Whidbey Island Marathon 2009 Race Report

7am, Whidbey Island, WA
Temperature: 41F-46F, Sunny
Humidity: 70%-63%

Notes(General):
- Quality race T shirt: one of the best I've gotten
- Probably the most challenging course I've run. Even tougher than Seafair because of the late hills. I have no complains however because the course is very scenic and it's pretty obvious from the reputation of this race that it's not a PR course.
- Mile markers were here and there but this is the first course ever that my Garmin measured as exactly 26.22 miles!
- Surprisingly there were some people cheering which is neat for a rural course.
- During the final few miles you encounter walkers and half runners. This can be good and bad. Also, these miles are an out and back so you're just pining to start heading back.
- You see the finish line around mile 17. Ouch!
- I would recommend running this marathon for the satisfaction of completing a difficult marathon.

Notes(Race):
- Considering the rain leading up to the race it was amazing that the sun was out for the run. When I started driving at 4am it was snowing!
- The tendon connecting my right ankle began to hurt right from the start. I had no issues with in coming in so perhaps some warming up would have helped. I had considered dropping out but it would just be a hassle to get back to the start and my car at the finish. I did realize that running on would probably result in a few days off from running (I was correct - my ankle was swollen to the size of a tennis ball the day after). I spent some time during miles 3 and 4, trying to stretch out the ankle but that did not really help.
- I ran into some friendly maniacs during the first few miles. I hope I did not offend them by not being able to chat with them since I wasn't feeling that great.
- I had intended to take pics during my run but I soon realized that getting a 3:45 would not be easy and with my ankle issues I did not want to have to stop and start often...
- There were some strong headwinds to contend with especially during the middle miles - no complains however - SUN :)
- I ran into a friend running the half (this was a nice surprise).
- I just achieved my goal of not PWing with 25 sec to spare.


Splits

mile 1: 8:42
mile 2: 8:41
mile 3: 9:53 (-0.01)
mile 4: 9:09 (+0.02)
mile 5: 9:08 (-0.04)
mile 6: 8:17 (+0.02)
mile 7: 8:28 (+0.02)
mile 8: 9:13 (+0.02)
mile 9: 8:41 (+0.03)
mile 10: 8:33 (+0.03)
mile 11: 8:20
mile 12: 8:33
mile 13: 8:52 (+0.07)
mile 14: 6:38 (-0.21)
mile 15: 8:26
mile 16: 9:14 (+0.07)
mile 17: 8:33
mile 18: 8:48 (-0.01)
mile 19: 8:31 (+0.01)
mile 20: 8:27 (-0.01)
mile 21: 8:13 (-0.01)
mile 22: 8:46 (+0.02)
mile 23: 8:55
mile 24: 8:24
mile 25: 8:29
mile 26: 7:27 (-0.09)
.22: 2:14 (+0.07)

Results:

Time: 3:45:24 @ 8:36
OA: 63/282
Male: 51/165
AG: 10/16

Mercer Island Half marathon 2009 report

9am, Mercer Island, WA
Temperature: 46F, Cloudy
Humidity: 76%

MI:
- Well organized
- Expensive for a half marathon ($60) with no medals
- Scenic but hilly course
- Local Seattle area race
- Mile markers are incorrect
- Only water and no sports drink on course. I don't care but the for $60...
- Finish food was iffy





Before the run
- I had a DNS due to injury last year. Ran a 1:37 in 2007.
- Had a sore right quad and left calf going into the run

Run
- Chuck spotted me limbing during my warm-up and asked me to start a bit slower.
- Felt decent all through
- The "off" mile markers had me incorrectly optimistic. I had though I would get a PR.
- Saw Chuck at the finish line.
- Very nice post-race party at Dan's!

