Saturday, November 29, 2008

Santa Monica Mountains 50K

It's amazing what a difference 25 degrees and proper nutrition will make in a race! I went into last Sundays 50K a little nervous due to my first experience in an Ultra Marathon. Last Mays race pretty much wrecked me so I went into this race with the goal of finishing without bonking. My theory was that nutrition, mainly not taking in enough calories, had a significant part in my troubles. And then obviously the heat (in the 90's) was the largest reason that I and everyone else had such a rough day. The theory sounds obvious, but it was possible that the distance of 31 miles was just too much for me or maybe the 5,000' + elevation change. So, not knowing precisely why I felt like dying last May and having to do it all again, was both intriguing and a little intimidating.

Unfortunately the weather is something we have no control of. Fortunately, the weather was perfect. Well, perfect for the race that is. We camped Saturday night and it was FREEZING!




OK, camping is really cool, but camping the night before an Ultra Marathon isn't the best time to enjoy the great outdoors. You're supposed to get a good nights rest, not sleep with a rock jammed into your femur and be so cold that you lay there weighing the cost/benefit of the temporary warmth you might gain by peeing in your jammies vs. leaving your tent to relieve yourself the more civilized way. Due to my stellar pre race hydration plan, I was able to ponder that decision multiple times (I chose the 2nd option). In any event, it was nice to be 2 miles away from the start of the race.

So, it looked like the weather was shaping up to be perfect. I am gonna guess that it was in the low to mid 50's by the time we got to the race start at around 8:00 am. With about 30 minutes till the start of the race, I made one last check of my nutrition for the day. I would do a Power Gel every 30 minutes along with Nuun tablets added to my water. This part of my nutrition would be carried in my Nathan hydration pack and would be supplemented by aid station food approximately every 6 miles.

Besides nutrition and weather, I also planned to keep my heart rate at a level that I felt I could sustain for 7-8 hours. I picked a number that was, perhaps, a bit on the conservative side, I went with 170-175 bpm. That may seem high, but my max heart rate is 210 and 170-75 is my usual marathon range, so it would seem logical. But, when going up steep inclines, it is really hard to not let the old heart rate creep up. So to keep it in check will mean walking a good portion of the uphills and running the flat and downhill portions of the course.

With all of these details on my mind, I didn't get to enjoy the start as much as I would have liked to. I gave a quick wave to Wendell and Sarah (the most AWESOME race directors AND insane ultra runners). I talked briefly to my running buddy Lori




who I met at the race back in May and Phil, with whom I did the MT. Disappointment training run for the race that never happened.

Off we went! It's funny, I have built this story up so much, I feel like there should be more of a payoff. The truth is, the race was pretty uneventful. I felt really good the majority of the time. Maybe too good. Lori and Phil did the 30K and they waited for me when I came in to the aid station and said I looked like I just got home from work (yeah right, haha) I think I could have gone a little harder on the uphills. By the way, Lori and Phil are FAST! Lori got 3rd place in her age group and 1st in her AG for the series. Maybe trying to keep up with her in May is what did me in haha. Anyway, I kept to my plan, according to my Garmin I had an avg. heart rate of 170 and finished in 8:03. thats an hour and half faster than the last one. But most importantly I felt really good and am no longer intimidated by the distance. Next time I will race it and try to knock a whole lot more minutes off my finish time. Then I will most likely start this whole process over again with the 50 mile distance.

Here are some pictures from the trail. Notice the real technical parts of the trail where "running" is next to impossible. I think I could have shaved a good 10 minutes off my time had I not snapped so many pictures. But, it was a beautiful day on a stellar course with amazing people. What more could you ask for?





This is where I had problems last race.



This is the view from the place I sat for an hour. Notice that the only potential shade seems to be around that mountain.





This was the view for the last 2 miles. It's amazing how GREAT you can feel at the end of 31 miles when this is the scenery!

Paul

Friday, November 14, 2008

Again...... With the 50K

I have been meaning to sit down and write about my next race in the Santa Monica Mountains. I like to fill my blogs with as many links and pictures as possible, but that requires writing it on my laptop, which also means setting aside a block of time dedicicated to ONE thing. In a perfect world, I would NEVER multitask. We do not live in a perfect world, so I am tapping this into my iPhone while getting my miles in on the stationary bike.

I will be running the "Santa Monica Mountains 50K" next Sunday, Nov. 23rd. It will be an important race in terms of dialing in my nutrition and pacing, but at the same time, I will be running it with the top priority being "to have fun". The course is run on the same trails as my first 50k last May. The Sycamore Canyon 50k was a VERY challenging race for me and I go back with the goal of finishing in better shape than I did the first time. Brittany and I will be camping on Saturday night so I don't have to make the long drive Sunday morning.

Camping and running, sounds like a perfect weekend!

Paul

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Long Beach Marathon

My dreams of a sub 4 hour marathon were smashed again. But, I came a lot closer on what was an amazing day in downtown Long Beach. The weather was perfect! Clear, with a nice cool breeze. The course is spectacular with over half of the race routed along the coastline. The course goes inland for about 8 miles or so and goes through CSULB's campus, where there are plenty of college students to cheer you on through some increasingly rough miles.

I stayed on (or a minute or two ahead) of my planned pace through mile 22. I slowed a bit, but not too badly, and finished 4:07:51. I was able to keep my heart rate under control and didn't feel like I bonked. I just couldn't quite stay on pace. I PR'd by over 13 minutes so I feel like my training has been effective. I will just have to wait till the LA Marathon to break 4 hours.

Paul

Thursday, August 21, 2008

When 4th becomes 3rd

I received an email from the Race Director of the Run Through The Pines 1/2 marathon today.

“Yes, you did place third.  Someone ran with the wrong bib.  We will be sending the trophies out on Friday.  You should receive by next tuesday.  Congratulations.”

