Chasing My Goal – 2009 Marine Corp Marathon

This past weekend was the 34th Annual Marine Corp Marathon.

I was ready, I trained somewhat meticulously for it, and awoke the morning of feeling refreshed and ready to run fast.

Based on my 1:04:14 finish at the Army 10 Miler 3 weeks prior, I decided to go out with the 3:10 pace group. I had my mind set on a Boston Qualifer, and was looking forward to achieving it.

I arrived at the start early enough to get a good spot in the 3:00-3:19 corral along side others who were going for that coveted 3:10 Boston qualifying time. I did some light jogging and stretching to prepare myself for the long journey ahead. After the gun went off, it took me a mere 20 seconds to get to the start line. Not bad for a race that had 30,000 registrants. Although the start was crowded, I did not feel like I was getting boxed and forced to compromise my pace.

Miles 1-3:
Felt great, I was right next to the 3:10 pacer, and we were spot on pace. I didn’t feel like I went out too fast, and felt pretty comfortable.

Miles 3-8:
Things didn’t really pick up, but stayed constant. Still feeling good, I couldn’t wait to cross that finish line with a 3:10, but told myself to hold back. “I could run like this forever,” I thought. It’s mile 22 where I would have my chance to pick up the pace if I felt good.

Miles 8-15:
Crossed the half way mark in 1:34:39. That’s a half marathon PR for me! I was feeling good about it, but had a feeling I would have to fight pretty hard for that 3:10, but still felt it was well within reach. At this point, I was already thinking about mile 20, and how it’s a 10k race from there to the finish.

Mile 15-17:
Things took a turn for the worse around here. My pace slowed, not sure why this happened all of a sudden. I still remained optimistic. If I slow down now, I can conserve some energy to chase down the 3:10 group when the time comes. However, with each passing step, I felt worse. My legs were feeling heavy. “What is this??!,” I thought. I downed another packet of Gu and a cup of water, and kept treading along. Another half mile went by, and my legs started to cramp. Oh man…

Mile 17-20:
I was forced to a slow jog. I even had to walk some. I stopped for a few seconds to stretch out, but thought I must keep moving forward to that finish line! At this time, I exhausted my last Gu packet, and was taking anything handed out on the course. Spectators were still as awesome as ever giving me hope that I would make it to the finish line.

Mile 20-24:
As I crossed the 20 mile marker, I did a quick calculation. In order to catch the 3:10 group, I would have to run a 40 minute 10k. I would be quite capable of that if that with fresh legs, but 20 miles with cramping have already taken their toll. There was no way I would be able to keep up anywhere near 6:30 pace. As I passed some spectators were handing out bananas, oranges, and licorice. I hastily ate them hoping they would help me salvage this race. No luck, my legs were shot. I started feeling a bit discouraged from all the walking I had to do, and even more so when the 3:20 pace group passed me, then the 3:30 pace group passed me. Well, maybe I can still get a PR out of this race, I thought.

Mile 24-26:
“Only 2 miles left to go!!,” a spectator shouts. So close yet so far especially when you are painfully walking/running.

Mile 26-26.2:
As soon as I saw the mile 26 marker, I remembered the warning I received about the brutal uphill finish. My quads were aching so bad, I couldn’t run straight, but had to run a little sideways. I probably looked ridiculous, but that didn’t matter. I saw the finish line ahead, and hobbled to it where I was greeted with relief and accomplishment. My time: 3:38:28, a super positive split, and not a PR. Although it was not the time I was hoping for, I still felt relieved to have finished, but not once did I ever think about giving up.

Post Race:

After the race, I went straight to get a free complementary massage. Great idea MCM organizers!

After the massage, I walked around the finish festival, and decided to head home. The Rossyln Metro was packed with everyone trying to get back. It must have taken at least 45 minutes for me to get to the escalator to go down to catch the train.

Reflection:

Well, I have been having a string of good races recently which I am thankful for. I am not too bummed I didn’t qualify for Boston this time around or have the race of my life. Those last 9 miles were a good learning experience. I have never hit the wall before, and never considered walking in a race. I know now I have to increase my endurance, and keep electrolytes in balance to prevent the cramping.

After resting for the last 2 days, my legs feel a lot better and I am able to lightly run again. I’m looking forward to getting back into training, increasing my long runs, and maybe someday have a breakthrough marathon.

