Long Days

I know I have not posted anything since Monday, but it is because it have been very busy and really no time to do anything but work and sleep. I will post a full "race" report by the weekend and continue my normal posting next week.

Night Before Boston

I'm sorry I have missed the past few days on entries but it has been crazy hectic. I have worked 3 days at the expo and my feet/legs are quite tired, but I think I did the best I could to stay rested. We were able to get VIP stickers for our numbers from Reebok which is going to be great for the morning. I will try and post Tuesday on how the race went.

Lots of other things I want to comment on but I literally don't have the time right now. I will definitely do lots of updating later this week.

Wish us luck and Goodluck to everyone else running!

Training Summary: April 7 - 13

Monday 4/7 - 8mi, 60:05. Easy recovery with Di on bay.

Tuesday 4/8 - off. Rest day, legs still need to recover from race.

Wednesday 4/9 - 7mi, 50:00. Easy with Di and 6X100 strides.

Thursday 4/10 - 8mi, 55:00. With Di around the bay. Included 4mi at 6:15 pace as a small workout for her.

Friday 4/11 - 8mi, 53:00. Solo on the bay, easy but not as comfortable as I hoped.

Saturday 4/12 - 8mi, 53:30. Solo on the bay in hot dry weather. Felt terrible.

Sunday 4/13 - off. Stayed up until 4am watching London Marathon and was dead all day.

Totals: 5 days, 39 mi. No long run really kept the mileage low and the fact was I only got out the door 5 times. No plans on running much more next week with Boston less than a week away now. I figure I am really just doing maintenance work until Boston and then taking that week low. The plan after that is to actually start "training" again and focus on a half this fall. More this week on the upcoming race plan for Di at Boston and my take on the London Marathon. Check back soon.

Dry Desert Winds

Runs:
Yesterday - 8mi, 53:00, solo on the bay. Felt ok but not great.
Today - 8mi, 53:45, solo on the bay. Crappy run, it was probably 80+ and I would guess if it was possible to have negative humidity it would have occurred.

So it is usually pretty nice here near the beach but when the winds change and they blow off the desert it is a completely different story. I actually had pains in my chest because of the air quality. For you average beach goer today was amazing but not great to run in. Not only does the desert winds blow out hot, SUPER DRY air but usually it sends along all the pollen from the "spring" flowers as well as all that great pollution that gets stuck in the mountains.

Luckily the Sox are on national TV so life is good.

Easy Days

Runs:
Yesterday - 7mi, 50min, easy with Di, 6X100 strides.
Today - 8mi, 55min, with Di, included about 4mi at 6:15 pace.

Feeling much better since taking the other day off. The Half took much more out of me than I had anticipated. Finally my legs are coming back around, however I am getting a little worried that my right arm is doing odd things. Having looked at the pictures from the race the other day I worry my right arm is starting to hang a bit low and it feels a bit awkward. I think once I get past this marathon then a regiment of drills, core, push-ups, etc. may be in need. I haven't really done any of these additional things since college and I think it is reflected in my form and conditioning. Considering I used to be religious about them I have finally started noticing what happens when you go from doing them all the time to not at all for such a long time.

Disputed Results

Run- off, needed a rest day, legs still a little sore from the race.

As I mentioned in my race report for the Cheseboro Half I had thought I finished in 3rd place but later found out I finished in 4th. The pictures from the race finally came out today and CLEARLY there is an an error. According to the results "Mark Dodson" of Los Angeles, a 25-29M, was the person that beat me. I looked up his number and the pictures proved the results are incorrect. The person wearing #1255 is an older, stocky woman. If that is the person that beat me I quit running forever. This makes me feel a little better now that I didn't get beat by 13 seconds and never saw the person.

