Sunday 10/21/07

10 mile @ marathon pace at Los Alamitos Creek Trail.

Target pace ~6:44/mile

I wanted to get up early so I could finish my run before the AIDS Walk which starts at 10am. I called my girlfriend to wake her up at 6:00am since she was planning on an early morning run, but that didn’t get me out of the bed. My body told me to get back in bed for 30 more minutes. I finally got out of bed around 7:30am and left the house around 8am.

A female runner commented, “Wow, look at your legs!” Last year, during the latter half of Metro Silicon Valley Marathon, I was cheered on by a female runner who yelled at me, “sexy legs!” It was a little weird, but it was enough to raise my spirit. Despite the uplifting comment, this run turned out to be more challenging than I thought. I couldn’t keep up the pace I wanted and walkers, cyclists, and runners started showing up on the narrow trail. Also, the mile markers I was following from the Almaden Times Classic 10K were already fading away and I couldn’t get the time for some miles. After 15 minutes into cool-down, I found out I only ran 9 miles at marathon pace, so I decided to run another mile at marathon pace.

8:00am~10:00am

Warm-up (24 min)

Mile Time

1 6:44

2 6:53

3-4 13:28

5 6:50

6 7:02

7-8 13:31

9 6:57

10 6:43

Cool down (25 min)

AIDS Walk with Jorge

6 mile walk at Guadalupe River Park Trail

I came back from running around 10am and quickly put on a pair of shorts that didn’t smell too bad, grabbed a bottle of Powerade, and rushed to the Discovery Meadow in downtown San Jose. The walk had already started when I got there. I was about 20 minutes late. I went straight to the registration booth, signed in, and got my goody bag and the map.  I followed the crowd to catch up with Jorge and his NPO, AACI.

AACI’s booth at AIDS Walk.

I had no idea there was such a nice trail right in the heart of downtown San Jose! I caught up with him within few minutes.

Jorge (on the right) and me. Whoa! What happened to my hair?!

Guadalupe River Park Trail. The river must somewhere near.

One of the few canine participants. I tried to make him look at me, but he didn’t respond well.

The turnaround point at mile 3. We were very close to the San Jose International Airport.

There were a lot enthusiastic high school volunteers. It’s nice to see young people engaging in community events like this.

A particularly enthusiastic volunteer.

Another enthusiastic volunteer.

I was getting tired and hungry, but I had to finish the walk. I concentrated on what was ahead of me and that booty.

I met a fellow UCSD alumni who also ran the San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon this June. She had moved to San Jose to get her masters at San Jose State and doing an internship at AACI (I think). She also runs Rancho San Antonio trail.

We finally made it back to the Discovery Meadow.

Participants from AACI. I’m waving behind the banner.

Jorge showing off his “sexy leg”

We had dim sum afterward. We must have had 30 dishes!

I was full and content and took a nice long nap afterwards.

Saturday 10/20/07

Recovery run with Tony at Rancho San Antonio County Park

43 min total (26 min out, 17:30 min back) on PG & E Trail

It was the first time for me to run on this trail in the foothills of Cupertino. I’ve lived in Cupertino for more than 10 years after my family moved from Japan, but I have never been there. The trail was wide and well maintained. Not muddy at all, despite the rain from the day before.

May be I will get to see Jean Pommier training on this trail one of these days. He ran the PG&E trail 8 times at once for training. Amazing. Tony and I decided we should come here often because there are a lot of hot looking female runners. And the view is great, too. The PG&E trail looks over the Silicon Valley. Next time, I won’t forget to bring my camera.

Friday 10/19/07

7 mile tempo-run @ half marathon pace at Gunderson High School (track)

Target pace ~6:19/mile

I wanted run in the morning, but I felt heavy and tired and couldn’t wake up. So, I ran after work around 7:30pm.

There were two guys doing a speed workout on the track. They would zoom by me and I would catch up to them, and then they would zoom by me again. This went on for quite a while. I wanted to rest and ask them what they were training for, but that would defeat the purpose of running a tempo run on the track. Alas, they left before I could finish my tempo run. Running 7 miles on the track is mentally challenging. Going around and around the track gets pretty monotonous and you could easily lose the count of the laps. But, this is a good training to keep my pace and the ground is nice on my legs, too.

