Time Flies

I'm in taper mode, right? Isn't this supposed to mean less running and more time.

Well so far it hasn't really translated into less miles. Slower miles maybe, but not less miles. More on that later. As far as more time, yeah, not so much. Maybe that's an effect of the slower miles, more likely it is just an everyday fact of life that there is never enough time to do everything I need to do, let alone all the other things I want or like to do.

Earlier this week Janice sent me the pictures she had taken after the Fontana Days Half Marathon. It was only 3 weeks ago, but it seems like an eternity ago. Her note with the pictures said something to the effect that she expected to see the pictures up on the blog, pronto. Sorry, Janice, I didn't get the pronto part down very well, but here's one of the pics.

Dr. John (red shorts on the right) took some pictures of our "brutal" hill run last Saturday at Chino Hills State Park. The first is the whole group that started the run. We all look pretty happy and ready to go at this point. We hadn't found out yet what the North Ridge Trail had in store for us. The ladies on the left were there for a walk. They took the kinder, gentler route up and back Telegraph Canyon.
The last picture is me and Jeff, the stragglers, after our 16 mile adventure. We're still smiling! Thankfully from the photo you can't tell how absolutely wiped out we are. Dr. John and a few others had hung around waiting for us to return. They were nearly ready to send in a search and rescue party to find us.

During the week I put in my usual 6/8/6 mile routine. Tuesday and Thursday, I ran a route through Bonelli that is mostly paved and flat. On Thursday I did the route in the opposite direction from Tuesday. I ran nearly 2 minutes slower overall. This was the beginning of the pre-marathon slow down.

An Easy Recovery 5

Just a short post to sum up the week before I hit the hay .

No Bonelli this week. After yesterday's hills I didn't think my legs were up to any more. Instead, I got in a very easy 5 mile run with Celeste. She was back in town to pack up her apartment. This was likely the real last run. Next weekend she packs her stuff into a moving van and heads to Oxnard full time. She started her new job last week. We met at her place and ran the very north end of the Santa Fe River Trail. Although I was completely wiped out yesterday this run didn't feel too bad. Thankfully it was short and slow. I let Celeste dictate the pace.

Miles for the week: 41.2
A few less than the updated plan but more than the original. I think I will scale back to the original plan for the next three weeks to make sure I'm good to go for SEAFAIR. I keep wavering between feeling totally prepared and totally over done. I'm anxious about how the next couple of weeks will go.

Anyway, Goodnight JohnBoy.

The Worlds Collide

Or at least met in the parking lot at Carbon Canyon Regional Park…

Earlier this week I got an email from Jeff asking about my plans for the weekend. He was looking for 15-17 miles. I was originally thinking 18 for me, but after last weekend’s long run, decided a slightly scaled back run might be in order. My planned run was near home and included 4 hills throughout the loop. The loop is run in the bike lane on some fairly major streets. When you live in the middle of suburbia, you have to run the routes that are close by every once in a while. The rolling hills would be a nice preview of Bellevue.

I sent an email off to Jeff and we were good to go. I invited Terry from work to join us. She wasn’t up to the full 15-17 but would hang with us for the first few then turn back. Celeste was going to be in town packing up her apartment and would likely join us as well.

Thursday evening I received an email from the CA Cruisers. This week’s run was a combined run with the 642 Group in Chino Hills State Park. There is some cross over membership between the two groups. I shot Jeff an email and suggested this as an alternative. We have talked about running there before and I was certain he would like this option. I liked it too, thinking that the trails would be more forgiving on the legs. Jeff’s reply was, “AWESOME. I'm really looking forward to this now! I wasn’t relishing the idea of 17 miles in the bike lane.” And just like that we had a new plan. Terry was on board, she lives in Chino Hills. The bummer is Celeste bowed out. She’s not much of a nature girl. Dirt, bushes and bugs aren’t her thing.

So here’s where the worlds collide. My running friends from the Cruisers/642 world, met up with a running friend from my work world, and met up with a running friend from the blogging world.

In the email a distance of about 4-10 miles was discussed. For some reason I assumed we would be running up Telegraph Canyon, possibly to Four Corners and back. I guess I thought this because it was the only trail I’ve taken from this side of the park. Before we got started I found out that the plan was to run up North Ridge Trail. Telegraph is a nice easy uphill, barely noticeable most of the time. North Ridge is way more challenging uphill for over 4 miles. We quickly spread out on the trail, with Jesse, Michelle, Jim, Jeff and I leading the pack. Dave and Randy were not far behind. Dave and Randy and the others took the Gilman Trail down to Telegraph and back for about an 8 mile loop. Terry was in this group. Jesse, Michelle, Jim, Jeff and I continued on to the Sycamore Trail then down to Telegraph. Jesse, Michelle and Jim returned down Telegraph for about an 11 mile loop.

The trek up North Ridge was challenging but fun. My legs felt the effort by the time we reached the turn off. We took a couple of breaks on the way up to regroup. Thankfully, Sycamore is downhill. Sycamore was completely overgrown with thistles. They were way up past head level, maybe 8 feet tall. Our legs got pretty scratched up through this section. We took a short break at the intersection with Telegraph to rinse off our legs in a stream to relieve the stinging. Jesse and the others headed down Telegraph while Jeff and I continued up to get in our 15-17. By now all the uphill was definitely taking its toll on my legs. I commented that my legs were getting tired. Jeff asked if it was the quads or the calves. My answer was, Yes! We made it to Four Corners and continued on. Up to this point Jeff kept reminding me that all the uphill meant a nice downhill return. After Four Corners we continued on the trail to the South Ridge Trail that leads to the Equestrian Center. This trail was downhill so, you guessed it, an uphill return. We crested a small uphill, decided we had gone far enough based on Jeff’s GPS and started back.

The uphill back toward Four Corners was the beginning of the end. Jeff suggested a short break at Four Corners and got no argument from me. At this point I started having thoughts that I had bitten off more than I could chew. Remember I was squeezing in this extra longish run on the advice of my blog readers. By now the sun was way up in the sky, the trails are exposed (no trees in SoCal) and my legs were spent. Jeff reminded me of the down hill return on Telegraph.

Telegraph is technically downhill but it is slight. Coasting on a bike is one thing but running still requires effort. At some point on the return, Jeff said we were doing 8:40 miles. Not all that fast for a downhill but not bad I thought for being 11-12 miles into a mostly uphill run. We took one short walk break after crossing a stream but ran on through to the finish. At some point I asked about our pace. It was in the 9’s, the high 9’s.

Jeff was feeling the effects of the run himself. It always does my heart and soul good to know that runners I see as far superior struggle at times too. For whatever reason, I assume that the guys that are faster or put in more miles are somehow superhuman. I figure if I’m getting through, they will just be breezing through. I really need to work on that. As I’m writing this, I’m reminded that Jeff just did his first triathlon last weekend and ran a marathon the weekend before that. It’s no wonder that he was feeling the effects of this run. I know I was struggling but I felt like Jeff was still running like a rock star. If it weren’t for him being along, I’m certain I would have been walking rather than running in. Jeff summed up the end of the run in one world – BRUTAL.

A few of the 642 group had hung around to make sure we had made it back. They were somewhat worried that we had gotten lost and were considering coming back in to find us. I owe a big thank you to the lady runner that offered me the end of her Gatorade. Runners are good people, don't you think?

I was as tired as I had ever been after a run. The unofficial stats for the run are 16.25 miles in 2:38, somewhere around 9:45 pace. This is on par with my pace at Bonelli on Sunday mornings, and the run was 3 times longer. Jim told us that our 16 mile run on the hills was probably equivalent to a 20 miler on the road. I think I will hang onto that assessment, but I will claim 16.25 in the training log.

I am officially done with the long runs for this training cycle. It’s all downhill from here (pun intended). Thanks to all of you, especially Jeff, for getting me through this training. The work is done, now I just have to take it easy and recover from the training effort before the big day in three weeks. The current temperature in Bellevue, WA at 5:30 p.m on Saturday, is 67°F compared to 88°F here in Covina, CA. Lets hope it stays like that.

Happy Father’s Day to all the running Dads out there.

Setting the Record and My Son Straight

The results for the Rosie's Garage Almost 5K are now online. I had to know how many people ran the race and more importantly how many runners were in my Age Group, M 40-44. As you remember my son teased me that I got 3rd place out of 3. Well....

The total field was 169 runners. I finished 18 over all. Just outside the top 10%.
The M 40-44 was 10 runners. That puts me in the top 30%, cool.

My official time was 21:02. 2nd place was 19:51. 4th was 23:02. I met and talked to him after the race and didn't even realize until now that he was 4th in our age group.

I'm pretty convinced that I achieved the Age Group win due to the Almost 5K distance. The less than standard distance probably kept the super competitive, sub-elites home or at another race. Whatever, I've got the medal! So there Bryan, I wasn't 3rd out of 3, just thought you'd like to know.

Get Over It, Already

I got so wrapped up in my own little world of losing running partners and slow final miles that I forgot to mention all the race reports I'm looking forward to:

Jeff - his first triathlon
Robb - Lunenburg World Heritage 5K (attempt at sub 20:00)
Rob - Lake Youngs Ultra (1 week after a 50 miler)
Matt - Valley Crest Half Marathon (1 week after his first marathon)
Donald - The Dipsea Race
Angie - Sugar & Spice Ultra

and from last week check out:
Joe - Sunburst Half Marathon

A Farewell Run

Sunday morning brought me a 22 miler. Normally I do my long runs on Saturday, but had to shift things around to accommodate my 3rd place Age Group finish yesterday. I’m still smiling about that one. 8-) I chose to run the bike path at Huntington Beach. It is about a 45 minute drive from my home, but worth it I think for the generally cooler climate at the beach, plentiful water and bathroom stops and well marked mile indicators. The only negative, especially in light of the terrain in Bellevue, WA, it that the trail is pancake flat. This makes for a nice run but doesn’t adequately simulate race day conditions.

