Big Basin (50K ultra maration) on June 9th plus the SF marathon on June 16

Hi everyone,

Long time no post.  I never had a chance to update my blog for the Napa Valley marathon.  But, that seems like years ago (it was in March of 2013).  So, I'll skip that one and talk about more recent races.

It's official - I'm an ultra marathoner!  On June 9th, I ran the Big Basin 50k!  It took me a very long time.  It was a nice course and a few of my friends were running it (so having company out there was great), but I struggled with it.

I did most of my training in at Rancho.  I clearly did not give myself enough training runs, but I did the best I could with my time commitments (work, family, teaching). I had about 4 runs around 3 to 4 hours in the hills of Rancho.  Rancho is great because there are some very steep hills and, best of all, I can run there from my house (3 miles away with climbing to get there).  Overall, I knew I maybe needed another two months of training, but I felt I could complete the course - and that was my goal!


I carpooled with some friends and met other friends up there.

Then we were off on the course.  It was mostly single track with a number of ups and downs.  The first few miles are mostly declines but after the first aid station you started climbing a little.  I did well the first 5 miles and then started slowing down a little, but was still doing good the next five miles.

About mile 11 or 12 I was starting to slow some.  I think the down hills at the beginning were working my legs.  But, I felt confident.  Big Basin has a marathon and 50K.  The 50K has a loop at aid station 3 where you do the extra five miles.  I just wanted to get to aid station three and start the loop so I don't back out and only run the marathon.  I signed up to complete the ultra and that was my goal.  At this point I felt I could complete it.  Here are some more pictures (I got from the Big Basin runners).  Stay tuned for more fun details below:

 

So I made it to the third aid station and started the loop.  There was about a mile and half climb (I'm guessing) and then down hill.  About mile 17 (the down hill part) I was going good and then . . . I hurt my ankle.  I landed on a tree root (I think, maybe it was a rock).  I hurt my ankle about 3 weeks before sort of bad where I had trouble walking on it.  This was the same ankle (my left one).  I landed wrong and it gave and I fell.  I grabbed onto my ankle in a pain.  I was in a lot of pain and said a number of F works (lucky there was no one near me).  And, I do not curse much.  Usually I say Frak.    I could hardly put any weight on it.  I almost started crying because I thought the race was over for me.  But, I was too mad, I think, to cry.  I was passed by a few people who asked if I was okay. I was except for the pain.  I sort of wanted them to check on me, but I also wanted them to just get away from me.  They passed me and kept going.  I knew I had to also.

I knew I had to move so I walked and walked and walked and finally the pain was manageable.   I finally completed the loop. Only 10 miles left.  I was going to fuel up and then take off.  My ankle was sore, but I felt I could run on it.  I wanted to complete the course.

That's me talking to one of my friends who was resting

Getting my rubber band for completing the loop

And, I was off.  The last 10 miles were tough.  I pushed forward, but my ankle got worse.  I landed wrong a few times and it just killed me.  My goal though was to complete it.  I pushed forward.  Ran when I could and walked when I had to.  I also yelled an F word when I would land wrong and my ankle would scream out in pain.  One time two hikers moved to the side to let me pass a turn, I looked at them to say thank you -- landed wrong, came to a stop and cursed while I hopped on one leg.  I wonder what they thought.  I walked it off and then started running again.

At the end of the day, I finished!!!!  My first ultra.  My left ankle ended up being twice the  size of my right ankle and was black and blue.  But, I finished!

And, to top it off on June 16th, I ran the SF marathon!  My wife told me I was crazy to run it.  Maybe, but I wanted to know if I could and wanted to try to run it.  My ankle was still a little swollen, but not as bad as it was.  On Sat am (after not running all week), I went for a short two mile slow run to see if I can run on it.  I could and felt I could run longer.  Could I run 26.2 miles on it?  I did not know.  But I wanted to find out.

