Just a quick status for recording purposes, I am not nearly as sore as I was for the L.A. Marathon. I have noticed that my upper abs are very sore. This tells me that I need to work more core routines into my workouts. My calves seem to be recovering quickly, but my his and quads have been tight. Overall I am feeling pretty good and will remember to stay disciplined so that I can recover quickly. Marathon training resumes next Monday.

Before the race, I did about a mile warm up with one of my running friends. Things began to heat up as the race began and we were off. As I started, I was a little worried that I was pushing a little too quick when I heard in front of me what must have been a coach to a cross country runner. Since school is out for most kids, there were plenty of high school athletes on this course. The coach said, “Look out for the rabbits. They will begin to drop back near the first turn. You will know who they are.” Yes, some runners take this series pretty seriously.

Sure enough, as we approached the first turn, bodies began falling back and slowing down. One race strategy that I have been recently implementing is a speed boost. The surge of speed helps me to pass runners and clear the area in front of me to make sharp turns or make a move on another runner after pacing with them. As we hit the turns, there were small ditches on the trail that required you to frequently adjust your gait.

On turn three, I heard a little motivation from behind me. A voice saying, “C’mon Paul. Let’s go” helped me for about a quarter of a mile before she turned it up and sliced through traffic. On the straightaway back to the finish line, I pushed pretty hard and noticed that I was beginning to run out of steam. Once I saw the finish line, I began to put it into overdrive.

This was another great 5k in the books and a better time than the last one. I appear to still be making improvements on my shorter distance races, which should help my mentality when attacking speed drills. I am not sure at which point I am no longer a “new” runner, but I am not sure if it is bad luck to talk about the standings. Let’s just say it is a close one in my age group. My strategy for the next race is to hunt down a couple of runners, pace them, then turn it up.

Overall, I am feeling pretty good and I have been able to remain injury free. For those of you that do not know, I had been plagued by injury for the majority of my first year of running. I have been able to remain without injury as a result of properly adjusting my weekly distance, watching my speed on easy days, stretching, warm ups and resistance training. I am looking forward to the next event. It will be a four-mile run on the Fourth of July. Until then, run safe and run strong.

Santa Fe Train Depot, San Diego, California

The first challenge was thanks to myself. I misread the start time, which hindered us to a late arrival. I ended up starting the race in the 13th or 14th corral when I was slotted for corral number two. I spent a good four miles weaving in and out of traffic, constantly adjusting my gait and my speed. Although I had some decent splits at the beginning of the race and was right around where I needed to be, it was really hard to maintain the pace that I needed. It was almost as if I was doing intervals for four miles instead of a steady state run. I will occasionally use bursts of energy during regular races but I usually reserve those for hills. The elevation was another challenge.

Before the race, I usually map my strategy out to the course elevation. Instead of using the Garmin elevation from the last time I ran the course, I used the elevation chart that was on the event’s website. A large part of me thinks that the elevation chart from the event’s website was from the prior year’s event. There was a freeway overpass that I do not recall being on the last race or remember seeing in the course video. I cruised along pretty good there but could have used that energy for later hills. There was nothing to crazy uphill but there were definitely rolling hills a plenty. One good thing that I do remember doing is holding back for a long decent at around mile six. I know I could have moved faster but I wanted to save my energy, which ended up paying off.

Those were probably the two biggest challenges for me during this race. While I feel that I could have better prepared, I am happy with my 13-minute improvement. The last time that I ran this course, my average pace was around 8:20 per mile whereas, the new pace was 7:27. I have had a couple times better than this performance but I feel that I was better prepared for those events. For those events two were truly flat and fast and the other was right in the middle of marathon training.

I could (and should) write another entire post regarding injury prevention, but did have something to share. Due to daily stretching and constant attention to my legs, I have been lucky enough to remain injury free. I had the normal soreness post-race and feel fine a day later. This has been a great year for me recovery wise and I think that it should be noted for newer runners that your body will need some time to normalize and get used to running. While I am sure my body would have adapted better at an earlier age, it probably took about a year for me to get my stride and form down so that I do not hurt myself. Injuries are part of the game so, do not get discouraged and remember to address the problems and listen to your body.

Runner at the Beach - Picture in Hotel Hallway

I had an amazing time in San Diego and will probably be back to run this race again. I really enjoyed myself and enjoyed the run. I would like to extend special congratulations to my friends and all first time marathoners as well as all who finished the race. San Diego truly is a beautiful city and I am looking forward to being back. As a matter of fact, my next race will be the America’s Finest City Half Marathon held in San Diego, California.

