Trail Running Blog

2013 LA Chinatown Firecracker 10K Race Report

This is the 3^rd year in a row running this race, but the most fun by far. Ironically, it was my worse performance but the fact that I got to run it with my entire family definitely made up for it. Results: 46:03 (7:24 min/mile), 12/162 AG, 88/2382 Overall. For days after the race, I thought I beat all of my brother’s friends at the 10K. But the very moment I told my coworker I beat everyone, I decided to check one friend’s official time and realized he had beaten me by a mere 6 seconds! I’m sure the next time I see him in person, he’ll be gloating about his win. Aside from the 2^nd place finish, my time was pretty good for a very hilly course and lack of training. This was also the first year my two little sisters ran the 5K (the last time they raced was back in high school). The cherry on top was definitely having my 2.5 year old nephew running the 1K kiddie run after we all ran our respective races. Hopefully, we’ll continue to make this an annual thing. Read the rest of this entry »

Cardiff Kook 10K Run Race Report

The 2^nd annual Cardiff Kook 10K took place on Super Bowl Sunday, which was a great way to justify all of the junk food that was going to be eaten later on that evening. As usual, I had not run very much prior to this race (twice in the past 2 weeks). To make things worse, I went snowboarding at Big Bear all day just two days before this race and was still super sore from that. The day before, I went for an easy 3 mile shakeout run with my sister to try and loosen up my legs. I’m sure it didn’t matter, but after we came home from our run, my 2-year-old nephew said he wanted to go running too! So we put our running shoes back on and jogged together to the end of the block, which he loved. I was able to get my brother and sisters to sign up for this 5K and 10K in 3 weeks and they also had a 1K kiddie run which I signed my nephew up for. It’s going to be such a fun day, I can’t wait for it!

Going back to this race, I was very surprised with the results: 6.20 miles, 45:45 (7:23 min/mile), 12/37 AG, 80/712 overall. The course was very straightforward: 3 miles south along the coast, make a U-turn back to the start. It was pretty scenic if you made the effort to look at the ocean on either side, but boring course if you ask me. There were a lot of people dressed up in costume, which was pretty fun to see. The website didn’t specify the course elevation and the only way I learned about it was from another runner who was talking about it right before we started. The first half went downhill and the 2^nd half was more uphill. I suppose my splits reflected that since miles 1-3 were significantly faster than miles 4-6. I couldn’t really tell when I was running uphill during the race, which meant the incline was very gradual (and according to the elevation profile pretty long!). My goal was to shoot for ~7:30 min/mile the first few miles and see how I felt the rest of the race. But like the rest of my poorly run races, I started off too fast (even saw myself in the 6 min/mile pace for a while). When a runner passed me, I didn’t really make the effort to try and run with them. But there were a few runners that I did run with during the first half of the race that I was able to eventually pass in the 2^nd half (unless they just slowed more than me..) Read the rest of this entry »

Hot Buttered Run 10K Race Report

Finally got a chance to write up the race report for the Hot Buttered Run 10K (December 16, 2012). I’m usually pretty punctual when it comes to race reports, but I was waiting for the official results as well as race photos before I sat down and wrote the post. Then Christmas and New Year’s came and went, so I had other things to worry about. I actually wasn’t even supposed to run this race; my coworker got hurt and asked me to run in her place. Like all of my other races the past year or so, I hadn’t really trained for this race and only ran about 4 miles the week of. But the results were still better than I had expected: 46:39, 6.38 mi (7:19 min/mile); 4/37 AG, 27/660 overall. This was a much smaller race than I’ve ran before, which explains the decent placing at the end. But I could have placed even higher, but a few of us made an extra loop at the beginning, which was a physical and mental setback. Read the rest of this entry »

Light the Night 5K

The Light the Night 5K was the 3^rd race in 3 weeks and was actually the hardest of the 3 races that I ran. Initially, I thought I’d do really well since it was a night race. Results: 21:21 (6:52 min/mile), 19/71 AG, overall 76/1353. The time and placing isn’t bad, per se, I just didn’t feel good throughout the entire race and almost puked at the very end. But it was definitely all my fault. I had a late lunch (Thai noodles, around 4PM, race at 7PM) and I didn’t have much water prior to the race. I actually like running at night, when I used to train after work, I would always run a lot faster than when I ran before work. I’m pretty sure it was because my body was not fully awake in the morning, so it took a while to really get into the run. For night runs, on the other hand, I’ve been awake all day; I’ve had food and may even have stored up energy/stress to release.

Like the color run, the Light the Night 5K was for a good cause (SD Crime Stoppers). It was a night time run, which I’ve never done before and they handed out glow sticks to wear during the race! It was the weekend before Halloween too, so quite a few people dressed up on costumes. In terms of pace, I started off way too fast which really hurt me the rest of the way: 6:36, 7:05, 7:01. I had a little bit of energy left at the end and was hoping to finish strong, but my late lunch was felt like it was coming back out and I was doing my best just to hold it in.