Today’s run was a somewhat poignant affair. Celeste joined me for the initial 5 miles. This is likely the last run that we will get together. Celeste and I have worked together for the last 5 years. She is leaving Monday for a new job in Oxnard, CA, about 1.5 hours north. Celeste started out as a tech aide, moved into a full time position in the lab and then into Technical Services, always performing well above expectations. She was my coworker, running buddy and friend. I will definitely miss her.

Celeste was the third member of the little running group that formed at work, Brian and I being the first two. When Celeste joined the marathon craziness, I was the old man and they were the kids, they were both 20 years younger than me. Later on Terry joined our little trio. At least then we were balanced; two guys, two girls, two “kids”, two “adults”. Brian left us for dental school and life has been hectic for Terry, so Celeste and I have been the most consistent together. We made a pretty good pair, being about evenly matched for pace. Celeste and I have run three marathons together; most of the miles were really together.

Our first was Los Angeles in 2004. Brian was there as well. It was a hot, hot day, reaching the 90’s. In what became a signature move for Brian, he rocketed off early. This of course is not the best race strategy, but that’s another story. Celeste’s training for this one had not gone well. She had suffered a stomach bug that kept her out for a couple of months. Her longest training run was 16 miles. In the marathon we stuck together for 16 miles. She had been urging me to go ahead. My staying back was just upsetting her, so I finally took off. She was struggling from the heat. Soon after I left her I heard an ambulance siren and imagined that she had succumbed. Many runners that year had suffered heat stroke/exhaustion. Her biggest fear was that we would have to wait for her at the finish line. I caught and passed Brian who had burned out and then my right IT band refused to let me run anymore so I walked pretty much the last 6 miles. Somehow Celeste passed us both and finished first. Her fear of being last, keep her moving forward.

Later that year we ran Rock and Roll San Diego along with Brian. Brian repeated his performance at LA, leaving Celeste and I to get each other through. We stayed together until somewhere between 18 and 20. At that point she was hurting and urged me onward. There is no sense arguing with her, so again I continued on alone. This time she came in after me, followed much later by Brian.

Our final marathon together was Los Angeles in 2005 along with Terry, in an attempt to conquer the course in hopefully better weather conditions. 22 miles together this time before she fell back.

We were all set to run NYC in 2005, with Brian joining us from Boston, when Celeste suffered a stress fracture in her ankle. She was understandably bummed but made the best of the day by riding the subway to various points to cheer Brian and me on. This time Brian stayed with me, until I made a pit stop around mile 16 and finally finished a marathon strong.

The point of all this is to say that I have shared a lot of miles and marathons with Celeste, probably even more than with Brian. My log is full of entries “w/B,C&T, or B&C or C&T or just w/C. Since we worked together even the midweek runs were w/C. I missed Brian terribly when he left for Boston and I will miss Celeste too. When you spend that much time on the trail and road with someone, you know them about as well as you can know anyone. Good Luck Celeste. I know you will do well in your new job. It’s going to be hard for a while running without you.

Back to today’s run.

The morning started off cool and overcast, my favorite type of weather. I started the run at Huntington Harbor, Warner Ave and PCH. The first nearly 6 miles were out and back with Celeste, pretty much dead on 9:00 pace. Then I headed out for the rest of the run on my own. The first couple of miles ticked off in 8:30 pace; Slow Down Dude, or you aren’t going to make it 22 miles.

I missed the next mile marker and then ran into Tom, a guy I had met at Huntington Beach back in March 2005. I turned around to run with him a bit. He was nearing his turnaround point, so mile 10 was a little long. I missed the next mile marker as well from talking. Finally I got the next mile marker with an average pace of 9:18 for the last 4 miles. Running with Tom had been good for slowing the pace a little. Tom is retired as a Director of Public Health and still teaches at Loma Linda University. He can knock out a 2:00 half marathon, so he’s no slacker. At that point, he was back at his car, where I met his wife and her friend and continued on my own again.

Back on my own, Mile 12 in 8:41. Could stand to slow down a little, this is a training run not a marathon. Mile 13 in 9:08, under control again. Mile 14 went long because I missed my turnaround marker for a 9:43. Up to the turn around point the clouds were still holding and I had been running into a breeze. Just as I hit the turnaround the sun broke through and now the breeze was at my back. This combined to make the return trip a whole lot warmer. Mile 15 clocked in at 8:27. I really have to get this under control. Mile 16 in 9:02. Now that’s better. Mile 17 and 18 in 8:37 and 8:39. Here we go again! Then the downward spiral began. I was really started to get tired at this point. Mile 19 in 8:58 followed by a 9:16 and 9:17. At this point I really wanted to walk but I refused to let myself. I’ve been really excited about my last two runs with Jeff when I hadn’t taken my usual walk breaks and didn’t want to cave in now that I was on my own. Mile 22 was a whopping 9:44 and I still had about a half mile left to go to get to the car. That last mile was pretty demoralizing. If this is how the marathon goes, 4.2 more miles at that pace and I can kiss my 4:00 marathon goodbye.

All told I ran at least 22.7 miles today, maybe closer to 23 counting the doubling back with Tom and the missed turnaround. My running time was 3:25. Conservatively for 22.7 miles, if my math skills are right (they are better at home aided by a calculator and clearer thinking than in my head while on the run) my final pace for the day is 9:03. This is still good for a sub 4:00 as long as I don’t fall apart at the proverbial wall. I want to think that I will still make it but I won’t deny that the 9:44 mile has me more than a little concerned.

Miles for the week: 39.5
This is on the money for the original schedule but falls short of the 46-50 increased mileage goal.

Rosie's Garage Almost 5K

I returned home from my business trip to Cleveland very late Wednesday night. Due to mechanical issues and weather conditions in Phoenix I arrived 3.5 hours later than planned into LAX rather than Ontario (CA not Canada). My luggage and car spent an extra day in Ontario until I could get out there Thursday after work to pick them up. Not the end of the world but if I were recommending airlines it wouldn't be America West/US Airways. I'm just sayin'.

The orthodontist visits went well and provided us with some great feedback on a new adhesive. I was able to meet up with some family. My little sister picked me up at the airport, my parents drove over (about 1:15) for dinner on Monday, and on Tuesday I was able to meet up with my middle sister and her three daughters for dinner.

I got two runs in - 6.5 miles on Monday evening and 6 more on Wednesday morning around the town of Twinsburg, OH. Twinsburg is home to a hugely popular Twins Day Festival in August. Since the half marathon last weekend my legs have felt pretty dead. I'm not sure if the extra miles are finally showing themselves or if it is in my head. I was also somewhat disturbed about how easily my schedule got derailed. One business trip and the snafu with luggage and car and I feel lucky to have just gotten in my originally scheduled miles let alone any extra.

That brings me to today and the Rosie's Garage Almost 5K, the last race in the Puma Cup Series. On the way down to the race I gave Jeff a call to wish him well in his first triathlon. I really hope it went well for him. I had toyed with the idea of dumping my Almost 5K to go show support for Jeff (the event at Bonelli is basically in my front yard) but ultimately decided to see the Cup Series through to the end. I had received a map of the course earlier in the week, mapped it with g-maps pedometer and determined the course to be 2.95 miles, Almost 5K. This was confirmed by both Theresa and Jim's Garmins at the race, within a couple of hundredths. I met Jesse at the registration table, then ran into Jay on the way back from putting the race T into my car. I did a warm up run with Jay, then another short one with Jesse. We got all lined up for the 8:00 a.m. start to end up standing around for nearly 30 minutes before the race finally started. Apparently there was some miscommunication with the local Police about coning off lanes for the runners. Once that was done the race went off without a hitch.

I decided I wan't going to push myself too hard today since I couldn't really PR for a 5K. An Almost PR for an Almost 5K just didn't seem that important. Like I said the legs have been flat and I still had the long run tomorrow to get through. Early on we settled into our usual positions with Jesse in the lead, followed by Jim. It took me about a half mile to overtake Jay. We stayed that way throughout the race. I felt like I was running strong but not pushing myself. I concentrated on keeping a smooth consistent pace. I crossed the finish line in 21:06. By the time I saw the clock and realized how close I was to breaking 21:00, I just didn't have it in me mentally to get there, too hung up on the Almost 5K part I guess. When I got home I extrapolated my time out to a full 5K and came up with 22:10. This is about in line with where I've been lately, but not a PR effort.

The coolest thing about this race is I won my first age group award. I got 3rd place in the Male 40-44 category. Yahoo! I've never placed before. I was, needless to say, pretty stoked. When I got home my youngest son read the medal and gave me a High-5, then humbled me by saying "there were probably only 3 guys in your age group!" I will definitely check that out when the official results are posted on line. At the race I never looked past my own name. I hope he's not right, but even so 3rd place is mine. Yahoo, again! Jesse placed 1st in the 45-49 age group. Jim took 2nd in his AG and Jay took 1st in his AG. Theresa took 3rd by a few feet in her AG, while Cathe came in 1st for the walkers. Even with the late start Rosie's Garage turned out to be a pretty good day for our group.

Fontana Days Half

First, I want to give a big Thanks to all you who weighed in on my long run question. For the immediate future I just decided to run the half with Janice and not add any extra miles. I will do the 22 miler next weekend and then see how I feel after that before I decide my exact mileage three weeks out. If I had to decide right now, I'm leaning toward 18 for that week. I'll keep you all posted.
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Today I ran the Fontana Days Half Marathon. It is billed as the World's Fastest Half Marathon Course, due to the fact that it is predominately downhill. I did this one last year and PR'd by 15 minutes (it was only my second half). This year's race was not about me. It was all about Janice. She is a Tech Aide at my work, or as we fondly call them, a Lab Monkey. The term isn't really a fair assessment of the tech aides abilities. Tech Aides usually are working towards or recently completed a science or engineering degree. Janice was completing a post baccalaureate program in science in preparation for entry into dental school when she started working with us. She was accepted to Harvard and the University of CA at San Francisco. She ultimately decided on UCSF. So she is one smart cookie and accepts the Lab Monkey designation with humor.

