Tri Expo

I headed down to Mission Bay this morning to do a 5k run with the tri club and featured runners, Kara Goucher, Adam Goucher, Craig Alexander, Jessi Stensland and Dean Karnazes. It was cool that they went out running with us.

This was my first run since Carlsbad and it is amazing how spent my legs still feel. I headed over the Fiesta Island afterwards to do a 20 mile bike with a friend which leaves me pretty much not wanting to exert myself any more today.

The expo was interesting. I attended a few talks. One was on using power meters by Dr. Allen Kim. Another was by Chris Carmichael talking about his new book, but really more chat about working with Lance.

Kids Books to Teach Acceptance and Tolerance

I placed these books on hold at the local library.

Will give a review on which I thought were best once we read them.


* If the world were a village : a book about the world's people Smith, David J. (David Julian), 1944-
* Whoever you are Fox, Mem, 1946-
* Different just like me Mitchell, Lori, 1961-
* I love you just the way you are : board book Miller, Virginia.
* Three cheers for Tacky Lester, Helen.
* A mother for Choco Kasza, Keiko.
* What a wonderful world Weiss, George (George David)
* On the day you were born Frasier, Debra.
* Hooway for Wodney Wat Lester, Helen.
* The sneetches and other stories Seuss, Dr.
* I loved you before you were born Bowen, Anne, 1952-

First Marathon is in the Book!

Carlsbad Marathon
2010-01-24
Carlsbad, California
United States
inmotionevents
44F / 7C
Sunny

Run - Marathon
Total Time = 3h 39m 4s
Overall Rank = 187/1194
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 32/116

Pre-race routine:

Ate banana and gel 5-10 minutes prior to start. Temp at start was low 40's. Wore shorts and short sleeve with some old socks on my arms to keep warm at beginning. Used emergency blanket to keep warm while waiting.

Event warmup:

Walked about a mile from the car.

Run Comments:

This was my first marathon and it was a great experience. San Diego received 4-8 inches of rain since the Monday prior, but it turned out to be a beautiful sunny and clear day.

I had been training at a 3:45 target and felt good throughout much of that, so on somewhat of a last minute decision, decided to go out with the 3:30 pace group to see how that felt. My right knee had been feeling some pain during training at around 20 miles, so I was hoping that if i finished sooner, maybe I could abate some of that if it became an issue.

Goal #1 was to finish in 3:45 with my secret goal of finishing 3:30 something. Goal #2 was to do sub 4:00. Goal #3 was to finish.

I figured if thing felt too fast or if the knee pain or cramping came into play, I could drop back before it got too bad and still shoot for sub 3:40 or 3:45.

The first 20 miles felt absolutely great. It's funny because at that moment, I had designs of pulling ahead of the pace group the last 5k or so and doing a solid sub 3:30 run. I had no knee trouble at all. I think the taper period did its job in letting everything heal.

However, as we started approaching the hill at mile 23 approaching Tamarack, my legs starting to feel the fatigue and I found myself just trying to hang on to the pace group.

The course up to that point had separated the 1/2 marathoners from the marathoners. There was an aid station around this point and with huge number of people going for water, I found myself having to abruptly maneuver to avoid colliding with them. That small amount of effort was enough to trigger cramping at first in my left calf and then my right hamstring.

Having experienced the whole cramping thing during the run at the Big Kahuna, I immediately slowed down to at least keep jogging. I also started downing the Endurolytes I had brought along.

I cramped again about another quarter mile down the road. One of the spectators that was cheering people along looked shocked as I sharply gasp in pain and stopped right in front of her. She asked if I was cramping and I confirmed and mumble something about needing to stretch and continue on.

Around mile 25, I was passed by my son's friends dad who we just meet the day before at the expo. He was running the half and gave me a fist bump encouraging me on. Many spectators during the last couple miles were super encouraging, telling me to keep moving forward and that I could do it. They called my name which was printed on the bib and that really helped me mentally. I love all the positive energy and support that random people give to each other during all of these races.

In looking at my HR data, I was averaging roughly 160 bpm for the first 2:55 of the race and slowed it down to around 135 before the final .5 miles. I was surprised to have held such a high avg. for the majority of the run.

It was a great feeling to finish and I certainly don't feel like I left anything on the course.

Most importantly, it provides a good baseline to establish training targets for Oceanside and CDA.

I was also very happy to see several other coworkers and neighbors who also had been training for the half, complete and meet their goals, inspiring some of first timers to enroll in future races.

What would you do differently?:

Would have paced with 3:35 group instead of 3:30 group in hopes of not blowing up at mile 23.

I feel that this experience with the full marathon is very valuable in calibrating effort for future races.

Post race

Warm down:

Walked back to the car and back to watch my wife finish the half. My mom also came out to watch her finish and we met up with all the folks from the neighborhood as they finished.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Cramping at the last 2-3 miles.


Running
03:39:04 | 26.2 miles | 08m 22s min/mile
Age Group: 32/116
Overall: 187/1194
Performance: Good

15 Km: 1:15:42 Pace: 8:08
22 Km: 1:49:24 Pace: 8:07
18.7 Mi: 2:29:38 Pace: 8:01
19.6 Mile: 2:37:51 Pace: 8:04

San Diego Storms

Over the past 5 days the San Diego coastal areas have received over 4 inches of rain with the mountains receiving over 7 inches.

