She got passed by a guy pushing a baby stroller, but in the end Val won her age division in the 10K by coming in hot at 45:48. Read the rest of this entry

All we could do is hope for better conditions than the monsoon Val ran in and I stood in for the Turkey Trot race last weekend and fortunately, we got ideal conditions for the 7,300+ runners and spectators at the 3rd Annual City of Angels Half Marathon. The temperature for the 7:30 AM start was about 62F with no wind. This was a point to point race starting at the L.A. Zoo and ended up in downtown L.A., my stomping grounds for part of my work week. Read the rest of this entry

Is it true that turkeys will drown looking at the sky when it rains? I’m not sure, but I almost did! It was more of a slosh than a trot in the 2008 Dana Point Turkey Trot 10K race this morning.

Val and I headed down to Dana Point early this morning under the threat of light rain, but neither of us were prepared for what was to happen shortly after the start of the 10K. The sky opened and dropped a torrent of rain for about 30 minutes. Despite the downpour, the runners seemed to be undeterred as the mens’ finishing times for the top 3 were under 30 minutes.

Val thought should she would finish around 45 minutes and unofficially she came in at around 46 minutes and did not report any real problems. I’m grateful the race wasn’t any longer than a 10K though! As soon as the race was over, we were out of there looking for some warm and dry, coffee and cocoa!

From Val, the drenched runner and MarkFu, the soggy spectator, Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Val Wearing Her Foil Cape

The cooler fall weather came at just the right time for Val as she lined up for her annual Long Beach Half Marathon. It was sunny and perfect running weather for both the runners and the spectators.

Last year, I was on skates and met Val at various spots along the course but this time, picked two choice spots to line up some “shots”.

This above video shows Val as she approaches the six mile marker. The first mile was extremely congested and that slowed her overall time somewhat which officially was 1:42:03.

Waking up to coastal fog in Newport Beach, Val and I headed over to nearby Fashion Island for the annual Race For the Cure event for breast cancer awareness. This is a huge event, attracting 30,000 runners for all races.

This is the first race for Val for the second half of her 2008 fall road racing season and she looked as strong as ever.

The race tracked around Fashion Island Mall in Newport Beach with a smooth, rolling surface. Val finished in 22:51 in a strong finish.

Here is what her start looked like:

Race For the Cure, 5K, road racing, Newport Beach

Having run 5 previous 5K races with cool and overcast conditions, it took a bright and sunny day along with a fast, flat course to power Val to a new 5K PR of 21:15:9 which is 13 seconds faster than her PR set last year, July 4th, in Huntington Beach.

When I saw the men come in hot and fast and then Mary Akor, I knew Val would be on pace for breaking a personal record and she was strong in the finish.

Technorati Tags: Downtown Anaheim 5K, running, 5K, road racing

Val’s 2008 racing season, this being her fifth race, have all been marked by cool, overcast conditions with little or no breeze and that suits her just fine since she “runs hot” anyway. This was another of her sub-7:00 minute/mile races which also keeps her time for this 5K (3.1 mile) distance at under 22:00. She bettered her time here last year by over 30 seconds. Here are some additional pictures of Val in the Corona del Mar 5K event. Keyword:CDM. Go here and you can find race video.

Two races in the next two weeks have Val racing in Anaheim, where she has a good chance to get a best time and on the sand in Manhattan Beach the following week.

Like the previous races, I am her “caddy”. By the way, besides being a golfing term, the American Heritage Dictionary in the #2. definition defines caddy as “A boy who does odd jobs.” Yep, that pretty well describes what I do!

These two ladies were no match for Val, but they competed in the 71-99 year old category. One of them came in at an impressive time of about 34 minutes.

Following the race, Val and I drove to the Fleet Feet store in Laguna Niguel where they had appearances by two members of the Newton Racing Team, Michellie Jones, Olympic silver medalist in the 2000 Games in Sydney and Ironman champion and Josh Cox, a US men’s marathoner who qualified for the men’s Olympic Marathon team in 2000 and was the youngest American to do so. Each gave a short but fascinating look into their careers and answered questions from those in attendance about training and the Newton shoes.

We had the opportunity to try out the revolutionary Newton running shoe, which is quite a bit different than any shoe in production today.

Val and 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist, Michellie Jones

Two Members of the Newton Racing Team and a Newton rep.

