Healthy thoughts

I just briefly mentioned on previous post another reason to dislike New York: the large amount of people smoking over you. Probably this is just an impression resultant of so many people crowding Manhattan, but the fact is I am not as exposed to cigarette smoking here in LA. Even worse: for the whole 26.2 miles of the New York City Marathon I had at least ten times smokers throwing their air pollutants over the runners; approximately at mile 25 there was a guy smoking cigars at the race course! Maybe I am being too sharp, but that came to me as a disrespect to all runners, not to mention public health.

Talking about health, the day before New York City Marathon I had a trauma to my right shin caused by my luggage, and that created a very painful shin splint, felt only after the race, until two days ago. For the first five days after the race I could not walk properly, and only now I have stretched enough and recovered my balance. A wonderful realization was to learn that exercise accelerated my recovery, through spinning and treadmill training, avoiding excessive load on the legs. It is always nice to see that my body takes better care of itself than I do.

Mental health was another issue this week. The concerns of being injured, together with pain at every step lasting more than three days threatened my sanity. My plans on running Pasadena Marathon this weekend were put aside, even because the race was sold out while I waited to register after my recovery was evident. The urge to sit and plan my next year schedule has started to cause me nightmares, and this probably will make me busy next weekend. Only the idea of a new sprint triathlon in two weeks (the Turkey Tri) and Vineman Ironman 70.3 on next July can make me forget my current frustrations and push me forward.

Talking about happiness, the current streak of victories of the Trojans and the NY Giants have an important role, but what fills my soul and blows my mind is Brian Melekian and his journey to Ironman Arizona. To read the posts on his blog is always inspiring, even though his numbers show me I still have a lot of work to do. Now he just launched his online coaching website. It is an honor to know he reads my blog. For all these next days and during the race on November 23rd you can bet all my good thoughts and strong energy will be with him.

Feeling well again comes together with the joys of the Holidays, and the hope of an even better year. Tomorrow I will participate for the second time in Run for Her, a 5K race to raise awareness and funds to support ovarian cancer research, as part of my sprint triathlon training. I have started again to be able to plan ahead and project goals, and this is my healthiest state of mind.

Next races: Run for Her 5K (11/16/08), Turkey Tri (11/30/08), Surf City USA Marathon (02/01/09), Vineman Ironman 70.3 (07/19/09).

Hero of the week: Lance Armstrong. He is the inevitable hero; well-accomplished, gifted and well-spoken. Above any criticism and all the media, he is able to catch the public attention to important issues and his cause. He managed to be a landmark to whom athletes compare themselves, for better or worse...

Quote of the week: “If you leave the smallest corner of your head vacant for a moment, other people's opinions will rush in from all quarters”

George Bernard Shaw.

New Marathon PR!

After a rushed weekend I have the pleasure to tell I have achieved a new marathon PR: 4:22:15. This and the fact that I ran NYC Marathon for three times probably may turn it into my favorite marathon, but it is still debatable.

I had forgotten how rough New York is, and that was for sure reminded in a three-day-stay. It all started with a crowded train from Newark to NYC, and people kicking your bag and pushing you to the side at Penn Station. At the marathon expo, rushed people trying to conquer space on narrow walkways and expensive merchandise and food were additional slaps on the face of a tired jet lag sufferer. At the hotel, twenty minutes of waiting at the front desk, staff people screaming at the corridors and windows facing brick walls.

Do not get me wrong: New York has its own charm; the abundance of convenience stores and Starbucks on almost every corner, the exotic foods from all over the world, the Central Park, and the lights of Times Square. But to appreciate all of that requires to overlook ugly people on dark clothes, avoid hundreds of smokers on the sidewalks and forget people stepping on your neck to run the blocks.

Getting to the Expo on Friday, left Saturday for rest, and we took opportunity to watch Run for your life, a documentary about New York City Marathon and its greatest architect, Fred Lebow. It was a very inspiring movie, perfect for few tears and fueling for the race. The pasta dinner was another perfect New York postcard, with a long line, rushed people and crowded tables, but the best was to eat and leave early.

For about a week I was dreaming with the race, but the two nights before the marathon I was so tired I slept deeply straight. Buses took us to Staten Island for the start and then the real marathon began. The morning was cold and windy, about 38 degrees Fahrenheit, with people squeezing together under tents for about four hours and a half, wearing plastic bags and trying to relax. Unnecessary to say that Port-a-potties ran out of paper.