Somewhere along the line she got it into her head that she was going to run a half marathon. She had run the Nike Run Hit Wonder 5K last year. She picked Fontana since it was local, but she only really gave herself about a month to train. She asked me to run with her. My goal was to get her through. She planned to run 10 miles last weekend but didn't get around to it until Tuesday, 5 days before the half. On Wednesday, based on the time she took for that run I estimated her half marathon finish at 2:15 to 2:30.

My job, at least as I saw it, was to keep her from going out too fast on the downhill start and to keep her motivated from mile 10 on. At the starting line it was fun to see how excited and nervous she was. The first few miles are the biggest decline and is partially shaded by the mountains and trees of Lytle Creek. We took off, I was determined to let Janice set the pace. I did the best I could to hang just half step behind and not pull her along. Mile 1 went by in 9:13. Not too bad I thought considering the downhill. Mile 2 in 9:13. I was impressed that she was so consistent. Mile 3 was 9:02. I suggested that we try to slow down a little. I was expecting 9:30 miles and really didn't want her to wear out in the last few miles. These miles are hard enough anyway but at Fontana, you've lost any downhill advantage and the course is exposed to the sun for at least 7 miles, expected highs were 100°F.

Mile 4 came in at 9:43 and included a walk break through the water stop. I was OK with that. Mile 5 came in at 9:48. I didn't panic but felt we hadn't really slowed that much. Mile 6 was 9:08, back on track or maybe mile markers were off a little. We walked the next water stop for Mile 7 at 9:24. At this point Janice still felt good, she was setting the pace. Mile 8 - 9:04, Mile 9 - 9:25. By the time we were in Mile 10, Janice was starting to get tired. From mile 8 on only one or two people passed us and we slowly reeled other runners in as we went. I tried to let her know what a great job she was doing. She was getting a little frantic looking for the next water stop. I talked her through it, spotted the water stop, we walked it and finished Mile 10 in 9:55.

At this point, I think that she realized that she was now in uncharted territory and the heat was beginning to take its toll. I missed the Mile 11 marker. We took an extra walk break and made it through Mile 11 and 12 in a combined 20:41. We were definitely slowing down. I looked over at Janice and realized that she had stopped sweating. She also said that she felt a little tingling especially her hands. I was afraid that she was showing signs of dehydration. Somewhere during this stretch, Janice was having difficulty staying motivated but she kept going.

After mile 12 we could clearly see the finish line ahead and I said "No more walk breaks, let' just get this thing done." The last couple of miles I was pulling her along. With about half a mile to go, Janice picked up the pace and we finished Mile 13.1 in 10:39.

Finish time by my watch 2:05:20. The official time is probably about 10 seconds longer and will be on the web by Wednesday. I think this is a great finish considering her relative short training plan and the near 90° temperature. Janice proved me wrong, she was not going to settle for a 2:30 or even a 2:15 half marathon. She was very pleased and felt great. It was a very happy moment, knowing that she accomplished her goal. Last week before even running this one, she signed up for the Wine Country Half Marathon. I'd say she's hooked on running. I'm so proud!
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Today is my birthday! Three years ago today I went for my first run. I'm celebrating three years as a runner. What a cool way to spend it, by helping another runner achieve her goal.

Other significant accomplishments:
Miles for May: 181.3, another all time high (I'm beginning to sound like a broken record)

Tomorrow I'll go back to Bonelli for my Sunday morning run, then I'll be away on business. See you all next Thursday.

The Long Run Question

But first, I listen to KROQ most mornings on the way to work. I can't help but be reminded of Donald lately because they are giving away tickets to the Red Hot Chili Peppers show in August at the Forum. This morning was even odder. This guy, Doc on the Roq, does a news spot. Today he asked "What are we going to watch now that American Idol is over. Well the National Spelling Bee begins tomorrow." Is Donald programming modern rock radio in SoCal?

Now to the long run question. Two weeks ago, Week 11, of my training schedule I put in my second long run, 21.5 miles. At that time I posted that the marathon was 7 weeks and one more long run, 22 miles, away. A couple of you suggested that I get in another one on top of that if I could. My long run schedule looked like this:

21.5 - 14 - 8 - 22 - 12 - 14 - 10 - Marathon

I could have conceivably replaced the 8 with a 20, dropped the 22 to 12 or 14, replaced the 12 with a 22 and still have 3 weeks of taper before the big event. Seems doable, right?

But there's a kink, there's always a kink. This Saturday, originally scheduled for the 8 miles, I have committed to running the Fontana Days Half with Janice from work. This will be her first real race and she asked me to run it with her. I expect to be running this one nice and slow, finishing somewhere between 2:15 and 2:30. So my 8 becomes 13.1 at a pace slower than I normally run. I can't do the long run on Sunday, because I'll be spending the day in flight for a business trip.

So the question is to get my 20 miler in do I: A) grab a post race banana and water, congratulate Janice on a job well done and head back out onto the course for 7 more miles at marathon pace; B) enjoy the post race festivities for a while then finish up my long run at another location 1 to 2 hours later; or C) scrap the long run plans for this weekend and then do back to back long runs the next two weekends?

Any suggestions?

Camping and Running in Carpinteria

Carpinteria State Beach is located along CA101, about 80 miles north of Los Angeles and 12 miles south of Santa Barbara. It is nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ynez Mountains. The city of Carpinteria has a nice small town feel. The campground is tucked between the beach and the railroad the defines the southwestern border of the town. If you are going to be tent camping, I would highly recommend a site on the Anacapa circle. The Santa Cruz area might be all right too. The Santa Rosa and San Miguel areas are definitely more for trailers and RV's (basically a big parking lot). The beach is only a walk away. If you forgot to pack anything, the town is within walking or bike riding distance as well. A Sunday School class from our church have been making this an annual event for many years. It is a family weekend that grown to include a third generation these last couple of years. Although we don't attend the class, we lucked into a spot in 2003, when someone else canceled. Our group usually manages to reserve most of the 20 or so sites on the Anacapa circle. It is a lot of fun to spend the weekend with so many other families. The kids hang out, the adults hang out. There are always pickup softball games, ultimate frisbee games, water balloon wars, bike trips, sunbathing and of course campfires and s'mores.

I went up on Wednesday with my younger son. We did a couple of bike rides over to the seal rookery. About 30 of us went for a hike in Santa Barbara to the 7 Falls via the Tunnel or Jesusita Trail on Thursday. I taught my son how to play backgammon. He then taught his brother and the kids camped next to us. My wife and older son joined us on Friday afternoon. I of course got in a daily run around Carpinteria. On Thursday morning my son rode along side me for 7.5 miles along the bluffs. Friday morning I soloed back out on the bluffs and through town for 6 miles. My long run on Saturday was along Via Real that parallels CA101 out to the Big Yellow House in Summerland and back through town again. I returned along Padaro Lane, a beautiful tree lined road that borders the salt marsh. There a many estate style homes on this road. All that you see from the road are the elaborate gates. I ended up with 16 miles due to my classic inability to calculate simple math while on the run. After spending most of Sunday on the beach, I put in another 4 miles along the bluffs out to the baseball diamonds on the southern tip of town that afternoon.

All told, including my runs at home on Tuesday and Wednesday, I put in 46.5 miles for the week, a personal high by 1.5 miles. If you've been following along, I have been trying to slowly increase my weekly mileage since my posting about "Potential". The hope is that the extra miles will help my reach my sub 4:00 marathon goal. So far, I still feel pretty good. I did cut Tuesday's speed work short (only 3 halfs) but ended with a decent 2 mile "tempo" at 8:20 pace.

We had perfect weather all weekend, except for a couple hours of some pretty significant wind gusts on Saturday afternoon. All in all a very nice long weekend. When I got home I probably spent way too long catching up on the blogs I read. It is now late Tuesday night and I'm off to sleep in a real bed, ahhh. I love camping, but I love coming back home too.

21.5 in the Bank

Wow! Saturday I completed my second long run on my way to the SEAFAIR Marathon. I've been on some kind of weird emotional roller coaster since then, but right now finally writing about it I'm pretty pumped again.

The plan called for 21 miles. Many things came together to make this run a real positive experience. First of all, I had the honor of sharing the trail again with Jeff. I guess I didn't bore him or drive him completely nuts a few weeks ago. For that I'm thankful. This time we hit the bike path at Huntington Beach.

Running with Jeff has been good for a couple of reasons. For one, he's Jeff, who wouldn't want to run with him. For another, it's really nice to have a guy to run with. Don't get me wrong, I really like my female running buddies from work, heck most of the CA Cruisers are women. It's just different sharing a long run with another guy. I also realized how much I missed running with Brian, my first running partner. Brian is currently off at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston. When we were running together he definitely pushed me to do more than I thought I could. For another, because I was running with Jeff, I really think I stepped it up a little. I've mentioned this before, that I usually do the "run a mile, walk a minute" system on any run over 18 miles, even during marathons. When I ran the last 20 miler with Jeff, I thought - there's no way I can ask him to walk, so I ran. I didn't really know how it would go. I kind of expected that I might fall apart near the end, but I didn't. Even though my pace was basically the same as when I walked, it was a great confidence booster to know that I could just run.

So this week I ran as well. Jeff started out on his new bike and cruised along beside me for the first 5 miles. At that point Jeff changed over to running gear and I took the opportunity to hit the facilities. Then off we went for 16 more miles. This was going to be his longest run since the Boston Marathon. We went sub 9:00 miles from the get go. We just cruised right along. The miles went by easily. The weather was definitely in our favor. The skies were overcast, the temperature was no more than 70°F. On the way back we had a nice gentle breeze in our face that kept us cool and dry but not chilled.

At mile 18, I hit my watch, looked and interrupted Jeff mid-sentence. "We just did that last mile in 8:31" Mile 18 well below 9:00 pace and I still felt good, really good. I could not believe it. Jeff wasn't pulling either. Just like last time he was half a stride off my right shoulder. I know that he could totally blow me out of the water at any point in time, but he didn't. I was setting the pace; an 8:31 pace at mile 18. I was getting pretty excited about the possibilities of that sub 4:00 marathon.