Memorial Day weekend is traditionally time for racing with the Indy 500. Instead, our focus was on Val’s 5K race in Brentwood on Sunday. My job, bleary-eyed as I was from the previous day’s Highland Games, was to get Val to Brentwood on time, ready to go. It worked out beautifully. Weather conditions according to a girl working at a nearby runners store were described as “cool, overcast and gross”. Translated, that means great for runners. What was great for me was the route was a flat, out and back course with the start and finish on opposite sides of the boulevard in Brentwood. I just had to walk the street! The start was memorable in that a race official sang the seldom heard last stanza of the Star Spangled Banner”. Starts are exciting, but take a look at her finish…

 
Val’s time of 21:43:71 was 15 seconds off her fastest time ever at the distance. We couldn’t figure out with a course so flat and so fast how she did not beat her best time at the distance, that is until she took her shoes off. Remember a few weeks ago she won a $12 pair of socks with right foot and left foot design. When she took her shoes off we discovered she did not match her socks with her feet. Yep, that cost her at least 15 seconds off her best time and she kept pulling to the left!

Seriously, though, she was a little bummed about her time but she thinks she can get personal bests everytime she is out there.

The second half of the road racing doubleheader came on Memorial Day; another 5K race, this time in Laguna Hills at the Laguna Hills Memorial Half Marathon and 5K. Last year, Val did the half and this time, she continues her successful 5K events. In this race, on a tougher course and with legs not fully recovered, she improved on yesterday’s race by posting a 21:41 time to cover the 3.1 mile distance.

As an added surprise, Val’s sister, Melanie and her niece Jacklyn came to watch. Again, ideal conditions, especially for the runners.

The day did not start out well. Between the two of us, Val and I got 6 hours of sleep and I got 80% more than she did! When the alarm went off, my strategy was that I would stay put unless she got up first. There would be no repeated wake up calls from me on this morning. There was a moment where we both looked at each and thought going back to bed would be the best choice.

When we went to open the garage, it jammed and I barely squeezed inside to disconnect the garage opener from the chain and noticed the broken spring on one of the doors. We got the car out and off we drove to Santa Monica on empty 405 and 10 freeways for the Santa Monica Classic, a 5 & 10K race to benefit “Heal the Bay” which I suppose sounds better than “Clean Up Your Crap Day”.

In spite of sleep deprivation, Val was ready to go and all her systems were “green light”.

The race had a simple course. It essentially was a long rectangular route that the race organizers managed to screw up at the turnaround point, which was, according to most accounts under-marked and unmanned. As I arrived at the finish line at 21:30 no one was yet crossing. Most of the runners made the turn considerably further up than they were supposed to, so their times were understandably slower. According to Val’s GPS-enabled heart rate monitor, her 3.1 mile race turned into a 3.81 miles instead. Some people apparently did turn at the right place and that infuriated Val and others who thought those runners were cheating!

No matter though, Val placed third in her age division, 100th overall, running 6:56 minute miles and felt strong throughout.

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The weather was perfect for running…cool and overcast.

I got a mini workout in after the start. I had to run to the finish line in order to get there ahead of the runners. As it turned out, the longer distance they ended up traversing bought me some more time.

Nike was the primary sponsor of the Classic and all finishers got a free pair of $12 socks. (They are a left foot-right foot pair that some elite runner favor). Yeah, um, uh huh…$12 socks…One sock actually costs more than a Starbucks drink!! Another sponsor was a Swedish water company, Volvic, who probably has spent millions over the years marketing the purity and uniqueness of their water only to offer a badly-flavored water. Who thinks flavored water is really a good idea? Makes my head itch. Then, there is Caribou Coffee as a sponsor, but nowhere to be found before, during or after the race offering and marketing their product. At a race last year, Val got a coupon from Peet’s Coffee for a free bag of their product. Marketing works!

It was kind of an offbeat morning, one which you might expect if Venice Beach is involved, where we enjoyed a post-race breakfast at The Rose Cafe. After breakfast, we went to the famous and original Gold’s Gym, “The Mecca of Bodybuilding”, where we chatted with a trainer who specializes in coaching the Olympic lifts and kettlebells.

Val is back! She didn’t expect to place, but what was really encouraging was her sub-seven minute pace and no pain from her previous injury. Her road racing season is on!  Here are some more pictures.

Not since the 2007 Dana Point Turkey Trot 5 months ago, has Val entered and run a road race due an aggravating and persistent groin injury. Today was her “coming out party” and she barely lost a step.

Everything about this event was relaxed and went without a hitch. Val had been diligently training at things other than running in the months preceding, so that when her body said it was ok to race, she would be ready to go.

And ready she was. Val’s expectations were low and was really thrilled to be in this race and wanted to have fun. The Hermosa Beach 5K is a low-key local affair-the perfect first race back, with much of the event run on the beach strand and onto the pier.

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Val ran pain free and happy and that was reflected in a time only a minute off her PR for the distance. Not bad at all considering she has only gone for a few short road runs and two of them were with slowpoke named MarkFu!

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Val reported some after race pain so we hit it up with Advil and we will find out soon enough if this race was a good idea. But for this day, it was. She did great and we both enjoyed the beautiful, cool sunny morning in Hermosa Beach.