Training Summary: March 31-April 6

Monday 3/31 - 8mi, 58:41, easy with Di

Tuesday 4/1 - off

Wednesday 4/2 - 8mi, 55:30, solo but felt terrible

Thursday 4/3 - 8mi, 60:03, very easy with Di, 6X100 light strides

Friday 4/4 - 8mi, 58:30, easy with Di

Saturday 4/5 - Cheseboro Half-Marathon, 1:18:42, 1 up/1down, 15mi total

Sunday 4/6 - 6mi, 48:30, easy solo

Total - 6 runs, 53mi. Overall it was a pretty decent week with some fairly easy running leading up to a very hard 1/2 marathon. I am feeling a little better about running 6:35/mi at Boston with Di. I didn't think I would break 1:20 at the half considering how tough it was and I did, so that was a nice surprise. In all no injuries, no major issues and that is all I care about right now.

I don't plan on running any more or less than 55mi or so next week or the week of Boston. I know for sure I am working the Boston Marathon expo which is going to make running tough. If you have worked an expo you know how much it beats up your legs. I hope I get some sort of sympathy from the guys and I can take it fairly easy on that Sunday at the expo. More to come on this as we get closer.

Race Report - Cheseboro Half-Marathon

So I took the trip up to Agoura Hills with Millsy and his brother to run the Cheseboro Half-Marathon. Going in to the race all I knew was that it is mainly on rocky/sandy trails and that is is fairly hard. According to results only 4 people have ever run under 1:20:00. Therefore, I knew it was going to be very challenging. What I found out was that it was VERY challenging with lots of twists, turns, rocks, switchbacks, lots of quick ups/downs and some suicide downhills.

The race started with a very steep downhill along with around 3 miles of winding, up and down roads. As we entered the trail I was in 6th place and moved into 5th shortly thereafter. I moved in to 4th around 5 miles and that is where I stayed for the remainder of the race. From mile 3 to just after 7 the trail was mainly all uphill with a few sharp up and down hills. Around 7.5 miles there was a very steep set of switchbacks that were far from enjoyable. Miles 8-10 was virtually all an extremely steep downhill which I found to be very difficult to maneuver. As you came out of the park there was a final VERY steep .5mi long hill and then I finally came back to the road. The last 2.5mi was downhill and flat making for a nice end to a very hard race.

I never felt good but never felt bad either. It was really fun running out in the hills and through the trails, and as far as scenery this was the nicest race I have ever run. Just to keep myself at bay during the race I ran in trainers and wore my Garmin. This way I didn't feel like I was really in a "race."

Truthfully I thought I had finished in 3rd and later saw the results and found out I came in 4th. According to the results someone finished 13 seconds ahead of me, however I have no idea where that guy came from because, considering how fast the leaders went out, I never saw anyone after about 4 miles. I figure I would have seen someone just 13 seconds ahead of me at some point. I'll be interested to see the pictures when they are available... However, I would have won the past 2 years by 4min so I guess it just an "up" year for the race. Considering Josh Spiker decided to show up, along with the fact that I am in terrible shape, I had no chance today.

Splits (you can see how the hills effected the race!):
1- 5:22
2- 5:50 (11:13)
3- 5:56 (17:09)
4- 5:58 (23:07)
5- 6:08 (29:15)
6- 6:32 (35:38)
7- 6:50 (42:37)
8- 7:24 (50:01)
9- 5:39 (55:40)
10- 5:34 (1:01:13)
11- 5:44 (1:06:58)
12- 5:38 (1:12:35)
13-5:33 (1:18:08)
Finish- 1:18:42

Results

1 part Boston, 5 parts Water

In need to express my extreme disdain for this guy selling his Boston Marathon bib on e-bay (message board threads discussing the issue can be found here and here). Where does this guy get off doing this? Why doesn't everyone that has run a qualifying time just sign up for $100 then turn it around and sell it for $400 on e-bay?!?!? The answer: people respect Boston.

The reason that the Boston Marathon is so prestigious is that people have to qualify for it. In a world that is bent on accepting mediocrity as a norm, Boston is that constant that keeps people striving for something more. I see this as a slap in the face to all those people who have trained for 2, 5, 10+ years to qualify for Boston. I really hope that he gets busted by the BAA and they never let him run Boston ever again.

