Ojai Half Marathon

The Ojai Half Marathon took place this last weekend, making my second half marathon of the year and my first one in almost two months. I have been trying to be true to my 2013 goal of backing off on my racing and focusing on my training. So far, it’s been a struggle, but I’ve seen good progress in my running. I just have to keep resisting the register now button.

Elite Sports California put on this race and the Seaside half which I ran in February. I’ve heard some rumbling complaints about them, but I have had zero problems with them. The race was well organized, the aid stations were well stocked and volunteers were plentiful. Bonus, it was a small enough race that I was able to pick up my packet on race morning. This race as well as with the last one were well priced and I managed to get them both at a discount by keeping an eye on them.

Predictably, the night before the race I could not fall asleep! I don’t know why I get pre-race nerves! I wasn’t even worried about this race, but then I usually don’t worry about any of them. The weather report was predicting heat, but it ended up being a very pleasant day. The marine layer didn’t burn off till a few miles into the race and it didn’t really warm up till I was finishing.

 

My Dad and Mom decided to come along and cheer me on, so we all piled into the car around 5:30am for the hour drive down to Ojai. We got there just as packet pickup opened, so I walked right up without having to wait. The man working the table asked me if I was running the half and got me my stuff. Two girls walked up behind me, both in bright color coordinated outfits and he asked them if they were running the 5k, which they were. I love that people at races now predict I’m there for the half marathon, but what makes one person look like a half marathoner over a 5ker?

 

Beautiful Ojai along the route

The start of the race was a little funny. They did have a wave start, but since it was such a small race, each section for the waves were pretty tiny. They sent each wave two minutes apart, but they really only needed one. I joined the 10+ group since I wasn’t predicting a PR time. When they released the 9 minute group, two volunteers yelled “Ok everyone go”, so we all started going. The man on the microphone started yelling “No, ten minute group stop!” I started laughing. It was too late, most of us had already gone over the mat and I wasn’t about to stop when the clock was now going.



Some road



Lot's of bike path



Not even a half mile into the race, I realized I really needed to pee! That never happens to me! Even during my marathon, I didn’t have to stop even once. Well my bladder felt like it was going to explode, so at the very first aid station, I hit the port-a-potty. I was in total panic mode. I could feel the seconds ticking by. I absolutely hate having to loose time!

 

 

For about the first three or four miles we were running on a bike path, with runners going one direction on the right and runners going back on the left. I can understand why they did this since they had a 5k and a 10k running with the half marathon, but it made things very tight! When the 10k quickies started catching my pace group it made things a little hard. I ended up running up the side on some dirt and tweaking my ankle on a curb under the weeds. Thankfully it didn’t fully roll, so it didn’t bug me till that evening.

 

 

As soon as the 10kers peeled off things spread out and became much more comfortable. We continued mostly on bike path, but sometimes on the street. At one point we ran past a Wendy’s and I got a ginormous craving for a chocolate shake! Around mile six we came up along Lake Casitas and wow, what a view. The marine layer was hanging out just above the water and the sun was shining!

 

Lake Casitas from the route

 

Around mile seven we hit the one major hill of the race and it seemed to go on forever! Up, up, up! I then understood the jokes about mile seven I had been hearing at the starting line! I thought, “just around the next bend it will end… no, just around the next one.” I ended up chatting with a lot of runners in this section of the race. I started the conversations usually asking if they knew how long the hill was and then it usually ended with us joking about the evil of hills for a while. I was power walking and easy jogging my way up, my original plan had been to walk it, but that was before I had known how long it was. One guy told me that since we kept passing each other, he felt like he was going backwards.

 

My hill buddies powering up

Up to the killer hill, things had mostly been softly rolling, after the killer hill, things were seriously rolling. At four miles out, I was feeling so good that I wanted to run it in, then I’d come around another bend and then there would be another hill. My intervals got a little sporadic at that point. I’d walk the hills if they were short and run however far was in-between. I was making great time, in fact, till the evil hill I’d been making PR time, but I was never able to make up the time I lost to that sucker.

 

Almost done!

