Toshi's running blog : 2007 : November

The Unofficial Cancun Marathon

Posted by ToshiMoshi Nov 25, 2007

11/19 Monday Cloudy, humid

On my trip to Cancun with my girlfriend from 11/15~11/20, I wanted to do at least one long run. But, since no one responded to my question about where I can find a good trail in Cancun, I had to find one myself. This was on the back of my mind when I noticed the kilometer marks on the road from the airport to the hotel. When you look at the map of Canun Hotel Zone (Zona Hotelera), it looks like a thin strip of land sticking out from the mainland with a bunch of hotels on it. And if you trace the road on the Hotel Zone to the mainland and back, it roughly forms a rectangle. Our hotel was close to the upper left corner of the rectangle at kilometer 2.5 and I noticed that the Westin resort was at kilometer 20, close to the lower right corner of the rectangle. A brilliant idea hit me. If I run the whole loop, that would make it pretty **** close to a marathon!

And thus began my journey to the unofficial Cancun marathon. I was very excited by the idea and I thought I was a genius. It didn't occur to me until later that the Cancun International Marathon (Maraton Int.Nocturno Cancun) had been going on for the past 20 years and a 70.3 triathlon had just taken place a week before we arrived. Nevertheless, I was scoping out the course as we rode the bus and visiting shopping malls and gift shops. By the way, the buses in Cancun were very convenient. They came frequently (every two minuets), cheap (the fee is Mex$6.50 per ride which is about US$0.65), the driver gave you back change, and they were super nice (they wait for the passengers). While on the bus, I looked for places to fuel up during the run. I didn't see parks where I could go use the restrooms and fill my water bottle, but there were OXXO, a convenient store much like 7-Eleven in the US, and hotels in case I need to go use the restroom.

The forecast said it might rain, but I figured I will get wet anyway, so I was not very concerned. I put on my running shorts, singlet, and balega socks my girlfriend gave me for my birthday and I was ready to hit the road. I kissed my girlfriend (still in bed) good-bye and asked her to meet me at Km 0 around 9:30am.

I started the run around 6:30am on 11/19 at kilometer 2.5.

I packed the following in my Nathan waist pouch:

4 GUs
16oz. bottle with 1 tablet of Zenergize (It's like nuun, but it's got more vitamins and stuff. I used eMpower.)
nikon coolpix 5200
Mex$50 bill (equivalent of US$5) my girlfriend sent me off with.

Just after kilometer 4. A view from the bridge after El Embarcadero.

A huge Mexican flag

Hotel Riu Palace

Hotel Riu Cancun at Km 8.5

Hooters at Km 9

CoCo Bongo across from Hooters

My first unscheduled stop at OXXO. I purchased a bottle of Powerade (600ml). I was already sweating profusely due to the humidity and already finished my water bottle.

The huge Mexican flag in the distance.

La Isla Shopping Village at Km 12.5. This shopping mall was just like mall in the US. Judy and I visited here on the 16th.

They even have Starbucks cafe. Two of them.

I look soaked because I had just sprayed myself with with a hose. There was a man watering the lawn with a hose, so I tried to ask him to spray me. But, I didn't know how to say that in Spanish, so I said "por favor, can you..." and the man just handed me the hose. Then, I remembered "por favor" means "please" not "excuse me". Oh well, I will get it right the next time.

A scheduled stop at OXXO across from Omni Hotel at Km 16.5. I purchased 2 bottles of Powerade (600ml). Each bottle was Mex$12.5 and I'm not sure how much the tax was, but now, all I had left were coins. I felt like I didn't have very much money now. But, now that I think about it, may be I had enough for another bottle.

Km 17 with a lagoon in the background. Still feeling good.

A view from the bridge that connects Hotel Zone to the mainland after Km 22.

There was a paved cycling path on the other side of the road until Km 25.

I preferred the softer trail on the other side of the road. But, some parts were rocky and hard to run. At this time, I have just passed the halfway point and I still had the energy to keep on running, except for one problem. I had to go use the restroom (No.2), but I had just passed the last hotel in Hotel Zone. Should I go back? Nah. If I really needed to, I could go in the bushes. I looked at the ditch on the side of the road continuing down to the bushes and found it filled with garbage and smelling like a sewer. I definitely didn't want to contribute to the contamination of the beautiful lagoons in Cancun, so I decided to move on.

