04.03.2011 Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run - Fast forward to 3:55.

(via Facebook Fan of the Day - Ray Javier)

I had such a good time talking with Ray J. this week preparing for the dailymiler of the week post. Ray has accomplished so much more than he originally set out to do when he started running. When he first started running he did a 5k without any training (more on that below), and now he’s a member of the elusive Marathon Maniacs. He’s an incredible inspiration and I’m so proud to call him my dailymile friend! Continue reading here http://bit.ly/dmer0128

Marathon Maniac #3270 http://bit.ly/mm3270

Want to get faster? Think about your muscles!

3 Marathons in 56 days done!

Mile 1-6: Garmin was set to 9:15-9:20, 5-10 seconds slower than MP (9:10). Actual: (9:12, 9:13, 9:07, 9:10, 9:07, 9:50). 6th mile, I really need to stop and pee. Loop around town, awesome view of the sunrise along the Atlantic Ocean. Water/Gatorade at station froze, temp was really cold around 29° F. Felt comfortable with the pace. I saw Molly W around mile 2-3 who ran an awesome Half Marathon.

Mile 7-16: Garmin was set to 9:00-9:10 around MP. Actual: (09:02, 09:06, 08:59, 09:03, 09:06, 09:04, 09:05, 09:24, 08:59, 09:07). We went through crushed gravel trail for about 4-5 miles. My first time to run on a gravel trail. I thought it would be smooth to land on it but I was mistaken. It was hard, maybe not for Kinvaras. I got worried when someone told me that we are coming back on the trail. Mile 9 was the turnaround for half marathoners and thought I saw 2 full marathoners that turned around. Happy at the end of the trail, we had a nice view of big houses, nice new asphalt roads. The next few miles were boring. Most of the time, I was by myself. Still feeling good, at times I was running in the 8:00’s but had to hold back to reserve energy later. I had the thought of going for it for the last 10 miles.

Mile 17-26: Garmin was set to pick up the pace, 8:30-9:10. Actual: (8:59, 9:11, 9:03, 9:13, 9:32, 10:52, 10:30, 10:33, 11:14, 10:38). We entered the Cape Henlopen State Park, some slight hills then we are back to the main road. Really got bored here, we were running along the shoulders of the highway along Lewes, DE. I’m tired but happy to see a total of 3:01 at mile 20, I thought I am still on target for sub 4 if I can only maintain my pace for the last 6 miles. Around mile 21 we entered the gravel trail again, and with tired legs/foot, my little toe (left foot) plus the shoulders around it started to hurt. I’ve been having the pain since after running the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K race but I was just spraying icy hot on it before I run, probably the reason why it wasn’t hurting when I run. But today, I did not spray the toe. I was just praying that I can hold on to it but it did not cooperate on me on the gravel trail. My pace started to drop as I started walking to shake off the pain. I was so disappointed I could not do anything. The race did not have any medical aid station, but it was probably a blessing since I probably would have given up at that point if I saw one. It was a struggle on that gravel trail. I’m convinced; I’m not running Rehoboth Beach Marathon again ☹. It must be chain reaction; I believe I hit the wall too for the last 6 miles. I was so happy to see the end of the trail, to see the road again, mile 26 and finally, spectators!

Last 0.20 miles (Garmin recorded 0.42 miles): Managed to finish strong at 08:24 pace but was short to PR by 6 seconds. Official Time and Garmin Time was the same for the first time at 4:10:02.

Thank you everyone for the support! Really, really appreciate it. Early this year, I would never thought of running a marathon. But got 3 marathons instead on my rookie year. Got qualified for Marathon Maniac!!! ☺. Will I do back to back marathons again? We will see… but I don’t think so. The last 6 miles of the marathon today, I was thinking about my insanity. I told myself, I’m NOT running the marathon again. But I was able to calm down after the ice bath and felt better… sorry again for those that got worried about my note earlier. I was just frustrated. I already deleted it ☺. As of today, my next marathon is scheduled in November at Richmond VA. I have a HAT50K Ultra Marathon already scheduled for March but I really still need some time to think about it. As of now, I am physically and mentally tired. I will probably take the rest of the month off from running and to refresh my mind. I need to rethink ways to improve for next year and actually reach a realistic goal. Have a great weekend everyone and thank you once again!

