the blood and the sweat

#seenonmybike - some things I've seen while riding around Sacramento

2011-10-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

The #seenonmybike is a derivative of the ahem 'famous' #seenonmyrun tag, and I thought I'd take this moment to share a few sights from my rides around town. I'm not a serious cyclist, I stop, I take pictures, sometimes I will double back when I see things like a giraffe or weird graffiti.
These are things that are interesting to me. Enjoy these images from my world!

This is a homeless camp alongside the Sacramento River.
As the weather gets colder, these tents have become less and less commonplace.

The memorial is heartbreaking but hopeful.

Just a fisherman

Cyclists and vegans take note! You cyclists, they have a pump there and let you bring in your bike!
Useful if you don't have a lock with you! If you are a vegan, they have vegan donuts!.

This is near Miller Park. The sign warns people that killing or injuring cats is a crime.
To the left though you can barely make it out, are ramshackle beds for the strays that live here.
I've often wondered if their namesake, the Sacramento River Cats help fund spaying & neutering for these cats.
They are a Sacramento institution!

The fun part of my ride. This is our river walk in West Sacramento. To the left is the bridge leading into Sacramento.
The pyramid building and the new CALSTRS building are on the right.

#seenonmybike - social media and positivity on the Sacramento Parkway

2011-09-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

I had a great ride today and it was made more great by the people and the graffiti I encountered along the Sacramento Parkway. Graffiti? Yes. Graffiti. For though I am not a fan of defacing public or private property, in this case it is a positive thing. Today as I went for a ride and saw a ton of people out on their bikes. Harkening back to my running days (which will return again, I have faith!) I waved at folks and received some back. Every runner I waved to at least waved or smiled, some did both! Waved to a few bigger guys in full on kits and they ignored me. What's up with that? When I came across this spray painted on the road, I stopped, turned around and went back to read it.

Yep. It was real alright, and here's when things got really awesome. I stopped to take the photo (and pulled over to the side so as to not block the trail) and not one, not two, but three groups of cyclists tapped their brakes to as ask me "you ok?" warmed my heart! Then an older fellow saw me and this conversation ensued "Yeah, it looks nicer now don't it?"
Err well, I guess? I'd rather no spray paint at all?
"oh, it was uglier before, take a gander at the pedestrian bridge, though some of that's been changed too"
I felt like we weren't really communicating but nodded and looked at the bridge, and then like the sun shining through the clouds it hit me - what was once hateful graffiti was covered over with clever and lighthearted improvisation. I won't even give the hatefulness any more attention, that is what they crave after all, I'll let you dear reader figure out what a square could have been. When I'm on my bike it's a good bet I'm smiling, today I rode home with a permagrin, and am still smiling sharing this with you. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

California State Fair $100 Challenge

2011-07-16T07:36:00.000-07:00

$100 dollars to ride a bike a few feet? One try for $3 or three tries for $5? Sounds good to me! I spotted this ride/attraction at the California State Fair on opening day Thursday and wanted to share with my fellow cyclists. Think you can do it? There is a small catch! The handlebars are 'backwards' and work in reverse. If you turn right, the forks turn left, and vice versa. Of course the trained carnie can do it in his sleep, but could you? We've been hardwired from childhood left is left and right is right (well most of us!) Could we unlearn that in a few seconds and walk away with a hundred bucks? Would we need a lot of practice? If you click on the image you'll notice a strange box right above the headset, I suspect it contains a type of differential or gear box.
Could any of you build one of these?
Are you attending the California State Fair in Sacramento?
Let's hear your theories on how you'd win that money!
I'm also going to use this opportunity to shamelessly promote myself on Google Plus ! http://bit.ly/JoseGPlus

First Days Of Bike Commuting!

2011-06-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

After commuting via bike, driving is now a total let down! My inaugural commuting this week was an adventure and I am now hooked! On my first day I saw crop dusters and fields, farms and flattened rabbits, runners and cyclists, angry commuters stuck in traffic and so much more. I experience so much hmm, I want to say more but that's not right either, I experience different things cycling than when driving. While driving I hear music or talk radio, deal with slow drivers, fast drivers, obstacles, brake lights etc. Riding however, I hear the sound of shifting gears, the wind whistling past my ears, the sound of cars speeding past and the sound of train horns startling me. I hear things I'd never hear while ensconced in my truck, the hum of overhead power lines, generators on the side of a cornfield powering...something? Still not sure what!

Amtrak. Their horns are a terrifying sound if you aren't paying attention.

My morning commute are calming and energizing, and I'm not enough of a wordsmith to convey the feeling. To use a drug addict term and runner vernacular, the 'high' from cycling is a more subdued strain of stoked. It's not the pounding in your chest, sweat flailing, 'chasing the puke' high that you get from running a 5k or longer distance road race. Speaking of sweat, I wasn't as sweaty as I thought I'd be! It's a very mellow workout, I mean, obviously there's exertion but it's not the same as running. I don't mean that in a diss to cyclists, it's just...running miles mean more to me than cycling miles. No way could I run 13-14 miles and sit down to work without needing to shower! Whereas yesterday I was able to clean up just fine at work and changed into my work clothes.

A farm on my way to work. Something about the sun's rays at this time of day make everything glow.

My evening commutes are a different animal, I'm able to sweat it up, BUT I'm also more weary. As an aside, the first day I rode to work, it was the first day of summer and that afternoon the temp rocketed up to 100 degrees, it made for an interesting ride home involving 3 water bottle refills a slower pace, and a post commute jump into the kiddie pool in my back yard. Yesterday's ride home was tough, not as hot, but it was really hard to get motivated and a few times I told myself "Just take the bus" but am glad that I pushed on. It reminds me of marathon training long runs, that initial feeling of indecision "can I really do this?" eventually being replaced with "Yes! I totally did it!" Comment if you know how this feels, come on! You know you do! A crossover from running - I've been waving to everyone I come in contact with, said hello to some runners yesterday and if I see that someone is cycling towards me, I at least lift up a hand or give a nod. I'm finding that runners are more friendly but this is just a very unscientific observation. I've only commuted twice this week and run into less than a couple dozen riders.

This random haven for skateboarders is awesome.
I love the contrast of concrete and corn

If you are considering bicycle commuting, don't think about it - do it! I'm doing this for many reasons, to heal my knee, to run again, to get some mileage in, and of course to just expend calories, but at the end of the day, I just feel more alive. I hope no matter what you do, whether it's walking, riding or running, you feel the same. Thanks for reading! Now go take on the day!

Odds and Ends

2011-05-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

Cycling Update - Hi friends, another cycling update! I'm learning the ins and outs slowly but surely. Shifting isn't as easy as it sounds! Well hitting the lever is easy, but riding so that shifting happens smoothly and effortlessly is another deal. I've been practicing this every time I'm on my bike and at a stop light. If I have advance notice I can slow down ahead of time and shift to an easier gear, so starting up again is quick and easy. If I am not paying attention - then I'm forced to start out in a tough gear which means I'll be standing up on the pedals and grunting it up. These are things that just take practice so I'm glad I'm out there doing it.
Other things I'm practicing and learning include merging with traffic to make turns (terrifying), stopping at stop lights (I hear that the rules of the road apply to cyclists as well), and yielding to pedestrians. When I was a BMX hellraiser me and my buddies paid no heed to any of these rules and I'm looking back in alarm at how reckless we were. Flying down sidewalks, doing footplants off of cars, bunnyhopping in front of startled pedestrians, darting in and out of traffic, ahh youth. A small part of that "go for it" spirit is still inside of me, but it's tempered now with the fact that I am a father raising children and a husband not wanting to leave behind a widow. Also, though I'm a snarky, sarcastic, joke making guy, I'm really a fan of polite and civilized behavior so I'm learning how to ride as I'd like others to ride. The golden rule of cycling? Is there a thing? I have no idea.

Somewhat related some friends on a forum I frequent posted these videos, they made me laugh because 1) they are SO New York and 2) the use of the word jerk just cracks me up no matter the context.

Kinesiology/Injury Update - I met a kinesiologist the other night at a party, she gave me some great tips for knee/quad recovery so I thought I'd post em here:

Walk/run backwards up hills. Apparently this helps the muscle development in those hard to reach areas. Who knew?
The last 15 degrees of movement are the ones that matter when developing the quads to help pull the knee inline. So even doing small workouts benefit.
Swimming helps, as does cycling. (Yes!)
She recommended MSM and Glucosamine. I haven't been taking mine - ran out months ago, will try this again.

Right now my right quads are still smaller than my left, there are no shortcuts, this is boring, this is hell, but I must do this in order to return to running.
Hope your week is great folks! Get out there and enjoy spring wherever the heck you are .
Also - here's something going on right now:
http://mayisbikemonth.com - they are also on Facebook!

Riding On The West Sacramento Promenade Trail

2011-04-25T13:37:00.000-07:00


West Sacramento River Walk Trail

Hope all of you had a joyous Easter ! After a Sunday of church, food, family and fun, I decided to burn off the excess calories and get out for a ride. A few days earlier we saw a sign announcing the new West Sacramento Promenade Trail so I decided to pedal over and check it out.

The River Walk is on the right hand side of this (now outdated) satellite photo.

The trail begins near River Cats stadium, on the south side of the bridge. There's construction going on right now at River Cats stadium so to get to it from Sacramento you'll have to cross over on the left hand side and from the Davis, West Sac side, you'll have to loop around the front of the stadium (Ball Park Drive) as the old 3rd street underpass has been crushed to make way for a hyperspace bypass.


The River Walk Trail as seen from the West Sac side.

On this trail I saw no less than four rabbits, ears perked as they hopped away from me and my bike. I also saw folks fishing, hostile geese (are there any other kind?!) and a homeless guy reading a library book. It's only a short distance but once completed will be a beautiful way for folks in South West Sac (ie Southport etc) to get downtown and vice versa. I was lucky to see orange flowers along the side of the trail but you can't really see them in these shots.

facing north on the trail

This is the end of the trail near the freeway overpass. Eventually it will connect to paved roads.

There's also another river walk on the other side of the river, I took the bridge over and ventured down that one.That river walk also connects to a bike trail hitherto unknown to me which leads all the way down to Miller Park. Both of these trails are great for cycling or running, though there isn't very much shade on the West Sac side. The ride took me about 50 minutes and was a little over 8 miles. Not bad for a n00b! I'm hoping to ramp that mileage up as I get closer to commuting to work. In the meantime I am just thankful that I have another avenue to get my endorphin fix and another way of being outdoors and active. Thanks for reading and have a good week folks!

Confusing ideologies and lack of manners.

PS The only eyesore I encountered was this confusing piece of 'street art' from a Crowley fan with anti-Juggalo national socialist tendencies, or a drywall installer from Rio Linda. Perhaps, perhaps one and the same?

Photos From The Boston Marathon

2011-04-18T12:00:00.001-07:00

Enjoy!

I Am Now A Road Bike Owner!

2011-04-11T20:51:00.000-07:00

Welcome home!

So Friday night I went and met a man off of craigslist (sounds so sleazy!) and came home with a 2010 Trek 1.5 in excellent condition! I'm excited to take a step forward in my journey back to running. Also, with gas currently at over $4.00 a gallon it's nice to know that eventually my commutes will be less expensive ! Sunday I rode 4 miles, it was fun but terrifying. Bike likely needs a small tuneup, brakes need to be tightened up and bike needs to 'fitted' for me.

Jr. tries to climb on board. Just a few more years son!

I haggled my guy down and got my bike for less than I would a new Trek 1.1 with better components!
You can do this too, but first I recommend learning everything you can about bikes so you aren't a total ignoramus like I was, and a great start for me was this awesome blog post entitled "how to buy a bike" from http://www.healthytippingpoint.com Here's some things I would add:

You can find a good deal on Craigslist, but it does involve some work. I used the site http://www.searchtempest.com and checked it every day with different search terms. In my case I used different combinations of 54, road bike, drop down bars, etc. I also tried the app "Craigspro" on my iphone but it only gave me a headache. As time went by and I learned more about components I put those terms in as well. As a newbie, I wanted an aluminum frame + carbon forks, and my shifting goals changed from "don't care" to "would prefer not to have thumb shifters". In the HTP blog and in your journeys, you will hear people discuss better components and think "what's exactly does better mean?"
Here's the run down! With road bikes, it all depends on what you are going to do. If you are just starting out racing or commuting a tiny bit of weight isn't a big deal. You don't need a 100% carbon frame and fork.
Most manufacturers (Trek, Specialized, Raleigh etc) all have aluminum frames and carbon forks. Some have fancier types of aluminum tubing, but by and large the sub 1000 dollar bikes are about the same.
Shifting systems/derailleurs etc go from worst to best in this order 2300, Sora, Tiagra, 105, Ultegra and Dura-Ace. There are levels above that even but again if you are starting out they don't matter! For me, Tiagra was a great choice - it works as well as the 105 (I can shift from in the drops or on top) and still is better than the 2300 (baseline) components or Sora thumb shifters. If you really want to nerd out on shifters, here's a link to the wikipedia on Shimano. Other than that, haggling wise my best advice is to set limits for yourself on how much you are willing to spend before you go to meet your (potential) new bike and old owner.

Score! Looks like I saved more money than this guy.

Not sure how much your used bike from a year or two or three is worth? Try checking craigslist listings in other cities to find a general idea of how much my bike was going for. You can also check Ebay's ended auctions. Most good road bikes are like Hondas and retain their value after a year or two. That said, don't forget that you can always haggle down!


Yay! I paid less than this one as well!

My next goal is to sell a used bike, so if anyone wants to buy a PRISTINE Mosh Worm BMX bike, let me know! Good luck if you are also looking for a used road bike, comment and I'll be glad to share whatever I've learned with you. Don't give up! Your bargain is out there. Speaking of - the final tally on my bike? He was asking $750 - bargained down to $675 - the most expensive bike I've purchased, but I'm ok with this!

PS I'd also like to thank my man Patrick Piccolo. He not only got me the 'road bike bug' but also invited me down to ride some bikes and patiently explained a lot to me. Thanks again !

Test Riding Road Bikes - Specialized, Raleigh, Masi

2011-04-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

I rode three bikes this weekend and had a blast doing so, a Specialized Allez, a Raleigh Revenio 2.0 and a Masi. Each rode a bit differently, and even though I am a 100% n00b when it comes to these bikes, I'm excited that I'm actually getting to spot differences in the way they ride! I've been experimenting with shifting, speeding up, slowing down, riding in the drops, etc. I've noticed that riding in the drops is a great way to tell if a bike is ok, or really comfortable. I've also noticed that every bike shop, EVERY bike shop tells me that it's
"it's cheaper to buy upgraded components on the bikes than to upgrade later" - and I think they are correct. On to the bikes!

