Wednesday, March 12, 2014

LA Marathon 2014 - A Brutal Finish


On March 9, 2014 we started with a great group of 40 runners.  Some were our core group who have persisted with the training from the beginning, there were a few who couldn't do the full schedule, but were brave enough to come out on race day to join us for this great start. We were also missing a few who couldn't make it to the start due to unfortunate injuries which kept them from starting.

The start was under amazingly dramatic fire red clouds which really help keep us somewhat cool for the first 8 miles, but then as we got to Hollywood, the cover burned off, and we were faced with a very hot, and unrelenting difficult marathon.  Most of the group did drop back, some walking more to deal with the heat, but a small group continued on and finished on target, coming in around 6:33, to average out with a 15:02 mile/minute average pace.

Here are some of their stories.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Bodacious BBQ Indeed

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We had at least 50 or more folks drop on by our RW5 annual BBQ, and it turned out to be a nice sunny day. As expected, what a great selection of food, desserts, and great company this party turned out to be.  We had a good number of alumni and friends drop by too which made for a great gathering.
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I did my usual ribs, chicken, sausage and spicy shrimp, and have to say...everything turned out great.  And having done this a few times, it wasn't that tough to pull off. People brought a great mix of side dishes and spectacular desserts. What I really liked about being able to do this was just how everyone can just hang out. The strangest thing was to recognize everyone with their hair down and regular clothes on.

Sandy did her usual gift gathering, and presented all the PLs with cards signed by the folks and a very generous cash donation which is always very much appreciated.

The best thing about being a part of RW5 was just to see how so many different people can come together and share something so rare as running a marathon. As someone said...once RW5.....always RW5.

thanks to everyone,

Walt

Walt's Marathon story 2012

This season, a few things were different than previous seasons.  Some of the changes I wasn't so sure about, and what was great was that our coach Rod Dixon was always supportive of whatever I had to suggest.  This was the first season in the 10 which I've been associated with the Roadrunners that we only did one 20 miler in the training.

There were other small details which also made me a bit concerned with the schedule, and I think my only significant change was that I got the okay to go 18 miles when the others were only going 16 on that one workout. I felt that our RW5 group needed to build up the confidence of working just a bit harder and being able to go the distance.  In any case, however the details came out...I have to admit, I felt great during this year's marathon and I believe we had one of the largest core groups at the finish, and that includes all those who came in within 20 min. of the front group.

The entire prep and getting to the start was all very comfortable this year...I knew the weather was a nasty variable, but I truly believed that it was going to be just fine, regardless. I was able to sleep well on Thur, and Fri. and I found this very hip hoodie sweatshirt for $5.99 at my local Goodwill store, which I regret having to toss at the start.
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Cheryl, my wife dropped me off at the Stadium with no drama or hassle around 5:10am and already a good group of RW5 were already gathered.  I was able to use the bathroom a few times, had a good poop, and I was set to go.
I know a few folks were a bit stressed, Sandy had some problems getting there, but true to form she finds us and gets into the corral with us at the start.
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All my apprehensions of starting or not starting the group within the front corrals were unfounded as we had a very orderly lineup and admission into the start area.  When the race started and they started blasting Randy Newman's I Love LA...the anthem to all the marathons I've ever ran in LA...I knew I was going to get choked up...it was as great as it could be and I knew the weather at that point was not going to be an issue.

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The early miles just seem to fly by as we kept our 2x2 lines going, and I knew with both Peggy and Jamie at the front, I didn't have to worry too much. I know we blasted out on the start and after about the second mile, I reminded them to just back off just a bit.  I felt the entire group was pumping from that strong start and all the downhills into Chinatown.

Given that we were doing 14:10 miles up to about then, when we came to the 1st St. hill up to the Disney Hall, I felt we could easily afford the time to walk the entire hill, and that's what we did. I scooted ahead because I know folks who were part of that Taiko drumming group who always have that location, and I did see a familiar face. I just love those rhythms of Taiko and was glad to hear and see a few more groups throughout the course.  In fact I really liked most of the music groups which seemed to line the course every 2 miles or so.  Sometimes it was just a local radio station blasting their playlist, and even though I never run with headsets, it was great to hear a driving tune, especially live when we're on the course.

