Blisteringly Fast?

For today's lunchtime run, my coworker and I set out to run 8 miles. Since I have a 10K on Saturday, I do not want to push too hard...a good thing since the sun is hitting hard this afternoon. It is hot!

For some reason, his Garmin is not working, so I am now in charge of monitoring our pace. Our goal (especially mine) is to not go out too fast today, but, as usual, we somehow find ourselves starting with a sub 8 minute per mile pace.

We finish just as strong. In fact, my average over the entire eight miles is 7:58 (including a sub 50 10K). Only problem? I now have blisters on my blisters!

This is definitely my PR for an 8 miler (and for a 10K as well)

An Inspiring 19 Mile Run

I wake up at 5:30am, but once again don't make it out the door before 6:15. That's what I get for sipping coffee and throwing together a new route at the last possible minute.

I have changed today's run fearing another hot day...at the moment there is no marine layer over my home. That said, with the Hills Are Alive 10K next week, I need to spend quality time on the rolling hills of Palos Verdes, so I start by heading uphill and chance spending my first several miles on the peninsula. Thankfully the early morning air is pleasantly cool. I just hope it stays this way.

The first part of my run goes according to plan. Despite tweaking my ankle on Thursday, I feel no pain at all today. My breathing is very controlled. I do not let myself go slower than ten minute miles on the ascent. I let my pace continue to drop as descend towards the coast.

On the hills of the peninsula, I see a lot of cyclists. Closer to and along the coast, I see more runners and walkers. I usually say or reply "good morning" to people I pass, but rarely does a conversation go beyond that. Today, however, as I catch a runner also heading north on Palos Verdes Drive West he unexpectedly asks, "Am I no longer running alone?" If this question is not an invitation to converse, I do not know what is. I reply, "Guess not any more" as I run alongside and match his pace.

This runner is particularly chatty...even more so than my coworker. We learn that we are both running significant mileage today (20 in his case)...and immediately (and correctly) conclude that we are both training for marathons. I tell him I am training for my first. He, on the other hand, has run 47...which includes consecutive Boston Marathons since 1999! When he tells me that he is heading towards Manhattan Beach along the coast, I decide to alter my course to stay with him. I had planned to cut inland to South High School today...but this is so much more interesting (and potentially more valuable).

Did I mention he just celebrated his 70th birthday?

He looks really good for his age. He is running a solid 9 to 10 minute per mile pace, but has already run 13 miles! His form is smooth, almost casual...and he is obviously not pushing his pace because the conversation continues. He even suggests turning up one of the side streets off of Palos Verdes Drive just to get one more hill into our workout. After passing Malaga Cove Plaza and rounding Palos Verdes Blvd, we continue down towards the beach.

I learn a bit about his running history, about how his wife (who also runs marathons) got him running again, how his competitive juices really started flowing after he finished towards the back of the pack, and how he now often finishes first in his age group. I learn that he prefers point-to-point races over loops and out-and-backs especially because he hates watching runners try to cut the course (and apparently people even try to cheat at Boston Marathon qualifying races...which makes absolutely no sense to him). He no longer does the Palos Verdes Marathon because the route has been part of his normal training routine for years. His stories about the Boston Marathon really gets me excited about it...reinforcing that it should be one of my goals (Maui Marathon is a Boston Marathon qualifier).

I finally introduce myself. He introduces himself as "Sus". When we reach the Esplanade, Sus tells me he normally heads down to the strand for his home stretch. I tell him I prefer the asphalt, which he totally understands. I thank him for making this four mile stretch unexpectedly fun. Sus says that we will see each other again. I do not doubt it...and I certainly hope so.

Feeling totally inspired, I resume my originally planned 19 mile run (albeit in the reverse direction). I turn right at Torrance Blvd, continue inland as far as Anza, cut south towards Calle Mayor and eventually South High School. I run 800m on the dirt track (something I swore I would never do after high school), take a short break, and then head up the hill towards my mom's house (where I refill my water bottle). After another short break, I resume my uphill run towards home.