Winds were recorded at 70 mph in La Costa on Wednesday night. Dawn was caught in a hail storm in the vicinity where visibility went to zero and she pulled over. Lightning and thunder everywhere. She said when she pressed on the gas, the minivan wouldn’t move.

Here are some pics of my in-laws backyard (where our kids stay during the day) and the neighboring homes.

Every Second Counts

Have been listening to the audio book courtesy of the Carlsbad Library. It has provided a good amount of insight into Lance's life after cancer and background leading up to his 5th Tour win.

He speaks about the challenges of being a pro bike racer with a family, while trying to balance his business commitments, the foundation, and training/racing in the Tour de France.

There is also quite a bit of discussion about past allegations by the French of doping.

The book provides an interesting look into his past and future aspirations and motivations. It also provides added perspective into the pro cycling culture.

Valentine Day Trip - Paso Robles

We're planning on heading up to Paso Robles on Valentine's Day weekend to do some wine tasting with a few pilot friends.

I'm planning on taking N2140T, one of the PCF Cherokee 180's. My neighbor Dave and I also plan on flying this plane in January to get familiar with it as a potential aircraft to fly in the upcoming Hayward Air Rally.

Since it is Valentine's weekend, I decided to splurge on the accomodations so Dawn and I will be staying at La Bellasera for the evening.

We'll see if my body can handle the stress of living in the lap of luxury relative to the near raw primacy of my recent ultralight backpacking experimentation.

Breathless Agony Century

You know it will be a fun bike race when they name it "Breathless Agony". I love the jersey.

I signed up today as this is the next ride the sub5 team will begin training for in February. The race is May 1st which will be good timing for ramping up bike fitness for Ironman in June.

Several of the sub5 team did the Julian, Borrego, Montezuma Rd., Banner grade loop over the holidays. Andy Green and I made it up the 12 mile, 3,000 foot climb in 1 hour 4 minutes. We're planning doing this ride again as part of BA training and hopes of breaking the 1 hour mark as we get further into the training cycle.

I plan to continue doing double peak intervals to build climbing stregth. I'm currently able to ride from main square in San Elijo Hills to the DP park in 18 minutes. Will monitor improvement over the coming months.

Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquel

The kids loved the first Alvin and the Chipmunks so we took them to see the "squeakquel". I think they liked the first one better. This is not one of those movies like "Up" or "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" which is entertaining for adults too.

Car Camping

The kids and I slept in the minivan last Saturday parked in front of the house. We had a blast. We cooked dinner in the garage on the supercat alcohol stove we made earlier. The instant mashed pototoes were pretty good, however, the couscous and risotto were a bit too salty for my taste - something to do perhaps with the mushroom seasoning. Will try something more mild next time. Nathan and Morgan also made Nutella and graham cracker sandwiches which were a hit.

They couldn't wait to go to sleep, so we were in bed by 6:30 and didn't get up until I woke them up at 6:15 because I needed to run.

It turned out to be quite warm that evening. The temps only got down to the mid 50's.

We used a blow up mattress and I opened up my sleeping bag like a quilt. The kids were plenty warm in their 30 degree bags.

They want to do it again.

A Succesful End to My First Full Year of Biking

As I reflect on 2009 as related to bicycling, I'm struck with how quickly the year came and went and the sense of accomplishment it has brought.

There were many highlights which included:

* Biking roughly 8,000 miles for the year
* Earning "Platinum" at the Tour de Tucson
* Climbing Montezuma road (12 miles, over 3,000 ft of climbing) in 1 hr. 4 minutes
* Keeping up with the Swami's "A" team on their Saturday rides

Yet much of the satisfaction also comes every day and is unplanned:

* Extraordinary sunsets
* Extraordinary sunrises
* Riding in pouring rain
* Riding in the freezing cold and dark
* Seeing and intimately experiencing new places, some far away and some very nearby

I've also had the opportunity to get to know, train, and enjoy the company of many new friends. In particular, the sub5 team I began training with September for the Tour de Tucson.

I hope 2010 brings similar accomplishments and satisfaction as I couldn't imagine a much better start to this adventure.

Mt. Whitney

So I've recently been thinking again about ultralight backpacking. Nathan and had a lot of fun making alcohol stoves over the Christmas break and have committed to building out the required equipment.

I see two categories of hiking/backpacking/camping to pursue. One is the more "extreme" type that will be an extension of long distance running. This will be fast trekking through the wilderness over long distances with possible overnight stays.

The other will be family camping where the modern conveniences need to be available - showers, restrooms, running water.

For the first category, Mt. Whitney seems to be one of the classic hikes in the area. There has been some discussion about when to go on the hiking mail list at work. It seems there is still snow on mountain in June. Mid July seems to be the recommended time if you want to carry less gear. Permits are required for an overnight. Will start looking into that, but perhaps this would be a fun weekend after Ironman is done.

It would also be a good excuse for "training" hikes and camping to get familiar with and optimize gear and back country skills.

Could be fun.