Toshi's running blog

Blog-versary & Preparing for Quicksilver 1/2 marathon

ToshiMoshi — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 03:24:00 GMT

Happy blog-versary! It’s been a year since I’ve started this blog and the first blog I wrote was on Quicksilver Challenge 10K. I had met Chad on the previous weekend at another 10K race where he had beaten me at the last mile. It turns he is a semi-pro mountain bicyclist and lives right next to Quicksilver County Park. We agreed to run Quicksilver Challenge and race again. But… I came to the race almost 10 minuets late and he went on to get a 2nd place while I placed 9th place. We’ve been talking about racing again throughout the year, while both of us competed in races of various distances and encouraged each other. Chad placed 38th in Leadville 100 MTB recently and I’ve finished 5th at Quicksilver 50K and just completed Tour de Moshi, a solo bicycle tour covering 500 miles. I have just sent him the following e-mail reminding him about the upcoming Quicksilver 1/2 marathon – an opportunity for us to run together!

Hi chad!

Are you ready for the 1/2 marathon this weekend?
I ran the course last sunday and ran it in 1hr 41min.
I thought I ran pretty hard, but it's so far from 1hr 30min.
hope to see you there. Don't get injured and don’t be late!!

here are my times:

	miles	time (h:m:s)	Path	min/mile
	1.15	0:10:23	Hacienda to Capehorn pass	0:09:02
	2.22	0:22:41	Capehorn to Bull Run	0:10:13
	2.3	0:14:26	Bull Run to Randol	0:06:17
	4.5	0:35:28	Randol to Capehorn	0:07:53
	2.67	0:17:44	Capehorn to Hacienda	0:06:39
total	12.84	1:40:42		0:07:51

Here’s the map for reference

And this is what he wrote back:

too late bro, messed up my arch last weekend running in quicksilver. Im done running for awile but biking doesnt hurt too bad. im bummed but dont worry, we'll meet again!, oh yes...
Im gonna be out there rooting u on. I bet you win it! GL

I was bummed too, but I am so happy to see him again. I hope he can help me fix up my Little Giant. The break pads are running low but I dunno how to change it, and I also want to know how to re-wrap the handle.

Also, my girlfriend decided to show up this weekend to cheer me on. I’m really nervous about the race. My left knee cap has been bothering me for a week or so and I’ve been staying late putting in long hours at work. I’ve been tapering down my workouts this week, but it’s been so stressful I can’t help but run to relieve stress. I’ve lost track of eating adequate amount of carbs. It’s a little late to carbo-load, but this would be a good time to focus on my goals:

1. Make it to the race on time.
2. Finish the race without major injuries
3. Try to break 1:40
4. Meet Chad
5. Try to get into top 3

Tour de Moshi � Done!

ToshiMoshi — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:37:31 GMT

On Aug. 28, 2008, I took on a cycling journey from San Jose, CA to Bakersfield, CA.
This was my first solo multi-day cycling tour covering approximately 500 miles. I took off Thursday and Friday off work to get to Bakersfield and came back to San Jose on Monday Sep 1 on Labor Day.

I wanted to post as soon as possible, but I got busy with work, so here’s a short recap of what happened:

Start of Le Tour. Tony is the commentator.

My Little Giant

Fresh water source?! It was a very hot day on Aug 28, and I was running out of water.

But I found a civilization.

And made some friends.

Priest Valley Station saved my life!

The ride down to Coalinga was beautiful.

The second day started out nice other than my body aching everywhere.

Riding past a vineyard

When did I get to Missouri?!

I started seeing a lot of oilrigs.

I missed a turn and climbed a little hill. By this time, it was around 100F.

Finally made it to Bakes! In my delirious state I texted, “I’m a twice baked potato at Bakes! Judy is fawning over me. It was so hot my cyclometer got fried @ mile 90 but I think it was over 100mile”

My little Giant had to cool down too.

Souvenir from Brown Material Road. Keep it moist!

Brown Material Road is on Hwy 33

Toshi's Mini-Cal Tour Part II

ToshiMoshi — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 12:08:11 GMT

My co-worker Sean put together an elevation chart for my trip!

Map of my ride

And here's a quick schedule of my ride on Thurs and Fri.
Thursday 8/28/08: San Jose, CA to Coalinga, CA
Total mileage: 140 miles
ETA = Est. time of Arrival, ETD = Est. time of Departure

	ETA	ETD	Distance (miles)	Total Distance (miles)	Actions
San Jose		6:00am	0	0	send text, take pics/video
Gilroy	8:00am	8:15am	25.8	25.8	Quick stop at my parent's place. Breakfast, send text, take pics or video
Hollister	9:15am	9:18am	15.4	41.2	send text, take a pic (if the traffic is not bad)
Tres Pinos	9:50am	10:00am	8.7	49.9	send text, take pics, last city to fuel up and buy drinks
Paicines	10:20am	10:23am	4.9	54.8	send text, take pics
Pinnacles	12:00pm	12:05pm	17.4	72.2	send text, take pics, call Judy
Bitterwater	1:30pm	1:35pm	15	87.2	send text, take pics
Lonoak	2:00pm	2:05pm	9	96.2	send text, take pics and video. The steepest part of the trip begins
Hwy198 and 25	3:00pm	3:05pm	9.9	106.1	send text, take pis/video
Priest Valley	4:00pm	4:10pm	9.5	115.6	send text, take pics and rest
Parkfield Junction	4:55pm	5:00pm	14.8	130.4	send text, take pics
Coalinga	6:00pm		10.5	140.9	send text, take pics/video. Call Judy, Sean, Mom. Check in, shower, and have dinner.

