Race Day - AFC Half Marathon 2009

Got my HALF MARATHON TRIPLE CROWN MEDAL and it looks pretty cool!


Now, as for my AFC half performance. Well, pretty abysmal, as I expected (see previous post):

Overall:	2031 out of 7021 Finishers
Men:	1400 (almost double that of LJHM) out of 3257 finishers
M 25-29:	224 out of560
Finish:	1:58:00 Pace: 9:01
Tag Time:	1:58:00
Gun Time:	1:58:40

Before I go about describing the events that led to the above disaster, add "staying up all night on the night before the race" to the list of wrong-doings I had mentioned in my last blog post :)

Overall, I am not too disappointed, though. Over the last 4 months I went from, feeling confident about a sub 1:45 finish on this race (this confidence was right after LJHM) to all the way down to not being able to run all of it :). I don't really regret all the wrong-doings either, because I've learnt from a few of them... and the others? well.. they were to much fun, to not do :)

I'm too groggy to type out the full race report right now... so, it'll have to wait till I "robot walk" myself to a shower and some food ;-)

am
PS: Just realized that all my bib numbers have the numbers 3 and 4 in them.... will have to make some sense of that, as well.

Mental Run!

The AFC half is this Sunday and it's been a while since I updated anything here. Browsing over past posts almost makes me feel like the training I was doing for the first two halfs this year, was something out of a different life (and although, it didn't seem too disciplined or rigorous at the time, it sure as hell does seem so, now, considering my AFC training!):)

Well, this ones going to be nothing short of interesting. I've done everything wrong this time...

1. Ignored a tender tendon right before the La Jolla Half (Heck, I thought I had hit my foot on a lab bench) and ran the half like I couldn't care less (well, at least I didn't do too bad!).
2. Took a long break and went on vacation, right after the La Jolla Half, with no running and lot of junk food binging.
3. Returned and attempted long runs without a slow build up (worsening an already sore tendon)
4. Had to stay off running to avoid limping while not running... until I figured that changing my running style helped "disguise" the tendon issue... yeap... this lead to experiments with forefoot striking.
5. Experimented with forefoot striking with a bad tendon, except the experiments were anything but that (they were more like through and through 10 milers, while what I was supposed to do was intermittent forefoot runs within the main long run :)
6. Overcompensated for the Tendon and agitated the IT Band in the process (yeah, that arch enemy of mine made a comeback after 2 years).
7. (And, final nail in the coffin) - Went camping the very last weekend before the half (instead of running and checking out the course) and did one 7mi hike on Sat and a 10+ mi (3)peak bagging hike on Sunday... and got rewarded with a nice blister on the right leg (hey, I had to balance out the ITB and Tendon issues on the left leg, right?:P)

So, here we go... there's no way I'm bailing out of the AFC (There's that Triple Crown Resolution I made earlier this year, remember?)... so, yeah... this one's going to be a veeeery interesting race and a test of mental strength just as much as of physical (or maybe more?)

am
PS: Wish I had a half marathon version of the T-shirt that reads "Why couldn't Pheidippides have died at mile 20" :)

Training Tracking - AFC 1/2 '09

As I did for the last two half marathons I ran this year... I will be tracking all my training runs for the America's Finest City Half marathon, to be held on Aug 16th, 09...
The start is slow this time, because, my achilles tendon started to bother me, right before the La Jolla Half Marathon, and still hasn't recovered.

Just for some motivation, these are my total miles in for half marathon training, this year:

Total Miles for Carlsbad Half (including half) : 153
Total Miles for LJHM (including half): 174
Total miles run this year (well technically since, Nov '08): 402

Let's see if I can do better continue to improve that number on the AFC 1/2 training!




