Posts Tagged ‘half-marathon’

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14 Nov 2016

Rock n Roll Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Blaine's Weekly Review, Marathon Training, Racing Recaps | Comments Off on Rock n Roll Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon

This is 1/2 Marathon #2 for my Marathon Training.

Unfortunately I messed up the training weeks and this one fell into my speed training weekend.

Last weekend was the 3 hour run and next week is my four hour run. So I kinda jumped out of my schedule and added another long run this weekend for the Rock n Roll.

 

So is this marathon worth it?

Well, I really don’t know how to tag this one. With over 30,000 runners competing for space down the Las Vegas strip, it can get crowded over the first few miles. But, I must admit, the starting line was much more organized than the Disney World 1/2 Marathon a few years ago.

We arrived after Snoop Dog’s concert, just as the sun was setting. We decided to walk to the starting point, forgetting, once again, that everything is big and far in Vegas. At a brisk walk, it took about an hour  to get to the start from our hotel. So by the time we got there, I already had 5k under my belt and I was sweating (we are in the desert after all). But all was good and and we were eventually ushered out to the starting line and everything went smoothly.

The first few miles were crowded, and with all the excitement my pace was a little too fast. But I felt great and ‘convinced’ myself that I could run like I did 5 years ago.

I kept my pace up and ran down the strip and past our hotel (the Encore) just before the 10k marker.  I also stopped a few times along the strip to take videos and photos of the various bands like Kiss and Elvis playing along the way. Plus I always enjoy talking to some of the volunteers at the hydration stops.

Then we started getting into downtown Las Vegas and that’s where things started to go bad…

It was my first time downtown and it was little too dark on the side streets. Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle on a road reflector when switching lanes – and that resulted in an instant ‘time to walk’ attitude.

This was mile marker 10… two hours into the race. Still an easy 2h 45m finish even with a sprained ankle, or so I though!

Next came complaints from my bladder. Darn it. Why now!

So my new mission was to look for a port-a-potty. Unfortunately, there were none to be found. I ran and hobbled for ages and soon it became my only mission in life! So I had to take some detours off course, find a place to sneak out, find a restaurant, a McDonald’s, or a construction site.

Then to complicate matters even more, there was no water at the last 3 water stations. I give the volunteers credit of trying to fill up cups as fast as they could, but how could that happen!?! What is everyone behind me going to do?

Well, no matter as I was almost home.

However, with the search for a toilet (more than once) and lack of water at the remaining stations, it took me an additional hour to make it hobbling to the finish line.

Did I break 3 hours? With all the extra pit stops? Uhm… nope!

3.5 Stars

  • 5.0 Stars for organization at the start
  • 4.5 Stars for the course
  • 4.0 Stars for entertainment along the way
  • 2.5 Stars for the ending (no space blankets, bananas/water only)
  • 1.5 Stars for port-a-potties along the course
  • 2.0 Stars for water along the course

 

31 Oct 2016

Niagara Falls International 1/2 Marathon

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Blaine's Weekly Review, Marathon Training, Racing Recaps | Comments Off on Niagara Falls International 1/2 Marathon

One of the advantages of training for a marathon is to add a few 1/2 marathon during the Long Run portion.

I can do this because my running pace is fairly slow.

When my training calls for a three hour long run, I can sign up of a Half-Marathon and not be worried that I didn’t do enough time on my feet.

 

Niagara Falls International is a beautiful course. The run starts in Buffalo, goes over the Peace Bridges at the boarder, loops onto the Niagara Parkway and finishes up at ‘The Falls’.

The 1/2 Marathon starts along the parkway and you can easily forget about running, as you enjoy the trees with sparsely lined homes on the left and the river on the right. There was even a paddler keeping pace with me for a little while.

Of course, the weather could have been a little better for the run. The rest of the week was beautiful, but during the race it rained. Not a bad rain, but enough to get instantly soaked, cold enough that you need a few layers, and windy enough that you need glasses to keep the rain out of your eyes. But, hey, we all have to experience this type of run sometime, no?! And with the scenery along the course and lack of thousands people trying to pass you (like the Disney races), every moment was enjoyable.

To top it off, the last 3k is slightly downhill to the finish line. So I decided to sprint the remaining distance. But… it was a big mistake as running full speed down hill is not a good idea for my knees. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem for most runners. But, being 55, having a torn meniscus,  and being over weight does not make me ‘most runners’. Next time I think I will just keep my pace.

I came in over 3 hours and was actually shocked at the slow time. I planned on breaking the 3 hour mark based on my pace. However after everything was done, I realized that I miscalculated my pace for a 3 hour half. I was thinking it should be ~ 9 min/km pace (a very very long run training pace), so I was pacing around 8’40”. In reality, it was supposed to be under 8’31”.

Oops! Well that’s okay.

It was a training run, after all – and I did get a nice shiny metal and had an enjoyable experience.

