Love, Death and Running

OK, this is going to be long.

DW and I had been planning a trip to Kentucky for her niece's wedding. It was going to be a quick 4-day weekend. But then DW's mother passed away the week prior, and we had to change some plans, give Delta an extra $1,000,000 or so to change our flights and made it a 9 day trip; Funeral Monday, Wedding Friday, more family time in between. I also figured out there may be time for a little loopster side trip in there...So I'll just do this diary style, cuz it's easier for me.

Saturday: My latest goal is to get 4 runs in every week (instead of the usual 3), and with a busy week behind me I had to run Saturday and Sunday to get there. So I went and knocked out a nice 7 miler in the AM before heading to the airport. I had already packed my Garmin so I ran (digitally) naked and just had fun. But it felt pretty fast.

Most of my flights from LA head over the Grand Canyon, and we got some nice pics.

So we get to Kentucky and are relaxing at Sister-in-law's house and we hear from the Bride and Groom that they are heading out for a bachelor/bachelorette night with friends. And then they get a call from the hospital that the Groom's grandmother had an aneurysm and was near death. Party cancelled. We are all just kind of numb in disbelief. She ended up dying 2 days later. So both the Bride and Groom's grandmothers had funerals in the week before the wedding. Such a mix of emotions! Plus lots to do to plan for everything; flowers, locations, food, pictures, agendas, etc, etc, etc. All while planning the wedding and rehearsal dinner (at the house we stayed at). I was more of an observer, but the sense of shock and sadness was heavy, although we mostly just stayed busy and set the emotions aside for later.

Sunday: So it was a good time to run and clear the head and soul. Got out by myself for a long run, planned on mapmyrun. Nine miles through Kentucky suburban streets, enjoying the fall colors and weather. It was rolling hills and turned into a progression run as I felt really good. Check out the splits: 948, 856, 836, 829, 820, 814, 752, 748, 828.

Monday: Planned a Loop Meet with the only local loopster, lawrenceaa. Luckily she was up for it and on a vacation day, so I took my running BIL with me and met Alisha at a coffee shop in Covington at 9AM. She didn't seem too nervous to meet internet strangers. She was friendly and sweet and we quickly started a pleasant run that went over 3 bridges, including crossing into Ohio and back. We run at about the same pace, so we ran and talked and enjoyed the nice day. We went by the two Cincinnati stadiums and along the river, and wrapped it up at only 4.5 miles. Call it an easy day. DW and her camera were not available, so we just got the obligatory posed shot.

Later that day was funeral #1. DW had prepared hundreds of photos on photoboards which made for some good memories. I was a pallbearer for the first time, which was sobering. Then there was a reception. There was tears, there was laughter, there was the pure humanity of dealing with mortality and sharing with others. Then there was cleaning up and handling details like leftover food and flowers and who's driving where. Life goes on.

Tuesday: With a small break in the schedule, I suggested we get away for a bit, so DW and I borrowed a car and drove the 3.5 hours to the West Virginia home of Loopster sfschas. It was my second visit there, after last year's epic Loopsterfest pre-party. The drive was nice, as we got to see lots of Fall colors, and even an Amish horse cart moving down the freeway. The miles of countryside and small towns were a refreshing change for this big city dweller.

We arrived at 5:15 and immediately got into running gear and Sass and I went out around the local roads for 5.4 miles. This was my 4th day of running in a row, so that was plenty for me, and Sass was coming off 18 the day before. We talked running the whole time - race strategy, training, loop gossip (oh yes). Just another fantastic loop run. Wish I could pick one of you to run with every day.
Here we are just starting, and I am already flying!

Before

After

My favorite shot of the two of us...

The wives got along famously and probably complained about us and our loop addiction the whole time (or more likely just talked about other things). After a quick shower, we met up with more Loop royalty, runningchick and her DH, and then walked 2 blocks to the local pizza joint. Many calories were consumed, and 3 pitchers of Yuengling were emptied.

Then, more obligatory posing. For some reason we had a hillbilly music theme.

