#1 Surf City USA Full Marathon (Cool, flat, and ocean/park view)
#2 Surf City USA Half Marathon (Cool, flat, and ocean view)
#3 Rock ‘n’ Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon (Slight downhill w/ downtown finish)
#4 Long Beach Half Marathon (Neat combination of ocean and city skyline view)
#5 Disneyland Half Marathon (Hot and only a little bit of Angel stadium)

This journey of running my 2nd full marathon started back in October. That is when I started my training program. The training didn’t go as planned since my foot hurt for over a month and I also got roto virus. However, all the distractions actually helped me learn how to focus on what I can control. I tried not to focus/worry about just the race results but on the process of training and the satisfaction of improving a little day by day. Even though the early morning runs including the two 20 milers were difficult and tiring and I complained a lot, I did take enjoyment checking off my daily runs on my training schedule.

I got a PR of 4 hrs 17 mins and 4 sec. 4 minutes and 15 seconds faster than my first marathon. I am offically retiring from full marathons. I got under my goal of under 4 hours and 20 minutes and can be satisfied in accomplishing that goal. I have signed up for the L.A. Rock N Roll Half Marathon since my buddy Chris from Atlanta wants to run it. I would like to break by PR of 1 hr, 52 mins, 53 secs; but I have a couple months to be lazy before training starts.

I just ran the Long Beach International City Bank half-marathon and didn’t achieve my goal, but I got a personal record. I beat my last half, the 2008 Surf City USA half by 4 minutes and 33 seconds. 1:57:26 vs 1:52:53 today. I tried to run a 1:50, but could only keep with the pacer for the first 8 miles. I saw him till about 10 miles, but I kept losing ground. I am happy that I went from a 8:57 pace to a 8:37, but it wasn’t that much better considering I ran the Surf City half in the rain. But a PR is a PR.

I was planning on getting to church on time, but it took 45 minutes to get my bag. JetBlue was the bag checker and lots of people said it makes me not want to fly with JetBlue. The Disneyland and Surf City marathon bag check process were better. I felt a little weird going to chuch with sweat pants and a white undershirt, but oh well. Well, it seems like my improvement on half marathons has tapered off a bit. I signed up for the Surf City Full Marathon in 2010. Hopefully I can beat my time of 4:21:56 (9:58 pace).

Today I finished my first full marathon. After doing three half marathons with my last one under two hours, I decided to try a full. Well, I got a personal best. =) That’s a joke because it was my first so of course I set a personal best assuming I finished.

I barely attained my goal of running at a 10 minute pace. 4 hours, 21 minutes and 19 seconds. 4 hours and 22 minutes is 10 minute pace. I didn’t start cramping until mile 18 or 19 (ususally I start at about mile 15) and I didn’t feel light headed until about mile 21 or 22. That was when I was doubting I could finish it in under 10 minute pace. However with God’s grace, I was able to finish it with some blood, sweat and a potty break. And I am not joking about the blood. Ask me about it sometime.

Not too sure if I ever want to run another full marathon again. We’ll see.
Anyway, I just ate a western bacon cheeseburger and I am going to eat a philly cheesesteak soon!

I find it troubling that D has this many pairs of Asics. Granted, the green pair is mine, but is this really necessary? D claims that running is a relatively “cheap” sport, which I guess is true. Still…I don’t really believe he needs a pair every 4-5 months. I recently bought the green Asics because D seemed to be such a believer in them. He really has brand loyalty to Asics, and now I can see why! I think they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. I didn’t even buy the fancy model, either. I figured that wasn’t really necessary since I’m not doing hard core running in them, just the elliptical machine and running errands. 🙂

Last Saturday morning started with a run that I had eagerly awaited. I woke up at 5 a.m. because I knew it was going to be a warm and humid day. This run was different than all my other runs because this was my first run while pushing a jogging stroller. I was worried that k might not enjoy “running” with me, so I was prepared. L woke k up early and got her ready. I then drove to Sunset Beach and started running around 6 a.m. so she would keep cool and not get too much sun. Soon after I started, she fell asleep. While I was running out to Huntington Beach, her hat fell over her face because her head fell forward while she was sleeping. I noticed that the pavement sloped toward the ocean, and I kept having to turn the stroller to the left. At the turn, I took off her hat and put it in the back of the stroller. Halfway through the 2nd half, she woke up, and started looking forward. At the end she was touching her toes and was probably ready to get out of the stroller. We had run 6.2 miles. I learned to switch hands every 30 steps or so, and it worked out pretty well. I have 2 more weeks of hard training. I plan on doing an 8 mile run this Saturday with k. Then I plan on running 13 miles by myself the next week. Then I will taper toward the Disney Half-Marathon.