Running down the straight road on Blvd. Luis Donaldo Colosio.

The hotels looked so small from here. I passed the last hotel an hour and half ago. I had the chance to go use the restroom at McDonald's, but I passed, thinking I was almost at the beginning of the Hotel Zone. Bad move, I didn't get to the beginning of the Hotel Zone until 45 minuets later.

I was losing my mind and directions. I was taking pictures of ants! Okay, they were so much bigger than the ones back in California. Then, I met another runner. He was an older Mexican runner and when I tried to ask him for directions, he did some kind of secret Mexican handshake for some reason. That was cool to meet a local Mexican runner, but I didn't have time for that (I really had to go number two). I asked him for the directions to the Hotel Zone. "Donde esta zone de hotels?" He looked confused and said, "Ah, Zona Hotelera! Bla bla bla bla derecho bla bla." I thought "derecho" meant "right," but I didn't see any roads going to the right. I guess I could go straight. I think he said something about the bull ring and unos kilmeters. Then, he looked at my watch and asked me how long I was running. He thought I was running for 3 minutes but I told him that's tres horas I'm running and took off. Oops. I forgot to thank him.

Plaza de Toros- the Bull ring. Less than a mile from the Km 0 where I was to meet Judy at 9:30am. It was already 10:05am. I was more than 30 minutes late and desperately in need to go use the restroom.

Km 0 at last! Boy, was I glad to see Judy. It was 10:12am and I was more than 40 minutes late. I apologized as she was very worried about me. I told her I'm in a very fragile state because I've gotta use the restroom really bad.

We ran on the paved cyclopista (cycling path, I think) from Km 0 to Km 2.5. I ran the last 2.5 Km very carefully. Ironically, I only saw one or two cyclists using the cyclopista during the entire trip.

I did it! I finished the Unofficial Cancun Marathon! And I made it to the bathroom without any accidents.

Stats

Total time: 3:52:37

Distance: 43.660 Km

Pace: 8:34min/mile

Splits (quite inaccurate)

5K 24:51

11K 57:48

15K 1:16:42

20K 1:45:21

Drinks/food ingested

1 16oz. water bottle infused with a Zenergize tablet

3 x 600ml Powerade

1 x 12oz. peach drink at Km 0 (thanks to Judy)

About 2.5 Liter total! ;-o

1 Hammergel (I didn't feel very hungry and I didn't bring any solid food)

I recreated the route at Active Trainer. But it looks like you have to have an account on Active Trainer to see the route. http://training.active.com/ActiveTrainer/viewRoute.do?currentId=2050

Afterthought

1. I really should have taken advantage of the hotel zone and used the restroom at any hotel that was available. What was I thinking I could hold going to the restroom for 4 hours?

2. I should have brought more cash with me. Some OXXO in Cancun didn't accept credit card.

3. My poor nipples got chafed even though I applied Bodyglide. My shorts never got dry after I sprayed myself with a hose, but the singlet got dry for some reason. I should have put band-aid on my nipples.

4. I should have brought a cell phone for a long, self-supported runs like this.

Even with all the mistakes I've made, I enjoyed this run very much and it definitely made my stay in Cancun memorable.

591 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: marathon, cancun, zenergize

Big Sur Half Marathon

Posted by ToshiMoshi Nov 14, 2007

Sunday, November 11, 2007 57F Fair, windy

We did it! The Big Sur Half Marathon is ovah!

The rain had stopped and it turned out to be a gorgeous day. The sun came out as we ran along the picturesque coast of Pacific Grove. The wind was blowing hard, but it felt so good to run in such a beautiful place. I also fulfilled my goal of finishing in 1:23 (finished in 1:22:40). I am one happy runner The crazy Brazilian band was really awesome (the singer remembered me!) and the bagpipe in the tunnel was mind-boggling. I had no idea bagpipe could be so loud!

Since no one answered my call to Join My Pack - look for Bib#444, I've written my own race report.

Here are my splits from my watch:

mile time

1 6:19

2 6:25

3 6:06

4 6:30

5 6:24

6 6:24

7 6:31

8 5:27

9 7:07

10 6:19

11 6:06

12 6:31

13.1 6:36

I took the first mile slow. I did not want to start out too fast, so I intentionally stayed back at the end of the "A" corral. I had to weave around a lot of people to find runners who were running at my pace, but I managed to run the first mile in 6:19, which turned out to be one of the faster time in the whole race.

