Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon recap

Around the eight mile mark of the half marathon. I'm nearest to the Pacific Ocean.

 

Hello everyone.  Sunday’s Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon and 5K set a record of 10,000 participants and had over 6,000 that completed the half marathon.  Over half of the competitors were women, more than any race that I’ve ever been involved in over my 42+ years of running.

Arriving about 45 minutes before the race, you could tell the day was going to be special.  The rains from the past couple of days cleared and the temperatures were about 49 degrees at race time.  There was a special buzz in the air and the runners weren’t just talking about the upcoming race either.  Later in the day, there was a Super Bowl that was played between the Saints and the Colts that were matched up very well.

After pre race stretching, an announcement that the sponsor of the race, the Pamakid Runners were celebrating their 40th year as a club and a women who beat the disease of cancer and has gone to run over 100 marathons, the race was on.

During the early going, I felt as good as I have in a race going back to last November at the U.S. Half.  Everything felt good – the breathing and all.  I went through three miles in 22:31.  We turned back onto Kennedy Drive at that point and still felt good.

Went through four miles at 30:05, five miles at 37:36 and six miles at 46:00.  Then, something happened that has happened one other time, and that was at the Houston Marathon in 1997.

As I turned onto 41st Avenue, I felt a cramp coming on in my right hamstring.  A number of times in the next two miles, it would go away and then come back as I would increase the pace.  Then on the Great Highway, it really got bad.

Eventually, I had to cut the stride back in order to keep it from back.  It was rather painful, not only feeling it but watching people go by me, especially people that weren’t in the same condition going in as I was.  However, it would take a lot for me to DNF and as long as I could keep moving, there wasn’t any problem. 

For the rest of the race, the 7:30 per miles were now 9:30 per mile.  I know that there several other half marathons during the year.  However, there was one thing that definitely kept me going.

Last year, I ran my worst half marathon (2:02:55) on this course and it wasn’t going to happen again.  When I reached the twelve mile mark, I was at 1:41:01.  We still had 1.11 miles to go and a 600 foot climb to the finish.

With several of my friends cheering on going back east on Kennedy Drive, I was able to move along a little quicker with a little soreness and finished in 1:50:23.  It wasn’t the 1:39 that I hoped for but it was redemption for the third week in a row.  Afterwards, I was able to get an ice pack on the hamstring and it was determined that it was a cramp, and nothing more.

Well, there’s a half marathon in Oakland next month and a half marathon in San Francisco in April. I’ll be doing one of them before the Bay To Breakers in May. 

Finally, I’ll leave my readers with this quote – “Not always do we get what we want but if you work hard enough, special things happen to good people.” – Conan O’Brien on his last night on The Tonight Show.

Golden Gate Park 10K recap

Hello everyone.  Sunday’s Golden Gate Park 10K run was supposed to be a tempo run for me with the pace being between 7:55-8:00 per mile.  With a 10 mile race the week before, 220 miles of running for January and a half marathon coming up next Sunday, I didn’t want to race it. 

However, there was something on my mind as there was the week before.  Like the Waterfront 10 and next week’s Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon, these three races were the worst races I ran in 2009.  It was embarassing running a 56:40 last year.  I wasn’t in very good shape.  This morning, I woke up with a slight fever but was determined to run.

Going over from my apartment, I carried an old water bottle and actually, it helped with the water.  About four miles later, I felt a little better but was slightly dehydrated and actually continued taking some water despite the temps being at 10C and cloudy.

The race is mostly flat with some downhill beginning at the three mile mark but an uphill beginning at five miles.  I was running at between a 7:50-8:00 pace throughout.  I finished the 10K in a time of 49:29 with the Garmin 205 showing 6.20 miles.  After getting some much needed water and bananas, I jogged / walked and eventually bussed back home.  It was nice to get Redemption Run #2 out of the way.

Next week – Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon where I ran 2:02:55 last year (ouch).  Redemption Run #3 ahead.  Also, I believe there’s another event called Super Bowl XXXiV between the Saints and the Colts.  Have a good week everyone!  

Waterfront 10 Mile recap

Finish Of The Waterfront 10 - My Best One Ever!

Hello everyone.  After one week of rainy weather, most of the Bay Area woke up to cloudy skies but no rain.  The running gods were gracious to us this Sunday morning as the Waterfront 10 Miler and 5K was contested to nearly perfect conditions for the runners.