I felt good going into mile 4-5. I was getting into a comfortable zone, and then in mile 6, I suddenly felt heartburn or some weird sensation in my throat and I couldn’t breathe well. I felt myself slowing down. It got better once I slowed down. I hope it’s nothing serious.

Mile Time

1  6:15.5

2  6:17.5

3  6:13.5

4  6:14.8

5  6:18.3

6  6:23.2

7  6:24.9

Thurs 10/18/07

Recovery run ~6miles

5:45am 48F cold.

About an hour.

Wed 10/17/07

Track Workout at Gunderson High School

Around 5:45am 51F

2 x 2K @ half marathon pace

2 x 1 mile @ 10K pace

1 x 1K @ 5K pace

1 x 800m @ 3K pace

With 90sec recovery run in between

Tuesday 10/16/07

Recovery run

7~8 miles @ Los Alamitos Creed Trail

5:45am not too cold.

Last Saturday on October 13, I ran Bakersfield's very own 10-K obstacle mud run, Volkslauf for the first time. With over 30 obstacles including 1/2-mile-long mud trench, 8-foot wall, parallel bars, monkey bars, crossing the river on a rope, and countless mud pits, this was definitely the messiest race I’ve ever ran. But it was also an unforgettable race that was strangely satisfying.

A mud pit just before the parallel bars and cargo net

Cargo net

You have a choice between mud or mud with water

Tenaru River Crossing

Yes, you do have to crawl through the pipe. And hold your breath.

Juan-mo-time, a huge mound of dirt that transforms into a slippery hill.

Runners being sprayed with water

Runners slipping down the hill

Carl’s Slide

Happy Valley

Coming into the race, I was very nervous. I had been having some stomach issue all last week and I even had to cut down on the early morning tempo run on Thursday that turned into a race to the john. I took Friday off and left San Jose to Bakersfield right after work on Thursday to see my girlfriend (she was also running the race with her co-workers for the first time). She fed me very well and I got to recuperate and play with her cats all day Friday, although I managed to get lost going on a short recovery run around her neighborhood.

My goal was to finish the race in one piece, injury-free. The verdict? I've got a nasty cut on my left hand, scratches and bruises on both my legs, chafing from the rope on both ankles, and I also managed to strain my right shoulder, a recurring old injury from playing badminton and later falling into the half-pipe on the snowboard. No major injuries, though. I placed surprisingly well at 9th place, as I waddled through the muddy water desperately trying to catch the 7th and 8th place finishers while the mud sucked the sole of my shoes with every step I took. Now that I think about it, I really should have swum that last 50 yards of mud water. But, my conscience was telling me, "Don't do it, you're going to lose your contact lens and you didn't bring a spare. And you're going to bust your right shoulder so bad you're gonna regret it!" That was the smart choice, and I grudgingly followed. My goal was to finish the race without major injuries and I still had a couple more weeks of training for Big Sur half marathon. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time. But, I should’ve swum! I was so close and I was catching up to them. It still haunts me in my sleep. Anyway, I got out of the water, climbed the last hill and ...where was the finish line? There was a clock, a finish chute, but I didn't see the finish line. I just stopped my watch there and went down the chute and the race official ripped off the tag off my bib. My watch said 43:05, but the official time said my time was 46 minutes. Did I accidentally stop the watch somewhere?

The results

There were some young local cross-country runners who caught up to me along the 2-3 mile stretch on the paved and dirt road, but they had some difficulties going over the walls and parallel bars, so they started to help each other out. Later, I found out they were only 12 and 17 years old, so that was surprising. And they even had a cross-country meet the day before.

My girlfriend did a great job, too. Three of her fearsome foursome were trying Volkslauf for the first time, but they helped each other out and finished the race together.

Stairway to Heaven

Hue City

Going over the parallel bars

Judy even managed to get herself across the river on the rope. She was the only one in her team to accomplish that. Way to go!

Climbing out of Chu Lai

Happy Dirty Bunch

We all got ourselves hosed down after the race.

Unfortunately, I did not get to stay for the award ceremony (if there was any), since we were planning to go back to San Jose for San Jose Rock 'n' Roll 1/2 Marathon. I ended up taking a long nap after lunch and we eventually left Bakersfield around 8:30pm.

If you like running and if you like to take on new challenges, this race is for you. And next time, I'm gonna swim to the finish line!

Friday 10/05

Tempo run at Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge trail.