I have been waiting to hear back from them as I was confused by the official results. At the race it was posted that I had placed 4th and the results said 3rd. I’m stoked! This is my first top 3 finish in my age group and although I had a finish time close to 11 minutes slower than my fastest 1/2 marathon time, the race was at a much higher elevation than I am used to running in and there were a lot of hills. I still don’t know how many people were in my age group, but I do know that I did race this and feel like I earned my 3rd place. About mile 11, I was feeling pretty spent and was starting slow a bit. I saw a guy a good 400 meters ahead of me and did my best to not let him pull any further ahead. By mile 12 I started to use some of the mental tricks that I have read about, like imagining a rope pulling you toward the person. I kept my cadence high and thought about anything BUT the discomfort I was feeling. The course turned around and doubled back onto a trail for the last mile. All of the trail running I have been doing helped in this part and I slowly gained of him. I caught up to him and passed him at around 12 1/2 miles. I had a feeling that he may have been in my age group. After I passed him it took everything I had to maintain my lead.



The last 1/4 mile was a nasty uphill section that we had done 4 times already, since it was a 4 loop course. I had to walk up the hill this last time even though I had run up it easily the other 4 times. I was scared that the guy was gonna catch me. I looked back and he was hurtin’ too. Once it leveled out I was back on pace and had a pretty good sprint left for the end.



I ended up finishing 9 seconds ahead of him and sure enough he was in my age group. So, although I don’t know the complete statistics of my age group, I do know that I had a pretty good race with this guy and I was pleased that I had a taste of what is is like to compete, even if it was 47 minutes behind the leader :).

I am now completely focused on Long Beach. The marathon is less than 2 months away. I have a clear goal of finishing under 4 hours this time. According to this with my recent 5k of 23:26 and my recent 1/2 of 1:48:08, I could finish in 3:48. I know that these calculators can’t predict what you can do especially if you don’t have the fitness to a run much longer race and maintain the same relative pace. Besides, anything can happen in a marathon. However, I am training at the recommended paces in all of my training runs and if I handle my nutrition right, which I have a much better handle on in road marathons, I am hopefully on track to break 4 hours.

Along with marathon training, Brittany and I have been hitting the weights hard. It feels great to do strength training again. It’ll really come in handy next year when I start training for Triathlon again. We also did some Yoga this morning. It has been a couple months since I went and I sure felt it. It was Brittany’s first time and she really enjoyed it. We’ll probably try to go 2 or 3 times a week.

I haven’t had much time to ride my bike to work the last few weeks. It seems work is really starting to infringe on my training... ha ha. But seriously, If I could find a way to make money while I was running, cycling or lifting, perhaps I would. Oh, wait..... thats a lot of peoples dream. Dreams, I have plenty and in typical fashion I move too quickly. Therefore I am concentrating on fulfilling (and living) some lifelong dreams of mine that I have already invested a lot of time, energy and yes, money in. I am entering into the “write it down, and make it real” stage. It is really important to be specific in what you want and since I know that I need to be careful what I wish for, I want to be very clear and sure of WHAT I want to do. Once I get more specific, I look forward to talking about it here. I’m sure it will be refreshing to hear about something other than running once in awhile.

Paul

Monday, August 18, 2008

Another obsession

One of the coolest things about the iPhones v.2.0 software is the ability to have applications on your phone. There are over 1,000 applications available at the App Store on iTunes, some useful and some not so useful. I recently found a really cool application called “Absolute Fitness” by Aqua Eagle. It is a really great nutrition and exercise diary that not only has an extensive database of nutrition info, but also allows you to add your own “favorites” to its database. Since I am a creature of habit and tend to eat the same things day after day, I don’t think it will take me too long to get everything that I eat into it’s memory.



So far, tracking what I eat has been enlightening. I have found that I ingest WAY TOO MUCH SODIUM! Not enough potassium and not enough calories in general. The main reason I wanted to start tracking my nutrition is that I am trying to eat more protein. Brittany and I are weight training and she is touting the benefits of more protein in the diet. After doing some research, I agree and am making the necessary changes. With all of the training that I do, I have never felt that I had a good handle on the nutrition part. Logging what I am eating is really helping me see where I am at. So, I am feeling pretty good about it.

The official results for last weeks “Run through the Pines” race came out. Ummmmm, it says I placed 3rd in my age group instead of 4th. Needless to say I was very excited to hear that. But, of course I am not sure that it is right. I emailed the Race Director but have not heard back from them yet. This would be my first 3rd place. If I had known, I would have stuck around for the hand carved awards they were giving out. But, the paper we looked at said I was 4th. So, ......... I wait ........ Yes, I do obsess .......... About everything .......... And Brittany said she is already tired of me obsessing about my nutrition ............. Argggg!!!!!!!


Paul

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Great Outdoors!

Saturday’s race was great! I have been very busy the last couple of days so I am just now getting a chance to report. I placed 4th in my age group! That’s the closest I have come to getting hardware. It was a great half marathon. The elevation was tough and there were plenty of hills, but the lake was beautiful! We ran around it 4 times and by the time the last lap rolled around I was glad I didn’t have to see the same landmarks again.



Brittany ran the 5k and had a great race as well. I am still waiting to see the official results for more detailed stats. Nonetheless, we went to have a great weekend and we really had a great time.





We camped about 20 miles away from the race venue, about halfway between Crestline and Big Bear. We spent most of the day Friday and the second half of Saturday at Big Bear lake. It was really cool to see all of the signs and posters for Ryan Hall plastered everywhere. The town is really proud of their local hero and I am looking forward to watching him race in Beijing.



Congratulations to everyone who ran at Mt. Disappointment on Saturday! I really wish I could have been there. However, the weekend turned out rather nicely and I rediscovered my love of camping and “The great outdoors”. I will be making a trip to REI in the near future to buy some camping gear and plan to do as much camping as I can fit into my schedule. There is nothing like going to sleep under the stars.



Paul

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Procrastination

procrastinate |prəˈkrastəˌnāt; prō-|
verb [ intrans. ]
delay or postpone action; put off doing something : it won't be this price for long, so don't procrastinate.

Uh, yeah..... We all know what it means. And I have been meaning to stop doing it, procrastinating, that is. But, well..... In another stellar example of a bad character trait. I put off registering for the race this weekend. There was a semi valid reason other than sheer laziness. You could only register via snail mail. No online registration available. You had to print out the form along with proof of a prior marathon finish, to the Race Director. Arghhh! So many details. I finally sat down on Saturday evening at 10 PM to fill out the form, when I saw this...