DAY | DISTANCE | TIME | PACE
==============================================================
Sat (6/6) ~5.0mi (Time not tracked)
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Thu (6/18) ~2.0mi (time not tracked) (T)
Sat (6/20) ~5.0mi ~50min ~10:00 (T)
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Tue (6/23) ~2.0mi ~17min ~8:30(T)
Sat (6/27) ~7mi ~ 1:05 ~9:15(T)
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Tue (6/30) ~4.0mi ~37min ~9:15(T)
Thu (7/2) ~3.0mi ~27min ~9:00(T)
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Tue (7/7) ~3.5mi ~30min ~8:36(T)
Thu (7/9) ~3.0mi ~25:30 ~8:30 (T)
Sat (7/11) ~10.4 ~85min ~8:10 (T)
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Mon (7/13) ~2mi ~19:00 ~9:00 (T) - Recovery run
Tue (7/14) ~5.5mi ~52min ~9:30 (T)
Thu (7/16) ~3mi ~25min ~8:30 (T) (Jumped over Rattle Snake!)
Sat (7/18) ~10mi ~1:30 ~9:00 (was supposed to be a 11mi run, but I walked the last mile because my IT band started to act up, out of the blue!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some very intermittent running due to ITB issues :(
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AFC HALF!!!!


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Race Day - The La Jolla Half Marathon 2009

OK, First off, this post is way past due (over a month since I ran this race!), and the reasons for that are contrasting - first a work overload and then a vacation overload (went to India for a month). So, anyways, without further ado and, like I did for the Carlsbad Half , here are the results of my LJHM '09 performance:

Overall:	1056 out of 5414 Finishers
Men:	791
M 25-29:	168
Age/Grade:	52.5%
Finish:	1:52:47 Pace: 8:33
Tag Time:	1:52:47
Gun Time:	1:53:13

So, apparently I clocked in exactly the same time as my Carlsbad Half time , a couple months before this (heck, I'll even go so far as to say, I was about 45 seconds slower, this time). And, as much as people keep telling me that La Jolla was a much tougher course than Carlsbad, and even I was expecting to be slower by up to 10mins, compared to Carlsbad, I still would have loved to "make the numbers" :).

As for the race itself, the weather was quite nice on race day, unlike what I was warned by many runners who ran this race in the past (they warned me about dreading the heat that has caused runners to collapse on this course, in the past). The day started out cloudy and in the 65F range, temperature-wise. The sun did come out about half way through the race, but, it didn't affect runners too much.

The course is definitely more challenging than the Carlsbad half (which is flat for the most part). The La Jolla half starts out in the Del Mar Race tracks area. There is a huge parking lot near the start, that is empty at the time of start. I used that to do some quick warm up runs and I think that was a good idea coz it allowed me to start at an 8:30 pace as opposed to the 9-9:30, that I usually do for the couple miles, which in turn, helped me make up time, that I lost later on the hills. You start out by running on Villa De La Valle to the 101 (flat, and then little downhill). You turn left and run along the 101. The course does not go all along the 101, but instead jumps into ocean blvd. close to the ocean (this was something my running buddies always did on training runs, so I was totally at home). The little surprise came when the course, turned left at 4th St and climbed back up to the 101, instead of continuing downhill on coast blvd and joining the 101 later, when it is easy. Anyways, after joining the 101, we pretty much continued down to the entrance of the Torrey Pines State Park, for the biggest ascent of the race. I grabbed my first drink here (around mile 5) and headed up the hill. As I was climbing I could see some folks that had passed me earlier slow-down/ stop. I also met a woman who was cheering on anyone that she felt was tiring or giving up. I joined her in the encouragement for a while, and found out that she was running the La Jolla Half for the first time as well. There was a strategically placed water station at the top (mile 7), where I got my second drink and some gel to get re-energized after the climb. The remaining part of the route, before you exit the Torrey Pines state park, is a very slight, but long and steady, incline. Once you get out of the park and turn R on to N Torrey Pines Rd, the route is mostly flat, with some small rolling hills (max change 50ft). When you turn onto Torrey Pines again and continue, you are feeling a little upbeat because you passed the 8mi marker and you know that the downhill isn't too far off. A fairly flat mile gets you to the downhill, that leads you to La Jolla Shores (and no matter how much of a hurry you are in, you can't help admire the beauty of the views from here). And this slope was where I realized how bad my downhill running was (basically, I was being passed by more people than any other time of the race) (Note to self: Gotta work on downhill running). Once you get off the hill, it is basically a straight flat 2 miles till you get to the La Jolla Shores parking lot. This is where I hit upon the second surprise - for some reason, the route turns into the parking lot and runs along the beach (yep, the concrete walk-way, by the sand) - although that wasn't anything to be worried about. It was great to see some of my running buddies (that were not running this race) standing there to cheer those of us, running it - AMAZING MORALE BOOST!. The last (and most dreaded) surpise came at mile 12. Where you hit this small hill that brings you back up to Torrey Pines. Now, ordinarily this hill is no big deal at all, but after running 12 miles of the La Jolla Half course, it just gets magnified - and no matter how much past runners tell you to dread this, nothing describes, actually experiencing it. The final mile winds into Prospect St (the downhill can be a pain after all the climbing and running), for a beautiful finish by the cove!