I began the day with plenty of water in my system and I had been including electrolyte supplements in my daily vitamin routine for about a month and a half now. From time to time, I will start a race by sucking down a Gatorade Prime. For this event, I just stopped by the local coffee shop for a small cup of coffee. I read once that Ryan Hall would have a cup of coffee as part of his pre race routine. I later stumbled upon an article at Runners World in regards to the benefits of caffeine for runners.

Upon arrival, I ran into several of my local running friends. There were about six of us that decided to get on the course and go for a quick warm up. I used to doubt the effectiveness of a warm up until I began to notice that it was becoming harder for me to ramp up my speed while on long-distance workouts. A warm up is helpful in that it increases your blood flow, your heart rate and your breathing. It also helps you to avoid injury by loosening up your muscles.

Flashback

Here is a quick additional word about warm ups. For the 2011 Surf City Half Marathon, I was running just a little bit late. I ran with my gear bag, at a steady pace, to the gear check and then to the starting line. It was probably a little under a mile’s worth or running. I PR’d that race and have tried to warm up ever since.

Race Time

As the wave start began, the narrow course was a bit of a challenge as runners were elbow to elbow on the trail. Weaving in and out of traffic, I was able to keep my pace down to where I knew I was pushing myself but tried to be conservative for about the first half of the course. On the way back, I let up a little more for about a half mile before turning it up for the final one. Winded at the finish line, I was able to complete my fastest 5k to date. This race’s time beat any time that I had run in the military, when I thought that I was in the best shape of my life.

After the race, we all chatted with friends and other runners before running a mile cool down. Overall I was pleased with how I did for this race and was super excited to see that my friends did so well too. A wonderful race for my first race of the series and another run that I will not forget.

Relax

The full experience began as I was flying into Los Angeles. I made the mistake of taking a window seat and was able to spot Dodger Stadium. As I continued to glance towards the west, I still could not see the coast. Probably a bad idea to look out the window. The week prior, I had arranged for a ride from the airport to the hotel and back. I decided that I would stay at a nicer hotel since some of the others were all about the same price for the weekend anyhow. When I arrived at the airport there were three drivers with signs that read my last name. I remember laughing to myself doubting that any one of them were for me. I then received a phone call and glanced over to notice that one of the drivers was for me. How cool!?

For a minute I felt like a rock star and the driver was the nicest driver that I could have ever remembered. Upon arriving at the hotel, I checked my bags and wandered to the pier to catch a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. I then hopped on a bus to head to Dodger Stadium to get my race registration packet. While there I had to get a L.A. Marathon jacket. It was a must have for me and my first full marathon. On the way back to the hotel, the afternoon bus route stopped about five miles from the hotel. This ended up being a blessing in disguise as I walked the final five miles of the course. Visually, this would help me immensely for the race on Sunday.

As some of you know, I spend a lot of time on dailymile conversing with other runners and meeting new ones. That night I had the wonderful opportunity to finally meet some of those dailymile runners from Los Angeles in real life. Some of us had run several races together without even knowing it. We all met for dinner and it was an amazing time. It was so nice to meet everyone and it was as if we were all long time friends that picked up where we left off. After food, fun and conversation, we all went our separate ways as we continued to prepare for the race.

Reminisce

On Saturday, I spent the day visiting more places that I had been as a kid. I ran a quick three mile run through Palisades Park the day before and decided to head to Douglas Park where my Dad would take us as kids. I also wandered past his high school and went to the pier for a little while. While it was nice to see everything, I have this problem with walking around everywhere prior to race day when I should be resting up the legs. Overall, it was fun and I am glad that I got out there and visited some old memorable sites.

Race

Wind, rain, sweat, tears, pain, courage, heart, determination, frustration and excitement are just some of the words that would describe my first full marathon experience. I am convinced that, for 26.2 miles, a runner has the opportunity to experience a gambit of emotions which makes finishing that much sweeter. I previously went into the details of the race on my prior post, but have since accepted that this race will be one that I learn the most from for a long time to come.

Rejoice

After crossing the finish line, despite the rain, it was quite possibly the most unbelievable experience that I have ever had. Once out of the secure zone, we must have traversed about 500 yards of people about 20 deep on each side waiting for friends and family congratulating us as we wandered through. It really made me feel good that this many people braved the elements to come see the finish.

Despite being waterlogged, I found a gym to change into some dry clothes and headed to the hotel room to shower and get into something warmer. I then headed to meet some of the L.A. running crew at a English Pub for some celebratory beers. As runners entered the pub, the entire place would erupt into cheers welcoming the finishers. I then met the remainder of the runners at a nearby hotel as we exchanged stories and got to know each other more.