The specialized Allez is gorgeous! This one is a 54 and fit me just right. Though I felt a TINY bit stretched out when I got into the drops. It has 105s and was dialed in perfectly. I rode this and the Raleigh at a shop in a part of Sacramento that is a bit sketchy. How sketchy? I saw an impala jam packed with guys all wearing sunglasses and blue ball caps (and no, they weren't baseball fans) then a few minutes later a guy calling his associate and loudly proclaiming his displeasure at a financial transaction involving a medically legal plant here in California. Visions of me being mugged for a bike I don't even own and getting stuck with the tab played out in my head as I pedaled around the shopping center and out onto a bike trail.

This bike, the Raleigh Revenio wasn't as dialed in as the Specialized, thumb shifters were a bit lacking and the pedals had me paranoid, but the way this bike felt was AWESOME. Next to the Trek 1.1 - this bike rocketed to my top 3 bikes. It felt so nice in the drops, and the prices on these are not bad! $819 for an aluminum frame and carbon fork. If only it had nicer shifters/cassette etc. I'm a fan of these bikes. If any Raleigh folks are reading this and want to give me a coupon for a few hundred dollars off? I will represent your bikes to the fullest on my humble blog!

This Masi was the most solid, dialed in machine I've ever ridden on. Not a single thing was loose, everything was set up great, this felt a lot like the Specialized in the drops - very 'racy' and I felt like I was stretching a bit but goodness was this thing fast. I zipped up and down a street and got up close to catching up with cars. So much fun! This one was a bit pricier (I think in the $800 range) but I can see why.

So there you have it, aside from these bikes I've also ridden a few more Trek's and Canondales but those bikes I almost want to ride again because it's only till now that I feel like I understand really what I am looking for. Every step, err pedal I take gets me one step closer to running again and gets me my much needed endorphin fix! I'm also having a hard time figuring out how much to offer or look for in used bikes. There's so much more risk, potential broken stuff, fixing up, adjusting etc. with a used bike.
Thanks for reading! Also, if you are into cycling at all and are on twitter - check out the hashtag #bikeschool, lots of cycling talk!

Knee Update Remix - B Side - Quest For A Road Bike

2011-03-31T21:31:00.000-07:00

I hate writing about my knee, I hate talking about it, and it's one of the things that puts me in a foul mood. That said, knee recap is as follows: my right leg is still weak, and even though I am doing my PT exercises and have been going to the gym I still haven't recovered 100%. Even if I didn't have DailyMile taunting me with the zero on Monday, I'd still feel bad because of the lack of endorphins and the lack of exercise. I rarely gripe, but maybe someone else feels the way I do. Enough whining.
I'm on a new mission right now, spurred on by necessity and curiosity.

This is what I thought I wanted, a nice bike to be sure! It's just not me right now.

A dear friend of mine races road bikes and invited me to visit him at his shop to discuss bikes. I went in fully expecting to want a hybrid bicycle to work out on and get some commute miles in. I left wanting a road bike more than anything!
Something about the lightness, the swiftness, the relative effortlessness of riding those bikes got me hooked and now I am ruined... I've always loved bikes,I was immersed in bmx freestyle culture in the 80s to early 90s, but road bikes were always goofy to me. Which makes perfect sense! Growing up I thought runners were goofy and for years I worked near Fleet Feet downtown shaking my head at runners and thinking "what's the point?"

Now this is more like it! Sleek, smooth, oh darn I'm going to have to wear those silly shorts now right?

I now see my road bike as part of my step back - to running. Yes, even though I can go further with the same caloric expenditure, I love running and miss it. My dream, silly as it sounds, is to strengthen my legs using this biking thing, commute to work here and there and save some money on gas, and at the same time get some mileage down. Not so much for DailyMile, but just for ME!

me in 1986 or so. Note the SOD shirt, painters cap and ridiculous shorts.
That's a Mongoose Decade there underneath me.

Right now I'm in the research phases, I resisted the urge to walk out of the first bike shop with a Trek 1.1 and still want to test ride more bikes. I've visited about a half dozen shops just to ask people different things and here is what I've found.

- Bikes are expensive. I mean, there's no middle ground! You go from cheapo dept store bikes to 'good' bikes with no 'average' bike. So there's that crappy steel bike and then there's a $700 investment. Just like that!
- Most every bike shop I've been into has been helpful and friendly. I've done some mild social engineering, feigning ignorance at some shops, admitting what I do know at others, just to see if I get different reactions. By and large bike people are pretty much like runners: obsessive geeks that will talk about the minutiae of their sport till your ear bleeds or you look at your watch and tell them you are on your lunch break.
- There's a whole bike culture that goes along with these bikes that I'm trying to avoid if at all possible. I have no intention of racing! I just want to get better and get some sun while I'm at it.
- Most manufacturers have entry level bikes that have "entry level" components. I still don't understand the whole better components thing. My mountain bike is over a decade old so to me, any change is like me hopping onto Lance Armstrong's bike.

- When I tell people I am a runner primarily, they actually get stoked because they know I'm actually going to ride and not just buying a bike because it's "cool". Seriously! I had two guys tell me "Oh you wouldn't believe how many people buy bikes but then don't actually ride" - I do believe him. After all haven't we all joined the gym only to never go work out? Sometimes it takes an attempt or two.
So that's what I've been up to. Bookmarking sites, reading blogs, asking questions and trying to learn. Before I plunk down a bunch of money I want to be sure I'm getting the right product.
If you have any links or advice, I'm all ears! Thanks for reading, and go out there and run a few steps for me!

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson - Leading By Example

2011-03-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

I'm giving Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson props not because I voted for him (I didn't, I live across the river!) but because I enjoy seeing leaders lead by example. The mayor and Capitol Road Race Management's program "Miles With The Mayor" encourages runners to get off the couch and onto the streets with the promise of cool prizes for participating, and even more prizes for more participation. In addition, KJ has committed to running one race a month. How many civic leaders do you know that put their money where there mouth is when it comes to fitness?

Though I haven't been at a race in a while, I do remember seeing the mayor at other racing events, and even saw KJ out with his folks during my long runs leading up to CIM 2009. Yes, he was running, yes it was early! The extent of our interactions was a wave, but I digress.

My support for the mayor's running promotion isn't 100% about him as an individual per se, it's also me cheering on someone making an effort to do better. After all, isn't that what we runners are trying to do at least part of the time?

With video games, obesity, processed foods and so many more things standing in the way of health and happiness, it's refreshing to see strides being made towards true change. I salute you Mr. Mayor and wish you and the Miles With The Mayor program a success!

The SeenOnMyRun Story

2011-03-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

Hi all! I haven't been updating much due to my injury and what not.
I've also become obsessed with getting a road bike so if any of you have any advice, let's hear it!
I will however return to blogging regularly if I can pull off this tale here using Storify.
Recently on Twitter Runner's World magazine has been awesome at promoting the #SeenOnMyRun Hashtag so I went ahead and slapped together a little background info on it.
I might edit this again so thanks for reading and hope your runs are long, healthy and awesome!

I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you!

2010-12-15T14:01:00.000-08:00

Me before I became a runner (Artists rendition)

I came across Sarah Stanley's post about the Obama administrations efforts to make children healthy and after seeing reactions to the post on my Facebook, I was inspired to write. You see, I don't see anything wrong with the government 'intruding' in our lives to make our lives better. This administration has good intentions, and that's good enough for me. I am living proof that the government's focus on fitness really works. Let me share my tale!

C.R.A.P. and Totally B.S. org chart.

Three years ago I was an out of shape dad. My two year old daughter ran rings around me in the backyard, leaving me winded, wheezing and exhausted. Mowing my lawn was was torturous and my exercise consisted of me walking to and from computers, one at home, one at work. Then - the government intervened! I saw a TV commercial from the Department Of America The Beautiful showcasing their Totally Beat Slovenliness program. This new federal agency dedicated to beautifying America combined with the Totally BS program were two fronts on the war to look awesome. Other programs included Worship The Food (a pro food group, which sent counselors to prop up participants self esteem no matter what their level of fitness) to the Community Restoring Appearances Plus initiative, which gave plastic surgeons much needed jobs in this tough economy and offered participants a quick and easy plastic surgery weight loss option. Neither of those spoke to me, so I called the 800 # and waited to hear back from the government.

Mike - my case worker. Here he rests after a grueling morning of work.

Two months after that call my case worker pulled up in his new state issued Prius to go over options with me, I glanced at his laptop and something caught my eye. "Couch to 5k? What's that?" I questioned. "Err that's one of our new programs but I must warn you, it's not as effective or speedy as C.R.A.P. or Totally B.S. " he responded. Undaunted, I urged him to sign me up and he was right, it wasn't fast at all! It took weeks for me to get to the point where I could run three miles without stopping, it was also expensive, painful, and difficult. Thankfully, DATB helped me every step of the way! They supplied me with new shoes courtesy of their voucher program. They had another case worker show up to coach me, yet another gave me encouragement in the morning when it was cold and didn't want to run, and still another supplied with me all the necessary funding for things like race registration, technical shirts, bodyglide, etc. When I finally ran that first 5k, it was not just a testament to ME, but a testament to the can do spirit of the government! All 13 union case workers, supervisors, managers, administrators and facilitators braved the chill morning air (and collected double overtime) that fateful Sunday morning to cheer me on. I'll never forget the elation and happiness when I crossed that finish line. I received brochures, mousepads, pens, and even a foam finger from each of my helpful public servants. I, err I mean WE did it! As I saw more finishers cross the finish line to the cheers of their case workers in the stands, my eyes teared with emotion. Today, as I see our country embarking on another crusade to help people pick apples over candy bars, I tear up again. Somewhere, some case worker will help a citizen make the right choice, somewhere, someone will fill out a form 1013-B Sub Section A (assistance in avoiding soda) and maybe someday those people will run a race, not by themselves, but with the help of their extended family. God bless you for reading and God bless America!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T10:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! This is what a Vegan spread looks like!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and so today I'm writing about a few ideas related to this great day:

Helping the poor/hungry
Keeping things in perspective
Things I am thankful for (inspired by my friend Michaela who posted the question on Twitter)

It's been a year since the Run To Feed The Hungry, and this year sadly will be the first in 3 that I won't make it. The run feeds homeless and hungry people in the greater Sacramento area, and the running community in Sacramento always makes this a very successful day even in rough economic times. In a similar vein since about spring I've done a bit of outreach myself. What my wife did is put together a bunch of energy bars, snacks, etc from various races into a box which I carry around in my truck. When I see people stopped at lights asking for food or perhaps run into one during my travels, I offer them food instead of money. I'm sure you have a cache of stuff as well! Powerbars that are sitting there unused, random gels that maybe you don't like and won't eat, etc. All judgments about chemical dependencies etc, it's nice to share food. We all need it.

Even though I can't run, I am slowly feeling my strength return to my quads, maybe it's psychosomatic who knows. I am trying to keep things in perspective and be thankful not just because of this holiday, but because it helps me deal with life to see the glass as half full. We runners view things differently, how many times have we heard someone say "oh I HATE running" or "you couldn't pay me to do that!" well, it's all about keeping things in perspective. We view running and staying healthy one way, as a way of living life and celebrating life. Other people view it as painful, and don't see the reward. They see the hurt, but not the smiles, they smell the sweat, but don't feel the endorphins, they see the blood but not the heart. I mourn for those that can't see things the way we see them, but what can you do? I try and lead by example, and that's all I can do really.

So, what am I thankful for? I'm grateful for being healthy, for remembering how it feels to put down some miles, for looking forward to running in 2011. I'm thankful for my family who is there for me, for being employed in a tough economy, for having a job I actually enjoy, for having friends that are there for me and the means of meeting new people that share common interests. (That's you!) I'm thankful for my faith, for my children, and for my wife. Get stoked people, there's a lot of reasons to do so. Thank you for reading!

The Road Back - Teese Mini-Review

2010-11-19T15:18:00.000-08:00

Save yourself a copay, and print this image!

I went to my new physical therapist this week and received "official" instructions on what to do to get back in the game. Bottom line, lots of reps, low weight, and even more reps ! I also found out how bad my leg had atrophied as the PT measured the quad area with a tape measure about 4 inches above my knee. My left leg is currently 18 1/2", the right leg? 17 3/4" ! That's a lot of muscle loss, and if I am to run again without getting injured again and starting this whole horrible process over, I must get to at least 80% of the size and strength.This means a lot of reps, and a lot of eating to build up that muscle mass. This dovetails nicely into my next topic, my mini-review of Teese vegan cheese!

So for a while now, Daiya has been my "fake cheese" of choice, but a few weeks ago I had Teese for the first time and have been excited to try it on a pizza pie. We visited "Never Felt Better" in Sacramento the other day and this week we finally tried it. It is delicious! it's a mild flavor and light years away from vegan cheese technology of the mid 90s (remember those tofutti cheeses? yechhh)The only downside is that it's not quite as "melty" as Daiya, meaning it doesn't stay in a melted state for long. So once that pie comes out of the oven, gobble it down with a quickness!

100 % vegan, 200% delicious!

We (well, the Mrs.) made the pie with homemade sauce and crust. If we had a pizza oven the results might be different in regards to the meltability of the cheese. If you are in the greater Sacramento area, say hello to Jen and purchase some at Never Felt Better, then go downstairs to eat at Sugar Plum Vegan, and then head across the street to buy music at Phonoselect. There. Do I get a cupcake yet? :P

One final note , Earlier this week I got a great RT from the folks at Run Addict, I had great fun responding, hope you enjoy a bit as well!

Finally, Good News

2010-11-11T14:24:00.000-08:00

On the road again...

After my horrendous experience at "Keyser" a few weeks ago, I dreaded going back to see another specialist, but left the hospital this week with a huge grin on my face! The verdict? My knee is fine. 100% fine. What's the pain all about? My weak, atrophied right leg is having a tough time because during this injury I babied it too much, thus causing my kneecap to slightly move to the right. If you, dear reader, would grab one leg and then the other you would see the difference in muscle loss. I was honestly shocked but in the end, relieved. To correct this I just need to strengthen my quads and not do something silly like too much distance running, too soon. I am still smiling, I also still feel a bit of pain but now know the steps to get out of this quicksand. Apparently the other doctor's claims that I had this and that damaged were total hogwash, I supressed the desire to yell down the hall "SEE?! I TOLD YOU SO!" and just smiled quietly when Dr. G looked at the x-rays and said "I see no damage, everything looks fine, you do need to strengthen your quads though". So here's the timeline of what I did wrong

Banged my knee and then went on a huge long run instead of RICE
Didn't do RICE properly the first time around.
Didn't adhere to taking Ibuprofen regurlarly
Didn't cross train when healed
Ran a 1/2 marathon when healed (whoops!)
Hiked when I wasn't healed.
Put off seeing the doctor
Didn't ask for a second opinion
Understated my injuries
(and finally) Let someone else get me down when I knew in my heart he was wrong.

So what does this mean? It means my road back to joining the running community has a direction, a course, and milemarkers. According to the Dr. if I can get my right leg up to about 80% of the strength of the left, then I should be good to go. Time for me to do a short walk. :) Thanks for reading!