I woke up early, drove to SF.  And, off I went.  I was taking it "easy" and things were going good. I would get shooting pains in the ankle here and there, but I taped it really good (I know I'm risking major injury, but if you don't try, you don't know what you can do).  I told myself I would pull out if the pain was too bad.  Had money for a ride back if needed.  About mile 11 or so, my legs were just giving out on me.  My ankle was very sore, my knee was now sore (the same one that I hurt on my first marathon) and my other parts of my legs were cramping up!

The marathon split off from the1st half finish at Golden Gate Park.  I have never in my life wanted to stop at the halfway point so much as I did today.  My legs felt like they were toast.  I walked the area where the full and half split.  I debated should I stop.  I'm going to hurt myself, I thought.  I can't do that, I thought.  But, I had to try.  So I pushed forward.  I tried to take it easy, but with my legs and ankle, this was not easy no matter how slow I was running.  Yet, finally we got out of Golden Gate park, which meant we were around mile 19.  Only 7 more miles.  I knew I could do it.  No matter how long it would take me, I knew I could finish.  So I kept pushing on.  I tried to "land soft".  Tried to ignore the pain.  Kept running (walked the aid stations and a few big hills).  I tried to run from aid station to aid station, with walking a hill here and there.

And, I finished!  A marathon one week after doing an ultra, with my ankle injury.  My worst time for the SF marathon, but a marathon I'm very proud to have completed.

Some pictures I took from one of my friends.

100th post and 36 days running

Sorry for the long absence.  I've been meaning to post, but never quite got around to it until tonight!

I looked at my blog and noticed that this post will be my 100th post.  I'm not quite sure what that means, but I wonder how long it will take me to get to 200 (1 year, 2 years, 5 years . . .).

I do have something to share - today I ran for the 36th straight day!  I'm not quite sure this is the best idea, but something I thought about doing just before the New Year.

After the cancellation of the New York marathon, I let my running slip.  Mostly due to work as I was traveling two to three days a week and just working a ton in November and December.  I decided not to run CIM (which I signed up for) as I was only running 1 or 2 days a week and not getting in the long runs I needed for a marathon.  Then, in December I got sick and that completely stopped my running.

I started getting better (from my week long illness) around Christmas and new that I had to start running more.  I just felt out of shape and for some reason really, really wanted to run more.  I always like to challenge myself so I made the goal to see how many days in a row I can run at least 20 minutes.  With my work schedule I knew I had to have a time limit that I thought I could meet every day.  Some days when I need to fly out of town, I need to get up at 5am to catch the first flight out and I don't get back home until 11pm or so (when I'm doing 1 day travel) - so I definitely wanted a time that was reasonable to get a run in.

I started this plan three days before the New Year.  I've had days when I've been sick (should have got the flu shot), cold, in snow, up early, up late . . . but so far I've managed to run at least 20 minutes each day . . . with many days being much more than 20 minutes.

Basically I do my long runs, my tempo runs, speed runs, and my hill runs.  Then on the days my work schedule is crazy or my legs are tired, I just do a nice and easy run (some days I limit that easy run to 20 minutes, other days run (easy) longer).

I'm not sure how long I will keep this up.  A lot depends on my legs - sometimes they seem real tired and need a day or two off.  In fact, I did 15 miles today with very tired legs and am having thoughts of resting a day or two, but I also think it would be great to get to 50 days in a row.

Importantly ---- Go 49ers!  Hopefully, we will win!

And, to close, here are a couple of pictures of my daughter with her riding lessons:

New York Marathon - Cancelled

This year my big race was the New York Marathon!  Tomorrow morning, in a normal year, I would have been running it.  Instead, as you all know, the marathon was cancelled.  And, now I plan to run around central park in the morning before I head back home to the bay area.

Yes, I made the trip out here.  After the storm, I was very unsure what to do and expected that more likely than not the race would be cancelled or postponed.  I checked often for updates on the marathon and on my flight.  My flight was scheduled for Thursday morning from SFO to Newark.  I thought about calling off the trip, but we had used miles for the flights and paid for the hotel.  Thus, as Wed came, my wife and I agreed that we would go if the marathon is on and our flight was not cancelled.

I check the marathon and flight status late Wed and early Thursday.  Everything was a go, so I woke my two year up at 5:30am to make the flight.

