Wild West Relay Recap

I arrived in Fort Collins. on Thursday. I met Stephanie from the group who is currently on summer break from school. Her and I agreed to met up for easy 5mile run, also to run many errands. The picture above is a photo of directions to the Car Rental place as well as the directions to Anca (team captain) office. I never seen directions posted on a paper towel before...
The day past very fast, after dropped off the Vans, and went shopping for food and other last minute supplies.

Race Morning consisted of alot of moaning and groaning due to the early wake-up call at 5:15am.

Before the start of the race, our first runner of leg #1, was nervous that she would get lost, so she decided to write directions on her hands.

The banana guy custom was short lived, about 3miles into the run, half of his suite was peeling off....

My Trip to Denver

I arrived in Denver on Aug 1st, and my good friend and old college roommate Mike, picked me up at that airport. Mike had just moved from the bay area to live with his brother in Denver. Mike and I stayed at nearby Marriott Courtyard in the city center.
We walked around strip mall to find somewhere to eat. I noticed the Coytote Ugly bar, I had only watched portions of the movie but was interested in checking it out after dinner. We went to a local Italian restaurant and had a few cocktails, after dinner we headed to Saloon and noticed that the bartenders putting on a show. It was still early in the night, I would assume the place gets really busy during the weekend. I wanted to head back to the room, because I knew I had a full day of activities lined up. More on that later...

Wild West Pre-Recap Post

Ok I am lagging in my updating my blog, but here is a quick teaser that I put together for the team in Colorado. Enjoy!

The Hottest Ass on the pass

Quick Update

After my race in Big Bear, I was feeling fairly confident on my race pace strategy. However, I still felt a nagging knee pain especially going down hill. I sent in my registration for the Camp Pendleton Tri, and started to train on my bike again. Then on June 20^th I received my check back from the race organizer stating that the race has been closed. That really put me through a tail spin, because my strategy was to run a super fast 10K, recover then race the camp Pendleton and beat my time from last year. End result I canceled both races and decided to rest the knee and take a mini vacation in Las Vegas. I don’t remember the last time I took off 10 days without any activity.

After Vegas my focus was on ramping up a two workshop for work, and getting ready for the Wild West relay in Colorado.

We had a team of 6 runners from the club, 2 dropped out, and our team captain couldn’t join because of work obligations. Which left us with kinda unorganized, to make a long story short collectively we decided not to run the race as a team. I joined a 12 person team called Hot Asses on the Pass. Jennifer and Alexa have non-refundable airline tickets and will shadow our team and treat this as a running vacation. We hope to get in some additional trail training while in Steamboat,CO, we all hear it is a fantastic area to hangout in. I am looking forward to meeting this new group they seem to have a good spirit about them.

Holcomb Valley Recap

Holcomb valley 15 mile trail race.

I had originally signed up for the 33mile race, but at the last minute, changed my mind to race the 15mile option. I am happy I did.

After running the Shadow of the Giants, I thought it would be wise to not overdo it and run a good solid race with the 15mile option. Between the shadow of the giants and Holcomb I only ran once. I went to big bear on Saturday, and stayed at a local hotel. Other club members from the OCTRAIL club also stayed at the same hotel. I felt well rested going into the race.

Race morning, I set the alarm for 5am, and went to the local am/pm for a hot cup of coffee. Wow I did not realize how cold it was outside, I had the shakes… I noticed there no cloud cover, which told me that will be very clear and hot.

I arrived at the race site, and chatted with the other runners that were doing the 33mile race. 30min later our 15 mile race started. This was my first trail race where they put us in waves. I was of course in the last wave. The race course was very rocky or technical at the start which reminded me of one of my local training runs at Modjeska canyon trail.

At the 4 or 5mile mark it opened up onto a smooth rolling fire road. I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible. I tried to maintain a constant pace throughout, I noticed plenty of free range horses out on the field and I forgot where I was for a while. The course was well marked if you follow the arrows. Towards the end I realized I could break my 3hr goal. I couldn’t open into full stride going down a rocky single track, just too risky. I was using this lady way ahead to help me pace myself in…Then I passed here, BUT now I was in the front with about 1/2mile left I was lost track of the arrows and orange ribbons. Going into the parking lot of the finish I was supposed to make a hard right, well I went straight. They lady I passed said I was going the wrong way, at this point I was way off track. I finished at 3:01, now knowing the course next year, I should shatter that time. This particular race was very well supported with volunteers and post race goodies. I recommend this race to anyone considering do a short trail race in the mountains.

