The Chances

How a 250+ Pound Couch Potato Got Healthy

Thursday, December 31, 2009

From Twitter 12-30-2009





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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Wednesday Weight Workout

Today was another gym workout day. I seem to be getting the hang of the new/old routine, back to where I was last year. The resolutioners will be arriving soon!

Warmup, 5 circuits, 30 seconds per exercise
Jumping Jacks
Split Jacks
Squats
Alternating Lunges
Mountain Climbers

Workout
Incline Barbell Bench Press, 3x20x55lbs
One Arm Dumbbell Rows , 3x20x25lbs
Leg Press, 3x20x90lbs
Barbell Military Press, 3x10x65lbs
Plank, 2 Minutes

43 minutes, 363 calories burned

2010 Race Schedule

I was going to wait until after I posted a 2009 retrospective, but I also keep wanting to see my schedule from home, where it's not written down. Therefore, I'm putting it into print now instead of waiting until next week.

Most of these dates are tentative, since I'm only registered for two of them so far. As with last year, life circumstances and injury could jeopardize the whole thing. At any rate, here it is.

1-16-10 Frost or Fog 5k, Chico, CA
2-7-10 Kaiser Half Marathon, San Francisco, CA
3-14-10 Shamrock'n Half Marathon, Sacramento, CA
4-11-10 Sacramento Zoo Zoom 5k, Sacramento, CA
4-24-10 Run Drugs Out of Town 5k, Yuba City, CA
5-2-10 Avenue of the Giants Marathon, Humboldt, CA
6-2010 Shriners Summer Solstice 8k, Sacramento, CA (date TBD)
7-11-10 San Francisco Half Marathon, San Francisco, CA
9-5-10 Disneyland Half Marathon, Anaheim, CA
10-2010 Race For Awareness 5k, Yuba City, CA (date TBD)
10-30-10 Warrior Dash, Zamora, CA
11-2010 Turkey Trot (Davis or Yuba City, CA, date TBD)
11-2010 Almond Bowl 5k (date TBD)
12-5-10 California International Marathon, Sacramento, CA

I'm also trying to fill in the schedule with some runs for the kids and possibly a few more 5k's. If you know of any in northern CA, please let me know.

It's going to be a great year!

From Twitter 12-29-2009



  • 09:13:54: I need to say this: I'm totally excited to do the first run of this training cycle.
  • 09:42:15: Into the Twitter penalty box with me!
  • 11:46:52: RT @FinishLineCoach: 10 things I can live without in 2010: 10. Men who walk around shirtless.
  • 15:02:32: Huh. I haven't had my heart rate that high in a while.
  • 15:12:23: Ran intervals 6x(1 min fast/3 min slow). Per mi: 7:16,7:07,7:32,7:34,7:40,8:11, 4.1 mi total, 436 kcal - http://bit.ly/4Q27b1
  • 15:27:43: MapMyRun.com: Updated 2009/12/29 . 436 (kcal). 4.15 mi.. 00:41:00
  • 16:30:47: I'm annoyed when people ask if you have "a twitter".
  • 18:29:26: Someone deleted the venue, had to re-add it. #foursquare (@ Fleet Feet Sports) http://4sq.com/8ZH31d
  • 19:16:22: I'm at Walmart (1131 North Beale Rd., Marysville). http://4sq.com/8Sezha
  • 22:40:45: Well, Crud. I sat down at the desktop to go through Christmas pictures only to find that I CAN'T FIND THE CARD READER.


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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Training Has Begun: INTERVALS!

Technically, training for this year's Avenue of the Giants marathon started yesterday with a weight workout, but today was the first run. Oh what the heck, let's start with the weight workout, since I forgot to post it yesterday.

This time around, I reduced the barbell weight for the squats. Combined with actually working out in the gym for a week, I wasn't near as sore when I was done.