We landed on time in Newark and had a car waiting for us.  We decided to get a car because we heard of the gas problems.  On my way to the hotel in New York, talking to the driver, I started to question whether I should be out here.  The driver told me that many people were not happy the marathon was taking place.  Back at the hotel, I saw a lot more images of the damage done by Sandy.  My wife told me, should we be out here for a marathon?  I was not sure. We had followed what we heard from about the marathon being on and made the trip.

On Friday, we went to the expo.  I picked up my bib and shirt.  And, started to feel okay about running.  I felt horrible about the damage and the lost lives.  Yet, I thought that I could run this marathon.

Then, we loaded a shuttle to head back towards the hotel.  On the shuttle my wife told me she heard some one behind us say the marathon was called off.  I told her she must have misunderstood.  I checked cnn and espn and sure enough the marathon was off.  News spread fast.  Everyone was checking their smartphone.  There was silence on the bus.  People did not know what to say or how to react.

I brought my family out here and wanted to run the marathon.  I was disappointed.  But, I understood the decision.  Especially being out here as I questioned whether I should run.  My heart was torn as to whether I should even be out here.  I know my running friends were just getting off a plane and heading to New York when the news broke.  I thought of the people I spoke to who had traveled great distances to come to New York.  Yet, I also thought of the people who lost their lives, who lost their homes, and those who are still struggling to survive.  I understood the decision to cancel the marathon.

I wish the decision was made sooner.  If I knew the marathon might be cancelled and was not "on" on Wednesday, I would have never made the trip. 

However, I don't feel bad for the trip I made out here. I was able to spend the weekend with my wife and daughter in New York.  I will not run a marathon in New York, but I will run in Central Park.  My life will be back to normal on Monday.  Yet, many people affected by the storm will be affected for years.  I'm disappointed that the marathon was cancelled, but my heart goes to the people that lost so much due the Storm.  I wish a fast recovery for those who were affected by the storm.  There will be another marathon.  And, I will run the NY marathon another time.

Marathoners: Do you find this annoying?

As I last posted, I ran the SF marathon on Sunday.  I had a blog post on it and also posted to facebook.  A friend of a family member who is a "friend" of mine on facebook (but otherwise do not know real well) posted the following either later that day or early the next day:

Not only did he post it, but then changed it as his main picture.  Maybe because I just ran a marathon, I found this annoying.

I would never compare running a marathon to an ironman.  Heck - the marathon is after you swim and biked a crazy distance.  I know that I could not come close right now to doing an ironman.

I think people should be very proud of their accomplishments, but I don't understand the need to say "Oh, you ran a marathon?  That's cute".  That just seems arrogant to me.  I hope I would not tell someone that just ran their first half "Oh, you ran a half?  That's cute" and then put a 26.2 sign up.

I do hope to do an ironman one day.  It is on my list along with doing an ultra.  It is not in my current plan because (i) have more than a full time job (more than 50 hours per week), (ii) I'm an adjunct professor (one class each semester) and (iii) I have a young daughter who I want to spend time with on my free time.  Thus, no time for the training.  A sign like this does light a fire in me and makes me want to do it . . . but I think I prefer a 50 mile run first.

Anyone else find this a bit irritating or annoying?  I do understand that some/most/all of us marathoners can be a bit irritating to people that do not run marathons.

Maybe, I need to do an ironman so that I can understand the need to post this after someone just ran a marathon.   If I ever end up doing an ironman, will I also now have disdain for marathon runners?

SF marathon done! 10th marathon!

It was far from my best time, but I finished it!  And, it was a course PR (though only the second time running it)

Before Big Sur marathon, I hurt my ankle.  I ran on a very sore ankle at the Big Sur marathon and since that time I have not been able to do any hill runs, speed workouts, tempo runs.  So basically, I did not do any training that might actually help my "speed" after the ankle injury. I ran generally about once a week most weeks due to my ankle being injured.  I would do a long run on the weekend and then have to rest my ankle during the week so that I could do another long run on the next weekend (at times I could get 1 easy run in on a Thursday or Friday).


