I'm Back!

Didn't realize I was gone? Well, I was. I took a two-week jaunt to the Philippines to visit family and relax at the beautiful El Nido Resort. Fact of the matter is I relaxed way too much. I ran not one step during my stay. By the third day my legs were feeling like jelly. By the fourth I was going into heavy withdrawals. I wanted to run! Unfortunately there was no good place to run where my parents live. Not only is it hot and humid, but I'd be placing myself at risk trying to run by the side of a busy road. If not running wasn't bad enough, I barely did any walking either. I took my pedometer with me, but I stopped carrying it after a couple of days because it was depressing me how inactive I was. At my parents' house all I really did was wake up, eat, watch TV, eat, watch TV/nap, eat again, watch TV. Not the ideal set-up for me.

I got back on Tuesday, and I'm still adjusting to the time difference. The first night I fell asleep at 4am and slept straight through until 2pm. The next night was 3am. Last night was 2:30am, so I'm getting close to my usual bed time of 12:30ish.

I also went on my first run in two weeks yesterday, a nice, easy 4.5 mile run at an 8:30 pace. It wasn't as bad as I expected but I still got pretty winded, and this morning I'm feeling the ache in my legs. They've had too much rest. Thankfully the San Francisco Half Marathon isn't until the end of the month. I have some time to regain some fitness and hopefully shed some of the weight I put on.

I'm way behind on posting. I have yet to write up my June race, which turned out pretty well: a 1:46 at the Ventura Beachfront Half Marathon. It's a small race, 700 runners, but very well managed. I'll write more soon.

Ragnar Napa Valley: In Vino Very Fast

Another year, another Ragnar relay. This time we ran amidst the lovely surroundings of Northern California, working our way from San Francisco to Calistoga. One would think that doing this three years in a row would be enough, but I'm eagerly looking forward to running another relay. It's an absolutely fun, miserable adventure that you have to experience firsthand to really appreciate. On the way back from Napa there was discussion in our van about maybe doing an out-of-state race. We'll try for Hood to Coast, but there was also talk about something in the Northwest or even New England. We'll see what happens.



As for the race itself, I wound up taking one of the 20 mile leg(s) for no other reason than the fact that I've been running fairly consistently and had no injury. Any other time that wouldn't be a qualification, but it was enough. I acquitted myself well. My first leg was my longest at 7.8 miles and made tough by a big hill halfway through. It was scenic, though. It started in what was possibly the mosty idllyic-looking location, complete with a white church and a gorgeous background of brown hills and oak trees. Davey told me the other night that Skywalker Ranch was only a few miles away. The first half included a scenic view of a reservoir. I also encountered three deer bounding across the road. I didn't ask them why they crossed. I started off well but immediately got passed by a very fast runner. That always sucks. Then another runner, faster than the first, zoomed by me. Damn you! I maintained a strong 8 minute pace up until the hill. I slowed down a bit as I made the ascent. I could hear footsteps behind me but the runner didn't seem ready to pass me. I kept thinking to myself that he should just pass me and get it over with. Finally he did when my cummerbund fell off.

Oh, I forgot to mention that our teamn name, My Big Fat Ragnar Wedding, a remnant of a plan by Scotty, who organized the last two Ragnars, to run as three teams under a wedding theme. Scotty had to drop out and the other two teams never materialized, but our team held strong, left with a team name we weren't too enthusiastic about. We made the best of it, though, propelled by a couple of energetic teammates who gathered together costumes for the runners complete with veils, bow ties, garters, and the aforementioned cummerbund. We even decorated our van for the first time! My concern with the name was that people were going to ask us who was getting married, but the questions never materialized. People just seemed to buy the fact that we're a wedding-themed team. Next time, though, we're going with a better name.




Back to my first leg, as soon as I got over the hill I fell back to a good pace. I kept my eye on the faster runners that had just passed me and made a plan to not let them get too far ahead. Thanks to a slight downhill finish, I averaged about an 8:15 pace for the 7.8 miles.