Wednesday: Sfschas let us crash at his place, but then we were up and out early and driving back to No. Ky. in the rain. A lousy day, and a good day for a running break. We got back in time for the reception for funeral #2 at the VFW lodge. We did not know anyone except the groom in his family, so we skipped the funeral, but we did meet the groom's immediate family at the reception, and got to know his family through the pictures and videos honoring his grandmother. And there was a ton of food! The saddest moment was when they brought out the wedding gift that grandma had wrapped up before her passing. They opened it and read the card - touching words from beyond.

Thursday: Another really cold and wet day, so I didn't run and decided I would run Friday and Sunday to get my 4 runs in. At night was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Lots more food and drinks. Got to know the groom's family better. People were in pretty good spirits, considering.

Friday: This was to be speed day so I planned an 8 mile run and planned to do miles 3, 5 and 7 at half marathon race pace (7:30). Lots of hills around here and I wasn't sure how hilly those miles would be, but I vowed to make the pace no matter what hills I encountered. Here's my splits: 930, 842, 726, 805, 716, 808, 729, 801. I over achieved on the fast ones, and there were some pretty good hills in there too. Mile 7 especially was mostly up. My recovery miles were still pretty fast too! So I felt good about that one.
Then it was time to get ready for the wedding. It was outdoors at sunset, so was a little chilly, especially for the ladies. About 50 - 55 degrees maybe. But it was quick, and the reception was in a heated tent. It was loads of fun, lots of dancing, eating, drinking - typical wedding really. The funerals did not seem to have an effect other than a few moments of remembrance. I think everyone was ready to have a fun night. Here are some pics:


Saturday: After a late night (including cleaning up afterward for an hour!) we rested Saturday, but then Saturday night there was a Halloween party so we found some costumes in the basement and went out again for more food, more drink, etc. i was Jimi Hendrix' white cousin and DW was Little Bo Sheep.

This guy was my favorite - on stilts!

Sunday called for a long run. I ran with my BIL, who is 60. We did 8.4 averaging 9:23 pace. Nice easy fun run for me. Good workout for him. Then it was time to get to the airport and head on home.
So, that was my week. I come back a little more in touch with my humanity, a little more in love with my wife, and a little more motivated to make the most of what life has to offer. And by the way, I went over 1,000 miles for the year on Friday. I'm on track for my best year since 1980! Now I am tapering for the LA RNR Pikermi this Sunday. Ready to race!

Just Another 10K Race Report

 When you get to my age, and have been running forever, things tend to add up. Luckily I am genetically part accountant, so I keep track of everything. That's how I know that this week's Manhattan Beach 10K is my 222nd road race, 92nd 10K, and the 12th time I have run this race. So you can see why it would be hard to get too overly excited for every single race. And yet, for every race, I have trouble getting to sleep the night before, I obsess over goal splits and strategies, and I get that familiar tummy feeling that keeps me close to the bathroom. Love it! I guess that's why I keep signing up for these things.

So, let's see. Goals. First goal is to PR. My (AG)PR set in my last 10K in February is 44:16. However today's course is a tougher one, with lots of rolling hills, and one nasty hill. I think I still have a shot to PR though, since I am on a roll lately. I plot out my typical negative split strategy; start about 7:25, get down to 7:10-7:15 in mile 2, and 7:05 on mile 3, then run miles 4 and 5 at or under 7, and expect adrenaline to bring me under 7 for the last mile plus. The hills were not really taken into consideration, but I knew from previous races that mile 5 would be slower, but mile 6 would be fast. I'm not real confident in the PR, so I tell myself under 45 would be good too. Last year on this course I ran 46:55, although I was just coming back from an injury layoff.

So the day began with a perfect clear day, temps in the high 50's. The national anthem was beautifully sung by the high school choir - something my son had done the last 4 years. I got a little choked up what with him away at college now. Still adjusting to the empty nest. Anyway, the crowd of 3,200 locals included many shall we say not too serious runners. No pace signs. I thought I was doing well by being about 5 yards behind the start but somehow about a thousand people seemed to start ahead of me. So there was lots of weaving for about a 1/4 mile before it got spread out. Of course this always makes me go too fast as I surge into gaps, and I found myself already ahead of plan and then trying to relax and get into an easier rhythm. First mile 7:10.