The NYC Marathon will always be a wonderful spectacle because of the crowds of spectators and its course. The weather was warmer from the start, and the organization in corrals made possible to run your own pace in middle of a sea of runners. Once again my compression socks helped my stride, and the right combination of gels, energy bar, Gatorade and water made possible my journey without hitting the wall. I crossed the half point at 2:05:10, but started to slow my pace. About mile 18 I thought I would just be able to break my NYC Marathon PR (4:28:13), and stopped looking at my watch. When I crossed mile 25 at 4:12 it gave me new life, and finished strong summing up a pace of exact 10 min/mile, achieving a new Marathon PR.

Of course, New York still had to give its message: it took me an hour just to get out of Central Park, and when I got to the hotel I barely had time to take a shower before being expelled from the room by the manager in order to get future guests. After I met my wife, who also ran the marathon, it took from us twenty minutes and a walk for four blocks until we could get a taxi cab to JFK Airport to come back home.

Today I have just passed the usual tiredness and post-marathon depression, still treating a very painful shin splint. Inspired by my recent achievement, I have registered for Vineman Ironman 70.3, in July 19th, 2009. Now things are getting faster and more exciting. Just when I started thinking I was becoming too old for new records...

Talking about achievements, Dean Karnazes has finished the Sahara Race in second place. His feats always give me inspiration and strength.

Next races: Turkey Tri (11/30/08), Vineman Ironman 70.3 (07/19/09).

Hero of the week: My wife. She is my strength and my comfort. Without her I would never have the confidence and the boldness to face all these challenges. She is the one who allows me to throw myself in uncountable hours of training and racing, and hears all my complaints about hunger, soreness and race results. Without proper training, she went ahead and ran her second NYC Marathon with me, not able to enjoy New York the way she likes, going on shopping and dinning. And even after all of that, she had to take the flight back to LA without a shower, due to the hotel problems and the departure time.

Quote of the week: "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." Michelangelo

In the heat

From the top of my sore thighs I happily announce a new PR for 10K established yesterday at LA Cancer Challenge. As I previously wrote, this is one of my favorite races in LA, because of the crowd, the food, the course and the crowd. That together with the need for a tune-up for NYC marathon and reassurance about my physical condition made up the right conditions for a good race. Gun time was 49:17, Chip time was 48:49, with an average pace of 7:53, overall place of 141/735 and age group 20/48. Finally better than my usual middle of the pack place.

I am also happy to announce that the compression socks really seem to help. My running form is really better, they were perfect for the temperature of 56F in the morning, and made my recovery faster. I recommend to all runners to give a try: SLS3 compression socks.

Greetings to the Trojans, for another brilliant victory, now at week 9, 17-10 over Arizona.

Congratulations to the Giants, for their victory 21-14 over the Pittsburgh Steelers on week 8.

This week Dean Karnazes is running the Sahara Desert Race, and you can follow his adventure on his blog. So far, he finished the first stage yesterday in fourth, and today has finished the second stage in third. Here I bring some pictures he showed in his blog.

Now I started packing for New York, keeping the heat of this last weekend to warm my feet for my next East Coast adventure.

Next races: ING New York Marathon (11/02/08).

Hero of the week: Dean Karnazes, the Ultramarathon Man, who is running the in Sahara Desert this weekend, following his schedule of running four deserts in 2008 (Atacama, Gobi, Sahara and Antarctica), besides Badwater.

Quote of the week: "If you can't run, then walk. And if you can't walk, then crawl. Do what you have to do. Just keep moving forward and never, ever give up." Dean Karnazes.

Stretching the season

It is October, and concerns about cold weather, Holiday breaks and 2009 racing calendar are up. Fall Marathon season is on for the runners at heart. Of course we all will try to squeeze as much as possible from 2008, before cooling down.

After my running lesson at Long Beach, all my focus is on New York City Marathon (http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/home/index.ph). As a tune-up race, for the second time I will participate in the 10K LA Cancer Challenge Run this next Sunday.(http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=264394). It is a very well-organized event raising funds for pancreatic cancer research, with a beautiful crowd, nice course and delicious pumpkin pancakes as post-race meal.

This is going to be my third consecutive NYC Marathon, thanks to guaranteed entry obtained while I was living in NY. After this, I will have to be lucky enough to qualify or win a place in the lottery. In 2006 it was my second marathon ever, and I finished in 4:28:13; in 2007 I hit the wall hard and finished in 4:36:44. The main challenge is survive the hours in the cold weather waiting for the start. Luckily, it did not rain or snow on both years. And that way I hope I can at least finish better than 2007.

It will be nice to see NYC once again, and feel the crowd and the cold. This is going to be a moment of real contemplation and inspiration about the blessing of living in California, with all the space, warmth and mountains at sight.

As usual, I am already looking for the next marathon, and it seems it will come sooner than expected: the first ever Pasadena Marathon, near home, in two weeks. The appeal of taking part of the first event, two weeks after NYC, is irresistible. It will really depend on finishing NYC in a non-humiliating time and without injuries.