One thing to note about the La Jolla Half is that it is a relatively "low-key" event (unlike, what many people are used to associating "La Jolla" with, which is "grandiose"). For some reason, the event organizers don't seem to want to spend a lot on either the expo or the race itself. Not sure if this is because of the lack of enthusiasm on their part or the fact that they are trying to save as much as they can for donation to causes (I sure hope the latter). Overall, I didn't have anything to complain about, though!

Looking forward to the final Half in the SD Triple crown (the AFC HALF) this august!

Training Tracking - LJHM '09

Alright. So, I finally, "formally" registered to run the 2009 La Jolla Half Marathon (LJHM).
As I did for my first half marathon (the carlsbad half), I plan to track all my training run data for this one as well. The only difference, instead of creating new posts, every time I update the data (which is typically at the end of every week). I will just keep one blog post and keep updating it and bumping up the date, to keep bringing it back up.

As for the Training Plan, I am going to try to change things up a little. I will still be running 3 times a week(+weekend) (I might run a "warm-up" mile on other days, but significant miles will be only 3 times a week), but each run will be "special".
What do I mean by that? Well...

1. The weekend run will be long and I will not drop below 8milers (preferably stay 10mi and above) and definitely not restart from 4-5mi runs like I did the first time around.

2. Since all the weekend runs will be extra long, the Tue run will have to be a sort-of recovery run (I say "sort-of", because, I am hoping my body should be conditioned to not be as hammered after a 10mi run as I used to be in the past). For that reason, the Tue run will be a trail run (easier on the legs) and will range from 2-6miles, depending on how badly hammered the legs are.

3. Thurdays run will alternate(one Thu this, one Thu that) between hill training (to conquer that big torrey pines hill) and Interval Training or Fartleks.

For #1: The routes will vary, since I run with a running group on the weekends.
For #2: http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ca/san-diego/900805585783
For #3: For hill training: http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ca/san-diego/197949449764; for fartleks: Either UCSD tracks or treadmill.

Alright, so, here we go, again!