Color Vibe 2012

I think this is one of the first ‘fun’ runs that I’ve ever done and I have to say, it did live up to its name. My cousin had run one of these before and she really enjoyed it. The race is pretty straight forward: you wear white colored clothes (that you don’t mind getting dirty) and you pass through color stations where volunteers throw colored powder on you. And that’s it! It wasn’t even timed, so we didn’t have to worry about pacing either. It really is just a way to get people together for a good cause (Alzheimer’s Association) and have fun walking or jogging for 3.1 miles.

The Color Vibe took place near my brother’s house, so I decided to crash at his place the night before so I didn’t have to worry about driving too far on race morning. Even better was that my brother decided to join in the race with me. I was kept my phone in a ziplock back and was able to take some action shots of my brother and the volunteers throwing the powder on us! Read the rest of this entry »

New York Rock n Roll 10K Race Report

Whenever I tell people I ran a race in New York, their first response is always “oh you ran the New York City Marathon?!” unfortunately, no. And since I’m late with this report, I can actually say that everyone who had planned to run it in 2012 will have the same answer (too soon?). It’s quite unfortunate what has happened in New York with Hurricane Sandy. Outside of all of that destruction and death it has already caused, I really doubt many people in New York are in the mood to run (if it’s even possible in their area…) I am definitely lucky to have made this trip just a few weeks before all of this madness took place. When I came home, I had actually said to myself that it would be my last trip to New York (had already gone 3 years in a row), but I’m optimistic that the city will get rebuilt and be even better than before!

Now back to the non-NYC marathon: the Rock n Roll New York 10K. Obviously, it’s another Rock n Roll race, one of a few that I’ve ran this year. Results: 43:23 (6:59 min/mile), 26/314 AG, 116/4187 Overall.  I was initially supposed to run the RnR half in Chicago, but just didn’t have time so I pushed it out and did NY instead. I got there 2 days before to pick up my bib and do some initial touristy stuff, but nothing too tiring that would drain energy for the race on Saturday.
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2012 Scripps Ranch 10K Race Report

This race report should be pretty brief. This was my 4^th year in a row running this race, I’m hoping to continue with that tradition for many years to come. It’s a well-organized, local race that helps support local organizations within the community. Although I had a trend of running faster than previous years (2011, 2010, 2009), this one was actually the slowest out of the 4. I’m not surprised though considering how little I’ve been running lately. I did a 3.8 mile ‘race’ with my friend last week and I actually beat my pace from that run, which was nice. Official results: 43:27, 6.29 miles (6:54 min/mile), 17/71 AG, 202/1732. It would have been nice to move up 2 places for top 15/200 respectively, oh well. I was very happy with my splits too: 7:13, 7:17, 7:12, 7:07, 6:52, 6:19, 1:27. It always amazes me when I do run consistent splits and how much better I feel during the race, and especially at the end. Read the rest of this entry »

2012 San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon Race Report

Well, I’ve completed my quota of one marathon per year, see you all next time! The main reason I decided to run this race was that my coworker said he was going to sign up for this race. Initially, I had planned to just run the half, but when I found out he was going to do the full, I couldn’t let him one up me. I was also hoping that if we both signed up, we could do a few long runs together, which never happened. And to make things worse, he actually changed his mind a few weeks before and only ran the half! But he’s planning to run the SF half in July, so hopefully he’ll have more time to prepare. Here are my official results: 4:07:19 (9:26 min/mile), 209/554 AG, 1986/7087 Overall. The time includes my porta-potty break at mile 5-6, a 30-second walk just before mile 16 and spending way too much time at the water stations (to drink more and to walk/recover). It’s the slowest of my 3 marathons, but (I’m tired of saying this over and over again) considering my lack of training, it’s better than I expected. Read the rest of this entry »

Foxy Run Trail Half Marathon Race Report

The Foxy Run Trail Half Marathon is a race I ran last year, but under a different name: the Painted Rocks Half Marathon. When I read about this race, I either forgot or wasn’t aware that I had already ran it in the past. I still recall that race being pretty tough considering it was an out and back and the fact that it was a trail race at a half marathon distance. But I survived this year’s and just a little bit slower than before: 1:48:03 (13.06 mi, 8:16 min/mile, 6/21 AG, 94/310 Overall). According to the website, the course was supposed to be 13.30 miles, but I believe I heard the race director say that they actually shortened it this year and changed up the course? Even though I did run a shorter distance than expected, it was still longer than needed because the runners ahead of me ended up taking a wrong turn, and of course I followed. More on that and a few other details later. Read the rest of this entry »

Hollywood Half Marathon Race Report

The Hollywood Half Marathon was my 5^th half marathon for the year and third (I believe) inaugural race. I actually wasn’t going to run this race but my cousin, who I ran with on his first full marathon, wanted to run this half. The course was pretty straightforward, basically an out and back with a pretty tough final two miles uphill. Results: 1:40:54, 13.16 mi (7:40 min/mile), 1^st 5K: 22:38, 2^nd 5K: 23:25, last 6.9K: 54:39. Placing: AG: 49/319, 247/6103 overall. I think I ran once the week of the race so I should be pretty happy about the results. And those last 2 miles were one of the toughest finishes to a race in quite some time. Read the rest of this entry »