A mile out, I started leaving my friendly pace group behind and started catching people I hadn’t seen before. I started picking people off till I realized that I was just around the corner from the finish! I caught a girl just in front of the school where the finish was and then dug deep and sprinted, catching one more girl just feet from the finish line. I finished with a chip time of 2:13:52, making it my third best half marathon time. If I hadn’t taken that pit stop at the beginning, it probably would have easily been my second best time! I can’t wait to get on a flat course and blow my PR away! Must resist the shiny register now button!

 

Cool bling and my favorite color!

My awesome parents were several places along the course taking pictures of me and my mom bought me a chocolate shake on the way home. I maybe an adult, but I still feel spoiled to have such wonderful parents!

 

Daddio wondering what's taking me so long

Pictures from Seaside Half Marathon

I'll get a race report up soon, but I wanted to post some pictures from this weekend's Half marathon!

Yeah, it was a gorgeous day!

Super Bowl 4 Miler 2013

Last year on Super Bowl Sunday, I ran my first four mile race. I set a PR that held for the rest of 2012. This year, I decided to run the same race again and I set a new PR! The Super Bowl 4-miler is one of my favorite local races. For one, it’s on Super Bowl and the second, it’s a great atmosphere. This year they even had medals for all finishers!

I went into the race not expecting to PR. Due to my IT band injury in December, my training took a big step backward. I hadn’t even run four miles nonstop before the race since my injury occurred. But man, I was hungry for a PR. On Thanksgiving, I ran the Santa Barbara 4 mile Turkey run and would have PRed if the race hadn’t been a quarter of a mile short. I felt robbed and was eager to improve my time.

I rocked a pink Tebow jersey!

I started the race easy and relaxed. I was running solo, so I was chatting with runners around me. During the first mile and a half, I got passed by a lot of other runners. I just kept my pace consistent and focused on enjoying the run. Around mile two and a half, I stopped getting passed and I started passing those who had shot ahead. Around mile three, I was starting to loose steam, but was determined to keep my pace. At that point, I could tell a PR was well within my reach. I chatted with a nice kid in a Bronco’s jersey who was eager to tell me all about his favorite player and team. I encouraged him to keep the pace up, but unfortunately had to drop him.

Action Pro Picture of race

Daddio came out to cheer me on

Down the home stretch, I was just about out of energy, but saw I’d easily PR. I had a woman right ahead of me and instead of my usual sprint to the finish, I let her beat me and finished at a relaxed pace. Thankfully she wasn’t in my age group! Haha! Should have thought of that before being so casual about it.

Running with my new Bronco buddy

I finished with a time of 35:38, beating my old PR by over a minute! I was all smiles! First race of the year and I start out with a PR! Ironically, I’d just announced that I wasn’t going to focus on PRs this year! It’s a week later and my legs are still fatigued, but my IT band is still pain free! I hope everyone had a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday and are enjoying a new year of running!

Surprise bling!

IT Band

I have injured my IT band twice now. The first time occurred on my right side during my training for my first marathon. The second time was on my left side when running Santa the Sea Half Marathon in December of 2012. Injuring the IT band is called iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS). It’s usually due to over training. In my case, it was probably due to a combination of overtraining and muscle imbalance. If you have pain on the outside of your knee, the usual suspect is ITBS.

The time it takes for ITBS to heal depends on how badly it is inflamed. On my right side it took over three months. When it occurred the second time on my left side, I had it well under control in five weeks. The first time I didn’t know what it was and tried to train through it and then being so close to my marathon, I decided to run through it. Very bad idea! Mine was so badly inflamed, that walking was painful and I ended up in physical therapy for several months.

Image from crossfitsouthbay.com

When ITBS occurred the second time, I knew exactly what it was and how to handle it. The moment you suspect ITBS, STOP RUNNING! If you catch it early enough, you may only loose a week of running. With the second occurrence, the moment I identified the pain, I stopped running for a full week. The inflammation went down and I was pain free. I was able to start easy slow interval runs within seven days of the initial injury. Listen to your body, don’t ever run through the pain. If it still hurts after a week, you need to take more time off. If you push through it, you will only make it worse.

The most important thing to do when you have ITBS is foam roll and stretch, stretch, stretch. The IT band will become extremely tight and the only way to get it healthy is to get it to loosen up. I was stretching and foam rolling several times a day while injured. I’ve now integrated it into my daily routine. I also extensively stretch the IT band before and after every single run.