My second leg took place in the dead of night. I think I started it at 2am on a dark country road. The leg was 6.2 miles and probably my easiest thanks to a flat route and nice cool temperatures. Even though I started in what felt like a dark, country road, I was soon in the middle of suburbia. The rest of the run was along a commercial thoroughfare and through some residential streets. Since it was dark anyway I didn't care that it wasn't scenic. The leg was mostly uneventful. The same fast runner who had passed me in the previous leg passed me again. Drats! However, I did pass a total of six runners but only got passed by that fast runner and another runner later on. My pace was a bit over 8 minutes per mile, which worried me that I was exhausting myself with one more long leg the next day to go.

While I wasn't completely out of gas, my third leg was definitely a slog. It was 6.8 miles straight down Silverado Trail. Within a mile a side stitch developed and bugged me the rest of the way. It didn't help that it had warmed up and had to deal with rolling hills. I held on as best I can but it felt like I was just walking. Early on two runners running side by side passed me. A short while later a zooming guy draped in what looked like the Brazilian flag flew by me. I kept seeing runners in front of me who looked slow enough to catch, so I focused on them. I passed one, then another, but then got passed by someone else. By the end of the leg I had an eventful run where I passed five runners but got passed by six. This was a tough run where I just had to suck it up and keep moving. I kept checking my newly acquired Garmin to see how far I had gone--4 miles left! 3.5 miles! 2 miles! Surprisingly, even though I felt like I was barely moving, I was actually keeping up a good pace. Granted it was all over the map. At some points I was at 8:00/mile then I'm up to 9:15/mile. I did take two walk breaks, but I think at the finish my average pace was around 8:30/mile. It definitely didn't feel like I was running at times. I caught a second wind near the end when I realilzed that my agony would soon be over. I should probably also credit the two giant apple fritters Donna bought me as a birthday present. I would nosh on a big chunk throughout the day, especially before my legs. I'm sure the sugar rush powered me through some difficult moments.



As a team we finished the 186 miles in just over 27 hours. Official results aren't up yet, so we'll see, but I don't think this garnered us any special awards. We ran last year's course in about the same time and that one was over 200 miles.

Surprisingly I wasn't too sore from the experience. I was tired and smelly and probably couldn't run another leg if my life depended on it. When we got to our hotel in Santa Rosa I showered and promptly took a nap. I really couldn't string together a meaningful amount of sleep in a cramped van. The nap helped and the team celebrated with beer and greasy food at Third Street Aleworks. We were hoping for Russian River Brewery but there was no way we could fit in there.

Ragnar is really an event I should dislike for reasons other than the actual event of running a long distance relay. It's a very corporate event, lots of promotional items, and many of the participants I would probably find obnoxious in the normal course of life for being douchey and frat boyish (albeit frat boys with incredibly nice physiques). Yet I always have a good time. The participants are generally friendly and easy-going and friendly rivalries develop. It's a big event, but at its core is the team of running friends you have chosen to spend over a day riding in an increasingly malodorous van. You laugh, you goof around, you cheer each other on, and you eat, eat, eat. By relay's end you don't want to leave the van and you're filled with such positive vibes that it's a shock to have to return to your normal life. I'm sure there's a life lesson in there somewhere, but even if there isn't, Ragnar--or any other relay--is at the very least a fun, silly adventure. Fun is something we could use more of in life.

More pictures on my Flickr page.

Race Report: 07.25.2010 San Francisco Marathon

Time: 4:03:52
Pace: 9:19/mile



Boy, that was a tough one. At least I had a great time hanging with the running crew and eating my heart out in San Francisco.

Going into the San Francisco Marathon this weekend, I had visions of kicking ass and setting a personal best. That went out the window by the halfway point when my legs started giving up on me, but I still hoped I would finish under four hours. By mile 18 I was just praying I wouldn't embarrass myself. Thankfully, I didn't. Even though by the end I felt like I was running slow enough to finish well over four hours, I managed to make it to the finish in 4:03:52. I guess it's some measure of success that I'm disappointed by a 4:03 marathon. It's a time I'm sure many other runners would be happy to have.