It is also time to plan for 2009, and I am checking the Ironman website on a daily basis to decide what is the most realistic schedule.

It is really a matter of stretching as much as I can: the muscles and tendons, to ensure proper recovery and prevent injuries; the calendar, to avoid boredom; and the challenges, to guarantee my smiles and well-being.

I need to finish 2008 well in order to start a good 2009.

Next races: LA Cancer Challenge (10/26/08), ING New York Marathon (11/02/08).

Hero of the week: Dean Karnazes, the Ultramarathon Man, who is running the in Sahara Desert this weekend, following his schedule of running four deserts in 2008 (Atacama, Gobi, Sahara and Antarctica), besides Badwater.

Quote of the week: "If you can't run, then walk. And if you can't walk, then crawl. Do what you have to do. Just keep moving forward and never, ever give up." Dean Karnazes.

Long Beach International City Bank Marathon

I really had to run this race. I did not properly train for it, and just have passed my peak at triathlon training, so a marathon out of nowhere surely would be painful, but I have a list of reasons.

reason #1: I had to catch up my marathon running. This was my sixth marathon in 2008, and my goal is to complete at least eight, as last year.

reason #2: I am a member of Marathon Maniacs (http://www.marathonmaniacs.com) marathon running club; that means I am addicted to marathon running, trying to complete as many as I can, hopefully at least one in each state. With this, I have ran sixteen marathons and one ultramarathon. That does not mean I trained for all of them, but I have earned the bragging rights.

reason #3: After running San Francisco Marathon, with completion of Long Beach Marathon and Surf City Marathon I will get an exclusive medal and a jacket for completing the California Dreamin’ RACING SERIES(http://www.caldreaminracing.com/).

reason #4: Long Beach is a beautiful and flat city. I just had to see it again.

reason #5: I needed to shake things up and tune up my training for New York City Marathon, in three weeks.

reason #6: It was my participation in the Phidippidations Worldwide Half Marathon Challenge (http://www.worldwidefestivalofraces.com/cgi-bin/home). For those who do not know, it was a free worldwide event of people running together.

reason #7: I had to test running compression socks.

reason #8: I had to test a better nutrition approach for the marathon.

reason #9: October 11th was my mother's birthday. I had to celebrate this date, specially because she lives abroad and I miss her.

reason #10: As usual, Trojans won again (10/11/08, over Arizona State, 28-0) and I had to party.

reason #11: I had to run a marathon with the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles uniform.

reason #12: I love running marathons.

reason #13: I am addicted to marathon running.

reason #14: I had to face the challenge of running this marathon after intensive sprint triathlon training.

reason #15: It was a beautiful day.

But it does not matter how many reasons, but how you perform, and there comes a list of all mistakes I did:

mistake #1: Proper training: I did not train properly.

mistake #2: Do not increase your weekly mileage more than 10%: I do not even have the math...

mistake #3: Periodization: I ran a marathon right after peak training, and three weeks before an A race.

mistake #4: Proper pacing: I forgot my wristwatch, and they did not have any clocks on race course, so as expected I ran too fast in the first half, and wore myself off.

mistake #5: Nothing new on race day: I tried running compression socks for the first time in that race.

As expected, I did not PR: chip time was 4:47:30. But I was able to prove myself that without training I can finish a marathon in less than five hours.

The day started with mildly cool 66F, but during the race the temperature rose to 76F, with about 5-8 miles directly under the sun. As usual, I started the race with arm warmers and gloves, but warm-up was complete at mile 3.

I ran the first 10K at 9:17 pace, and the half was completed at 9:35 pace. At mile 13 I was passed by the 4:15 hours marathon pace group, and at mile 14 I started to have bilateral calf cramps, being forced to start run-walk pattern. At mile 18 I was passed by the 4:30 hours marathon pace group, and then the challenge was to finish in less than 4:50 hours.

Probably this was my second most painful race, but I was happy to finish in less than five hours, with accomplishment of the socks and nutrition testing. The socks really worked in improving my running form, but I can not tell about speed. My nutrition consisted in using water instead of sports drinks, using gels every three miles; this way I avoided abdominal cramping, but the cramps in my legs could be due to electrolyte deficit. Now it seems it is time for salt capsules.

Mission accomplished, one more medal in the wall, one more race in the journal. I have learned a lot, and now I have to evade the post-race depression planning my training until NYC Marathon.

I really had to run this race.

Next races: LA Cancer Challenge (10/26/08), ING New York Marathon (11/02/08).

Hero of the week: Chrissie Wellington, Ironman champion 2007 and 2008, finished more than ten minutes ahead of her fellow competitors at 9:06:23, even with a flat tire.

Quote of the week: "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Albert Einstein