Knee Update: Two Paths, Two Men, Two Days

2010-10-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

After weeks and months of babying my knee, not walking, sticking to the fake bike I finally went back to my doctor. It hurt to walk, it was painful to do the fake bike and the only relief I really had was swimming and I was miserable and irritated. What followed were two visits over two days, with two different men and two vastly different experiences.

My first was with a doctor at a facility we'll call "Keyser Medical" my doctor is a pretty decent guy, and so I figured the knee 'expert' would be also as nice. I was wrong. I walked in, he had me lie down, did a cursory exam of my legs, asked me where the pain was. (This is so infuriating, because the pain was inside the knee, and he kept asking me to point to it - uh unless you have a needle and xray vision I'm not going to be able to do this buddy!) He then sat me up, took a quick glance at old x-rays from months ago, and read over the notes that my other doctor and PT had put in. I told him how running had helped me lose weight, was great exercise, how I hadn't run before this and had pretty fresh knees since I wasn't a guy that ran in high school or anything. He nodded and kept reading the story, then proceeded to tell me "the sooner you accept the fact that you can't run again, the better off you will be" I was so stunned I didn't say anything at first. I'm a polite guy, but when someone offends me I usually have some sort of retort available. I think I stammered out an "excuse me, I've been running for only two years, how the heck are you telling me my running stint is over?!"
He then went on about cartilage damage, how damaging running is how maybe if I babied my knees I'd be able to run short distances, but not the longer distances of a half or full marathon. I was shocked, then incredulous and finally, furious.

This Hatebreed song = my feelings after seeing the Dr. "Burn their lies! Their words of ignorance!"

I asked him for an MRI and he dismissed my request outright, going so far as to say "You can go to a store to buy bread, and pick and choose, but not here. The MRI is for us, and I don't need it." He seemed skeptical when I told him I had stayed off my knees, and when I asked him if he was a runner he told me "I used to be, I was so fast, oh I could have left you in the dust! I used to wear weights because my friends couldn't catch up" I can't make this stuff up! I was flipping out - one minute I wanted to laugh in his face, the other I wanted to throw him into a fiery put, the other I was ready to weep. Thankfully the urge to seek out a molten fissure in the earth passed, and sanity returned. I thanked him for his time and respectfully asked for a 2nd opinion/referral.

The Mrs. convinced me to go see the folks at Kinections. They came highly recommended from multiple runners I respect and even some I barely know! I had nothing to lose and was despondent. Kinections aren't doctors, they are sports therapists and their facility in downtown Sacramento is spartan but welcoming. Exercise machines fill the middle of the room, and the western wall has stations separated by curtains. If you aren't into hearing your neighbor's conversations, this might be something to consider. If you are like me and don't care, no big. Lino lay me down and had me move my legs around, asked me what I was doing, when, how long etc. He asked me what sort of running I did, trail or road, and if I did anything to exacerbate my knee. I told him the banging into the wall during rock climbing story and he moved to the foot of the table. He had me turn my toes inward and noted that I didn't have as much range of motion on the right then nodded. (This is where things get weird/awesome)

He told me to relax, fished around under my knee, behind my knee, poked his fingers up into that area. I felt pain for a hot second andI tried not to whimper too much since people were right next to me on both sides.
He then shoved an ice pack underneath the back of my knee and told me to wait a few minutes. I listened to the conversations around me. The couple to the right of me were training with Fleet Feet for CIM and the husband was amped on his long run that weekend. The wife was wary but excited to see progress. When he returned he told me "get up and walk!" and I did..and the pain, while not 100% gone, was DRASTICALLY improved! It was like going from an 8 to a 2 in minutes. Was this totally psychosomatic? Was I feeling better because he told me I would? "What did you do?" I asked "I moved some cartilage around, should be ok now" I was incredulous for the 2nd time in as many days, "Well now what?" "ice behind your knee, it won't pass through the bone very well, hmm ibuprofen if you want, but really you should be ok to run - just heal up 100% now that everythings where it should be" I thanked him, paid him and walked around a block just to see if he was right, and he was.

So where does this leave me now? If I spend time on the foam roller, stretch and swim, I feel awesome. I still have a referral to see that other doctor and a chance to get more X-rays. Part of what I hate of all of this is the unknown and having to deal with people who allegedly know more about this than we do. I know there are good doctors - and my rage isn't with the medical profession in general, just in particular. It's just disheartening to hear the same story repeated over and over by fellow runners. I can trot around the backyard with the kids at least, so that is a huge plus! I can also walk without pain - this is giant. I highly recommend Lino and the staff at Kinections. Hope your runs are awesome this weekend, and thanks for reading!

Movie Mini-Review - Saint Ralph

2010-10-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Saint Ralph is a sweet movie about reaching for a miracle and running, but mostly about going for it. This movie shows us Ralph's hi-jinks navigating life at a Catholic school under the stern rule of Father Fitzpatrick. Ralph's mother succumbs to an unknown malady and lapses into a coma and Ralph then tries to make a miracle happen by praying, penitence and training to run and win the Boston Marathon. Like most Hollywood treatment of running, this movie is also a bit unrealistic and doesn't actually show training as runners today would recognize. No ramp up or taper or tempo or long runs, but it is still a fun movie to watch for runners. If you have Netflix you can watch it online here.
I have heard these types of movies referred to as "dramadies" and it's an accurate description for this movie.
Even though there are life and death scenarios here, it's actually a lot less emotional than watching Spirit Of The Marathon. I gave it 4 stars simply because 5 is a lot and I'm stingy with my 5s.

Loving Hut Review

2010-10-14T19:46:00.000-07:00

Loving Hut - The Balloon is biodegradable. Plastic does biodegrade right

Loving Hut is a chain-ish line of vegan Vietnamese restaurants that offer yummy vegan eats and exist primarily to fund the ~~cult~~ religion of Supreme Master Ching Hai. Recently we checked out the newest Northern California location at the soft launch of their Elk Grove location. I know that this is just tangentially running related but since I am a plant eater and all, I figured I'd share some of the places that I eat - you tell me if you;d rather hear me whine about my injuries ! The menus are not the same in every location, so while you might get a sandwich in San Francisco, it might not be available here. Not sure why but that's ok. I guess it does give us variety. We ordered some fried rolls and cold rolls. Both were a decent price and tasted awesome.

Cold Rolls

Fried Rolls

After the rolls we ordered some Orange "Chicken" and some Broccoli "Beef". The beef is a pretty standard vegetarian dish. You can get this same dish at Hings in West Sacramento or even Au Lac on Stockton Blvd for a lot less than what they have here. If however you are in South Sac/ Elk Grove I suppose you might spend as much driving to Oak Park! The orange chicken was great but I was left wanting more chicken. The portions are decent, not as skimpy as Andy Nguyens, not as generous as Hings or Ding How in Davis.

Orange Chicken

Oh! I almost forgot, we got some vegan orange cake that was delicious but oh so rich. The frosting was like biting into a tub of sugary earth balance. I'm not that into sweets so maybe I should have someone else review the goodies. In conclusion I'd give this place a 4 out of 5 simply for the price and the size of their portions. I thought that as they were just opening, they would go all out with the portions so I was a tiny bit disappointed.
If you are a nor cal reader and know of a good place to eat that's vegan or vegetarian, let me know! I am always excited to try new places to eat. Hope your long runs are great and fueled by good food!

Broccoli Beef

Sacramento Urban Cow 1/2 Marathon 2010

2010-10-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

For Mrs. G and I, the 2010 Urban Cow Half-Marathon (aka the Cowtown Half-Marathon) was our first foray into volunteering at a race rather than running it. In short, we had a lot of fun and learned a ton! Arriving around 7:00 AM, we met these two ladies crossing Freeport Blvd. What are the chances? I actually DO own other technical shirts, but this shirt is always such a conversation starter and I'm a social guy so I had to say hello! On the left is Marisa and on the right is Alicia - first time veg runners and now ~~CowTow~~ Urban Cow finishers! I had to let Matt (NoMeatAthlete) know so tweeted immediately. I'm a dork, I admit it.

"Hey! Those shirts look familiar!"

"is that Kevin Johnson?" "quiet! they're singing the national anthem!"

We got to the race and said hello to Kellie from CRRM, got our t-shirts and got to work. We helped with the post race food corral and if you remember this race last year, it was a mess. In 2009 after I finished my run, I got my cowbell and didn't even bother with food because there was such a backlog of people there. Last year I also met Barefoot Ted and purchased Born To Run from him. This year, CRRM moved the corral and expanded the area to allow runners a chance to walk a bit and collect fruit, bread, juice, cola, water etc. I hope the runners enjoyed the change, it seemed to work out well from my vantage point. We worked with some of the nicest, most enthusiastic kids ever. It was so refreshing to have kids refer to me as 'sir' 'thank you' etc. We weren't 'supervisors' or anything, but the kids just deferred to Amy and I. I didn't argue the point! I wonder if it's running culture or these particular kids? Whatever the case, it was nice to deal with happy, polite people.

Mark giving the most agreeable kids in America a last minute pep talk.

We saw the start of both the 1/2 and the 5k and clapped for everyone then set out to prep food and drinks. Once the first finisher came through, the morning flew by. We spent the majority of our time handing out food and Amy tried to coordinate with other parts of the food area and would occasionally send me to the dumpster to empty the bins. I'm happy to report that most runners in fact, like 99.99999 percent were awesome! There was a tiny demographic that got carried away with small crimes, like taking a whole carton of strawberries instead of just a couple! We ended up handing them out to stop that issue, otherwise the mid-pack folks would've been left with nothing. We also saw some runners take whole milk cartons and then chuck them. Why take them if you aren't going to use? Waste not, want not. I mean I don't want milk anyways but I digress. One of our fellow volunteers had a bullhorn blaring "once you leave you may not enter, Chipotle tacos are free for runners" over and over again. Some people still went in. Others asked me for food from behind. I wasn't going to say no!

Amy and two other volunteers, and lots of strawberries!

We noticed a lot of runners were running out of hands when we'd hand them their fruit, so once we freed up some baskets we'd give them to the runners and send them to the Grocery Outlet table (which had plastic bags!) this generated a lot of smiles but the Grocery Outlet people weren't too excited and eventually moved their bag giveaway to OUTSIDE the corral (what?). This made no sense to me but the GO people were there own entity so there's not much else we can do about them. Sometime during the 1/2 finishers coming in, I met another runner with a No Meat Athlete shirt! Turns out we have a mutual friend in Holly who does a blog as well!. We chatted for a bit, I gave him some strawberries, he gave me some injury advice and we took a photo or two together!

add Jeff to the growing ranks of Nor Cal veg runners!

Towards the end things got really hectic in the corral, and I was shocked to discover how little food was left!
Mental note: run faster, you will get more post race food! As I was lugging away a juicy, liquid soaked garbage bag, I heard "Jose!" and ran into Daphne, a friend from DailyMile. Daphne her husband and a friend stopped for a photo and looked absolutely awesome for completing 13.1 miles of fun. Congrats again Daphne!

Daphne her husband and friend. Check out her blog!

We took a break to roam around and check out the booths, vendors, etc. The line for Chipotle was huge, and I just missed running into two fellow runners who I have yet to say hi to IRL though we talk constantly on Twitter and DM. Kelly and Derrick both were going, but with thousands of people, it's a surprise I ran into anyone really. (Speaking of Kelly, she's close to her goal of raising $5,000 for her charity. If you have a paypal account, head over and give her a buck or two!)

Here then in no particular order are some observations about the Urban Cow:

One guy was a sweaty, sopping mess and reached OVER strawberries- bathing the poor fruit in his post race fluids. I couldn't in good conscience let another runner eat those so I trashed em.
It is a lot of work to get a race put together, we were only in one section but it took a lot of people, muscle and motivation to get things done. Hat's off to the people at the aid stations, booths, etc.
I've only been running for a short while, but I really love the disposable chips. Remember having to wait for someone to cut them off? That sudden stop = barf city.
Even though I didn't run, I didn't feel bad for not participating, I was a part of the event still, and it felt good to know that my efforts were appreciated. I got a lot of thank yous from runners and fellow volunteers. So much love!
Runners are beautiful people. Everyone is giving it their all sweating, smiling, and living! It was nice to be around the positive energy of runners.
It's nice to see Mayor Kevin Johnson at so many running events. All politics aside, it's good to see community leaders take an active role in physical fitness. He's up early on a Sunday, good job Mr. Mayor!

KJ and yours truly.

Congrats to all that participated! Also - I'm sending prayers and encouragement to everyone racing next week, lots of big races! Chicago, Portland, Buzz Oates, Royal Victoria, do it up friends!I will do another 'rah rah' post soon, just know that many of you are in my thoughts. Here are some more links to Urban Cow 'round ups' so to speak. Enjoy!

http://ratpackrunners.shutterfly.com/4538

http://puttinupwiththerain.blogspot.com/

http://momiatemyveggies.blogspot.com/

Knee Update: Fitness Update : Music Update

2010-09-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hello friends, I know a promised an update to the SF Marathon, suffice to say that it didn't do me any favors and though I had a blast it came at a price! After a visit to my doctor and my PT I was advised to not continue my daily mile walks, and to simply take it easy and do strength training exercises. So since then I've been returning to the gym to swim, ride the stationary bike (or fake bike as I like to call it) and do leg curls etc to strengthen up my leg muscles. My knee still aches, and it's infuriating and depressing and I'm about to call my doctor to get an MRI because I'm sick of people (experts) saying "sometimes these injuries takes months" it's just been too long! The gym doesn't give the same rush that running does, even if I work out long enough to burn off the equivalent amount of calories. I feel captive, enclosed, shut in...there's nothing like being out there at 4:30 in the morning heading into the dark with water sloshing in my bottle and a headlamp lighting the way.
I miss running like a prisoner misses freedom.

The gym does offer some entertainment though, for a while those of you who follow me on Twitter have heard me talk about The Grunter and his noises. The Grunter is an middle aged, bald, white guy who lifts weights and when he really goes for it, makes a sound like he's giving birth. For a while there his groaning, moaning, and heaving was so loud that it overpowered the tunes in my earbuds. That's loud!

(This is not The Grunter, most likely his cousin back east)

That being said, there have been some good things to come from me going to the gym again, for starters I can listen to music. I don't run with music, and don't understand people who do this risky thing. I like hearing cars, dogs, muggers, etc when I'm out and about. I have a theory that people who listen to music while running come from very safe, clean, suburban neighborhoods. I don't live in south central LA, but I grew up in the hood and it's fostered a healthy skepticism and sense of my surroundings into me. My blog is named after a Sick Of It All song, and as such I'm powered by a lot of punk/metal and hardcore. Lately I've been listening to the following bands and cannot get enough of them!
The first band is Trapped Under Ice - this tune is not an uplifting tune, it's despondent and bleak but the anger overpowers the feeling of dread. Listen to this before you attack that curling machine and you'll bend it like you would an aluminum can! (Well you'll at least think you can)

This next band is called Terror and as their name implies, they are another aggressive and angry band.
Hailing from the east coast by way of LA, Singer Scott Vogel and a rotating cast of characters round out a band who's lyrical content focuses on overcoming adversity, anger, betrayal, smashing the opposition, and the camaraderie between friends.
This song is called "Stick Tight" off of their just released album "Keepers Of The Faith" and has kept my heart rate up at many a gym outing lately.