Weekly Training Update

August 9th – August 15:

Sunday: 2 miles
Monday: 7 miles
Tuesday: Track Workout ((1000, 400 recovery, 900, 300 recovery, 800, 200 recovery, 700, 500 recovery), 4 x 400 (400 recovery))
Wednesday: 3 miles, 7 miles
Thursday: 3 miles
Friday: REST
Saturday: 16 miles

Total weekly mileage ~ 44

 

 

My nike+ sportband is still going great! 

 

On a separate note, congratulations to Paula Radcliffe in winning the NYC Half Marathon. I guess that is a good indication that she is ready for Berlin next week. Good luck at the marathon in Berlin. It’s going to be a great race. Kara Goucher is also running

Weekly Training Update

August 2nd – August 8:

Sunday: Rest
Monday: 7 miles
Tuesday: Track Workout ((800, 100 recovery, 800, 300 recovery) x 3)
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: 7 miles
Friday: 14 miles
Saturday: Rest

Total weekly mileage ~ 40

New Nike+ Sportband 2.0

Recently, my Nike+ iPod died! And implicitly, I think I got tired of running with my ipod, especially when running with friends where I prefer to run with my headphones in my pocket. Solutions = Garmin Forerunner or Nike+ Sportband. Since I have brand loyalty to Nike products, and am a cheap college student, I went with the less expensive Nike+ Sportband (retails for $59). Great decision!!!

It’s awesome so far. A few days ago, I went on my first run to see how it would go. I jogged a mile around the track in the middle lane. The sportband read 1.06 miles! The next day, I went on a measured 7 mile run, and the sportband read 6.95 miles upon completion. That’s great accuracy so far. I am now reluctant to calibrate it in fear that I will mess up the accuracy.

There have been complaints with not being able to see the screen at night. Although a backlight would be nice, it’s perfectly functional at night as long as you have a good feel for how to turn it on and off for your workout. You can just check you stats out later. What else could be added to this sportband?? Maybe adding storage capacity for files by making it into a flash drive, a heart rate/pulse monitor, stopwatch, LEDs for safe running at night,…? The list could go on for days! Regardless, I love my new sportband as-is. It’s functional, aesthetic, works as a watch, and does a great way of tracking my runs. As long as water doesn’t get into this screen or the battery doesn’t die suddenly, I think I’m good. I think these things have been fixed in this new version of the sportband.

Here are some of the benefits/features of the sportband from the nikestore website:

• Tracks distance, pace, time and calories burned
• Memory captures and stores 30 hours worth of running data
• Removable Nike+ Link for quick connection to nikeplus.com
• Doubles as a watch with time display
• Enhanced display for increased readability, improved water resistance
• Automatic battery recharge when Nike+ Link is plugged into your computer
• Stainless steel popper closure holds band in place and offers an adjustable fit
• Durable polycarbonate case
• Pre-curved polyurethane band for lightweight comfort
• Includes Nike+ sensor to be placed in your Nike+ ready shoes
• One size

RIP my Nike+ iPod

The other day on my long run, something tragic happened. At the start of the run, I turned on my iPod with Nike+ as usual then proceeded to run. However, about 2 miles into the run, I took my iPod out to check the pace, and got a strange error message which said, “Firewire connections are not supported. To transfer songs, connect the USB cable provided. Press center to dismiss.” Also, my workout had been ended. I then proceeded to press the center button, and start a new workout. Soon after (~.5 miles), I heard a voice come on through my headphones which said “Workout ended. Press the center button to end your workout.” (or something along those lines)… What?! I didn’t end my workout. At this point, I didn’t bother to restart my Nike+, and just ran with the music.

When I got home, I did a search for the error, and saw on some forums that other people have been experiencing the same thing. The conclusion I got is that water is the culprit. It seems as though water (or sweat, as I know I sweat profusely… probably more than the average runner) has gotten into the dock or receiver which causes the error. Ok! I’ll let it dry out, and try again. On my run yesterday, I ran with my iPod in my pocket sans music. When I got back from the run (~7 miles), the iPod read .54 miles. I may need to get a new iPod, receiver, or sensor (I have gone through 3 of them already). Either way, I think this one is burned out from running. May it RIP.

Well, it was good while it lasted. At least the iPod is still good for music, podcasts, and all that jazz. Not sure if I should replace it, invest in one of those new Nike+ Sport bands, or jump on the Garmin bandwagon. I like the Nike+ website and tracking my runs.

As a tribute to my old Nike+:

Thanks for getting me through 217 workout and 1222.11 miles, and earning me trophies, metals, and helping me attain my running goals. You have lived a very fulfilling life.