These are just some of the reasons why I will never forget that race. I am so glad that I picked the race that I did and am looking forward to my next full marathon which I am planning to do in Arizona. I am also planning on revisiting L.A. now that I have a score to settle with the course. The fact that I have new friends that I met there is awesome too.

A special thank you to everyone that helped make this such an enjoyable experience. From those who trained with me, motivated me, gave me advice and welcomed me to your town, you all are true examples of an awesome running community.

It's go time!

As I woke on the morning of the race, I had a very small breakfast because I was worried about my stomach for the event. I geared up for the rain as I walked to the shuttle that would take us to Dodger Stadium from Santa Monica. At that time there was a light drizzle, but nothing too bad as it cleared up for the next couple of hours before the race. When I picked up my race number on Friday, I had a special surprise wristband from the USO. Instead of having to wait in the cold, they had a suite available for veterans at Dodger Stadium. Although, I should have taken more advantage of the foods that they had there, it was nice to sit and chat with other running veterans and current service members. It was definitely a wonderful way to begin my first full marathon.

I decided to dress in what I would normally wear for a race in cold weather, plus a ball cap. I did not want my jacket to trap the body heat in the event that the rain picked up, was not quite sure I wanted to ditch it on the course and thought that it would be nice to have at the end of the race if it did rain. The ball cap was more to keep the rain from hitting my face and to allow me to see. The start line was a sea of people which initially helped with the cold air due to body heat. While at the start line, it began drizzling once again.

At the USO Suite at Dodger Stadium for the 2011 Los Angeles Marathon.

As the race began, I found myself navigating the crowd as I tried to hit my goal pace. It was the most dense race crowd that I remember being in. It was quite challenging weaving in and out of traffic and it was probably the longest that I have ever had to. At about mile one, I realized that the crowd size was a bit of a blessing because I would not open up and run quick on the initial downhills like I have done in the past. The first few miles were pretty solid and I felt pretty good about reaching my goal pace, but it was early on. During that beginning stretch, I felt an annoyance in my shoe. It was a small rock. While I tried to not think about it, it was getting really annoying when it appeared to have moved to the side of my foot.

At miles four through six there were some pretty tough hills. Thank goodness for the half marathon that I just did and previous hill training. While tackling those hills, I thought of three things: 1)I kept telling myself to “claw the hill”, 2) I recalled how challenging the training runs at South Mountain Park in Phoenix are and 3) Be like Terri. Terri is a friend of mine that destroys hills. Really, it’s something to see. I was happy to see that I was able to take the hills at a sub 8 minute pace and hang on for another four miles. At mile 10, I finally gave in to the rock in my shoe and decided to take a bio break while I was at it, killing my pace for that split. I was able to bounce back and get my time down to where I was at 1:38:52 for my 20k time which seemed manageable.

It was about mile 16 where things began to go south for me. It was here that the nutrition, or lack thereof, began to be a problem. In addition to the fact that mile 20 was just difficult to begin with, it had another windy hill that curved up in front of you and the streets were nearly flooded. It was not until then that my shoes became completely submerged in water. While I was able to navigate around puddles before, we actually ended up in some mud as well.  For those four miles, I was absolutely starving. I devoured all of the nutrition that I had at mile 21 as we were leaving the VA hospital area and sucked down oranges and bananas from the course. I walked for a bit and then I turned it up again.

I have always said that I have never thought that I have felt a runner’s high. If you know when you get it without a doubt, then I officially experienced my first runner’s high in my first full marathon. At mile 22 it hit me. I realized that I was going to finish, perhaps not with the time that I had in mind, but I was going to make it. I began to get emotional when I picked the pace back up. While it seemed that I was getting faster, I think that I hit my official wall in the final mile of my first marathon. I have heard stories about the wall being a little earlier but I felt pretty defeated at the final mile. Glaring at the finish line, I was frustrated that I could not muster up enough energy to make my legs move any faster. I think that my little spurt of energy may have contributed to my slower finish.

Although I know that there is much more room for improvement, I am very pleased with my results. I know that I can do a better job of managing my energy, my pace, my nutrition and my mental game. I know that hitting the wall so late in a race is kind of a good thing. With a little practice, that same wall will be moved to mile 30 and I won’t have to worry about it. My initial goal time for the full marathon was 3:30. While I know that I did not make the time, I am pleased with this result because I finished, I finished below four hours, there were adverse conditions and there were so many opportunities for improvement during this race.