Warmup, 3 sets of 5
Barbell Overhead Squat
Barbell Squat
Good Mornings
Alternating Barbell Lunge
Romanian Deadlift
Barbell Row

Workout
Barbell Bench Press, 3x20x65lbs, 1x15x65lbs, 1x20x55lbs
Seated Cable Rows, 3x20x75lbs
Squats, 3x20x75lbs
Dumbbell Military Press, 3x20x(2x10lbs)

35 minutes, 245 calories burned

So then today, the new training cycle began, in the form of the FIRST marathon training program. It's the same program I used for The Ave last time around. I liked the program last time around, it gave me a chance to work out six days a week, with weights 3 days, running 3 days, and a rest day.

On the roster for today were intervals, 6 x (1 min hard/3 min easy), with a 10-minute warmup and 10-minute cooldown. The goal for each interval was 7:40/mi.





Intervals
1: 7:17/mi
2: 7:08/mi
3: 7:32/mi
4: 7:34/mi
5: 7:40/mi
6: 8:12/mi

Total 4:14 mi in 41 minutes, total average pace 9:41/mi, 436 calories burned.

In the middle of the intervals, I ran by some teenagers getting off the transit bus from school. They started shouting to me, "WOOOOO look at THAAAAAT," making fun of my tights. I almost shouted, "Get off my lawn!" but I left it alone.

Now for the bad news: I'm in pain, in two places. It's the same pains I've had previously. One being inside my left hip joint, the other in my right calf. The joint pain, I've had for a long time, and last year had even visited an orthopedist for. They x-rayed it, but didn't see any problems, and that's when he suggested I take glucosamine. In response I've been taking a glucosamine/chondrotin/MSM supplement. He also said to take Aleve in prescription doses over the long term. It's obvious to me that it's not making a difference.

The other is my right calf. This started being a problem as I started ramping up mileage after the California International Marathon. I've been using The Stick to work out the muscle, and while it seems to help after the fact, it doesn't help while I'm running.

I'm just going to have to wait and see how my calf feels as I go. It's not hurting enough to stop running, and I'm not sure if I want to spend the money for yet another running-related doctor's visit only to find there's nothing wrong.

From Twitter 12-28-2009



  • 03:02:21: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-27-2009: 03:13:07: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-26-2009: 03:02:18: New... http://bit.ly/4BvcXl
  • 06:58:05: Wt: 172, RHR: 53, BF: 16.9%
  • 09:00:02: This morning I've just about finalized my 2010 race schedule. yay! :)
  • 10:47:57: "I seem to be having tremendous difficulty with my lifestyle." - Arthur Dent
  • 10:52:59: HOLY COW. Best. Bobblehead. Ever. http://bit.ly/1uBPSy
  • 15:03:00: I'm at World Gym (9844 Business Park Dr., Sacramento). http://4sq.com/4osLNq
  • 17:00:09: Thanks to @simpsoka & @biscuiterie, I'm now registered for the Kaiser Half in SF. http://bit.ly/5ftAae
  • 17:28:48: MapMyFitness.com: Completed Weight Training. 245 (kcal). 00:35:00
  • 19:20:00: I'm at Rite Aid (1590 Butte House Rd., Yuba City). http://4sq.com/7evW62
  • 22:17:18: The tray icon for Quick System works again under webOS 1.3.5! @palm #pre
  • 22:37:04: Not that it's a very big deal, but the App Catalog is no longer in Beta. :-D @palm #pre
  • 22:39:31: Ooh, bad news. I told the App Catalog to install updates, and the #Pre rebooted. @palm
  • 22:41:33: "System adjustments are necessary before update can continue?" I'm updating Mileage Monitor for Pete's sake. @palm #pre
  • 22:42:31: Mileage Monitor install failed, ok, then why was a reboot required? @palm #pre
  • 22:43:59: Oh nice, so not only did the update fail, but it's now corrupt. @palm #pre
  • 22:46:28: Oh, I get it. I can't install ANY apps from the App Catalog. @palm #pre #fail
  • 23:08:03: Oh, I see what it's doing. It's copying the apps to the new location and rebooting... one... by... one. @palm #pre
  • 23:08:52: Excuse me that's not what happened. It's trying to install the two apps, but it can't, so it errors... then asks for reboot. meh. @palm #pre