Runners gather together in downtown Monterey.

Judy, me, and Jorge just moments before the race. It was windy.

The second mile took us to downtown Monterey and into the tunnel where the bagpiper was playing. This time, I was following a tall guy in a white shirt who looked like a younger version of Matt Fitzgerald. 6:25. Not too bad.

A pianist at downtown. He played on a grand piano in the Big Sur International Marathon.

Runners approaching the Custom House Tunnel.

Jorge stopped to take the picture.

One of the coolest part of the course in the half marathon.

The bagpiper in the tunnel

After the tunnel, we ran down to Cannery Row, passing the Monterey Bay Aquarium and climbed up a short hill to Ocean View Blvd. We ran along the American Tin Cannery Outlets.

Dock by the Fisherman's Wharf

Colorful restaurants line up at the pier.

Running down Cannery Row

Greeted by Mr. Forest Gump himself

The Brazilian samba band. I would see her again at mile 12.

Mile 4 is where we first start running along the coast. The wind started to pick up and the runners started forming a line, trailing one runner after another. I'm still following the guy in the white shirt.

Runners running on Ocean View Blvd along the coast.

Runners would come back on the paved trail.

The sun shines on the coastline

I'm sure the sound of 4000+ runners and walkers stomping the road woke them up.

Mile 5 had the biggest hill in the race, where we turned left on Fountain Ave to run up the hill to downtown Pacific Grove. The hill was not as steep as I thought. I was following the guy in a white shirt, but the guy in a yellow shirt with a beanie was going up faster in shorter strides similar to mine, so I started running with him. It was a good decision, since he was also fast downhill and took over the guy in a white shirt, never to see him again.

Downtown Pacific Grove

Now, we were back to Ocean View Blvd. by Lover's Point. There was a water station and I grabbed a cup of water. I was getting warm, so it was a good thing I didn't overdress. I asked the guy with a beanie what time he was shooting for and he says under 1:25. I thought he was making a really good time. Since he was in front of me and getting most of the wind, I decided to take the lead and take the wind. I was hoping we could help each other to catch up to the pack ahead of us, but he wasn't behind me when I caught up to the pack.

This was also the time when the sun started to come out. The scenery was beautiful, but the wind was blowing fiercely. The pack I was in had a couple of local runners, because he was getting cheers from the locals by the first name.

The sun had come out and shined on the rocks emerging from the water.

At mile 7, we encountered the first runner heading back on the opposite side of the road. A Kenyan MacDonald Ondara, who won the 2007 San Jose Rock 'n' Roll half marathon in 1:01, followed closely by a non-Kenyan runner. I thought I saw a first female, but it was a small male runner. Then, a runner in long dreads came and the runner next to me pointed out that's the first female, but the runner turned out to be a male, too. Around this time, the wind had turned into a tailwind and it became easier to run. And I finally saw the real first female runner, running strong by herself (I think she smiled at me).

I grabbed the GU before the turnaround point. I was sucking on it with a cup of water, but I spilled most of the water and I was reduced to eating the GU straight, no chaser. I think it was the mint chocolate flavor. If my teeth look black in the pictures, that would be the reason. The taiko drummers were at the turnaround point, too. Somewhere around here, I clocked 5:27 mile, but I think it's a mistake.

The taiko drummers right before the turnaround point.

The turnaround point

The taiko drummers revisited

I caught up with another pack (or may be a pack caught up to me) after the turnaround point. A guy named Greg was getting a lot of local support. He told me this was his hometown. We were running back the same way we came, so the tailwind was now a headwind. Somehow, of all the runners in the pack, they brought me, the smallest guy, in the front to take all the wind and I wasn't appreciating it. I asked Greg to take the lead, but he doesn't make a move Come on! Then, to my surprise, I saw Judy waving at me and cheering me on. I felt so happy to have my personal cheering squad. I decided to crank up my speed and leave the pack behind. I think this was just after mile 9. I figured I could sustain 6:19 min/mile or faster for the next 4 miles.

A slight downhill from the turnaround point

This part was really windy.

I sped up right after mile 9 marker.

Then, I came across Jorge recording me on the video. Everyone started cheering at me and I got another boost of energy. I pushed myself harder. I think I pushed a little too much, because I was running out of breath. My cardio couldn't keep up and I slowed down a bit. But, I caught a glimpse of the runners ahead of me and I was getting tons of crowd support from the runners calling out my bib number. I pushed on.