Friday 8/29/08: Coalinga, CA to Bakersfield, CA
Total mileage: 100 miles

	ETA	ETD	Distance (miles)	Total Distance (miles)	Actions
Coalinga		6:00am	0	0	send text, take pics/video
Avenal			17.6	17.6	send text, take pics/video
Reef Station	8:00am	8:05am	8.1	25.7	send text, take pics
Devil's Den			12	37.7	send text, take pics
Paso Robles Hwy			10.7	48.4
Missouri Triangle			15.7	64.1	send text, take pics
Lokern Road			3.3	67.4
Buttonwillow	10:50am	11:00am	10.9	78.3	send text, take pics
Rio Bravo	11:45am	12:00pm	10.8	89.1
Hageman Rd	12:45pm	12:50pm	6.6	95.7
Scenic River Lane	1:00pm		7	102.7	text, take pics/video. Call Judy, Sean, Mom

I didn't have time to fill in the estimated time as I'm frantically packing right now!
Sun and Mon ride schedule will be pretty much the same, but less stopping and texting as less people will be interested in monitoring me coming back

Mt. Madonna Challenge Aug 08

ToshiMoshi — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:00:42 GMT

On Saturday 8/23/08, I placed 1st place at the 33rd Mt. Madonna Challenge 12K in Gilroy, CA.

Tasted like 1st place fo sho!

This was my second time to race this event. I went to the race with the following goals:

1. Make it to the start line on time
2. Finish without getting injured
3. Run under 15min from the beginning of the Sprig Lake Trail to the summit (a big dark trunk on the right)
4. Finish under 1 hour

My parents were very helpful and got me to the race on time (only because they wanted to change their CD at Wamu). It was in the 50s at Mt. Madonna with a light mist.

Me coming in

Cool! I’m the first one on the board.

Me and my parents.

From right to left. 2nd place finisher Andrew Taylor (he arrived just minutes before the race started – guess he didn’t need any warm-up), me, and 3rd place finisher Raymond Rodriguez. Amazing thing about Raymond is he registered for both the 6K and 12K race. He placed 1st in the 6K and he lined up for the start for 12K right after he finished his 6K. I also happened to run with him 2 weeks ago on Mt. Madonna. We were both training for the race.

The award ceremony. I received a medal and a $100 gift certificate at Go Run Sports in Morgan Hill.

Look at those sexy legs!

There were horses, too! The one tied to the trailer was a colt of filly. It kept neighing.

I was really lucky to fulfill all my goals and get a first place. The field was half the size from the last year and first place finisher from last year and the year before did not show up this year.

Nevertheless, I had one of the best runs and enjoyed every minute of it. It was cool, dark, and misty on the trail, the way I remember Mt. Madonna Challenge from last year. The condensation from the trees kept the trail moist and the droplets falling on the ground sounded like the trees were cheering the runners. When I got to the Camp Trail, the mist had lifted and I ran down as fast as I could, remembering my girlfriend Judy’s advice to do butt-kicks when running downhill.

I had one of the worst time recovering. I had a lingering headache that lasted for a couple of hours after the run. I thought I was dehydrated, so I kept drinking water, but it wouldn’t go away. I thought may be I’m low on sodium, so when my friend and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant back in San Jose, I filled a small sauce dish with soy sauce and had 2 or 3 shots of those. That seemed to have helped a bit. But, after the meal, I had a really bad stomachache and I took Pepto, but it did not help. When I threw up the entire meal, I felt much better. (Note to self: don’t take straight shots of soy sauce or order #51 at Pho Marina)

Keeping the Rubber Side Down: Toshi�s Mini-Cal Tour on Lil� Giant

ToshiMoshi — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:52:16 GMT

I will be cycling from Nor-Cal to Central California and back starting from Thursday 8/28 to Monday 9/1. The trip will be from San Jose, CA to Bakersfield, CA and the distance is about 240 mile one way, 480 miles total. Some may wonder why I picked Bakersfield (or Bakes as the locals call it). What’s there to do in the middle of California besides cow tipping and bake in the sun?
First and foremost, my girlfriend lives there and it’s my turn to visit her. Second, I’ve been planning this trip since I worked at my old job. But I’ve kept making excuses and putting it aside. Now that I’ve finished my first 50K run and my friend Chad had inspired me by taking 38th place in Leadville 100 MTB, I am ready to take on the challenge.

