K PR at 53min:47sec
 2. Set Half Marathon PR at 2hr:01min:54sec and 2 Podium Finishes
 3. 3 Full Marathons within 90 days and qualified for the Marathon Maniac Bronze Membership

 My Credo:
 1. No Training Short Cut or Substitute.
 2. Patience will take me to my Running Goals
 3. No Pain Killer or PED

My Last Race ..............

On January 7, 2012, I will run my last AG (65-69) race. I had been running for 5 years under this Age Group and reluctantly has to move on ..... to the next  AG (70-74). There will be tremendous dropped in number of runners at this AG.  Less than 1/2 % of all runners today will be still running when they reach this age group  I am blessed to still  able to lace my shoes and answer the starting gun come February 5 to run Stage 4 of my journey at the Surf City Marathon in Huntington Beach.

 Southern California Half Marathon & 5K, which celebrates its 21st annual running in 2012 as the official warm-up road race for other California races like the Los Angeles Marathon, the O.C. Marathon and the Surf City Marathon later in the year.


Following a route through the area known as the Woodbridge Loop, the Southern California Half takes runners on a mostly flat (though occasionally hilly) course through suburban neighborhoods, city park areas and along the waters of the San Diego Creek.

Happy New Year!!!!