Go! Toshi Go! Jorge cheering me on.

One of the many mansions on Ocean View Blvd. His wife brought him a cup of coffee as he watched the race.

I passed the water station at Lover's Point and I grabbed a cup of Gatorade. From here, the runners get on a paved trail. I saw a guy in a blue shirt catching up to a guy in a red shirt a couple hundred yards ahead. May be I can catch them. I had 2 more miles to go.

I head back on the trail after Lover's Point.

I passed by the Brazilian band right before the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The Brazilian samba raised my spirit. It must be my Latin blood. I ran down Cannery Row and saw the mile 12 marker before the 5K finish line. The US Army volunteers were calling out the splits like a chant, but it doesn't register to me. I just pressed the split button on my watch. Then, I heard a guy saying I'm on 1:23 pace. Right on. I climbed up Cannery Row back on to the trail and saw the guy in a red shirt less than 50 yards ahead of me. I think I can catch him. I passed the final water station and see a little girl dancing. I wiggled my arms like a chicken. I was feeling good. Then, I came to a path where I ran with Judy before the race to do some strides and saw the finish balloon past the bend in the road. I caught up to the guy before the 13th mile marker and made a mad dash to the finish. He didn't answer me, but I kept charging. I heard the guy on the microphone calling my name, "Toshi-kazu Hosaka from San Jose... with a flying finish!" Call it a leap of joy. I caught a glimpse of the time and it's still 1:22.

I finished under 1:23! I congratulated the guy in the blue shirt and the red shirt who gave me the motivation to push at the end.

Forest Gump at the end of the Run Forest Run 5K run around mile 12.

My flying finish. Photo courtesy of Marathonfoto (but I did pay for the digital copies)

Drenched in sweat, I picked up some food, my bag, and the finisher's shirt. Luckily, I found a generous man who let me leave my bags with him while I looked for Judy. He was cheering for his family members.

Thanks for watching my bag, Jaime! We cheered on his wife and his friend and Jorge.

I ran with Judy for the last mile. She had some stomach troubles along the way, but she looked good. Before I found her, I saw a man teeter and fell on Cannery Row. He tried to get up, but collapsed at his feet. Runners around him gathered around him to assist him. They quickly called 911 and the fire truck arrived in minutes. I hope he is okay. Judy finished in 2:05. Not bad for a first half marathon!

Me and Judy after the race

Jorge finished in 2:26 minutes. Despite stopping to take pictures and video, he ran faster than the San Jose Rock 'n' Roll half marathon! Thanks to him for taking pictures and videos!

The finish area

The dogs are in style in Monterey.

The elite runners wait for the award ceremony

We met up with Dan, who works with Jorge. He is preparing for his iron man race next year.

Jorge relaxes with a cup of Joe at First Awakenings after the race. It was crowded with runners, but definitely worth the wait (But, I couldn't wait and downed a cup of clam chowder). Again, he finished the whole plate. I saw the singer of the Brazilian band there and thanked her for a great performance. She said she remembers me from the race!

They're known for their pancakes, too.

Jorge drove back to San Francisco, but Judy and I visited the beautiful white beach of Carmel-by-the-sea.

I still had the energy to play at the beach.

And run...

And run some more!

So did my girlfriend!

Judy showing her Pilates move

A pug at the beach checking me out. There were so many dogs at Carmel.

Thanks to all the volunteers for a memorable experience. Thanks to the Brazilian band chick. You rock! Thanks to the bagpiper, the pianist, the taiko drummers, the US Army volunteers, and all the runners and onlookers who cheered for the short asian dude with a bib# 444. Thanks to Judy for praying hard for a safe run and a beautiful race day. Thanks a bunch to Jorge for taking pictures and videos! Now, I'm off to Cancun. Anyone know a good trail in Cancun?

1,263 Views 7 Comments Permalink Tags: big_sur_half_marathon

Getting ready in Monterey

Posted by ToshiMoshi Nov 10, 2007

11/10/07 59F Drizzling

I'm writing this as I am relaxing at Howard Johnson in Pacific Grove. I'm a little worried about tomorrow's race since my left groin feels a little tight. Also, it's drizzling outside. It's going to be a wet race tomorrow.

Here are some of the highlights that happened earlier since Friday night.