This marks my slowest marathon since the 2008 San Antonio Rock n' Roll Marathon where I ran slightly faster by a minute. Looking back at the results there, I think the same problem befell me in San Francisco--too many hills. It's not so much the big hills but the quantity of hills that was the factor. After entering Golden Gate Park at the halfway point, my legs started feeling weak. I fell behind Katie and Rob rather quickly, which bums me out. I wish I could have finished with them. At that point, though, I really had to run my own race. I was just going to slow them down, and I had to focus on getting through the next 13 miles somehow. I can't remember ever cramping in so many different places in my legs. The cramping never got severe where my legs locked up, but it did make moving my legs a struggle.

The frustrating thing about my legs letting me down was that I felt great otherwise. I wasn't out of breath and I felt like I had trained well enough to finish strong, but my legs though felt like calling it an early day. That it happened so early in the race also was frustrating because it affected me psychologically. I got annoyed with Golden Gate Park and what felt to me like endless loops. At one point I was sure I was running a loop I had already done. I also hated that I could hear where the half marathon was finishing, which I knew I would pass on the way out, but first I had to run a few loops within loops. I'm sure most of the other runners loved running through such a beautiful park, but I just couldn't wait to get out of there.

I recovered a little when I got onto Haight. I think I prefer running on city streets during a marathon over trees and nature. It's great during a training run, but I'm more entertained by city streets. In any event, I intended to forego as many walk breaks as I could and just plow ahead. I was doing well until about mile 22 when my stride turned into more of a shuffle. As evidenced by my pace, I slowed down from a 9:04/mile pace at the 20 mile mark to my final pace of 9:19/mile at the finish. That means I was probably running over 10 minutes per mile from mile 20 on. Not good.

All in all, I would rank San Francisco as the toughest course I have run. It definitely got the better of me, and for that reason I feel compelled to come back, if not next year then the following year. I intend to beat this course and post a time worth bragging about. To do so I'll have to take my training more seriously than I have in the last year.

One last thing about the race, the organizers really did a great job. Everything ran smoothly and I saw no major issues that I would correct. I'm not a fan of running those loops through Golden Gate Park, but I think others disagree with me. I also want to commend the organizers on neat little touches that help make this post-race period just as much fun. For one, the medal they give for the marathon can double as a coaster. Smart! I also love the video they provide on the website of everyone's finish. Although I'm mostly obscured by a tall runner in my video, I still got a laugh at seeing how quickly I transitioned from running to walking as soon as I crossed the finish line. I guess I'm serious about not running one more step at the finish.

As for San Francisco itself, it's the first time that I actually saw what others love about the city. The previous times I've been there, I've found it a nice city but not worth falling in love with. That's probably due to the fact that I have mostly visited the touristy areas in downtown. Staying with Liza in the Mission District, though, I really enjoyed the relaxed feel of the neighborhood, which also had a bounty of great shops and such. I wished I could have walked through the area more, but with the marathon I really had to avoid being on my feet so much. I think I did too much walking as it was and might have played a part in how quickly my legs fatigued. I'm still not convinced that San Francisco is as great as others make it out to be, but I finally started seeing the reason why people think highly of it--and the reason can be found away from downtown. Next time I visit the city I will definitely spend more time exploring other neighborhoods of the city.

Last Weekend

I couldn't have picked worse weather for my first trip to New York. I'm actually surprised that my flight wasn't cancelled or delayed. We landed almost on time, which is great especially after hearing about the ordeal passengers on a Virgin America flight had to endure. The only scary part was landing. It seemed we descended ever so slowly and experienced a lot of turbulence. It was scarier when we actually broke through the clouds and I saw that we were about to land yet the plane was still banking left and right. Sitting next to the wing also didn't help allay my concerns; I'm always amazed how those wings never snap off. Ultimately, we landed safely--or, rather, we plopped down safely much to the delight of all the passengers.

Thanks to the weather I think I got a realistic New York experience. I was going to take the NJ Transit train to Penn Station but was told that the trains weren't running because of lack of power. I had to take a bus, which actually delighted me. I get to go through the Lincoln Tunnel! Along with airplane wings not snapping off, tunnels are another source of fascination, especially when they run beneath bodies of water. Imagine all that water just above your head--it's incredible!