Mile 19 in 8:43. Mile 20 in 8:29. Bring it home, Mile 21 in 8:37. We ended up with a total of 21.5 miles. I ran the whole way, with the only real break for Jeff to transition from the bike. The overall pace was a little under 9:00. Five more miles at that pace and I'm definitely on track. Knowing that I finished strong, makes me feel even more confident.

Today I physically and mentally felt like I could do it. Usually I shuffle along during the last couple of miles of a 20 miler, but not today. The sun came out from behind the clouds as we chatted and cooled down in the parking lot. That was a nice touch. A lot a things were in my favor: the weather, a running partner to take my mind of the miles, and a flat course. I also think my increased weekday miles and ramping up my overall miles are paying off as well. It's too soon to be counting but... seven weeks and one more long run (let's hope that one goes well) to go before SEAFAIR.

Miles this week: 43.5

Speed - A Different Approach

At this time of year a few things all come together to make the track a very crowded place. With the time change and the onset of warmer spring weather, the local dirt track becomes as crowded as a Weight Watchers meeting or the 24 Hour/LA Fitness the first week after New Years. Last week I didn't really enjoy dodging the walkers and weaving back and forth among the joggers (as if I'm some kind of pro runner but anyway, you know what I mean).

This week for my speed work I decided to head over to the bike trail at the Santa Fe Dam my once a week after work run destination. The trail is marked every half mile. I decided to do half mile intervals with an easy half mile in between. That may be a little too long between the speed (I don't really know) but it was the easiest to measure.

After a mile of easy warm up, I start into my first half mile. At first I was thinking this is going to be hard. At least at the track I have a clue as to how far I still have to go. Four straight aways and four corners and time to slow down. Here on the trail I had to keep my eyes peeled for the little 8-inch numbers spray painted in the middle of the trail. Finally I see the first marks, hit the watch and look: 3:19 - Whoa, where did that come from.

I took the next half mile easy, then its off again. At least at this interval I know where the mark is because its just after a big yellow water pipe on the side of the trail. I passed the little guard shake where the man collects the entrance fees to the park and kept my eyes focused on the yellow pipe. I felt like I couldn't keep going. I even closed my eyes for a couple of seconds but opened them up because I didn't want to run one step more than necessary. The second half mile was 3:21 - Fairly consistent but it was still early in the game.

Another half mile easy. I met another runner going the other way, we both waved. I reached the 3 mile turn around point and started back up with the speed. I'm headed back toward the yellow pipe. This half is very slightly uphill and into the breeze. I begin to gain ground on the runner that I had just waved to. He heard me coming and turned around to see what was going on. I got back to the yellow pipe before I completely caught up to him. The third half: 3:25 - This half actually felt the most relaxed and easy.

Another half mile easy and off again for 3:26 - Getting a little slower but not drastically so; at least that's what I tell myself.

Another half mile easy. During this half mile I know that I have the opportunity to do one more speed half and still have a half left to cool down. The mental battle begins: I could just take the whole mile and a half as a cool down. Five halves - 2.5 miles of speed work is more than I've ever done. I know, kind of wimpy in the speed department. Five halves - I never done more than 3 halves with a few 400's thrown in for good measure. I've got a 21 miler this weekend, will this have a negative effect there, blah, blah, blah. I get to the half mile marker and decide to get on with it, suck it up. A real speed guy could run half mile repeats all day without breaking a sweat, at least without thinking about it. The fifth half: 3:38 - Oops slowed down, but I really don't think I could have mustered much more.

In the final analysis, I think I enjoyed this method a whole lot better than the crowded dirt oval. And I'm really glad I pushed on through to the fifth half.

One of the coolest things about this run is that I ran into Abel during my mile warm up. Last summer when Celeste, Brian and I were training for the NYC Marathon we ran a lot on the dam. We would see this guy nearly every day. Finally one day Celeste and I were done with our run, we waited for him and introduced ourselves. As it turns out he was training for NYC, too. How cool is that. With the time change and the resulting early darkness we stopped running the dam trail before the marathon and we lost touch with Abel. This year Abel hadn't been out on the trail. I had seen him at the LA marathon when my son and I volunteered, but I only got to talk to him briefly. He was kind of busy. But today, we stopped and talked for 10 minutes or so. We made tentative plans to meet up on the trail for some runs in the future. That would be very cool indeed.

Sunday Run and Stomp

Today, Monday, I am enjoying my day off. I'm trying to get this entry in before the season finale of Grey's Anatomy at 9:00. Whew, last night was a little crazy.

I just couldn't break my Sunday morning streak, so it was off to Bonelli. It was a very overcast morning so the views in the distance were non existent, but the mustard and thistle were everyone. This week I also noticed a lot of black-eyed Susan's that I hadn't noticed before. Very nice. I'll have to enjoy it while I can, because it won't be long before everything turns back to brown for the summer.

I added a little extra trail onto the normal loop to get 6 miles. The trail leads up to what I think is a water treatment or pumping station. At the top of the hill there is a large flat asphalted area. In the center of the asphalt is a 10-12 foot tower or stand pipe. It is surrounded by a fence that looks like its made out of satellite dishes. I can't really describe it very well. Maybe I'll have to take my camera back and get a picture so someone can tell me.

I actually ran into 2 other people today. One was a runner going in the opposite direction when I was nearly finished. The other was a man walking. As I passed him I wished him "Good Morning". He was carrying something in his hand but I didn't immediately recognize what it was. As I continued on the trail, I rounded a corner and came face to face with a Rottweiller. Oddly, I didn't freak out. I just said "Hey there puppy" (he wasn't). He looked at me and trotted on past. I realized then that the man I had just passed was carrying a folded up dog leash. It could have been a potentially ugly situation, but I guess everybody is in a good mood on the trail on a Sunday morning. Whew.

Later that day I treated my wife and mother-in-law to a BBQ. Tri-tip, spinach salad, and rustic bread. Very nice if I must say so myself. After dinner we dragged the boys off to see STOMP at the Pantages Theatre. This was the second time this weekend that we had made them venture out into the world beyond the TV and computer. They actually enjoyed the show a lot. I have never seen this show before although it has been around for awhile. The cast of eight is really talented percussionists and dancers. The show is not just sonically appealing, but is visually stimulating as well. Although the cast never speaks, many of them develop a personality as the show progresses. It is really interesting to hear the music that can be made using push brooms, match boxes, flexible rubber tubing, folding chairs and newspaper. The show ended with an audience participation segment that had us all clapping in different ways and even divided us into sections each with our own beat. It was really a lot of fun. I would definitely like to see this one again. The show is in LA only through this weekend but is traveling throughout the country. If you have a chance go see it.

Now I'm off to see what happens to Denny and Dr. Burke.

Oh, wait - miles last week: 36.2
I passed the 4000 lifetime miles mark as well.

CA Cruiser Pics

Whenever the CA Cruisers run together, Dr. John Strand is there with his trusty digital camera to record the moments. He then sends us an email most weeks with the pictures and usually some very funny captions. I thought I would share some.

"Dorothy is telling Darrell that she already has her Las Vegas shirt, so she doesn’t have to train for that one. Lisa is telling Darrell that she already has a red Angel’s shirt, so she doesn’t have to do the Angel Stadium run next week. Darrell James is saying. “No excuses, it is time to run.”"
Who knows what we were really saying, but what's with the look on my face?


"Hey Darrell, wait for us"
OK, so they're not all funny but I liked the picture. This is a little whoopty-do incline in the first mile of the run. Janene hates the hills so she always powers right on up to the top and then waits for everyone else. I just can't let her go alone so off I go. Cecil actually ran ahead to get the picture so John could be in a few. John is the blue shirt and red shorts on the left back there.

"There is beauty to the left where the Santa Ana River, in perfect peace and tranquility, quietly makes its way to the ocean. There is beauty to the right as the wind caresses the trees to create the gentle rustling sound of leaves that calms our nerves. This is the beauty that makes my hands sweat, my breath become rapid, and my heart to pound in my chest. If men knew that they could feast their eyes on these gorgeous sights, we could triple our membership."
I can't really add anything eloquent to this caption, so I'm just going to leave it alone.

Baseball, Speedwork, Cookies, and Trail Runnin' Bloggers

Just a normal week in the life...

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: I ran what I have begun calling the Lasagna Loop. 6 miles from my house to my mother-in-laws. My brother-in-law had been in town from Rocklin, CA so we were blessed with lasagna again. During the run I caught up to two guys, mid-20's. We chatted for a bit. They were running Robert's Loop. They are contemplating the LA Marathon next year with go at the Long Beach Half Marathon. This is a great combination that many local runners put together, especially first timers. The races are spaced apart nicely.

Wednesday: I ran the Santa Fe Dam after work. 8 miles. I tried to stay nice and relaxed. I pretty much felt like I was on autopilot. I never felt pushed or tired. I maintained my long run pace of 9:00/mile.

Thursday: Speedwork. For some reason I just dread these workouts. I am way more comfortable with long runs, even 20 milers, than I am with these track workouts. I ran one 400 at 1:45 just to get used to the idea. Then I did 3- 800's with a recover lap between. The times were 3:35, 3:37 and 3:38. I definitely felt more tired on each set but I was happy that although I slowed down each time it was only a second or two. If it wasn't for the watch I would have thought that they were a lot slower. I finished up with one more 400, then took an easy run home. This Runner's World article on Yasso 800's predicts a 3:3? marathon, cool. I do need to increase the number of these I do. With that bit of information sitting out there in front of me I may look at next week's speed session a little differently.

Friday: Rest. The family and I had some cheap seats to the Anaheim Angels ball game. Our seats were in the second to the last row at the top of the stadium between home and first. We had a great view, just from what up in the stratosphere. The Angels actually won, 12-7, over the Seattle Mariners, including a grand slam by Juan Rivera. On the way to the game we drove past the two guys that I had seen on Tuesday out running again. Good for them.