 

31 Jan 2016

This year it’s the Honolulu Marathon

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Blaine's Weekly Review, Various Posts | Comments Off on This year it’s the Honolulu Marathon

A few days ago I talked with my friend Rose in Japan. She asked me about which marathon would be better to sign up for – Disney or Honolulu.

I did the Disney Coast-to-Coast challenge a few years ago and while I found the East Coast part of the event well organized, it wasn’t the best experience for me due to the shear number of people and being placed in the middle of the pack at 4am. Plus, I quickly realized that traveling from the West Coast to the East Coast for an early 1/2 marathon start is a grueling experience.

However, my closest experience with the Honolulu Marathon is from talking to a Japanese person living in Oahu. He told me that he does it every year and his love and passion for this particular marathon sold me on the fact that one day I was going to come back to Hawaii and do it.

Well, time went by and I completely forgot about it until Rose mentioned it. And now with a few days behind me looking at the logistics of doing this event (airfare, temperature, humidity, places to stay, timing, etc), I realize that it can be the perfect marathon goal for this year. So starting in March, I’m going to put together a training schedule and follow it until Dec. 11th – ‘run day’. I hope some of you will be able to use it for your own training and motivation as well.

Plus, if you’re thinking of doing the Honolulu Marathon, I’ve made a team (101Marathoners) that you are more than welcome to join when you sign up here. Heck, I might even make a training t-shirt for everyone that does! So let me know if you do!

So come join me and 101Marathoners in Hawaii on Dec 16, 2016 for the Honolulu Marathon.

05 Jan 2016

Almost a Thousand Kilometers Last Year

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Posted in Blaine's Running Journal, Blaine's Weekly Review | Comments Off on Almost a Thousand Kilometers Last Year

A little over nine hundred and seventy five kilometers and a 148 runs. That’s last year’s accomplishment according to Nike+.

While I didn’t break a thousand, I did do a few 1/2 marathons and even walked away with a Beach Cities Challenge that required three 1/2 or full marathon events. So it looks like the number of runs I did were actually lower than the year before. That makes sense, since I was injured or sick in bed for a number of weeks. Traveling outside the country 8 times and as far away as New Zealand also put a slight toll on my body.

So I still feel pretty good with the outcome, as it was a busy year and I still managed to put in a few good runs.

But this year is going to be different.
Last year I didn’t have much of a plan with all the interruptions. This year I intend to run regularly so that I can build up my milage in a safe ’n healthy way.

One of my goals is to NOT get sick this year and that means I need to eat right and exercise regularity without overdoing it. This will allow me to finally build up my immune system properly. Around Christmas last year I had a touch of the flu for about a week. But now I feel great and it seems that my body is recovering in order for me to hit longer distances. So next week, after I come back from the CES show, I’m looking forward to getting out there to enjoy the wind on my face. By March I should be ready to take on a few running events.

Happy 2016 everyone!

20 Apr 2011

Starting Week – The Unexpected 1/2 Marathon

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Posted in Blaine's Weekly Review | 2 Comments


So last week was kind of a crazy week.
I’m in the middle of my first week of Marathon training now and today is a rest day. I know I was supposed to write this entry at the end of the week but the weekend really was crazy!

Let me tell you why…

The week itself went like clockwork. I was able to get out on my running days and did 5k for each run. Again, I’m in no rush to push the miles, so an extra week to get my body all set up was a good idea. Especially because of what happened on the weekend!

Saturday morning I was up and ready. But today was different, I was going to go golfing (back-nine), have some Pho (Vietnamese soup), and then do a nice 5k walk to digest before my 5k run along the Newport Beach boardwalk.

Well everything worked out great. Until… I went to get my car keys and found that they were no longer in my race pouch! The only place they could have fallen out was at the 5k turn-around, since that was where I put my tunes on to start my run.

Oh No!!!

Nothing I could do, but to go back to the 5k turn-around and look for them. By now I was a little tired after walking on the golf course and completing 10k! But then the post-depression kicked in!
No luck in finding them, which meant calling the AAA (luckily I keep a spare key in the car or it could have been a real disaster).

Of course on the return trip, I just wasn’t ready for all this distance-stuff and my knees started to hurt – they hurt when I walk but not when I run… go figure.

But nonetheless, I ended up doing a ½ marathon that day! Ha! I did it! What a surprise!
Of course about two-thrids of it was walking, but I’m not going to tell any one if you don’t!

I must say though, I did have a number of great workouts at the beginning of the week and 5k/3-milers are starting to be a lot of fun. Oh, and to top things off on Sunday, when I went back for my 10k recovery walk. There they were! My lonely little car keys, sitting nicely on someone’s fence, just waiting for me to pick ‘em up. Thank you to whoever found them.

Thank you – thank you – thank you!
What a great way to end the week and get mentally psyched for my first week of Marathon Training.