Here’s my route:
Map my bike route

As this is my first bike tour, I will spend a night in Coalinga (mile 140) at a motel. I’m not too comfortable setting up a tent and sleeping on the road yet. May be on the next tour. Here is my tentative itinerary:

8/28 (Thu) Leave in the morning (6am) and start biking. Destination Coalinga. I may stop by my parent’s house in Gilroy (mile 30) and in Hollister (mile 40) to see my friend.
8/29 (Fri) Leave Coalinga and arrive in Bakes in the afternoon.
8/30 (Sat) A day of recuperation.
8/31 (Sun) Leave early morning (sorry, no church service) and bike to Coalinga.
9/1 (Mon) Leave Coalinga and bike back to SJ. I may stop in Gilroy if I'm too tired.

With that said, I have a 12K trail race this Saturday at Mt. Madonna County Park. This race features some of my favorite trails including the 1,100ft climb in the first 1.5 mile on Sprig Lake Trail that really puts your lungs to the test. I’m hoping for a sub-1hr finish.

Other races this year:
Sun 9/28: 1/2 marathon at Quicksilver County Park (my training ground)
Sun 10/26: Full marathon in San Jose (Metro Silicon Valley Marathon)

I have not registered for this one since I don’t know how my business trip to Japan (10/5-10/11) will affect my training. But, I’m hoping to run a sub-3hr.

Sat 12/6: The North Face Challenge 50 Miler in the Marin Headlands near San Francisco.

My first 50 miler!

Note to self: change the blog title.

Birthday Leaps

ToshiMoshi — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:34:12 GMT

Here are the pics from my birthday hike on 7/19/08 at Santa Teresa Park.

I've decided to run SF Marathon with my co-workers this Sunday on 8/3/08.

On Saturday 7/12, I ran 10K at Run for the Stinkin' Roses in Gilroy, CA, the garlic capital of the world.
http://www.svrchome.org/stinkinroses.htm

Map of the course

Start line. Everyone is checking their pulse.

Finish line. I'm checking my pulse again.

I got 3rd place overall.

I even won a free tub of Accelerade!

A puppy sleeping.

Got a stinkin' medal for being 1st in my age group!

My next race is Mt. Madonna Challenge 12K on 8/23/08.
Then, I plan to bike from San Jose to Bakersfield and back on 8/28-9/1.

WS100 Cancelled

ToshiMoshi — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 23:14:19 GMT

Western States 100-mile Endurance Run has been cancelled due to wildfires and runner's safety.
Bummer. I was so looking forward to tracking the some of the best ultra runners in the US compete head to head in this race...

http://www.ws100.com/

Pat's Run: No Chad So Sad :(

ToshiMoshi — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:29:41 GMT

On Saturday May 3, I ran Pat’s Run at Leland High School in San Jose.
I was bummed because I did not see Chad who I was planning to run with, but received the following e-mail afterwards:

hey toshi, howd you like pats run? did u see me? i was way in front of you! J/k.
I hurt my back 2 weeks ago so cannot run..just actually walking is irritating but
im getting better!. so i was a spectator and hanging out. the guy who won it
came steaming in at just over 20 minutes!! didnt look very tired either. wow.
I saw you come in and yelled out to you but u were focused on that finish. tried to find u but
lost visual behind bleachers. good job! i bet we would have been real close.
hope to c u at the next race,of course next time running. good luck

So, I wrote him back the following e-mail:

Hi Chad!

You were there?! Aww I should've stayed longer.
Sorry about your back. I hope you get better soon.
The guy who won the race is JT Service. He's a san jose local who ran the
Olympic Trial last year.
The 2nd place guy is Kevin Pierpoint. He was in the Elite 5K race in
November and he also won Almaden Classic last year, but he didn't even stay
for the awards ceremony.
Jose Pina got 6th place. There was this Asian kid who was really fast.

My time
mile 1: 5:31
mile 2: 5:56
mile 3: 5:58
mile 4: 5:34
mile 4.2: forgot to stop the watch

I started out with a guy with a cap who came in 2 places ahead of me. At the
start, he was asking me how fast I was running so I told him I'm shooting
around 5:50 per mile and he said he's running around that time. I started
out too fast at 5:31 so I slowed down and he just zoomed right past me. Mile
2 and 3 had a slight hill and I was running with a guy in a black singlet who
finished ahead of me. I came really close to him going downhill, but he
sped up when I got close. There was like 10 seconds gap between each guy and
everyone was trying to catch the guy in front of them and the gap never
closed.
Here are the race results. I came in 21st place.
http://results.active.com/pages/searchform.jsp?rsID=61891

My next race is on Saturday May 10 at Quicksilver Park. I will be running my
first 50K.
The race starts at 6am at Mockingbird Entrance and my goal is to finish in 5hrs.
My girlfriend will be there to support me too. I will attach the map.
Check here for more info:
http://www.quicksilver-running.com/page2.html

P.S. I beat your time from last year. Booyah!