We had a grouping of hills in those first 7 miles, and we did a few 1/1s to just get us over them, and each time I looked back, the group just all looked so solid.  It was a great feeling to be within this circle of folks and I felt like we were this moving tide and just sweeping through the course picking up a few stragglers, and it was a feeling of strength and unity....it just felt great to be a part of it.
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Around mile 8, got a great boost to see my family and my sister and her husband...and I knew the plans we made were going to work out just fine.  We had made some goodie bags for around mile 15, and then they were going to check back around mile 22.  Plus I knew we were also going to see Jay, one of our longtime veteran runners around 16, so we were well covered.  Jay had popped out of the rain last year and gave a very helpful supply of pretzels during one of the big downpours when we were going through Beverly Hills, and he was a great sight to see this year too.
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I remember Jamie saying something about Mr. Bill, and I'm looking around for some claymation doll on a billboard or something, and then I realize he was talking about our Mr. Bill.  And there he was, now a celebrated RW4 PL, former member of RW5, and I know he's been out with a bad knee, but there he was chipper as usual walking along making funny talk, just enjoying life...that's our Mr. Bill.
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After the half way point, I switched the front PLs and had Mary, Nancy, and Alice take the lead, just in time to help lead a few downhill waves. I never know what other folks think when they see a large group doing the wave while running a marathon, but it sure helps lift the spirits.  The odd thing this year was that there were no mile markers like they normally do. In the past years they had these very large blowup arches over the entire street to designate every mile, but I'm sure due to the major storm the day before, they could not afford to chance having these big markers blown down all over the course.  So maybe that's why we seemed to be really chewing up those miles early on. 

I do have to say when we got to the westside though, things really seem more stretched out.  Because I had such strong PLs calling out the intervals and keeping the pace, I was trying to keep a check on the folks in the group and try to even give a pat on the shoulder now and then.  This included all the folks who seem to join in.  There were these two guys who came up to me and hung in for the better part of the run, and said they were looking for me, and I said how do you know me, and they told me they had joined us last year, and finished with us.  And so it was this year, at some point I realized there was this older Korean lady running by my side all the way to the finish.  She was huffing and puffing, but she did great.

I always try to think when would be the best time to do my "There will come a day" routine, and I always figure if we still have a group around 18, that would be the time, and so somewhere around Century City, I went into my usual thing, and I know it's a bit silly, but the truth is that I really need it for myself, to keep me going too.  I remember after last year's version, I kinda wiped myself out, and hit the wall right after it.  So this year with the better weather situation, I actually felt better after launching into my diatribe. 

As some of you may know, I stole this idea from the final speech given by Aragon before the Gates of Mordor....their circumstances were a bit more dire...but I still love each time when I get to do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KBQOcw6G9A

I also know when we hit this mileage zone...everything around 20 miles or so, the system starts getting very taxed. This is when we hit the wall, this is when we start losing our focus and it's also when we hit the VA hills.  I remember going back and finding Patricia going through a tough spot, and with Jamie by her side, I wasn't too worried, but I just told her that she was going to come through it, and in about another 8 minutes or so, she seemed to be back to her normal chippy self.  I know I hit a patch and for some reason I got lost in thinking about my oldest sister who had passed away quite a few years ago, and within that, I found a little more strength to push myself past these tough miles.  Marathons are not easy...but they sure deal up a heaping serving of deep revelations and takes us to those places where seldom if ever we go.  That's also why I always look forward to the experience.

I was so glad when we cleared the VA hospital area, and I finally got to see the San Vicente sign.  I knew we weren't home yet, but I knew we were really finally getting closer.  One more crucial visit from my Sis and Wayne, and that's when the headwinds were howling.  I took to calling out the intervals, and I knew that crazy heartbreak hill grade getting up the 26th street was going to be killer, so I went back to the 1/1s.  As expected, this just seem to take forever, and the only mileage sign post was the one for mile 25 and that was looming way off in the distance.  One of the RunLA kids asked if that was the finish line....and I said no way....got to see the ocean first.
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And so with really sore feet, tired legs and thankfully a clear head we dove down San Vicente, and as we were heading down, John, husband of Kristie came up to us...like he always does when we are training...not a bit fatigued, even though I know he finished way ahead, and was coming back up the course.... told us not to worry, when we make the turn onto Ocean, it'll be a strong tailwind.  And that's what happened, it was still blustery, and amazing white caps all over the ocean as we started our final stretch home. 

