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!!!!

Mount Diablo Challenge ....... Base to Ranger Station

When I met my blogger friend, Paul, in person during the CIM expo, we talked about challenging Mount Diablo.
After the CIM event and on our way home, I discussed with my son about running from base to the summit of Mount Diablo.  My son is familiar with Mount Diablo as he had been to the summit on bike many times.

Mount Diablo as viewed from Berkeley

Historic claims that the mountain's viewshed is the largest in the world—or second largest after Mount Kilimanjaro—are unfounded. It does boast one of the largest viewsheds in the Western United States and it played a key role in California history. Countless peaks in the state are taller, but Mount Diablo has a remarkable visual prominence for a mountain of such modest elevation. Its highly recognizable form and looming presence over so much of the bay, delta, and Central Valley, and good visibility even from the Mother Lode, all key regions during the gold rush and early statehood, made it not just a well-known visual touchstone but one of the most important landmarks for mapping and navigation.


The summit is accessible by foot, bicycle, or motor vehicle. Road access is via North Gate Road or South Gate Road. The record time by bicycle from The Athenian School in the town of Danville to the summit is 43:33 minutes. No record time by running though.

My son and I agreed to run from base to the Ranger Station, a distance of 5.95 miles and back to base.  From base to summit which is about 10 miles and elevation of 3864 feet have to wait.
 
This morning at 10:30 am, the assault of Mount Diablo started.  I started ahead of my son as he had to make some business calls. From base to the South Gate which is about 3 miles and elevation of 1500 ft is very challenging.  My son caught up with me at elevation 1000 feet and mile 1.4 miles. Told him to go ahead and never saw him again until he was on his way down while I was about 1/2  mile to the Ranger Station(turn around point).  It was an awesome run. The view specially at elevation 2000 ft is fantastic. To the west I can see San Francisco and the bay and to the south, the windmills at Altamont Pass.  The drivers were nice (didn't overtake me at blind curves until it's safe. I should had stayed at the other side of the road. My bad.).  The cyclists were nice and courteous also.  Some  were surprised to see runner on the road. 



At 2000 Feet Elevation

   
Base to Ranger Station
Distance .............. 5.95 Miles
Elevation ............ 1941 Feet
Time .................... 1:22:44
Pace ....................  13:56
 
Ranger Station to Base
Distance ............... 5.95 Miles
Time ..................... 1:16:57
Pace ..................... 12:55
 
I could run faster from Ranger Station to Base, but saw no reason to put more stress on my knees.  I believe the run from base to the summit in 2 to 3 hrs is doable.  Have to ride back to the base though.

Meet My Idol ........ Joe Saley, 72 Years Old Runner!!!!

Joe Saley's name got my attention when I was scanning the race results of the Condura Skyway Half Marathon last February.  I thought  at age 68, I was the oldest runner to join the event and got pissed when I found that a 71 years old runner kicked my butt.

When I got back in California, I went on a mission. Searched the Internet to find out who is Joe Saley. What I found is an impressive resume of a  runner.

Joe grew up in Mountain Province, Philippines.  He joined the US navy after graduating from Baguio Tech. He is from New Jersey and  retired. Started running in 1994 and since then:
      1. Ran  NYCM 14 times.
      2. Qualified and ran Boston 5 times.

He was able to avoid major running injuries and recover quickly.  As a proof of how fast he recover, a week after this year NYCM, he ran a 10k race with a time of  54 minutes. Awesome!

Joe and I have a common dream ...... to run/join the Bataan Death March Ultra Marathon in the Philippines. Being born before the infamous march, we have relatives who were with USAFFE. It will be a great honor to be on it even if we don't finish, after all 20,000+ of the original marchers didn't make it.

Joe at the NYCM

Joe at the NYCM Finish Line

CIM ........ A Week After

Yesterday I did my 1st run on the road since CIM.  I set my garmin to virtual partner mode at the speed of 10:30.  I monitored closely my speed and made sure that it's not faster than 10 minutes/mile.  I ran at the bike path along the San Gabriel River and being Sunday had to be careful with the cyclists.

The 10 miles run that I intended to do was extended to 13.2 miles. Felt comfortable and strong at my set paced. It also gave me enough time to contemplate about my running plan for 2012.  Knowing I was fully recovered from CIM, I registered to my next events:

 January 7 ...... Southern California Half Marathon at Irvine.
 February 5 ... Surf City Marathon at Huntington Beach (Stage 4)
 March 18 ..... Los Angeles Marathon (Stage 5)

I am not decided yet if I am going to continue my journey for the next MM Criteria (8 marathons within 365 days). I already calendar the events, so the process will be in progress.  Also, I will run the Surf City at my new Age Group. The sweet 70 to 74 AG.


12/11/2011
Distance ........... 13.2 Miles
Time ................. 2:16:19
Pace ................. 10:17