Quicksilver Revisited

ToshiMoshi — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:17:33 GMT

On Sunday April 20, 2008, I ran the 50K course at Quicksilver County Park to prepare myself for the upcoming Quicksilver 50K Endurance Run. The weather was much cooler than the previous week around low 40s in the morning and it never got over 60s during the day. In fact, it was so cold in the morning I missed my original plan to get to the park by 7am because I was shivering under my thin summer blanket and could not wake up on time.

After fixing a flat tire on my bike, I finally arrived at Quicksilver Park at Mockingbird Hill Entry and started running at 10:00am. It was 47F.

I brought the following:
5 x 20oz. bottles of Gatorade and Powerade
2 x hand held 20-oz. water bottles (filled with Gatorade)
1 Powerbar gel
1 loaf of sliced cheese topped French roll from Andersen Bakery.

I'm not sure if the bread was the best choice for running, but I needed some solid food to settle my stomach during the run and I had just bought the bread the day before. I also remember I was craving something savory during the run last time.

Altitude profile

Quicksilver map

Mile 0 - 6.4
From Mockingbird to Webb Canyon
There is over 400ft gain in the first 2 mile from the start according to the altitude profile. This was one of the steepest climbs in the course and also where I was sweating buckets. Then, I shuffled my way down the steep downhill on Hacienda. My knees started aching going downhill and I remembered I haven’t been taking glucosamine regularly. I turned left on to the single track trail on New Almaden. New Almaden is a narrow, winding trail where you hop over small creeks and rocky trails, cross bridges, and run through the woods. There are a couple of tricky parts where you have to jump to get on the trail, but it’s a safe and fun trail for the entire family. I got to Webb Canyon in 57 min and refilled my water bottles.

Mile 6.4 - 9.7
Webb Canyon to Dam Station
I ran the rest of the New Almaden trail for 2 more miles and turned left on Mine Hill. Mine Hill is a fire road, and there was another mile of uphill to the next aid station. The uphill was not very steep and there were a lot of hikers and runners here. I arrived at the Dam Station in 29 min from Web Canyon station.

Mile 9.7 – 14.5
Dam Station to Capehorn Station
I turned left on Randol trail which was one of the easier trails on the course. If I were in a shorter race, I would have sped up on this part to bank on some time, but since I knew I was going to be running for a long time, I decided to save my energy. My knees were still hurting on the downhill and I concentrated on maintaining my pace on the uphill. It took me 43 minuets to complete this leg.

Mile 14.5 – 19.0
Capehorn Station to Dam Station
I remember this trail from Quicksilver 10K Challenge from last year. This uphill is one of the toughest climbs as it covers 600 ft in 2 miles. I met an equestrian I saw on Randol trail and she yelled at me, "Hom many more miles?" I thought I finished about half the course, so I yelled back "25!" Then, I realized that was in kilometers, not in miles. I tried to calculate in miles, but my mind couldn't process quick enough and the lady and the horse were gone. I meant to say "15 miles." After I reached the top at Bull Run, it was 2 miles of downhill to the Dam Station. Oh, the switchbacks. The downhill was killing my knees! When I finally arrived at the Dam Station, I set my backpack on the bench to fill my water bottles. Then, I got a call from my girlfriend Judy. As I stuffed my face with a piece of French bread and washed it down with Powerade, I told her I'm in a much better shape than last week. There was a family with a dog next to me on the bench and the dog was watching me with a hungry look, so I asked the owner and gave him a piece of bread. This leg took me 42 min.

Mile 19.0 – 23.7
Dam Station to Dam Station
This part of the course was where I DNF’d last week due to the heat and dehydration. This time, I was determined to keep going. There were a couple of hikers and runners as I ran down Guadalupe trail along the dam. There was one climb and then it was downhill on Senador Mine trail until the park entrance. This is the lowest point of the course and from here, it was all uphill. This was where I stopped and started walking last week, but this time, I still had energy to keep going and I also had 2-3 bottles of Gatorade left in my backpack. I was not overheating either, since the wind has kept me cool. I turned right on to Mine Hill and I began a steady climb to the Dam Station 2 miles ahead. It took me 46 minutes to complete this leg.

Mile 23.7 – 27.0
Dam Station to Englishtown
This was another tough climb. What makes it so tough is that it's the longest uphill stretch on the course. There were several times I almost stopped to take a rest, but my legs were not hurting and I kept going. It was a slow climb, but I knew I could finish this course today. This was such a challenging uphill I just love it in some masochistic way. It took me 36 min as this was one of the shorter legs (3.3 miles).