Shadow of the Giants Recap

Shadow of the Giants is not to be confused with Ave of the Giants that was my mistake when opting out of running a marathon in May. For other reasons besides not having any desire to run on the road, I thought running inside the forest would be fantastic opportunity to explore. After several dozen of emails going back and forth Charlie on how long it would take to drive to the race site. I soon discovered my assumption of the race he was talking about was about 450 miles in a different direction. Shadow of the Giants was held in a small town called Fish Camp, CA which is located 60miles away from Fresno, CA or about 2 miles away from the entrance of Yosemite Park.

Fast Forwarding to a few days before the event and again several dozen back and forth messages on our group board at OCTRAILRUNNERS.ORG someone that should remain nameless but resides in Riverside, suggested we take totally different route that would have added about the same time it would taken me to complete my journey at the race 8hr 29min. Nonetheless we managed to trim the drive time considerably by almost the same time it took iMichelle to complete the race.

Our carpool consisted of 3 outstanding athletes Eric, Jennifer, and Paul. When we arrived at our meeting destination in Irvine @ 8:28am, I believe none us read the memo on 1 piece carry on.

After taking off on the freeway I thought there was something very strange with the car, I thought to myself that the aliment was off because we kept swerving in and out the lanes or that Paul had too much of his “special brownies”.

On the drive up most of the conversation was centered on upcoming races etc… Once we arrived at Fish Camp, we quickly unpack and settled into our cabins. About the cabins, I had flashbacks to 6^th grade camp. But for $12 bucks a person I am not going to complain. I recommend this race to the group all the way, I think next year we all should sign up early and have a strong presence on the course. We all checked in and I had the privilege of meeting #!O BAZ for the first time. I heard so much about him, he is very knowledgeable and likeable guy. I would like to have a beer with him and hear his stories. After receiving our race materials we were all very hungry and headed back to town for a bite to eat, haircut, and accessory shopping. After we ate at Round Table, we had some time to spare, Paul took the opportunity to get his haircut, this would help in aero-dynamics on the trails, and Eric passing time decided get some sandals. Being the metro-sexual males that we are- I was considering a pedicure next to hair place. I think Jennifer was wondering how and heck did I connect with these FREAKS! Jennifer handled it pretty well and went with the flow.

We arrived back at our cabin, and started to settle into our pre-race routine. BUT then came “Charlie and the Caffeine factory” I can only imagine how Charlie managed to drive x amount of hours with 3 children in the car. Being bottled up they had a tremendous amount of energy to unleash. Nonetheless, we decided to change cabins that way the whole group can sleep under the same roof. Time went by pretty quickly as we all were preparing for the race, my normal bed time is around 8:45pm, and I think our group was used to 10 or 11pm. I tried to go with the flow but couldn’t resist counting sheep.

Race morning went as planned, the air was crisp and cool. We all awaited last min instructions from the RD. Then we were off at 7:08am, the first 4-5 miles was a very steady climb. I wanted to conserve my energy and use it towards the end of the race but that will serve as futile. As I approached the first aid station, the volunteer told me there was no more water, huh? Apparently the big jug fell over; more water was on its way. I continued to run to the next aid station at mile 9. At this point I felt “FLAT” my legs lacked that extra pep maybe it’s the altitude? I found myself walking sections that I would normally run, and down sections that I would normally hull butt. Between the 2^nd aid station and 3^rd aid station is where I think I had a mental challenge. During this 7mile stretch, I left my fanny pack upon. I lost all of my “goodies”; these were goodies that I needed to finish the race. I stopped several times to look back and hoped that people behind me would pick it up. Finally I saw a small group they told me your stuff is about 2miles away.