Then, my calf (on the same leg) got injured two or so weeks ago.  I had to walk three miles back to my car when it got injured. It has been bothering me since.

This really lead to many questions about whether I should have rested after Big Sur.  After Big Sur I tried to take it a little easier and hoped the ankle would get better by not pushing it too hard.  The smart decision would have been to take 3 or so weeks off after Big Sur, but I did not and it was a bit too late to take time off after the ankle did not get better with SF around the corner.

Thus, my expectations were not high.  I was just hoping that I could complete the marathon.  And I did!

I started out a little slow, tried to get my legs loose and into it.  My wife was running the first half so I ran near/next to her for most of the first half.  We were keeping about a 9:05-9:10 pace.  I felt okay, but my calf was tight (it has been since I hurt it) and the hills (especially the downhills) brought pain to it.

The GG bridge was very foggy and did not have great views, but it was still nice running on the bridge.  I was starting to have stomach issues so I stopped at the restrooms on the lookout after getting off the GGB.  There was a little line and I was about 9:16 avg pace when I started running again.  I pushed to get closer to my wife.  I caught her on the hill after coming off the GGB.  I then tried to keep about a 9:09 or so pace to get her close to the 2 hour mark for the half.  She was a head of me at times, but then fell a little behind me.  I slowed down before the cut off and when she caught up I tried to give her some words of encouragement.  She came in at the 2 hour mark.  A PR for her.

I was doing okay at the half way point, but by mile 15 my calf was starting to really hurt.  I also stopped to use the rest room again (I don't know what goes on with my stomach and marathons).  By the time I got back to running I was at a 9:17 or so avg pace.

In the back of my head is to beat 4, but I knew that was not a strong possibility.  I pushed forward and tried to get my avg pace down, but the faster I ran the more my ankle and calf hurt.  I decided to not try to push for under 4.  I just wanted to finish.  I was worried about my calf and if it hurt like it did two weeks ago, I would not be able to run.

I focused on getting out of GG park.  Too many miles in that park.  But, about mile 19 I was finally out of GG park and then I just focused on running and kept a steady pace. I kept my avg pace according to my Garmin at 9:17 (which was a little off due to it reading the course long, showed my running further than what I actually ran).

I stopped to refill my water bottle two times and to use the rest room two time.  Other than that I kept running.  I was tired about mile 22/23, but it was so close that I just focused on trying to knock 1 mile off at a time.

I finally got to AT&T Park and then to the bay bridge.  My Garmin has already showed me past 26.2 so I'm a bit annoyed (where is that finish).  But, then I see it and soon I cross the finish line.  I finish with a time about 4:05 and 50 seconds.  Not bad considering the injuries caused my training to be horrible.

My daughter with the medals:

I was a bit surprised that the half medal was not even a 1/4 of the size of the full medal.  But my daughter said, Brooklyn size medal.

Overall:  I was very happy to finish. I felt that I pushed through the injuries (maybe not the smartest) and accomplished a goal.  I will now rest for a few weeks and hope to get healthy for the NY Marathon!

SF Marathon: Two Weeks Away and Still Injured

Hi - hope everyone is doing great and had an awesome 4th.  I spend the week of the 4th in Tahoe and it was great.

I wish I could say the same for my running.  Since I hurt my ankle before Big Sur, it has been a tough couple of months with limited running.  I basically do a long run on the weekend, ankle is very sore, I rest 4 or 5 days, do a short easy run to see how it feels, rest my ankle for a day or two, do a long run, ankle is very sore . . .  endless cycle.

My plan all along was to try to do the SF marathon and then "rest" after the marathon.  I've been able to do the long runs . . . a 18 mile run, a 20 mile run and a 22 mile run.  My speed has suffered due to the no speed work (ankle has been too sore after the long run for a speed workout).

This past Sunday, I went out to run with the San Fran Marathon training group (where I'm a pacer).  We had a 16 mile run planned.  I started out strong and we were going at a good pace.  But, about 4 miles in my calf started hurting.  Before mile 5, I had to pull up due major pain in my calf.  My running group stopped with me. I tried to stretch and walk it off.  Then, I tried to run again, within a few steps I had to pull up again.  I told the runners to go on.  I tried to walk for a while, but when I tried to run again, within two steps I had to pull up.  I turned around and walked back to my car. I did try to run a couple of times on the long walk back, but had no luck and the pain was worse each time I tried.