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Monday, December 28, 2009

From Twitter 12-27-2009





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Sunday, December 27, 2009

From Twitter 12-26-2009





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Saturday, December 26, 2009

From Twitter 12-25-2009



  • 03:02:33: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-24-2009: 03:02:20: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-23-2009: 03:02:33: New... http://bit.ly/4qdSfb
  • 08:54:09: Wt: 171.8, RHR: 53, BF: 15.9%
  • 09:26:07: http://twitpic.com/v5rtq - Look what Doug got for me! Thanks, Doug!
  • 09:33:43: http://twitpic.com/v5tfi - Merry Christmas!
  • 09:34:22: Facebook Mobile Uploads temporarily unavailable? Christmas fail. :P
  • 09:50:13: All three kids keep exclaiming that this is the best Christmas ever. Mission accomplished. :)
  • 10:20:00: Whew. That was messy. :)
  • 11:17:24: Hmm... now how do I set up this wi-fi printer that doesn't have an LCD panel on my secured network without wiring it...
  • 11:18:15: Ah... netbook wireless directly to the printer. Bang.
  • 11:30:03: Heh, the printer connected to the neighbor's wi-fi.
  • 14:53:47: It's not a cold couch where I sleep, ten feet wide, eleven feet deep. Pray the Lord, my soul to keep. It's not a cold couch where I sleep.
  • 14:54:48: Tie your shoelaces to my shoelaces, I'll tie a rope to a tree. See how the wind whips, happy fool faces, come blow away with me.
  • 14:59:28: A couple cheapo $1 Wii Sports controls and magically, the Wii is new again.
  • 21:16:07: My son is in tears. The dog ate his peanuts.
  • 21:27:49: And now Jenny's crying, because I told her to go to bed. This after her getting up 3 times already.


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Friday, December 25, 2009

From Twitter 12-24-2009





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Thursday, December 24, 2009

Soon It Will Be Christmas Day...

Ah, Christmas Eve. This morning I spent a good amount of time looking for a donut shop that was actually open, with the idea of bringing two dozen to work with me. Of course, in the process, I ended eating three of them. Whoops!

I knew I was going to run, of course, so I wasn't too worried about eating them. Speaking of running, I was still sore from the week's workouts. As a result, I ended up with a slow, painful 5-miler.






Tomorrow's a day off, and it's a good thing, because it's CHRISTMAS! The kids are down, but they'll likely be up early. It'll be another fun year.

From Twitter 12-23-2009



  • 03:02:33: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-22-2009: 13:16:11: I'm at Samarai sushi (12251 Folsom Blvd, Rancho Cordova). h... http://bit.ly/6f3F0e
  • 07:17:06: Wt: 171, RHR: 47, BF: 16.1%
  • 09:17:15: What ARE you people? On drugs?
  • 09:30:24: RT @rpesce: Wax on, Wax off...remake of a classic: Karate Kid trailer. Sweep the Leg! http://bit.ly/6djJAq
  • 09:44:01: Wow, look at that. Out of the blue my boss said we need to make sure all extensions without DID's need DID's. 100 changed extensions, yay!
  • 09:50:46: RT @tisha3: So I was reading on my @Palm #Pre about the Blackberry outages. Sorry guys - wait - no I'm not. I <3 My Palm Pre.
  • 13:43:18: It's been almost 2 weeks since I was there, but I'm still the mayor of the Monterey Mariott. Come on, people! #foursquare
  • 13:48:12: Copying today's Mike O'Meara Show to the @Palm #Pre to listen to @ the gym in a few.
  • 14:35:45: I just unlocked the "Local" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/6EGuDX
  • 14:35:45: Groovy. (@ World Gym) http://4sq.com/4osLNq
  • 16:12:38: Why aren't you listening to the Mike O'Meara Show? Shame on you! http://www.mikeomearashow.com/
  • 16:23:34: I miss Robocop. Roborunner... hmm, Roborunner. I wonder if http://www.roborunner.com/ is taken?
  • 16:24:30: RT @MikeOMearaShow: Merry Christmas! NEW episodes ALL week at www.MIKEOMEARASHOW.com, including Xmas with your favorite D-double-E-J-A-Y ...
  • 16:58:06: #foursquare geeks: Sometimes it will show that someone is "here" at a venue. What determines being "here" or not? You never check out.
  • 18:26:37: I'm at Whole Foods Market - Roseville (1001 Galleria Blvd, at Roseville Pkwy, Roseville). http://4sq.com/7hn9Ko
  • 19:12:53: I just unlocked the "Super User" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/81jCbO
  • 19:12:53: I'm at Barnes & Noble (1256 Galleria Boulevard, Roseville). http://4sq.com/6OLfzF
  • 23:24:01: New post on my blog: Can't You See I'm Workin' On It?: Still sore from Monday's workout, didn't run yesterday. I c... http://bit.ly/7CB8Kj