I had no concept mileage at this point because my garmin was not picking up a signal due to the tall trees. I continued to trot to the 3^rd aid station and there was Charlie, I briefed him on my empty fanny pack. He told me he would put something together, while I had to run a 1 mile loop. 11mins later, Charlie had gathered some goodies together and I was well on my way to the next aid station. At this point I was pretty tired, my legs were sore & I was tired of listening to my iPod. Mentally I think I checked out of the race when I lost my stuff, I just wanted to finish and enjoy the views. I finally reached the last aid station and it seemed like an eternity to reach the finish. When I finally finished I saw Jennifer, Eric, Charlie and iMichelle. It was great feeling to complete another ultra.

Post Race consisted of a lot of eating and laughing on our long trip back home. We made several stops at some very smelly gas station stops. There was one restroom were I think they had the heater on, and I paid $2.18 for a 16oz water. The ride home was very hilarious; Paul the driver was hesitant to ride in the carpool lane because it was too narrow. He also informed us that he had slight night blindness.

Overall I had a great experience, I was able to strengthen relationships, experience fantastic views, and learned how to deal with adverse situations. I will put this race on my race calendar for 2008.

Edited by Paul Nguyen

6 “weird” things about me

Since E-Rod tagged me, It's my turn to join in on the fun :)

“Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about himself or herself. People who get tagged need to write a blog entry of their own as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to tag 6 people as well and list their names. Don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged!”

1. I voted for the first time on American Idol this year.
2. I enjoy watching Dancing with the stars, House, Travel channel, and food network (Rachel Ray rocks)
3. I am a picky eater everything has to be customized. I am allergic to garlic, onion, green peppers etc..
4. On my iPod I have Justin's Sexy Back, and other yoga related music.
5. I am always late to work, but on time for training runs.
6. I associate myself with a cult running group.

So, I'm tagging Jon, Jeff,

Short Bike Recap in Temecula

I received a email last week to join in on a challenging bike ride in Temecula, CA.
This attached photo of Floyd Landis, was part of the email.

This was a very challenging course without a doubt, I had no idea what to expect. I would like to thank Johnnie and Tiffany for providing SAG support, during the ride. Below is the ride profile from that day.

Below is a ride profile of Santiago Canyon, our usually route for training. I usually do pretty well on this course. As you can see from comparing the two, the course in Temecula makes the canyon look like a speed bump. Overall I was humbled from this accomplishment, it was a big character builder ride for many reasons. One reason is because I have not been on bike in 2months, another reason was after that first climb, my legs felt like jello, I had to dig deep to finish out the ride. Thank Johnnie I owe you one :)

Lake Hodges Ultra 50K and some change...

Quick Race Overview-

Lake Hodges (this is a musical slide show by one of club members) is located about 1 hour south of Orange County.

Morning lows was in the 40’s and quickly reached to the upper 80’s with no cloud cover. The terrain was mixed with some single track and wide trail roads. The total elevation climbing was close to 5,000 feet. My finish time was 7hr10min, not necessary the time I was aiming for but read below to see how the day unfolded.

Very interesting race, I went into the race feeling pretty good. My left hamstring pull went away after some aggressive therapy and the application of the STICK. After talking to several other athletes about the hamstring, I came to the conclusion it was due to my weekly track workouts and running in the same direction. However, my 5 year old decided to get sick (excessive coughing) on Wednesday and me being the hypochondriac that I am started to freak out…I started using Germ X etc… so I wake up Saturday Morning at 2:30am for my pre-race meal, and I have a scratching throat L. I tried to keep a positive spirit about it, but just a few races ago at the LA 5K, I just remember feeling like crap for the 5K let alone a 50K. Moving forward, I ran a couple of errands prior to meeting Kim at 4:15am. I decide to refill my doctor prescribed “Vitamin I” IBUPROFEN, I am so happy I did (more on that later).

