6/21/2009 41 min / 4 mi = 10.25 min/mi
6/24/2009 44.5 min / 4.7 mi = 9.5 min/mi
6/26/2009 21.1 min / 2.9 mi = 7.3 min/mi
Absolutely love the long daylight hours!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
33-MILE HOLCOMB VALLEY TRAIL RUN STATS
33-MILE HOLCOMB VALLEY TRAIL RUN
Sun, June 14th, 2009 @ 7AM
>START/FINISH LINE: Meadows Edge Picnic Area in Big Bear Lake, CA
>SEVEN AID STATIONS...
#1: 3.8 miles
#2: 8.6 miles
#3: 11.5 miles
#4: 14.9 miles
#5: 20.8 miles
#6: 23.9 miles
#7: 27.5 miles
>HIGHEST POINT: 8212 feet
>LOWEST POINT: 6750 feet (pretty sure this was the lowest point cuz it's the start/finish line elevation and also the smallest elevation # on the course map)
=>33-MILE RACE...
-105 runners (out of the 123 who signed up) started
-18 runners signed up but did not start
-102 runners completed the course + 3 did not finish (2 female, 1 male)
-77 male runners + 28 female runners = 105 total runners
MY STATS...
~Bib #: 108
~Division: Men 18-29 (6 different divisions per sex)
~Age: 26
~Wave: 3rd wave (last wave)
~Official Time: 9:12:50
~Overall: 99th out of 102/105--> aka "4th to last"
~Sex Place: 76th of out 76/77--> aka "the last man to cross the finish line"
~Division Place: 5th out of 5--> aka "dead last" (although there were 6 signed up = 1 didn't show)
~Pace: ~16:45.15 min/mile
***THE RACE: I started the race off with excitement but also caution. I was hoping my injury wasn't going to come back but knew that there was a chance it might. I noticed that a lot of the people out there were not running a "smart" race... early on, they were completely out of breath, running the inclines. I was doing a better job taking it easy on the up-hills and watching my heart rate and making sure I kept a good conservative pace.
So, my stamina was good but eventually my legs failed me. My IT band on my right side started acting up so I favored my left leg more, which caused the IT band to act up on that side as well. Plus, I was taking advantage of the elevation changes by walking the up-hills and running the down-hills (good for stamina, bad for legs) but the down-hills were hurting my IT bands.
Before I hit Aid Station #4, I knew something was wrong... but I was hoping that I could stretch my way out of it. So, at Aid Station #4 I did some stretching but deep down knew I was in trouble. It was 5.9 miles (the longest, loneliness stretch of the entire race) until the next aid station... man, that 5.9 was killer... I had to walk most of it, and it took FOREVER! This stretch is where people passed me and I feel behind. It was at this point that I thought that it was almost certain that I might not finish the race. I was disappointed. I thought about the 33-mile pin that I got at the start of the race that I wouldn't be able to pin onto my keychain lanyard. I also thought that I wasn't going to make the 10-hour race cutoff time limit. Oh, and I went to stretch at a couple points and at one point the stretching really made things worse.
But somewhere in those 5.9 miles, probably toward the latter half of it, I noticed that the walking wasn't really hurting my IT bands. And then I noticed after a long time that my legs were feeling better with the walking. I felt that once I got off the 5.9 trail and into the dirt road that was after Aid Station #5 that I could possibly try out some running even. I just knew that the dirt road was going to be easier for me than the trail.
Anyways, I just barely made the 12:45pm cutoff at Aid Station #5 (I had forgotten about this but someone mentioned it to me there). Then, the LAST RUNNER IN THE RACE came in right after me as I was about to leave. I didn't want to be the last person who finished the race, but I mentally prepared myself for it. I ended up walking, and then running a little and eventually caught up to 2 people. I passed them and extended my lead through some running at times. Then later, I was passed by that last runner, a 55-year old woman.
Man, I loved that long, wide, non-traily, dirt road in between Aid Station #5 and #7. But then, after #7... it was time to go back onto the trail. Also, as I was leaving the last aid station, a group of friends (a guy and 2 girls) who were in last place... were just getting to the aid station (I had been looking back ever since I passed them on that dirt path after Aid Station #5).
But yeah-- now it was time to go back to the trail. This was when the race got "scary"... it was as if it was some freaky horror movie and I was being chased through the woods or something haha. I kept looking back and running at points along the trail that I could run on. The running felt alright on my legs... I was happy about that. But I wanted to keep extending my lead cuz I didn't want to be last.
