2012 Update

It's been awhile. I guess I felt like I didn't have much to say that would blow the world away so I'm just posting this here now to keep a log of the past races Kristen and I have done for posterity. On the wine side, our wine fridge broke and now just acts like a wine closet. We are, however, going to a wine festival in San Pedro today. Anyhoo, here's the list:

MIKE
2011 Long Beach Half Marathon - 2:03:12 PR
2011 Long Beach Turkey Trot 5K - 25:10
2011 Holiday Half Marathon - 2:10:30 (There were a lot of hills!)
Seal Beach 10k 4/12 - 52:11 Tied PR

KRISTEN
Al Briede Gold Cup 3 Miler 5/11 - 20:26 (2nd place female overall)
Wrigley River 10k 6/11 - 41:12 PR (2nd place female overall, 1st in age division)
2011 St. George, Utah Marathon - 3:17:52 PR
2011 Long Beach Marathon - 3:25
2011 Long Beach Turkey Trot 10k - 43:00 (First place female)
2011 Holiday Half Marathon - 1:37:17
Seal Beach 10k 4/12 - 42:59

Still training

I guess I'm still training. Actually, I wouldn't call it training. Right now I guess I'm just staying in shape. With no runs planned in the immediate future I'm just hitting the road logging my miles. Kristen and I ran with our club, AREC, yesterday for the weekly Saturday training runs. I ran 9 and she did 16. 9 is the longest I've done in months and I was surprised to find that I felt good the entire run. I try to tell my non-running friends that the longer you run (in terms of years) the easier it is to go on long runs and not be wiped out. They usually laugh and shake their heads. Oh well. Their loss.

Talk about falling off the wagon

I keep slacking at updates. That sucks. Okay, back to updating.

We were in New Orleans back in the middle of May and found a 3 miler to race called the Al Briede Gold Cup. It was a nice flat course through City Park with people at every mile yelling out times and encouragement. For a small race they did it up right. Friendly people, music, jumbalaya after the race(?!) and best of all a Budweiser trailer. Four taps, 2 Buds, 2 Bud Lights. Free. No one busting your balls for a ticket. No limits. Just drink after the race until the thing is empty. Nice. Kristen was 2nd female overall and 1st in her age group. I won a t-shirt so I got that going for me which is nice.

We signed up for the Laguna Beach Memorial Day Half Marathon, but we really didn't think about it enough. We weren't able to pick up our packets and bibs the day before which meant that we would have had to get there by 6:15 to give us time to park and get our stuff and get organized in time for the 7am start. We live in Long Beach so as any runner knows, there's a morning pre-race ritual and then you have to drive to the race. To be in Laguna Beach by 6:15am we would have had to get up at 4am. We had a party to go to later that day so the night before we decided to bag it and eat the fee. We offered it up to friends, but I guess they were all smarter than us.

On June 11th we ran the Long Beach Wrigley River run 5k/10k which I've done in the past. It's a nice event. Small, but well organized. Kristen had a bum toe, but still managed to PR for the 10k and win 1st place in her age group. I was off my 5k PR by 10 seconds again. Whatever dude.

So I picked up a new hobby. I've been brewing beer for a few months and have really gotten into it. I have a 5 gallon batch of Kolsch fermenting now that I will bottle tomorrow. It needs to condition in the bottle for 2 weeks and then it'll be ready to drink. 5 gallons equals anywhere between 43 and 48 bottles of beer. Sweeeeet! I have to figure out which beer to brew up next. Hmmm. Maybe I'll have to change the name of this blog. Winebeerandthefinishline?

Anza-Borrego

I don't usually post about hiking, but sometimes a hike turns into a trail run and boom: Finish Line. Kristen and I went out to the beautiful Anza-Borrego State Park this weekend and hike some of the amazing trails the park offers. As usual we stayed at the Borrego Palm Canyon Campgrounds and scored one of our favorite sites: #105. There's a section of the campground where four sites are really secluded and provide a nice, quiet environment. Anyway, there are miles and miles of fantastic trails to hike (and run if the urge hits you like it does us) and most are easily accessed by standard two wheel drive cars with a few better suited to SUV transportation.