For the last 4 months, I have been training for my 2nd Half-Marathon which will be held on September 2nd. I plan to run the Disneyland Half-Marathon in Anaheim in 2 Hours and 5 Minutes, which is over 14 minutes faster than I ran it last year. I should be helped by a number of factors. First I hope I will be in the 2nd grouping instead of the 4th grouping which will allow me to run with faster runners, i.e. less people walking in full costume. I will find out soon, but my time from last year should get me there. Second I have lost about 7 pounds since last year’s race. Since I have been running, 15 months ago, I have lost 12 pounds. Thirdly, I plan on stopping (walking for a minute) every other water stop instead of every water stop. There is a stop every 1.5 miles. I have run 4 10.5 mile runs so far compared with 3 10.5 mile runs last year. And I have been stopping every 3 miles or so. Fourthly, I plan on eating a banana or piece of toast w/ jam before my race along with a gel shot instead of just the gel shot. Last year I was jittery due to the caffeine in the gel shot and was hungry. Finally, I will make sure to use the porta-potty 30 minutes before the race instead of 45 mintues before so I am not uncomfortable after drinking a lot of water.

My long training runs are run at a little after 6 a.m. to around 8 a.m. I am surprised at how hot it can get this early in the morning. Even though it is only about 70 degrees at the end on my runs, it slows you down a lot compared with running in 50 degree weather. I am running and biking now, and stopped the swimming, so I can cooncentrate on my lower body. I enjoy running in Huntington Beach with the breeze and the beauty of the beach to look at. Also my running shoes, Asics 2110, are a good fit for me. I read that the Asics 2120 now has Solyte, which is lighter midsole material. I also have new shorts and a shirt, so I will look different in my race. My shorts are shorter in the front, so my legs don’t have to move much material, and my shirt is a little lighter, however it does have wider shoulder straps. But the white color should reflect more sunlight. Stay tuned for more updates.

I ran 4.05 miles in 45 minutes with a 0.5 incline. Now if I do that 3 times in a row, I will be close to running it in 2 hrs and 25 minuts! But I don’t think I will be able to run that 3 times in a row even in 5 months.

I ran 3 miles in 30 minutes (0.5 incline-treadmill) and I was going to run 4 miles in 45 minutes (0.5 incline-treadmill) however my treadmill automatically slowed at about 30 minutes, and then it was on cool down mode and kept slowing me down. I went on after someone and pressed the “quick start” button, but someone before me must have set it for 30 minutes. I am looking forward to upping my training a notch.

I went to RoadRuners’ Parking lot sale. I was looking for size 11 stability shoes and wanted to know if Ascis 2110 or Kayano’s were on sale. They were not, however the sales women told me that these Brooks Adrenaline GTS 5’s were on sale. I got it for $59.99 and then also a Nike Dri-fit shirt for $21.95. These are pretty good deals, however, L doesn’t think so. I told her the Kayano’s were $135, but it doesn’t seem to persuade her. Running is a pretty cheap sport, but L thinks I should get shoes and a shirt for $50! hah 🙂 maybe at Wal-mart.

At the summer BBQ I got good tips from Wintersburg and non-Wintersburg people. I learned that I should run about 4 days a week instead of about 6, which I was planning to do. Further, I should run only one long run a week. I am planning on running about 45 minutes 3 times a week and then 1 long run. First starting at about 1 hour and then moving to about 3 hours by September. Well that is what one guy told me a book told him to do. Further that you should run maybe a mile and then walk for about a minute. This guy, lets call him Bill, said that this author, whose name I believe is Galloway, claims that this is the way to train and run the marathon. I am not good with names, so I decided to call him Galileo. I ran 3.75 miles on the treadmill in 45 minutes. That is a 12 minute mile pace. That is a pretty good pace for me. That was pretty difficult for me, so I know my progress will be a little slower now.

I also learned that I should not do lower body resistance training. At least according to Galileo. However, there is this guy that ran 5 minute miles in college (K.Y.) and he said that he will run 20 out of the each 21 day period. And that he works out too. He said I should work out my core.

I will follow Galileo in terms of less times running. And I will probably have to walk a little bit. Maybe after every 2 or 3 miles. However, I will work out my core. That sound like a good idea, because sometimes my lower back hurts afterwards.