Alright, so overall throughout the race, the course was really marked well... except for one point. This came after Aid Station #7 on my "scary" run. Don't know how to describe it, but the markers weren't clear and it looked like I was supposed to go down to this one area but then I didn't know where to go next cuz I was off course. I seriously spent maybe 10 minutes or so looking around and feeling the hurt in my legs. I heard the group of friends (2 girls and a guy) who were in last place come up. I blew my whistle but that didn't help. Then when they got closer I yelled out to them and they put me back on course.
So yeah-- good news: I was back on course. Bad news: the lead that I had built up by running along the trail was now gone. It was all for nothing. And even WORSE news: the group of friends passed me as we met up. It was so demoralizing being not only the last runner on the course, but also the last runner on the course that didn't deserve to be the last runner.
Anyways, I was walking kinda slow by myself as they built up their lead. But then, the friends stopped cuz one of them needed to change a leg bandage. I walked passed them on the trail and did some angry, determined, and SCARY walking. I then started running at certain points along the trail, looking back.
This time when I did it though, I ran at almost every opportunity that I could, thinking that there was no way they could possibly catch up to me (since they were walking the whole thing, or so it seemed). I eventually made it down to lower elevation and then caught up to that "last runner" who had passed me earlier. She was like "no no no" and started running again (but remember... I had all the energy and stamina in the world cuz I had been walking most of the race). So I quickly passed her and she jokingly (or not jokingly) said "I hate you!" I told her that she wasn't the last person in the race (I had asked the aid station workers about her and they said that she had finished last in 2008 and was proud of herself for not being last and passing me).
Anyways, there was still probably a 1.5 miles to go. I kept running-- Iwas running scared again... even though I knew I probably wasn't going to finish last (although there was still a chance, you never really know), the competitive juices kicked in even more because I didn't want to be passed again by that 55-year old woman. I'm sorry to say this, but I wanted to extend the lead and make her think there was absolutely no way to catch up to me, because that would demoralize her and she wouldn't run as fast. Yes, I am an asshole, haha. But it helped... I ran, and I got to the finish line and finished about 4 minutes ahead of her. Then, the last place people came in about 12 minutes after me.
Anyways, it was a great experience and good test for me. I replaced the "26.2" pin from my first marathon on my keychain lanyard to the "33" one that I got on Sunday. Maybe someday it'll say "50"-- who knows? I want to get healed up quickly and run that race again injury-free. If so I hope to get a time under the 7 hour mark (or maybe even just barely under the 6 hour mark). That would be awesome.
There was also a 15-miler going on at the same time. They started their race a half hour after us...
=>15-mile race...
-130 runners (out of the 141 who signed up) started
-11 runners signed up but did not start
-128 runners completed the course + 2 did not finish (2 female)
-59 male runners + 71 female runners = 130 total runners
-8 runners who were 18-29 males signed up--> 2 didn't show = 6 completed the 15-miler
http://www.holcombvalleytrailruns.com
=)
Sun, June 14th, 2009 @ 7AM
>START/FINISH LINE: Meadows Edge Picnic Area in Big Bear Lake, CA
>SEVEN AID STATIONS...
#1: 3.8 miles
#2: 8.6 miles
#3: 11.5 miles
#4: 14.9 miles
#5: 20.8 miles
#6: 23.9 miles
#7: 27.5 miles
>HIGHEST POINT: 8212 feet
>LOWEST POINT: 6750 feet (pretty sure this was the lowest point cuz it's the start/finish line elevation and also the smallest elevation # on the course map)
=>33-MILE RACE...
-105 runners (out of the 123 who signed up) started
-18 runners signed up but did not start
-102 runners completed the course + 3 did not finish (2 female, 1 male)
-77 male runners + 28 female runners = 105 total runners
MY STATS...
~Bib #: 108
~Division: Men 18-29 (6 different divisions per sex)
~Age: 26
~Wave: 3rd wave (last wave)
~Official Time: 9:12:50
~Overall: 99th out of 102/105--> aka "4th to last"
~Sex Place: 76th of out 76/77--> aka "the last man to cross the finish line"
~Division Place: 5th out of 5--> aka "dead last" (although there were 6 signed up = 1 didn't show)
~Pace: ~16:45.15 min/mile
***THE RACE: I started the race off with excitement but also caution. I was hoping my injury wasn't going to come back but knew that there was a chance it might. I noticed that a lot of the people out there were not running a "smart" race... early on, they were completely out of breath, running the inclines. I was doing a better job taking it easy on the up-hills and watching my heart rate and making sure I kept a good conservative pace.
So, my stamina was good but eventually my legs failed me. My IT band on my right side started acting up so I favored my left leg more, which caused the IT band to act up on that side as well. Plus, I was taking advantage of the elevation changes by walking the up-hills and running the down-hills (good for stamina, bad for legs) but the down-hills were hurting my IT bands.
Before I hit Aid Station #4, I knew something was wrong... but I was hoping that I could stretch my way out of it. So, at Aid Station #4 I did some stretching but deep down knew I was in trouble. It was 5.9 miles (the longest, loneliness stretch of the entire race) until the next aid station... man, that 5.9 was killer... I had to walk most of it, and it took FOREVER! This stretch is where people passed me and I feel behind. It was at this point that I thought that it was almost certain that I might not finish the race. I was disappointed. I thought about the 33-mile pin that I got at the start of the race that I wouldn't be able to pin onto my keychain lanyard. I also thought that I wasn't going to make the 10-hour race cutoff time limit. Oh, and I went to stretch at a couple points and at one point the stretching really made things worse.
But somewhere in those 5.9 miles, probably toward the latter half of it, I noticed that the walking wasn't really hurting my IT bands. And then I noticed after a long time that my legs were feeling better with the walking. I felt that once I got off the 5.9 trail and into the dirt road that was after Aid Station #5 that I could possibly try out some running even. I just knew that the dirt road was going to be easier for me than the trail.
Anyways, I just barely made the 12:45pm cutoff at Aid Station #5 (I had forgotten about this but someone mentioned it to me there). Then, the LAST RUNNER IN THE RACE came in right after me as I was about to leave. I didn't want to be the last person who finished the race, but I mentally prepared myself for it. I ended up walking, and then running a little and eventually caught up to 2 people. I passed them and extended my lead through some running at times. Then later, I was passed by that last runner, a 55-year old woman.
Man, I loved that long, wide, non-traily, dirt road in between Aid Station #5 and #7. But then, after #7... it was time to go back onto the trail. Also, as I was leaving the last aid station, a group of friends (a guy and 2 girls) who were in last place... were just getting to the aid station (I had been looking back ever since I passed them on that dirt path after Aid Station #5).
But yeah-- now it was time to go back to the trail. This was when the race got "scary"... it was as if it was some freaky horror movie and I was being chased through the woods or something haha. I kept looking back and running at points along the trail that I could run on. The running felt alright on my legs... I was happy about that. But I wanted to keep extending my lead cuz I didn't want to be last.
Alright, so overall throughout the race, the course was really marked well... except for one point. This came after Aid Station #7 on my "scary" run. Don't know how to describe it, but the markers weren't clear and it looked like I was supposed to go down to this one area but then I didn't know where to go next cuz I was off course. I seriously spent maybe 10 minutes or so looking around and feeling the hurt in my legs. I heard the group of friends (2 girls and a guy) who were in last place come up. I blew my whistle but that didn't help. Then when they got closer I yelled out to them and they put me back on course.
So yeah-- good news: I was back on course. Bad news: the lead that I had built up by running along the trail was now gone. It was all for nothing. And even WORSE news: the group of friends passed me as we met up. It was so demoralizing being not only the last runner on the course, but also the last runner on the course that didn't deserve to be the last runner.
Anyways, I was walking kinda slow by myself as they built up their lead. But then, the friends stopped cuz one of them needed to change a leg bandage. I walked passed them on the trail and did some angry, determined, and SCARY walking. I then started running at certain points along the trail, looking back.
This time when I did it though, I ran at almost every opportunity that I could, thinking that there was no way they could possibly catch up to me (since they were walking the whole thing, or so it seemed). I eventually made it down to lower elevation and then caught up to that "last runner" who had passed me earlier. She was like "no no no" and started running again (but remember... I had all the energy and stamina in the world cuz I had been walking most of the race). So I quickly passed her and she jokingly (or not jokingly) said "I hate you!" I told her that she wasn't the last person in the race (I had asked the aid station workers about her and they said that she had finished last in 2008 and was proud of herself for not being last and passing me).
Anyways, there was still probably a 1.5 miles to go. I kept running-- Iwas running scared again... even though I knew I probably wasn't going to finish last (although there was still a chance, you never really know), the competitive juices kicked in even more because I didn't want to be passed again by that 55-year old woman. I'm sorry to say this, but I wanted to extend the lead and make her think there was absolutely no way to catch up to me, because that would demoralize her and she wouldn't run as fast. Yes, I am an asshole, haha. But it helped... I ran, and I got to the finish line and finished about 4 minutes ahead of her. Then, the last place people came in about 12 minutes after me.
Anyways, it was a great experience and good test for me. I replaced the "26.2" pin from my first marathon on my keychain lanyard to the "33" one that I got on Sunday. Maybe someday it'll say "50"-- who knows? I want to get healed up quickly and run that race again injury-free. If so I hope to get a time under the 7 hour mark (or maybe even just barely under the 6 hour mark). That would be awesome.
There was also a 15-miler going on at the same time. They started their race a half hour after us...
=>15-mile race...
-130 runners (out of the 141 who signed up) started
-11 runners signed up but did not start
-128 runners completed the course + 2 did not finish (2 female)
-59 male runners + 71 female runners = 130 total runners
-8 runners who were 18-29 males signed up--> 2 didn't show = 6 completed the 15-miler
http://www.holcombvalleytrailruns.com
=)
Thursday, June 11, 2009
LA MARATHON RACE STATS
I should probably post my results from the LA Marathon (marathon #2 for me!). I didn't break my PR, but it's all good-- it was good to "experiment" and see what worked and what didn't. The next marathon (Long Beach) will hopefully be faster and more pleasant...
LA MARATHON
Mon, May 25th, 2009
14228 finishers (9024 male, 5204 female)
MY STATS...
Bib #: 11157
Division: Men 25-29
Age: 26
Chip Time: 4:15:21
Clock Time: 4:16:15
Overall: 2330 out of 14228
Sex Place: 1955 out of 9024
Division Place: 275 out of 1017
Age Grade: 48.9%
Pace: 9:44.5 min/mile
MY SPLITS...
Split10K: 54:57
Half-way Point: 1:55:35
Split 30K: 2:48:27
Also, I should mention that my running idol, Dean Karnazes was running in the marathon as well. I didn't expect him to run a time so close to mine. I wonder if he was injured or something.
Anyways, here are Karno's stats...
KARNO'S STATS...
Dean Karnazes (Ross, CA)
Bib #: 15306
Division: Men 45-49
Age: 46
Chip Time: 4:04:39
Clock Time: 4:12:19
Overall: 1786 out of 14228
Sex Place: 1532 out of 9024
Division Place: 191 out of 901
Age Grade: 55%
Pace: 9:20.0 min/mile
KARNO'S SPLITS...
Split10K: 55:45
Half-way Point: 1:58:55
Split 30K: 2:57:33
Wow, so I just realized that he must have passed me at some point in the race. I didn't think he'd start way in the back but he did. Interesting. My running idol passed me at some point and I didn't even know it haha.
---Andrew =)
P.S.: stay tuned for another one of these cuz I have a 33-miler this Sunday... hopefully I can complete the race and do it without any injuries. ::knock on wood::
LA MARATHON
Mon, May 25th, 2009
14228 finishers (9024 male, 5204 female)
MY STATS...
Bib #: 11157
Division: Men 25-29
Age: 26
Chip Time: 4:15:21
Clock Time: 4:16:15
Overall: 2330 out of 14228
Sex Place: 1955 out of 9024
Division Place: 275 out of 1017
Age Grade: 48.9%
Pace: 9:44.5 min/mile
MY SPLITS...
Split10K: 54:57
Half-way Point: 1:55:35
Split 30K: 2:48:27
Also, I should mention that my running idol, Dean Karnazes was running in the marathon as well. I didn't expect him to run a time so close to mine. I wonder if he was injured or something.
Anyways, here are Karno's stats...
KARNO'S STATS...
Dean Karnazes (Ross, CA)
Bib #: 15306
Division: Men 45-49
Age: 46
Chip Time: 4:04:39
Clock Time: 4:12:19
Overall: 1786 out of 14228
Sex Place: 1532 out of 9024
Division Place: 191 out of 901
Age Grade: 55%
Pace: 9:20.0 min/mile
KARNO'S SPLITS...
Split10K: 55:45
Half-way Point: 1:58:55
Split 30K: 2:57:33
Wow, so I just realized that he must have passed me at some point in the race. I didn't think he'd start way in the back but he did. Interesting. My running idol passed me at some point and I didn't even know it haha.
---Andrew =)
P.S.: stay tuned for another one of these cuz I have a 33-miler this Sunday... hopefully I can complete the race and do it without any injuries. ::knock on wood::
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