I have friends that ask me, how can angry music make you smile? Runners should grasp this, it's a rush of adrenaline, and a feeling of being alive when you feel your blood run faster through your veins.
There's a similar endorphin rush, a high as it were from both live music and from running.
I suppose there are other parallels too, I've gotten injuries stagediving and training, there's sweat involved in both activities etc.
I share this music with you to show you part of what fuels me. In the big pie chart that is my motivation, this is still a part of the pie even at 40 years of age. More motivation comes from family, from the fact that life is short and I want to live it the best I can, and of course at the end of the day, from my faith. I don't touch on this much, we Catholics tend to try and not proselytize, but it's there!

Hope some of you enjoyed the music or at least got a taste of it to see what powers some of us out there!
Northern Californians, a PS: I will be volunteering at the ~~Cowtown~~ "Urban Cow 1/2 Marathon" So if you are there, say hello! Run if you can! Enjoy the weekend, and stick tight to your friends and family.

San Francisco Marathon -Jose's Race Report Part 1

2010-07-28T09:16:00.000-07:00

This race report is going to be in three parts, the race, the food and finally- friends and family! This way I can hopefully cover everything awesome that happened SF Marathon weekend. Since I am easily amused, this means I have to cover a lot of ground!

Part 1 - The Race

Saturday night I changed my goal from doing the 5k to "run as far as I can with my friends and have fun". I told my wife, she gave me her blessing, I threw a Hammer Gel into my waist pack and slept. Sunday morning came quickly. I rubbed my eyes and we hustled out of the hotel room and down to Starbucks to get oatmeal with Team Piccolo. Runners were making their way down the streets to the start finish, I made it a point to tell everyone with a bib "Have a good race!" Most got stoked and returned well wishes, others didn't. I figured those were Euros or deaf, or both!

The view outside of the Park Hotel

Wave 8 meant we were at the tail end of the last wave going out, as we walked back past runners a woman clapped and gave me a thumbs up "yay! no meat athlete!" in reference to my shirt. I wish I had given her a high five, good vibes! Bart Yasso was at the start cheering on the waves and when he finally got to us we set off down towards the start finish line. I waved at Bart and told him "Congrats on Comrades!" he gave me a shout out over the PA and we were off! Again let me remind you dear reader that prior to this race I have not run further than 3 miles, so as we approached the awesome Sports Basement cheering section, I did some quick estimating and figured the bridge was around 5-6 miles or so out. I told Richard and Jenny, "I think I can run to the bridge" and they gave me thumbs up. We kept along at a slow pace, talking to runners and discussing hydration strategies, running, friends who didn't make the race, all the things runners talk about.
When we got to the first hill, I walked partway up and enjoyed the beautiful views of the bay. It was so fun to run streets normally jam packed with tourists and have the roads all to ourselves. I felt my knee ache a tiny bit, but it wasn't agonizing. Without sounding like a tough guy, it was a manageable discomfort, not really a pain. As we crested to the toll booth I heard whoops and cheers from other runners and saw people reach for their cameras and cell phones to take photos. I made it to the bridge!
Richard and Jenny looked at me "You ok?" I nodded "Yep, I think I want to run across this thing" and we did!

The end of the SF 10k, wait, there's no such thing? Ok carry on


Richard and Jenny, Marathon Runners!

The 10k point was such a rush, I had doubled my goal and was still feeling great! Here I was running further than I have in weeks, with perfect weather! I sensed that Jenny and Richard wanted to speed up, and felt my quads (especially on my right leg) ache. At the turn around point Richard left us and Jenny took a restroom break. I stopped to stretch and sat down to eat my gel and think about what just happened. I considered calling a cab, heading back and calling it a day. Jenny and I trotted back onto the bridge and I could tell she wanted to pick up the pace, I hugged her, told her to enjoy her race and she disappeared into the fog.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

I walked for a bit on bridge, taking in the sights and sounds of garmins beeping and cars honking. What was I going to do? At this point I was 8.25 miles out. Could I do the half marathon?! My knee felt good, my legs felt good, but I was out of fuel. I considered bumming a gel from a fellow runner when my foot hit something, an unopened pack of Clif Shoks! I looked around, mouth agape, looked up, smiled a silent "Thank you!" and texted my wife to let her know I was going for it.

Mile 10 - You bet I was happy to see this!

These next miles were tough, but rewarding. By mile 10 I knew I had it ! It was just 3.1 miles to the finish and I was hanging tough with other half marathon participants.
As the rolling hills made way to the fringes of Golden Gate Park, I saw runners with space blankets and knew I was near the end. I was running slowly now, and though I was sore, looking back I think I slowed more to savor the moment than to quell the ouch factor. One more turn into the park and the chute was there. 2:55 - my slowest half ever and I did it! One month off and I pulled off an impromptu half marathon!
This was such a mind boggler to me on so many levels. I'm so used to having specific goals and knowing beforehand what I'm setting out to do, never in a million years would I have thought that I had it in me to complete 13.1 after my month plus of being away from running.
I ran to the medical tent, got some ice for my knee and got a foil blanket. Then I took the shuttle back to my family (huge wait, whole other story) and didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day and most of this week!
Part 2 coming soon, thanks for reading and big thanks to my wife for being awesome! I love you!

Stoked Dork, not to be confused with stork

List Of San Francisco Marathon Race Reports

2010-07-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

So since I'm a bit obsessive, I've been scouring for other race reports, and here are some that I've found via twitter, google, bathroom stalls, etc.

http://stretchinginheels.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/sf-marathon-2010-race-report/
This runner is in Sacto (like me!) and put together a race report on her marathon run.

http://tokyphotography.wordpress.com/2010/07/27/san-francisco-marathon-photo-essay-1/
This runner is from LA and is a MUST read, seriously amazing photography!

http://chicrunner.com/san-francisco-2nd-half-race-report
I met Danica for two seconds at the SFM expo, she's a funny writer and usually isn't so tearful.
I make a surprise appearance in the background of one of the photos on this race report!

http://exercisingwhileintoxicated.wordpress.com/
I'm straight edge but this guy isn't, and he makes a compelling argument for, well err running sober?

not a blog post but an LOL http://www.twitlonger.com/show/2o6r32

and some more that I haven't read yet. If you have more, let me know!
I'll be updating this list so it's a work in progress

http://twentysixandthensome.com/2010/07/25/a-san-francisco-marathon-weekend/

http://operationjack.org/blog/?i=204

http://www.runnersrambles.com/2010/07/race-report-2010-san-francisco-half.html

http://tylermccandless.com/2010/07/25/79/

Going For It

2010-07-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

Going for it is running and running is going for it. Whether we are an average Jose or Jane or an elite athlete, we are going for it. From the lowliest jogger making the transition to "getting in shape" to the ultra running monsters doing Western States and Badwater - we/they are all going for it! Injured runners mourn their days off, and even the process of RICE and healing is going for it. Runners read everything they can on running, books, magazines, twitter feeds, dailymile entries, this quest for knowledge is going for it.

How many times have we heard the excuses "it's too hot" "it's too cold" "it's too dark" "it's too bright" for not running? How many times have we seen fellow non-runners tell us about resolutions, diets, promises to get out there only to have them not follow through.

Running is the incarnation of the thought "I should get off the couch" and actually DOING it. Be proud if you count yourself amongst this demographic, most people don't get this far!

I'm at peace now with my decision to run in the 5k at the San Francisco Marathon this Sunday because that's my way of going for it. I could stay home, but I can't. I will feel better knowing I'm moving forward even though this 5k will NOT be a PR! I'm viewing it as a starting over point, a baseline and a celebration of my return (albeit painful) to running. I'm going to be there to run a small race, cheer on my friends, bang on my Cowtown 1/2 Marathon Cowbell, eat delicious food, and be a part of everyone going for it.
If you aren't going for it, start today, and if you are tapering, have a great race on Sunday!

Motion is Murder

2010-07-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

I used to be a runner, but eventually I stopped. Today I heartily enjoy video games, DVDs, my DVR, siestas, naps, resting, sitting, lounging, chilling and relaxing.

This is why it is so gratifying to read the following headline:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/phys-ed-the-men-who-stare-at-screens/?apage=1

Finally! Some science based affirmation that will take the edge off the guilt as I sit down again to another day of sloth! Twitter, facebook, Fark.com and more . If I'm lazy and sedentary with one medium, why not be lazy with all?

Now what would really be awesome is a headline like this:
"Sitting down makes you more of an internet sensation than the dude in the Old Spice commercials"
Till then, leave me alone, I'm going to sleep in my office after all, if God had intended for us to run, why'd he give us automobiles?

PS If you didn't get it! This is a tongue in cheek response to this very silly nonsensical post:
http://rwdaily.runnersworld.com/2010/07/melon-is-murder.html

Thank You San Francisco Marathon

2010-07-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what I'm doing with the San Francisco Marathon. I won entry, but there's no way I'm running or walking or limping 26.2 miles so I'm writing this is a thank you to the race organizers and hopefully to sort out my options.

What the heck do I do? Start the full and go for the half? Pace friends for a bit? So many unknowns make me miss the certainty of training. I enjoy the structure of mileage increases and decreases during the taper. I miss knowing at least a ballpark estimate of miles on a certain weekend, week, etc. Yet here I am with a few weeks to go with a bib and a chip and a bum knee, I'm open to your suggestions!

SF Marathon organizers, thank you for many reasons! With my first marathon, I felt a big disconnect with the organizers and the race itself. The marathon website was clinical, confusing and at the risk of sounding really cheesy, made me feel a bit alone. I had questions about the race ended up getting answers from fellow runners on Twitter. Contrast this with the SFM, where the team has been always a tweet, email, or wall post away! Questions are answered quickly, their social media has been updated frequently, and they have been a great conduit between runners. Whoever does their twitter deserves super kudos, I've seen other runners looking for advice have their queries retweeted, and even something as silly as "how's everyone's training going?" has really helped foster a feeling of community.

Marathons are a personal thing, and a group effort. We as individuals toe that start line, but the race organizers help put it all together as a group effort along with volunteers. The SFM has done a bang up job of fostering a "we're all going for it" feeling among the participants. I hope the race day goes as well as the lead up! Thanks again guys!

So I Ran This Weekend

2010-07-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

22 days until the San Francisco Marathon and I did a whole whopping 1.77 miles!
The Mrs. is training for a half, and I was invited along for a few. I was so excited to do the pre-run ritual the night before of getting my gear ready. I'm very easily amused and ittle things like that get me excited. I woke up and waited for her to return and we set off down the street. How did it feel? Every time my right foot hit, it felt as though a tiny man with a heavy rubber mallet was inside my knee smacking it from the inside out. After a mile or so I told myself "just wait till you warm up, you'll feel better" and continued to shuffle along - no dice. It did feel awesome to be out again, but it did not feel awesome to wince with every step. It also didn't feel awesome to 'run' so slowly! To put things in perspective, my 5k PR is 27.14 and I did half that distance in 26.47 ! At the least I have a better idea of where I am healing wise, and because I am an optimist, I'm excited that walking is pain free, even if running isn't. Hope you had a great Independence Day!

Knee Update: "Monster Month"

2010-07-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

Monster month for the non-injured runner is usually filled with lots of mileage, lots of eating, lots of excitement and pushing personal limits (I've never run this far before in my life!). For me it's been a lot of eating and sitting around! Here's my update: at the recommendation of my Dr. I got x-rays of my knee. He reviewed the images and let me know that I still have internal swelling but would regain range of motion once the swelling went down. I'm thankful it's not something serious! My routine for weeks has been to take ibuprofen 3x a day, as well as vegan glucosomine MSM 3x a day. I've also been aggressively icing and I think that's helped out, by aggressively I mean several times a day instead of just two or three times a day which is what I was doing the first week or so! I am to the point where I can walk now without too much of a limp, and can play with my kids! This is a huge plus for me and them. I can tire them out so they can sleep well, this helps me and the Mrs. out because then we rest well. Win win all around!

So what does no running for weeks do to you? I was cranky at first, then resigned. I have had minor setbacks (went to the gym once, went to see Iron Maiden, that's a whole nother post!) I've gained about a 1/2 lb at most ! I don't believe it but the scale doesn't lie. I've also been sitting around eating Soy Ice "Cream" like it's going to disappear from the face of the earth with no ill effects except for maybe some brain freeze. My sleeping patterns have been about the same, though I don't sleep as well. I also wake up and one of my first thoughts is 'darn it, it's still achy' then I think 'oh! but it's LESS achy!' so - glass is half full? I'll say so.

Looking ahead - my short term goal is to run this weekend two miles, if I can do that I will be ecstatic!
The Mrs. is beginning her 1/2 marathon training and she's already left my mileage in the dust, which is a good thing again a win win for everyone.
If you aren't injured and are a runner, get out there today or tomorrow and do a mile for me!

Western States 100 Coverage

2010-06-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

I've compiled a quick list of Western States 100 race coverage so bookmark this page and come back!
At the time of this posting there are still runners on the course in pursuit of the coveted belt buckles. I'm sending prayers to each and every one of them that they meet their goals, belt buckle or not!

Great write up in the Roseville Press Tribune
http://rosevillept.com/detail/153188.html

Awesome gallery at the Sacramento Bee site
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/26/2852141/37th-annual-running-of-the-western.html

Profile of an runner from the Tahoe Tribune
http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20100626/NEWS/100629910/1068&ParentProfile=1056

Twitter of course has tons of real time coverage from people on the course, following the race and actually working as volunteers.
Click on the link on the hashtag #WS100 to see all the tweets related to the race.
Twitter user and fellow runner @chmpgnepolitics took this photo at the finish line!

There's a Ustream page dedicated to the finish, you can pretend you are there!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/western-states-2010-finish

I will attempt to insert the code here, if you don't see it try the link above.
Live Broadcasting by Ustream

Truth In Advertising + Western States Article

2010-06-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

- Ever notice how many races advertise their courses as "flat and fast" when in reality, they are not? Sure, there's a lot of wiggle room since both flat and fast are subjective terms but let's not take things too far!
This morning I received an email from the race organization of a 10k I ran last summer.
The course claims the course is "smooth enough for strollers" when in fact last year's route meandered through an industrial park, through a parking lot, then up a steep almost foot tall curb, then dropped down into a rock filled trail ! A fun course to run, not so fun for stroller runners!
In fairness to the race director, the current route might be different but because the resolution of the map is poor I can't really tell.

- Sam McManis has a great article on the Western States 100 runners and their eating/fueling strategies.
http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/24/2843710/ultra-runners-eat-for-the-long.html

I was going to go cheer them on but have a vegan dinner to attend and the finishers will be in Auburn way past our little one's bed times. Maybe next year?

I leave you with a photo of my at work trail which I haven't seen now in at least a month ! Happy Friday!

Knees Update

2010-06-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

Quick update - knee is still swollen, posting this to email my doctor!