Mile 2: I am feeling good and still trying to slow myself down. Those darn magic Kinvaras are just pushing my pace! A few hills reminds me that this is hard work and soon I am just trying to maintain the pace I am at. Still, as usual, I will be mostly passing people the whole way, and that helps the motivation. 7:08

Here I am at about mile 2.1

Mile 3: I am slowing and getting the usual mid-race thoughts about why the hell am I pushing myself so hard? what is the point? This really hurts, and there is too far left to go. Ugh! Now I'll never PR so I may as well slow down...If it hurts this much now, just wait for that big hill...7:18

Mile 4: More rolling hills - G still says I am over 7:15. But occasional downhills help my mood. A few guys pass me, and that helps motivate me to keep up. I get to the 4th mile and the clock guy says 29 minutes and I'm thinking oh that's way too slow. I'll never finish 2.2 in 15:15. I failed to remember the 15 seconds of chip time I had banked. Actual split 7:08

Mile 5: Big freaking hill. At the bottom my lap pace is 7:05 but ten steps into the hill and I am already feeling beaten. Hell! Well, just give it what you can, and then it's all downhill from there. I get to the top and G says 7:33 lap pace. Whatever. I let go of the brakes and fly down the steep downhill to the beach. By mile 5 I am down to 7:23

Mile 6 starts with the last bit of downhill to the strand (beach bike path) and then it is over a mile along the strand to the finish. I hit the strand and G says 6:08! I settle back into a more normal pace, but then I get chicked by a hot young thing with a blonde ponytail who I had passed earlier. I realize I still have another gear left and I follow that ponytail for a few blocks. Soon enough I am passing her (and many other people) and feeling fast and strong. The familiar late race pain has jumped along for the ride, but it is manageable and I know I can handle this suffering all the way in. I have enough sense left to notice how freaking beautiful it is as I run along the beach on a sunny morning with clear views of the local mountains. Mile 6 was 6:40 and the last .27 was at 5:55 pace!

G says 44:24. Chip time actually 44:23. So I missed the PR by 7 seconds! Pretty darn close considering how I felt midway though. A later examination shows that G said I ran 7:05 pace for 6.27 while my PR race was 7:06 pace for 6.23, so there's that. I'll give myself a B+. And I beat last year's time by 2:32! I finished 209th of 3,200 and 23rd in my age group, which is the best I've ever placed in an age group in this race. And I would have been 10th in 50-54, and they give medals to top 10 in each group! So already looking forward to next year.

So, I'll take it. Now it is on to Pikermi Training and time to increase the mileage.
Here is the pic that shows the last mile, and is the pic on the t-shirt. Finish is at the pier.

Cross Another One Off the Bucket List - Malibu Triathlon RR

 I've been a runner forever. When triathlons came along with the Hawaii Ironman, I thought, like everyone else, that that was for crazy people only. Years went by, and shorter triathlons started popping up with names like "Sprint" that were just taunting us to go ahead and give it a try. Because what is more BA than saying you just did a triathlon? So at the relatively advanced age of 46 I took the challenge, borrowed a bike and a wetsuit, trained about 5 times in each, and completed my first sprint tri (1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run).

The next year I thought I would do it again. Bought a beginner road bike on Craig's list, got a surfer wetsuit on sale and did a little more training. Finished 2 sprint tri's that year, one a little longer, and vowed to do an Olympic Tri the next year. However last year I injured myself in mid-summer and had to bail on that plan.

So that brings me to this year. The Olympic Distance Triathlon would be mine. I signed up for the Malibu Tri with my coworker and rival Julia. She has been training like crazy, especially in the pool and bike. So while I can still take her in the run, there was no way I could compete here. Despite doing more training than ever this summer, I really don't swim or bike enough to become competitive with the "crazy" triathletes that are out there. My goal was to just do my best, work hard, have fun and finish strong.