DAY | DISTANCE | TIME | PACE
==============================================================
Tue (2/3) ~6.0mi ~51mins ~8:30 (Accurate)
Sat (2/7) ~10mi ~1:32 ~ 9:12 (Accurate, Did first 5mi in 44min and next 5 in 48)
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Wed (2/11) ~1mi
Thu (2/12) ~3.0mi ~24mins ~8:00 (Fartleks on the Treadmill)
Sat (2/14) ~10mi ~1:30 ~ 9:00 (Accurate, Did first 5mi in 44min and next 5 in 46)
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Skimped out on the running this week, but I did do a couple miles here and there and did a nice hike on the weekend
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Tue (2/24) ~6mi ~47min ~7:48 (Accurate)
Sat (2/28) ~9mi ~1:25 ~9:30 (First 7.5mi, before TP hill, at 8:30 pace)
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Tue (3/3) ~5.8mi ~47min ~8:10 (Accurate)
Thu (3/5) ~4mi ~33 ~8:15 (Treadmill)
No weekend run... slacked off coz I was out of town
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Tue (3/10) ~5.8mi ~47min ~8:10 (Accurate)
Thu (3/12 ~5.5mi ~40min ~7:30 (Speed Training at Lake Miramar, not accurate)
Sat (3/14) ~8mi ~1:08 ~8:30 (first 5mi in 45mi, next 3 in 22min)
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Tue (3/17) ~6mi ~51min ~8:30 (T)
Thu (3/19) slacked off (legs weren't feeling the best :( )
Sat (3/21) ~11.3mi ~95min ~8:30 (one of the hardest, but most scenic route runs, to date http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ca/-san-diego/516123783491630305)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tue (3/24) ~4mi ~33min ~8:15 (T)
Thu (3/26) slacked off
Sat (3/28) ~10mi ~84min ~8:30 (two rounds of Lake Miramar!) (T)
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Tue (3/31) ~5.5mi ~52min ~9:30 (T)
Thu (4/2) ~3mi ~24min ~8:00 (T)
Sat (4/4) ~11mi ~1:42 ~9:15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tue (4/7) ~5mi ~41min ~8:10 (T)
Thu (4/9) ~5mi ~43min ~8:36 (T)
Sat (4/11) ~12mi ~1:48 ~9:00 (T)

==============================================================

Tue (4/15) ~5mi (Did not track time) (T)
Sat (4/18) ~9mi (Did not track time) (T)

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Minimal running this week (Achilles Tendon Issues)
Sun (4/26) - La Jolla Half Marathon!! - Good luck to me!

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==============================================================


Total Miles for LJHM (including Half Marathon): 174 (75mi on T)
Total Miles for Carlsbad Half (including half) : 153
Total for year : 402

Does Success Retard Itself?

First off, let's get the IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT, aside. I just made good (or at least started to make good) on my last new year's resolution for this year. Yep, the new blog is up and Running - here , so, watch for some exciting stuff there in the coming weeks and months (and don't forget to help me keep myself honest, by posting comments :)

OK, now let's get back to the topic at hand. Why the touch of philosophy on what is seeming like a perfectly logical and analytical blog by an Engineer on things like running and how to improve performance as an athlete? Well, it has to do with one (or both) of the following:

1. An unfortunate side effect of being stuck to the OUTLIERS for about 2 weeks (and before you say "whoa, what a slow reader!", keep in mind, my time gets multiplexed between a lot of things like running, blogging, hiking, ubuntuing, sleeping... and oh, let's not forget, "bit-flipping", that pays for the others!).

2. This video that showed up on CNN a few weeks ago, from a Obama Townhall in Florida, to sell his stimulus package (which, by now, is a law)



The first time I saw that video, I was without doubt amused and amazed. Amused because, I think that had to be one of the gutsiest moves I have seen in a while and amazed because it is not everyday that you get to see a lowly McDonalds worker getting a chance to speak to the most powerful man on the planet (or one of them, at least), 1-on-1. Now, I may not be much of an economist, but, something about that video tells me this country might be heading back in the right direction.

Anyways, getting back to the topic, as much as the video amused and amazed me, it wasn't what got me thinking about "success in life". What did was probably some combination of the aftereffects of that video on Julio's life and all the "reading" I've been doing.

To understand what I am saying, you might want to take a look at some of the latest news coverage on Julio and another similar case of a distressed common American by the name of "Henrietta Hughes". As this article descibes, "... Hughes broke down in front of thousands when she told the president that she and her son have been homeless for more than a year and living in a pickup truck. Obama hugged her after she asked her question and said his staff would help...".

Well, I'll save you the effort and summarize it for you - As it turns out, Mr. Julio now got approached my multiple radio stations, right after his little stunt, for broadcast gigs and a local minor league baseball team has offered Osegueda a job as an announcer for the Class A Fort Myers Miracle, the Twins' affiliate in the Florida State League. Not bad for going from working at Macky D's to landing a broadcaster job, within a matter of days, huh? As for Ms. Hughes, apparently, she was was later offered a home by Chene Thompson, wife of Florida State Representative Nick Thompson, who heard the homeless woman’s pleas. Isn't that amazing? Both super inspiring stories and not to mention, it almost seems like Obama is delivering on his message of change without even trying too hard! Great!