My calf is still sore!  I'm just hoping it gets better.

Good news:  I finally went the doctor and had an x-ray on my ankle - no fracture!  Yes!!!  Which means I still have some hope of running SF marathon.  The Dr said they needed an MRI to tell if I tore something in my calf and she stated we could go that route if it did not heal in 3-4 weeks (. . . yes . . . 3 to 4 weeks is beyond two weeks).  She also could not recommend me running the marathon unless the calf healed up real quick.

Right now - I'm just taking it easy this week and hoping for the best.

Also - I cannot tell you how difficult it was to get my x-ray result.  I received an e-mail that my x-ray result was in and I just needed to log into the online account.  Problem - I could not remember my password.  After trying a number to typical passwords I use, I got locked out of my online account (I hate when that occurs).  Then, I spent at least a 1/2 an hour getting my account open again.  The Dr said she would call me if there was an issue.  Another problem - my home number (the number on record) was not working (not sure why, but no dial tone).  I could not change my home number via the phone or website (could not log-in).  Very frustrating process.

I was able to finally decided to leave early and drive to the Dr's office to get my x-ray result, I needed to know whether or not I had a fracture.

Hello - quick update

Hi,

I thought I would give a quick update since my last post was re the Big Sur marathon.

I am generally very bad at staying updated and even worse when I have not been running much.  My ankle has been sore every since Big Sur.  I take some time off and then try to run again . . . sore.  Take more time off . . . run again . . . sore . . . sore . . . sore.

Injuries are horrible.  Guess that's what I get for running a marathon on a sore/sprained/injured ankle.

What's next - hopefully get healthy.  My ankle is slowing getting better, but the SF marathon is coming quick.  Can I get ready for it?  I don't know because I'm not sure how my ankle will hold up on the long runs.

In the meantime - I bought P90X and have been doing that for exercise.  Has anyone done it?  Right now, I'm following the program, but as I add more runs into my routine it will be very hard (if not impossible) to stay on the program.

Hope all is well.  Happy running . . . 

Big Sur Marathon Race Report!

I meant to post this earlier in the week, but had a busy work week.

I injured my ankle about three weeks before the Big Sur marathon.  Not entirely sure how, I think I sprained it when I was out running in Rancho in the rain (the footing was bad and I almost fell a couple of times).  To make a long story short, on Monday (the week of the marathon) I was still limping around after trying to run 5 miles on it over the weekend.  I was not sure I would make it to the start line. 

I had made an appointment to see a chiropractor.  I've never went to a chiropractor before, but I was desperate.  Even though I was having pain in my ankle, they started with adjusting my neck and hips.  I thought that was a little old, but since I do not have "Dr." by my name I went along with it.  It was strange to go into a place and 10 mins later they have you in what I view as awkward positions and the chiropractor uses force to move your body around.  If it gets me to the start line, as long as you don't break my neck, I was willing to let them adjust whatever they thought needed adjusting.

I went back for a second visit later in the week.  The Chiropractor also does similar things that my prior PT would do (like deep massage and exercises).

By Friday my ankle was not "as sore" as earlier in the week.  Maybe the Chiropractor helped and also the rest helped (I did not run).  So I felt that I would make it to the start line.

I've never ran Big Sur before, but it has a lot of hills.  With my sore ankle I decided I would run, but would "take it easy" or "not push myself too hard".  Which meant I was going to try to come in between 4 and 4:30pm.

My plan was to start with a 9:30 pace, see how the ankle feels and then decide whether I can go a little faster or if I need to slow down.  Since I hurt the ankle, the faster I ran the more it hurt.  I booked a hotel in Monterey and drove down on Sat am for the expo and to hang out.  I  brought my wife and daughter with me (which meant it was critical to sleep in a little on Friday).  Sleeping in the same room with a two year is not easy.  She makes a lot of noise.