Needles to say, my heart sank. I had NO idea this race would sell out. In fact the website mentioned registering the day before the race. I feel like such an idiot, ashamed almost. I trained for this race for the last 2 months. I did the training run on the course. My daughter Brittany, her boyfriend and I planned a camping trip around the race, and now.... nada, nothing, ZIP!

Well, after feeling sorry for myself for about an hour, I decided to come up with a plan B. I found a race at Lake Gregory this weekend. It is a 5K (which Brittany will do) and a half marathon that I will run. We found a really cool campsite in the area and are going to have a blast for 2 days in the mountains.

I haven’t decided for sure yet, but I am strongly considering doing the BullDog 50K on Aug 23rd. It is in the same area as The Sycamore Canyon 50K I did in May.

Well, this was a hard post to write, I feel stupid, and I have been so busy it has been tough to find the time to blog. So busy in fact that I still need to register us for this weekends race..... Yeah, that’s right, it’s Wednesday and I still haven’t registered. Sheesh, some people never learn.

Paul

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Feeling retro?

This week has been an exceptionally good training week. In preparation for next weeks 50K, I have been doing lots of hill training. Well, if you can call cranking the old treadmill to 5%, hill training. I feel really strong and my plan is to tear up all of that elevation gain. It’s amazing how much faster I feel when I am on flat terrain after “hill training”. I will hit the trails this weekend both Saturday and Sunday. I am now running in the pair of Salomon shoes that I received for free last year at the Pacific Shoreline Marathon. They definitely made a HUGE difference (thanks Lori and Mari, for the advice). I want to camp up in the Mt. Wilson area the night before and after the race. I am having a hard time finding a campground in the area. There seems to be a few, but there is very little information on the internet about the sites. So, if anyone knows of any good places to camp please leave a comment. It would be greatly appreciated.

I have been doing more location sound gigs recently. Tuesday, a couple of hours after our little shaker, I headed up to LA to the MTV studios to do a shoot with the band Panic! At The Disco. They were doing a promo for the game “Rock Band” and well, something about.... rock band....MTV.....cool rock tunes, got me feeling retro. So, I spent the better part of 2 days taking my braids out to give my hair and head a breather. I’m not sure if all this hair can take the amount of sweat I subject it to on a daily basis. Braids are very convenient. It’s that or dreads, we’ll see.. Until then.........



Paul

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Mt. Disappointment training run

A friend of mine told me recently, that I didn’t have enough pictures on my blog. I will attempt to make up for it with plenty of pictures in this entry. Yesterday I did what was supposed to be a 15 mile training run (more on that in a minute) in the San Gabriel mountains. It was in preparation for the Mt. Disappointment 50K that I will be running on Aug 9th. The run started at Red Box at 8:00 am. REd Box is a section of the actual course that will serve as an aid station on race day.





My day, however, started a few hours earlier. I got up about 5 am, ate breakfast, got everything together, checked and rechecked my gear and hopped into the old gas guzzler for the hour or so drive to Pasadena. I REALLY hate driving these days, but if I’ve gotta drive, it sure helps if it is to a race, or in this case, an exceptionally scenic trail run. It was a beautiful morning, there was no traffic and I made good time. I was able to test out the GPS feature on my iPhone 3G. I’ve had an iPhone since the 1st generation came out over a year ago. But, this thing just keeps getting better and better and the many ways that it makes your life easier is really cool.

This training run was a bit of a first for me. Up until now, I have for the most part trained alone. Besides the times when I run with Brittany or swim with Jasmine, It has been a solitary sport. I do belong to the OC Triathlon Club, but I’ve only done a few group rides with them. It’s a shame really because I love endurance sports so much and to hang out with like minded people is really important (and fun) but for whatever reason I have just not been able to connect with a group of people to train with. So, it was a pleasant surprise, how the day transpired.

I met up with Lori, Marisol and Phil at 6:45 in Pasadena. I met Lori and Mari at the Sycamore Canyon 50K race back in May.



I ran a good portion of the race with them and since then we have kept in contact. A friend of theirs is doing Mt. Disappointment and although they aren’t doing the race, they knew about the training runs and told me about them. SInce you need a pass to park up at Red Box, Lori was kind enough to offer to drive us up Angeles Crest Highway, about 20 miles, to the start.

I don’t know what it is about endurance athletes, but there just seems to be an almost different level of consciousness. Maybe when you push yourself to such a level, you have a certain appreciation for life. I have noticed that when I get around these type of people I can feel an energy. A love for life. It’s really cool! So, needless to say, we had a great ride up to the start and spent about 15 minutes getting ready for the run. Everyone got a good laugh watching me contemplate whether or not my new Nathan 020 was too dorky too wear.



The start would be pretty much the last time we would see Phil for the next 6 hours or so. Again, more on that in a minute.



The first 4 1/2 miles were awesome. We met more great people. We met Hugh and Paul who are both Triathletes and raced IMAZ ’08, so we had plenty to talk about. I didn’t realize that so many triathletes trail run. But, it makes sense. The hill work is great and with all the road work that you do for Ironman, it is rather nice to run on trails.



About 4 1/2 miles into the run, we were given specific instructions to make a right turn at a fork in the road. I swear, I never saw it. We were all having such a great time, we just blew right by it. About 2 miles further down the trail, we ran into a few people who informed us that if we were doing the 15 mile run, we missed a turn. Luckily, the part we just ran was uphill so retracing our steps would be downhill. This foible would add another 4 miles to our run. None of us seemed too bummed and I was actually really happy since 19 miles would be closer to the 24 that I had scheduled.

Once we got back to the turn that we missed, we were able to refill our water bottles. The water came out of a pipe that was attached to a big water tower. I am not sure where the water was coming from, which was a little scary, but since no one got sick, I guess it was okay.



Once we were back on track the run got a little tougher. The next 5 or so miles is actually the last 5 miles of the 50K race. It is the long steep incline to the top of Mt. Wilson,





My strategy this run,was to walk the uphills and try to keep my heart rate under control so I would have plenty left for the flats and downhills. It worked for the most part, but these girls are fast and I had a tough time on a couple occasions and had to stop and to let my heart rate settle down. It is a real testament to hill training as Lori and Mari said they have been hammering the hills like crazy. I plan to do lots of hills the next 2 weeks.