First shot was taken on the 13th, and the bottom one is a shot from this morning.
Sorry about the uneven tan :)

Run Sacramento + Things I Miss About Running

2010-06-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

Some odds and ends out of the way first :

1)I'm really going to miss Sam McManis's Run, Sacramento blog on the Sacramento Bee, he was/is a great writer and very involved in Northern California. His contributions to the running community will be missed (at least via this mode as I hope he'll continue to write elsewhere!)

2) We finally got our daughter's T Shirt! The Veggie Chase director sent it in, so if you haven't please contact him and we'll see you all there next year!

3) Moving on to me and my knee - (Warning: Griping ahead) I still haven't run, heck I still haven't even been able to WALK without limping. I know it will heal eventually but it's tough. So much goes through my head - let me throw some stuff out there, these are things that I think about throughout my day.

I miss getting stuff ready the night before to go on a run. I miss wearing my Garmin, and the feeling of being half awake at the beginning of a pre-dawn run then feeling completely alive on the way home.
I hate not being able to run around and play with my kids. I tell myself "other people are so much worse off!", it doesn't make me feel better. I wonder if maybe I'm not cut out for long distances, I worry that I will not be able to run again, I beat myself up for running too long or too fast, I alternately curse and thank my doctor, I listen to music and wish I were listening to it on a run, I log into dailymile and find I have nothing to say..and then I know that there are others out there and at the end, just like reluctantly running when the body says "just sleep in" I have to get up and face the day. I can't wallow in this stuff, but it's still difficult to avoid. I ice my knee, I take my medication, I find myself staying awake later without a care.In my head I yell at people who don't run "You CAN get out there, you aren't injured, get off your rear!"

More than anything I miss the FREEDOM of running. I miss having that choice, I enjoy seeing things I don't normally see if I am not running. Workers loading pallets onto semi- trucks, EMTs and police on breaks, street people sleeping, wildlife, weather, the elements themselves. Its' not the same when I am behind the wheel or looking out a window. If you are injured - I feel your pain! If you aren't, get out there and run already!

This song has nothing to do with running, but I've been listening to this CD non stop. Enjoy!

The Verdict : Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

2010-06-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

I keep staring at the screen trying to type a nice witty, pithy, "hey things are bad but it will get better!" pick me up line but I can't. I returned from my doctor and was told I'm to not run for at least 2 weeks, and to take medication to stop the swelling. Nothing is broken, nothing is damaged permanently, but I am to take it easy while I heal. I can swim and bike, but that's about it. So now my training is derailed officially and my goal of "Running a strong SF Marathon" changes to "Avoid a DNF in the SF Marathon" or even "walk/run the SFM". I'm also saying good bye to scaling half dome, which honestly would have been a bit much even at 100%, but still it's a dream I will hold on to. I love Yosemite and anytime I am there, I feel awe, joy, and wonder. The big rock will have to wait! My doctor was actually pretty cool about the whole ordeal. When I hestitantly asked him "you aren't going to ask me to stop running right?" he laughed and pointed out that aside from the puffy knee, my blood pressure, weight, etc. were great and that I was (in his words) "in great shape" this made me smile!
A PS to the Women's Race I mentioned below: My girls did great! Both mom and grandma kicked butt, and the post race snack line line was a bit too long. I think she's doing a race review here or elsewhere. I got to meet my twitter friend Layla and we discussed flatland/mountain running techniques and defying the medical community (childhood doctors told her she couldn't run, she's obviously proving them wrong!). The flatland mountain training? Running in parking garages. Clever! Why'd I never think of that? If When I get better, I'm going to give that a shot! I learn the best stuff from other runners online, you guys all rule!

A short entry for now, thanks for reading and thanks to all my friends for the well wishes! In the big picture, this is not a big deal. I will run again, and I will overcome this obstacle as well.Overpower, overcome!

Sacramento Fleet Feet Sports' Women's Fitness Festival

2010-06-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Sacramento Fleet Feet Sports' Women's Fitness Festival benefits WEAVE, Sacramento’s primary provider of domestic violence and sexual assault services. Great beneficiary, great time of year to go running, a well organized race, and fast becoming a Sacramento staple. This 5k winds around the State Capitol and is a great summer race for Northern California women.
I'm posting this to wish every runner good luck and also to give a big "way to go!" to both my wife and my mom in law who are making this their 2nd year of participation!

That being said, dear readers/fellow tweeps (I feel dirty typing that you know) daily mile denizens, etc. :
What do YOU think of all women events?
We belong to a gym that used to have an all women's section (which I thought was great, I am a father, a son, and a husband and believe that sometimes it's nice for women to have a section all to themselves) yet somehow the gym was forced to make it a 'co-ed' section, which doesn't really make sense to me.
On the other hand, some might say that having an all women's event sorta goes against the point Kathrine Switzer was making when she blazed onto the Boston Marathon on that fateful day in 1967.
Are all women's event's discriminatory? Are they a non-issue?

Lastly - what makes this last year's participant/bandit such a special snowflake that he went ahead and ran ? Happy Friday!

Injury - Day 3 Of No Running

2010-06-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

So along with my goal of running the San Francisco Marathon, I had also planned on scaling half dome with my wife for my birthday this August. She had the great idea of having us practice on the rock wall at our gym, and it was/is a great idea! We went there - I was able to get half way up, she got all the way to the top, and an 11 year old girl scrambled up and down before we knew what the heck was going on.

I felt my IT band or knee or something feel a bit 'off' when I came down but didn't think much of it. Did 14 miles on Sunday felt spent but ok, then after a 4 mile recovery run on Monday - realized something was up and began spending a lot of time on the foam roller. This morning I realized my right knee was swollen, iced it, took ibuprofen and am now biding my time as it heals and hoping for the best.

These are the times when my patience is tested the most, the times when I question myself and think "is this really for me?" I can't tell what was at fault, the rock wall or the long run or my training or what.. I only know that I'm going to scale back my training till I heal and keep moving onwards. I feel like I will whine to anyone who will listen, but only a few folks really understand what it's like to invest in training and then have it come to a halt. It's a lot like driving in the fog, you know eventually you will exit - but you don't know exactly when.
I'll keep waiting, keep hoping, and try and keep my PMA. I was, no, I AM so proud of my training so far I know that I will heal and it's just a matter of time.

Memorial Day Weekend -Pre Taper Tantrum - Seen On My Run - A Giant Chicken

2010-05-28T16:07:00.000-07:00

Before I get into my blog post, let me direct you all to the last post and thank Tim Coughlin for commenting on my previous entry. If you ran in the Veggie Chase or had a child run in the Veggie Chase, please message him and let him know your T Shirt size as they are printing up more. Pass this along to anyone who cares!
http://www.ranchocordovapost.com/2010/05/27/thanks-for-coming-out-to-race-the-veggies/

Last night I had a pre taper tantrum. Yeah yeah I know I am nowhere NEAR taper town, but I like the term so much I just had to use it :P. Last night I suddenly realized my training schedule and real life calendar didn't jibe, chaos ensued and I was reduced to a mess. When I calmed down, I faced the sobering reminder that more than any other activity, running is a sport where the ultimate outcome depends on the individual. It is all on you! There's no blaming anyone else for your performance come race day, or any day for that matter. If you train, stick to your game plan, stick to your hydration/fuel strategy, you have a good chance of achieving the results you want. If you skimp on training, put off planning, procrastinate on investing in yourself - you will almost assuredly face disappointment come race day. It's so easy to blame others. I am guilty, I'm confessing, I'm letting everyone know! That being said, now that I'm regrouped - I'm at the halfway point and running 14 miles this weekend, July 25th seemed so far away scant weeks ago and now it's almost here. I'd like to take the time to let everyone know how awesome my wife is for putting up with me, you'd think after one marathon she'd say 'never again!' but she's rad for still indulging me. From post run band aids in the shower, to gobbling every bit of food in sight, to the aforementioned tantrums, to sighs when Sunday long runs take wayyyyy longer than expected, I love her very much and thank her for being the best coach and partner around!

Stuff I saw this week while running!

An interesting bag at the bail bond place downtown. What was in the bag? I wasn't about to find out. I hightailed it out of there.

Here's another interesting one, looks like someone stole someone's luggage and went through it here :( . We spotted this debris on the Fair Oaks side of the footbridge near Sunrise blvd.

I saw this huge chicken yesterday and was so excited. I'm a huge Daniel Pinkwater fan so well, that's all I will say on that subject! This is in or around N street.
Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone!

Veggie Chase Review

2010-05-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

The Veggie Chase sucked and ruled all the same time. The race organizers failed on so many levels, but on a personal level it was so much fun to see my daughter finish her first race !

"The mission of the Veggie Chase is to create a fun and unique community event where kids and families come together in a beautiful, natural setting along the American River Parkway to enjoy an event inspiring lifelong appreciation of fitness, excercise and healthy food choices." The mission statement is great, but their execution was awful. Let me rant for just a second , a rarity for me!

They ran out of kids t shirts. How does this happen?! We registered weeks ago, and all they had was adult small. Colossal fail. You gear a race towards kids and then underestimate the amount of shirts to print? It's not the volunteers fault, but I overheard a lot of angry parents at the packet table complain. Luckily my daughter didn't mind but she's not going to grow into that show for another 5 years! Race organizers: print more shirts. You will make a lot of parents happy and gain free advertising when the kids wear the shirt out to the playground/school/etc.
The course was poorly laid out. When I mean poorly I mean, they had a flimsy bit of tape stretched over some pylons and then haphazardly positioned in a grass field.
Every event ran late. We are talking like 15 minutes late or so. I understand that things get crazy, sure but come on ! When you are dealing with impatient children those minutes seem like hours.
Running shoes + wet grass = cold kid's feet. nuff said.
The announcing was inaudible and confusing. I overheard many parents venting about the announcing. The PA system was woefully in adequate and I am positive that lots of kids missed their races because the start finish lines weren't laid out clearly and the announcer couldn't be heard.

I took this shot of the 2k, they didn't warn us about rattlesnakes either but that's a whole other story ;)

Ok so that being said, here's what I DID like about the event!

Chipotle chips and guac at the farm event
Promoting healthy eating
The feeling of pride when kids complete their event and do a race "like mommy and daddy do"
Seeing related booths from people like REI, gymnastics, etc.
Having my daughter finish! She has a DNF under her belt (she was at my first half and declined to run thanks to some overzealous people in superhero outfits) now she's much more confident and had a ton of fun running with her friend and waving to mom, grandma, and grandpa. I'm very proud of her! She told me all day "I won daddy!" and I told her "yes you did. Sometimes all it takes to win is just to try" and she did !

Update! Lots of people are also chiming in at the Active.com forums and more blogs discussing the Veggie Chase Shirt Situation
http://slowrunner77.blogspot.com/
http://trailmomma.blogspot.com/
Yet another update!
So yesterday Sam McManis wrote this about the Veggie Chase.
http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/run_sacramento/2010/05/vegged-out-the-veggie-chase-5k-has-some-problems.html

Today we received a response from the race director. Here's what he sent out to Veggie Chase participants/registrants.

Thank you for your patience; we are a small, all volunteer group with a limited budget trying to provide tremendous value for kids and families at an affordable entry fee (our pre-registered rate for kids was only $5!) we had a hiccup with the t-shirts (of all things!) one of our dedicated volunteers miscalculated the number of kids shirts pre-ordered (plus registration grew by over 110% in the last 10 days) resulting in a shortage. Disappointing a kid bruises a Veggie's heart...so we will provide rain-check shirts for those kids who didn't get one. If your child was one of the pre-registered participants that was not able to receive their shirt, please respond as soon as possible with your child's name, and shirt size so we can make sure their shirt is included in the count. Thank you for your patience.

You all are awesome!

Hope you all had a blast!

~ Tomato Tim

Training Plan - Focused on San Francisco Marathon!

2010-05-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

After my last race I felt a bit dejected, but after a while I bounced back looking at the big picture and counting my blessings. I wasn't injured, I wasn't alone, I have a ton of support from friends and family, and most of all - I've got more races and more time to improve on everything that made me unhappy. I've found a training plan, I'm mixing up my training, and I'm in a positive mental state now!

I'm excited to announce I have found a race plan that works for me (so far!) and is kicking my butt but will get me where I need to go. I'm doing the Runner's World Intermediate Marathon Plan, and I love it! It only gives me two rest days but two weeks in -I'm feeling great. I also feel great knowing I'm really putting in some miles and really improving on my quest to get negative splits on longer runs. If you are on my Dailymile, you know that this has been a thorn in my side come race day. I'm on Week 6 of the training plan, have missed a mile or two here and there, and have shifted days around, but using this as a guide is so much more effective than leapfrogging from one plan to another like I did for CIM.

To mix things up I'm also running barefoot on the treadmill, swimming and walking during the week. The barefoot treadmill runs are the shortest ones, 3-5 miles or so. It's helping me with my stride and for years I've gone barefoot at home so really it's not that big of a deal. The swimming helps me stretch out and helps me do a bit of an upper body workout, and the walking also helps stretch during the week and sometimes we just need to push on our desk and get away from our computers don't we? Well I know that I do.

My PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) is also due to a lot of good things happening. I have had numerous friends return from Big Sur - some as their first marathon, some as their second, but all happy with the memories. Their stories rekindled my love for the journey ahead and got me excited to really dive back into training after the bumout of the Shamrock'n. My wife has been very supportive of me and is training for her first half this fall, which is awesome! I've also had some great runs leading up to this stage of training; trail running with a friend in Auburn, running up the steps to the Coit tower in San Francisco, and of course seeing wildlife along the American River Parkway. Lastly, I've gotten a ton of great information, tips, and advice from other blogs, twitter amigos, and dailymile posters. You know who you are!
Thanks for reading! More updates soon!

The photos show my recent running routes. The top trail is my Davis 3 miler , the hilly one is a run I did in Auburn, CA, the bottom image is on the American River Parkway (The Sac State Aquatic center is to the elft of the trail ) right after the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.

Shamrock'N Review

2010-04-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

I've put off writing about this race because long story short, it was tough! I thought I had trained well, and did PR (by a little bit) but the bottom line is that I did not race my race, at my pace and suffered dearly at the end for this. The first few miles were fun, although in retrospect I think I went too fast. The course was also nice at the beginning because it was long loops taking us through downtown and Old Sacramento, but towards the end things got horrific because the course loops back and forth and zigs and zags and it's just a mess!

Things I saw during this race :
- An anemic band playing PINK FLOYD of all bands at like, mile 8 - seriously guys? Way to keep us asleep!
- At one point in Old Sac I was running in one direction and runners were running towards us, I saw a girl wearing headphones completely ignore her friend who was basically yelling to her "hey! hey hey!" Sometimes, headphones suck.
- Running a half through portions of my town was weird., but very cool!
-A lot of the rock and roll bands were having fun improvising running related lyrics, none played Chariots of Fire though.