In Summary - I have some pictures below:  Big Sur has great views.  I've never seen so many runners stop along the side to take pictures.  I started off with a slower pace and felt good the first few miles.  My ankle was doing okay.  The problem was that my stomach was not doing okay.  I started at a 9:30 pace and then slowly increased to about 9:10, but then I had to use a porta potty - I mean I had to use it and wait in line.  By the time I was able to run again, my avg pace was 9:30.  I ran hard to get my pace back down to 9:10 and to be able to catch up to one of my running friends, but then about mile 8 - had to stop for the porta potty again.  My avg pace was back again at 9:30 after waiting in line and then using it.

I decided that I was just going to try to keep the 9:30 pace as there was a large climb in miles 10-12 (Hurricane point).  I was feeling good and kept the 9:30 pace even though I had two more pit stops (very frustrating).  I was not sure what was going on with my stomach but before the last pit stop I felt I was going to throw up.  Overall, though I was doing okay.  The ankle was more sore than it had been at the start, but I felt I could run on it even though there was some pain with every step.

So even with the pit stops I was on pace for about 4:08-4:10 marathon.  However, at mile 22 "the wall" hit me and I struggled.  I think in mile 22 I had a 13 min mile.  Part of that was the last pit stop and part of it was walking up a hill (I was tired and had ran up all the hills and the entire course except for the pit stops up to that point).  Alot of people were walking and I pushed about halfway up the hill (this was Yankee point) but about the halfway mark I gave into my fatigue and walked.  My ankle was now very sore and I was just tired.  At the top I pushed to run again, but was tired.  I continued to run until I saw a strawberry stand.  I love strawberries.  Since I had already walked and had 4 pit stops, I stopped to eat strawberries.  It was AWESOME!

I pushed on and finished the marathon at 4:14 and change.  Far off my PR, but not too off my expected time.  My 9th marathon is in the books!!!!!

As far as the ankle - it is still sore.  I'm resting it (only easy runs) and went to the chiropractor twice this week.  It feels a little better, but still sore and gets worse when I run.  Very frustrating.  I'm hoping it heals soon so I can push forward with my training for the SF marathon.

Some photos (some photos I borrowed from friends who ran big sur) with some comments:

My wife and Brooklyn the day before the marathon - seal in the background

 

Brooklyn riding a fake horse in Monterey the night before.  It was great having my family there.  They did not go see me run, as my wife took Brooklyn to the Monterey bay aquarium.  The only though part was waking up at 3am and trying to get ready without waking Brooklyn up.

 

The meal before the race.  Maybe going to an all you can eat buffet was not the best idea. 

 The start line.  I knew 5 people running this race.  It was amazing that we all ran into each other at the start line without having any plan on where to meet.  For Big Sur you have to get up early, the bus left the hotel at 4am.  You are dropped off at 5am (roughly) and have bout 1 hour and 45 mins to wait.  So it is nice to run into running friends and spend time with them.

 

Me (in the middle) and a couple of my running friends getting ready.

 Here are some pictures of the course:

 The strawberry stand.  If you are not going to PR - it is well worth a stop!

 Me at the finish.

Taking Brooklyn for yogurt to celebrate my 9th marathon!

 

One Week To Go And A Very Sore Ankle

Big Sur is next week. However, for the last couple weeks I have been dealing with a very sore ankle.

The big problem is that I'm not sure what caused it.  I think I can pinpoint the general time frame.  It was raining in the bay area recently and I went for a trail run out in Rancho San Antonio twice when it was pouring rain - which meant the footing was horrible and I lost my balance a couple of times.  Though there was not a moment when a felt an ankle sprain occur.  However, soon after the second run, I started feeling ankle pain - just above the ankle on the exterior.  It was still sore the weekend of my long run to prep for big sur.  I pushed through and ran 20 miles on it.  Since then it has been sore every day.  I took three days off running this week, but after a 5 mile run - very sore.

I do have an appointment with a chiropractor on Monday morning - hoping for some magic!

So not only am I under trained, but now I have to find a way to get my ankle healthy enough so I can run 26.2 miles on Sunday.