After a lot of this!



We arrived at the top of Mt. Wilson and refilled our water bottles again. We headed out for the last 5 1/2 miles. The first mile or so was downhill on a paved road. We were running at a pretty good clip. Their were 2 options, you could take the road all the way down or go off the road and take the trail which would add about a 1/2 mile. Paul and Hugh opted for the road (Paul was having stomach issues) and we took the trail. Once we got off the road we got to a really cool tunnel. Not only was it cool looking, it was cool inside (shaded).





We thought that the rest of the run would be downhill. There was however another good 800’ to climb before getting back to Red Box. By now, I was really feeling the miles and the elevation. But it was manageable and by the time we started to descend again, we all were back to running a pretty good pace. When we finally reached the road, Phil (remember Phil?) was waiting with the car. He was worried about us. He is really fast (3:30 marathon PR) and had doubled back a couple miles to try and find us and couldn’t. He was happy to see us and we were happy to see him.

The girls brought some great recovery food and we all brought our favorite beer. We hung out for about an hour, talked and had a blast.

Here’s to trail running ......... And most of all new friends!









Life is good!

PAUL

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Surf City 5K Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures from the Surf City 5K





I think this might be one of the best pictures I have ever seen from a race. Of course I may be a little biased since it is of my daughter Brittany.



I don’t look nearly as good, but I was pushing for a PR :)

My training is going well in preparation for Mt. Disappointment. I will run about 58 miles this week and I am planing at least one of those runs on the trails. I am doing a 15 mile run next weekend on part of the trail that I will be racing. I am meeting up with a couple of girls that I met at the Sycamore Canyon race a couple of months ago. It will be a lot of fun. I will be experimenting with a new hydration pack and will try to dial in my nutrition. Let’s hope it’s not TOO hot!

Paul

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Clarity and a PR to boot!

After a lot of thought, a little advice and some re accessing of my goals, I have formulated a new plan and made peace with it. I have decided not to do the Camp Pendleton Triathlon July 19th. Instead I will focus my training on running. Specifically I will be training for the Mt. Disappointment 50K on Aug. 9th. I will continue to ride my bike to work 3 days a week and I will weight train 3 days a week. I figure that this will be around 16 hours of training, but I am gaining back time because 6 hours of that is free since it is replacing time spent sitting in traffic. So, 10 hours of training will then leave plenty of time for my other goals, which are of equal if not more importance. I am going to start dedicating time to acting and music again. I have let them slip since there just wasn’t any time. The plan had been to set them aside till after IMAZ then hit it hard after. Somehow, after IMAZ I felt lost without all of the training and I made a less than wise decision. Not that doing another triathlon is a bad decision, it is just that right now I have to weigh time spent with return.

I am seeing great returns with running. Running is also logistically much easier to do. And I LOVE TO RUN. I have plenty of goals to keep me motivated, I plan on running a sub 4 hour marathon in Long Beach in October and LONG term eventually qualifying for Boston. I will keep trail running on my way to a 50 miler then perhaps a 100 miler. I am also hitting the weights again. I don’t really like the scrawny upper body I seem to be getting. It is typical for runners and cyclists because of all the attention our lower bodies get. This plan leaves time for weight training and that’s a good thing!

Finally, I am setting specific goals for music and acting. I will start talking about this part of my life more in this blog since it will be more a part of my life again:) I am attempting to be a more well rounded person. I tend to get obsessed with things and that can be good. But, it has it’s draw backs too. I needed to be obsessed with Ironman training to achieve that goal. But, I have no delusions of being a professional triathlete. So it becomes a question of risk vs. reward. I need to spend time doing things that give some return on investment. If I spent even 3 hours a week on writing a new song or submitting to casting agents, I would be so much closer to my professional and creative goals.



So, this is the beginning of a new and more well rounded life for me. And to kinda start it off, yesterday at the HB 4th of July 5K I ran my ass off for a PR of 23:26 (per my garmin). That is :30 faster than previous fastest 5K. it was not champion chip timing, so official gun time was 23:41. It was a great day. Brittany also PR’d the course by :30. We ate a great lunch, then I rode my bike to the beach and watched the fireworks.



Oh, and I will do another Ironman. Most likely IMAZ ’09. I can’t wait to actually race that Mutha’

Paul

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Over trained

I am a bit frustrated. It has been hard to get into a steady groove of triathlon training since IMAZ. I was very meticulous about my schedule for that race and rarely had a problem sticking to it and logging the time and miles. I registered for the Camp Pendleton Olympic Triathlon on July 19th because I wanted to race the Olympic distance but I do not feel ready for the swim AT ALL! The logistics of running, commuting by bike and swimming is really difficult. It is really hard to find the time to swim in the morning, so I try to schedule it at night. By the time I am done working, I am in no mood to get in the pool. It is causing me to question the cost/ benefit of triathlon for me at this point in time. Would it be better to concentrate more on running the rest of this year and get my marathon time down? I could still cycle to work and get plenty of those mile in as well. I need a lot of work on my swim and maybe with a little less pressure ......... Wow! even writing this is painful for me. I am making excuses and that really makes me wanna puke.

I’m not gonna make any rash decisions at this point. I’ll do my swim sessions the next 3 weeks and see how it goes. I do not want to DNS. I was sick for 2 days last week and the whole week of training was off. I think I am feeling the classic symptoms of overtraining. I did listen to my body and took it easy.

I did cycle to work 2 of the 5 days. The plan is to do 4, but as I said, I was sick for 2 days. It is so cool to bike past the gas station and feel the liberation in knowing that you aren’t a slave to the oil companies. Let’s hope that I can get 4 days in this next week.

I have the HB 4th of July 5K on Friday. I am looking forward to a fast time and hopefully a PR. It will definitely be a PR for the course since last year I paced Brittany due to a nasty case of Plantar Fasciitis. We’ve got a bunch of friends doing the race with us and it will be their first 5K. How fun! We are all gonna go out for lunch afterwords and try to make it a special day for everyone.