On our first day we set out on a trail called Hellhole Canyon which I thought was a bit of a misnomer given the lush beauty at the end. The 5.2 mile round trip trail was full of various cacti and some of the last natural Palm Tree groves in California.

The next day we set out on a trail called Rainbow Loop. The trailhead was a little hard to find, but once we did the desert unveiled its hidden beauty with a trek up a sandy, narrow canyon that showcased all kinds of ocotillo, teddy bear cholla and prickly pear cacti still blooming with bright red, orange and green flowers.

Feeling a little froggy, we decided that it might be fun to run the last three miles back to the car. The soft and silty ground made it a challenge, but easy on the knees.

Now, one of the great fringe benefits of going to Anza-Borrego is that on the way, there is a modest and very friendly winery called Shadow Mountain. The owners are great and even gave us a tour of the operation. If you ever go there I recommend the Old Gus Red Table Wine and the Syrah.

Of course, no trip would be complete for us if we didn't find another winery on the way home. In this case it was a wonderful vineyard/winery called Hawk Watch. Absolutely great wines for a fair price. Hey, you can't beat a camping/hiking trip with wine going in AND out right?

2011 Boston Marathon!

Last week Kristen ran the 115th Boston Marathon with her friend Wendy (from our AREC running club). This was her 3rd marathon with her 2nd best time, however, she kept it "slow" and fun so she could pace her friend (Wendy PR'd by almost 5 minutes - this was her 12th marathon) and truly enjoy the experience of Boston. It was an amazing event - what she calls a 26.2 mile long party with spectators lining the course the entire way. Exploring the city for the first time was an adventure as well. Lots of great wine bars in "The South Side" and a sweet (while super windy) running course right out the front door of the vacation rental in South Boston. You can follow the sidewalk and boardwalk all around Castle Island for a nice 5-10 miler. We see Boston again in the future (KJ was well within BQ time) but maybe we will skip a year. Lots of fun but a really expensive trip overall!

3rd Place!

For the first time since I started running I won a medal. 3rd place in my age group for the Rabbit 5k held at Long Beach City College's Veteran's Memorial Stadium. Kristen won first place age group and overall women and she also broke her previous PR and posted a 19:30! Crazy.

The course was flat and pretty fast. I lost 10 second however, when I made a wrong turn and that was something that actually really pissed me off for awhile even though I knew I'd gotten 3rd place. I could have had a better time. The girl at the turning point just stared at me with a dumb look on her face even as I asked her as I was running if this was the right turn. She just stared as I ran by. So dumb. Anyway, I still received the medal and had a good run.

I plan on putting in a lot of hard work on breaking my current PR of 24:28. I got that time at the Surf City 5k which is a really fast, flat out and back race with no turns so I'll probably have to pick the races carefully. I will still be running 10k's and halfs, but I have my sights set on a new 5k PR.

Grrrr

Kristen and I ran the Timberwolf 5k which was held at a high school in Irvine, CA. I don't know what it is with us, but the last three 5k's we've run were all basically hills. This race started at the foot of a long hill and basically went up and down up and down slowly the entire way. Of course I screwed the pooch, couldn't get my pacing or breathing right and got a crap time. Kristen ran a 20:20 and 1st place in her age group. Whatever dude.

2 weeks ago Kristen ran the Lakewood Community Run 10k and got 1st female overall with a time of 41:27 which is ONE SECOND OFF HER PR! So close. I didn't run this time...because I was on a work trip...in Brazil...Rio de Janeiro...for CARNAVAL! So yeah, I don't feel so bad for missing it.

Placerville

I can't believe I didn't blog about this yet. Kristen and I went to the El Dorado wine region up near Placerville, CA recently and discovered some great wines for ourselves. I grew up in Northern California and every summer and winter our family would take the 50 freeway to Lake Tahoe for vacation. Obviously since I was a kid I wasn't aware of wine or anything like that, but it was still a small shock to find out that there is a great, hidden region up there. People know about it of course, but it hasn't been overrun with "wine tourists" yet the way Napa and Sonoma and Temecula have. It's a great region not yet spoiled.