Splits:
mile 1: 7:12 (-0.02)
mile 2: 7:20
mile 3: 7:04
mile 4: 6:56 (-0.01)
mile 5: 6:58 (+0.01)
mile 6: 7:08
mile 7: 7:06
mile 8: 7:07 (-0.01)
mlle 9: 7:04 (-0.01)
mile 10: 7:26
mile 11: 7:02 (-0.01)
mile 12: 7:23
mile 13: 7:12
mile .11: 2:06 (+0.16)

Results:
Chip - 1:34:59 @ 7:15
Clock - 1:35:18
OA - 151/1619
Male - 124/820
Div - 29/124

TTRC St Patrick's Day 10k Race Report

10:45am, Yorktown Heights, NY
Weather: 46F, 50% (Sunny)

Random thoughts:

- Well organized
- Reasonable entry fee ($20 single, $35 family)
- Convenient late start (10:45am), with an earlier 2 mile option
- Difficult course: Hills and some trail sections: Not condusive to a PR
- Markers may have been inaccurate
- Two loop course in FDR park
- Free beer at the end
- Raffle at the end, along with a grand raffle prize of a trip to Ireland
- Results posted very quickly along with some pics.
- All in all a fun race

mile 1: 6:40 (+:04)
mile 2: 6:50 (+:05)
mile 3: 7:01 (+:13)
mile 4: 7:02 (+:03)
mile 5: 6:52 (+:05)
mile 6: 6:40 (+:13)
.22: : 1:34

Final: 43:31 @ 7:01
OA: 26/211
Male: 24/127
AG: 5/25

Skagit Symphony Smelt run 10k 2009

I had not been able to get past my official 10k PR of 43:30 at the 2005 Malden Rotary 10k for a while... I don't run too many 10ks and I seem to run into all sorts of obstacles when I do run them (heat, hills, humidity...).

Based on my recent tempo runs it did look like I was in shape for a new 10k PR so I signed up for this race. I felt hopeful that I would be able to maintain a 6:30-6:40 pace...

As usual I started off a bit fast. Jason who is way faster than me was behind me for a bit. For the middle miles I ran with an elderly guy (perhaps 55+) who went on to leave me in the dust :) My excuse I had not still recovered from my tempo run on Thursday (still sore)... That did tell for the last couple of miles when my legs just felt dead. From mile 4.5-5.5 my pace had dropped to the 7:15s amidst a headwind and a slight climb before I picked it up.

All in all:
- A nice course
- Very well organized
- Nice cause
- Good post race food (cake etc.)
- Fun run

mile 1: 6:23
mile 2: 6:30
mile 3: 6:37
mile 4: 6:41
mile 5: 6:50
mile 6: 6:53
mile .22: 1:36 @ 6:43

Time: 41:30 @ 6:40

Valentine Marathon 2009 race report

10:30am, Olympia, WA

Temperature: 35F-45F, Cloudy

Humidity: 87%-68%

I had intended to run this race before I got on-board the Mardi Gras Marathon train. I have never run two marathons within a week so this was a new experience. The only person I had confided in was David (since he posted the team thread on privacy I figured he could be trusted ).

My recovery from MG went pretty well. On Wednesday, I ran a PR on our monthly 2 mile time trial so I knew that I was good to go. If I didn't feel good at any point I would have dropped out and called this a long run (Olympia is just a 75 minute drive from home).

The Valentine marathon is a very low key race. It was pretty much the anti-Mardi Gras Marathon

- The race was not chip timed

- There were less than 60 full marathon runners.

- There were no mile markers. Just some chalk signs and boards for the turn-arounds for the 5k, 10k, 10 mile and half marathon races.

- My most vociferous supporters were 2 dogs barking at me. In fact since the course was open to traffic for a bit and there were some rude drivers honking at us to move out of the way.

- It was an out and back course.

- It was bucolic. I liked seeing the horses, ponies, cows...

- You'll likely be running on your own for most of the race. I did get some Maniac company towards the beginning but that was soon gone.

My race

- When I walked out to the start in just shorts and the MM singlet I noticed that people were staring at me (everyone was bundled up). They guilted me into donning a cap and gloves. My first instinct was right. It ended up warming up and these two just ended up being a burden.