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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Can't You See I'm Workin' On It?

Still sore from Monday's workout, didn't run yesterday. I can't wait for the soreness to go away, but I know given time it will. Meanwhile, can I whine? Just a little? No? Okay.

Warmup, 3 circuits, 30 seconds each exercise
Jumping Jacks
Split Jacks
Alternating Lunges
Squats

Weights
Incline Barbell Bench Press, 3x20x50lbs
One Arm Dumbbell Rows, 3x20x(2x25lbs)
Leg Press, 3x20x90lbs
Barbell Military Press, 3x20x10lbs

44 minutes, 340 calories burned

Tomorrow I can't see any reason not to run. I'm not entirely sure how far it will be, but it'll happen. :)

From Twitter 12-22-2009





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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Get Back On That Horse!

Now that CIM is over, and the Higdon-based marathon training plan complete, it's time to look towards the future and do some preliminary training.

For marathon training, I'm back to the FIRST plan. That gives me a 3-day running week with 3 days of weight training, and had my first weight training day yesterday. I'm glad I haven't started marathon training yet, because MAN, did it do a number on my legs!

Yes, I'm currently suffering from DOMS. You'd think I was completely out of shape, I feel like I haven't done squats in months. Oh wait, I haven't. Nevermind.

Warmup, 3 sets of 5 exercises in a circuit
Overhead Squat
Squat
Good Morning
Barbell Lunge
Romanian Deadlift
Bent-over Row

Workout
Barbell Bench Press, 1x20x65lbs,1x15x65lbs,1x20x55lbs
Seated Cable Rows, 3x20x70lbs
Squats, 3x20x95lbs
Dumbbell Military Press, 3x20x(2x10lbs)

31 minutes, 218 calories burned

Which brings us to today. DOMS set in and I've been sore all day. I was going to run at lunch, but my boss took our department to lunch, and honestly? I didn't complain. Whoops, I didn't have to run, and now I can blame the boss! Meanwhile, I let the DOMS subside a bit.

Tomorrow's another weight day, hopefully I'll be up to running on Thursday. If not, I'll run Christmas Day.

From Twitter 12-21-2009





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Monday, December 21, 2009

From Twitter 12-20-2009





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Sunday, December 20, 2009

From Twitter 12-19-2009



  • 03:02:45: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-18-2009: 03:02:50: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-17-2009: 04:22:06: New... http://bit.ly/80t0wV
  • 08:53:11: Wt: 169.6, RHR: 48, BF: 16.2%
  • 09:50:46: Could someone please take away this headache? It's been a while, so I can't complain too much, but man. I hate this.
  • 10:02:33: I'm entertaining myself by reading my early-2009 tweets. It doesn't seem like it's been a year.
  • 17:57:10: Hey, I don't remember Sammy Davis Jr. ever being on The Cosby Show? This is cool.
  • 19:25:30: Watching "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" with the family. Good times.
  • 19:26:43: Mrs. Claus giving Santa a hard time because he's too skinny. Family never understands.
  • 20:34:46: I'm at Rite Aid (5075 Olivehurst Ave., Olivehurst). http://4sq.com/8FICLj
  • 21:20:51: Watching Doctor Who: Waters of Mars