At some point I thanked all those who were running with us, and told them if they wanted they could finish ahead, but I wanted to keep our pace through the finish.  At some point, I decided we had one last run to the finish and with that we ran our last interval to the finish line.  I remember feeling this always is the best part and how great it was to be done.  When we crossed the line, I got the folks together and did one last war chant...one more Kick ass circle, and Rod Dixon came over to congratulate us.  It was great that he was still there. 

The medals were exceptional this year, really nicely designed and with a good heft.  I waited for about another 30 min. and saw the majority of our group coming in, and sorry I couldn't stay a bit longer, but I was fading fast, and those winds were just brutal.  My sis and Wayne were just four blocks away waiting for me, and boy that was so great of them.  I got into the car, put on extra layers and pretty much passed out for the ride home.

Just want to say great thanks to all of you who dared to dream and do the unthinkable, and to let me be a part of your journey, really want to thank Peggy, Jamie, Nancy, Alice and even Mary...for all those mean things I said to you and those comments about your intelligence....I know you know I say those things because I care....really....well...at least most of the time. 

Anyway...big full congrats, and whether you ever do this craziness again...this was a great one to remember for a long time, and be ever so proud and show off your medals to everyone you can...because just by being out there, we have inspired so many others to just do something special...to dare to make our lives that much better.

Please come to the BBQ on Sat, and wear those medals....we earned it the hard way.

Walt

Monday, March 12, 2012

Great Last Run

This Sat, we had our last run of the season, and it turned out to be a great day.  We took our time and waited till all the groups left and we had the road to ourselves.  There were plenty of picture taking opportunities, and it felt more busy than the last day of school and everyone wants to get a shot, or sign your yearbook. 

It was great to see folks we haven't seen for a while, and we took our time getting to California street which is the official finish line for the Marathon.  We also continued the tradition of letting a variety of folks be the head PL if just for a few moments.  It was amazing how many just took off and we had to reel them in....leading 40 runners is not as easy as it appears.
Here is a link to a few shots I took, and I'm trying out this site to see if it works okay.  To download your shot, just select it from the left, then when you mouse over the large version on the right, a menu pops up, choose the last icon..."Save Picture" to download.
If other folks have good group shots, email it to me and I can forward it to the group.

http://rw5-roadrunners.smugmug.com/Groups/RW5-Last-Run/21891432_WWv74q ;

Click on the upper right to watch the slide show, and I clicked on "fast" on the upper left to see them all.

If problems, just email me.

A few of us showed up at El Cholo afterwards, and I think our table went through three full pitchers of margaritas before we called it a morning.

I'll be sending more info emails later, but wanted to get these pictures out first.

Walt

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Catching Up


Ok....now I know I'm a bit tired lately, but I just realized, even though I wrote this email a few days ago, I think I fell asleep on the couch and never sent it off.  I had wanted to recap our last run at Dodger Stadium, and it was a great run, but now I'm kind of in between my weekend summary, and my coming up email.

So....regardless, we had 24 runners last weekend, and it was a great day for  a hill run..started cool, and didn't get too warm since we had quite a bit of cool shade at times.  We did a full 3 laps...coming in just at 10 miles, and even though I was trying to back off on the last two laps, we still came in with a pretty good sub 15min/mile avg. pace given all the hill work.  This was meant to be our last hard workout, and I think we delivered on that goal.  Some of the other groups slacked off after only two laps, but RW5 went the distance.