Jogging down to the race with Greg, I reminded myself of three previous Waterfront 10s in which my best time was a mere 1:19:02 in 2003.  The other two races were in the 1:20 range.  I was thinking that if I would start just a bit slower, that things might be different this time around.

Well, I got a little carried away in the first half mile running a 3:25.  Quickly, I slowed down and eventually hit the mile mark in 7:48.  The next four miles were about the same pace and eventually at the midway point, I ran 38:49 for five miles.

Coming back, there was a slight cross wind and I knew that if I didn’t have the wind blocked soon, that I would tire.  Fortunately, I got in a group of three other runners and let them push the wind aside.  As we neared AT&T Park on the way back, the group of four became a group of two.  This continued to happen until we reached Fisherman’s Wharf where it seemed that I had something left.

We were nine miles in and the Garmin showed 1:08:40.  Despite running around a streetcar and several bicyclists, the last mile, though it was a struggle was a 7:05 mile, the best mile of the race.  I was hurting seemingly all over but as they say, “no pain – no gain!”  The finish was a 1:15:45 for 58th place overall.

Bill, who ran a 50K race the day before and ran the 5K on this day, jogged home with me and sharing his experiences of the run in Fremont.  Have a good week everyone!    

Great Highway Four Mile recap

Sunday’s Great Highway Four Mile race was an unforgetable one.  Running this course several times, you never know what type of weather will hit you. Before getting to today’s race, there was one other surprise awaiting Bill and I who jogged eight plus miles to get some work in.

While approaching the Great Highway from home, Bill mentioned that the race started on Wawona Street, about two miles away.  In the past, the race started at Lincoln Street and the Highway but was moved for some unknown reason.  I didn’t pay attention to the e-mail that came out early in the week but felt the decision to move it to Wawona wasn’t a good one.

Bill and I made it to the race about 10 minutes prior,  The weather while we were running was cloudy but once the race started, it became windy with gusts and rain.  Also, the bike path we were running on wasn’t as smooth as I saw it last October.  There were a lot of rocks, pebbles and puddles and actually became more like a trail run due to the footing.

On the turnaround of the out and back, it became really gusty.  The turnout, small due to the weather conditions was more spread out at this point.  Otherwise, I would have tucked in behind a runner to block the wind.  However, I was treating this as a tempo run but wanted to get this over with.

The final 100 years was a couple of left turns onto a narrow path, something that the race coordinator shouldn’t have allowed to happen.  They did it because they wanted to get exactly four miles in.  However, this course was “mickey mouse” at best.  For a three dollar entry fee, you get what you paid for.

My time was 32:30, not terrible but not great either.  Next week is the Waterfront 10 Mile Race, and had been thinking about it for awhile, I’ve decided to run this in preparation for the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon in about three weeks.

Have a good week ahead everyone!  The Bay Area is supposed to be drenched with rain most of the week.   

Arts And Sciences 5K recap

Sunday morning’s race was the DSE Arts And Sciences 5K held in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. It would be the first time running this course as a race.

Greg and I jogged the 3.46 miles from my apartment over to the park.  The weather was overcast, with some breeze and temperatures in the 40s with the wind chill colder than that.  A good turnout of what looked like over 200 runners made it to the start line.

The course resembled much of the old Zippy’s 5K course with the exception of the counter clockwise direction around Stow Lake.  At the bottom (south side) of the lake, the runners made a 180 degree turn onto Martin Luther King Drive nearly halfway in the race.

With just two interval workouts since early December, the lack of a leg turnover showed. I definitely noticed that I wasn’t getting up on the front portion of my foot but mostly in the midsole back towards the heel.  It seemed that I could go no faster than 7:50 per mile during the run.  However, I’m not complaining since I’ve been putting in a lot of base mileage the last six weeks.

The time was 24:20 with the last mile in 7:37.  Usually, my first 5K of the year is usually this way.  After a few minutes of stretching, talking with fellow runners and getting some water, Greg, Bill and I jogged home for an afternoon of NFL Playoffs.