Placerville is basically a small community split down the middle by the 50 freeway. And so is the El Dorado region which is in Amador County. The lower elevation soil is granite while the higher elevation is lava. These two different minerals give the wines from both parts a different character which was really fun to discover.

We stayed in Placerville which has a historic downtown area that was interesting to check out. There's lots of antiquing for the women to do while the men contemplate suicide. Just kidding. Anyway, if you happen to be heading over to Lake Tahoe for skiing or for any of the runs they put on there, think about stopping in this area and imbibing. You won't regret it.

Palm Springs Half Marathon

Ahoy landlubbers! Kristen and I ran the Palm Springs Half this past Sunday and had a helluva time. It wasn't the best course we've ever run, but it was a bit challenging. The course was promoted as one with slight hills, but it was "mostly flat". What a laugh. As it turned out, the course wound (and I do mean WOUND) through the foothill neighborhood of PS and sadly didn't go by the homes and landmarks that make you think of the city. Most of the homes on the course were behind walls and gates so that kept the sightseeing to a minimum (which was sort of a good thing since Kristen is an architect, loves PS, and would have mostly likely tripped and fell if she had more eye candy). Instead of "mostly flat" it was a series of long, gradual hills, woop dee doos, and two big hills interwoven with turn after turn up and down the same streets. It wasn't frustrating or horrible, but it was a bit of a let down. Most people that ran the race had the same opinion. The upside to all the hills is that you went up and then back down the same hill which was nice.

I didn't train for this race. In fact, my running as of late has been mostly 3 to 5 milers with one or two 8 milers in the last two months. The reason why this is funny is that I ran a better time (by almost 2 minutes) than I did at Long Beach which I actually trained for. Go figure.

Kristen, of course, ran a PR and came in 1st place in her age group and 10th over all! Amazing!

We ran with a bunch of people from our running group (AREC Long Beach) and two of our best friends, Paul and Wendy. Wendy kicks ass and Paul, madman that he is, road the Century bike race the day before and ran a great time.

All in all, a good day.

Gladiator Run

Had a good time at the Gladiator Run held down in Irvine at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on Saturday. Nitro, one of the original American Gladiators was there. Very cool. The course was a 5k obstacle covered mud hole basically! We got about a half mile of trails to warm up then had to run up and down, up and down, across and up and down the amphitheater itself (I'm so shit ass at stair climbing that I have started a new routine involving the stair climber at the gym) and then the obstacles start: high stepping through tires, avoiding Swiss balls being thrown at you, more tires, hurdles, a 30 pound bag of rice to carry, more hurdles and then the mud. Oh the mud. Two big mud pools, knee deep with ropes going across that force you down INTO the mud. Muddy, slippery ass hills to climb, woop dee doos, more mud and finally the finish line. This is what I looked like coming through at the end. Kristen, of course, came in first female and fourth overall in our wave.

2010 Long Beach Turkey Trot

This is the last year we will run the LB trot. It's too bad because it is a nice, flat, fast course along the beach, but it is seriously getting way too crowded for the narrow bike path. It's great that the sport of recreational racing is getting more popular, but some events just have to know when to evolve and this one hasn't yet.

The race cost $30 and with an estimated 6000 runners, you would think they would have chip timing or at least take your tag and document your time. Nope. They also run the 5k AND the 10k at the same time. Dumb. They also ran the races at 7:30am, then at 8:30am then again at 9:30am. What they don't tell you is that they only keep track of and award prizes to the runners of the 9:30am race. Stupid. Especially since Kristen was 1st place female yet no one even acknowledged this as she crossed the finish line. No one. Nothing. And the "beauty queen" handing out the traditional pumpkin pies wouldn't give one to her because apparently Kristen didn't have "the right bib number". Are you kidding me? It's one thing to hand out pies to a random sampling of bib numbers, but to not even give one to THE FIRST PLACE FINISHER! Not smart. I went back to ask if I had the right number because I just kind of blew by the finish line and the "beauty queen" yelled at me over her shoulder, "You don't have the right number!" I thought it was funny that she didn't even bother to look at my bib. Oh well.