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Saturday, December 19, 2009

From Twitter 12-18-2009





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Friday, December 18, 2009

From Twitter 12-17-2009



  • 04:22:06: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-16-2009: 04:44:36: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-15-2009: 03:21:05: New... http://bit.ly/8ONdtg
  • 07:12:31: Wt: 168.4, RHR: 46, BF: 16.4%
  • 10:15:58: On hold with MyDomain.com... I went and MADE BREAKFAST. Still on hold.
  • 10:20:45: Pepsico doesn't want me to drink Diet Dew anymore. They keep making their bottles unopenable.
  • 13:09:12: After two days in a row of work, greg@chancephotography.com works again. Now forwarding to gmail. Thanks, @Jose_Galvan. ;)
  • 17:21:13: Got my stick today, and I plan on hurting myself with it tonight!
  • 17:21:32: I wish it were a Chapman Stick, but sadly, no. :)


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Thursday, December 17, 2009

From Twitter 12-16-2009



  • 04:44:36: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-15-2009: 03:21:05: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-14-2009: 03:21:43: New... http://bit.ly/6Z4fNw
  • 07:18:48: Wt: 168.6, RHR: 53, BF: 16%
  • 13:55:51: RIP Roy Disney http://bit.ly/4NztSC
  • 14:49:37: Tell me something, XP... how can an Unknown Device be installed and ready to use?
  • 20:07:18: Less than an hour until @Rifftrax Live Christmas Shorts!
  • 20:22:34: I'm officially pissed off at Comcast. They're blocking virtually all my email forwarded from greg@chancephotography.com.
  • 20:22:59: Does gmail complain when you forward email? If not, I'm switching.
  • 21:09:35: I'm at Cinemark Movies Yuba City (1410 Whyler Rd., Yuba City). http://4sq.com/5Yuy1a


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Wednesday, December 16, 2009

From Twitter 12-15-2009





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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The Importance of Social Media

Much has been said about social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. The biggest promoters have been celebrities, who tend to go onto talk shows and demonstrate their fascination with being "seen", and how their followers can see instantly everything they do, such as cooking their meals, or going to lunch.

Here's a good example of that sort of thing: Kevin Spacey, trying to demonstrate to David Letterman why Twitter is a good thing.



Of course, the intention was humor above all, but it also demonstrates one of the image problems Twitter has. Its biggest promoters, celebrities, promote it as not much more than a useless toy. Average users look at it and either embrace it, posting their useless stuff to Facebook and Twitter, while other people see it and call it useless.

I submit to you an alternative: social interaction with others on Twitter and Facebook. WHAT, you ask?!?! How can this be? You mean that when I go to Twitter or Facebook, I can actually read what OTHER people are saying, respond to it, and have them respond back? No way!

My best example is the marathon I ran on December 6. I wasn't interactive, there really was no way to be. I had a bluetooth headset that I was sending Twitter messages to my followers with, most of whom were fellow runners.

These fellow runners not only were following what I was doing, but they actually cared what I was doing, and were sending well wishes to me as I ran! It didn't help me at the time, but boy did it make a difference once I got home and read them.

Here are the comments they posted, as they posted them. In the archive I downloaded, the date/time stamps have been lost, but the comments are intact.