Friday night

I ate the Oven Roasted Twister at KFC and had a very sharp pain immediately after I finished eating. I called my girlfriend for assistance and she told me I can either puke'em up or wait for it go down the other way. I tried to hold it in, but my stomach felt like a balloon and something was punching it from the inside. I couldn't keep it any longer and I had to wretch it up.

I felt much better after I puked. My girlfriend arrived later and I had some bread and chicken noodle soup.

Saturday

Tony couldn't join us

My girlfriend and I wanted to leave early in the morning to check out the course, but Tony wanted to leave a little later. We waited until 1pm, but he was still having lunch with his girlfriend, so the three of us (Jorge, Judy and I) took off without him. The forecast said it might start raining around 4pm, and we wanted to avoid the rain while we checked out the course. We arrived around 2:30pm. It was beautiful in Monterey and it looked like it was going to be a sunny day. We got our bibs and as we headed out to the course, sure enough, it starts sprinkling.

The course was actually a lot hillier than I thought.There is a slight downhill to Cannery Row, then an uphill. The slope up the Fountain Avenue is noteworthy. It's definitely not flat as the half marathon in San Jose. I'm not sure if I can finish it in 1:23. I'm happy if I can finish it under 1:24. My girlfriend didn't get the little ties that holds the chip timer on her shoes, so we decided to go back to the Expo in downtown Monterey. We also ate in downtown at Epsilon. How fitting to eat at a Greek restaurant before a half marathon! After stuffing ourselves with yummy food, we stepped out and it's drizzling.

I wanted to take a bath, but they didn't have a stopper, so I just took a shower. It's kind of weird to take a shower with the shower head located on the side of the wall. Anyway, we're waking up 5am tomorrow morning. Good nite!

307 Views 4 Comments Permalink Tags: big_sur_half_marathon, monterey

Big Sur Half, here I come!

Posted by ToshiMoshi Nov 9, 2007

11/9/07 47.9F Clear

2 mile tempo run @ half-marathon pace (6:19)

mile 1 (6:18)

lap time

1 1:35

2 1:37

3 1:32

4 1:34

mile 2 (6:13)

lap time

1 1:34

2 1:31

3 1:32

4 1:26

Today was the last day of my training for the Big Sur Half that starts at 7:00am on Sunday November 11. My legs felt a little heavy in the first mile (I did some strength exercise last night), but better in the second mile. Also, the pain behind the back of my right knee is gone. Thank god! I'll keep icing it and massaging it like a kitten kneading the ground before going to sleep.

I've been feeling pretty good so far this week. The stomach problem seems to have gone away. I made all the splits for the track workout on Wednesday, back of my right knee was bothering me a bit on Thursday and a light drizzle didn't make it easier, but my knee seems to be getting better today and the weather was clear this morning. However, there is 40% chance of rain on Sunday in Monterey this weekend, so I have to prepare running in the rain. But, Monterey is still a beautiful place to visit and run, rain or shine, so I am looking forward to the race.

I am also looking forward to meeting my girlfriend who is coming over tonight. Four of us (Me, Judy, Jorge, and Tony) are going to Monterey on Saturday, but only three of us are running the race. The half marathon registration was sold out before Tony could register. He will be cheering us from bed at Howard Johnson, unless he decides to wake up and cheers us at the turnaround point.

Jorge has graciously accepted to take pictures during the race. He regularly runs 13~15 miles on weekends in San Francisco, so this run should be a piece of cake for him, but taking pictures while running should be something new for him.

326 Views 2 Comments Permalink Tags: big_sur_half_marathon

Join My Pack – look for Bib#444

Posted by ToshiMoshi Nov 6, 2007

11/6/07 5:45am Misty

After a day of rest, I went for a 6-mile run at a recovery pace in the morning. I felt good and put in sets of strides, high-knees, bounding, and skipping in the run and finished in 50 min. My stride felt natural and I was able to run effortlessly. Although, back of my right knee, right ankle, and right plantar bothered me a bit in the beginning.

This is the tapering week and the final week before the half marathon, but I had already cut back on my mileage last week due to stomach issues.

On the other hand, I’ve just received the offer letter yesterday from the company I had interview with last week. I sent them back the letter today and talked to my boss about my resignation. I will be starting a new job on Nov. 26 at Capcom. I’m glad the job issues are finally off my shoulder.

My bib number for Big Sur Half is 444. Number 4 is an unlucky number in Chinese and Japanese culture, because it sounds like the word “death,” but I’m hoping to turn it around by spreading good vibes. If you happen to see me in the race, don’t forget to smile and say hi!