I am able to run all but the final incline...but since I am well aware I can complete the entire workout within three hours (significantly faster than my previous and much flatter 19 mile run to Manhattan Beach), I walk as fast and as briefly as possible.

Shortly after I get home, I hop on Athlinks and try to learn the full identity of "Sus". Knowing his age and running history make figuring out his full name quite easy. Looking at his results and the number of races he has entered over the past decade, I am even more impressed!

Tweaked

For four weeks in-a-row, my coworker and I have sacrificed our lunch hour to squeeze in nine mile runs. Today, however, we decide to go for ten.

Bad idea. It is hot. Damn hot. Even worse, both of us have not run all week. We go out way too fast. We cannot seem to get a good breathing rhythm going, but the air seems to be affecting me more. On the slight incline through Palisades Park, I drop way behind. My coworker is not in view when I need to stop at the beginning of San Vicente. I have no idea how long he had been waiting when I finally reach him at the five mile mark.

Instead of going for ten, I decide that we are better off turning our ten mile out-and-back into an orbit of Santa Monica. We have not completed this orbit before, but we know the route will take us into Brentwood and I am pretty sure it will still total around nine miles. The only catch with going in this direction is that we do not get the benefit of running back down the hill we just ran up. Ideally, we would have run the orbit counterclockwise.

The road flattens out as we reach Brentwood, but we have to move to the sidewalk as San Vicente's center median seems less runner friendly here. It is then that I catch my right toe on a lifted block of concrete and start to fall forward, just catching myself by flinging my right leg forward, locking my knee and ankle into a rigid structure to catch my fall. In absorbing the momentum, I lose my breath, but manage to stay upright.

Shortly thereafter, the concrete sidewalk turns to dirt under a canopy of trees. While the shade is a pleasant reprieve from the heat, it makes it hard to make out the terrain. My right foot lands awkwardly on a rock embedded within the dirt and rolls inward. It hurts. I come limping to a stop. I stop for a bit to walk off the pain.

My coworker suggests we take a shortcut directly back to the office, but I feel that Bundy is close enough by that we can complete the orbit I originally wanted to do. My ankle, though feeling funky, seems to be holding up even at an increased pace.

We make it back to the office. My pace is off, but still respectable. I just hope I have not screwed up my next few races.

Burma / Portuguese Bend Orbit Take 2

Not entirely satisfied with the route I forged last weekend, I decide to try alter my over-the-top-of-the-hill hoping to take further advantage of trails while adding miles.

I am also a bit more successful getting an early start (more out of fear considering that I started a 5 mile run yesterday at 6:15am...and it was already warm and humid). This morning's marine layer is not nearly as thick, so visibility is not an issue either.

Since I have not run the complete Burma Road bit since spring, my first alteration to the run is to run to its end...which adds a steep hill around mile 5. As I ascend, I notice two marked downhill trails to my right ("Panorama" and "Barn Owl"). Both appear to reach Palos Verdes Drive South, so I will have to choose one on my way back down.

The descent is quick and short. When I again reach Barn Owl Trail, I decide it looks much wider than Panorama Trail...so I branch off of Burma onto it. After a few steps, however, I realize I have made a mistake. It is a lot steeper than it looks. I can barely maintain a solid footing because the dirt and loose gravel is sliding out from under my heels. I lean back and proceed slowly and carefully. When I pass someone coming up the hill, she says "It's a lot harder going up." No doubt. I will never take this trail again! As I descend towards the canyon, Barn Owl has numerous branches, but each appear a lot narrower than the one I am on. I stay the course until I reach the trail head at the bottom...exactly where I expected last week's trail to deposit me on Palos Verdes Drive South.

Continuing my run north, I pass a sign on my left for the tide pools of Abalone Cove. I have been thinking about checking out the coastline here, so I decide to follow the gravel road as it descends towards one of the bluffs. As I reach this particular outcropping, I find an area completely enclosed by fences and warnings (including "nude sunbathing prohibited"). A trail follows the fence along the top of the cliff, so I orbit the area...stopping to take a few more pictures.