Mile 27.0 – 31.5
Englishtown to Mockingbird
I got lost a little bit around Englishtown, but I've run English Camp trail before, so I knew it was going to be a steep downhill. I checked the map, fertilized the soil, and called Judy to tell her I'm doing okay and I will finish my run in 30-40 min. Then, to my surprise, my dad was on the other line, so I talked to him and called back Judy. A 10-minute break! It was a nice break for my knees, though and I was able to shuffle down English Camp to Hacienda. On Hacienda, there are a couple of crazy hills that are so steep you'd think you need to climb on hands and knees. These hills are tough to climb, but they're short so it's kind of fun when you have energy to tackle them. As I ran down Hacienda to the finish at Mockingbird Entrance, my knees were acting up and I was crying in pain and joy. I was almost done and this may have been the longest run I've ever done. I was all teary eyed when I spotted a snake chillaxing in the middle of the trail and I got back to my senses immediately. I jumped over the snake and kept running. Phew, no harm done. I kept going and made it back to the parking lot. I was done and I just ran 50km in 5 hours and 25 min. Cool. I'll do it again on May 10.

Time (distance)
57:57 (6.4 mi)
4:09 break
29:44 (3.3 mi)
1:42 break
43:07 (4.8 mi)
4:23 break
42:29 (4.5 mi)
4:56 break
46:47 (4.7 mi)
4:26 break
36:09 (3.3 mi)
10:03 break
39:42 (4.5 mi)
Total: 5:25:39 (31.5 mi)

After the run, I went for my post-run fuel up at Sonoma Chicken Coop nearby and devoured half a chicken.

Pat's Run

ToshiMoshi — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:14:11 GMT

sup tosh? you better register cuz im running it and know we can proly keep
a prety close pace. its a fun race. just like the almaden 10k but only 4.2!!
perfect starter. I better go and buy some shoes though...my pinky toes are
hangin out!
(Chad's invitation to Pat’s Run)

I've just registered for Pat's Run (http://patsrun.com/) on Saturday May 3. Pat's Run honors memory of Pat Tillman, a pro-football player turned Army Ranger, who was killed by a friendly fire in Afghanistan. I am running the race with Chad, a semi-pro mountain biker who lives in New Almaden where Pat Tillman grew up. Pat's monument stands right across from the entrance to Quicksilver County Park where I bonked last Sunday.

Pat Tillman
I didn't know very much about Pat Tillman until Chad mentioned about Pat's Run. The run starts at Leland High School, where he went to school, and the original Pat's Run started in Tempe, Arizona. Pat is a celebrated hero in Arizona too, because he walked away from a multimillion-dollar contract offer from Arizona Cardinals to join the military after the Sept. 11 attacks. He also ran marathons.

Why 4.2 miles?
Pat's Run is only 4.2 miles. That’s somewhere between 5K and 10K. Why 4.2 miles? It's because he wore the number 42 with the Sun Devils at Arizona State where he got in with a football scholarship. Why not 42 miles or 42K? That would be really cool if the Pat Tillman Foundation gets enough funding to make the run longer. It would get more public exposure too. I can already map out the course starting with a 10K loop on the Los Alamitos Creek trail, then to Quicksilver Park at the New Almaden entrance, do a 10K loop on the trail and back to Leland High School. I’ll run it one of these days!

Chad
Chad is a great guy and a runner. I've run with him in Almaden Classic 10K last year, where he beat me in the last mile, and also in Quicksilver Challenge 10K 9/30/07, where I came late and he went on to get a second place overall. He always says, “sup tosh” and he doesn't even spell my name right, but it's cool.

I'm a bit worried about the race. I haven't been doing any speed training, so I don't know if I can keep up with Chad. The only speed training I've been getting is the run from home to the train station, train station to the office and back with my backpack on (and sometimes with my dress shoes). Let's see if I can wake up early next week.

Bonking Big Time at Quicksilver

ToshiMoshi — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:48:25 GMT

Sunday, 4/13/08 9:35am-3:30pm

I went to run at Quicksilver County Park on Sunday. It has been a warm week and I thought it would be a perfect time to do a training run for the upcoming Quicksilver 50K to simulate the heat in May.

What I didn’t realize was the temperature got hotter than I expected. Sunday turned out to be the hottest day of the week, reaching close to 90 degrees. I brought four 20-oz bottles of Powerade with me in my backpack and a water bottle, but that was not enough. I ran out of fluid around mile 21.5, 4 hours into the run. My calves and quads were shot and I could hardly walk because of the pain. I also noticed my heart was beating really fast when I was running (jogging) up a hill that I could normally run with an ease. I had trouble breathing because my lungs hurt badly when I try to take a deep breathe. To make things worse, I was at the opposite side of the park from where I started.

I had 10 more miles to complete the 50K course, but I was in no shape to complete the run. I felt defeated, but continuing the run any further without proper hydration was suicidal. Just then, I received a call from my girlfriend. It has been 4 and a half hours since I left her a text message that I will be gone for a run at the park and she was worried. I told her I’m (barely) walking and I’m going to take a short cut and go home. The shortest route was the 3.7 mile single track I ran in the first hour. It was a fun, undulating trail with a lot of shade, but going back was the longest 3.7 miles ever! I came across a couple of hikers, but surprisingly, not many of them had water. Finally, I met an older Asian couple and they were kind enough to share some water with me (1/3 of the bottle). It wasn’t very much, but it was enough for me to walk a little faster, and even jog a bit. I also found a stream where I was able to splash some water on me and cool off. After an hour and half, I got back to the parking lot where I parked my bike. I was able to drink water from the fountain and felt alive. All that gunk on my lips and salt crystals on my face, shoulder, and legs were pretty gross. I called my girlfriend and told her I’m okay and hopped on my bike and rode back home. 5:45 run/walk was a bit longer than I had planned, but good lesson learned!