I’m shooting for under 1hour 23 min. I’m planning to start out slow and pick up the pace in the last 6 miles. If anyone is running around my time, you’re more than welcome to join my pack. So far, I’m the only one We’ll trade off the lead, trade our GUs and splash ourselves with water and Gatorade! The slowest one gets to write the race report!

354 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: taper, big_sur_half_marathon

Metro Silicon Valley Marathon… 5K turned 5 mile run

Posted by ToshiMoshi Nov 5, 2007

Sunday 11/4/07 44.5F

After having a tough week that included an interview for a new job and stomach flu, I managed to have one good workout on Friday. I've decided to shoot for under 18 minutes for 5K at the Metro Silicon Valley Marathon.

The runners line up

After a moment of silence for Ryan Shay who passed away at the Olympic Marathon Trials on 11/3, the marathon and half-marathon runners took off promptly at 7:00am.

The 5K started at 7:30am.

I was right behind the kids that held the banner for BAWSI (Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative). They started singing their anthem that went something like, "Ooh! I feel so good..."

I figured the kids will outrun me in the first couple hundred feet, so I stayed behind them, but when we took off, I found myself leading the pack (Yey!) at least for a couple of seconds. Then, I was engulfed by the lead pack. There were two fast girls with ponytail, one tall and one short. The taller one was faster. For the guys, there were Jesús Campos, Tommy Schmitz, Jeff Porto and a tall, hairy guy. My cardio felt good, but my legs were starting to feel like bricks, so I decided to fall back slowly and accidentally kicked the hairy guy's leg on my left. Sorry. I apologized and I guess he didn't mind because he didn't kick me when he fell behind. After about a mile (I didn't see a mile marker), a young guy in high school or middle school and Herman Vandermolen passed me. I saw Herman warming up at a pretty fast pace before the race, so I had expected to see him. Jeff fell back around this time, and I couldn't see the lead pack anymore, but it looked like the race was going be a neck-to-neck race with a 22 year-old Jesús from King City and Tommy, who ran track and field for Marquette University in Wisconsin. I could see the shorter of the two girls up ahead, and Herman passed the young boy. It looked like I could catch up to Herman if I put on the afterburners for the last mile. Then, to my surprise, Jesús and Tommy came running back from the street yelling, "Go back! Go back!" Apparently, we had missed a left turn for the 5K after the underpass. Tommy looked enraged, but Jesús just kept on running. So, we turned around telling all the runners following us to turn back. Tommy briefly stopped to ask a police officer for directions that went something like, "Aren't we supposed to run this way?" "Well, not according to the leader of the pack." "I'm the leader!" He was so pissed off he was kicking the cone that blocked off the traffic. I was impressed with how Jesús kept his cool and kept running, not missing a beat. It's funny how two runners leading the pack can react so differently to a situation like this. We found Fullerton Street almost a mile from where we turned around. Tommy took off chasing Jesús and I took off too, determined to catch Tommy, but he was just too fast. Jesús managed to finish in 15th place, Tommy 19th and me, 31st place.

My time was 27:24. Herman said his Garmin showed 4.7 miles, so I guess my time wasn't too bad. The race director took note of the situation and turned the 5K race into a fun run. No prizes were given to the top overall finisher and the top local finisher.

It would've been fun to watch Jesús and Tommy battle it out, since Jesús has 1:09 for half marathon and Tommy has 4:14 mile on the track.

The three misdirected runners. Jeff, me, and Herman. Jeff looked a little out of shape, but he used to run cross country for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I'm sure he will be back in shape in no time.

Later, I saw Jesús at a booth with a pair of eyeglasses. You wouldn't think he was a runner if it weren't for the Big Sur Half Marathon shirt he was wearing. I told him I'm going to run the Big Sur Half next week. He says he might. I told him I thought he would be running the Olympic Trials. He laughs and tells me he has to run a lot faster to get in, but he is thinking of running CIM in December to finish under 2:37.

I've decided to cheer the marathon runners at the 26th mile marker, but I was the only one there and getting kind of lonely, so I moved on. I found a couple (I think), Don and Joanna. They were cheering for their friend Sam, who was trying to finish under 3:15 to qualify for Boston. Don had just run his personal best at MCM and finished the marathon in 2:54 (Unfortunately, Sam came in 3:28:16 and didn't qualify for Boston).