So Kristen ran the 10k in 41:38 and was the first female to finish. But only the 9:30am racers got acknowledged. I ran the 10k in 54:37 which is 2:26 slower than my PR. Anyway, we ran it with some fellow AREC'ers and close friends so regardless of the problems with the race, we still had a good time. Next year, Dana Point.

Run Like Hell

A little late, but I wanted to update the thousands of people that read my blog and send fan mail...uh hum...Kristen and I were in Atlanta for a few days during the Halloween weekend and we ran the Historical Oakland Cemetery "Run Like Hell" 5k. It was a great race that started at the entrance of the cemetery and ran out into the surrounding streets (of course, filled with hills that I was not prepared for) and then ended with the final quarter mile winding through the actual cemetery. It was a fun race with a lot of really enthusiastic people dressed up in Halloween costumes that were blown away that Kristen and I came all the way from L.A. to run their race (we didn't tell them that we were there for another reason). I ran just over my PR, but because I was excited and in the moment I went out with the leaders of the race and ended up running a 6:21 pace for the first mile. I realized that I screwed myself at that point and ran the remaining two miles at about 9:35, but oh well. It was fun. Kristen was 4th female overall and won 1st place in her age group...as usual.

While in Atlanta we also drank some wine as usual. Had something called JAM JAR. It's a Shiraz from Western Cape, South Africa 2009 vintage and the name says it all. It's a fruit bomb, too sweet with a long, syrupy finish and no tannin. It was hard to drink. Probably needs something spicy or robust like barbecue to tame it. Another wine was a Lang and Reed Cab Franc from Lake County 2007 vintage. It was a good wine, nice structured tannin, medium finish with a hint of fruit. The final wine worth mentioning was a Terlato & Chapouitier Shiraz blend 2007 vintage. It was very inky with a pleasant tannin and a dry finish.

Two weeks later we ran the Cal State Long Beach Pyramid 5k that started and finished at the base of the big blue Pyramid on the CSULB campus. It was another fun, but tough 5k that had a major uphill climb that started right at the beginning of mile 2. I fully intended to run a solid 8 minute pace for each mile, but since I wasn't prepared for the huge hill, I ended up dropping from 8:08 in the first mile to a 8:17 pace for the remaining two. Not horrible, but again it put me just over my PR. Oh well. Kristen won 1st place in her age group again. Hooray!

The next race coming up for us is the Long Beach Turkey Trot 10k down in Belmont Shores. I pulled a muscle in my lower back lifting weights and have had to cut back on the miles so we'll see what happens. Anyway, keep on runnin' and havin' fun!

Boston

Kristen and her friend Wendy both got into the Boston Marathon for 2011! Apparently this year was the fastest the event ever sold out: 8 hours! Amazing. So Wendy's boyfriend Paul and I will be rooting them on at the race, beers in hand! Can't wait!

Long Beach Marathon Report

Another year has gone by and Kristen and I ran the Long Beach Marathon again, well Kristen did, I ran the half this time. Kristen absolutely CRUSHED her time from last year (which was her first marathon) by 8 MINUTES! Last year she ran a 3:33 and yesterday, even after falling, she blasted through the finish line at 3:25 flat. Amazing. Especially since around mile 10 she got tripped up and fell to her knees and hands. She got cut up a little, but everything seemed fine until she hit the hill at Cal State Long Beach. That's when she realized that she pulled a muscle in her upper quad. Apparently that didn't stop her from running really fast.

I, on the other hand, did not PR. In fact, I thought I was going to run really slow since I haven't really had the time (or maybe desire) to train properly to PR. But as anybody who has run knows that the energy of a race helps you when you need it most. I was less than 5 minutes slower than my last half which really surprised me. I thought I'd run a 2:15 or even a 2:20, but I came in just over 2:09. Not good, but still much better than I thought. So I'm going to reward myself to day with an iPhone 4! As a side note, I will never again eat one of those damn chewy Shot Blok things during a race. Training runs maybe, but never during a race. I had a few in my pocket and at 1 hour I pulled a couple out and started chewing just as I was coming into a water station. I damn near choked to death trying to get those things down and I was trying not to look like a tool while doing it. It sucked the energy out of my run for a few minutes as I really slowed down to get that crap out of my throat and teeth. Bad, bad idea.