- It was nice having the runners for the other races until they had to turn around.

- I felt in control of my pace all through. My goal was same as the MG marathon. 3:40-3:45. Greater than 3:45 would be a PW. Less than 3:40 would make it tougher to call it a train-through marathon. All the miles > 8:20 were because I was stopping to take pictures. I've come to accept that photo-marathoning will cost me about 3 minutes in stopping time per race. However, I feel it's worth making sure I get clear shots of things I care about.

- Seeing the majestic Mt. St Helens in the back-drop made my day. I stopped for a few seconds on both ways to take pics.

- Given that this was an out and back course I was more focused towards running without stopping in the second half

- I saw a guy with the words "Old guy pass with compassion" on his back

- The two things that mattered to me were spot on - accurate and clearly marked course. What remains to be seen is if they post an accurate finish time.

mile 1: 8:19

mile 2: 8:32

mile 3: 8:17

mile 4: 8:13

mile 5: 8:32

mile 6: 8:30

mile 7: 8:13

mile 8: 8:23

mile 9: 8:17

mile 10: 8:18

mile 11: 8:15

mile 12: 8:23

mile 13: 8:25

half: 1:49:39

mile 14: 8:15

mile 15: 7:52

mile 16: 7:53

mile 17: 7:55

mile 18: 7:54

mile 19: 8:26

mile 20: 8:30

mile 21: 7:42

mile 22: 7:50

mile 23: 7:48

mile 24: 7:55

mile 25: 7:33

mile 26: 7:35

Time: 3:34:13 @ 8:10

Mardi Gras Marathon 2009 Race Report

7am, New Orleans, LA
Temperature: 50F-64F, Cloudy
Humidity: 83%-50%

I had no plans of running this marathon until I realized that there was going to be an awesome group of folks heading down to "the Big Easy". I needed a break from winter and work so I was sold.

This was the first time in a marathon that I would be:
- signing up for the race at the expo
- having a hurricane at the dinner the night before
- running wearing beads. This actually felt good towards the end...
- running on shoes with 350+ miles on them. Bad! I just could not get new shoes on time.
- running with a camera- stopping/adjusting my run to take pictures
- running with a singlet (Marathon maniacs). Worked out great since I got to interact with MMs before, during and after the run...
- not using body glide or any anti-chafing mechanism. Accidental, but did not pay for it.

My goal for the race was to run a 3:40-3:45 marathon. Anything faster would not be good for a train-through run and anything slower would be a PW. The plan was to run with Eric, Anu, Nagesh and possibly Bill, Brian. Anu and Nagesh were running the half.

After a discordant rendition of "America the Beautiful" we were off running. The first mile passed through Bourbon street. This was kind of strange - 7am in the morning with no raucous crowds and the roads being soaped off. I was also working out the quirks of taking pictures with my camera while running (this was a new cam and I had not gotten a chance to test it out).

Next, the course hit Charles street. During my last visit to NOLA for Mardi Gras '05 I had watched with envy as runners ran on the cable-car trails. Finally, I got a chance to run on it while admiring the beautiful mansions. I was with our "3:40/1:50" group for the most part though I was stopping/running ahead/getting behind when I saw something that I needed to take a snap of.

The course then took a loop around Audubon Park. This was beautiful with trees, swans, golf courses, some impressive houses...

As we headed to the half finish, the focus was on Anu and Nagesh finishing strong. And finish strong they did!

Passing the half finish was kind of anti-climatic. As the loud cheers died down the scenic course transformed. Our "group" also gradually disintegrated. A&N seemed to be a glue that held it together... We caught up with the 3:40 pacer dude right after the half. I ran with him for a bit but dropped him after about a mile. While I loved listening about his plans for Med-school, the pace did not seem to click. Eric later concurred with this.

