2011 Yearly Archive

Disney’s almost here and shoes are important

Distance: 5.00km Time: 0:45 Pace: 9’08” kCal: 439 Heart: N/A RPE: 4 Type: 343-12

It’s been a fun week.
But not too much running-wise, unless you count running around shopping for Christmas presents.
I my tooth is still causing some trouble, but not as much as what’s been happening with my right foot.
It took me a few weeks and around 20 – 25 miles of running to discover that the last pair of shoes I got where causing me some problems.

In pseudo-medical terms, of I ended up over-extending the movement around my big toe and started getting some pain (the medial head of the flexor hallucis brevis). I then started to run a little different to alleviate that pain, ONLY to start putting stress on the upper part of my posterior tibial tendon and lower extensor digitorum longus. And man! What a conflict of body parts!
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Back to the Dentist for Christmas

Distance: 16.01km Time: 2:12 Pace: 8’25” kCal: 1113 Heart: N/A RPE: 5 Type: 343-10

I was right. It rained for a few days but I did get out to do some runs. The sad part is that the all-too-famous tooth pain has come back when I run.

I did go see the Dentist, and after much probing and searching, it’s simply my sinuses pushing onto the nerves of one of my teeth.

The result is a root canal and $$$. But it’s not going to happen before Christmas.

Presents and a Wedding Anniversary have priority.

So, I just have to watch myself and not go too crazy.
Maybe my teeth just want to let me know when I’m over training – no? Read the rest of this entry »

My Magic Mile

Distance: 10.12km Time: 1:30 Pace: 8’58” kCal: 921 Heart: 127/162 RPE: 5 Type: Magic Mile Test

This last weekend was my first time back to running.
My health is almost back to normal and the only thing left is to go see the dentist to fix up one of my teeth so as to avoid the bumping pain when I run (a filling fell out – rats!).

So, with only a few weeks left before the Disney Half Marathon, I’m looking for a way to fit my runs into a smart schedule. And for that, I’ve decided to use a part of Jeff Galloway’s training method which means I needed to figure out my Magic Mile.

 

Yesterday I did all the warm ups, glides, and jogging before seeing how well I could do coming off my chest cold. I was right where I thought I’d be: a 10 minute mile. So, I guess I’m looking at a 2h30m time for the moment. We’ll see how things go over the course of my last few weeks of training, but wouldn’t you know it… the weather for this coming week (all week) is RAIN!

Just when I’m ready and itchy to get going again.
Man, when it rains, it pours… get it !?!

Well, let’s see if I can sneak in some treadmill time.

Turkey and Trails

Distance: 5.22km Time: 0:38 Pace: 7’18” kCal: 541 Heart: NA RPE: 5 Type: 5k Trail Trot
Distance: 5.11km Time: 0:40 Pace: 7’59” kCal: 515 Heart: NA RPE: 7 Type: 5k Trail

I didn’t get too much running in over Thanksgiving, but I did manage to pull off two 5k Turkey Trots around the Monterey Peninsula just north of Big Sur, CA.

 

The first was the Salinas Valley 5k (Thursday).
This was a fun 5k event where the kids were having a blast. There was even one Turkey handing out water at the 2-mile mark. The course took place at the Toro Regional park.

The trails where nice and there was one hill that was a killer, but all in all it was a lot of fun. I did need to walk at one point.

There was a stretch that involved running through wet grass. That’s how I ripped my ACL in the first place – slipping on grass. So I still have a phobia and decided to walk it.
Total Time: 38 min.

 

The Second was the Peacock Areas 5k (Saturday).
Nice trails with lots of trees and hills. Some of the downhill trails where a little steep and dangerous… so I took those REALLY slow. But, man! What an experience. There were some people that even went out with baby strollers! I have no idea how they could navigate the course, let alone run with a good time.

some really cool pictures here

When I was nearing the finish line I was totally exhausted… and was not going very fast at all. As a matter of fact, my Portland Marathon Pace was faster! Go firgure.

Well… To be honest, I was fighting a serious cold that I picked up late Thursday night (definitely from someone at the Thanksgiving buffet). Total Time: 40 min.

Of course, after a 7.5 hour drive back on Sunday, I was feeling pretty terrible and ended up with a bad chest cold. I took it easy all week and doc says I need to rest another week, before doing any serious running.
So let’s see how things go.

A reflection on my journey

It’s been a weeks since I wrote my marathon Racing Recap.
And now I’m looking forward to the Disney World ½ Marathon coming up in January. I promised the doctor that I’ll take it easy, so I’ll stick with the ½ for now. It seems so short after doing Portland, but I think that the best part of doing a marathon is not the marathon itself, but the training.