I learned again though, every race is a chance to learn something and I came away from this determined to listen to my plan and follow through with it. I know I can shave more off of my time if I start out slow and then slowly crank it up. That's me, I know everyone is different. This race was fun but as far as spectactors go, the stadium seating actually makes it TOUGHER to find loved ones in the crowd. I wish they'd let everyone down on the field . Will I do this race again? I'm not sure - I'm still in pursuit of a good half, my favorite so far was the Cowtown (soon to be renamed "Urban Cow") it's a great course, good support and I ended that one far stronger than the American River Parkway Half or this one.
Thanks for reading!

The Sacramento Shamrock'n

2010-03-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

So excited for this Sunday! The Shamrock'n Half Marathon was my first race ever (back in 2008 it had a 5k alongside the half) and as such it means a lot to me. It's only been 2 years and since then I've gone from doing 5ks to 10ks to Half Marathons to my first 26.2 . I love looking back on this race and seeing how far I have come not only in running, but in life!

Some other reasons I'm excited for this race:

First race of the year
First race since California International Marathon
First race for my friend @jkpiccolo !
Halfway point in training (approx) for the San Francisco Marathon
A fun race in my hometown
Daylight Saving Time is a bumout, but heralds the beginning of spring!

Last year I almost ran this race but because I am a poor planner I didn't give myself enough training time.
At the urging of my wife I decided to wait, and did the American River Parkway as my first half. Which was a disaster but that's a whole nother poster! If I don't PR Sunday I'm not going to beat myself up but I am going to enjoy pushing myself to see just what I've got.

Race day is unlike any training day. There's just something about going out with a huge mass of humanity all pursuing a common goal, the adrenalin surge is hard to describe. It's as perfect of a day to really see where your training has taken you, and I'm excited to see!
Good luck to everyone running!
A shout out to the following folks who are going for it

@cynlambert ,
@LaylaBohm
and my boy! @steverheams

SF Marathon - The February Challenge

2010-03-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

So a while ago I wrote a blog entry about addiction, love, obsession etc.
The awesome folks at the San Francisco Marathon entered it into their February Challenge and I won!
Thank you if you voted for my little entry and for reading this blog :)
See you in SF!

Movie Review : Ultramarathon Man: 50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days

2010-03-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

Dean Karnazes's quest to run 50 "Marathons" in 50 States in 50 days is a semi documentary with interviews of Dean's family, friends fans and support team. While they are actual certified marathons and marathon routes, some of them weren't done on the day of the actual race. Every race is shown, some more in depth than others. Sometimes a large group would show up, and other times it was very light turnout. During one race, a lucky woman showed up as the sole participant, so she basically got to run with "Karno" for 26.2 miles!
Compared to the awesome book, this movie is spotty at best simply because the story is sorta all over the place, is it about Dean? or is it his program? Is it the runners? or the adventure? Maybe it's a little bit of all of these things.It's still a must see if you are a runner because let's face it, you want to see and read everything you can about running right?

If you are a runner you will enjoy the running in different weather conditions, from the freezing Alaskan wilderness to gale force winds in the midwest and the baking heat of Arizona. I put myself in the same situations and made mental calculations "uh no - I'm not Badwater material" or "oh heck yes running in the rain would be SO much fun!"

The book "Ultramarathon Man" and the movie "Spirit of the Marathon" both inspired me to run my first marathon last year and this movie does do a great job of showing Dean's human side as well as his 'celebrity' side. The human side though, is what I like about the guy. I loved how in one scene, he literally runs away from a press conference to hug a runner who's just reached the finish line, awesome!
3 out of 5 stars, the extras made this thing, I'd love to see another Dean movie maybe on just one race like Badwater or the Western States etc. His book is incredible and the book is a total 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Thanks for reading! Now go running!

Humility and Respect

2010-02-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

Running has taught me a lot of things, but some of the best lessons aren't the obvious "how to overcome" typetests but rather learning humility, respect and compassion.

I began running to lose weight and get in shape , both of which are pretty typical goals. At my first 5k, I was an excited guy giving it 100% and feeling awesome about myself and my goals. As a Couch To 5k 'graduate' my goal then was simply to to run 3.1 miles as fast and hard as I could, with maybe having fun as a backup plan.

So there's me in 2008, wearing cotton shorts, an analog watch, a cotton t shirt, and a windbreaker.
Chafe city for anything other than a 5k, but I was a n00b and just starting out. Worse, I was a n00b and even though I pride myself on being an open-minded guy, I passed judgment on people based on ridiculous criteria like appearances. I remember thinking as I lined up "Oh I can beat him, oh she's a bit heavy, I can totally beat her!" "She's got a stroller, get out of my way later lady" etc etc etc.
Along with my well deserved feeling of accomplishment of that first race, I also had a spoonful of prideful ignorance. It took my next race or two for me to really open my eyes.

I remember training for a race and feeling really good about myself. I think by this time I had also progressed to wearing wicking shirts and in that short time felt a bit more snobbery. Tragic. If only I knew!The first mile I was huffing and puffing and giving it my all when I hear a woman cheerily cry out "on your left!" (Apparently I was weaving) I gave her a half hearted wave and was dismayed to see her fly by with a huge smile on her face, and a sleeping child in a stroller! "You are doing great!" she exclaimed as she rocketed past me, adding insult to injury to me in my foolish state of mind. Next up, I saw a man in (at least) his 60s surging past on my right and shook my head "was this really happening?" It was and it would continue! For some reason up till this point all my running had been tunnel vision, and now I was looking around and seeing what's really happening. People from all different walks of life coming together to go for it.
When I got to mile 3 and had a chubby guy pass me by I was a changed man.
I knew then that appearances didn't matter and that I needed to pay more attention to Yoda.
"Size matters not"

I learned humility and respect for my fellow runners of all sizes and shapes and learned to not underestimate runners because bottom line, they are a tough bunch!
I've seen people of all kinds put themselves through hell and back in order to attain goals and seek self improvement. Regular people who don't have a chance in the world to win a race but who give 110% on race day, and I salute them all now as a still foolish but slightly wiser man.
It is easy to get caught up in the trappings of one-upmanship, after all self improvement does stir up feelings of competition and the events ARE called races for a reason. I like to say I never give advice, only share what works for me, but let me share a lesson I learned about people.
Never underestimate a runner on a mission. You might just be eating their dust later!
There's another chapter to this saga and that involves the humility of being injured, but that's going to have to wait. Thanks for reading and may your long runs be awesome this weekend!

Zpizza w/ Daiya Cheese Review

2010-02-22T20:45:00.001-08:00

Adventures in eating! Here is my review of Zpizza in Roseville, CA after a run. I've had Daiya cheese previously and as far as vegan 'cheese' goes, it's the best stuff out there. It melts, it has a nice flavor to it, and it doesn't make me feel sluggish and awful afterward. The only disadvantage is that a home oven can't get the temperatures that a pizza oven can.When my wife found out that Zpizza offered vegan pies, I jumped at the chance to gobble one down.
We ate there on Valentine's Day so when I got there I asked the girl "have you been busy?" she replied "not at all! It's been very slow" yet when I went to get a fountain drink I realized they were all out of the "lemonade".
I asked the girl behind the counter and she sorta shrugged "Yeah, we're out" Not "oh sorry! We'll fix that!" or anything. I got the same attitude when I told her that the lightbulb was out "Yeah,the bulb is broken"Oh really?

Anyways - /vent - the pizza pie was actually delicious! I'm a fan of thicker crusts, and don't like New York Style pizzas. Goofy floppy pizza with soggy centers? BARF. Give me a nice thick crust!
You want a great crust? Check out La Trattoria in Sacramento A+++ crust - the only one better is here in West Sacramento where I live (because my wife is an amazing cook) but I digress!
The pizza we ordered had pineapples and 'burger crumbles' . The burger crumbles were very sparse. I'm not sure if this is because they ran low on them or if this amount is standard. They had a decent amount of pineapples. With the coupon we found online, the pie was a decent price, otherwise it would be a bit pricey.
The sauce was delicious, very fresh! They also claim it's organic so that's a plus also. I just wanted more and it seemed as though the pizza needed more, again not sure if this is just my taste or not. I liked it so much I asked the morose girl behind the counter to get me a side of sauce and she obliged. If you are like me and love sauce, this stuff is worth drinking on it's own. Yum yum!
The Daiya cheese was nice and melty, and the large is actually large. I couldn't finish it all even though I tried. I recommend this place for the vegan who needs a break from cooking at home and wants a reasonably priced meal out.
Zpizza, please open a location closer to downtown Sacramento- thanks!
Otherwise I have to drive out to the land of gigantic trucks covered in famous stars and straps stickers and calvin peeing on stuff stickers.
Here's my ratings:
Pizza 4.5 Stars!
Service 3 stars!
Price 3-4 stars depending on if you have a coupon.
Location? 1 star - I don't like driving too far!

Eat lots! You need the fuel.
PS If you aren't local to Sacramento and want to eat 100% vegan Daiya make sure to ASK them first.
They don't use Daiya at all the locations! I'm sorta lazy on the vegan scale but for you next level herbivores, I don't want you to be led astray. Ask first ! :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Top 10 Signs I'm Obsessed with Running

2010-02-13T08:04:00.000-08:00

(photo - Clarksburg Branch Line Trail )

Top 10 ways to prove you are obsessed with running, here are mine!

- You've watched and re-watched "The Spirit of the Marathon" multiple times, yet still root for Deena and Lori near the end.

- Your netflix queue has multiple running movies on it.

- You are on Dailymile, Facebook and Twitter and STILL find new ways to talk to runners about - running.

- You have enough tech shirts to outfit the Duggar family, yet you still check them out each time you are in that sporting goods store.

- When you see the words IT you don't think Information Technology,you think 'band'

- You've gone beyond mapping routes around your neighborhood and town because you can now calculate mileage in your head.

- If you don't run for a good length of time, you get cranky, irritable, and become downright mean!

- You have a drawer dedicated to race shirts.

- You've experimented with every "goo" product out there.

and my final sign for me, and a personal Happy Valentines Day shout out to my coach, running partner and team captain - my wife :)

- Your valentine plans consist of going to fleet feet to get fitted, followed by a romantic carb filled brunch afterward (yes, I am excited about this weekend!)

Happy <3 Day Everyone!

Injuries Suck - AKA Know Your Limits!

2010-01-28T05:15:00.000-08:00

You may or may not know that I'm a huge fan of punk, thrash, metal and all heavy music but I am, and while I rarely go to see shows two weeks ago I went to see one of my all time favorite bands in a craphole of a bar downtown. The mighty Agnostic Front did not disappoint!(see the video below, I'm in it for two seconds flailing around!) However, I ended up with a sore back due to roughhousing and shenanigans which two weeks later is threatening my half marathon training schedule. I'm taking a week off of running to see if this will help my back heal faster, and in the meantime I'm going crazy!

I'd originally intended to do the Davis Stampede 10k since this was my first 'distance' rate way back about a year ago. Prior to this all I did was 5ks, so it was a big eye opener and got me addicted to pushing the limits and setting new goals. Now I'm going to sit the race out, recuperate, and keep my eye on the next prizes - The West Sacramento ShamRock'n Half and the San Francisco Marathon.
Two awesome races which also hold sentimental value for me for different reasons.
The first because it was my first race ever (back whent he ShamRock'n also included a 5k) and the SF marathon because it's my original hometown. Injuries suck, but I have to know my limits and must resolve to not push through them. I have to learn from my mistakes and if I have learned anything from running half marathons and my first 26.2, injuries must be treated with time and patience. I've also learned that the rest and recovery during training is just as important as the running portion.

Some more music content : Here's a screen cap of my running playlist for my mid week runs and below that is video footage from Agnostic Front in Sacramento.
Run hard, mosh within reason, or it might throw off your running goals!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

#seenonmyrun twitter hashtag mention in SacBee !

2010-01-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Sam McManis, the #seenonmyrun hashtag on twitter is getting major promotion!
While I love writing detailed posts on training, running, and random story anecdotes here and on dailymile, it's also fun to read #seenonmyrun type tweets from runners in other locales.
How cool is it to see what runners are seeing in Vancouver Canada?
I do have to credit fellow runner Michaela aka Biscuitrie for the first usage of the tag, as we must give credit where credit is due.
So #runners, what did you see today?

Sacramento - bake sale for Haiti

2010-01-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

Sacramento Vegan Bake Sale for Haiti:
Sat 1/16, 10AM -3PM, R5 Records
Benefiting Red Cross: Haiti Relief and Development

Show up and EAT!

For more information, and if you are on Facebook, http://bit.ly/78m28j

Bumble Bar

2010-01-07T13:46:00.000-08:00

Is it just me showing my age ?
When I saw this:

I immediately thought of this!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

First longer run of 2010

2010-01-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

6 slow mi in the Sacramento fog, saw 5k runners, homeless people and resolution runners. Holly and I took it slow but tried to get negative splits - my garmin's battery ran out so I'll get them later. First mile was rough - warmed up afterwards, this route we've been taking takes us from the Capitol to Discovery Park. Today we started a bit late since there was a 5k at the Capitol "the first 5k".

Here, me and Holly goof around after the race.

When we were done with our 10k we walked to the start of the race and cheered for fellow runners for a second while we walked back to our cars. It was fun to cheer people on and and to generate smiles out of participants, I tried to refrain from saying "You are almost there!" but may have slipped up and yelled it once. whoops!

Here's the leader of today's 5k

Injury update : My stubbed toe is still hurting, my blister on the right foot definitely needs to be bandaged up if I am to attempt more 6mi + runs. IT band is still holding up, I haven't been as diligent with rolling on the foam roller as I was before CIM, but I can definitely see that it has to be done. Still wearing my Pro-Tec band, it helps. First long run of 2k10 ! Hope you all have a great weekend, and a great year!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at work i ran my last miles and today I did my first run of the new year! Running in the peoples republic of Davis is great. The greenbelt is beautiful, green like the name implies and peppered with water stations err faucets.

Today I Spotted a jackrabbit,a news station employee snacking, and bleary eyed rent a cops as I trotted from home to Ikea and back. Took it really slow, I stubbed my left toe so it's still achy and also have a knot in my right hamstring that no matter what I do won't ease up. I might have to find a massage person to help out! It felt good to run yesterday and today not just for the daily mile update, but just to think and reflect back on last year and how far I've come in running. I'm excited for this year and putting everything I've learned into action, so far I'm tentatively doing - The Shamrockn Half Marathon - The San Francisco Marathon - California International Marathon and maybe a 10k or two somewhere in there. I ran on some dirt this morning and it got me to thinking that I'd really like to do some sort of trail action, but there aren't many events here. I hope everyone had a great new year celebration last night, and if anyone and I mean ANYONE is serious about starting to run or has made it a resolution to run- let me know and I will help as much as I can even if it just means moral support :) Happy 2010!

Wearing this shirt always makes me feel more legit :)

Vegan Silk Soy Nog Cupcakes

2009-12-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. It's The Wife here with a guest blog post!