Saturday: Long run. Today my wife actually got up before me on a Saturday morning. She was walking the Revlon Run/Walk 5K for Women's Cancers. She had to catch a bus at 5:30 a.m. from the local medical center along with 203 other participants for the ride down to the LA Coliseum. This is a huge event. She heard that there were about 5500 55000 participants this year. It took her and her friends over 2 hours to walk the 5K course just because of the shear volume of people. The finish is inside the Coliseum. So there is a huge bottleneck to get 5500 55000 people through one tunnel and onto the floor of the Coliseum. Last year I ran the 14 mile Malibu Creek Trail Race in less time than it took her to do 5K.

This year the two races fell on the same day again. I opted out of Malibu Creek this year because of the marathon training. I would have liked to do it, since three local blogging buds were all participating. Jeff, Jessica and Matt all did the race today. Matt's write up is all ready up. I'm sure Jeff and Jessica's will be there soon. Speaking of trail running bloggers, Rob ran the McDonald's Forest 50K today. Reading about that will be cool, I'm sure. Rob loves these crazy long runs.

I went down to Yorba Linda to run with the CA Cruisers. It has been over a month since I last ran with them. Between vacation, long runs, and races before you know time flies by. I ran 10 miles with Cecil. Some of the others were running 14 miles training for the Saddleback Half on Memorial weekend. This is one I've have wanted to do. It would have fit nicely into the training schedule. Instead, we will be camping at Carpinteria State Beach with a big group from church. That is always a very fun weekend. I finished the run just seconds shy of 1:30.

After the run, I did yard work. Then I cleaned up and went shopping at Trader Joe's for a Mother's Day BBQ. My wife's mom is coming over for lunch. I finally got the propane tank refilled too. It has been empty since last fall sometime. I used the excuse that it was too dark outside to see to cook anyway. This time of the year I don't have an excuse, plus some things just don't taste the same cooked indoors in a frying pan. By the way, if there is a Trader Joe's near you, don't buy the Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies. These are bite sized and delicious. The problem is they seemed to disappear. I don't know where they all went. Six hours after buying them they are just gone. (In my defense, I didn't eat them all. I only had a few, really)

Off to Bonelli tomorrow morning for a counter-clockwise loop.

We're In

The CA Cruisers put three teams of runners into the lottery hat for the St. George Marathon in Utah. I just checked the website on a whim. (I've been checking periodically since Wednesday when they held the lottery). All three teams made it into the marathon. I'm totally excited.

Sunday

I really enjoy my Sunday morning Bonelli loop. I got started relatively early today, at 6:35 a.m. and did the loop clockwise. It was just me, the birds and the rabbits. I could make a habit of this.

Miles for the week: 40.1

Next week my Saturday "long" run is scheduled for 7. I plan on bumping that up to at least 10 and probably increasing Sunday's run a little too to push next week's total from 31 to between 35 and 37. This is my attempt to increase my average weekly miles to closer to 50. I have done 45 miles weeks in the past so I know I can handle a 50 mile week. I'm just taking it cautiously since I don't really know if I can handle stringing a few 50 mile weeks together. I don't want to burn out before my marathon. I know I won't get to multiple 50's this time around but I'm building up for the next training cycle.

I'm an Elite Runner, Not!

I picked up my bib this morning at the Lutheran High School 5K and I was #7. #7!!! The low numbers are for the elite runners not an over 40 midpack marathoner. But hey, I'll take it. Jesse, Jim and Jay were there too. Their numbers were 3, 4 and 6. They all thought that the numbers may have had something to do with our standing in the Puma Cup Series. I'm not sure, but it was fun to be elite for a minute.

The field for this race was pretty small. The official results show only 65 finishers. I really wasn't sure what to expect. The course was not the best layout possible. We circled the parking lot of the Block of Orange, a shopping mall, twice and then doubled back for a third lap. There were a lot of turns in the course and speed bumps to be on the lookout for. I made sure to either step completely over them or right on top of them. I just decided to run and not worry about the clock.

I started out too fast, but settled down about a quarter mile into the race. A little ways into the second lap I passed one guy. For the next mile or more I slowly crept up on a couple running side-by-side. With about a half mile to go the girl dropped back. I almost caught the guy, but never did. As I rounded the last corner of the mall, I could see the finish line, but I wasn't paying any attention to the time clock. Jesse came running back out and yelled, "Go, you're going to break 22:00." I gave it all the effort I could. I could hear Jesse calling out the time, "21:43, 21:44, 21:45" His voice faded away and I pushed as hard as I could and crossed the finish line in 21:54. I broke 22:00 and set another PR. I couldn't believe it. I probably wouldn't have done it, if it hadn't been for Jesse coming back out to cheer me on. Thanks, Jesse. Jesse finished in 19:32, a PR for him and improved from just a week ago. Go Jesse! There's only one race left in this series and it is billed as an "almost 5K". I don't know if its short or long, but it looks like I'm done setting 5K PR's for a little while.

I still had some running to do. My marathon schedule called for 14 miles today. I have tried to modify my schedule some to see if I can increase my weekly mileage from 35 average to 50 average, following the general rule of not increasing mileage more than 10% per week. I'm calling the 5K the 10% increase this week, so I kept the original schedule as well.

After the race in Orange, I headed over to the Santa Ana River Trail. I jumped onto the trail at the 18.5 mile mark at Riverdale Park in Anaheim and headed south. I ran 7 miles to a little past Chapman Ave. before I turned around. This is the exit that I took to get to the Block of Orange. I had run back to within a half mile of this morning's 5K . I hadn't realized where I would end up when I started the run. I had to run over Katella Ave and under the 57 freeway and thought of Drew's run there when he and his family visited Disneyland a while back. South of Katella the trail takes on a different vibe for sure. The trail goes past the Arrowhead Pond and Angel Stadium of Anaheim. The underpass of the freeway was littered with race bibs from the Catalina Marathon. How they got there I don't know. I finished the 14 miles in 2:07 ( 9:04 pace). Not bad, I felt, after the 5K.

Coincidence?

After I posted tonight, I went to the Running Blog Recents to check out all my favorite reads and the 2nd and 3rd post titles were:

"I Want to Run Faster" and "**SUB 22:00**"

That's just freaky weird!

What's So Magical?

Jesse broke 20 minutes last weekend at the Donate Life 5K, 19:46! He whipped that challenge. Let's see what he can do this weekend at the Lutheran High School 5K.

Two of my CA Cruiser friends, Kitty and Margaret, are on their way to Canada for the Vancouver Marathon. Send Kitty and Margaret all the good vibes you can muster up. Kitty never stops smiling. She's also coming up to Seafair to run the half in July.

I'm smack dab in the middle of my 18 week marathon training program. I've used this program before for the long run progression but never for the midweek miles and for what ever reason, I've never actually been able to start at week #1 and proceed right on through the entire schedule. I like this schedule for a couple of reasons: 1) there are three 20+ milers, 2) the long runs are separated by a medium distance and a short distance week, and 3) the last long run is 4 weeks before the marathon.

The midweek mileage this week had me puzzled. 5 miles Tuesday, 7 miles Wednesday, and 6 miles Thursday. Seems like an odd progression for some reason. Maybe just because it's different. From the beginning of the schedule the midweeks have been 6-8-6. Why the change this week? The obvious answer is because it follows the 20 mile run. But what's so magical? What would be the effect of switching them around, or adding a mile or two each day, or subtracting a mile or two? I played it safe (that's just me) and did exactly what the schedule called for.

From the advice I got last week I really want to try to increase my mileage a little to assure I break that 4 hour mark at Seafair. The other thing I got going on this weekend is the third race of the 5K series. I have no idea how that's going to go. My focus has been the marathon. Last week I skipped my speedwork Tuesday because of the cold. In fact I didn't run at all. I didn't want to do it then Thursday, two days before the long run. And this week I didn't do any figuring I needed to save any speed I've got for the race. I'm still hoping to break 22:00. What effect is the 5-7-6 going to have on this. I don't know. It's easier to just run and not think about these things. But on the other hand if I don't think about them, then I'll never achieve my goals. In the end, the marathon training is right on track and the 5K will just have to be whatever its going be.

Finally I concluded that there really is nothing magical about the 5-7-6 progression. The important thing is just getting out there and putting in the miles. Mission accomplished, no hocus pocus required.

Back to Bonelli

Sunday morning when I rolled out of bed, I was surprised at how good my legs felt after yesterday's long run. I was planning on running in Chino Hills State Park after I dropped my son off in Corona at the paintball park. He wanted to watch a tournament scheduled today. This morning though he couldn't drag himself out of bed. He had trouble falling asleep last night. I opted instead to run in Bonelli.

I hit the same trails on the south side of the park that I did last Sunday. I decided to run the loop counter-clockwise today. My intent was to avoid the uphill switchbacks between 3.5 and 4 miles. The crazy thing is I think the hills are longer, just more gradual, going this way. There is a fairly long downhill on the back stretch when you go clockwise, but it turns into a much steeper and longer uphill when you go the opposite direction. How does that happen? During the run I pretty much decided that this direction is actually harder than the normal direction. All the mountain bike races always go clockwise. There must be a reason for that. Maybe my legs were more tired than I initially thought.

Miles this week: 31
Miles for April: 168.8 (my highest mileage month ever!)
Miles for 2006: 504.3 (not bad I guess, considering January was less than 50 miles)

20 Miles with Jeff

This morning I did my first of three 20+ milers in preparation for the SEAFAIR marathon. It was just about as perfect a day as anyone could ask for to do a long run. The skies were overcast with temperatures in the low 60's. Ideal. In addition, I had the privilege of running along side Jeff, the Amazing Hip.