butcept: @gchance good luck today!!! I'll be tracking you!!!
Bamarunner: @veganrunningmom @gchance have a greta run at CIM today
LIrunner9: @gchance Good Luck at CIM today:)!!
lauralang3: Good luck!! RT @gchance: Hop on the bus, God's on the move, there's a seat for me, there's a seat for youuuuu...
MaggieKattan: @gchance Good luck!
team_enlyten: @gchance Have a great race!
SurferRacer: @smellycents, @gchance, @TLM26 and EVERYONE racing today: PR, finish, podium, achieve, enjoy and register for your next race tonight.
dnorton: @gchance good running! Keep it up and be sure to drink enough.
turtlescanrun: @gchance congrats!!
quotidianlight: @gchance yipee! Go! Go! Go! Go!!!!
phampants: @gchance you can do it!
cmrolling: @gchance rock on Mr. Chance ~http://myloc.me/1VDXp
disneyrunner: @gchance go man go!
disneyrunner: @nigelrunner @gchance sorry Nigel. that last tweet fwas for Greg. so Greg, dig deep! Nigel, you dont have to dig
SoloRunner: @gchance Good Job... keep going woot woot
262RUNR: @gchance Awesome!
Bamarunner: @gchance you got it!!! just focus and dig deep!!!!
disneyrunner: @gchance hang in there Greg!
kchealy: @gchance go Greg!
SoloRunner: @gchance woot woot... keep going you are doing great :)
Bamarunner: @gchance 10k to go ,you've got it ... just keep moving forward
orlerr: @gchance all downhill now 10k is easy
HealthOC: Follow @gchance - he is tweeting his marathon right now. Criminy.
TopBrokerOC: RT @~HealthOC: Follow @gchance - he is tweeting his marathon right now. Criminy. [.......you got it!]
quotidianlight: @gchance oh cr*p. Sholaces!!!!!!!!
kchealy: @gchance getting close, Greg. You can do it!
simpsoka: Congrats to @thepixelsuite @gpsrunner @gchance
quotidianlight: Run, @gchance run!!!!!
phampants: @gchance go go go!
IronBrandon: @gchance Go Greg!!
disneyrunner: @gchance way to go greg finish strong
team_enlyten: @gchance Go Greg Go!
TopBrokerOC: @gchance Go Greg Go! That last mile is the best...save a wee bit if energy to really sprint down the chute!
butcept: @gchance congratulations!! from that swollen foot to this, wow! big pat on the back!
bapper: @gchance Good job on your finish! Shaved off an hour or so despite the shortened training!
ginaharris1: @gchance ur time?
disneyrunner: @gchance hey there. congrats
phampants: @gchance congrats man!
quotidianlight: @gchance *clapping* you blew last year away even w/ the injury. I'm so happy for you!
veganrunningmom: @gchance nice finish!
MrThirteen: @gchance you are either running now or finished. How'd it go?
kchealy: @gchance congrats! Big PR, yes?
wyotri: @gchance Excellent job today at CIM!!!
SoloRunner: @gchance congrats on your finish.. What's your time?
phampants: @gchance http://twitpic.com/sg9vj - congrats greg!
EvaTEsq: @gchance Great job on your marathon! Great job!
miz_wronskian: @gchance i'm just reading them now and cracking u
p!
trifunster: @gchance congrats on your race!!! Loved the commentary!!


Thanks go out to everyone who was commenting as I ran:

@SurferRacer
@dnorton
@turtlescanrun
@quotidianlight
@phampants
@cmrolling
@disneyrunner
@SoloRunner
@262RUNR
@Bamarunner
@kchealy
@SoloRunner
@orlerr
@HealthOC
@TopBrokerOC
@simpsoka
@IronBrandon
@team_enlyten
@butcept
@bapper
@ginaharris1
@veganrunningmom
@MrThirteen
@wyotri
@EvaTEsq
@miz_wronzkian
@trifunster
@jose_galvan

Thank you very much for all the supportive comments during the marathon, and thank you for helping me accomplish my goals. Here's to a great 2010!