As usual, I tossed and turned in bed the night before from 10:30 until after 1AM! Finally I drifted off, and then the alarm rang shortly after at 4:30. I roused the DW and hit the road by 5 for the 1 hour drive. We had to park a mile away from the transition area and I barely got there in time. Then we had to walk back 3/4 mile down the beach for the swim start.

It was a perfect day for racing. Cool and overcast. The ocean was fairly flat too. I was in the 5th wave, behind most of the men and ahead of the 50+ men and the women. Julia would start 13 minutes after me, so after some calculations I figured she would probably catch me during the bike, but maybe I could catch her back during the run.

Ready or not?


So, off we went! This is the 40-49 men. I am almost in the back - the only one not in a triathlete wetsuit, with bare calves. You can see the hills behind us. This would be where we would be riding bikes. I purposely hung back to avoid the jostling. The waves were easy - only had to dive through two, and then I was swimming toward the first big orange ball. once I got around that first buoy, I turned right and saw the other 5 buoys I needed to swim past on the 1-way 1500 meter swim. The last one was so far away I could barely see it. Well, much like Dora, I just had to keep swimming.

I'm not fast. Most of the men cleared out of my way pretty quick and I settled into a groove. It seemed like forever until I got to the next buoy, but I was doing OK and just kept plugging. Much like my training swims, I started to feel more comfortable and stronger in the second half of the swim. Eventually the next wave of men started to catch me, and later, some women were passing me. But I passed a few people too, and felt fine. Toward the end my toe was cramping, but i just kept going and it faded. As I got to the last buoy I felt faster and stronger than ever and powered it all the way back to the beach. Alright! Hardest part done, and I feel fine!

I head over to Transition and get ready to bike. Not a big rush. Just methodically getting dressed and ready. I'm smiling and having fun!

Soon enough I was hopping on the bike and cranking up the speed. The 40K route was all rolling hills. If I wasn't climbing, then I was racing down a hill. Constant gear shifting. And that made it fun. Plus it was all on Pacific Coast Highway with ocean and mountain views. I felt good and was pushing as hard as I could. Interestingly, I seemed to be passing a lot of people on the uphills, only to have them pass me on the downhills. I've done hardly any hill training, so I didn't expect that. I felt like I was holding my own with a bunch of serious bikers. I managed to grab a drink from an aid station while still moving full speed. They held out a water bottle and I held out my hand and it just slapped right in without wiping me out - kind of cool. I had a few drinks and tossed it. I also managed to eat a GU from my back pocket without slowing down. I had never eaten or drank while moving before, so that was cool.

About mile 15 Julia passed me, however that motivated me to push a little bit harder and I managed to stay close to her all the way back. I would catch her on the uphills and she would pass me on the downs. Just like the swim, I was feeling stronger in the 2nd half and pushed a little harder. I ended up staying ahead of her and finished the bike about 15-20 seconds ahead of her.

Here I am coming in to the finish. Still smiling! I worked my quads as hard as I could, but I felt good.

Next transition was basically just changing shoes and I was out for a run. Grabbed a Gu and water on the go. Still smiling!

Well! My legs were very brick-like, and my back was stiff and sore. I was just trying to run and get the kinks out. But I was passing everybody now. G had me at about 8 minute pace, and I was hoping for 7:30s, but I was going to take what my body gave me. The 10K run was almost flat, along the beach. After a mile I saw Julia ahead of me. What? Apparently she passed me during the transition, while I dawdled with my shoes, tying double knots or whatever. Well I stayed with her for a little while and talked, but then I surged ahead.

By mile 4 I was feeling better, but still running close to 8 minute pace. Then I realized I felt way too good. I was treating this like a training run. This was a race, darnit, and I was not hurting enough. So I cranked it up to about 7:10 pace instantly and started cruising. Still, it  felt like a tempo run. I managed to hold that pace all the way back. Not one person passed me in the run, and I must have passed 200 or more. So I finished my first Olympic distance tri - 3 hours of exercise - feeling strong and fast and invincible!