He's an awesome guy; humble, affable and easy going; a real pleasure to spend time with. We ran Jeff's home turf, the San Diego Creek Trail. Oddly, it's in Irvine, not San Diego as you might think. Jeff had suggested the route including two out and back sections of the trail with a stop in the middle for refueling, etc. Jeff ran with me for the first 8 miles, then he switched over to his bike and rode the next twelve. He called out the mile markers and told me when to turn around. He even reminded me to drink. He did everything within his power to make the run stress free for me.

All I had to do was run. And run I did. Usually on long runs I take a one minute walk break every mile. Today, I just ran and ran, with only a couple of short stops at water fountains. Jeff let me set the pace when he could have easily blown me off the course. He always stayed half step off to my side and even biked just to the side and behind me, so I wasn't tempted to push harder than I should. We talked the whole way, about blogging, bloggers, Boston, family, church,India, racing and running. Our average pace was just over 9 minute miles. Slow for him, but right on target for me. I was very satisfied that I was able to complete a 20 miler without my usual walking breaks. It got me a little excited about actually achieving the 4 hour marathon goal.

I'd have to say this was one of the most enjoyable 20 milers in a long time. Thanks, Jeff! I hope we can do it again sometime.

Potential

Donald's post the other day got me thinking about this again. Recent events have kept it in the front of my mind. I'm in the 5K series with Jesse from my running group. Jesse's only a couple of months older than me but he's definitely faster. I don't really know how long he has been running but I know he trained really hard trying to qualify for Boston, but missed it by 15 minutes at Rock & Roll AZ in 2004. He disappeared from the group for a while after that. The effort took a lot out of him and he ended up hurting himself. He's back now over 2 years later but still in no big hurry to run another marathon. Now he's focusing on speed. He hopes to break 20 minutes on Saturday at the Donate Life 5K. Robb is also shooting for a 20 minute 5K. I'm pretty sure Jesse can shave off 26 seconds to make his goal. We'll have to wait a little longer to see about Robb. But if I had to predict, I'd bet he makes it too. My goal when I started this 5K was to catch Jesse or at least close the gap. Frankly I'm shocked that I've been at 22:43 and 22:20 these last two. I never expected that. My best before that was 24:00. I got here just doing what I always do with a little, and I mean little, speed work thrown in. Back to Donald's point how much improvement could I have gotten if I had trained harder, smarter, or better. Could I realistically achieve that 20 minute 5K? I've been a runner for just less than 3 years, I'm not getting any younger, and I can guarantee there's no genetic predisposition to speed in my family.

On the other end of the spectrum, the 110th Boston Marathon has really stirred my passion for that distance. How could you not get excited about Boston after reading Jeff's account and the RBF reunion there on the east coast. Listening to SteveRunner's podcast #41 was just amazing. The minute that anyone ever finds out that I run marathons, it's "have you run Boston?" Even none runners understand the mystique of Boston. I've pretty much resigned myself to choosing another one to cross Massachusetts of my state list. With 4:06 as my best, how could I ever hope to meet the 3:30 qualifying time. I'll be happy to break 4:00 at SEAFAIR, 2 days before I turn 45, technically requiring a 3:20 BQ. Do I have it in me to shoot for 3:30. Would my body hold up? Are there enough hours in the day? My wife is supportive of my running jones most of the time, but I do take the occasional hit. And rightfully so, I imagine.

My 4:06 was at Hartford after running 3 other marathons that year. I averaged only 25 miles a week leading up to that one. Last year for NYC, I averaged 32 miles a week over the same time frame including 4 weeks at 40+ miles. That one was my 2nd worst at nearly 5 hours. I would clearly have to run longer and faster to make this goal. Back to Donald again. I wonder if I could really do it? Am I willing to even try? I doubt I could do it alone. I believe I would need some coaching to provide a focused plan. Up to this point I've gotten where I am pretty much on my own. Something to think about. Definitely easier to write about than to actually execute.

This week was a scheduled easy week leading up to a 20 miler on Saturday. Tuesday I got whacked bad with a head cold, so no running. I didn't manage to make it up on Wednesday either. I did make it out tonight for 5 miles over on the roads in Bonelli. I took it easy and felt alright. Saturday morning most of my running group is joining Jesse at the 5K. No one else is up to 20 miles, so I'm heading down to Irvine to meet up with the RBF's hippest member. I'm really looking forward to that.

A Surprise Wedding

Saturday we attended a surprise wedding. Our friend Jerry wanted to do something romantic for his wife to celebrate their 20th anniversary. He is a self described "unromantic". When he first told us about his plan I was somewhat skeptical about pulling it off and wondered what his wife' reaction would be.

He and his wife, Kellie, had planned a week long cruise to the Mexican Riviera as a celebration. Jerry suggested that they have a backyard BBQ before they left to celebrate with their friends. Kellie took the idea and ran with it. She planned invitations and decorations on a cruise theme. We all ended up getting two invitations - one from Jerry for the wedding ceremony/BBQ and one from Kellie for the anniversary party/BBQ. Kellie is one of my wife's best friends, so she kept Jerry informed on what Kellie had planned. Jerry had lined up our pastor to show up at 1:00. Kellie wanted to have the party at 3:00. After some emails back and forth to Jerry, they somehow convince Kellie to start the party earlier. Still the two invitations were an hour off. Kellie had lined up tables and chairs for the expected 90 guests. She did the lion's share of the planning for the BBQ not realizing what Jerry had going on behind the scenes.

Yesterday, Kellie couldn't figure out why people were showing up early. She also couldn't figure out why Jerry kept putting off firing up the bbq's. Right on cue the pastor showed up. Somehow they got Kellie to the door and at first she couldn't quite figure out what was going on. While Jerry proposed and Kellie got her head around the idea of what going on, some of us rearranged the backyard by moving all the tables and setting up the chairs like a chapel. Their son seated Kellie's mother and then cued up the wedding march. He stood as the best man and their daughters stood as brides maids. A neighbor had made a bouquet of flowers for her to carry. Jerry even surprised her with new matching wedding bands. Kellie was shocked and Jerry was proud for having pulled it off. It was really a personal ceremony. It was all very casual but the memories will live on forever. Twenty years ago they had eloped to Las Vegas under much different circumstances. This day was the wedding they had wanted but didn't have then.

On another cool note, this morning I opened up the newspaper to find Jarod Behee on the front cover. He and his family are also on the cover of USA Weekend magazine that comes in Sunday paper. His daughter's preschool teacher, Jennifer Vogel, had organized car washes to raise money on their behalf as part of Make a Difference Day. Jennifer was chosen as a winner of the contest and received one of ten $10,000 awards. I had written about Jarod a couple of weekends ago.

On the running front, this weekend was a low mileage weekend. While it was nice to have the lower mileage in anticipation of ramping up to the first of three 20+ milers before SEAFAIR, it seemed strange to be done so soon. Saturday I ran Robert's Loop. This route is just out my front door and is named for a friend who is one of the people who convinced me that I could run a marathon. This loop goes by his house as well and is a loop he used often when he trained for the Los Angeles marathon in 2002 and 2005. The 6.5 mile loop includes a quarter mile plus uphill and the horse trail in Via Verde that I frequent. Sunday morning I went to Bonelli again and ran the 5 mile trail loop on the south side of the park with a slight half mile detour to the facilities. When I first jumped on the trail I came upon signs for a mountain bike race. Cars were entering the park with bikes loaded up. I ran between 8 and 9 in the morning and expected at any minute to be overtaken by a pack of bikers, but never was. I'm not sure when the race was actually going to get started but it is going to be a nice day for a ride, overcast and not too hot.

Miles for week: 34

Simple Math

Thursday I did my run over in Bonelli Park. My schedule called for 6 miles. During the day I had contemplated doing the 6 mile route in my neighborhood. Then I remember a comment on my blog about running more in Bonelli Park. I have a 5 mile route on roads there, so I just figured I would add a little on to the end. That was my plan most of the day. But then...on my way home I realized I hadn't done my speed session this week. Now, what to do? I was looking forward to my Bonelli run. As a compromise I decided to keep my original plans but take the run onto the trails and substitute some hills for the speed work. I also decided that I spend way too much time thinking about where and when I will run. I am perhaps a little obsessive.

I got over to Bonelli and hit the trail on the west end of the park. This trail parallels the 57 Freeway. This is the biggest negative about Bonelli in that even on the trail you are often within eye sight and definitely within earshot of the local freeways. Bonelli is tucked into the intersection of Interstate 10 and 57. Its proximity to home being the biggest positive.

As I made my way up the first hill I caught up to and overtook a trio of mountain bikers. I know biking uphill is difficult but I always get a kick out of passing them on foot. The odd thing is they never caught up on the downhill. They must have turned around and went back the other way. After about 2.5 miles the trail ends and I was forced onto the road that goes over the dam. This then connects to an easy trail that parallels the road on the north side of park. Running on the trails, I am never quite sure of my distance. When I hit the road I was at 22 minutes. I thought I had kept up a pretty good pace on the trail so assumed 9 minute miles. Mentally I'm calculating when I will hit 3 miles to turn around. I come up with 9 x something = 36. So I'll turn around at 36 minutes. I didn't give in another thought. There is a natural turning point on this trail and I got there at 36 minutes and change. Good. I turned around and retraced my steps back to car. The trip back is unfortunately more uphill than the trip out. I got back in 39 minutes. I checked the time to find out it was 7:43. I had originally told my wife I'd be home by 7:30. Assuming 6 miles at 10 minute miles, worse case, and the drive back and forth I should have been done in about 1:15, not 1:30. I thought this was strange but didn't really give it another thought.

Upon my return home and after kicking my youngest off the computer, I g-map'd my route to find out that I had run out 4 miles, not 3, doh. Simple math. 9 x 3 = 27, 9 x 4 = 36. I guess I'm not the most lucid of thinkers on the run. No wonder it was so late when I finished. Oh well, no worries. It was a nice run.

The Missing Week, Found

Being gone for a week, it now seems almost silly to talk about the runs I had then. There were thoughts I had while I was out there that I would have shared if I had been updating more frequently. My attempt at a semi short wrap up follows:

Last Tuesday: 6 miles on the Santa Fe Dam. Nothing special. I remember thinking that this was actually pretty boring.