Summary
The idea was not bad. It was a good simulation of the actual race. There are going to be 6 aid stations for the 50K race at miles 6.4, 9.7, 14.5, 19.0, 23.7 and 27.0. I was going to take a short break at each station and fill up my water bottle and eat some snacks. Then, I realized I might not have enough fluid for the whole run and started drink less fluid, but I had underestimated the amount of fluids I was losing and bonked around mile 20. I will try the course again next week. This time, I will start earlier in the day (around 6am), bring more water (if I can carry more) and perhaps electrolyte capsules or Ensure (since I was hardly eating any solids and I would have probably thrown up gels).

Here is the link to Quicksilver 50K. Hope to see you there!

What I brought:
1 x 20oz. water bottle (filled with Gatorade)
4 x 20oz. Powerade
3 x energy bars (chopped up in little pieces for easy consumption -- which then melted into one big piece during the run)
2 bags of trail mix and M&Ms (which also melted)
6 chocolate chip cookies

What I consumed:
1 x 20oz. water bottle filled with Gatorade
4 x 20oz. Powerade
1 x energy bar
A couple handfuls of trail mix and M&Ms

Mt. Madonna Revisited

ToshiMoshi — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 05:45:38 GMT

Wednesday 3/19/08 8:30am
I took a day off work and visited Mt. Madonna County Park in Gilroy with Judy. This was my third visit to Mt. Madonna this year. It’s like I can’t get enough of it. The trail reveals something different every time I visit there. We ran into lizards crossing our path, a couple of banana slugs, and a dead rat. Judy jumped more than a foot in the air at the sight of the rat. I was really stoked to be out in the woods with my favorite partner and running in my favorite trail in the middle of the week.

Running in the woods with my new backpack from REI.

Lizards going to Mt. Madonna school of lizardry

Judy is pumped!

An elf sighting on the tree stump

But he was gone in a second

Judy tackles the downhill

Me and the banana slug

Banana slug up close

Help! I'm suffering from hypoxia.

View from the top

Another elf sighting

Judy loves downhill

The sweet end

Emerald Across the Bay 12K

ToshiMoshi — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:19:02 GMT

Sunday 3/16/08 Blue sky, wind from the north, perfect running weather around 50F

Results: My time was 45:16, which was faster than my expectations. My original goal was to finish under 45 min, but due to lack of training, I changed my goal to finish under 50 min. I did not make the 45 minute cutoff time to qualify for the sub-seeded group at Bay to Breaker, but I am happy with my time.

Miles time
4 24:08
5 6:14
6 6:00
7.5 8:55

Here is the map of the course:

http://www.rhodyco.com/across12k.html#map

Walking to the bus shuttle in front of Ghirardelli Square around 6:50am. The runners had to use bus shuttle to get to the start at Fort Baker on the other side of Golden Gate Bridge. It was windy and cold, around 48F. My teeth wouldn’t stop chattering.

We’re still sleepy. We got on the school bus which carried us across the Golden Gate Bridge to the starting point.

We’ve arrived at Fort Bakers.

The sun came out around 7:30am. It started getting warmer.

And I was ready to strip off my clothes.

Then, I realized we still had an hour before the race, so I put my clothes back on.

Jorge with his co-worker Dan, who is training for Iron Man traiathlon.

Jorge and Dan’s boss, John.

Starting line of the 1st wave. 1st wave started at 8:30am, 2nd at 8:45am, 3rd at 9:00am.
Runners with faster time were in the first wave. Jorge was surprised to see Dan and John in the first wave since he was in the 3rd wave.

It was downhill from the start to the base of the Golden Gate Bridge.

There was a 1/2 mile of winding uphill to the bridge.

It was not very steep, but it was quite a long way to the top and I think that threw some people off.

On the Bridge, you realize the bridge is not flat. The middle section of the bridge is the highest point.

The sidewalk on the bridge becomes narrow and it's not easy to pass people here. But, the tailwind was pushing me and helped me keep up the pace.

After the bridge, we run down to Fort Point located on the base of the bridge under the arch.

It was a downhill to Fort Point. There was a female runner in black shorts with gorgeous legs ahead of me. The guy in the green shirt and I passed her going downhill. We passed the water station and it suddenly struck me that I may know the guy and I took a quick glance at him, but it was a different person. I came down ahead of him, but the guy in the green shirt and the green singlet were on to me again as we reached the 4 mile marker and turned around at Fort Point.

Alcatraz Island along Mile 5-6, where we started to run on the dirt trail. I felt comfortable running on the dirt, since I’ve been running on trails lately. I got an extra surge of energy out of nowhere and I left the two guys in the dust (or may be I was just kicking up some dirt).