The only way down to the water appears to be the gravel road I came in on, so I return to the road and continue down the hill.

At the bottom, I figure I can try running along the coast, but the dry surface here consists of loose rocks...too unstable. I start back up the hill and attempt to take one of the dirt trails branching off of the road hoping that it connects to the neighboring beach. I see wild rabbits. Then I come to a dead-end. I try another trail that goes along the ridge, this one much narrower due to encroaching plants. I run face first into a massive spider web. Not only do I have to pull the sticky stuff off of my face and glasses, I get bug guts all over my white t-shirt. Ewwwww! Have I ever mentioned my fear of spiders? And, to make matters worse, this trail also dead-ends.

This has killed my adventurous spirit for the day. No more detours. I climb back to Palos Verdes Drive South and head home. Or, should I say, mom's home. After nearly 17 miles on these hills, my legs are done.

Dog Eat Dog Run

I know better than to eat a meal thirty minutes before a run, but, having forgotten to bring a gu and not wanting to put off lunch until after 2pm, I decide to do just that...and can feel my meal sloshing around in my gut for the next nine miles.

I have also forgotten my water bottle, which is sitting on my desk (frozen in anticipation of bringing it with me). The sea breeze does little to help me stop thinking about my thirst.

My cellphone armband is still in my laundry hamper, so I am going the distance without tunes...first time I have ever run this far without music. I should not complain because I will not be able to wear headphones during the Maui Marathon. I have nothing to distract me other than conversing with my coworker. Unfortunately, now that he has been running more frequently, he is maintaining sub 8's with ease and starts pulling away on our third mile. Halfway up San Vicente, we get further separated by a long red light.

Excuses aside, I still run this faster than last week's nine miler. The pace is basically the same as our first eight miler from the week before that. Though I can still sprint at the end, I do not feel all that great about it.

Thirty minutes later, my energy drops. My joints (both shoulders and right ankle) ache. And, of course, I have work to do. Fun.

Burma / Portuguese Bend 17 Mile Orbit

Over the past few weeks, I have upped my mileage by extending runs further north along the coast. Sticking to flat terrain has certainly been one less challenge for me to mentally and physically overcome while training for my first marathon, but doing so overlooks the huge benefit of pushing oneself on the hills.

With that in mind, I wake up early hoping to get started before the temperature rises, but I still manage to not leave the house before 8am. On past weekends, temps would already convince me I should head to the beach, but this morning's marine layer seems particularly thick and is keeping things cool and quite moist. I stick with my plan to start today's run by heading up the hill.

Burma Road is the dirt trail I have visited with my wife and friends for a few runs, but this is the first time I have tried running from home to the trail head. Fortunately, the connecting streets have shoulders and/or sidewalks...and, even more surprisingly, Crenshaw Blvd has asphalt sidewalks above Crest Road. I try not to run on concrete, so this is a nice discovery.

While I am happy about my running surface, I cannot say the same about the weather. I have run into the marine layer. I have less than a quarter mile visibility. Much less if you factor in that my glasses are covered with condensation and my eyes are watering. Still, the moisture is keeping me cool.

When I reach the trail head, I know that my next few miles will be downhill. My average pace over the first three miles exceeded 10 minutes per mile, so I really have to avoid the temptation to compensate by running too fast over the descent. Today's goal is not speed, but endurance over hilly terrain. Still, as I head down to the bottom of Burma Road, I naturally hit my stride...and click off two sub-8 miles without even trying.

I usually stick with Burma until it ends in Rolling Hills, but today I am looking for trails that branch away from the main trail hoping to hook up with Palos Verdes Drive South. From looking at Google Maps and a brochure about the Portuguese Bend Nature Preserve, I do have some familiarity with how the trails branch from here, but, until I am actually on the trails, it is hard to know for certain which way to turn. I take the branching trail at the lowest point of Burma Road and cross my fingers I will be able to reach Palos Verdes Drive. Visibility is still too low for me to see the street from here.