Weekly Training Update

Monday: 5 miles recovery from Sunday’s 1/2 marathon
Tuesday: REST (I deserved it)
Wednesday: 7 miles (in the hot sun ~107 F)
Thursday: 5 miles (still hot!!!)
Friday: 3 miles (weather is still in the 90s!)
Saturday: 15 miles (should have ran earlier; it was HOT outside)

 

See a trend? Maybe I should run less in the heat. It just seems more convenient for me to run in the middle of the day or in early evening when the sun is still at it’s peak. At least I enjoy the heat, am staying hydrated, and drench myself in sunblock before I head out the door.

 

Best run of the week goes to Saturday’s long run. It was the toughest thing I did this week. As I headed out the door, I felt great. 2 miles into the run, I started dripping sweat. 4 miles in, I stopped at a water fountain for a drink. At 6 miles, stopped for another drink. Middle of the run… started feeling tired, hot, and uncomfortable; stopped to walk a little, down some Gu along with some gulps of water, and ran easy for the rest of the way. My pace dropped significantly, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get home.

So, I turned up the volume on my iPod, and headed off to finish the run. I was on a mission, it was a life or death situation (not really). Will I make it home before getting dehydrated and dying from heatstroke??! Or, will I faint from exhaustion, and be found lying in middle of the road 3 miles from my house??! What do I do?! I did what any rational minded runner would do. I decreased my pace, took walk breaks as necessary, and sipped on water along the way. When I made it back, I was drenched in sweat, salty to the touch, exhausted, and relieved. I did some quick stretching and proceeded inside to take a long cold shower. What a way to end a hard week of training!

 

Now I’m on my day off eating from a carton of green tea ice cream.

 

Next week’s long run will be 17 miles… Dunn dun dun…

Book Review: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running – Haruki Murakami

I recently became a fan of Haruki Murakami’s writing after a friend suggested some of his books to me. And after I found out he wrote a memoir about running, I had to read it!

In this simple book, Murakami describes his marathon and triathlon training and the impact it had on his writing and lifestyle. Furthermore, he highlights key moments in his life which helped define himself as a person and author.

Although I am not an aspiring novelist or writer of any sort, I found this work very inspirational and relatable to my own lifestyle. It talks about more than running and writing, but also of the struggles that come from a busy lifestyle, and dealing with various conflicts that arise. He talks about how he handled with these events and how they shaped his own life, built character, and defined new aspirations.

I especially enjoyed reading about the mental cycles he went through while training and racing whether it be from running solo from Marathon to Athens, running his first ultramarathon, or running in the New York City Marathon. The mantras that he repeated, the excruciating pain experienced, and the relief and accomplishment felt upon completion are all concisely described. Any runner or athlete will be able to relate to it.

From reading this memoir, I have more respect for Murakami for his lifestyle and strong commitment to running and writing.

Thanks Haruki for sharing your experiences, struggles, failures, redemptions, and successes with us.

2009 Lacamas Lake Half Marathon Recap

It was a beautifully warm day. Many runners (around 1500 I hear) ventured out to Camas High School to participate in the Lacamas Lake 1/2 Marathon Run/Walk, and 4 Mile Run/Walk events. Parking was ample, port-o-potties were not. Needed to use the restroom about 20 minutes before the race; they had about 15 port-o-potties lined up and the line was huge, but seemed to move along pretty well. I made it to the start line with about 3 minutes to do some strides and quick stretching.

Miles 1-5: The first mile was almost all downhill with a pretty steep downhill in the first 800 meters. I knew I should start out slow to avoid hitting any kind of wall so I cruised along at about 7:20 pace for a while till I hit mile 5. At around the 5k mark, I glanced down at my watch and it read somewhere around 22:30.

Miles 5-8: We ran by a golf course, and faced some gradual uphills and downhills, and a pretty significant hill starting at around mile 6-6.5. The downhill part felt nice, and it was an out and back part of the course, so I was able to see some friends as I made the turnaround.

Miles 8-12: This part of the course turned into a trail and went along the lake. Nice views of the lake! It was hard to see who was ahead of me, and I was running by myself for a good few miles. There were plenty of walkers along the side which I passed who offered some much needed encouragement. At around mile 10, there was an aid station where I hastily ripped open my energy gel packet, consumed the contents, chugged a few big gulps of water, and was off to finish the last ~5k of the race.