The bus ride wasn't long at all. The train probably would have taken just as long. I got off at the Port Authority Bus Terminal where I could catch the A, C, or E train. At the time it wasn't raining. I bought a weeklong pass since it cost almost as much as buying three individual day passes. When I got to the platform an E train was waiting for me. Lucky me, I thought. I got in and waited. The train just sat there. After a few minutes an indecipherable announcement was made but I understood enough of it to hear that the train wasn't going anywhere. I had to lug my luggage back up the stairs and snake my way through a crowded tunnel, up and down some stairs, to get to the Times Square station to catch the NRQW, which were actually better since it would dump me closer to our hotel. I didn't wait long, but the train was, of course, crowded, which made me wish I didn't have my bags with me. When I got off at my stop, the weather had gotten worse. It was pouring and it was windy. I could have handled the rain, but the wind was too much. It kept messing up my umbrella and just blew water everywhere. The hotel was only a couple of blocks away but having to walk in the wind and the rain made it seem so much farther.

Alice's hotel room was tiny, which I guess was to be expected in New York. She and her friend, Jessica, were getting ready to head out to dinner. I just decided I would stay in my wet clothes since I was likely to get soaked again on the way to the restaurant. In fact, the weather got even worse. It rained harder and it got windier. The restaurant was a tiny establishment with not much waiting room space. We had to squeeze ourselves in the tiny, tented entrance. To avoid having to squeeze between people, Amy, another friend of Alice's, and I stood on a bench and waited. We waited about another hour. The place was tiny, like a small room, and it was crowded. Thankfully my meal was great. We finished at around midnight and we walked down Houston before catching a cab back to our hotel and then we walked around some more and checked out an underground club. I was proud of myself for staying out so late. I hadn't slept much the night before and had traveled all day, yet I wasn't too tired.

We turned in at about 3 in the morning and slept in a little. Jane, whose flight was cancelled, had to catch a red eye and was set to land at 6:30 a.m. However, even that flight got delayed and she didn't land until after 9. When she got to the hotel we headed off to get some dim sum. We were in Chinatown, after all. The dim sum was good, but nothing I couldn't get in L.A. The rest of the afternoon we mainly shopped in SoHo. I hadn't planned on shopping, but I actually did buy quite a few things. No tax! I particularly loved UNIQLO. It's now my favorite store. I got a few shirts, which were very inexpensive. I wanted to check out their jeans but was overwhelmed by the crowds and the lines to try stuff on. I hoped to maybe come back another day but we didn't. We grabbed pizza later in the day at Lombardi's and some delicious rice pudding at Rice to Riches in Little Italy.

In a way, we shopped longer than I would have liked. Alice and I did get to walk around TriBeCa a little and saw the Ghostbusters firehouse. We then took a train up to Washington Square Park and walked around a little until it started pouring again. I wish I got a chance to walk around the area more. I wanted to see hipsters! Then again, I probably should have gone to Brooklyn for that. Dinner was supposed to be Italian but by the time we headed out a lot of the places were closing down. So we went to another recommended pizza place and was a little disappointed by the food.

The next day was the longest day, which was also the best day. Jane and I were out from 9 in the morning until almost 2 in the morning. We started off with breakfast at Balthazar in SoHo. It was a little pretentious but the food was decent. We then walked over to Bowery so I can get a picture of the new New Museum building. Along the way we came across a pile of umbrellas and, of course, we had to get a picture of it. In fact, all weekend it became my habit to take pictures of all the dead umbrellas I came across. Do people just dump their broken umbrellas where they are?

After the New Museum we took a train to City Hall so we can walk on the Brooklyn Bridge. I would have liked to walk across the whole thing but we only got halfway. It was just too cold and windy and we had a lot of other things we needed to do. I had a list for the day and not surprisingly we didn't do all of them.

Next after the Brooklyn Bridge was the Museum of Modern Art. Alice was given free passes, which was a godsend. Jane and I didn't have to wait in a long line. We wound up staying at MoMA longer than scheduled because there was so much to see. I really liked it but as usual I got tired and raced through some of the galleries. The Tim Burton exhibition was crowded but interesting. There was also an exhibition of Marina Abramovic's performance art--naked people galore! I loved seeing the Jackson Pollock pieces. We stayed so long at MoMA that both Jane and I complained of feeling cramps in our calves.