Here are the numbers. There were 1,036 finishers. I finished 621, or 60%. 57th of 90 in my age group. Total time was 3:05:02

Swim was 42:51 -  83% (meaning I beat 17% of the people)
T1 a slow 6:17
Bike 1:26:57 - 72% Averaged 17.1 mph
First 5 miles, 16.4 mph, next 5 16.3mph, next 5 17.4 mph, next 5 18.1 mph, last 5 18.7mph
T2 a slow 2:35
10K run: 46:20 19% (beat 81%!) Mile splits: 8:11, 7:58, 7:45, 7:49, 7:12, 7:08
I passed this guy on the run and told him he rocked.

This guy won the "Baby-carrying" division

Today I am stiff around the knees and in my back and neck, well pretty much all over. But I am glad to pack away the wetsuit until next Summer. Julia has already signed up for a half-ironman next year. I'm not ready to commit yet. I want to focus on running for a while. But I'm guessing the tri will be luring me back soon enough.

My 9/11 Run

 I set a goal today of running 9.11 miles at a 9:11 per mile pace. The idea was to do something in memory of those who died. A small gesture. Maybe it was just an interesting twist to put on the run. Anyway, I normally would run an easy day more like 8:30-8:40 and find it difficult to go over 9 minute pace for that long. So I tweaked the rules a little to let me run a little harder.

For all my runs, I stop the Garmin at stoplights or water breaks, so that my G time is a reflection of my running time. Today I would just let the clock run. The total pace would still be an accurate minutes per mile for the run, but it would include 2-5 minutes of downtime, thus forcing me to run faster during the run time. I set my Garmin to just show 2 numbers, distance and overall pace.

So I head out and there is a stoplight at the end of my block after 0.1 miles, and I hit it with a wait of maybe1.5 minutes. I watch the pace go from 9 to over 15 before I can finally start moving. I am taking it easy though, because I know I will have plenty of time to make it up. After mile 1 I have the pace all the way down to 10:09, and at mile 2 it is 9:40. Time for a short water break, but then I continue on. At mile 3 it has only dropped to 9:37.

This whole run, I am doing math in my head. Which is fine, because I like to do math in my head. But after mile 3 I started to think I better step it up a bit. I hoped to have it down to 9:11 pace by mile 6 so I could just keep it there the rest of the way. So miles 4 and 5 I am pressing a little, probably running under 8:30. At mile 4 I was down to 9:21, and by mile 5 i was down to 9:11. Phew!

So I took another water break and then took it easy up a short steep hill. Suddenly I am close to 9:20 again! I pick it up a little, but I am really tired! It is warm, and I had a busy Saturday.

***Intermission***
So the reason I am tired is that I had a killer brick workout on Saturday - My last swimming and biking workouts before next Saturday's triathlon. I started with a 1-mile ocean swim (longest ever). The water was flat and I felt really good until I turned around and swam into the current on the way back. Still, an encouraging swim. I walked back home and hopped on the bike for a 25 mile bike ride. I was getting pretty tired in the last ten miles, mainly because I was fighting a nasty headwind the whole way. By the time I woke up Sunday I was sore in lots of places, and feeling a little burnt out. But I had a run to do.
***End of Intermission***

So I reach the next water stop at 6 miles and just have it back to 9:11 pace. After drinking and pausing it is back up to 9:13, but I try to relax and run at about 9 minute pace, which feels fine because I am tired and hot. I cruise along and let it drop to 9:09, 9:08. At 7.5 I stop again for water and it is back up to 9:10. I start to plan my finish.

The route should put me very close to 9.11 miles when I get home, but I have that long light waiting for me, a tenth of a mile before home. I may hit it perfect, or I may have to wait up to 2 minutes. I decide I need to have some time banked in case, and then if I need to, I will walk the last block as needed. I get it down to about 9:08 and try to keep it there as I head home.