Mile 12-12.5: Passed 12 mile marker… Great! Only 1.1 miles left, I’m feeling pretty good, got some energy left, I’ll be able to finish this strong and fast, right? Not quite… made a right turn, and faced a big hill!!! The website describes this part of the race as “…a pretty steep uphill climb, so save a little extra energy!” Pretty steep?? How about EXTREMELY STEEP?! This should have been bolded and underlined, and highlighted in red! I exaggerate of course, but many people resorted to walking, and I was reduced to a slow jaunt which probably would have been as fast as walking, but I refuse to walk during a race! I was so relieved to make it to top of the hill, round the corner, and see the track where we would be finishing.

Finish: I did my best to mask my exhaustion and to look like I was finishing strong (see finish video). Official chip time: 1:34:58, and new PR! Great race!!!

My Finish Video!

 

My sister and I before the Race

Beautiful views of Lacamas Lake… a very scenic course!

Training Update and Upcoming Races

Training Last week (7/12 – 7/18):

SUNDAY: Rest
MONDAY: 7 miles
TUESDAY: Rest
WEDNESDAY: 7 miles
THURSDAY: 6 miles
FRIDAY: Rest
SATURDAY: 10 miles

TOTAL for the week: 30 miles

 

Upcoming Race Schedule:

Lacamas 1/2 Marathon: July 26
(maybe) Hulaman 1/2  Marathon: August 16
(maybe) USA Productions: Portland Run America – 5k: September 6
Pints to Pasta 10k: September 16
Komen Race for the Cure: September 20
Marine Corp Marathon: October 25

 

Current PRs:

5k: 18:00 (2008 Race for the Cure)
8k: 32:25 (2009 Run for the Cheetah)
10k: 42:05 (2008 Nike Human Race – Portland)
15k: 1:07:48 (2009 Shamrock Run)
Half Marathon: 1:35:15 (2009 Race for the Roses)
Marathon: 3:34:01 (2008 Portland Marathon)

2009 Inaugural Oregon Prelay Race Recap

Last weekend (July 9-10) was the inaugural Oregon Prelay, a relay race consisting of 12 person teams starting from Portland (well, actually Tualatin), and ending in Eugene with the last leg ending along Prefontaine’s trail in Eugene.

I did not know too much about this event until about 3 weeks before when I found out I won a free team entry from OregonLive. Thank you OregonLive, RunOregon blog and EPIC Relays! EPIC Relays are the organizers behind the awesome relay event. More information about them can be found here: http://www.epicrelays.com/ and on their blog: http://epicrelays.blogspot.com/

Organization:

The organizers were very helpful and flexible with me when I was trying to assemble my team of 12 runners. Before I knew it, team “Eat More, Run Less” was fully assembled along with mascot, Teddy!

Directions were marked well except for one incident when one of our runners took a wrong turn. Other than that, we the markers which indicated exchanges and van tradeoffs were placed well. My favorite marker was the “One Mile to Go” which after seeing, I strategically picked up my pace. All the volunteers were also helpful and friendly.

Van #1 at the start line ready to go!

The Course:

The course was beautiful! We ran along small roads and witnessed amazing scenery that I never knew existed in Oregon despite living here for 20+ years. Although there were some narrow shoulders along the course which we had to be careful running through, most of our legs seemed pretty safe. I’m sure the directors are working on marking the course better in order to increase safety for next year’s epic race.

A cool stream at a park located at one of the van exchanges

Never knew or heard of the Oregon Garden before, but looks like something to check out in the future

Imagine running against this sunset… amazing!

Results:

Although I initially thought we were going to be a noncompetitive team just going out here to have some fun, I think the competitive runners in us came out when we realized we were the lead team. Since there was a wave start and we had an earlier start time, we were unsure of how far behind the other teams were. With each leg, my split times became faster:

Leg #4: 6.0 Miles (Rating: Hard) – 7:06 min/mile pace

Leg #16: 7.7 Miles (Rating: Very Hard) – 6:56 min/mile pace

Leg #28: 2.4 Miles (Rating: Mild) – 6:05 min/mile pace

Looks like I got a pretty good speed workout in for my last leg. If only I could keep these paces up for a marathon…

As a team, we ended up placing 1st in our division (Mixed Open) and 3rd overall in a time of 23 hrs 47 minutes 32 seconds.

Thanks Stewart for taking all these great pictures! (maybe next time I won’t be so lazy to take my camera out of my bag)

Overall, it was a very EPIC race, and I had an amazing time participating in it. I am looking forward to it next year, and highly recommend it to everyone reading this.

Hey Everyone!

