LB Marathon Pix

Some pictures from the Long Beach marathon.

MCRD Boot Camp Challenge

I almost forgot. On September 26th we ran the MCRD Boot Camp Challenge down in San Diego for the 3rd year in a row. As usual it was a blast. I even convinced a couple of my friends from work to run it with me. The BCC is a 5k course at the SD Marine Corps Recruit Depot that incorporates 3 different obstacles courses into the run and this year we definitely got dirty. Kristen ran a 21:09 and came in 2nd in her age category and 3rd overall. I ran a 27:38 and came in a place not worth mentioning. Anyway, afterwards they had beer. Cheers!

The Aftermath

Okay, I know EVERYBODY else has updated their sites or blogs or whatever in regards to the Long Beach Marathon so I guess I have to do the same. After all the buildup, I'm not happy with my performance. At all. I know I know, it's a big deal just to finish (and that's what everybody keeps telling me), but I've always been very competitive with myself and I expected more. My finish time was an abominable 6:03. Pathetic and embarrassing. I'll break the whole thing down.

The Monday before the race (Sunday) I woke up with a head cold. So, after 6 months of hard training, I have a week to fight this cold off and be ready to run. I didn't drink any wine, I ran a total of 2 miles the whole week and I took plenty of Cold-eze and Zicam and got plenty of rest. By race day I was feeling fine. Now, I'm not using the cold as an excuse, but I also can't be sure what effect it had on my performance as a whole. Either way, it's something that's going to nag at me for awhile.

As the race gets under way I'm feeling great. Smile on my face, the energy is in the air and I'm having a good time. I'm running the pace I set for myself, 9:30/mile. By the half marathon point I am only about 3 minutes slower than where I thought I'd be so at this point I'm thinking "so far, so good". My plan was to stay anywhere between 9:30 to 9:45 up to the halfway point. From there on I figured I'd slowly let my pace fall to somewhere between 10 and 10:30 all the way to the end while also slowing to walk a minute every 10 minutes. However, somewhere near the 15 mile mark is where the wheels start to feel wobbly. They haven't come off the cart yet, but they've definitely lost a lug nut or two. My breathing is off, my stomach feels tight, sorta crampy. I'm starting to worry because I've run further than this and I wasn't expecting to feel this way just yet. I always knew the wall would creep up and I'd have to push through it, but this was too early. And it only got worse. At the 17 mile mark I pass by Kristen's parents, some friends and then my parents. I stop to chat with them for a few seconds (letting them pump me up) and then continue up the hill into the Cal State Long Beach campus. I reach the top of the campus and begin my turn back down the hill around the 18 mile mark and that's when I feel a searing pain in my right groin muscle. Boom. Now I'm hobbled. I stop to stretch, but no matter what I do the pain will just not go away. So after a couple of miles of jogging with a limp my left foot decides that it doesn't like the extra work and flares up. So now I'm going back and forth between pains. On the one hand, jogging hurts my left foot bad, but on the other hand, walking hurts my groin more. So, at mile 20 I'm presented with a pretty picture: 6.2 more miles of agony. Well, I'm not about to let 6 months of training go down the drain so I just kept going. What else could I do? The thing that is really pissing me off at this point too, is that at the 18 mile mark I was right about where I expected to be time wise. So even though my pace had slowed and I was feeling whipped, I was still moving along at a pace that would have had me come in at my goal time which was about 4:30. C'est la vie. I pushed on and finally finished the damn race. Oh well. I'm going to run a few half marathons and then I'll give the full a try again. I mean, it's not like I can live with that one time being my PR right?

My friend Billy, of LA Runner fame, was there to support the other runners because he had an injured foot and couldn't run it himself. I spotted him banging on his cowbell at one point and then near the 11 mile mark he found me while riding his bike. He took some pictures and shouted a few words of encouragement and that really helped. Thanks Billy! Now, onto a more uplifting story.

Kristen went out and owned Long Beach. After having fractured her foot in two places, she worked hard to let them heal and just like Seabiscuit, she came back stronger than ever. 26.2 miles later she put in an incredible performance and crossed the line with a 3:33 finish time and qualified for Boston. Not bad for her first marathon.

So there you go. That's a full lid. I'll follow this up with a post with some pictures from the run.

The Big Day Part 2

It's Saturday night at 7:42pm and we're about to TRY to go to sleep and get ready for our first ever marathon. Kristen is feeling good and confident and is hoping she'll BQ at this race. Me, I'm just going to humbly run my race and hope for the best. It's gonna be fun and I'm really excited. Wish us luck!

Goddammit!

Six months of training and one week before the race I get a head cold! What the hell? Like any good runner I'm stressing about still running on the last few days leading up to the race to maintain fitness, but I know it would be stupid to put in a few miles right? Right? Maybe tomorrow? Ugh! Why? Should I run? It's not a bad cold. It first hit me Monday afternoon. It's Wednesday. Should I run a few tomorrow or wait? Damn.

The Big Day

Well, the big day is almost upon us. Our first marathon is this Sunday, the Long Beach International. I'm excited and anxious. Anxious mainly to get it over with. But I mean that in a positive way. This being my first marathon I've taken the 6 months of training leading up to this day seriously. But jesus. 6 months. I'm bursting with the anticipation of putting an end to the training schedule that has had me obsessing over every foot step of every day of every week. I'm ready to rock. And luckily, so is Kristen. Her foot is healing and she's been pounding the pavement and she thinks she's ready to go. So do I.

We ran the MCRD Boot Camp Challenge in San Diego two weeks ago and had a blast as usual. And, as usual, even on an injured foot Kristen was second place in her age group and third place overall. Here she is just finishing one of the obstacle courses.

I was about 42nd in my age group. Oh well. At least I kicked this old man's ass. Barely.

I have some blog catching up to do with some more stories about our alternative 20 mile days so stay tuned and keep running!