We were back on the asphalt from mile 6 to the finish. I regretted going so fast when I reached mile 6, because I didn’t think I could keep up the pace. And right then, I heard someone come up behind me. It was that girl with gorgeous legs. She was on my tail and catching up to me. Before I knew it, she was next to me and ahead of me. I tried to keep up with her, but she was just too fast and running effortlessly with her beautiful legs. I don’t usually get chicked (be overtaken by a female runner) and this was giving me a big dent in my ego, but I kept telling myself at least I’m getting chicked by a hot girl (I’m guessing) with gorgeous legs.

There was a little hill overlooking Fort Mason right before the finish and I caught up to the girl climbing the hill. Good to know I was getting more than shin splints out of running on the trails. And going down the hill to the finish, I came ahead of her with probably the worst running stride in the race, ignoring all the don’ts in downhill running like overstriding and stiff landing. After crossing the finish line, I turned around to congratulate the hot girl, only to find out she looked a bit too old to be called a girl. So, she was one hot lady with gorgeous legs who fooled me into thinking she was a hot girl.

Here are the highlights of my day:

Feeding a huge, goofy-looking dog.

He is probably taller than I am!

Meeting up with Jorge who took all the pictures on this race report for me because I left my digital camera at home.

Chillin’ at Emporio Ruilli Gran Café in Marina district.

There were many hot-looking young and fit people there, and I think we fit right in with my skimpy running shorts.

I had a veggie frittata that hit the spot.

The place looked familiar and I found out this was the same café I took my girlfriend to couple years back when we went on a weekend getaway to a bed & breakfast place nearby.

I was fortunate enough to run in perfect weather with great scenery and PR on the 12K time. I hope to run this race next year and deepen my appreciation of running in San Francisco.

Running around in Japan

ToshiMoshi — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 17:45:31 GMT

On 2/10/08, I went on a business trip to Japan.

I was in a cramped economy seat by the window on the flight UA885 from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Kansai International Airport in Osaka for 11 hours.

It's true! The toilet seat that sprays your butt and washes it clean is commonly used in Japan. The Japanese are very conscious about good hygiene.

My room at Hotel New Otani in Osaka. Pretty spacious for a Japanese hotel and excellent service.
But this room was very special, because...

I was on the 13th floor in room 1309! 1+3+0+9 = 13
Taken just before I went for a run ...in the rain!

Osaka Castle in the dark.

I was staying in one of these skyscrapers.

The morning buffet was excellent. I've never had a Japanese buffet before.
I would come back just for the buffet.
Book your vacation today at Hotel New Otani located just off the Osaka Castle Park station on JR Osaka loop!

Capcom HQ (7th floor) in Osaka. The lovely lady on the right was my coach for OJT (on the job training).

Me and what's his name in a traditional but obsolete Japanese after-work attire.
This is how you drink in Japan and then you take your shirt off and start doing a belly dance.
Seriously. In 1980s.

Power harassment. Deko-pin is a strong finger flick (often given in one's forehead) that inflicts both pain and humiliation.

Next day, Mt. Fuji from bullet train Nozomi. Don't ride Hikari, it stops more frequently.

Me in Shinjuku, Tokyo. But the real focus of this picture is my package.

The building in the middle is where Capcom Tokyo branch is located in, on the floors 25th and 26th. Perhaps more.

Taken at a Italian restaurant Al Bacio on the 29th floor of Shinjuku NS bldg.
Late Valentine's Day wishes from Japan.
I swear I just went to eat dinner with my boss!

And then, off to Karaoke.
I cannot emphasize enough what a great Karaoke singer my boss is!
Check out his air guitar.

In a cramped room on the 4th floor across from Hotel Sunroute, he rocked the house! Very small house!

Going back to the US tomorrow at 5:25pm from Narita Intn'l Airport to SFO.

And yes, I ran in Japan too.

See ya soon!

Kaiser Permanente San Francisco 1/2 Marathon

ToshiMoshi — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:43:53 GMT

Sunday 2/3/08
48F Scattered rain showers and wind

This was the 25th Anniversary of Kaiser Permanente SF 1/2 marathon. Even though the occasional rain and the wind made it difficult to run, this race had the largest turnout according to the race director (7,000 registered for 1/2 marathon and 3,000 for 5K).

In summary, it was a good race. The rain and headwind at the last 3 miles made it tough to keep a consistent pace, but the pack pulled me through and I was able to book it at the end to a satisfying finish.

My official time was 1:24:58. 28 seconds slower than my time last year (1:24:30), but considering the less than perfect weather condition and how good I felt about my run, this was a good race to begin the year (This was my first race of the year).

mile time
1 6:26
2 6:16
3 6:36
4 6:23
5 6:25
6 6:08
7 6:18
8-9 12:45
10 6:28
11-12 13:31
13.1 7:34
My unofficial time on my watch (there was no chip-timing available): 1:24:49

Just before I left Jorge's place around 6am. I have my tights on and rain jacket ready for a run in the rain.