Paul

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Cycling it is

After Mondays Camelback fiasco, I reverted to the old gas guzzling Xterra to get to work yesterday. I felt a little defeated but went back to the drawing board and formulated a different plan. This morning I woke up at 5:30 am and headed off to the gym. I ran 1 hour on the treadmill and got in about 20 minutes in the pool. I took a shower, drove back home and grabbed the hybrid bike and rode to work. I figure that my main objective is to commute using my own power. The most sensible way to do this is to cycle to and from work, which will be 22 miles a day. I can do that in about 1 1/2 hours leaving me plenty of time to run and swim before or after work. Running to work and back would tilt my training much to heavily toward running and away from cycling and swimming. Perhaps in the triathlon offseason when I am training for ultras, I will revisit a more comfortable way of packing my necessities and run the commute. I would love to do that many running miles per week, but right now it doesn’t make sense.

The only down side today was arriving to work pretty sweaty. Luckily, being a sound engineer, I dress casual and I dried off rather quickly. The plan is to do the bike commute 4 days a week. I am very happy. Being in the fresh air beats being in a car any day. There is something about running and cycling outdoors that keeps a person grounded. We, as humans, are just built to be active and moving. There is something about the beauty of the outdoors and the smells that conjures up great memories of being a kid and reminding you of who you are. And I even had the opportunity to interact with some other people along the way, a crossing guard and a fellow cyclist. I think I am really going to like this

Paul

Monday, June 16, 2008

Alternative modes of transportation

After putting it off for way too long, I finally worked out the logistics and ditched the SUV as my way to and from work today. Gas prices being as high as they are, along with the fact that it seems silly to drive to the gym, run on a treadmill and ride on a stationary bike for what amounts to over 2 hours a day, then hop in the car and drive to work. I figure the prudent thing to do is expend all of that energy actually GOING somewhere instead of WASTING electricity at the gym. Not only will it save me money but it is also a far more efficient use of time.

So, I came up with a plan. I live about 11 miles from my studio. That’s a pretty short bike ride but a decent distance to run. I decided to ride my bike to work and run home. The plan, then is to run back to work in the morning then ride my bike back home at night. then,....... well you get the idea. The ride this morning was great. I decided to ride my hybrid instead of my road bike so I wouldn’t have to gear up. I could wear street clothes and my running shoes. If I don’t get too sweaty, I can wear those clothes all day, then change into my running clothes for the run home. So far, so good.

Then it came time too run home. I decided on a camelback that I bought for a Yosemite trip with Jasmines school a couple of years ago. It is a little big, but would work out good since I could put my laptop and running clothes in it. As soon as I strapped it on and started running, I knew I was in trouble. The thing is just NOT made for running. It has straps that go around your torso but it still kinda sways from side to side. After some adjusting, I was able to get it a bit more stable but then it kept rubbing on my lower back. Arrgghh! I was able to hike my shorts up enough to protect the skin on my back and prevent anymore serious chaffing. The shoulders straps however, were a lost cause. Pretty much all of my shirts are tank tops. I was wearing one today and no matter what I did, the straps dug into my shoulders. There was nothing I could do about it aside from lifting the straps off my shoulder every couple of minutes for relief.

I knew that the Camelback was gonna be heavy. I just didn’t realize HOW heavy. The weight immediately threw my stride off. It took a couple miles to readjust and feel semi normal. There are so many bio mechanics at play while running, that the slightest thing can really mess you up. I will have to monitor this closely and make sure that any differences that this causes don’t cause harm. I am hoping that the extra weight will make me a stronger runner without hurting me. We will have to see.



The last couple of miles were really tough, which can almost assuredly be attributed to the Camelback. When I got home I weighed it and it was 14 1/2 pounds. I may have to think of another way to get stuff to and from work or not take my laptop.

I am pretty sore and I am supposed to run to work tomorrow morning. I think I’ll be okay as long as the raw spots on my shoulders and lower back aren’t too sensitive in the morning. We’ll see. Chevron may still get my money after all... Damn it!

Paul

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Father's Day

I had a really great Father’s Day! Brittany and I went on a run on the trail that we mountain biked on 2 weeks ago. I have been dying to go back there, so I was very excited when Brittany told me that that is what we were going to do today. Last year she surprised me with a 5K race in LA called the “Dad’s Day Dash”. I am sensing a trend here. She sure knows her Daddy.



After our run, we headed back to the house and had a BBQ. Brittany, Jasmine and I took some Father’s Day photos and after some very close scrutiny, we agreed on A picture. I have posted the 1 approved picture below.



Time is a crazy thing. The older you get the faster it seems to go by. The most recent way that this phenomenon has reared is ugly head is in the fact that Jasmine, my youngest daughter, has gotten her learners permit. Up until this point, she has driven with her Mom. Today she said that she wanted to drive with me. I am not the most patient person in the world and my girls know this so I think she was a little nervous. And so was I. But, I am here (thank God) to say that I kept my cool which wasn’t hard at all because she is pretty good behind the wheel.



It is so hard and scary when your kids get to this age. All they want to do is grow up and all you want to do is protect them. I am so lucky to have such wonderful girls as they made today a VERY special Father’s Day!

Paul

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Mountain biking!

Even though I don’t need another activity or hobby to spend my money on, my daughter Brittany and I went on our first mountain bike ride today. We went with her boyfriend Eric and he showed us the ropes, since he is experienced on the trails. We don’t own mountain bikes so we went to Rock ‘N’ Road Cyclery to rent a couple of Specialized “Stump Jumpers”.



We had a hard time finding an appropriate sized bike for Brit because she is so short.



After getting our bikes, we headed to the trails. We went to the Aliso Canyon Wilderness Park in Laguna Niguel. Brittany was worried about mountain biking due to a pretty nasty accident that she had when she was 10 years old. She did really well however, despite some sizable downhill sections and some fairly steep climbs. She stayed on 2 wheels, which is more than I can say. I ate it less than 10 minutes into the ride. My clipless pedals were way too tight and on an especially steep incline, I couldn’t get out of them in time. So, down I went. I brushed myself off, regained my composure and asked Brittany to stop laughing. After that, the ride was really cool. It really is so much more fun to ride and run on trails rather than on the road. And the scenery is absolutely gorgeous!