For Jose's post marathon beverage he requested his favorite holiday beverage, Silk Soy Nog! To further celebrate finishing his first marathon I made him a very special batch of cupcakes, vegan Silk Soy Nog cupcakes! I found a few recipes online but I wasn't happy with any of them. One even had real rum in it and I knew Jose would not eat those. So, this is what I came up with. These cupcakes are so light, moist and have all that yummy nog flavor that you love. I hope you enjoy them. Merry Christmas!

Silk Soy Nog Cupcakes
--------------
Makes 12 cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 350.
Line pan with 12 cupcake liners.

1 1/4 cup Silk Soy Nog
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp imitation rum extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c oil
1 c sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/3 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Combine Silk soy nog and apple cider vinegar. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine imitation rum extract, vanilla extract, oil, sugar and nutmeg.
Mix and set aside.

In another mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the nog mixture and the other wet mixture. Mix until no large lumps remain. Be careful to not over mix. This is the secret to light, moist vegan cupcakes!

Fill cupcake liners with batter and bake until toothpick inserted in the center come out clean, for about 18-20 minutes.

Let cool.

Silk Soy Nog Frosting
--------------
1/4 c earth balance(not whipped!) room temp
1/4 c non hydrogenated shortening room temp
1 tsp imitation rum ext
1 tsp vanilla extract

about 1/4 c silk soy nog
4 c confectioners sugar

With a hand mixer beat margarine and shortening together.
Add extract and beat until combined.

Add sugar a cup at a time. Add a little nog with each cup of sugar until you reach desired consistency. Note: you may use more or less soy nog.

Pipe on cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with a little cinnamon and nutmeg.

California International Marathon - Race Report

2009-12-12T22:07:00.000-08:00

Exciting, chilling, painful, hilarious, and most of all - fun!

I left work friday, picked up the rest of Team Galvan and went straight to the expo. Exciting stuff to me : I got my bib, shirt, etc. Maybe exciting to you, I met Bart Yasso and discussed his past mullet (Power Mullet actually, don't believe me? Check out the current issue of Runner's World)

Saturday CIM Expo again Fleet Feet Sacto and of course - Spaghetti Factory, I met a few twitter-ers. That sounded lame! I met both Greg and Kyndra, follow them in the twitterverse by clicking those links. I saw Yasso speak - he was hilarious ! And did one final 'sweep' of the expo to see if there was anything worth buying. The night before I had read a few chapters of "My life on the Run " and after his presentation I asked him if he was still a vegetarian. "Oh definitely!" he replied.
I told him that I'd see him tomorrow and that he'd like my shirt.
I was mostly being a smart ass since there are only like, thousands of people in town for that race but, well hold that thought!
On the way out my conversations with famous people continued, I asked a local running journalist, let's call her "DeeDee Kirkpatrick", about the etiquette to have someone run me in. Amy and I had thrown around the idea of having her run the last mile or so with me and DeeDee told me that as long as it wasn't in the chutes, it was ok. After that, they pulled people off the road if they didn't have bibs on. I thanked her for her advice and headed off to Spaghetti Factory to fuel off with the family.

Sunday at 3:45 I woke up, ate oatmeal with some rice milk and got dressed, not in that order.My friend and training partner Steve picked me up at 4:30, I kissed Amy goodbye and we drove downtown. Runners converged on the Sacramento Sheraton seeking shelter from the freezing night. Inside we were surrounded by runners pinning on bib #s , discussing race strategy, eating bananas, and sleeping. When the buses finally arrived, a mad throng pushed through the doors and onto the buses. First WTF moment of the day, somewhere on the way to the starting line, our convoy of buses somehow got lost.
Embarrassing! Since a lot of the runners were from out of town, many didn't notice.

We finally arrived and went inside the Chevron to meet Holly and Jenn. It was fun to see everyone's race get ups from reindeer antlers to Mizuno jackets. I opted for wind pants over my running outfit and a big puffy jacket that I intended to donate at around the 3 or 4 mile mark.
With about 10 minutes to the start, I took a warm up run, prayed my IT band would hold, felt it working great and said goodbye to Jenn. Then Steve, Holly and I headed down to the start.

The bag check fiasco was WTF moment #2.
The plan on paper: Two semi trucks would take our plastic bags filled with sweats jackets etc to the capitol for post race pick up.
The plan in reality: A scene out of a disaster relief effort, in reverse!
Instead of bottles of water and food being lobbed down to disaster victims, bags of sweatpants, hoodies, etc. were hurled at unsuspecting volunteers in a frantic last minute ditch to get them on the semis before the race began.
With thousands of runners, and only a handful of volunteers manning two semis, chaos ensued.
I heard later many gave up on throwing stuff towards the trucks and simply dumped everything on the ground.

The wheelchair participants took off and then we heard the horn, it's on!
Mile 1-3 was a non-stop "holy crap I'm finally running in a marathon" adrenaline rush.
In fact the first half of the race was awesome!
I tried to slow down Steve and Holly, but the excitement of the event and the rolling hills made it tough. "We are going downhill, it's ok to go fast! Well - we were sorta fast on that split, but we'll slow down on the next one!" etc. Holly attempted to get us on walk breaks but looking back I know we were going way too fast. Live and learn right?
Along the way I saw expensive running gear thrown to the side along of the road. Wicking hats, expensive gloves, water bottles, even a water belt !
Cheering crowds greeted us alongside the first part of the race till about Fair Oaks Blvd, we were still going fast, my IT band was still holding strong, I was filling up my water bottle but not drinking any electrolytes.
I threw my puffy jacket away and felt cold but good around mile 3, Somewhere around Greenback we saw Steve's folks, they took this photo.

I saw my support team around mile 7 and was so stoked to see Amy and Elsa!
This was the ONLY time in the race that my IT band acted up and that's because this stretch of road was really slanted so I had to just grin and bear it for a few.
Old Fair Oaks was fun, we were still pushing the pace and staying somewhat on target, still too fast but manageable. It's not till the halfway point that things started to fall apart.

Steve took an extended portapotty break, I stretched a bit and threw down a Nuun, and Holly kept onward. I felt like I hadn't eaten enough so polished off more hammer gels. Around mile 14 this proved to be a bad move. In a bid to 'catch up' we took off at a pretty crazy clip, and the wind coming up Fair Oaks as we headed south was awful. There were very few spectators out so the energy we were feeding off of, dissipated along with whatever warmth we had left.
The combination of pushing it, the overdose of gel and the water proved to be a barftastic combination. I coughed once, slowed down, told Steve and Holly to keep going and not look back, and hurled. Gross. That barfing episode took a lot out of me so we began to take more walk breaks from here till Mile 20 or so.
Something to note, along the way I made sure to high five everyone I could, to say hi to everyone that was cheering, to say thank you to as many volunteers as I could.

These people were freezing their butts off and weren't moving like us, so really they were feeling the cold much more than we were!
I really began to hunger for something substantive and wolfed down some cookies at an unofficial aid station. Along the route, sometimes businesses would hand out stuff - so at the 99 cents store they gave out water, others gave out fruit, etc.
Steve was in bad shape around this time for some reason the Ultima drink didn't sit well with him so he had to stop running and take walk breaks often. I was craving more cookies and around mile 22 got some from Holly's Sac Fit group who had an aid table.
It was around this time that Holly told us she had to keep going as her knee was hurting more when she slowed than when she ran so we bid her goodbye and trudged along.
We were in single digits and all the walk breaks had me back up to speed but the fast start had taken it's toll. During the running portions we were now averaging 12-13 instead of our usual 10-10:30 pace.
Amy texted me to have me check the corner of L and Alhambra, and I saw this and almost burst into tears, since I am a tough guy though - I didn't.

Before I knew it , we had only 2 miles to go! I texted/tweeted and let everyone know and pushed on.
The crowd had really thinned out at this point and when I looked back I saw that the trucks were picking up the mile markers. I knew that the time limit was 6 hours and while my goal was to simply finish under my own propulsion (and with minimal IT band pain) my 2nd goal was to finish within the time frame!
My friends Larry and Jenn met us near mile 25 and Amy trotted out as well !
She ran with us for a few blocks, and out of the corner of my eye I spotted Bart Yasso walking by on the sidewalk. I called out to him and told him "see? I told you I'd see you, how do you like my shirt? " He laughed, gave me a thumbs up and we then sprinted off to the corner where we saw our friends Pat and Jenny, my sister, my parents, all waving and cheering. Pat cracked up at my X's and they yelled at us to run faster. This was just what I needed - I couldn't stop smiling, we ran a bit, then took one last walk break. I'm not going to lie, I needed them too it's not all because of Steve, I told him "dude this is it let's at least run to look good for the photos!" and sprinted the last bit.
I was so stoked to hear my name as I hit that first mat!
I looked to my left and saw my family there, hugged and kissed Amy and my awesome mom in law Nona hugged my family and ran to get my medal and foil.
It was done, it was official. Not as pretty as I had hoped but it was done. I was standing in front of the capitol in my hometown filled with excitement at having achieved a goal I had set out to do 6 months earlier.
I milled about afterward for a bit with Holly and Greg Chance, got a bunch of free produce and eventually left.

Now a week later, it's all a blur - I'm still resting, I did get one blister, but my post race damage was minimal. I cannot be thankful enough that my IT band held up and held strong.I know that there's more that I'm forgetting but I had to type this up before the year ended, so here's my wrap up.

Cool people I saw along the way
- the Christmas twins, (see the photo at Mile 20) they were handing out candy, too cool!
- the pacers - I loved how the encouraged their crew, kudos! Next year I shall keep up with you.
- camo girl - this girl had on a camo headband that matched my shorts. We leapfrogged and she finally caught up with me after an hour.
- mom and daughter runners
- marathon maniacs jerseys - just because, 3 in 3 months isn't maniacal - it's just scary.
- marines doing traffic/crowd control. A woman was running, carrying an American flag and every time she ran by one of them no matter what they were doing they stopped and gave a crisp salute.
America - eff yeah!

Things I learned at this race:

- The race is NOT a time to experiment with new drinks. Poor Steve got waylaid by that nasty Ultima drink and paid dearly.
I felt so bad for him, he trained hard and although the event was a total net positive, I hate to see my friends in pain.

- I can ingest gels, but just not more than 4. After that I become a barfing mess.

- I'm ok with just one Nuun and a serving of Clif Blok electrolyte chews.

- I will run the first half slowly and get negative splits, I will run the first half slowly and get negative splits, I will run the first half slowly and get negative splits...
I did this SAME thing at the American River Parkway Half Marathon I went out WAY too fast and paid the price afterwards with involuntary walk breaks.
It's just hard to counter the excitement of that starting horn and the energy of the crowd, but now I know.

- It's not AS fun to finish near the back of the pack. I mean I was still TOTALLY stoked on finishing but I was perilously close to not finishing within the official time limit.
The CIM has an official time limit of 6 hours (They have permits to close the streets for a set time limit, medical staff are there for only a certain time, safety of the runners, etc). Obviously anyone that runs the majority of the 26.2 deserves respect in my book, but personally I do not want to finish that far back in the field anymore.There's somethin disconcerting about seeing the race crew picking up the mile markers behind you! Plus there is the safety issue, I'd hate to see myself or a fellow runner get hurt and then not get assistance because the course limit is up.

- After 20 miles, I turn into the cookie monster (yes friends, this is a blatant suggestion, for the record I love the un-cookie, and the alternative baking company vegan cookies. Delicious!)

- 26.2 miles is a long distance, you must respect the distance and not be so cocky as to think that it's attainable without the right training. Training hard is one thing,training smart is quite another thing. It's also not the same beast as a 13.1 the whole fuel/running/pace thing is different. It's not like a cake recipe, you can't just double the ingredients and serve more. It's it's own beast and as such stands on it's own. In that same vein, I still have just as much respect for the person strapping on a bib for their first 5k as the nutjobs at the Western States 100, all got off the couch and said "I'm going for it", and that's what it's all about.

- Rest, recovery and the taper are total mindfu**s but they totally WORK. I can't believe that I didn't run more than 3 miles in about 3 weeks after my injury yet still managed to run the marathon with minimal damage, the proof is there! My legs feel awesome - I can't convey to you all (except for maybe my wife !) how friggin worried I was about going in and running through total pain.
In fact, I was prepared to have to go through the pain. Why? Why NOT? If I suffered through the majority of a 23 mile training run in agony, why not do it when it came right down to the real thing?

- I love runners. I'm sure there are jerk runners out there, but I've been lucky to run into only cool people so far. I love runners and how obsessive they are, I love runners and how they have OCD on stuff like shoes, lacing, food, training, hell everything! I love that I can walk up to anyone wearing a bib and have a good conversation or that runners are always excited to share their tips/experiences/war stories.

- Thanks go out to :
The staff at Fleet Feet Davis and Fleet Feet Sacramento, especially Heather in Davis and Heather in Sacramento for IT band recovery tips and for giving me advice straight from their running experience without glossing things over.
Thanks to Jenny and Pat and Dresden for showing up, Jenny is committed to doing the SF marathon and we will be there when she crosses that finish line
Thanks you Steve for training with me,
Thanks Holly for running with us, and you for reading.
Thanks to Chuck and Ivy Chastain for their encouragement. Read Ivy's blog here, she's awesome!
http://ivy-veganrunner.blogspot.com/
My sister Irene, who two years ago told me "when is your first race?" when she saw me running one day with no aim or direction. She pushed me towards my first 5k and now I hope to return the favor. Right ?

- Even though running is a solo sport, it's also a team sport. My wife and family are the best race support ever. From pancake + tofu scramble breakfasts at my mom in laws after long runs to putting up with months of me disappearing every weekend for hours to run, putting up with me obsessing over every little thing, encouraging me when I was injured, congratulating me when I did well, surprising me with an awesome No Meat Athlete T shirt, researching things for me, and so many other things that I know I'm forgetting. Thank you! I love you, and good night!

26.2 - COMPLETED!

2009-12-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to let everyone know I made it! ( photo courtesy of @gchance on twitter.)
What an amazing day!
My IT band held strong, it was a tiny bit achy, but nowhere near the horrors of the 23 mile training run.
Henceforth to be referred to as 'the hardest run I've ever done'
Compared to my training run, this was EASY. We took our time, prolly started out too fast, but enjoyed it.
I am so happy to do this, and might even do it again!

CIM -race results are in!

2009-12-04T10:14:00.000-08:00

I got a sub 4 !
Well, wait a minute. I think what's happening is that the folks at the California International Marathon are testing out their new page.
I like their optimism but since this is my first marathon, I'm not even dreaming of a sub 4!
For those of you that want a more realistic time, and want to keep up with me or my friends - go here:

http://runcim09.flashresults.com/
My bib #is 2208

3 miles

2009-12-03T15:46:00.001-08:00

Possibly the last miles I will run before the marathon - what the eff am I thinking? So many emotions right now - so please excuse me if I get a bit emo here.
Between getting sick and the IT band and the taper...I feel like my thoughts are all over the place and running helps me think, so when running lets me down or more accurately my body starts to act (gasp) human , I get bummed out.