I have every intention to still run Big Sur unless it gets significantly worse.  At least I have to give it a shot.  But, this is a disappointment.  I don't have the best of luck when it comes to marathons.  Mostly though it is getting sick and not injuries - though I have had my share of injuries. Very frustrating. My mind is negative right now - so I know I need to start focusing on positive thoughts and even if it is sore the morning of Big Sur I need to believe that it will be okay for 26.2 miles.

Other than that - things have been great.  I took my daughter to the beach two weeks ago.  She had a blast and flew a kite for the first time.  It was so special to see her enjoy some of the little things in life:

flying a kite

Hunting for eggs

Big Sur Marathon - my 9th???

Many moons ago I signed up for the Big Sur marathon.  Mostly because it sells out fast and it was on my "to do" marathon list.

Yet - I have been slacking. Mostly do to the same old song:  work, teaching, daughter, travel.

I've been running.  Pacing/coaching with the SF marathon South Bay training group, leading a run at a local running store and running 3-5 times a week.  But, I have not been training . . . for a marathon.  So, I have had my doubts about running Big Sur.

However, I have started to build up my long runs the last 5-6 weeks.  I did a 16 mile run and two 18 mile run.  Next weekend will be my 20 mile run.  So, I think I'm going to go for it.  I have a few running friends running it, so it will be great to see them in the race.

As long as I can get my 20 mile run in, then I'll give it a shot.  The plan will be to not "race" it, but to just go out there and run a solid pace (not sure what a solid pace will be yet).  I would like to have got in 1 or 2 more 20 mile runs, but not enough weeks left.

The big issue is that I need to find a hotel.

Caballo Blanco Thoughts

I was find it a bit strange when someone dies that I do not really know.  I've lost people that have been close to me (like my dad and recently my grandmother) so I try to keep it in perspective.

With that said, I was sad when I heard Caballo Blanco was dead.  I did not know him.  I only read of him.  But, he was an inspiration.  I was already running marathons before I read born to run, but reading of him gave me inspiration to one day run ultras.  More importantly, reading of him (and people like him) helps me stay in touch with my love for running.

I wish I could have met him. But, through born to run and all of the blogs and articles about him, I feel that I sort of have met him.

Awesome run in the Rain at Rancho

It was very rainy today (Tuesday) in the bay area.  I mean . . . a lot of rain.

It was also our first run at Rancho this year for the SF marathon training group.  Since I'm a pacer/coach for the South bay group and generally run the hill runs at Rancho I felt I should go.  On my drive over I had a few second thoughts.  Not so much because of running in the rain (it was only 4-5 miles) but for running in the mud where it might be very wet and slippery.  Me + mud + slippery = trouble.

In any event, as I pulled into Rancho I noticed that the parking lot was nearly empty.  It is always packed.  Before I could have additional thoughts about backing out, I saw two people from our group there.  Which meant I'm running.  Not many people showed up due to the rain.

But, those that did went out and did about  4.5 miles of hills.  It was very rainy.  It was cold.  Muddy.  Wet.  Slippery.  But, most of all, it was awesome!

Oakland Marathon . . .

DNS for the Oakland half.

I have not really been training hard so when a trip to Lake Tahoe that my wife wanted to take came up, I did not have a big issue having a DNS.  I did really miss seeing all my running friends run and catching views of some of the local bloggers that I follow.

 It is awesome to run into a blogger for the first time and with this being a bay area event, I was looking forward to maybe running into others.  Though, I think only a few bay area bloggers might know who I am.

In Lake Tahoe, I had a great time.  Took Friday off work and was able to spend the weekend with my wife and Brooklyn, the best two year old in the entire world.  :)

Brooklyn had blast playing in the snow.  We went for a short walk after we arrived and she found a good patch of snow and immediate started to eat it.  As long as the snow was not yellow, I was okay with her trying some.  We also took her on a snow shoe hike - we pulled her in a slide.  She enjoyed walking in the snow (which meant our hike went really slow at times).  She also went ice skating for the first time.  And, did some jumping.

A video and some pictures: