Posted on Apr 18, 2011 under Race |
I have completed trail races between 5K and 15K before and now I can add half marathon to the list. To be more precise, the Painted Rocks trail half marathon was actually like 13.62 miles (more than the 13.3 the website stated). Initially, I had hoped to run anywhere between 1:30 and 1:35, which like always is aggressive, but I assumed if I could endure the LA Marathon, this shouldn’t be too bad. Not quite: 1:46:28. Placed well though: 5/33 AG, 18/212 overall. I was told that the course was not that tough, so I wasn’t too worried about it the week leading up to the race. I also messed things up for myself by starting a little too fast, which made it for a tough 13+ mile run. Overall, it was a nice, scenic course, which hopefully will help improve on whatever I decide to run next. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Apr 07, 2011 under Race |
I’ve said this before, but I don’t usually post race photos for a couple of reasons. 1. it seems repetitive to show pictures of you running in a race (unless you can get in front of a scenic/notable background) 2. I usually look like I’m going to die..literally & figuratively (I’m all business: no smiles, thumbs ups, peace signs etc.)
But since LA was so ridiculous (found another post with videos) and I got some nice footage from Carlsbad, I thought I’d post..Enjoy 🙂
Found these hi-res images from an LA Times post. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Apr 03, 2011 under Race |
The Carlsbad 5000 is my follow-up race to the LA Marathon and running a 5K in cool temperatures by the beach is a walk in the park compared to the pouring rain that we had to endure at the marathon. So there was very little pressure (if any) coming into the race (although I did spend the whole night tossing and turning for some reason..) Results: 19:08 (6:04, 6:17, 6:15, :30); AG: 38/645; OA: 114/1242. It’s not that much off of last year’s PR performance (18:58). But even better is the way I was able to hold back at the beginning to make sure I wasn’t burnt out toward the end of the race. Compare last year’s splits: 5:47, 6:13, 6:29, :27. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Mar 22, 2011 under Race |
I wanted to run this race last year, mainly because it was the 25th anniversary, but I had just started running half marathons, so I knew I wouldn’t have been prepared to run it. This year was really no different, but I had run my first marathon back in June, so I knew I was capable of running 26.2 miles. My cousin, who never competed in any race before, decided to run it and asked me to join him, so I felt I needed to support him. I’ll get into details about training, the actual race and logistics, but first, overall results: 3:40:43, AG: 213/1,419; 1,455/23,417 overall. This is about an 8-minute improvement over my last (first) marathon, which is amazing considering my training/race conditions. I’m super thankful about the results as well as the support during and after the race. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Feb 14, 2011 under Race |
It’s actually been a while (almost 3 months!) since I ran a race/wrote a race report. And it’s been even longer since I’ve run a smart race and paced myself properly. Sunday was the LA Chinatown Firecracker 10K, a race that I decided to run on Saturday, September 4, 2010. Why do I remember that exact date? Well, my brother had just bought a house and was throwing a house warming party for some friends and family. While I was waiting for my brother to heat up a hot dog, one of his friends came over and we all start to talk. Apparently, a few of my brother’s friends started running and actually ran a few marathons already, which was pretty impressive (I had barely run my first one 3 months ago!). Anyways, we were talking about upcoming races and they mentioned the Firecracker 10K, one that they have been running for a few years now. So they told me I should run it too and then we started talking about who would beat each other. I left that party stuffed with food, but also determined to compete come race day. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Jan 30, 2011 under Random |
I’ve been pretty AWOL on the blog lately, something I’m not too proud of. I took about a week off after my last half marathon in mid-November and then Thanksgiving came around and I ran a local turkey trot, which went OK (just not race report-worthy). But things went downhill after that. Holidays were coming, so I stopped running everyday because I wanted to make sure I got all my work done before taking some time off around Christmas and New Year’s. But because I didn’t run as consistently in December, I actually sold my race bib for my next race: my 2nd marathon at the end of January. I knew I wouldn’t have been prepared to run a full marathon (half, maybe..) January was pretty much the same story. The good news is that I’ve been biking to work at least once or twice a week in addition to my rare runs. And I just got over a cold/flu but finally got in two consecutive runs in a row, which was quite a feat.
As far as races go, I’m still scheduled to run a 10K in the middle of February. I actually signed up for that race because my brother had been running it for the past couple of years and this will be the first time I ever run in the same race as him (we both ran in high school, but he graduated right after I joined and he was always faster than me). There are a bunch of old high school alumni that will be running it, so it’s a pretty big race. It’s sad because when I registered for this race, I was still in pretty good shape so I felt confident I would run well. Now, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to compete, let alone finish!