My new favorite medal.

Those that know me well, know that I am a huge baseball fan. I stopped supporting and writing for two baseball blogs so that I can focus on my training. When I learned about the L.A. Marathon course, I said that if I were to do a full marathon that I would be my first. The course begins at Dodger Stadium and ends at the Santa Monica Pier. As a kid, I grew up going to Dodger games with my Father. My Dad grew up in Santa Monica, went to high school there and spent time playing beach volleyball around some pretty athletic types such as Jack LaLanne, Joe Gold and Gene Selznick. I remember trips to Douglas Park to watch the lawn bowlers and race little hand made boats, made from sticks, through the lake. I remember riding burlap sacks down the longest slide I remember being on. As a kid, it seemed much longer than it really was.

With all of the nostalgia surrounding the location for me, it only made sense to make the race in Los Angeles, my first marathon. It has added to my motivation and my will to work hard as I proceeded through my eighteen weeks of training. The thought of running that route was exciting, but I was still a little nervous about the event. It was not until I began conquering new achievements that the nerves went away. I can honestly say that now I am more anxious than anything and I am really looking forward to the race. Although I did put a fair amount of work into my training, I could not have done it on my own.

I began running as a solo event, so that I would be able to reflect for myself. It later turned into a more social event. Since then, local runners have inspired me to accomplish some pretty exhilarating feats that I would have never dreamed of a year ago. My advice to anyone that wants to stick to running would be to run with a group. I have met so many awesome runners that have provided such incredible advice and support that I can not believe that I ran on my own for so long. By running with others and incorporating their feedback into my training, I was able to cut some serious time off of my pace.

So, in a nutshell, that is how I got here and why I chose this race. I am very excited about this weekend but need to remain disciplined during my final taper week. The original goal that I have set for myself was just to be a finisher. I am now at a point where I can say that I would like to finish at around 3:30. I will be diligently studying the course and elevation before bed for the next few days and plan on following up with a summary once I have completed the marathon.

Thanks to all who have supported me, you know who you are and I promise to finish strong… well, the final two is a nice little downhill.

On race day, my leg was in perfect condition, although I did notice that my opposite leg was becoming tight as a result of over compensating, they would even out during the race. As the race started, I had my mile-by-mile breakdown of where I needed to be pace-wise. Like every other race, I began too fast out of the gate, but unlike every other race I was unable to manage the throttle. The first couple of miles were predominantly downhill. As a result, I broke my prior 5k time by an entire minute and beat my personal best by 27 seconds. My best 5k was 21 minutes, set years ago in the military.

Personal best 5k to date

Basically the first four miles did me in. Due to the fact that I did not stick close to my pace strategy, I exerted way too much energy early on, which I would pay for near the end of the race. At mile five, we were graced with a steady incline for about a mile and a quarter. This was followed by some rolling hills where I was able to make up some time. Once we got to mile 11, there was another pretty steady incline. By that time, I was more tired that I usually am at that point of the race. After a really poor mile split, I was able to make up some time and get back on track with too little distance left.

Initially I was pretty disappointed. I was looking to PR but had no idea how difficult the course would be. Overall, I am pleased with my performance, but I am always looking at what I can do to improve. Having run the course the week prior was a definite benefit, but I wish I had done a better job of pace management. With that said, the stage set for L.A. and the nostalgia around the race for me, there is definitely a lesson to be learned for that race and my energy consumption.

Nice to see familiar faces on the course!

The silver lining to this whole experience is that I have more hill training in for the Los Angeles Marathon and I was able to maintain my pace below goal marathon pace through those hills. Knocking out runs like this make me less nervous for my first 26.2.

Happy running!

Compression Calf Sleeves – I have a couple brands of the compression calf sleeves but my very favorite is Zensah. I like theirs because they a little more loose but tight enough so that you are still receiving the benefit of the compression. I also like that they come in different colors. I primarily wear the black ones but when I am feeling all “Matchy Matcherson” I have a couple other colors. I have worn the calf sleeves in the past during races to help keep my legs warm. I have since stopped doing that because I have noticed recurring issues with my IT band after doing that. I know primarily use them for post-run recovery. They work really well for that for me.

dailymile orange today?

Mini Recovery Bag – I have a small bag that I usually check with my gear at the end of the race. It holds a small towel, the compression calf sleeves, a light jacket and a couple dry shirts. I just like to get into a dry shirt in the event that the weather is cold out so that I do not run the risk of getting sick. I also like to have the compression sleeves ready so that I can put them on as close as possible to the end of the race.