So I crest the hill and see the light, and.. I just missed it. I still need to run .2 miles so instead of standing and waiting I jog down to the next light, not far away. Still I have to wait. 9:09.......9:10.....I jog a little up and down the street to slow it down...9:11...dammit, turn green!

Finally the other light turns yellow and I don't wait any more and go as soon as it is safe. Watch says 9:12 and I am at 9.05 miles!!! I sprint madly up the street! When I pass 9.09 miles the pace flips back to 9:11. I keep going, slowing a little and finally get to the magic screen and hit stop. Did it!

So, that made an LSD day into a very interesting run. I actually did spend some time thinking about the victims during the run too.

Here are my actual mile splits:
10:08, 9:13, 9:28, 8:34, 8:32, 9:13, 8:49, 9:28, 9:01, 1:14 (last 0.11)
83:41 total time

Peace

Remembering 9/11

I watched the 2 hour recap on NBC last night. It brought back all the emotions.

I had an idea, that may sound silly and trivial and self-centered, but I thought you runners may like it.

Sunday I will run 9.11 miles. I thought I would aim for 9:11 per mile pace as well, but I don't know if I can do that, as it is hard for me to slow down that much. That would involve sacrifice...


Pause for irony to sink in.


Maybe I can focus on slowing down enough and spend the 84 minutes thinking about the 2,973 people who passed that day, and how lucky I am. That's about one person for every two seconds of my run. Dang.

Stronger and Faster and Happier

The more I do, the stronger I get. This training thing really works! Lately I seem to just be getting stronger and faster and feel better all the time. I am in some kind of awesome groove and I like it! So I need to share with my peeps who understand.

Anyway, my last blog was after 3 straight weekends of racing and loop meetups and awesomeness. PR, PR and PR. But now I had to get back into triathlon training because my Olympic tri was 3 weeks away and I really didn't do enough swimming and biking this summer - what with adding all these races.

So after the "real" hill of death a week ago Saturday, I took 3 days off and did nothing. Good thing because my quads were very sore and needed a break. Then I got busy.

Wed: Easy 5 miles at 8:40. Still shaking out the soreness.

Thurs: Back to the pool after 3 weeks without swimming. Managed 1200 meters.

Fri: 7 miles at 8:33. Feeling pretty good.

Sat: Bike ride - 21 miles with most of it at 16+ mph, which is pushing it for me.

Sun: Planned to do 9 miles, but I felt so good I stretched it to 10.3. Pace was pretty good too with the last 6 at 8:15 and mile 9 at 7:57.

Labor Day: Hoped to do an ocean swim, but we had really high surf, and there were warnings to stay out. Plus a shark sighting. So, I took a day off.

Tues: Group Run. Did 6.4 miles of trails and felt strong and had fun.

Wed: Back to the pool. Did 1600 meters for the first time, with hardly any pauses. Felt strong! I guess I will survive the 1500 meter ocean swim.

Thur: Speedwork. Since I've been feeling so good, I decided to do 4 x 1 mile intervals. Thought maybe 7:15 pace to start and then maybe get down near 7:00. It was warm - over 80 - probably the hottest run of the year, but a nice breeze and cooling down. I broke out the Kinvaras and felt fast.

   1.3 mile warmup at 8:34 (already fast)
   First mile 7:14, 0.7 miles at 8:26
   Second mile 7:07, still holding back,  0.5 miles at 8:59
   Third mile 6:55! I feel like I could do these all day!, 0.65 miles at 8:43
   4th mile 6:48! The last half was probably close to 6:30 after a slower start. I had a lot left in the tank!

I tell ya, these Kinvaras really must help a lot. I feel like I'm cheating. I'm glad it is now OK to train in "racing" shoes. But I am feeling really good lately. I seem to finish every workout feeling great, with the feeling that I could do more - and I want to do more!  Basically everything is just building on everything else; the cross training, the better eating, the weight training, the speedwork, the shoes, the lower weight, the loop love. Add it all up and it makes for one happy, healthy, speedy Bangle. Yay! Looking forward to busting out more PRs and breaking more barriers in the months and years to come.
It's a Banana Day!