With this initial race, I’ll make some closing comments.  The organization was good with the registration and having course monitors along the course.  I would like to see one change and that is having run Stow Lake counterclockwise. That way, no 180 degree turn at the bottom of Stow Lake. Also, there was a little bit of complaining with the race starting eight minutes late.  Part of it was due to an inexperienced first time race director talking a little too long on a chilly morning.  My Garmin 205 showed 3.12 miles so that was really good!  Now, 33 races to go for 1000! 

Have a good week everyone.  Linked below is the course, courtesy of DailyMile.

   http://www.dailymile.com/routes/69845-running-route-in-san-francisco-ca

Dailymile One Mile Challenge

Last Tuesday at Kezar Stadium, I ran my first timed mile in about four years.  There’s a social running log group called dailymile and there was a fun challenge introduced from Robert, a member of the group.  I’m in decent shape right now but have only done one track workout in the last month. I know that the younger runners will do well in this as we’ve already seen by Robert and Paolo, a couple of good and young runners.

I jogged the 3.4 miles over to Kezar for the time trial.  This was fun because I just wanted to check the conditioning.  Though it seemed like slow motion compared to years past, I managed to get through the four laps plus nine meters in 6:38.02.

After a mile warmdown, I jogged the 3.4 miles back to the apartment and checked some past mile runs.  It just so happened that the last mile I ran was in 2004 and it was a road mile in 6:17.  I plan to run another one later in the month to check the conditioning one more time before the 21K in February,    

Here We Go Again…..

With 2010 several days in, one was hoping that the signs of last year would fade away.  It appears that the recession has leveled off.  The Governor went on local television this morning talking about job creation and trying to find ways of getting the state out of the hole.

However, when arriving at work on Monday, things seem just like at this time last year.  Union Square, which was very lively in the last several weeks, now seems like a ghost town.  Also, I looked at the work schedule for next week and the staffs’ hours are being scaled back because of what the store did last year.  

January is usually very slow for retail.  However, after what I experienced in 2009 with five months out of work, I don’t wish to go through that again.  The thing that really helped me was the running.  It got me through a lot of stressful times from May into September.  Fortunately, I’ve entered a couple of key races already with the exception of the Chicago Marathon which will be held on October 10.  Let’s see how long the decline of hours will last.

I’m planning on running the Arts and Sciences 5K in Golden Gate Park this Sunday with an easy 13 miler either the day before or Friday evening.  I’ll have a recap of the weekend sometime Sunday evening.

In advance, have a good weekend everyone!     

First Run

Cable Car Barn

Happy New Year to everyone.  Last night, I ran my first run of 2010, in the sixth decade.  In my opinion, this is the start of a new decade but I’ve received a couple of e-mails telling me that it is technically on January 1, 2011. This debate has happened before with the new millenium.  The bottom line is that I started running in October 1968 and have done it in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and now 2010.  

It was a nice and easy five mile run to AT&T Park and back.  After a day of work (on New Year’s Day of all days…), it was nice to get away from work, customers, hundreds of people and to an atmosphere that was quiet!  I was thinking back to days when the workouts had a little more quality in it.  One thing that I remembered that every once in awhile, I would run a semi-long workout prior to a race and then run in it.  The rewards were very good and did well in about 90% of the races.

On Sunday, I plan to run about eight miles to Lake Merced and run the DSE Lake Merced Run.  I’m feeling very good after the 17 mile run on New Year’s Eve.  Knowing that the Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon is a little over one month away and not knowing until one week before with the work schedule, every day off is important in the training.  A Saturday or Sunday off means a long run and tomorrow will be it for this week.

Sometime Sunday evening, I’ll provide the first race recap of 2010.  Despite the debate, one thing is sure.  After Sunday’s run, only 34 more races until the magic 1000!  Have a good week ahead everyone!      

Final Decade Run

 

Happy New Year everyone!  The last run of 2009 was one that had been planned for awhile.  The question was how far the run would be.

For the first time, I’m photographed in front of the Chinatown Gate.  It had to take a workout to do it!

The run started on Market and Larkin Streets and headed north.  I’ve pasted the following link for viewing -    http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF-8&q=49+Mile+Scenic+Drive&hl=en&msa=0&msid=117585261127876034515.00000112f4faa640a37f8&om=1&ll=37.760132,-122.44863&spn=0.197054,0.221443&z=12

It started about 11:10am, about three hours late due to a problem in the apartment that has been rectified.  Henry, a running friend of mine was going to do the first 10 miles with me and took the above photo.  He’s camera shy and didn’t want to be photographed.  In the first four miles, the course was a bit crowded with after Christmas shopping and people coming into the city for New Year’s Eve celebrations.  We noticed it, especially in Union Square and in Chinatown.  Ironically, we ran a part of it in the street since there was more pedestrians than cars by a long shot.