We are so lucky to live in the area that we do. I can’t believe that I have lived here all of my life and am just now discovering all of these amazing places. Next weekend I plan to go back and demo a different bike. I am going to try the Specialized “Epic” which, according to the girl at Rock ‘N’ Road, will be better suited to the type of riding that I plan on doing. I plan on getting a couple of hours of riding in and then do an hour or two of trail running.



Paul

Monday, May 26, 2008

A new PR!

Boy, did I need todays race! I have been feeling a little down lately. I have done 2 very long races in pretty bad conditions in the last month and a half. Granted both races had record DNF’s . Add the fact that both of these races were my first crack at these distances and being that they were my first, I was very, very slooooooow. I have trained so hard in the last year and these times make you start to wonder if you are doing something wrong.

The half marathon distance is my favorite road race distance. I race it at, what is for me, a comfortable level of exertion. Not redlined like in a 5K and not at a pace where you have to worry about going just a little bit too fast and bonking close to the end. No, the half marathon is just right! The half marathon is also the race, aside from the 5K, that I have raced most. This was
my 6th half and it was perfect.



Brittany and I got up around 5 am, ate breakfast and were out of the house by 5:30. The race was about 20 miles south and we arrived at the race site around 6 am. It started sprinkling on the way down and we couldn’t help but wonder if today might end up like the Surf City, or better known now as “Soak City” Marathon in February. It was a little chilly but not unbearable. We waited around until the last possible minute to give up our outer layers, then headed to the start.



I felt especially good this morning. I have been in one or two races like this before, where everything just felt right. The temperature was perfect. I felt well trained with no injuries or soreness to speak of. I had my pacing strategy together and a clear goal in mind. I wanted a PR and was gonna push myself hard to get it. Even if it was only by one second.


The gun went off and we were on our way. My previous PR of 1:56:02 translates to an 8:51 min/mile. I planned on holding an 8:30 min/mile pace for the first half of the race and if everything went well, I would try to negative split and kick it up the second half. Well I got a little excited and ran an 8:17 the first mile. Not too far off, but still a little faster than I had planned. The first mile or so was flat and went around the Laguna Hills Mall. Once we left that area, the course took us out to Alicia Parkway. This was a very beautiful course. There were rolling hills, but they were gentle and the elevation would gradually decline over the first half of the race. This would reflect in my mile splits. It felt pretty easy to keep my pace at around 8:00 min/miles. I run according to heart rate. I have a max HR of 210. I try to keep my HR in the lower part of the 180’s for a half marathon. I knew if I wanted to PR today, I would have to step out of my comfort zone and push harder. I figured I would let it hover around the upper 180’s and see how it went. The only thing that worried me was the hills and the overall elevation change. There was no course profile on the website so I was flying blind. I ran a risk of slowing down significantly, the second half of the race, if we had to make up the elevation lost on the first half of the course. But again, I was going to push it and I am glad that I did.

Here are my splits

Mile 1 8:17
Mile 2 8:03
Mile 3 7:39
Mile 4 8:06
Mile 5 7:54
Mile 6 8:07
Mile 7 8:08
Mile 8 8:03
Mile 9 8:39
Mile 10 8:15
Mile 11 8:25
Mile 12 8:27
Mile 13 8:34
Mile .1 8:59

I finished in 1:48:17. thats a 8:17 mil/mile pace. Avg. HR of 190. Much better than what I expected. The second half of the course was up hill. I am very glad that I was able to hold it together and not slow too badly. I can’t really fault myself for not negative splitting on this course. Had I ran by pace and not by feel and HR, I don’t think I would have ended up with as good a time. I also felt that I left most everything out on the course. I pushed hard and felt that I executed my plan well. It was a great feeling at about mile ten, when I was doing the math and figured that as long as I could maintain a 9 min/mile or better that I would break 1:50. There’s something about those ten minute increments and I have looked forward to breaking this one for awhile. I am very pleased!

Brittany had a good race as well. She really enjoyed the course and went at a comfortable pace to finish in 2:41:45, about 20 minutes slower than her best, but she hasn’t been training as much because of school. She is starting her training again soon for her 2nd full marathon in Long Beach in October.

We were both pretty sore, but managed to pick up a cool shirt for Brit, then hauled our butts to Mimi’s for some breakfast.

Another amazing day!

Paul

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Back on the road

After spending a good 3 or 4 days recovering from last Sundays 50K, I was finally able to do some running the latter part of the week. My daughter Brittany and I had planned on doing the Laguna Hills Memorial Day half Marathon, but I wanted to wait to see how I felt and if would get my legs back in time. So we are running it and are very excited. I am not sure if it is a hilly course or not, but judging from the times from last year it looks to be relatively flat. I ran the 5K last year the week before the San Diego RnR marathon and set my 5K pr of 24:08. Hopefully the half marathon course will be as good to me and I can best my half time of 1:56:06. That would be nice. I need a decent time after the last couple of really slow finishes that I have had.

I have decided to do the Mt. Disappointment race in August. Only I will be doing the 50K instead of the 50 miler. My plan was to do the Sycamore Canyon 50K in preparation for the 50 miler at Mt. Disappointment. But after my troubles last Sunday I want another crack at the 50K to dial in my nutrition and get a lot more hill training in. I have been scouring the internet in search of more ultra marathons. As hard as it was last Sunday, I think I am really going to enjoy the challenge of trail running and racing in so many different beautiful locations in such varied terrain.

Paul

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The science of it all!

The internet is amazing! I think it is easy to forget just how simple it is to get information on just about anything, anytime and anywhere. For a person like me, with my constant need for a new challenge, that can be dangerous. I have always believed that a person can do just about anything they want if they have a strong desire, are willing to work hard, believe in themselves and lastly, do the proper research.

Ahhh, the research.