Prior to my IT band issues all the pain I incurred from running was simple and manageable. Sidesstitch? Slow down - ease up on the pace. Tightness? Stretch! Dry mouth? Drink water etc. etc.
Now that I have to baby my leg, roll on it, stretch it, and be conscious of what I'm doing, I can't just run without care.
It's very humbling, it's scary on many levels. It's a reminder of my mortality, a reminder of just how fragile we are. If I were in a more positive frame of mind I could say that it's also a reminder of how strong our bodies are but right now I'm scared and overanalzying.

Well - the endorphins have kicked in and I'm feeling a little bit better.
The first mile was tough, I tried to slow down - but my regular pace has sped up now so I guess that's a good thing? I kept forcing myself to look at the watch and take it down a notch but no negative splits.
After the 2nd mile I told myself to go home, and began to run back dejected then I told myself do one more - and I felt my legs 'warm up' a bit, and thought back to my 23 mile run.
If I gave up now - would that all be in vain?
So the third mile I said "just enjoy it"..and I did. I felt the wind instead of my ache, felt the sun instead of my fear, felt warmth instead of cold.

I think I can do this...

1 10.39
2 10.43
3 10.49

291 miles of training so far, I can't stop now!

Sick of it all

2009-12-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

Nothing better than a cold to add to the taper paranoia and IT Band issues! At least I'm ready for the rain. Sometime back ago I got this new balance rain poncho @ fleet feet - fashion and function!
Rain related check out this site
http://cimweatheroutlook.blogspot.com/

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Reason #43 why my wife rules!

2009-12-01T07:37:00.000-08:00

I tell her 'it might rain on Sunday for #cim' her response?

5 miles 55 minutes

2009-11-29T14:09:00.001-08:00

I compromised and did 5 miles to see just how my right leg held up and - while it wasn't 100% pain free, it felt decent if I was 1) on level ground and 2) going at a comfortable pace.
I tried to slow down but it was so tough to not just go for it!
I tested my race outfit, goofy I know but you know - gotta test everything.
The band felt ok - and I think if I slow down I will do just fine.

Things I saw on this run
- a lady with pink hair living out of her car and re-arranging everything in the trunk
- a bus stop that fell over thanks to the wind
- two homeless dudes drinking beer near the railroad tracks
I'm feeling good about next week and taking it easy, there's no need for me to push it. 7 Days! I hope your Sunday is awesome!
Oh yeah splits
1 10:33
2 11:11
3 11:14
4 11:40
5 10:40

One Week Away!

2009-11-29T06:07:00.000-08:00

My leg is now almost up to 100% ! Yesterday I went to the gym, did some walking on the treadmill to baby it and after warming up (yes you can warm up walking! I put on a TON of incline) I swam for about half an hour then soaked in the spa for a bit. During my swim I also did some running in the pool. This always gets me funny looks but - honestly if I cared about that I would not be into running. Have you seen the things we runners wear? :P
Now -we are at the week away point and I'm up early before everyone else in my home. These last six months I've had a routine -long runs on the weekend with me up at 4:30 AM or so to either put down miles by myself or with my friend Steve. I woke up early today with a tickle in my throat, and wondering how long I should run for and over thinking whether or not I've run enough!
So many questions - should I run a longer run? Just more shorter runs? I have one more week...
(click on the image for the larger version)

One more week, 7 more days and then I get to see the results of 6 months of training.
All of this over-analyzing is brutal, 'taper-itis' 'tapernoia' 'taper syndrome' etc. I want to just run!

Run To Feed The Hungry Wrap Up

2009-11-27T07:53:00.000-08:00

What a fun race! I paced the Mrs. so she could try and beat her PR and was hesistant about running and getting back past the 1 mile mark. I don't know why I worry so much, my IT band felt achy - but not debilitating. My right leg hamstring was acting up a bit but once I got running everything felt great. I didn't even notice the band on my leg! Temperature was warm, I think wearing the jacket was too much. So many people, and so many people that don't listen to directions!

The walkers/untimed participants had yellow bibs and on the back of the bib it specifically said "do not go into this staging area" but there they were! Strutting on in with strollers, backpacks, lawnchairs etc. Ok maybe I'm exaggerating about the lawnchairs during the race - but these guys were definitely there!

The race had two (well really three) components.
Timed 5k/10k/runners and walking/running/rolling untimed participants. These folks were awesome because hey -every person that paid an entry fee was helping out a great cause. Unfortunately, these folks also sort of got in the way of the folks who really wanted to run. Even with the wide course and the delayed start (the 10k started first and the 5k started 20 minutes or so later) it was still a packed madhouse.
I felt great afterwards and my wife didn't make her PR but I still consider it an overall success for both of us.
It was a ton of fun to run together, and she told me afterwards that I needed to push her more, whereas I thought I was being too pushy and castigating her for walk breaks etc. I'm fond of saying any run is better than not running and this is definitely true for this run. Last year I got my PR in the 5k here, this year I was just excited to run relatively pain free!
PS There were multiple llamas at the race. Why? I don't know - but here's proof!

Happy thanksgiving !

2009-11-26T12:22:00.000-08:00

Quick entry to just out down how excited I am to do a 5k this morning pacing my wife.
I'm thankful for so many things, health, family, friends and today the ability to run. Happy thanksgiving !

Hope

2009-11-25T08:25:00.000-08:00

Last night I did a one mile run for the first time since my ~~disastrous~~ grueling 23 mile run.
Amy and I did a quick 1 mile jaunt around the neighborhood and tested staying at her race pace for the 5k we are doing tomorrow, the Run To Feed The Hungry. I felt some discomfort, but nowhere near the excruciating pain I was in 11 days ago. This morning I got up early, went to the gym and before my usual swimming routine hopped on a treadmill and knocked out another mile there - again - not as bad. The band seems to be helping and while it's not 100% pain or ache free it's far less painful. Tomorrow will be the next test - if the pain stays even - I can hang. If it increases during 3 miles - well - I'm still going for it. The worst that can happen is I run in pain, and hey I've already done that before right?

There is hope!
Music related thoughts - I am loading up my ipod with a ton of Amon Amarth, Path of Resistance, Sepultura and Bolt Thrower. Although I am anti-wearing ear buds while running. Some music played through the speaker of my iphone might give me a boost during that last mile or so. I'm giving it to myself as a reserve treat, much the same way that I reward myself with walk breaks or a particularly delicious or less disgusting GU. :)
Happy Thanksgiving day Eve folks.
I have a lot to be thankful for!

Day 7 - no running - well wait!

2009-11-21T22:14:00.000-08:00

So it's been a week since my long run, and today I am finally feeling tangible results.
I actually feel less worse!
I did a lot of work this morning with the foam roller, listened to Killing Time and did some cardio (crouching punches) for about 20 minutes, then headed to Fleet Feet in Davis to get a band/bandage for my IT band.
It was SO worth the drive! On top of getting IT band recovery advice from the owner, he saw me run and assuaged any fears I had about being fitted incorrectly(I am definitely a neutral runner, NOT overspronating)
He also mentioned that my injury most likely had to do with simple mileage.
Prior to this year I have never run further than 3 miles, and in 2 weeks will be doing 26.2!
Then the Davis Heather showed me a jacket that made my eyes light up, a Mizuno running jacket that warms up when moisture hits the fabric. Incredible!
So I got great advice, got some clothes to daydream about and got something for my IT Band, a great day at the store. The Run To Feed The Hungry is next week, I am doing the 5k and helping pace the Mrs. - I hope it's all system go for the big one.

Day 5 of no running - adventures in rolling

2009-11-19T16:22:00.001-08:00

2 things
1)These cliff bars are delicious!(and vegan in case you guys were wondering)

2)I still haven't run. I did go swimming this morning -then did several repetitions of rolls on the foam roller.
20 in the AM, 30 in the PM
Tuesday I did 10 in the morning, 10 in the evening.
Wednesday (yesterday)I did 40 in the morning, 20 in the evening.

The pain is down a tiny bit, but I can't be sure if it's because of the swimming, the massage, the rolling or some combination of all of the above. I'm not emotional about not knowing if I'll get better in time for the CIM. I'm more, clinical.
I'm experiencing a sort of clarity that comes in situations where one is forced to make a decision. I'm doing all I can, and I cannot do any more. I will either recover in time, or I will not.
It's very relaxing knowing that there are some things that are just out of my hands, out of my control.
Let's hope tomorrow brings less pain, how's that for optimism?

Day 2 - No Running. Massage and Fleet Feet(s)

2009-11-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I went to Fleet Feet Sacramento to check out the training day and ask questions for Amy. I also saw on their facebook status that they were offering "Free Injury Assessment " so Hustled on down to check it out. No dice. The doctors were there early in the day but I missed out. I did see Heather(who fitted me in the spring) there so told her about my injury and she confirmed what I had dreaded/suspected. IT band. She swore that she thought I needed a support shoe, and even offered to refit me once I was healed up and offered to take back my 1063s. I shrugged and nodded but really I was just mad at myself for running so long on my leg.
They were out of foam rollers, but she did explain the use of an IT band 'belt' that wraps around the knee. I thanked her and came home.

Today I went to Fleet Feet Davis and got a nice foam roller, spoke with a different Heather there, and got almost identical advice. She suggested I get my wife angry and have her massage my knee! Pretty good advice and definitely doable :P
Amy was a doll and set up an appointment for me to get a massage in Davis. This was my first massage ever and I was a bit apprehensive.Zipped there right after work, got my massage, it was painful but felt awesome and I felt a glimmer of hope afterwards like "ok this might work"
We'll see right?

23 miles - the pain begins

2009-11-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

23 mi / 05:00 13:02 pace
just a 5k short of a marathon! However, time will tell if this was a good decision or not. It was freezing cold, temps down in the 40s, I started out the run with compression pants under my camo shorts, gloves, cap, etc. Steve felt pretty confident and started out aggressive. Our first splits were too fast, but I figured we'd be ok. (11:17 or so) took our first WB crossing the river and kept a steady pace. Somewhere around mile 6 or so, I felt a numbing pain in my foot, and pain in my right leg. I winced, figured it might be a shoe issue . Adjusted the laces, still nothing. Searching for an explanation, I darted into a porta potty and switched out of the compression pants and into shorts. (I thought that maybe the tightness of the shorts/pants might have cut off circulation) Still nothing. We slogged on through, passing unmanned aid stations and other runners also on their long runs (the water bottles and looks of determination are a dead giveaway, and the CIM tshirts are also a hint!)
When we got to the halfway point I stretched and it seemed to offer a tiny bit of relief, we turned around and headed home. We didn't see any wildlife on the parkway this time around.
The pain which was at about a level 7 spiked up to a level 9 or 9.5. I couldn't NOT think about it.
Every single signal in my body told me "stop" but the thought of NOT completing 23 miles and my anger at the whole situation pushed me on.

"hatred, drives me onwards, across the desolation"

This was the most painful run I'd ever done in my life. I was praying for my other leg to ache so it would take my mind off of my right leg, I sang songs in my head to stay distracted, instead of speaking I just told myself "One more mile and you can walk, get a walk break, stretch" and kept this up for the next hour or so. There was no relief. If I was running alone, I'd have called Amy and gone home. If I wasn't running alone, I'd have allowed myself the luxury of crying.

3 miles away from Discovery park, we finally saw volunteers at an aid station and surprised them.
They were kind enough to share some water, I stretched and winced and wondered if I should just give up and got a text from Amy "You are almost done!"
I sighed and broke down the remaining distance into segments I could wrap my mind around.
3 more miles, a simple 5k. Two of those and I'm home!
Normally at this point in our runs, it hurts more to stop than to keep running. Now, everything hurt, stopping, running, stretching - with running being only SLIGHTLY less painful than everything else. Steve was a trooper and kept telling me "hey it's only X left" "we can totally do this" etc . Mile 21 we both took a walk break and cussed the entire time. I leaned over a railing on the I street bridge and heaved but nothing came out. We trudged up to the top and shuffled on. 22 miles, now I was the cheerleader. Steve began to take walk breaks and I told him "come on we have 1 more to go!" I couldn't stop - it hurt too much. I turned on some music on my iphone and forced myself to run one more mile. I was done. The training was done. All that was left was the taper, the recovery and the race itself. Amy brought us fruit, chocolate silk, and raisin bread.
I stretched and got in an ice bath for the first time, hoping it would heal my right leg but I found out later that I am suffering from IT Band issues. So now I am 3 weeks away from my first marathon and must begin the process of healing, repair and recovery. Pray for me.

10 miles of fun in fog and sun

2009-11-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

10 mi / 01:50 11:00 pace

Running in the fog while wearing a cyclopean headlight is fun! Wiping away the sweat + fog droplets till finally giving up and removing my glasses is not quite as fun. I've learned a few things this last week
1 - recovering from runs in the 20 mile range require more than a day for me. Last Monday I forced myself to run, but I should have just gone swimming or done an easier, slower, run. My legs never got a chance to 100% recover. I can't believe I thought I was going to do 22 this week!
2 - I pushed myself today to see how fast I could go, RRP and all that - I ended up between 10-10:30 at the beginning of the run, took a few walkbreaks/shoe adjustment breaks/water refill breaks (some a combination of 2 or 3 of these) I should have gone a tiny bit slower let's say 10:30-11 throughout. Because I have not yet mastered the art of locking into a pace I always veer wildly fast and slow - and when I go fast I go way too fast (for training anyways) I finished at a decent time today, but there's no way I should start out that fast come race day.
3 - right foot still aches a bit where the pre-blister is, I just need to tighten that shoe up and dedicate a 3mile run to adjusting shoes and getting it just right. When I was at the Roseville FF, they didn't put these on and lace them up for me, but when I bought my first pair at the Sacto FF - they did. That might be the difference because these are the exact same shoes and my feet haven't changed THAT much in a few months!

The headlight is courtesy of my wonderful motherinlaw, who got me this contraption so I can run handsfree and scare the dickens out of people. Regular readers might know that I enjoy saying hello to each and every person I encounter while running, today I startled homeless persons, sleepy bus stop nappers, and the drunk guy outside the donut shop who managed to simply utter a "gruhh" when I turned my head to face him and say "HI!"
By the time I got to Capitol Mall, the fog had lifted a tiny bit. 4th street was a surreal scene, crows everywhere squawking, patches of fog and daylight peeking through, and the moon still out. I don't know why I didn't take a photo then instead of the porta potty tipped onto a car.
I felt good throughout the run, achy but never completely into the "I can't go any further department" but I definitely should have been in a lot better shape after running 20 miles last week. I will baby my legs this week to get ready for the 22-23 miles this coming week.
I said hi to a guy in sweats and a tshirt and he returned with a "good morning!" I did a doubletake and realized it was none other than Mayor Kevin Johnson, I remembered my manners and shouted "oh - and congratulations!" saw a lot more runners on the way back home and did the last 3 with no wbs.
I can't believe I am doing my marathon in less than a month. I just shuddered!
Splits
1 10:38
2 10:37
3 11:16
4 11:16
5 10:43
6 10:30
7 12:41
8 10:27
9 11:00
10 10:58

Have a great weekend guys!