Scenery-wise there was nothing note-worthy until we headed reached the City park at mile 21. I remember being inspired by "Chariots of Fire" both the times I passed someone blazing it. It never gets old on me. The mile 19 beer stop seemed tempting.

Unlike my other marathons, I'll remember a lot more about this run going forward - I have the moments that stood out for me preserved in pics... A kid I high-fived in the park (along with her brother). A couple of ladies with a cow-bell after mile 24 - seeing their pic being taken seemed to have made their day. Brian with his arm-panties to remind me of the discussion about his friend's wife's present. A lady with a cute running skirt I passed after the mile 25 marker. Robyn, Michael, Jon, A&N cheering right before I crossed the finish...

Thanks Eric for getting us all aboard. Great FEs :)


mile 1: 9:00
mile 2: 8:24
mile 3: 8:19
mile 4: 8:12
mile 5: 8:19
mile 6: 8:19
mile 7: 8:21
mile 8: 8:28
mile 9: 8:23
mile 10: 8:23
mile 11: 8:26
mile 12: 8:38 ???
mile 13: 7:17 ???
mile 13.1 1:49:35
mile 14: 8:30
mile 15: 8:35
mile 16: 8:32
mile 17: 8:07
mile 18: 8:19
mile 19: 8:09
mile 20: 8:17
mile 21: 8:05
mile 22: 8:06
mile 23: 7:56
mile 24: 7:54
mile 25: 7:54
mile 26: 7:44
mile .2: 1:48 (@ 7:40)

Chip: 3:36:27 @ 8:15
Gun: 3:37:17
OA: 216/1486
Male: 191/945
Div: 32/155

Nookachamps Half-marathon 2009

10:03am, Mount Vernon, WA
Temperature: 41F
Humidity: 87%

Nookachamps was to be my first race in my come back from my stress fracture. I had hardly gotten in any training and no speed work. Last year with better training I had run a 1:40:XX on this course. I had struggled in the last half of the race. Therefore, this year I decided I would shoot for a 1:40 and try to avoid having to struggle in the last half.

The weather was perfect for running - foggy and relatively warm.

I ran a couple of warm-up miles at 9:30am. I've usually done better in my halfs when I've warmed up so I'll keep with this practice in future races.

Before, the race I met Dan, a fellow Chuckit member, who I ran with for most of the race. Terry was running the 10k so he ran with us for the first 3 miles.

We decided that we would run 7:38s and shoot for a roughly 1:40 finish. Dan was also coming back from injury so he did no know what to expect.

After a conservative first mile, we gradually began to pick-up the pace. We were running faster than planned but I figured I'd just stick with Dan. Effectively, both of us were pushing each other. We decided to keep going and just hoped that the end would not get ugly. All through we passed runners... I would not have run the race I ran if I did not have Dan to pull me along.

I had been to Fir Island a couple of weeks back to photograph the Snow Geese. We passed by the same fields today but they were covered by fog. We could hear the geese and the hunters.

Around mile 10 we reached the turn-around. This was great since we passed a few fellow Chuckit runners on both ways.

On the mile 11 hill, Dan fell back. This was a tough mile. What kept me going was that I was so close to a PR... I could see Larry and Neil in front of me but I never managed to catch them (they would finish 40s in front of me). Dan caught up and passed me right near the finish. He mentioned how it was helpful for him to have me as a target...

I was surprised with how well this run went. Without doubt this was my best paced half marathon. With minimal training I was within seconds of my PR! My PR was on a faster and flatter course... Here's to a good next few weeks of running!


Splits:

mile 1: 7:34
mile 2: 7:19
mile 3: 7:24
mile 4: 7:12
mile 5: 7:13
mile 6: 7:20
mile 7: 7:16
mile 8: 7:09
mile 9: 7:04
mile 10: 7:02
mile 11: 7:32
mile 12: 7:15
mile 13: 7:00
mile .11: :45 @ 6:57

Result:


1:35:04 @ 7:15
OA: 48/262
Male: 42/125
AG: 5/10