This is a problem that is something bigger than one guy selling his Boston number to a potentially under qualified participant. Boston reportedly gives out 1,500 bibs to charity runners every year. These are runners that have not actually qualified for the event. According to marathonguide.com there were 340 marathons run in the US in 2007. That leaves 339 marathons for charity runners to chose from that don't have standards like Boston does. Why don't these runners get held to the same standards as the thousands of other runners?

The BAA should still give out charity numbers but with the stipulation that those who receive them have run an official Boston qualifier. I, by no means, disagree with the concept or generosity of running for a charity and I definitely think these people train hard and strive to do their best at the event they chose, whether it is a marathon, Ironman or local 10k. However, I think Boston should be kept to those who qualify.

Here is a quick cure I have for the issue. The BAA decides on a specific number of entrants that will get a waiver on the qualifying time. Let's just say it is 100 people. These 100 people would be taken out of a pool of applicants that have to fill out an application for the waiver with the reasons why they want to run Boston, etc. This would allow certain charity runners, celebrities, people with compelling stories or even politicians to run and avoid having to qualify. The BAA can then use these runners in ads, seminars, etc. to promote the select few that are accepted in to the the program. It would become prestigious to receive this "award" and they could wear special bibs at the race or even a special uniform. This would help to keep Boston exclusive and give these people the chance to raise money and still run. A group could even pool their money to help make a more convincing case for their charity to receive one of these prestigious spots.

In the end my point is simple. The Boston Marathon stands for the peak of excellence in marthoning. Boston gives the average Joe/Jane the opportunity to strive for something other than finishing. By allowing under qualified runners in to the race is a serious issue that undermines the entire qualifying procedure. To make matters worse there are qualifiers that feel like taking upon themselves to sell or give their bibs to people who couldn't otherwise get one. We need to keep the races like Boston to save our sport from falling in to complete mediocrity.

Day before Cheseboro

Run: 8mi, 58:30. Easy does it with Di around the bay. Tomorrow's race should be very challenging and I want to go in to it rested.

Heading up to stay with Mill's for the night before the race. Should be a good time. I'll post a race report before the end of the weekend.

Movie Night

Run: 8mi, 60:03. Ran a really easy recovery day with Di on the bay. Did some light strides (6X100m) mid run to help stretch my legs out. Hopefully the legs turn around tomorrow.

Watched Gone Baby Gone which I thought was a great movie and would recommend seeing if you haven't seen it yet. There is something about Boston movies that make them exponentially more awesome than all other movies. If you don't believe me then add this movie along with The Departed, Mystic River and Good Will Hunting to your NetFlix queue. You will find them amazing and if not then you are clearly an idiot.

Flying Around

Run: 8mi, 55:30. Solo around the bay. Felt terrible, I assume it has something to do with the fact that I flew to and from Phoenix today.

So today was the first time I've ever experienced flying to work and then flying back home all in the same day. It is a very odd thing to do and something that I'm not sure I could get used to.

Lots of people tell me "you job is so great you get to travel around and talk about running all day." I will admit it is, for the most part, very enjoyable getting to talk running, meeting lots of interesting people and getting free trips to amazing events. What isn't enjoyable are the drives home from LA to San Diego that take 6 hours (for reference it is only a 120mi drive), working 70 hours in a week, or getting stuck in a crappy motel in a shady part of town with nothing but Del Taco to eat. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but it is crazy sometimes.

Inside Edition

Run: none. Drove 330mi in the past 24hrs and fell asleep when I got home, not a big deal because I planned to take either today or tomorrow off.

Today was a productive day spent in the "Valley" and Agoura Hills (home of Deena Kastor). Driving so much really leaves you time to think about things so I tried to think of ways to make my blog interesting so people will want to come read. The plan for now is to mix in my training, my life and my spin on the current happenings in the running industry. Lots of people talk about runners, results, training ideas, etc. but not many people focus on the industry itself. Hopefully I can give some good insights and interesting opinions on different aspects of the running industry.

As for now I am off to bed because I am flying to Phoenix in the morning and then back in the afternoon. Somewhere I plan to fit in a run...I hope.