We were starved afterwards and we were behind schedule. We headed out and grabbed lunch at Grand Central Station so we can kill two birds with one stone: eat a good New York lunch and take pictures of the station. I went with a gyro and Jane got a chicken plate. I think the lunch did the trick because we were both rejuvenated and no longer felt the weariness in our legs. After taking pictures of Grand Central we hopped back on a train to the Upper East Side to walk around and take pictures of the Guggenheim Museum and then walk through Central Park. It was drizzling a little and definitely cold. Central Park was muddy but we walked through the middle section, around the reservoir and along the Great Lawn and cut across to the Upper West Side. We were going to hit up the American Museum of Natural History next but by that time it was near closing time. We still went in and spent about a half hour. We decided to come back the next day.

At 6 we were supposed to meet up with Jane's brother-in-law's brother. I don't know if that makes him a stepbrother-in-law. We met him for Happy Hour at a sushi place in Midtown not too far from the theater where Jane and I were going to see "Next to Normal." My friend Corey was also able to meet us there and we enjoyed some drinks. The sushi, though, was terrible. I'm sure there are better places in New York.

We then walked over to the Booth Theatre, an old theater built in the early 1900's, to see "Next to Normal." It was a great, powerful show. Jane was crying through most of it, and I could hear sniffling throughout the crowd. I definitely recommend it. After the show Alice met up with us and we grabbed another slice of pizza and walked around Times Square and checked out the sights around there. It was late, so everything was closed. But we walked by Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the Empire State Building. The best vantage point to see the Empire State Building is really from a few blocks away. Standing next to it, it didn't seem all that tall. It's not until it's in the context of the buildings around it that you realize how tall it is. We also walked through Koreatown but it really pales in comparison to L.A. Our Koreatown beats their Koreatown!

The next day Jane and I still had a few things that we wanted to get to do, and we had most of the day to do so. Jane wanted to go shopping and I wanted to check out Chelsea and the High Line. Unfortunately we got a late start and had to rush through things. We grabbed bagels at H&H Bagels and walked over to the Museum of Natural History. We again had to rush through it because we needed to get back to the hotel by 1pm to check out. We were hoping to get some shopping in before then but really didn't have time. After check out we went to get lunch in Chelsea. We went to a place recommended by Amy, a place called Elmo. My chicken fried chicken was good and some of the waiters were pleasant to look at. It was after lunch that Alice, Jane and I separated. They had to head back to catch their flight at JFK. I had a couple of hours until I had to leave so I walked around Chelsea a little. I really wanted to see the High Line but my guide book misdirected me. It marked its undeveloped terminus at 31st Street as "the High Line" but the part I wanted to see was all the way down on 14th Street. Realizing the goof, I hopped on a train to 14th Street and had about 45 minutes to walk around. I was really hoping I would have time to just soak up the sun like the other beautiful people there. After two days of rain and gray that last day was actually gorgeous. However, I only had time to walk up and down and take some pictures. It's definitely a great use of space and already a popular attraction. Los Angeles needs to consider doing something similar with unused public areas.

Finally I had to head back to the hotel, grab my bags and catch the NJ Transit back to Newark. It was all very convenient, but by the time I headed to New Jersey it was rush hour. I had to squeeze through people in suit to catch the train.

I wish I had an extra day to do some of the other things I wanted to do. I really wanted to see and walk around Brooklyn, and I didn't even get to check out Greenwich Village or Columbia University. They will have to wait until my next trip. Actually, I just realized now that I didn't even think about seeing the Statue of Liberty. What a bad tourist am I, not to mention a bad American? It was an excellent trip nonetheless. Next time I'll try to go on a nice spring or fall weekend.

A Trip

I'm going to New York! Next weekend!

I had not gotten approval from work yet yesterday, but today I got it. No takebacks! I actually got my ticket yesterday before I got the vacation approved, so that was a bit of a risk, but now I'm excited to go. I have to do some research on places to eat, of course, and some prep work on public transportation, but I'm really just looking forward to walking around the city, checking out the scenery and taking loads of pictures. I hope it's not too cold.

Since I'm sure to be eating a ton next weekend, I better be good about eating and running this week. Unfortunately I'm off to a bad start today. I got home from work and just felt too tired to run. Oh well.