After all…

  • It takes dedication to find the time to train.
  • It take determination not to over-train, and get injured.
  • It takes endurance to go the distance.
  • And, it takes stamina to go through the whole process.

With all the months involved and the journey to get to the point of doing a marathon, the marathon is really just a milestone like all the others (my first 30 minute run, my first 5k, then the first 5 miler, 10k, 10 miler…).

And now? Well…
I really enjoy the days when I get out in the morning for a great run or a long easy recovery walk.

So to reflect back on what I’ve accomplished, it’s really hard to believe that, less than a year ago, I was a non-runner with a crazy idea in his head to do his first marathon.

Some said I couldn’t do it. Some said I was crazy. Others where worried that I’d drop over and die. But most of my life-long friends and family saw a spark of youth inside me that is always there. Not the one that comes out when my wife keeps telling me to grow up… but the one, where I do things that make me feel alive.

Thinking back on how I got to this point? Well… it’s the people around me. My friends, family, twitterlings, and bloggerlites. Each of them (you) have helped me to get this far. So thank you to each of you!

But before I finish, I want to say a bit about my friend Rose.
She’s always been in the back of my mind (of course Facebook helps!).

She asked me a loooooong time ago if I’d like to join her in Kobe’s 1st marathon (and her first as well). Though I couldn’t make it to Japan, I thought about her during my training and during the marathon. So when I look back at everything that’s happened, I think… knowing someone else personally that was in the same boat as me, instilled more confidence in my getting to Portland.

As a matter of fact, just a few days ago (Nov 20) she did hers.
And she did good!

Who knows, may be I’ll join her next year – ‘cuz that finisher medal looks a mightly nice!

 

Well… I’m off to start my next training schedule for the Disney ½.
We will see where another full marathon fits in for 2012.
For now, I’m off north for US Thanksgiving around Monterey Bay & to run a few Turkey Trots.

Portland Marathon


Did you all think I gave up after the marathon?
Nope – not me! I just took a month off for family commitments, attending a great wedding back east, and a very long convention in Las Vegas.

But, things are finally settling down and I’m getting back into my training routine for yet another run. But more on that at a later time. For now let’s talk about the one race that started it all…

 

 

THE PORTLAND MARATHON!

WOW! That was fun!
And… I plan on doing it AGAIN!!!

Now, to be honest, I was getting nervous over the last few weeks before the marathon, especially after the doctor said NO to my running the event. So, first let me clarify that I did not run the whole thing. I took the advise of my doctor and applied Jeff Galloway’s approach at the last second when I attended his talk the day before at the expo.

Originally I had hoped run it in 4:30.
Next, I thought about running 1/2 of it and then walking the rest for 5:15-5:30
Then after talking with the doctor and experimenting with everything, my goal was just to complete it under 6:15. That would give me plenty of time to enjoy, take pictures, and to have a great experience. Of course, I was not too happy about having to go over six hours after all the training I did. It’s amazing how a knee injury, followed by a serious cold, can destroy the perfect plan.

Then after talking to Jeff, I decided to do a 3:1 run:walk routine to finish between 5:30-5:45.
Of course, everything is great at the beginning and it takes discipline to not run longer than 3 minutes at a time. The first 5 miles were so easy! Then after 15, 16, 17, 18 miles… you kinda forget to look at your watch or hear the beep (I was using my Nike GPS Watch), or those walk intervals seems so short, or the timing just doesn’t quite match with the water stations and you decide to walk a little longer (what happened to all that dicipline during my training sessions!!!)

So, my total time? 5h 50m.
Okay, okay. Not an amazing time. But I’m happy based on everything that’s been going on.

The marathon was great! I loved every minute of it!

I know I was way to conservative at the beginning and never experienced ‘the wall’. But then that’s okay, because I loved every minute of it!

Next time I’ll have more experience. It’s one thing to go on one of your long training runs by yourself. It’s another to be out there amongst thousands of people.