6 mile @ half marathon pace (6:19min/mile)

Mile     time

1     5:58

2     6:07

3     6:09

4     6:20

5     6:09

6     6:10

Don Edwards Wild Refuge near the Newby Island landfill

I couldn’t wake up on time this morning to do a tempo run at the track, so did my tempo run during lunch at work on the levee at the south end of Don Edwards Wild Refuge trail.

There is a look-out deck I measured on my bike to the end of the dirt path that is approximately a mile. My target half marathon pace is 6:19 min/mile, but I lost track of my pace and resorted to couple seconds off my 10-K pace except for the 4th mile. I will work on my half-marathon pace next week.

It was a cool, clear day, a bit windy in Fremont. I wore a jacket at the beginning, but took off before the tempo run.

Saturday 10/06

A recovery run in the morning around 6:30am. I think it was the lowest this year so far at 41.6 degree. Brrr. I had to put on my running tights.

Ran to the hill nearby. Communications Hill, where the new home development took place recently.

The view from the halfway point

Downtown San Jose

I hope they keep don’t keep building houses on the hillsides because there are foxes!

The sun coming up on the open field near home

Sunday 10/07

Tempo run

8 miles @ marathon pace (6:39 min/mile) at Los Alamitos Creek Trail.

Mile     time

1     6:45

2     6:45

3     6:57

4     6:47

5     7:01

6     7:07

7     6:11 (the mile marker was probably off)

8     6:27

A clear, sunny day, not too hot. From 10:30am~12:30pm. Couldn’t get my body out of the bed. Today’s tempo run was tough. The Saturday’s dance practice was taking a toll on my body. An easy marathon pace run felt like running a marathon after I hit the wall. I couldn’t keep the target marathon pace from the first mile, and the pace kept getting slower and slower. I took a short water break after the 7th mile and got my second wind back. But, my legs were so tired after the tempo run I’ve decided to walk some of my cool down run (especially when I felt pain in my plantar). Took the rest of the day easy.

I have a 10-K obstacle race coming up on Saturday 10/13, so I’m going to modify this recovery week a little bit. I will do my key workouts on Tuesday and Thursday instead of Wednesday and Friday.

Started 10 minutes late... but still managed to get 1st place in my age group!

That's Mattew, Chad, and me from right to left. Mattew placed 2nd place in the age group. Chad placed 2nd overall.

I left the house around 7:20am on my bike to Almaden Quicksilver County Park to run at the Quicksilver Challenge 10K race. The New Almaden entrance was about 10 miles from home, but I took a wrong turn on the way and made a big loop and wasted a couple of minutes. I thought the race started at 8:30am, so I was thinking I still had time when I arrived there a little after 8:00am. But, the race had already started at 8:00am sharp, and there were only two or three people attending the registration table and the finish line. So, I got my bib, pinned it to my shirt, changed my shoes and took off.

The piece of Powerbar I gorged down right before I took off was stuck in my throat for a while, but I've managed to swallow it (or spit it out) by the time I got to the steep single-track on the Day Tunnel trail. Another steep, but short climb followed on the Great Eastern trail. Everyone was nice and stepped aside for me My quads are still sore from running down the English Camp Trail.

The result:

57:10 -- 7th overall. (1st in my age group!)

44:48 on my watch. So, I started out 12 minutes late!

I met Chad Deherrera, a semi-pro mountain biker who lives just down the street from the park. He's a great guy. Quiet, reserved, and one helluva runner. He ran in his beat-up New Balance that looks like he's been wearing them since high school and the sole looked completely worn out (and he still managed to beat my time!). I'm sure he would run faster with the right shoes. I met him last week at the Almaden Times Classic 10K where he also beat me in the last mile. He ran the Quicksilver 10K in 43:56 - 2nd place overall. I will be cheering for him at San Jose Rock ‘n' Roll ½ Marathon on 10/14.

I also met Mattew Meyers, a high schooler who attends a local Christian high school. I think he's on the cross country team there. I met him at Mt. Madonna Challenge 12K in August, and also at Almaden TimesClassic 10K, too. Very friendly. I didn't know he was so chatty. We will runthe 5K at the Metro Silicon Valley Marathon on 11/4. It will be a short tune-up race before the Big Sur ½ Marathon on 11/11 which I will be running with my girlfriend (her first ½ marathon).

After the race, I biked to Gilroy to see my folks.

That's me snacking on some carbs in Morgan Hill.