Kim and I started our trek down south to San Diego, then she mentions she forgot her handheld bottles which is kind of ironic because on her pre-race list on her blog, that is the first thing on her list…hmmm. We arrive in plenty of time, and I told her to park in the area where the RD tells us NOT to park. After figuring out that we were not supposed to park there we opted to park at the entrance of the START/Finish area. This was the best spot, we decided to organize the back of her vehicle to spread out our extra nutrition/lubes etc…I went into Triathlon mode of setting up my transition area. Kim had mentioned how cold it was, I had no clue what she was talking about, I had on my full on Fleece jacket and pants on. She mentioned it was 43 degrees out, and started to kind of worry because all she had was a tang top and no long sleeve. So we walk over to the start to pick up our bag, and who do we see CHAZ man. He sees Kim and mentions that he has a long sleeve technical shirt from the OC Marathon, that has been sitting in his car for a couple of months. I had no idea Charlie had a mobile Self Storage? (If I remember correctly he had 8-10 5Gallon water jugs from the last ULTRA in Twin Peaks.) I have never seen Kim so happy to hear such great news, Funky smell or not she was pumped. After picking up our packets, I noticed someone from my sponsor Aquaphor. We were a little surprised to see each other; we both didn’t think there were many ultra runners in our sponsored team. She kind of got me to think about doing a 50mile race. We exchanged each others personal info, and I am sure we will become great friends. Jill had mentioned she had signed up for

SJ50K, please send her some LOVE if you see her on the trails. I was really impressed to see a lot of familiar faces at the race from our club OCTR.

More on the race, the RD started to shout out last min instructions at 7am, race started a little bit after 7:20am. About a 1.5miles in I hit my right big toe on a rock in a weird funky way. I started to feel a throbbing sensation due to the friction of my top foot, where my big bone meets the big toe bone. It was really swelling, I remember

having this feeling, last year when I was breaking inn a new pair of shoes, and it actually rubbed so bad it ripped off the skin. I did not want to say anything to Kim, at that time, I was just happy to be walking up the hill. On our way back, on the first leg, she had bent her ankle in a weird way, and we both started to walk and jog. I finally spilled my beans and told her I was in bad shape. My goal was to get to the drop bag zone, we finally made it, and I

quickly rushed to see the damage. It was clearly getting bad, bright cherry red, I quickly got a tube of aquaphor and put about 3 table spoons on that area. I also took in 3 nice “Vitamin I” tablets; Kim had one as well for her ankle. I also had some packed some extra goodies for backup. I included some samples of Bonkbreaker which I sampled at my recent 10K. I wanted to see how they would hold up in the heat pressed between my shorts. They rocked! The consistency was there and the Peanut butter and jelly as very tasty. I also packed ROBO

espresso cookies; the cookies packed a nice jolt high. We both quickly went and continued our journey to the east side of the course. After about 20 mins we were both feeling very loose…I had forgot about toe area and

her ankle was feeling better. We arrive to the first aid station as iMichelle is on her return. Oh yeah quick up date on the temperature it was 85 degrees bright and sunny it felt like 90. I started to scream out to Kim it is freezing out here! We both started to chuckle hoping in some weird way we would get cooler. The volunteers were fantastic at each aid station, very informative and kind. Both Kim and I were very surprised at the 2^nd aid station, we were told that the turnaround point is another .5miles away… I think I almost lost it…that was the longest .5miles, we reached the final turnaround, I took the liberty of having several servings of HEED. Then we

ran into fellow group members Paul, and Nattie. I was surprised to see Paul without his Photo Tripod. He had mentioned he had a sore ankle and was not feeling too good. Nattie, looked fresh like she just started the race. The four of us start to chat a bit and walk as a group. Both Paul and I were struggling to keep up with Nattie and Kim while they were walking. Kim was a life saver during the run, turns out she does shoulder massages. I was in bad shape after holding 1.5 lb water weights for over 6.5hours. Both shoulders were in KNOTS, I asked Kim

to use her elbow to apply pressure to the knots for relief, and to squeeze my shoulders. God Bless her, she is strong.

So we arrive to the last aid station, I turned about and Paul took off like he stole something, and Nattie as right

there with him. Perhaps I was at the aid station too long sucking down more HEED. Kim and I continued to

pace each other, we had noticed that there one other athlete that would pass us, then we would pass her. This battle would continue for the last 3.5 miles. Kim gave me the orders run ahead to catch her, it was a small victory in a very long hot day. Kim had her sister waiting at the finish line, they were kind enough to get a us big gulp

coke at the extra mile. I quickly took off my shoes to inspect the damage. It was still swollen and tender, I think it will be good to take it easy for a while. I am not sure what race to tackle next, but I know it will involve running.