Around 7am at Golden Gate Park. I got my new bib. The ground is still wet, but the rain had stopped, at least for the moment. Crowds gather to the start line.

mile 1
They say the first mile is the easiest, but I had such a hard time running the first mile. I had to weave through a lot of runners for a good 3/4 mile before I could settle into my desired pace. I guess this is bound to happen when no one enforces runners to line up according to their speed. When I complained about this to Jorge, he said, "Oh yeah, I saw you pass me in the beginning." It turns out even my own friend Jorge was lined up in the front in the 5 min/mile area when he was actually running about 11 min/mile!

mile 2
We ran around the Pan Handle, which is the thin strip at the east side of Golden Gate Park (course map). The runners were still bunched up in a big pack. There were few female runners around me. There was one woman in a white shirt behind me and a girl on the Impala Racing Team ahead of me whom I saw warming up earlier. I would see her again at the finish.

mile 3
We went back to Golden Gate Park, run past the beautiful de Young Museum of Art back to the start line.

mile 4-6
It's a gentle downhill on JFK Drive, but I had to be careful not to go too fast. You can get carried away and run too fast here and find yourself out of gas when you reach the Great Highway, which is what happened to me last year.
I exchanged few words with the lady in a white shirt about the weather. I heard her behind me until the Great Highway, but I didn't see her after that. A shirtless old guy came up behind us and took the charge downhill.

mile 7
We passed the finish line on the other side of the road and ran down to the Great Highway. We would come up this hill again for the finish. I think all the runners around me passed the shirtless guy. Now we only had 6 more miles to go.

mile 8-10
The Great Highway section of the course is a straight flat road that runs along the coast. We go about three miles out and back. I ran with three other guys, who all seemed to be local runners. I saw the first runner coming back from the other direction about 57min into the race. Getting close to the turnaround point, I recognized one Asian triathlete from San Jose coming back and on the other side. This lifted my spirit up as I finally found someone I knew in the race.

mile 11 - 12
When my small pack got to the turnaround point, one guy (I think his name was Mike) decided to pull away from the pack. I followed him, thinking I can keep up with him for the last 3 miles. He soon caught up with another guy and the three of us were running together. About a mile with this pack, we were catching up to the girl on the Impala team, but I couldn't keep up with them anymore. I decided to run at my pace for the last two miles. And then, it started raining. I thought I was overdressed with a beanie, tights, and my water/wind proof gloves, but it definitely helped against the rain and headwinds. I felt bad for the girl in front of me, since she was only wearing a singlet and shorts. Two guys came up behind me and passed me. I knew one was Japanese, because he was wearing this hideous looking yellow singlet that had the name of a prefecture in Japan. I wished he could've had a better choice of running gear as a fellow Japanese! At this time, I was switching places with this tall guy with a crew cut.

mile 13 and finish
When I saw the mile 12 mark, I switched my gear and started running a little faster. But so did the tall guy with a crew cut. He came ahead of me just before climbing the hill to the finish line. No worries, I've been saving my energy for the short climb to the finish. The hill is only about a quarter mile, but it feels like it goes on forever at this time in the race. Coming into the hill, I quickly overtook the guy with a crew cut. It wasn't easy, but I caught up to a young guy in red/black jacket, too. The next runner ahead of me was the girl on the Impala team. She was trying to catch up to another female runner ahead of her, but couldn't quite catch her. I couldn't catch up to her either, but I had a good sprint and a big smile on my face at the finish line, so I can't wait for the pictures to come out.

The results are on the following link:
http://results.active.com/pages/displayNonGru.jsp?pubID=1&rsID=59202
I placed 93rd place overall.

I received the 25th anniversary medal, picked up the goodie bag, T-shirt, and my drop bag. I didn't find anybody I recognized, so I decided to wait for Jorge at mile 12. The rain had stopped for a moment, but by the time I got to the mile 12 marker, it started to rain again.

Here's a wet dog to prove it. I had put on my rain jacket, but my clothes still had not dried, so I was getting extremely cold. I checked my watch and realized I still had 30 more minutes before Jorge would arrive, so I took a shelter at a cafe on Judah Street and sipped on cafe au lait.

Jorge at mile 12 (I was actually running with him, because I was getting so cold. Is the guy next to Jorge running in his slippers or does he have a baggie for his shoes?)

Just 14 minutes later, it cleared up again. Just before the finish line.

Me and Jorge at the finish

Me and a cow. Can you see me squeezing her udder?

Tony at Home restaurant on Market St.

According to Tony, there was a "Brittany Spears sighting at ‘Home’ restaurant on Sunday...she was sitting behind Jorge and Toshi. Or was it just a trashy white girl with big sun glasses on a rainy day?! Food was ‘ok’ for me..but Jorge loved his steak and eggs fo sure!”

Jorge’s steak and eggs

Jorge's left little toe turned purple after the run.

After lunch, we went back to Jorge's condo and relaxed in the Jacuzzi and we left for San Jose to watch the Superbowl at Tony's place.

Of course, the sun comes out after the run.