This feels great, because now we can taper off a bit and take it easy up to the race day.  I would still recommend that you do some running during the week, but this is mainly for maintenance, keeping everything loose, and to keep the momentum, but the heavy work is done.  This coming Sat, the suggested run is only 6 miles to California....but I kind of like the tradition of running to the Totem Pole one last time....just for good luck's sake.  So I would suggest we all get there early as usual, 6:45 at the flagpoles, try to leave by 7am, and let's get to the Totem pole and we'll take a bunch of group pictures, so bring your cameras.

Afterwards is when you'll get your wristband, and this will be our last meeting before the Marathon...so please be there.

As far as this whole corral business, I'm going to talk it over with the coaches, and we'll come to some decision.  The question raised was whether we would join all the rest of the Roadrunners in the front corrals, or we just do our own thing and line up with the general populace in the back corral.  Either way, we'll all run the marathon like we've trained and it's just a detail about the start point.

After this Saturday's run, the other tradition is that all the Roadrunners meet for brunch at El Cholo restaurant in Santa Monica.  We pretty much take over the entire upstairs floor and it's slightly informal, but we generally try and grab a few big tables and sit together as a RW5 group.  Everyone pays for themselves, but it's a group gathering.  The don't really serve a traditional breakfast, and so it's a pretty large meal, with entres going for about $11-$15. I've attached their menu.  It's all very good food and we might even see a pitcher of margarita or two.  They don't open till 11am, but we like to get there early to grab some tables for our group.  El Cholo -
1025 Wilshire Boulevard  Santa Monica, CA 90401  - Wilshire around 10th Street.  They offer valet parking, and if you're lucky you might find street parking in the neighborhood.  Just be aware of the permit parking signs...fairly strict about that.

I just got an email from the Marathon confirming my registration..but I found it in my spam folder.  You will need your bib number, and if you didn't get this email, you can still find it on the marathon website. http://www.active.com/uploads_search.cfm?UPM_ID=3673&CHECKSSO=0  ; Be sure you write down your number and when you go to the Expo at Dodger Stadium on Friday or Sat. you will enter the big tent and all the tables will be layed out in numerical order.  Find your number range, and by showing your ID, and the number, they will give you your race bib.  Take 4 safety pins, and then go to another table to get your goodie bag and T-shirt.

It's best not to spend too much time at the Expo, since you want to stay off your feet if necessary.  The other big rule is don't go trying every free sample of supplements and power drinks, because you don't know how your system will react to it.  Go ahead and take the free samples, but save it for after the Marathon.  Last year the big thing was coconut water....some people had reactions to it, and it wasn't the kind you want during a race...especially with the long portapottie lines.

I will try and keep giving tips as we get close, but the cardinal rule is never try or do something new that you've never done before on race day.  The other one is you can never be too early.  Everything that might go wrong probably will that morning.  There have been horrible traffic delays on the freeways in the past, so the more time you allow the better.  My final one is that you've done the best you can, and the big relief is there is no more you can do, so just show up and enjoy the run.  The total time, the target avg. pace, these are not what make the marathon, it's just about you getting out there and putting out the effort, going the distance....that's all that matters.

We have gone this far, we've put in all this effort, we've all change our lives a bit by this endeavor, and the best part is yet to come.  I can't guarantee that each of us will have some life changing epiphany during the run, or that you will reach some level of realization or a deeper understanding of yourself, it could happen, but that's not why we run this.  We will go out there and perform to our best capabilities because we all had some kind of goal, some reason to try, and it may not have been very clear why we did this in the first place, but that does not matter much at this point. I think the real real purpose now is to just finish what we have started.  There is no turning back, we will do what we have started, and we will all do just fine.....this is the RW5 way.  We owe it to ourselves.....we deserve this.


see you all there,

Walt

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Solid 14

Top of San Vicente

We had 24 runners this past Sat, and we had a pretty good run.  The weather was near perfect, a bit of overcast in the morning, warmed up a bit as we got to the top, and it kept on the cool side all the way back.....now if we could get that kind of day for the marathon, it would be perfect.

We went for a total of 14.3 miles, kept a solid 15 min/mile pace and were done in about 3.5 hours. We went all the way to the top of San Vicente, and did the left loop at Bundy, and came on back.  The big news is that the next time we come back up to San Vicente will be in about 3 weeks, and it'll be a completely different story, we'll own the street, and no more stoplights to get in our way. 