Almost everything that I do, is self taught. I didn’t go to school for my current career as a Sound Editor. I always figured that I could go find the books that any college professor would make me read, and learn it myself while saving a ton of money in the process. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with college, as there are many professions that require it. God forbid I had a doctor working on my spleen that skipped the college part. Anyway, for me, having all of this information is great because it gives me the tools to try new things. I get bored very easily and I love a new challenge. I love the thrill of being a novice at something. I love the discovery period. Learning all of the tiny little nuances of a subject and the proper etiquette. I love the fear of starting something and I love the fear of failing. But most importantly, I love conquering that fear and doing it anyway. Then as time passes, through dedication and practice, hopefully I become proficient at it or better yet a master. This is what keeps me feeling alive instead of just existing.

The internet has been an indispensable tool in my recent endeavors. When I started running a few years ago, I was able to do a ton of research and learn in a relatively short time what would have taken countless books, magazines and conversations, not to mention a lot more time, to accumulate. I don’t watch TV so I would sit at my laptop for hours every night reading everything I could get my hands on about running. Magazine articles, forums, blogs and podcasts. Soaking up everything I could get into my browser, and unfortunately, believing almost all of it. And that is the problem with information. It is not always accurate. How do you know what is good and what is bad information? I look back now on some of the things that I read and repeated as gospel and it is rather embarrassing.

This brings me too my original point. No matter what you set out to do, or master, there is no substitute for experience. And experience entails trial and error. A scientific experiment of one.

I have spent the last 2 days trying to figure out why I ended up on the side of a mountain, 25 miles into my first ultra-marathon, unable to get off my ass without wanting to puke or pass out. Wondering why I was the last person on the course, struggling to finish. I have been beating myself up for only taking in about 1,000 calories in over 9 hours when I KNOW BETTER! I consumed roughly 300 calories an hour last month in my Ironman. How could I make such a dumb mistake? I have googled the appropriate questions for definitive answers. If someone would just TELL me how many calories to consume I would be fine. They could tell me the proper ratio of carbs to protein. Exactly how much water to drink and when. If I could just find THE answer, it would solve my problem. But the problem is, that I did find an answer. I found about 20 of them. All different, conflicting answers that were confusing and ambiguous.

And then I came back to what I know and what excites me most. There are no shortcuts. You can read all you want, but there is no substitute for experience. The reason that I was last was because it was my first. The people ahead of me have already made the mistakes and learned from them. They have experimented and have applied the science. They have become masters. And I am a novice, again.

I hope I never run out of things to master.

Paul

Sycamore Canyon 50K

Well, now I feel like I have just done a race. Not since my first marathon, have I felt this wrecked. And, I can almost assuredly attribute it to bonking. Or to be more descriptive, sitting on the side of a mountain in the blazing sun for 45 minutes, without seeing anyone, ready to puke, almost out of water, knowing you would be better off a couple hundred yards down the trail where there might be shade, but too dizzy to stand and get there. Yes, trail running gives a whole new meaning to the word bonk!

The Sycamore Canyon 50K is the first trail race that I have participated in. The thought of trail running appeals to me for obvious reasons. Beautiful scenery, lots of hill work (which I rarely do) and really great people! So, I was very excited about this race and figured I could finish the 31 miles in 6-6 1/2 hours. Oh ignorance is bliss. Not only did I pick the longest distance for this particular race but I also did ALL of my training on the road. I mean seriously, what was I thinking? For someone that can be sorta preachy at times with “learn from your mistakes” I can sure fail to heed my own advice. Because on top of everything else, once again I failed to get my nutrition right.

On to the race.




Point Mugu/ Sycamore Canyon is about 75 miles from my house in Huntington Beach. I had contemplated getting a hotel Saturday night, but figured that with an 8:30 am start I could leave around 5:30 which wouldn’t make it any earlier than any other race morning. So, I left in the morning and the drive was great. There was virtually no traffic that early on Sunday morning. Driving up PCH through Malibu is so beautiful. I haven’t been up there for a long time so the drive really got me in the mood for the day.

I arrived at the race site around 7 am. Plenty of time to get all of my stuff together and head to the start. This race was MUCH smaller than what I have become used to in road races. The overall vibe was a lot different and VERY cool. Everyone was very nice and there was more of a sense of belonging to a club than a competitive race. There’s nothing wrong with being competitive and believe me I wish I was ..lol... But since I am a mid packer (on a good day), the only person I am competing against is myself. So for me “races” are always about the experience and the social aspect of being with fellow runners. Anyway, I went to the registration table and gave Sarah, the race director, my name. She was so cool. She new that this was my first trail race and that I was doing the 50K. I wonder if she new what kind of trouble I would get into, would she have advised me to switch to the 30K?

There were 4 distances. 8K, 18K, 30K and 50K. I chose the 50K because my plan has been to do a 50 miler in August and you need to do a 50K before you can register for that race. The 18, 30 and 50K all started together at 8:30 and the 8K started at 8:45. After hearing the course directions from Wendell, the other race director, we were off.



44 people started the 50K. I was a little surprised at everyones pace. I had planned on going out a little slower, but I got caught up in the excitement and kept up for the first few miles. My heart rate was a good 8-10 BPM more than what I planned and I am sure it greatly contributed to my problems later in the day. The first aid station was about 6 miles into the course. The first 2 1/2 miles being a slow ascent of around 1,100 ft. I ran a good portion of this. It would have been better to walk ALL of these climbs and save the running for the flats and downhills. Again, I know this but sometimes in a race... well, you just make the same mistakes over and over again. Anyway, I got to the first aid station pretty uneventfully. I felt good and had eaten 2 gels. I headed off for the 2nd of 5 loops. This loop would turn out to be much more technical with some steeper climbs and some cool little zig zags. It was really cool running through all of those little obstacles. I felt like a real trail runner, agile and light on my feet. I met a couple of really cool girls and we talked for a good portion of that loop. We have done a lot of the same races and have been running about the same length of time. Our paces stayed the same most of the loop but towards the end I decided to slow it down a little because they were doing the 30K and they could afford to push it a little more than me.