Awesome Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K race to support `Life with Cancer`, just amazing how they can register a sold out of over 4000 runners/walkers in a small Virginia Run community. We arrived approximately 10 minutes before gun time, so we were positioned all the way at the back. I managed to do a mile warm-up but couldn’t find a way in front of the pack to start so I had no choice but to stay all the way at the back. Gun time was 7:00 minutes when I crossed the start mat. Too much weaving around and got caught 3 times by a flag marshal/police to stay inside the yellow lane in the middle of the road for safety reasons as cars are passing by on the other lane ☺.  Had a very comfortable 07:33 pace for the first mile, but couldn’t go faster on the second mile due to the hills (7:37) and the crowd, decided to pick it up after mile 2 but slowed down when Stu saw me. I think I told him I needed a short break anyway as I was huffing and puffing after the hills then he told me I could go ahead, so I did. I knew I won’t PR but I did my best anyway for the last mile (7:37) and 0.17 mile on my Garmin (7:09).

Official Time: 

Gun Time: 31:02.65 

Net Time: 23:59.57 (Previous PR: 22:36, 2009 Time: 26:12)

I’m proud of my wife Jen, her official time was 37:01.72 beating her time last year by about 20 seconds. She had doubts last weekend when we did a course-training run and timed at around 39 minutes. I told her, she could have done better if we arrived earlier. I’m also proud of my daughters who completed their first 5K, Jenika (50:39.35) and Jenine (50:30.09). Since they did not train, I advised them to do a run/walk so they won’t be sore next day. They listened. After crossing the finish line, I came back to see them to cross the finish line 3 times. 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

The NYC Marathon will probably be the most memorable marathon race of life. I never imagined being a part of the 47,000 runners lined up at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on a cold and windy day. The experience was a blast and for sure I will remember it forever and I’m just happy to be selected on my first year of application. Thank you everyone for all the DM, twitter, FB, text, email, phone, etc… messages. I really appreciate it and they came handy when I was in pain at the end. The marathon won’t be possible without the support of my wife, my two daughters, relatives and friends. I’m blessed to have them all on my side and for God, for giving me the strength when I needed it most.

Garmin Time: 04:10:47 (Total Distance: 26.69 mi) 
Official Time: 04:10:45

Pre-race: The biggest expo I’ve ever seen. Too crowded as expected but very organized. Bought a PowerBalance for the whole family. We did a lot of walking after the expo, as the girls wanted to go shopping ☹. I got tired but what the heck, I’m not racing, I’m running for fun and to have a great experience ☺.

Starting line: 45,000 + runners have to be transported over to Staten Island at the start by Ferry or by bus which is pre-assigned depending on where you are coming from. 3 wave starts of approximately 15,000 runners each and 30 minutes intervals. I’m assigned at wave 3 which started promptly at 10:40AM. By this time, wave 1 is already running for 1 hour and wave 2 for 30 minutes. The only drawback is that everyone will have to wait at least 2 hours before his or her scheduled gun time in the cold/wind. A lot of people have sleeping bags and took advantage of the time to take a nap ☺.

Gun Time: I think I got a little bit emotional when they fired the gun and then they played the `New York, New York` song by Frank Sinatra ☺. This is it!!!

5K: 00:30:30, ave total pace: 9:49 – the plan was to really take it slow for the first 3 miles and then proceed with my marathon pace goal of 9:00 - 9:10. The climb for the first mile (10:20) at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was not too bad as it was crowded and by the time you know it, it will be downhill for the next mile until the end of the bridge. I was one of the many men who stopped to pee along the side of the Verrazano Bridge before we entered Brooklyn. I heard a woman shouting `It’s unfair` :)

10K: 00:58:50, ave total pace: 9:28 - I was running a 9:08, 9:01, and 9:03 pace which is pretty comfortable. Here is where the cheering crowds at Brooklyn began to appear.