I run across a couple of bicyclists on the narrow trail, one rider confirming that I am heading the right direction. The high brush made it impossible to see them until they were upon me, so I am extra cautious as I make my way around every blind corner. My ear catches a spider web. As I pull the sticky stuff from my ear, I cross fingers that it did not also catch a spider. I must also be mindful of ticks and rattlesnakes while I am on the trails. My ankles and chins are getting dirty. Gnats buzz around my legs when I stop to take pictures around what appears to be the end of the trail. I have not yet reached the street, but can see it just over a small hill...and it looks as though I can reach the street by two or three of the trails branching from here. I just pick one and go for it.

The next thing I know, I am standing on Palos Verdes Drive South at Portuguese Bend...a familiar stretch of road that I ran upon during the Palos Verdes Half Marathon. I feel infinitely better here than I did during that race thanks to the presence of the marine layer. And I am well enough below the clouds now that I have good visibility. Since I am wearing trail shoes, I stick to the dirt to the side the road whenever possible and head northwest.

I decide to take a brief photo detour as I reach Abalone Cove Shoreline Park. The view here of the Palos Verdes Peninsula is nice. There's a path down to the beach below, but I will save that for another run in the near future. I have plenty of miles and hills to go...do not need any significant last minute additions.

I pass the turn around point for the PV Half Marathon and continue nortwest along Palos Verdes Drive South. If I had run the full marathon, the next few miles would be familiar, but I have never run along this stretch before. Thankfully, dirt continues along the side of the road...and, as I reach the construction site of Terranea Resort, the sidewalk becomes a nicely maintained running path.

I take another photo detour as I approach Point Vicente Light House, but the electric gate is closed and signs warn that this is Federal Property. I did not realize this site is closed to the public. Oh well.

I pass Hawthorne Blvd and Golden Cove...and am now back on a stretch of Palos Verdes Drive West that I have run on before, albeit on the opposite side of the street. I can still run on dirt here, so I stick with it until sidewalk begins. Fortunately, the dirt running path on the median begins at this point, so I cross over as soon as it is safe to do so. I stick to this path until it ends.

I hit my 13.2 mile split on Via Arriba at just under two hours and four minutes...way better than my PV Half Marathon time, but slower than my previous distance runs on flatter terrain. The reason I am on Via Arriba is that I am hoping to find a trail...one I usually approach from the opposite direction (and been on only once since high school). I really have to look for it because it is tucked between houses. When I do find it, I am not prepared for how steep the initial descent is. It takes a lot of effort to keep myself from tripping and falling. The extra effort has killed my energy and I find I have to push to keep my pace around 10 minutes per mile even as I continue downhill.

The remaining miles are uphill. My legs feel useless. I must walk, but now I cannot even maintain an 20 minute mile. I try to jog when the incline is not as steep, but I cannot do so for long. I decide to take a short break when I reach the Palos Verdes Country Club. This gives me a chance to stretch and recover some strength to pick up the pace for the next mile or two, but not enough to conqure the final steep incline.

With this run, I have completed 48 miles this week. I have a feeling that running every other day is helping me avoid injury as I build up the miles because I definitely have some persistent pains that do not seem to go away, but also do not affect me while I am actually running.

Manhattan Beach Pier 19 Mile Orbit

19.03 to be exact.

Despite getting an even later start than any of my previous *long* runs, this time I run most of the distance...and pretty quickly too. My first 5K split is under 24 minutes, my first 10K split is roughly 50 minutes...both in the ballpark of Thursday's run. My half marathon split is around 1:55...not far off my PR set at the Silver Strand Half Marathon last year. I hit 15 miles at exactly 2:15.

As I reach my mom's house to pick up another water bottle, I start feeling I can finish this entire distance within three hours. Unfortunately, this moment immediately fades as I continue my way up the hill. I struggle to keep my muscles from cramping on the final ascent.