Bulldog 25K Race Report

Well, I didn't die. It was touch and go for a while though. But let's start at the beginning.

In case you missed my preview post below, this race is a trail run in the mountains with a nearly 3 mile hill of over 2000 feet, followed by a few more hills, a huge descent, and then one more hill just before the end. We are having a heat wave and the high on the course would be over 100.

I was up with the DW at 4:40 as we had a bit of a drive. First stop, Hollywood, to pick up aschmid3, or Abby. Introductions were made, and once she decided I was not actually a serial killer, she hopped in. We got to the course at 6:30, in time to see the start of the 50K, for the truly crazy. Then we had an hour to chill and get ready. I met up with another friend, C, who would start with us. Water bottles were mandatory, and I had 2 filled with Gatorade.

Pre-race photo

There was still plenty of shade the first few miles and it was relatively flat. The three of us got split up right from the start however; C moving ahead of me and Abby falling behind. It was a little crowded but i was just running. Didn't have the racing mentality. We hit some single track when it was still crowded so I had to keep my eyes on the trail for every step. But it was really fun.

After about 3 miles we hit the beginning of the serious climbing, and for the next three miles it was almost all up. 15-20% grade I'm guessing for 75% of it. Shortly almost everybody was walking. It was a little odd having so much walking going on during a race, but there was no way to run it. I would jog once the slope came down or on the few flat portions, but switched to a walk whenever my lungs or legs told me it was time. Meanwhile we were now in the sun and it was heating up toward the 90s.

So there was a lot of trudging, but purposeful trudging. I wasn't dead yet and was looking forward to getting over the top. I was passing more people than not. Check out the splits for the first 7 miles:
9:03, 9:45, 10:05, 11:41, 13:59, 18:10, 10:57

Once I got over the top I was feeling pretty good. It was beautiful as we could see for miles. I pulled out a camera for a few pics, and asked a runner to take one of me, and he laughed as he ran by. Oh well. The next section was fun, with some ups and downs. There was an aid station with icy sponges and I refilled my bottles and guzzled a few glasses. I was just enjoying the day and paused for a few more pictures.



That's the ocean there with some far-off islands poklng through the mist. And you can see the trail that we ran on.
So I was cruising along. Very hot though. My fingers were tingling and I was starting to feel pretty exhausted. Still having to walk up some steep portions. Next three miles were 12:49, 11:57, 10:21. I was mainly running alone at this time, only occasionally passing someone or being passed. Then I hear footsteps coming up pretty fast, and it is Abby! She looks fresh as a daisy. We chat a bit and i get her to stop and take some pics.


You can see how high we had climbed! Then the downhill started in earnest, and it was controlled freefall for much of about two miles. Still my splits were 9:10, 8:51. Abby and I ran together for 2-3 miles until we reached another aid station at 12.5. At this point i was feeling really dead, like I had hit the wall. The heat was becoming overbearing. I stopped and drank a lot and decided to just rest for about 5 minutes. I let Abby go on ahead.

Finally I headed back out. It was flat and had some shade for a while, but then we hit the last hill. I had to walk, and even walking I felt the need to pause for a break occasionally. I started to feel like I would puke, but it passed. I felt like someone lost in the desert, trudging hopelessly. It was just about survival at that point. I was sure glad I had water on me. Once I got over the hill I managed to jog almost all the way in to the finish, but I was toast. Last 3 miles were 15:37 (with the break) 15:42 and 9:30. My total average for the day was 11:52 per mile.

It sure was nice to see the finish area. I found a bucket of ice water and stuck my arms in it and splashed my face. Phew! It was beautiful and fun at times, but I don't know if I'll be doing this one again. All that walking just isn't that much fun. But it was a great accomplishment and good memories, so I am walking proud, although stiffly. Final time 2:56.
Post race photos:


The DW tells me what she thinks of my time. And yes we climbed over that mountain behind us.

So, an awesome day, a fun loop meetup, and a medal (for finishing). On to the next challenge!