13.1 mi: 02:02:29, ave total pace: 9:20 – the spectators at Brooklyn was just awesome. The course appears to be easy and flat. I was able to control myself and hold a steady pace except for mile 7 and 8 where I decided to play around with the crowds. I had a split of 08:56 and 08:47 that was not my plan but I just got carried with all the cheering going on.

30K: 02:55:05, ave total pace: 9:23 – the plan after the half way mark is to do an 8:55 – 9:05 as long as it is comfortable. But the Pulaski Bridge at mile 13 did not cooperate as we enter Queens. With the ascent on the bridge, I began to be frustrated. Mile 15-16 here is the Queensboro Bridge, which is really challenging and the most difficult of the bridges. People just stopping in front of you and starts to walk or take pictures in the middle of the road. I saw my Garmin, and wasted energy weaving around people. I have about 0.44 miles extra every time I see a mile marker. Here also is the first 2 miles of the First Ave, which is another uphill, which prevented me from my plan to speed up starting at mile 18. My overall pace begins to dip. I started to realize that sub 4 is already impossible, I will try it anyway.

35K: 03:25:17, ave total pace: 9:26 – the end of First Ave and Bronx area. Mile 19 was one of my best pace at 8:41. I thought I could go at that pace for the rest of the miles and be able to finish strong. But instead had side stiches that really slowed me down and my overall pace drops again.

40K: 03:56:03, ave total pace: 9:29 – beating my first marathon in Baltimore 3 weeks ago (4:09:56) was my next goal here as we get to the Fifth Ave. I was targeting a 4:06 or 4:08. The steady climb though wasn’t helping. It was very challenging at this stage and I totally lost it mentally even with the loud cheers. I even felt really hungry and I remembered I’m 2 hours over my scheduled lunch ☺. I’m lucky though that my calves weren’t acting up. But at mile 23, my right quad began to tighten up. I am in trouble.

Finish Time: 04:10:45, ave total pace: 9:35 – so my right quad was in trouble and just about 5 minutes later, my left quad began to tighten up as well. I have never experience that pain before. I tried walking for few steps then jogging but I could not really speed up. I thought about stopping but the great crowd was really cheering me on, calling my name, that I can do it, etc… I’m not going to quit, I’m going to finish no matter how painful it was. Every stride was painful but I continued really slow. I was thankful to see mile 26 marker (in my Garmin, it say 26.49) … I struggled and struggled but happy to see the 400m, 300m, 200m and finally the finish line marker. I saw cameras and videos and I tried to really smile even though I was totally in pain as I cross the finish line. I stayed on the side and rest for a while and stretched it out a bit. The pain somehow disappeared.

The New York City Marathon is a tough course. I did not PR but I finished a marathon in New York. I finished my first 2 marathons with 3 weeks apart and I’m so proud of it. I’m just thankful that I’m injury free and I get to do it again in the near future.

How I’m feeling now? I’m feeling great. Not so sore. The ice bath and beer helps a lot :)

What’s next? Rest… rest… and rest… ☺

Thank you everyone for the support. God Bless You All!

Last minute signup to test my legs. Got scared of Ghost, Goblins & Ghouls but thanks to them, got a 5K PR at the Spooktacular 5K race in Leesburg, VA :). Broke the 24:31 time last 10/9/10. Official time is 22:36 at 7:17 pace. It was my first time to attend a race at 5pm, I was worried about what to eat for lunch, etc… Everything went well though except for the strong wind and some hills. Legs felt fresh and I think I’m fully recovered from the Bmore Marathon 2 weeks ago. The race is more of another confidence booster for #NYCM next weekend.

Good luck to all that are running the MCM tomorrow! Looks like perfect weather, hopefully the wind won’t be as bad as today.

October 16, 2010. Baltimore Marathon Collage. My first Marathon.