Anyway, Kristen is now feverishly trying to register for Boston, but the site is mobbed with entrants. Cross your fingers.

Hot Hot Heat

Kristen and I ran yesterday (8 and 4 respectively), but of course I forgot to bring my camera. We went out again this morning on some pretty sore legs and pounded the pavement once more. After our run yesterday we went on a pretty strenuous 5 mile hike on West Maui and combine that with a little bit of time difference and today was tough. The humidity doesn't help either. Nonetheless, we stuck to our guns. But no hiking today. We both agreed that our bodies need a bit of rest (I know, we're on vacation and we still knock ourselves out). Anyway, we're gonna hit the beach and then head over to Paia which is kind of a little hippie town and hang out and have dinner. Tonight, live music!

Maui!

Kristen and I are in Maui for 8 days for vacation (oh the horror!). After half a year of construction on the house and her studying for her 10th and final architecture exam it is well earned if I do say so myself! Anyway, we drove around today and plotted out our runs for the week. I am going to take my still and video cameras with me on the runs and post them all week. Stay tuned!

Long Beach Half

What a difference a year makes. And a home addition. I'm running the LB half marathon this year (did the full last year), but Kristen is doing the full again. Just as well. She ran an 18 miler the other day and said it wasn't tough at all. In fact, the other people running with her were shocked that she didn't drink a ton of fluids or eat gels while running. She's a mutant I guess. Me, on the other hand, I'm shit. The desire and ambition just aren't there for me these days. Oh, I still go out and trudge out the miles, but not nearly as much as I should. One thing that's great about training this summer is that we've had an unusually cool one so it's made those morning runs a lot easier. I just fall to pieces in the heat so it's been a lot better lately. We'll see if we get an Indian summer this fall though. Anyway, all our funds were going to the construction of our addition so we've only been drinking your basic Trader Joe's, Sprouts/Henry's cheap wine. Hey, it's good enough to get you through the rough patches. Soon though, we need to hit wine country and try to scare up some deals. More on that later...

Mike Floyd...The Wall

As in: We've almost hit it. The house is almost done. The deck is kicking my ass but turning out great. But I hurt man. Deep down pain you know. I haven't been to the gym in two months. I ran a total of 0 miles last week. Too much to do on the house (we're trying to finish quickly to get our final inspection so we can then get an appraisal for a refi...it's a long story), and work is keeping me really busy. I was down in San Diego last week for Comic-Con (Crazy!) so I wasn't able to do any running. So yesterday was the first day I was able to get up early and actually crank out a measly 3 miles. I swear it's almost like starting all over again. Almost. I can handle the mileage, but my speed and breathing have gone into the crapper. Doesn't matter. I was just glad to pound the pavement.

We are getting our final inspection on the house on Monday. If all goes well (which it should) then there is just a little painting here and there inside and we have to move some furniture around. Give the house an overall cleaning inside and out and spiff up the yard and BOOM. Done. I figure I'll be back to a normal life soon. Fingers crossed. In the meantime RUN ON!

Construction

Haven't been running as much as I'd like to these days. We're adding on to our house so it's total chaos over here and we're doing some of the work ourselves so that's been kicking my ass. I'm sore all over so it makes the idea of going out for a run not as inviting. And since we're spending all our money on the house we haven't had a chance to go out and taste as much wine as we'd like. However, we did manage to break away last Saturday and go to our local tasting room. They served up a series of Malbecs from Argentina. Two brands: Lo Tengo and Kaiken. Both were fantastic so if you happen to see any on the shelves at your local store, give them a try. In the meantime. RUN ON!

Marathon training

The AREC MOB



Kristen and the leaders of the pack.

Well, Saturday marked Day 1 for the AREC training regimen and a record number of people showed up for this run. When Kristen and I signed in we were 83 and 84 and I know several more people showed up after us. Pretty cool. It was just a quick 5 miler to get the new people familiar with the area so we'll see how many stick it out when the miles start to add up later. It's really great to see that many new people join the club and get into running. It makes the whole experience that much better.Oh. by the way, I rock!