Next time we'll have the entire street

It's getting that close, and we can sense the time is getting near, there is no reason to get too worried, all we can do is the best we can, and let it go at that.  Life happens, and all we can do is keep our eyes open and take in as much as we can, we can learn a lot by letting things happen. And maybe we can even get a bit more if we dive right in and embrace as much of it as we can.  This marathon thing kinda grows on you....and the more you treat it like a good old friend, don't fight it or resist it...just have some nice quiet time with it, the better it gets. We'll all be heading in the same direction, going with the flow is a good thing, and some may end up flowing a bit quicker, and some will be taking a bit more time....but not to worry, we'll all be savoring it at our own pace.

We got just a few more workouts to do, keep at it, don't over do it, but try to maintain what you've built up till now.  We got Dodger stadium next week, followed by a short run the following week, taking it easy, so that we're well rested, and then we get to finally do what we've been training for all these months.
This is the payback, our just desserts for all this hard work.  The marathon is our celebration, so enjoy it with that in mind.

I can hardly wait.....

Walt

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Great Finish

This Sat. we completed our tough 20 miler.  35 runners joined in, and we ran 20.1 miles, took us 5:08, and the average pace was 15:20.  We get these numbers from several Garmin watches which are what our PLs wear, plus other folks also have them.  Generally, we don't stop the watches when we are waiting at stop lights or when we pause at the water stations, so the average pace is calculated on the total time it takes us to complete the distance.  If you figured we spent at least 8 min. waiting for all the long traffic lights and the water stations, then we clearly were right on pace with our 15min/mile pace goal..ie. 4 miles/hr. x 5 hr. = 20 miles.


But more importantly than the time and pace was the strong finish everyone had in completing the 20 miler.  I know a few folks dropped back, but they still finished. And a few other folks dropped back....hitting the "wall" and eventually caught back up.



 
I'm sure a bunch of us are feeling it today, I for one have a very sore and tender left heel...not sure why I'm having this problem now, since I've never had it before, but I think it's time to replace my orthotics.  I did replace my shoes, and if you are having any foot issues, and you're still on the same pair as when we started in September...it might be time for a new pair. The good news is that my leg and knees are feeling just fine.





The morning started pretty weird in that it was very wet and drizzy when I left my house, and had to use my windshield wipers on the freeway heading out.  I totally did not anticipate rain for the 20, and was starting to get a bit worried, not that we couldn't run in the rain, but that it might have discouraged others not to show up.
The clouds didn't look too bad, and by the time we got going, they were starting to break up.  As it turned out, it was a great day to run the 20, and we finished under clear skies, and the air temps stayed just cool enough.


The route was not bad in that we basically did a short loop south to just get warmed up, then went north to the top of San Vicente, did the golf course loop, and did another loop back to Bundy and back, and then it was just heading all the way back from there.  There was enough mix of hills, flats, dirt paths, grass, and nice neighborhoods to provide for distractions, and I would say the group hung together pretty well.


Mary goes all in for the full ice treatment

I believe that our past workouts, especially the hill training at Dodger last week did prepare us well for this long run.  The question came up during the run about how does only going 20 miles get us ready for completing a full 26.2.  Good question....different theories abound in the training for a marathon, and there are a plethora of ways people train, the Leggers actually run a full 26 before the marathon, but the Roadrunners have never done that. The basic idea is that if you train and build up your aerobic endurance...working on all these long runs, add in some strength with the faster and hill runs...then you will have what it takes.



Vivian cooling it

This 20 miler showed how much we had, given that we only ran 10 miles last week, and it's been weeks since we ran that 18 miler in the rain, but it's a cumulative effect. And so it will be with the marathon...all these weeks, months of training, working out, and whether we did all the work or not....we are as prepared as we are, and a large percentage of it is a belief and faith that we can do this. It's a combination of good workouts, backing off and recovering, and then just going out and doing what's necessary. And so it will be with the marathon....we will be ready.



Christi and Janet sharing the ice

Keep up with the good work...we're coming into the final stretch,

Walt