Joanna, Don, and me. We formed a cheering squad just before the 26th mile.

Jose came in 6th place, but I miscounted the runners and yelled at him, "You're in the 5th place!"

Sorry, Jose.

Look at all the crowd support!

Jose Pina finished in 2:53:43. An officer commented that he's not sweating at all. I hope he wasn't dehydrated.

First place female finisher Kami Semick finished in 2:55:28.

Tom Gardin was a 10th place finisher. I actually ran side by side with him for the last few miles last year at this race. He had injured his foot that time and was not having a good day, but he still outran me. This year, a solid run in 2:56:16.

Nobutomo Nakano was there, too. I didn't recognize him with his shaggy beard until he waved at me. It looked like he almost made the 3 hour, but he fell short by a minute and 43 sec. Better luck next time. I know you can pull it off. He says he's going to try again at the CIM in December.

Mr. Nakano with his lovely wife, Mrs. Nakano (don't know her name ;p). No, he doesn't have a cup on his head.

The finish balloon. May be I will run this marathon next year!

I had a major stomach cramp afterward. I'm glad it didn't happen during the race

818 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: silicon_valley_marathon

Trail run at Quicksilver and tempo runs

Posted by ToshiMoshi Nov 1, 2007

Friday 10/26/07

Tempo run, 8 miles @ half marathon pace at Gunderson High

I tried to do the tempo run on Friday morning, but I had a really bad stomachache and had to quit 20 minutes into the run. I came back from work and feeling much better, attempted the tempo run again:

Mile Time (target time: 6:19/mile)

1 6:16

2 6:21

3 6:31

4 6:44

5 7:04

My quads were hurting, and I could feel my time getting progressively slower. I felt weak like I had no energy in my legs. I stopped right there at mile 5 and jogged back home. Running at a slower pace made me feel a little better.

Saturday 10/27/07

Recovery run at Quicksilver Park with Tony around 9:30am

45min (28 min out, 17 min back)

A great day for a trail run

Me running through the woods.

What's up, dawg? There were some dogs on the trail, but no horses today.

We took it easy on the short, but steep Day Tunnel Trail

7.4%, baby! (the body fat, not the grade of the slope!) Tony cruising down the Mine Hill Trail.

Back to the parking lot.

Sunday 10/28/07

11 mile tempo run at marathon pace at Los Alamitos Creek Trail.

~70F

I had some upset stomach in the morning and finally started my run around 11am.

I ran about 3 miles for warm-up, and then started to run at marathon pace:

Mile Time (target time: 6:44/mile)

1 7:06

2 7:34

3 7:35

4 7:25

5 8:29

6 7:37

7 7:12

8 8:02

9 8:19

10 8:34

11 8:22

From the first mile, I knew I wasn't hitting the target pace and I already felt like I've hit the wall. The upset stomach has really worn me down this week and I felt like I've already used up all my stored energy. But, this being my longest run before the Big Sur Half Marathon in two weeks and because I couldn't complete the run on Friday, I decided to finish this run and get some confidence back. But, as if to rub salt in the wound, I felt a twinge of shin splints in the right leg in the final three miles and that slowed me down even more. I tried different strides to see which one would reduce the pain, and I found I felt no pain going uphill and the pain got worse going downhill. After completing the 11 miles, I massaged my right leg, and jogged the dirt path on the trail, which felt much better. I chatted with another runner who was training for a half marathon in Santa Barbara. He said he will run the Kaiser Permanente SF half marathon next year in February, so I told him I will look for him there. It took me 50 minutes to cover 6 miles (it was a long cool down), but I made it back home at 1:50pm. Roughly 20 miles in 2:50.

I weighed myself before and after the run and my weight changed from 131.6lb to 127.8lb. I drank about 32oz. and had 2 GUs during the run, but apparently, that wasn’t enough.

I told my girlfriend if my stomach issue (and shin splints) doesn't get better by the Big Sur Half, I will tag along with her and take my time to enjoy the course. I'm not sure how I will do on the 5K I signed up for this weekend at the Metro Silicon Valley Marathon. My goal was to run it in 17:30 , but I'm not sure if I can do it this time. 17:30 is the qualifying time for sub-seeded division at Bay to Breakers, which I was hoping to run in Spiderman costume.

331 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: tempo_run, quicksilver, trail_run