Wednesday: before we finished packing for the trip I wanted to do my speedwork. I also had to redeem myself from the weak effort last week. I was inspired by Robb's speedwork session the day before. I planned to add in the 1200 I've put off. I also decided to do the laps as a ladder. I did a 400 in 1:45, 800 in 3:35, the 1200 in 5:29, back to 800 in 3:40, followed by a 400 in 1:46. I was pretty happy that my last 400 was basically the same as the first. Later that night we got on an airplane for our overnight flight from LAX to Cleveland, OH.

Thursday: after only 4 hours of restless sleep on the airplane I planned on running at Findley State Park. When I was a kid we used to go camping there all the time. It is only about 3 miles from my parent's home. We would frequently go out on a Sunday morning and cook breakfast. The proximity of this park to home is one thing I really miss living here in urban SoCal. Here we have to make reservations 6 months in advance and drive for 100's of miles to find a decent place to camp. Anyway, I knew that there was a trail that went around the lake and decided to see what I could find. I parked at the beach on the north end of the lake near the causeway. Almost immediately I ran into a marked trail, the Thorn Mountain Bike Trail. The trail wound around back and forth completely around the park. I had no idea when I started running where the trail went or how long it was. The trail twisted snake-like through the trees. The trees were not yet leafed out so you could see through the woods. I had to run fairly slowly because the trail changed direction every 50 feet or so it seemed. About 30 minutes into the run I was debating whether I should turn back or just keep going. I decided to carry on. The park wasn't that big and I still had plenty of daylight left. At some point I could smell wood smoke so I figured that I was near the campgrounds on the east side of the lake. Eventually I came to a place in the trail where the amphitheatre was. I remembered this from our family camping trips as a kid. This was the first place in miles that I had any idea where I was. I knew it wasn't that far back to where I had started. I followed the bike trail through the picnic areas and back to the car. After I got to my parent's house I looked up the trail on the web and found out that I had run 8 miles in 1:21. I had the trail completely to myself. Except for the constant turns and the mud it wasn't the most technically challenging course, but I really enjoyed being "lost" in the woods. I did come across three wild turkeys.

Saturday: Since I'm ramping up my training for the SEAFAIR marathon, my schedule called for 18 miles. I knew that there was a great trail system in the Cleveland MetroParks System, but I didn't really want to drive 40 minutes or so to get there. Like Drew, I was in OH for the weekend and had searched the internet for places to run. I turns out there there is a closer trail, the North Coast Inland Trail, the "Skinniest Park in Lorain County". The trail is built on the bed of an old railroad. This part of OH is pancake flat and the trail only takes on turn. It was very easy to focus on the horizon far in the distance and just keep moving forward. I really liked the trail because it was a new experience for me but it would probably get old after a while. The weather was cool and overcast for the first 2 hours. Even after the sun came out it was still comfortable. The trail was marked in most places with markers every half mile. The old stone mile markers from the railroad are also still standing in many places. Along the way, I saw many robins and cardinals, a couple of blue jays and tons of other birds I couldn't identify. A possum ambled across the path. There were at least a half dozen woodchucks burrowing into the embankment of the trail. Quite the little nature run. In the 2:45 minutes I was out there I saw 6 other runners, about the same number of bikers and maybe 10 walkers. I ended up doing 18.5 miles. My average pace was 8:55 and was consistent throughout, mile 2 was 8:55 and mile 16 was 8:59. Usually on runs longer than 16 miles I take a one minute walk break every mile. On this run I only walked a couple of times, for less than a minute, to take some gel and get a drink. I finished this one feeling good and even got in some dancing later that night at the wedding.

Sunday: Between church, Easter dinner with the whole family, except for my brother and his new wife, and later a trip to his in-laws house for wedding present opening and more food, I wasn't able to get out for my run until 9:00 p.m. I think my Dad thought I was crazy. I was a little worried about getting picked up by the local cop in town. In Wellington nobody up to any good is ever out that late! I ran the streets pretty much at the perimeter of town for a whopping 4 miles. It is a pretty small town. It is growing though, they even have a McDonalds and a Burger King, but no Starbucks. They are also all excited that a WalMart is going in 10 miles from town.

Monday: we spent the day visiting an old friend on the east side of Cleveland and met up with my wife's college roommate and her fiance in Kent for dinner at one of the bars we used to frequent back in the day. Who knew they actually served food too.

Tuesday: I ran down Prospect Street out through the new development Parkside Reserve (sounds pretty fancy for this small town) and out around the reservoir and back for 6 miles. I saw some old guy up on the reservoir sitting on a bucket. He had a pole with an American flag and a radio hanging from the pole. He was staring off to the north through a pair of binoculars and never moved from that position for as long as I could see him. I'm not really sure what he was looking at or for but he sure was intent on it. Later that afternoon we said our goodbyes and flew back home.

Today: It was back to work and 8 miles afterward, 4 with Celeste at the Santa Fe Dam and then I split the run up because my stomach was a little iffy. I drove home to make sure before finishing up the run with 4 more over at Via Verde.

Now I'm all caught up and I feel better. So much for semi-short. Thanks for hanging with me to the end. Now I'm off to catch up with all of you.

Nearly a Week Away

Wow, time flies! It has been over nearly a week and a half since I've posted. I haven't even been able to really keep up with the blogs I read. I feel as though I'm out of the loop. I have definitely missed keeping up with all of you.

We left town late last Wednesday night to attend my brother's wedding in Ohio. We got home just about an hour ago, Tuesday night. It was a very enjoyable trip in that I got to see my parents and all my siblings and nieces. Everyone lives in northern OH, except for me. I especially enjoyed Easter dinner with the family. For 23 years I've missed most of Holiday dinners.

We stayed with my parents. They have a computer, but it is old, slow and on dial-up. I am so spoiled with DSL. Between that and a busy schedule I didn't devote much time to blogs. I of course got in all my scheduled runs. I had put plenty of thought into where and when I would fit them in. I hope to elaborate more on them, maybe tomorrow night. It is now 10:45 p.m. in CA (1:45 a.m. in OH time). It has been a long day so I am going to hit the hay. I am alive and well and am anxious to catch up on all that I missed in the last week.

Miles last week: 43.2

End of Another Week

I didn't get my run in today until 5:30 this afternoon. I had thought of running in Chino Hills State Park in the morning after reading this blog, but as happens probably too often, I was unaware of other schedules in the family. I went to Bonelli instead, only 5 minutes from home. I did the 5 mile loop on the south side of the park. I still got in a trail run with hills and enjoyed every step of it.

Miles this week: 40.2

Long Run and Big News

This morning I met the Cruisers at Rio Java Coffee Shop in Yorba Linda. I had 16 miles on the schedule today. I was planning on taking this run nice and slow. The rest of the group was only doing 10 or 6. I ran with John and Rochelle at first. Our first mile was pretty darn slow - 10:59. The whole group kind of hung together for a while before we all settled into our own paces. The next 3 miles were about 9:50 pace. John and Rochelle hung with me for a total of 3.5 miles. At that point they turned back and I decided to keep going rather than going back with them and then still having to go back out for nine more miles.

We started at the coffee shop and headed west. I really like going this way because after about a mile runners have the choice of running on the asphalt bike path or on a decomposed granite/dirt path that meanders along side it. I usually choose the DG. If we head east its asphalt all the way.

I ran out for 8 miles and then back to the car. No temptation that way to jump in and call it a day. Not likely I would have done that anyway, but why take the chance. After I was running alone, I tried to keep the pace nice and easy, but I sped up. My pace for those 12 miles was 9:00 minute miles. Overall the run took 2:28 for a pace of 9:15.

I took half a pack of Tangerine Power Gel at 8 miles. I didn't really feel like I needed it but thought it would be a good idea to get into the routine of taking them if I'm going to be ramping up for a marathon. I took the rest of between mile 12 and 13.

This run is the longest run I've done, excluding NYC and Vegas Marathons, since October 15 last year. At the end of the run, I felt really good, like I could have kept going if I had to.

Now for the Big News (and in answer to Rae's question a couple of days ago) -
As soon as I finished Vegas I went in search of my next marathon. I had several things to consider at the time. My trip to India took me out of running commission for January. I also had to consider a trip to Ohio for my brother's wedding in April; next week now.

Terry and I were originally considering Napa, but I really wouldn't have had enough time to prepare for it. Terry backed out somewhere along the way and Napa is in Californian (duh!) and I've already knocked that one off my list (three times actually, LA twice and Rock and Roll San Diego).

Some of the Cruiser's were heading up to Vancouver in May. I think it would be a beautiful marathon, but I'm so focused on the state thing, I decided I wasn't ready to start countries yet.

I really wanted to find something in June or July so that I could take February easy and then ramp into the 18 week program I mentioned last week. The list of possibilities included: Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon in South Dakota, Salt Lake City (although I really had my eye on Park City or St. George for Utah), Grandma's in Minnesota or Pacific Crest in Sun River, Oregon.

Then I saw the perfect one - The SEAFAIR Marathon in Bellevue, Washington. It's on July 9th, two days before my 45th birthday and I've always wanted to go the Seattle. I have this weird romantic idea that I want to retire there, even though I've never even been there. Of course, my wife, the practical one, thinks we should at least visit first. Anyway, it has been on my wish list. I even figured out my training program with the hope that I would be able to do it. On Thursday, we bought the tickets and I mailed in my registration. Woo hoo. My 6th state, Washington, and Happy Birthday to Me, here I come.

On Monday of this last week some of the Cruisers also submitted our names into the lottery for St. George. The pictures and reports I've heard about this one say that it is absolutely beautiful. If all goes well I'll knock off two more states this year. At this rate, I'll have all 50 by 2028. I'll ONLY be 67 years old, Yikes! So, Vancouver in 2029?

I Gave Up

I know running has a huge mental component and Thursday night I let it get to me.