My focus this season is to improve my running performance. Thank you for reading, and see you at the races…

Spirit Run 10K/Kids Run March 25th

I have participated in this 10K now 2 times, last year my time was 55:10. This year I finished at 50:25. I felt pretty strong, going into the race. I figured with all the trail running I have been doing my times would be faster. Also, for about 1 month I have had this nagging left hamstring that just has NOT gone away. I have been taking yoga classes for the last 3-4 weeks which have helped, but I think with the countless miles I’ve been putting on my body things are starting creep up. Overall the experience at this years 10K race was very pleasant, the weather was ideal, it was overcast and slightly windy. Pre-race was fun I ran into my sponsor aquaphore team-mates, and other running partners for the orange country tri club. Post race there was plenty of water support, and a nice spread of booths offering samples. I feel in love with this one product called Bonk Breaker. They offered samples of their Peanut butter & Jelly, it was packaged like a cliff bar, the rep assured me that the bar would not break down in extreme heat or in wet conditions. (more on this later). Having this information I asked for several samples J. After my rounds thru the booth maze, I had about 1hr to wait for the rest of the family to stop by for the Kids Run which started at 10:45am. I had originally signed up Lorraine, my 5year old, but she was “injured” earlier in the week she had participated in her schools jog-a-thon. She completed 13laps, after her event she was complaining about her shine splints…She is now on the inured reserved list. I recruited 2year old Gracie to step up. She was very up beat about the whole event, but when it came time to toe the line with others in her group she FROZE. She finished the 25yrd dash and received her first medal.

My Little Monkey Gracie Santa Ana Zoo

Just testing out the publishing features from Picasa, from my new Casio camera.

Los Angeles 5K Race Report

Recap:

LA 5K

March 4, 2007

Leading up to the race, was an interesting week. First the whole family had the flu, leading up to the race I was in my third day of recovery. Nonetheless I still felt like it was in my chest.

On Friday March 2^nd, I was invited to attend a group dinner at Lucianos in Dana Point. The guest speaker was Dave Scott. Dave Scott is a 6 time Ironman Champion, he is an engaging speaker. He had a little talk on Success in sports, I found it to be very informative and motivating. Dave was in down for the weekend for a triathlon clinic for the Orange County Triathlon Club.

On Saturday March 3^rd, I participated in a group trail run with my fellow Orange County Trail Runners. The run was located in Aliso Woods which included a 11mile loop. We had a great turn out, 17 trail runners were in attendance. The purpose of the trail run for me was to get a good idea of how the legs felt. The leg turnover was not there, and my coughing persisted turning the run.

On Sunday March 4^th, I met with Lisa K, at Snails pace in Fountain Valley. We carpooled to LA for her LA Marathon. I was her pacer for miles 20-26.2, since I registered for the 5K, what was an extra 6miles? Lisa informed me she had fallen ill and was resting 2 days prior. We coordinated a estimated time at mile 20. After we parked and went to our starting areas, I had to warm up and run 2miles to the start of the 5K. The legs felt kinda tired and did not have that quick bounce like I feel when I am 100%. The lingering coughing persisted during the warm-up and up to the start of the 5K. After the gun went off the energy of the crowd propelled me for the first mile, soon after that my coughing and breathing was way off, I tried to push it, but the mojo just was not there. I throttled back and kept a brisk pace to the finish. My finish time was 28:06 not my best time, but it will just have to get better next time.

After the race completed my main focus was to recover quickly and prepare for another 6mile run in 2hrs. I found a local restaurant for coffee, and a cliff bar. I just took my time drinking 3 cups of coffee and reading the morning paper. Before I knew it was time to pace Lisa. I finally saw her at mile 20, she was not having a good day. Lisa’s legs were feeling heavy and started to resort to walking. We started to jog a bit and then got into a nice rhythm. We continued and it seemed like the miles markers were very close together. We continued to push through mile 26, and finally finished. It was a long hot day in Los Angeles for all of us. I started to look forward getting home, and resting for the rest of the day. And now my focus is on my 10k in Fashion Island March 25^th, I will try to beat last years time of 55min. Bye for now.