Welcome to my first ever blog!

My name is Albert and I am a student at Portland State University. I am an avid runner and tennis player. I enjoy getting involved in the community, and promoting a healthy active lifestyle and sustainability. I am also keen on learning about different cultures, linguistics, and nerdy/geeky technical stuff.  Plan on seeing future blogs about these various things.

I have created this blog as a means to self-reflect, educate, and perhaps entertain others with my uncustomary insights, perspectives, and findings.

Feel free to leave any comments, suggestions, or advice for me to read!

2008 Race For The Cure – Portland!

Running in the Race for the Cure in Portland was amazing this year! Aside from all the free stuff I got, I was empowered to see and meet all the people supporting the fight against breast cancer, and who are raising money, and awareness to fund breast cancer research to find “The Cure!”

I ran, along with my sister, in the 5k competitive division. My time was 18:00, which is a personal best for me! Results are posted here: http://www.accustatsportstiming.com/08_cure/results3.asp.

I was amazed that I could run that fast. My fastest time prior to this was a 19:30 which I ran years ago in high school cross-country. I guess my marathon training has been helping me with shorter distances as well. Watch for me at the Portland Marathon – Oct. 5th!

I heard 45,000 people came out for the Race! That’s pretty awesome. My mom is standing in front of me here in the pink hat.

Cat & Dat

Here is a picture of my sister Cathi, and her BF Dat. Congratulations Cathi for running your very first 5k race! And thanks Dat for coming out, supporting, and holding our stuff while we ran.

Here are some more pictures I took from the Race for the Cure:

Me standing alongside the walkers.

Tens of thousands of people walking.

Hey Tuyet! Nice seeing you at the Race!

More people walking

Cool Race for the Cure Mustang logo

More pictures coming…

Stay tuned. Thanks for reading!

2008 Portland Marathon Reflection

The Portland Marathon was amazing! It was my very first marathon and I hope to be able to run it again(and faster) in following years. Even though it rained on us, I thought the crowd support was good, especially at the start, in the neighborhoods after crossing the St. John’s Bridge, and in the final miles. I am proud(and a little shocked) that I was able to continuously run the whole time. My previous longest run to date was about 18 miles. My final time ended up being 3:34:01 which equates to around 8:10 miles. I started out in the 3:45 pace group; Tanja who was the Red Lizard pace leader was very nice. I past that pace group early on in the race and wasn’t able to catch up to any of the other pace groups. Although I don’t think I slowed down too much in the last few miles, the last mile in particular felt like the longest mile I have ever ran in my life. Perhaps a Boston qualifier marathon time (< 3:11) is in my future; it’s a stretch, maybe not for another few years.

2008 Portland Marathon results are posted here:

https://www.runraceresults.com/secure/raceresults.cfm?id=rcag2008

The course was good and well laid out. Because of the rain, some of the views from the St. John’s Bridge, and around the University of Portland were slightly obstructed.

During the race, I consumed Ultima(a replenishing energy drink), water, and 4 packets of Gu(energy gel). I took a bit of a risk by taking Gu for the first time the day before the race just to see if it would upset my stomach. It didn’t, and worked well during the race.

My sister ran the 5 miler event, and my mom was a volunteer. There was a plethora of food and drinks available at the finish line and I also got a snazzy metal, foil blanket, rose, tree seedling, and a pretty awesome finisher’s shirt.

After the race, I felt super sore for the next 3 or so days. I have a new appreciation for banisters when going up and down stairs(especially down).

I love this video! It reminds me of how I felt the day after the marathon:

I am now fully recovered and ready to start training for my next race!

warmed up and ready to go!

My mom and I before the race

Cathi and Dat, morning of the race

26.2 miles later...

After the race showing off my shiny new medal!

Running in the Rain

It was raining (Oregon style) the other day, and I decided to go running with some friends. We did a couple of loops along Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, across the Hawthorn Bride towards SE, back along the Eastbank Esplanade, and back across the Steel Bridge. Although I am not a great, highly experienced/hardcore runner, while on that run, I realized how much I really like running. I didn’t even care(too much) that it was raining bullets and I was dripping wet the whole time. Maybe it was adrenaline that kept me going for duration of the 5.97(according to my iPod’s Nike Plus sensor) miles, or the fact that there were bagels and refreshments waiting for us back at Niketown(for Run Club).

Anyways, I had a blast! Perhaps I should blog about something other than running. Stay tuned for other interesting and audacious blog entries!

Thanks for running with me, Noel and Ginny!