It is possible to train through this injury as soon as the inflammation goes down, but you will have to drastically back off the mileage and the speed. I did intervals of four minutes running and one minute walking at a comfortable pace. You will need to find what intervals are comfortable for you and what distance you can run pain free. I could only run a mile and a half before I started getting warning pains. If I went further than that, the IT band would get irritated again. The second you feel any twinges from the IT band, stop your run. As your body slowly heals, you will be able to increase your distance and your intervals. Always listen to your body. You will have to be extremely patient. All it takes is pushing it too hard one time and you will be back to square one.

This video demonstrates my favorite IT band stretch:

 During my injury, I was able to stationary biking as a substitute for some of the running I was missing. Some people have had success swimming with ITBS, but I did not. In my case, swimming only made it more inflamed. Visit your doctor to conform that it is ITBS and if possible, visit a physical therapist to identify why it occurred so you can prevent it from occurring again. I got lazy on the exercises my physical therapist gave me and I believe that is why mine reoccurred. As usual, I’m not a doctor, this is all just advice!

Good luck!

Santa Barbara Athletic Club

In 2012 I decided to join Santa Barbara Athletic Club. I had never joined a running club before and wasn’t really sure what to expect. SBAA ended up being a great group of friendly runners who were always very welcoming. I was happy that I had decided to join and I encourage all runners to join their local running club. It is a great way to meet other local runners and to get plugged in on local running events. This year I also plan on joining, but the online registration is still currently under construction.

SBAA also organizes a series of races called the Grand Prix series. To join Grand Prix is an extra $10 and somewhere around twenty two local races are part of the series. Once you join, you compete against people in your age group. In my age group, I needed to complete four of these races in order to qualify. I ended up completing six races.

 

Jacket and pint glass!

Surprisingly, I held first place in my age group for the first couple of months, but then a very fast lady joined and kicked my butt! After getting injured, I expected to loose my second place standing, but managed to hold it when the lady in third place didn’t run any of the GP events during my down time. To my surprise, I managed to finish the year in second place!

I had started out the year thinking I would just do the GP series for fun. I’m not fast, but I am consistent and this year consistency paid off. In December when SBAA held their annual banquet, I received a nice GP running jacket and a second place pint glass! I was thrilled! It’s not often I actually place in a running event!

I don't drink beer, but this is pretty cool!

If your local running club holds a series like this, join it! You never know how it will turn out and you might just end up surprising yourself. It’s a great motivator to get out there and run!

50 State Challenge

Who doesn’t want to run in all 50 states?!? Ok so a lot of people wouldn’t, but I do! I want to see the world in my running shoes, on the streets and trails. With only two states completed, it’s a little premature for me to be announcing that I am taking on the 50 states challenge, but whatever! I’m going to do this!

My goal is to run a half marathon or longer in each state. I hope to knock off a few states each year, but I’m not rich, so this is going to take some time. Last year I completed Texas with the San Antonio Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon, boom done! And California has been in the bag for a year now. So two states down, only forty eight to go! Piece of cake!

I have a tab at the top of my blog where I will be keeping track of my progress!

Looking Back and Looking Forward

I hope everyone’s New Year has gotten off to a great start! Anyone set any exciting running or fitness resolutions for 2013? I’m doing something different this year. I’m not setting any mileage goals or number of race goals, I’m keeping it simple. 2013 is going to be about getting healthy and staying healthy, building a strong base and preparing for 2014.

I am once again down with ITBS (Iliotibial band syndrome), this time on my left leg. I irritated it running Santa to the Sea a little too hard. I thought I had my muscle imbalance under control, but apparently I don’t. So I’m getting back to the basics and easing off on my mileage and speed while it heals.

Achievements for 2012 included running my first marathon, completing thirteen total races for the year and beating my previous year’s mileage. Not too shabby. I spent almost half the year injured, so I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons which has led to my decision to push my goals off to 2014. I’d like to run another marathon and beat some of my old PR’s, but my base needs some serious work, so I can avoid some of these injuries. Sometimes you need to take a step back in order to move forward. I look forward to what the new year will bring!

My first marathon!