The end of the second loop brings you back to where you started the loop. Mile 12 1/2 and I was still feeling really good. I loaded up on water and ate some pretzels and m&m’s. Then, headed out on the third loop which takes you back to the start. On the way out it was a 2 1/2 mile ascent and a 3 1/2 mile descent. Going back was much more difficult and this is where things starting going bad. I let the people I was running with go ahead as we started the climb. It was about 11:45 and the sun was really starting to beat down. This side of the climb had direct exposure with no shade for about 2 miles. I had probably had about 4 gels by now and 6- 20 oz bottles of water with nuun. Maybe it was the m&m’s but about 1 1/2 miles in I started to feel sick. These stomach issues are new to me. I usually never get sick to my stomach. It happened in the Ironman and now this race. I am wondering if the fuel belt that I am wearing is too tight? When I loosened it, it felt a little better. Or it is a problem with my nutrition and the duration of the events. On any note, this 6 mile leg back was tough. I had to stop and rest for the first time and try to get my heart rate down. Power hiking up this trail, had my HR over my average HR for a half marathon. There is simply no way that I can sustain that for over 6 or 7 hours. I started looking at my Garmin and doing the math and also started questioning whether I could make the cutoff of 8 1/2 hours. What if I dropped? The 30K finish was back at the start of the race. What happens if I go out there feeling like this, or worse? It’s not like a road race where there is an out just about everywhere. If I continue on, I am committed. I had a couple miles to think about it and those couple of miles were downhill and partially in the shade. I was feeling better. I was running a decent pace and even passing a few people.

I got back to the start at about 1:15 p.m.. I had completed a little over 19 miles. 5:45 into the race with another 11 miles to go, I would have to do each loop in around 1:45. This didn’t seem doable but when I arrived, Sarah asked how I was doing and I said “OK” and she said “well you look like you're doing good”. So that, along with the fact that I feel like quitting or not finishing what I start is like a cancer that grows if you let it in. I filled my bottles, ate some more pretzels, said goodbye to my new friends who just finished their 30K and were off to the pool, and headed back out on loop 4. I figured that if I get to the next aid station and can’t go any further or can’t make the cutoff, I can drop at that point and get a ride back. I will pretty much doing anything to not DNF. But you have to be smart and realize when you are stopping because you don’t WANT to go on or stopping because you CAN’T.

So, I am now committed to another 6 miles. But right now I feel alright except for some hoarseness in my voice, another interesting side affect that happens to me in endurance events. This first mile or so goes pretty well. I am alternating between a slow run and a power hike. It’s around 2:30 now and it’s getting pretty hot. I start hearing sirens way in the distance. first one or two then several. It sounded like they were around the base camp area. I of course thought “I hope thats not for one of the runners”. A few minutes later I saw a helicopter and it became clear that someone on the mountain was in trouble. About 10 minutes later 4 emergency vehicles came up the fire road. By the time I got to where they were parked, I found out that one of the runners had been airlifted out. Heat exhaustion, but he’ll be okay. I was able to get 4 little water bottles from one of the trucks. I filled my bottles up and one went over my head. It is amazing how important water becomes in situations like these.

I got back out to the last aid station at around 3:30. 7 hours into the race. Obviously there was NO way I was going to make it back 6 miles in 1 1/2 hours. Especially with that being the worst stretch in the hottest part of the day. So I started planning how I would get back to the start from the aid station. I figured they would drive me back since by road it is only about 5 minutes. I was really bummed but figured that they would have a cutoff at the last aid station. When I got there, Flora (the girl at the aid station) was very cool and asked me what she could get me. I sat down, emptied the rocks out of my shoes and asked her if I was the last 50K runner because I hadn’t seen anyone for a while. She said that there might be someone else but that several people had dropped at the 30K mark. I asked her about the cutoff and she said not too worry about it, that they would wait for me. So there it was, if I dropped it would have been because I didn’t want to keep going. So, I kept going.



I knew I had about 3 1/2 miles that were going to be rough. The sun was relentless at this point and this side was completely exposed. I didn’t even make it to the spot were I had problems the first time around. I started getting dizzy and nauseous. My HR was high and I had a hard time walking straight. I also started to feel my calves cramping. I had thought I was taking plenty of electrolytes but the cramping was worrying me. I sat down and rested briefly and got back up to keep going. I went about another 5 minutes and then it got worse. I went to sit down and I felt a cramp in my hip. I didn’t even know I could get one in my hip. I sat down on a stretch of trail that had no shade and was completely exposed. I ate another gel and drank some water and tried to get up. Whenever I tried to get up I would get very dizzy and sick. I had a shirt that Sarah gave me back at the 30K mark and I had soaked it in ice water back at the last aid station. I was using that to shield my face from the sun. I could see what I assumed would be a shaded section of the trail about 500 ft around a corner. But I couldn’t seem to get up. All kinds of crazy thoughts were going through my head. I’d only seen one person since the aid station and I was pretty sure that there was no one behind me. What if I couldn’t get up? I was already running out of water and I still had about 4 miles to go. I was stuck. I sat there for about 30 minutes, fly’s buzzing around me, rationing water and trying my best to get off my ass and keep going. If I wanted a challenge, this was it.

I sat there for what seemed like an eternity when Flora from the aid station came around the corner. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see someone. She asked me how I was doing and I told her I was really struggling. She asked me about fluids and electrolytes. I told her I could use some water. She filled me up and then gave me some Clif Shot Blocks. She said to take my time and she wouldn’t hang all over me. She understood how it is when you are feeling that bad. Some people like to talk some don’t. I am the “don’t like to talk” kind. Then she said that it would be better if I was sitting in the shade. I said that I thought there might be some around that corner but so far couldn’t get to it. The Shot Blocks really seemed to help. I sat there for another five minutes or so and was able to get up. I made it around the corner and found a rock with a bush over it and escaped the sun for another 5 or so minutes. She caught up to me again and gave me a few more shot blocks and I was good to go.

The rest of the way up and back down were much better. Aside from a severe cramp in my left calf that happened when I bent down to take the rocks out of my shoe, I went nonstop the rest of the way.

My official time was 9:35:46. Of the 44 people who started the 50K, 22 dropped. I finished 22nd. I can’t thank Wendell and Sarah enough for allowing me to finish the race even though they could have imposed a cutoff. I am extremely glad that I was able to finish and am looking forward to applying the things that I learned to the next race. I’ll tell you one thing for sure. Whether it is another couple 50K’s or a 50 miler, I will be training on lots of trails!

Paul