It's a satchel. Indiana Jones wears one.

Gatorade G1 Prime – I use the Gatorade pre-game drink as I am heading to the start line of a race. When I first learned about the drink, I was a little skeptical, but thought that I noticed a difference the first time that I tried it. To this day, I remember my skin turning red as if I had a sun burn once I finished it. The second time taking it pre-race I ended up placing in that particular 5K. The one thing that you should be careful of is that you my notice a definite increase in energy. It is hard enough holding it back at the beginning of a long race, it is a little tougher after taking this stuff. You may have seen it in little pouches at the grocery store. There are two versions of these drinks; regular and pro. The pro version contains more B vitamins than it’s counterpart and has a complex carb blend for Glycogen loading.

G1 - Gatorade Prime

Garmin 405 – My Garmin has been one of my “coaches” throughout all of my training. I have rarely run without it because I want to be certain that I am sticking to my plan. The Garmin allows me to manage my pace more effectively than trying to hit timed splits while trying to keep tabs on the course clock. There have been many factors that have helped me to increase my speed on long races but the Garmin is definitely one of the most important to me and tracking my progress. One practice that I have begun getting into is taping my splits to the watch band. That way I can look at the goal splits on one side of my wrist and the current pace on the other. For me, my favorite display is miles left with current split pace.

Splits on the Garmin band

SPI Belt – I use the SPI belt to carry my ID, my car or room key and whatever nutrition items that I might have. After fastening, I actually move it to my lower back …yes, like a fanny pack. For me it is less noticeable back there and it does not move around too much.

Power Balance Band - Do they work? Back in July, I wrote a quick post on performance enhancing accessories. To this day, I still have no convincing data that it does work, but this one for me is more like a tradition or superstition. I have run without it, but have not run a race without it so I continue to wear it.

Clean Shave - This one my sound a little crazy and maybe its another superstition type thing, but I must be clean shaven for race day. I don’t know if it is the feel of the wind on my face or the fact that it may subconsciously signify putting my best foot forward. Some of my running friends joke around that if I have more facial hair on Friday than usual, there must be a race coming up. If anyone sees me the night before a race, please don’t take offense if I didn’t shave for you, I don’t shave for anyone until race day.

There you have it! This is my list… for the time being anyway. As I continue to learn more about running and fine tuning my performance, like I said before, I am sure that these items will change. It will be interesting to see where I am a year from now as far as what I must have with me for a race. What are some of the items that you can not race without?

For this race, I prepared a list of splits from my previous race so that I could try to beat each individual split as I progressed through the course. This list really helped me out in Arizona so I decided to use it again. As the horn sounded for the start, I found myself weaving in and out of traffic trying to nail my first split. The crowd was so dense I was really cutting it close to make it to my goal time for the first mile. After narrowly making my first goal time, I crushed the second mile goal by a good ten minutes.

The start line at the Surf City Half Marthon

During mile four, I realized that I might be moving a little fast if I wanted to be sure to hit each one of the splits. For that mile I toned it down a bit but picked it back up for the next two miles. This ended up doing me in. I hit all of the splits a little too quickly leading up to mile 11 when I could not squeak out a couple more minutes shorter of a time. For mile twelve, I was working to play catch up to not miss my second consecutive mark. That did not turn out so well. For the final mile I was able to hit the mark running my third fastest mile.

At the start line after the Surf City Half Marathon

In hindsight I probably should have conserved a little more energy at the beginning of the race. I just hate when I start too strong because I am afraid that the wheels might fall off near the end. I am not sure that would have made a huge difference since there was more of a grade on the course than what I initially thought. Regardless, I finished strong and earned my best time to date. I love when I hear runners telling me that I don’t want to move too fast, there are five miles left. I felt like thanking them and letting them know that I already jacked it up a couple miles ago so it didn’t matter.

During the race, at about mile nine, I was heading up PCH when I heard someone call my name. It was Mike! The guy that I had mentioned at the end of my post from the Los Angeles race. We ran side by side for a few miles before I took off to catch my times. We conversed for a little while and I waited to congratulate him at the finish. It was totally cool getting the opportunity to thank him for helping me through the L.A. half-marathon.

The surfboard medal.

After the race, I met up with my sister to watch the football game and have a few celebratory beers. I got a chance to see my buddy Romeo the wonder Jack Russell Terrier. Overall, it was a wonderful day. I am looking forward to continuing the marathon training as I prepare for my first full marathon in March.

Romeo says hello