But wait, that's not what this post is about!

Time to regroup... alright... so, the reason for all that build up was to try and put you in the frame of mind I had when I decided to write this post. What all this reading and watching and thinking has got me wondering is... does getting more successful in life make you progressively less likely to attain success?!

Before you say "WHAAA.... ??!!!", let me elaborate...

Let's say you are in a position, similar to one of the folks above (and I for one came kinda close to that, when I landed in a country with a currency rate 40 times that of my home country, to go to Gradschool :-), would you do anything you possibly can to get yourself out of it? For most people, I think the answer is going to be a "HELL YEAH". And, it sounds about right, doesn't it? The amount of fear you experience in life is usually inversely proportional to the amount you have to "loose" (meaning, if you have nothing to loose, you aren't afraid of anything, not even death itself!). Let's say you walked into work tomorrow, and found out that you no longer have your job, would that affect the tone you use when you speak to your boss? Would it relax it at least a tad?

I guess the point I am trying to make (or question I am trying to ask) is... do we start being more and more "fearful" as we start to achieve the initial goals we set for ourselves, thereby limiting the number of new goals we set for ourselves (read, take fewer and fewer risks) and achieve even fewer of those and so on,goes the vicious cycle... catch my drift, here?

And now, to finish up, I will attempt to tie in the "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT" I made at the start of this blog post, into all this discussion!
Am I trying to beat or fight the tendency I just described above, by starting that blog and setting myself up for failure? :)

There, got it out of the system... just in time to hit the sack!

Resolutions Complete with "JUST DO IT!"

Alright. A few days of thinking and pondering and I think I'm ready to complete that resolution list I started earlier . The thing left to complete was a mentally challenging goal (III.C of my previous post) - and after much pondering, I think I may have found the perfect challenge.

My last goal involves things that keep popping into my head from time - Ideas!. Yes, for some reason I seem to have ideas for things to do, pop into my head, at random times during the week. Whether it is during a presentation at work , or while working out at the gym or while driving past a gas station , or just surfing the web or, well... Blogging itself

So what I am proposing? I am proposing, that I resolve to take action on some of those ideas! Well, isn't that what the intention was in the past? Maybe, but then there was no accountability. So, to fix that, I am going to start a new blog (yep, yet another!) that I will use to keep track of anything new I learn or any Idea I think I can work on. Now, I agree not all the ideas I come up with are ideas I can actually put to work. And that is not just because some of them are impractical, but simply because some constraints of time, money etc prevent me from going "all out" and pushing forth on an idea. But there are always going to be things, that come up in my mind, that I really want to do, but, I just sleep on them long enough until they eventually fade away. Well, enough of that. From now on I resolve to actually figure out how to do the thing, no matter how hard it is or how long it takes. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a business idea, it can be something as simple as finding the fastest way to change my bicycle tube or repair or something more complicated like installing a new Linux Distro or even more challenging as creating a facebook application.

So there we go, my mentally challenging goal is to blog about any "do-it-yourself" activity I engage in, as and when I do!

To begin with, one of the things I've been wanting to do for a while, is to "organize" my blog posts according to "tags" and create a list of those tags on the side bar. For example, everything I wrote, that has to do with Running must show up under the heading "Running" and so on...
If I manage to get through that goal this weekend, I will attempt to install the latest version of Ubuntu on my Vista laptop, in dual boot fashion and load and up important applications. And if there's anything interesting worth sharing, that'll be on m new blog!

As for the name... I figured out that part too.... JUST DO IT!

PS: Oh, I also think Señor Reddy's idea (learn a new language, see comments to last post) is pretty cool and I think I'll keep that on my list and try and get through as much spanish learning I can do, this year!