Here are some of my most memorable moments…

Mile  Why it was so cool…
0 Pitch black and getting everyone excited to start!
(photo) (photo)
3 Talking/Running with Herb.
He was out running 3 weeks after having 2 knee replacements.
6 Tripping up and crashing to the pavement, and getting a bloodied hand and swollen bloodied knee. But luckily it didn’t affect my ability to run and finish the race. Plus the medic was only ½ a mile away. Even after a month my knee cap is still bruised and hurts when touch. Bummer!
9 A photo session with a bunch of other runners – just out having some fun. Wasted a good 5 minutes right there with everyone swapping cameras 😀
(photo)
13.1 New PR for my 1/2 marathon by a few minutes. And I still had a bundle of energy left for the second half!
17.5 Next was going up the hill, taking the bridge, and passing Check-Point-Charlie. As I pulled out from the pack, I felt the wind on my face and it was great!
(photo)
21 Okay, not a memorable moment, everything seemed to be a blur but…
22 Next came the downhill and I was itching to run. Besides, at this point, it was easier to run than walk. Nice…
25 A straight away with crowds cheering us on both sides. I picked up my pace as I heard everyone shouting my name. Don’t you just love bids with your name on it?!?
26.1 Around the corner and across the finish line running proud with my hands in the air.
(photo)It was an amazing time.
Of course at the end I splurged on M&Ms and grapes. I never knew grapes could taste SOOOOO good after a marathon… not to mention flowers (LOL)!
(photo)

         

 

I’m off to Portland

Distance: 9.00km Time: 01:21 Pace: 9’13” kCal: 754 Heart: NA RPE: 3 Type: Tapper

Well this is it!
In a few hours I’m off to Portland for my first marathon!

I am so – so excited!!!

At the crack of dawn (minus 30 minutes) I was out and going around the lake alternating between a little jog and a brisk walk (because it was so cold out). Then I stopped and talked to some of the people I’ve been seeing every week for the last six months. I’ve gotten to know just about everybody’s names (and their dogs).
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47,000 Steps

Distance: 6.36km Time: 00:59 Pace: 9’23” kCal: 526 Heart: NA RPE: 3 Type: Tapper

Only a few more days and I’m excited and…
a little nervous.

Yesterday I was planning to go out for a light jog, but just as I was about to go, it started to pour rain. So I decided it was better to stay in and not chance getting sick like I did last time. Good choice, because today was an amazing morning. I went just to get my feet moving and realized that I’ve got a tooth ache that shoots a small pain every time my foot hits the pavement. It’s happened before, so I’m thinking it’s just a little subconscious stress.

Hmmm… but that will be about 47,500 steps in the marathon.

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Compromise?

Distance: 8.98km Time: 01:00 Pace: 7’12” kCal: 844 Heart: 137/158 RPE: 5 Type: Just wanted to run

Today was the day.
The knee specialist saw my MRI, shook his head, look me in the eye and said the words that all runners fear.

You got a tear. Actually, you’ve probably got 3 tears in the meniscus and your ACL is pretty thin.

Wow. Not good.

 

“But I feel great!”, I told him. “Really?”, he asked.
Up on the bed I went and time to start playing with the knees.
“Ow! Okay. That hurt… uhm… a little”. Well, you just can’t cheat the doctor, I guess.
He is the specialist after all!

So the bad news is that the tears will not heal on their own.
The good news is that, since I don’t really have any pain, I have to just watch what I’m doing and run properly (good old Chi Running!).

As for a marathon? He strongly discourages it. But… if it’s something I want to do… well…
Just be careful and do not run 5 times a week.

So a compromise.
I’ll run 1/2 the marathon and walk the other 1/2 (since I didn’t have any trouble in my long runs). He’ll do a follow-up with me 2 weeks after the marathon and send me to a physio/sports med clinic so that they can help me in any way I need.

It sounds like a plan. These next few weeks are not crazy runs, anyway. Tonight I’ll do a little 5k run locally just because it’s nice out. Hmmm… does it count toward’s one of my ‘4’ runs this week?

Tomorrow’s another day and I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

How long is a marathon?

Distance: 5.55km Time: 0:40 Pace: 7’14” kCal: 605 Heart: 147/159 RPE: 7 Type: 5k tempo

How long is a marathon?
Okay,  so I’m a little confused.

But, this last week has been pretty good. I did my long run in the weee hours of Sunday morning and after 3 hours, I still felt good. Physically exhausted, but no swelling around the knees or pain around the ankles.

To this day I still don’t see how I could have injured myself after just 30 minutes of running, when on Sunday I had no troubles for 3 hours.

 

The only problem I had was thinking that 13.1 miles was 23km. I couldn’t understand why I was 10 minutes over my goal at 23km (and I push the last 3km as to not have such a slow time)? That bummed me out for the rest of my run. But of course my wife pointed out AFTER I got home that 23km is NOT a ½ marathon. Oops…

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