I intended on doing some speed work at the track. When I got home from work I really didn't feel like going back out there. I contemplated not going at all. Then I thought maybe I would just go for a 6 miler and skip the speed this week. I've been trying to increase my speed distance a little more each week. I started with just 400's and have either added more 4's or increased a couple of them to 800's.

I finally decided to get going, hit the track and see how it went. I did 2-400's. The time was actually right in line with where I've been, 1:48 and 1:47. At this point I should have bumped it up to 8's but I kept on with the 4's. I did two more at 1:47 each and then I left the track. Even though physically I was doing fine I just wasn't into it. I ran my cool down route back home.

I wasn't really tired. Nothing really hurt. I just couldn't get my head into the idea of running those laps that night. I guess it takes a lot of mental stamina to pound out laps around the track and I just didn't have it.

I'll give it another try next week.

A Windy One

We've had another one of those big rainstorms the last couple of days. This one was actually as big as the weather faces on TV predicted. It rained pretty solid for nearly 24 hours. This isn't much for most people but I'm here in southern California. Remember it never rains here. For most of us its just an annoyance, especially during the commute to and from work. It did cause some flooding and even some landslides.

Because of the weather I decided to get Tuesday's 6 miler in on Monday night to beat the rain. I went out at 8:30 p.m. It was a very calm night. It just seemed quieter than normal. The calm before the storm I guess. I'm glad I did that run because of the previously mentioned rain.

This week I am back up to an 8 miler midweek, so I packed my stuff for a run after work hoping that the weather would cooperate. I brought long sleeves and a hat just in case. At 3:30 it was still raining pretty hard, but by 4:00 the sky was clearing up. The wind was blowing out of the west, pushing the storm towards the mountains.

I went over to my usual after work run at the Santa Fe Dam. It was sure windy up there on the exposed part of the dam, about 2 miles. Looking west towards the ocean the sky was pretty clear and the sun was shining. Off to the north and west the clouds were all piled up black and gray at the mountains. It was kind of a cool juxtaposition to be able to see two different skies with a turn of my neck.

The first mile of the trail heads south. I was buffeted by a cross wind that pushed me around a little bit. After that, the trail heads east so the wind was predominately at my back. After about 2.5 miles the trail descends into the park behind the dam, so I was somewhat protected from the wind. Since Celeste wasn't running with me today (she is taking salsa lessons), I ran out for 4 miles before turning around. When I came back up out of the park I was running head first into the wind for a good mile. I caught up to a couple of kids on bikes. I said something to them about how hard it was to ride into the wind. They asked me a lot of questions - "how far does the trail go?" 32 miles from where we were all the way to the beach, "do you run every day?" almost. "do you every walk?" sometimes. "are you on the track team? No, I'm out of school. I slowed down a bit to talk to them. They were really struggling in the wind. I finally pulled on ahead of them. After the trail headed back north again, the headwind wasn't so strong so they caught up to me. They told me "you run pretty fast." Thanks, I appreciate that. "You never give up, huh?" I try not to. Even though they were young, I figured I'll take a complement anywhere I can get it.

Factoring the wind into the equation I think I got a pretty good workout with this run. The best part of the run - I started about 5:30 p.m. and finished the 8 miles and the sun was still way up in the sky. Yahooo for Daylight Savings Time.

A Quick 5K Update

Before I called it a night, I had to check and see if the official results were posted for yesterday's La Habra 5K. My official time is listed as 20:19, cool!

I was 7th in my age group of 25. Jesse was 4th. In the top third!

I was 53rd overall, out of 299. That puts me in the top 20%. I don't think I've been that high up before. When I have checked it seems like I'm usually firmly in the 40 to 50% range.

Has anyone seen Meb Keflezighi's new commercial for Mastercard. I saw it tonight during Gray's Anatomy. I wonder how many people actually know who the runner dude in the commercial is? I was excited to see it. Runner geek, I know.

Glorious

Having or deserving glory, characterized by great beauty and splendor, magnificent.

This word came to mind on my run this afternoon. I thought maybe at first that it was too flowery or too wimpy of a word, but it described the day perfectly. The weather here couldn't have been nicer. The temps were in the high 60's, low 70's. There was a light breeze. The sky was blue with wispy white clouds. The hills have all turned green dotted with yellow mustard, due to the recent rains. I felt good. I had no time expectations for the run, so I just ran and enjoyed the absolutely glorious day. We had lunch with some friends, picnic style, at Brackett Airfield. This is a small airport on the other side of Bonelli Park. I've mentioned them before. After we were done eating and hanging out I ran home. I didn't know exactly how far it would be. I had guessed about 5 miles. When I got home I checked g-maps pedometer and came up with 6.25 miles at 8:36 pace. Glorious.

Weekly miles: 30.4
March miles: 147.4

Our church has a satellite service at a movie theatre in the next town over. This morning Jarod Behee and his wife, Marissa we going to be there to share a little of their story. Jarod is a staff sergeant in the US Army. He was critically wounded in Iraq. We were aware of his story as he is a member of our church. His wife has kept a website detailing their ordeal. His recovery has been nothing short of miraculous and inspiring. This kind of story makes blogging about running seem pretty trivial. I am thankful that we have men and women like Jarod and his wife that have sacrificed nearly everything for the ideals of the USA. What ever your thoughts on the war, you cannot dispute the fact that Jarod and those in similar situations are truly heroic and deserve our support. Jarod's willingness to serve, his recovery against all odds, Marissa's strength and reliance on God, that's Glorious.

La Habra 5K

Today, April Fools Day, was the second of the 5K races for the Puma Cup Series. This was the La Habra 5K/10K.

I woke up to rainy skies. I brought my cap and a trash bag to help keep my dry before the race started. I don't mind running in the rain but standing around waiting didn't seem quite as appealing. The bad thing about our trash bags - they are the tall kitchen variety, 13 gallons - not exactly big enough. I'm not a big guy but I guess I'm more than 13 gallons. With a hole in the bottom the bag fit over my head but I couldn't move my arms very much. I did serve its purpose though. Just before the race started I ditched the bag.

This race reunited, Jesse, Jim, Jay and I for a friendly competition. I actually don't really stand a chance against them but I'm trying. My PR was still slower than any of them. I just went back to the website to check my official time. It now says 22:43. This is the time I had on my watch but back on the day after the race they had me down for 22:36. Either way a PR, so today was the day to see if any of that speed work would be paying off.

The rain was coming straight down, thankfully there was no wind. The temp was maybe around 60 so it wasn't terribly cold. The description for this race was "semi-challenging loop course." I ran into Arcie before the race and she told me that it was hilly. Perfect, I love the hills. I didn't know how it would translate into an improved time but I knew I would enjoy it.

I seemed like we stood forever in the raining (actually about 5 minutes) before the race finally got started. Jesse took off like a bolt of lightning. Jim followed him and Jay and I brought up the rear. The course turned right almost immediately after the start and up the first hill. Jay and I talked for a little then off I went. Only a couple of people passed me up that first hill and then we pretty much maintained our positions for the race. Jim was always 50 to 100 yards ahead of me. On every up hill I would pass the guy in front of me and then we would go by me on the downhill. By the 4th incline I got ahead of him and he must have run out of steam because on the next longish downhill I never saw him again. The course was marked in kilometers rather than miles so I had no real idea of how fast I was going. I only knew that I was getting closer. I'm just not up to the task of converting minutes/km into minutes/mile in my head on the run. (Sorry Danny). When we turned the last corner into the home stretch, I wasn't really able to pick up the pace, but neither was anybody else.

I crossed the finish line in 22:20!! A new 5K PR on a more difficult course than the nice flat course in San Diego two months ago. I still wasn't any closer to catching Jesse but I'll take the 23 seconds. The official results are not on line yet but the finish line photo is and it shows the clock as clear as day. Jesse finished in 20:26, an 8 second improvement. The guy who kept challenging me on the hills finished 7 seconds behind me. I took a certain degree of pleasure in that.

This race included a 10K as well. Many of the Cruisers were running that. Both races started at the same time. The 10K was simply two loops of the course. Before the race Kara and Dorothy invited me to run the second lap with them. The finished the first lap in about 33 minutes. The second lap was a nice slow cool down. There was hardly anyone left on the course at this point. The rain had pretty much stopped as well.

I hung around for the award ceremonies. Jim and Jay won age group awards in 5K. John, Dorothy and Kara won age group awards in the 10K. They are all over 55. John is 71. So I guess the key to getting an award is to outlive (or at least out last) your competition.

My schedule for called for a 14 mile long run this weekend. So rather than trying to fit it in tomorrow, I drove over to the Santa Ana River Trail in Yorba Linda where we usually run and put in 8 more miles for a total of 14.2. This is probably not the most orthodox way to achieve a 14 miler but those 14 miles were all on my legs, so I'm going to put them on the books.

Running for Lasagna

Again!

On Wednesday I ran back over to my mother-in-laws for a lasagna dinner. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago the she makes a killer lasagna. What I didn't mention is that she makes a lot of lasagna at once. Whether she's cooking for 6 or 26 she makes the same amount of lasagna. Luckily this time she stuck the leftovers in the freezer. Tuesday night she pulled them back out, warmed them up and we got a yummy lasagna dinner again. It was even better the second time around. The run over also went better than a couple of weeks ago. I finished it 2 minutes. I think most of that gain can be accounted for by not having to slow at intersections to make sure I was making the right turns. She only lives a couple of miles away and yes, I do know how to get there. But I needed to make the run 6 miles last time so I added some loops through her neighborhood, which is hilly and by no means on a grid so I took extra care last time not to get lost. Maybe I was just more hungry this time, who knows.

I have been following the training program form marathontraining.com. This week was an easy week, only calling for two midweek runs of 4 miles each. I still ran 6 the first day. On Thursday, Celeste and I ran the 2nd 4 miler at the Santa Fe Dam Trail. The nice thing about the shorter run was that we finished before the sun set. Since I do most of my weekday running after work, I will be very happy after Daylight Savings Time kicks in tonight.