Recently in running Category

this should be quite the challenge for me b/c:
a) i haven't ran over 12 miles since the marathon (this race is 22k or 14+ miles).
b) its the first trail race i have ever done.
c) there is an ungodly elevation gain. it looks like about 2000 feet over 3 miles? good lord. i thought 1000 feet over 10 miles at moorpark was tough! (check out the map)


of course i've heard that the course is quite scenic and i'm running with a few friends so i'm sure it will be a good time. will keep you all posted!

just finished my 200 mile relay. my body is wiped out. team bangus (pronounced bahngus if you are talking about the milkfish or bang-us if you are trying to make a play off a popular porn series. i love double entendres.) did really well considering many of the people on the squad never ran this many miles ever. its always very inspirational for me to see people fall in love with running for the very first time.

at the end of the race, one of the girls on the team i just met this weekend asked me, "why do you run so hard? who are you trying to impress?" she asked in a nice way, nothing condescending or anything, so i thought about my reply for a second.

then i just said. "i'm not trying to impress anyone. i always run hard. its what i do." and thats the truth. not just running but everything. i'll go hard. i'll look funny doing it. making some people wonder why. but i guess i don't care.

time to go back to sleep and appreciate sleeping on a bed as opposed to in a van or on the grass.

just this weekend i found out i would run ragnar. its this 200 mile relay from ventura to orange county. i was put on as an alternate by francis villanueva, one of my friends i ran track with in high school. the team is made up of mostly beginner/intermediate runners so they gave me all the longest/toughest legs.

here are maps of my legs. i'm totally looking forward to it b/c its basically 3 mini racees in a 24 hour period. it'll be a good test physically and psychologically. its a frickin relay! the last relay i ran was a 4x400 my junior year in high school!

moorpark, very difficult, 9.9 miles, estimated start time: 10:52 am friday
santa monica, moderate, 4.3 miles, estimated start time: 11:09 pm friday
huntington beach, moderate, 6.9 miles, estimated start time: 7:02 am saturday

great read i got from this link. i'll repost a bit of it here below:

"One thing I've found over the years is that many of the folks I train with (and race against) are for the most part as devoted to their jobs (if not more) as they are to running or cycling or triathlon.

Unlike participation in say, golf or softball or basketball - no offense to club/league sports - the type of determination, discipline and emotional focus that comes with training day in, day out for extremely challenging endurance events (often by yourself) tends to bleed over into people's 9-5's.

Whether you're training for a marathon, a century or the Ironman triathlon, one thing you quickly find out is that there's no room for bullshit out there on the pavement. You either do the work or you're screwed. Politics won't get you to the finish line. It doesn't matter who you know or how well you can work the system. When you're out there, every weakness bubbles up to the surface and stares you in the eye. Lack of preparation, lack of motivation, lack of dedication will all come back to bite you in the ass. there's nowhere to hide. They will all find you and jump up on your back to stop you dead in your tracks. The choice becomes this: Do you let them stop you, or do you accept them and keep going?

You learn a lot about yourself, training for that type of event.

You learn a lot about how to break thresholds and get past your own little ego, training for events like these. When you're tired and sore and hungry but you still have four miles to go, guess what? You still have four miles to go. How you get through these last four miles is entirely up to you. Nobody cares whether you walk those last four miles or run, or hail a cab. Nobody made you set 26.2 miles as a goal. Or 100 miles. Or 144+.

Once you've broken past your lack of will and learned to keep going, you are transformed. A similar thing happens to Marines during training. At some point, who you used to be before you went beyond what you thought your limitations were, before you kissed excuses goodbye, before you left all of the bullshit that stood in your mind's way ceases to exist. You become someone else.

That someone else, the marathoner, the long distance cyclist, the triathlete, the Ironman, he or she walks into your place of work with you every morning.

We all work with two types of people: Partisans of the least amount of effort, and dedicated professionals.

The latter aren't all marathoners or triathletes, but I have yet to meet an Ironman or marathoner who didn't take his or her intensity and dedication to their job.

Not that there's anything wrong with drinking a case of beer and watching sports on TV all weekend, but who you are outside of your work does have parallels with who you are when you are at work.