The first major hill was when we turned left onto California Street.  There are three major hills with the first being the most steep.  It was a relief when we got to the top which was where the Fairmont, Mark Hopkins and the Huntington Hotels are.  We turned right at Taylor Street where Grace Cathedral was and this started a roller coaster ride.

After seeing the Cable Car Barn, we eventually headed back into Chinatown and headed northewest into what I call Little Italy (known for great Italian Restaurants) and eventually Fisherman’s Wharf.  It was interesting heading to Fisherman’s Wharf because we were actually outrunning the cars while on Grant Street which is one way!

Fisherman’s Wharf was lively once again with many things going on.  Once we left, things were really quiet for quite awhile.  There was the Marina which didn’t seem like there were too many people.  Eventually, Henry pulled away while we were in the Presidio and headed back to the Richmond District where he lives.  Continuing on, the Golden Gate Bridge was spectacular as it always is.  As I was going by, there were numerous tour buses and people with cameras and more.  They were enjoying the day.

Heading south on Lincoln Way in the Presidio, one couldn’t help seeing the calm Pacific Ocean and the weather, not only being calm but also cloudy.  Yet, this was good running weather to say the least.  Having the camera was kind of a pain in the butt but I wasn’t running that hard anyway.  I was thinking of one thing as we were nearing the 15 mile mark and that was the long hill on El Camino Del Mar leading up to the Legion Of Honor.  This hill was tougher than the California Street hills earlier.  Somehow, I got through it and actually enjoyed jogging by the Legion Of Honor and its beauty.

Turning on Geary Street, the Pacific Ocean and the Cliff House Restaurant were soon in view and I was starting to think when I would end the run.  Fortunately, I had enough to get back on Muni and felt 16-17 miles was enough!  Well, at about Lawton Street and the Great Highway, it was enough for one day.  The N Judah streetcar was right there waiting for another rider and myself.

For my readers – The reason running this route is because there is an ultramarathon run that’s been run for 27 years.  I came across this on the internet a couple of days ago and found ti quite interesting.  They have a 50 miler and a 50K on the 49 Mile Scenic Route Course (most of it anyway!).  I’m thinking very seriously of doing this next November.  Nice to go out of this decade with a bang of a run!

Just think, tomorrow starts my sixth decade in running.  Hard for me to believe!  Happy New Year and have a safe, healthy and prosperous 2010!

       

The Year In Review

The 2009 running season was a rewarding one for me.  After two subpar years, part of it a result of an achilles tendon strain that took months to heal, the year was good to me in running.  About five months of it was interesting because of being unemployed but the sport provided a tension relief.  Now, I’m back working and running has been more enjoyable than ever!

Looking back at some moments:

From 5K through the marathon, my times were better than 2008.

Most enjoyable  running moments were (1) – The U.S. Half Marathon where I ran my best 21K in four years. (2) – My first marathon in four years at the Dean Karnazes Silicon Valley Marathon. (3) – The Marin Menorial 10K in Kentfield where I ran my best 10K in five years!

The other two moments that I would like to share are……(1) – At the U.S. Half Marathon, my friends from the Philippines – Dennis and Per, Rio and Wilbert (via Seattle) paid a visit to San Francisco and ran the event.  It was enjoyable seeing the four!  (2) – Running the Christmas Day Five Miler in Richmond with Sal, a 13 year old that wants to be a runner.  He enjoyed the experience in running in his first road race.

For 2010, I’ll be running in my sixth decade.  My goals are (1) – Running in my 30th Bay To Breakers 12K in May. (2) – In July, my 25th marathon will be in my home city of San Francisco. (3) – Somethime in November or December, I’ll run and complete my 1.000th race and hopefully complete 70,000 miles of running.

Anyway, hopefully you’ve enjoyed the blog in 2009 and my return to WordPress.  Hope your year in 2010 will be an injury-free and productive one.  Happy New Year everyone!