My cousin also decided to run his first marathon, so we both signed up for the LA Marathon last week. The day we both registered, there was only about 53 days left until race day. That’s definitely pushing it as far as training time goes, but I think I should be able to at least get into semi-marathon condition. My cousin, who has never even raced a 5K before, will be in for some hurtin’, I just hope he finishes it (which is his goal).
Hopefully, I’ll go back to a more consistent running schedule, get back into the blog again and maybe even start following the other blogs I used to read before too. We’ll see what happens!
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Posted on Nov 15, 2010 under Race |
The Silver Strand Half Marathon was my first ever half marathon that I ran last year. After running a few 5Ks and a 10K, I decided to give the half a try. I went the whole nine yards by creating a training program and followed each workout to the letter. However, come race day (mile 7-8 to be exact), I realized I had not built a big enough base and the distance got the best of me, although 1:38:20 isn’t too bad if you ask me. Since then, I’ve ran 4 more half marathons as well as my first full marathon, although the training for those races have been very limited. And because of that last point, I only goal I had for this race was to at least improve over last year, which I did: 1:36:50, 15/83 AG, 111/~5000 Overall. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Oct 25, 2010 under Race |
The last couple of weeks prior to this race have been pretty hectic. I ran with my coworker for her first 20-miler in preparation for her 1st marathon last week (which she successfully completed). Then a bunch of traveling: 1.5 days in Des Moines, IA followed by a week in New York and then another 1.5 days in San Francisco the following week. And as much as I wanted to run while traveling, I have to say it was it was pretty difficult. Last week was a full week of running and biking although considering it was my race week, it may not have even made a difference. That being said, I came into the race wanting to see what I was like to experience an inaugural race. I’m still pleased with the results: 1:35:18, 38/569 AG, 250/9641 Overall. Not too shabby if you ask me. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on Sep 12, 2010 under Race |
Not calling this a report since I don’t see it being that long. This was a local 5K that I decided to run a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t have any races planned for September, so it was a nice break between training. And the race was just a couple of miles away from my place, so I didn’t have to worry about traffic (or parking since I actually biked to the start). Talk about timing: my friend asked if we wanted to hang out Friday night so, since this was a no-pressure race, I didn’t think it was a big deal. I ended up getting only 3.5 hours of sleep, definitely not recommended. I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t even going to wake up in time, but did. The week of the race I actually thought that winning the race would be a possibility. I imagined going head to head down the final stretch with another runner and outkicked them in the end. I even told a coworker about the race and how I thought I might win it. I ended up running a decent ~19:12 and placed ~5th overall, not bad for 3.5 hours of sleep. Like always, it was not paced very well: 6:08, 6:19, 6:27. I was in 2nd for a while at the start, but got passed soon after. I would have felt 10x better if I ran the opposite splits (and may have had more energy at the end too). It’s just when I see people in front of me, I feel like I should be up there with them, even though I know that I will eventually catch up. It will definitely take more time to learn how to do it properly.
Posted on Aug 15, 2010 under Race |
Another weekend, another race. Like I said in a previous post, I have had a race every other weekend since July 4th; I think I’m in need of a break. The good news is that it doesn’t look like I will have any races for the next couple of weeks, which is good. So the America’s Finest City (AFC) Half Marathon is the 3rd race in the Half Marathon Triple Crown. It wasn’t as tough as the La Jolla Half Marathon, but I wasn’t able to beat my PR that I got when I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon either. Here are the results: 1:32:08, 32/425 Age Group, 188/6646 Overall. As I was driving home from this race, I was trying to figure out how I felt about my overall performance. The time is technically my 2nd best half marathon time, it’s just looking at my splits, I felt like I could have gotten a lot closer (or even beaten) my PR, even with the dreaded ‘6th Avenue Hill’ at mile 11.5. This race felt very similar to my first half marathon. I ran it a little too hard at the beginning and ran out of gas toward the last few miles. However this time, it was more like the last 2-3, rather than 5-6, which is a definite improvement. But now that I have had time to reflect (and sleep!), I realize that it was a very solid effort, nothing to be sad about, then again it feels like I say that about all of my races. I heard that this race a couple of years ago was terrible because of the heat. I couldn’t have asked for better race conditions today, you could even say it was perfect racing weather! It was also well organized and I got my ridiculously big Triple Crown medal, really not much to complain about. Read the rest of this entry »