Something to think about."

umm wait. but what about runners who like to drink beer and watch sports on tv?

here's the oh so exciting mile by mile breakdown:
1: 8:11
2: 7:22
3: 7:28
4: 7:53
5: 8:10
6: 7:32
7: 7:20
8: 7:35
9: 7:33
10: 7:37
11: 7:25
12: 7:48
13: 7:45
14: 7:14
15: 7:12
16: 7:36
17: 7:35
18: 7:55
19: 7:40
20: 7:54
21: 7:56
22: 7:51
23: 8:21
24: 8:11
25: 7:57
26: 7:25
.2: 2:58

good news? both halves are pretty even.
bad news? they are both slow

final time: 3:23:29. second fastest time of my life. i'm happy for that.

based on my goals, it came between "bare minimum to be considered a victory" and "very satisfied". so i'm satisfied.

new la marathon course is a great course. if you are thinking about running a marathon, this is the one to do. you see all the great sites the city has to offer, it has great "energy", and its just overall stimulating (which is hard to do over 26.2 miles).

i'm hurting, but a good hurt. soreness and pain but no injury so thank god.

whats next? a few half marathon and then a fall marathon. my old coach says i need to drop another 10 pounds. i'm at 160 but i want to be under 150 by my fall race. will write more soon, thanks for reading.

last 3 marathon times:
09.08.07 - st george - 3:14:51
06.01.08 - san diego - 4:03:48
02.21.09 - pasadena - 4:21:58

after my pr at st george, i had two horrible races. the training was pretty nonexistent.

tomorrow will be the first time i have truly trained since st george. my weight is right at 160, i would like it to be under 150 but 160 is an ok weight for me. i have put in 420 miles since the 1st of january, definitely the most i have trained since st george. considering the course, weather, and all the factors, here are my goals:

bare minimum for it to be considered a victory: break 3:30 (8 min pace)
i do my long training runs at this pace. considering my fitness level anything worse than this will be a major setback for me to reach my goals this fall.

very satisfied: 3:20 (7:37 pace)
based on my half marathon, i should be hitting around a 3:18 pace. but this course is a little easier than pasadena so i'm thinking i could do better. but if i hit around 3:18-3:20, i know i'll be in great shape for my fall marathon

ecstatic: 3:14:51 (7:25 pace)

this would be a new pr and this is what i'm gunning for. considering that this is a setup for the fall where i plan to be at peak weight/speed, this would be icing on the cake.

i'll cry like a 12 year old girl at a miley cyrus concert: 3:10:59 (7:17 pace)
this would get me into boston, a dream of mine. enough said. i don't think i'm in this kind of shape right now but hey, who knows?

pain, here i come!

something my running coach/friend wrote to the rest of our group today in preparation for sundays race:

"I know many of you may now be feeling butterflies as your race is coming up. I commend all of you for getting this far. As many say, the training is sometimes the most challenging part of a marathon. I know when I am in the peak (taper) phase of my training, I use the "downtime" to reflect back on where I came from and the path ahead.

After all, the marathon is the perfect metaphor for life. The marathon will not always be what you expect. The conditions can change. It is too windy, it is too hot. It is not as flat or downhill as everyone was saying. You miss a water stop. You lost a gel. You get a flat tire. Your work is downsizing. Your roof has a leak. Your neighbor calls an inspector on you. What do you do? You control what you can and you continue to move forward.

Similar to life, your approach to the race can make all the difference. Do you have a plan? (i.e. pace, gels at miles __, water at ___). Or are you already building in excuses for your performance? Now is not the time for second guessing or what ifs. Now is the time to GO!

Life vis a vis the marathon can be seen by different perspectives. Do you wait for things to happen or do you make things happen? In many respects, you are already on the latter path by choosing to participate in these endurance events. As a buddy and running mentor advised me several years ago, you are already in an elite group as less than 1% participate in a marathon.

So when that anthem is sung, stop for a moment, pause and smile. This is your time to celebrate and enjoy. I wish you the best of luck this Sunday."

happy belated valentimes day.

i put in my paperwork for graduation this may. i'll be 4 units short but they'll let me walk since i'm finishing up this summer. i hope (still waiting for approval by the provost).

i think i'll hit my 100 miles for the month. i'm at 90 and have 4 days left. again, the last time i hit 100 miles was september...2007.

last weekend i finally watched "the wrestler" and i caught "coraline" in 3d. both EXCELLENT flicks. i was a bit nervous theatre hopping though. i don't know why i was so nervous about a high school usher, hell thats what i used to do and i really didn't care if anyone movie hopped or not.

happy ash wednesday to all the catolicos. here's a link from missi about giving up facebook for lent.

i finally saw tropic thunder on dvd (thanks blau!) since i'm perhaps the last person in the world to see it, i don't think anything i'll say is a spoiler (well if you haven't seen it, stop reading!)

anyhow, i thought the big 3 stole the show. no not jack black, ben stiller, and downey jr. i'm talking bill hader (btw, am i the only one who always gets him and will forte mixed up?), matthew mcconaughey, and tc. (will post this on youtube even though i know it'll be taken off a few hours later).

running a 5k this sunday at la canada. after signing up, i realized that the day before is the notre dame game. its just a 5k? maybe i'll just race it hung over.

happy thanksgivings everyone! for the first time ever, i'll be working the friday AFTER thanksgiving. ugh.