Though I walk for roughly half the uphill distance home, I still manage to keep my overall average pace sub 10.

This run has pushed me past another significant milestone - since getting my Forerunner 205 last September, I have now recorded over 500 miles (502.11miles, 84:15:24.88, avg pace 10:04, 67445 calories...). Crazy!

Lunchtime Dog Run

My crazy ultra running coworker convinces me to skip lunch and go running today. We have an hour-and-a-half to burn, so we figure we can get somewhere between six and eight miles in and still have time to eat. We leave The Water Garden and head west on Colorado towards Santa Monica Pier. As I expect, my coworker is setting a quicker pace than I am accustomed to, but I do not complain. My legs are feeling good, the road is slightly downhill, and I want him to push me.

Our first mile comes just before we reach Santa Monica Place. At this point, we are already running a sub-9 minute per mile pace. I suggest we turn north on Ocean Avenue since the dirt path in Palisades Park provides a soft surface to run upon (not to mention the view is quite nice). Though heading north is slightly uphill, we average sub-8 over the next mile. At the California Incline, I forget to restart my watch after the light...and I do not realize I have done this until we have run another 0.3 miles (thankfully my coworker also wears a Forerunner 205, so he keeps me updated as to our actual distance and time).

At the end of the park, we turn right on to San Vicente and run on the grass median. It is a little soft, so I try to run on patches of exposed dirt when possible. We decide to keep going east until shortly after completing our fourth mile around the intersection of 10th and San Vicente. If I can keep up with my coworker, I should have no problem recording my fastest 10K split.

After a short stretch break, we head back on San Vicente and back down the path on Palisades Park. We record another sub-8 over our fifth mile. Our time after completing six miles? 48:40. I am certain I have reached 10K in my fastest time yet.

We turn east on Santa Monica Blvd and have to navigate through the crowd as we pass the Third Street Promenade. As we continue east, we encounter a lot of red lights...the starting and stopping is almost as annoying as intervals! I start to fall behind my coworker as we pass 10th Street. The heat is starting to get to me. I start thinking about lunch. I wish I brought water with me.

As annoying as they are, the red lights allow me to catch up to my coworker who keeps pulling away, but never so far that he has to skip a light to wait for me. I can see that he is starting to get tired too. That said, we are still running a sub-9 pace.

I get a second wind as we turn down Cloverfield and towards our office. We both finish the run strong. His watch says we did over 8 miles in roughly 1:06. Mine shows 7.75 miles in 1:04:23. Not bad for him, but excellent for me.

Jean-Luc 10K Orbit

The last few times I have taken care of Jean-Luc (mom's cat) while mom is out of town, I have run to her house for his morning feeding. Today, I made the trip there just a little bit faster than usual. If only I could maintain a sub-8 minute mile pace on the way back up the hill, I'd be ready for The Hills Are Alive 10K.

Manhattan Beach Pier Broken Orbit

Once again, I get a later-than-planned start...and, thanks to spending most of yesterday at a 4th of July barbecue, I'm more than fully fueled for a long run, My latest attempt to set a new distance milestone takes me all the way to the Manhattan Beach Pier. I have already run more than nine miles by the time I round the aquarium/cafe at the end of the pier, so, if I can make it home, I am on track to run close to 19.

While in Manhattan Beach, I consider picking up a Jamba Juice to refuel. Figuring I would enjoy a smoothie more when I finish running, I pass on the juice, but, since I have climbed this far into town, I decide to continue up the road to Valley Drive.

Here I find a soft (and, in some places, nicely shaded) dirt running path that parallels the Valley Drive and, if memory serves, descends all the back to the border of Hermosa and Redondo Beach. Unfortunately, I find the trail to be too soft...running upon the surface requires far more energy than I have to give (plus I keep getting wood chips in my shoes).

I do not make it home, but run more than 14.1 miles before my wife picks me up in our SUV. I will have to attempt this again next week.

Note how many miles I have run this week...wow!