From Twitter 12-14-2009



  • 03:21:43: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-13-2009: 02:34:34: New post on my blog: Non-Runner Reactions To Runners: If yo... http://bit.ly/7biGeB
  • 07:15:53: Wt: 169.8, RHR: 62, BF: 15.9%... Ok something's seriously awry this morning.
  • 09:39:56: Question: why did you delete the mission critical email, then blame me for not finding it on the backup?
  • 09:40:25: I swear, people treat email backups like an undo button.
  • 09:44:29: I gained 3 pounds and increased my resting heart rate by 14bpm this weekend.
  • 15:10:02: RT @PalmNewApps: iFart Pro ($4.99) - I'm glad they have a professional version.
  • 19:30:12: I'm at Walmart (1150 Harter Rd., Yuba City). http://4sq.com/5GpWsq
  • 20:51:25: See that foam roller over there? My name's written all over it.
  • 21:02:32: Foam roller = very unpleasing, sneezing & wheezing, a calliope crashed to the ground
  • 21:34:31: STINKIN' Twitter! Rate Limit Exceded again.
  • 22:24:39: New post on my blog: Running Vlog #23: Monterey Run 12-13-09: http://bit.ly/92rUTm
  • 22:29:55: As much as I'm enjoying this lively dark meat/white meat debate, I need sleep. Goodnight, @RunningHoosier & @quotidianlight
  • 22:44:46: New video uploaded: Running Blog #23: Monterey Run 12-13-09: It's been a week since CIM, and boy are my legs tired.... http://bit.ly/5ZpL8y


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Monday, December 14, 2009

Running Vlog #23: Monterey Run 12-13-09

From Twitter 12-13-2009





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Sunday, December 13, 2009

From Twitter 12-12-2009





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Saturday, December 12, 2009

Non-Runner Reactions To Runners

If you're a runner, people have all sorts of reactions, whether they're runners or not. I think I heard them all this evening, because tonight was my company's annual Christmas party.

Once a year the owners have a party in Monterey, and fly people out who work in the various offices across the country. Many of us only see each other once a year.

This year was a little different in that they produced a slideshow of things people had this year that were significant or were proud of. In my case, I included the Sac Bee photo from my CIM finish.

This morning I was coming in from my 3 mile run and ran into two guys at a coffee shop across from our hotel. One works in the Austin office, the other in the Boston office, and they were enjoying their coffee with their wives. I've talked about running with the guy from Boston before, he's a great supporter but a little removed from running. He asked me if I was going to come out to where he is and run the Boston Marathon, but he didn't realize that you need to qualify.

As I walked up (I'd finished running by this point), the guy from Boston said, "There's the marathon man!" So we talked for a little bit. The guy from Austin started going on and on about how he'd run 3 marathons in his life, including the Marine Corps Marathon, and that his best time was a little over three hours, etc., etc. Now keep in mind, this guy's well over 6 foot tall and weighs about 350 pounds. I don't mean to be rude about it, but he's lucky he can even walk, given the size of his gut.

So I asked him, when did you run your last marathon? His answer: 1990.

Then tonight at the party, someone came up to me and asked, what have you been up to? OK, I thought, I'll bite, and quickly said that I had run a marathon last Sunday. This was one of those non-runner conversations that I just love. Oh really, she asked, and how far is a marathon? 26.2 miles, so are all marathons that length, or do they have 5 mile marathons? How long does that sort of thing take? 5 hours and 21 minutes, wow, I couldn't imagine running for that long.

I also managed to have a decent conversation with the girlfriend of a coworker who ran CIM last year, and who is planning to run San Diego in 2010. She even suggested I run it, but I think that's a little bit more money than I really want to spend right now. Between race fees, travel, hotel, and child care, it would just be too difficult.

Finally, I got a huge congratulations from a woman whose daughter had won 2nd place in last year's Nike Women's Half Marathon. She only found out I'd run CIM from my picture in the slideshow, and remembered how I'd lost weight while she had been away from the company (she had about a 3-year break where she'd left the company). I thought that was neat, since it was entirely unsolicited.

As I mentioned earlier, I ran 3 miles this morning. It went fairly well, but afterwards while walking through Cannery Row, my legs were feeling sore. I'm not exactly sure why, except for the fact that I'm still recovering from CIM, but 3 miles seems an awful short distance for that to happen. I also went and forgot the Garmin strap this morning.







Splits
Mile 1: 9:25
Mile 2: 9:37
Mile 3: 9:38

3 miles, 28:41, 9:34/mi average, 441 calories burned

From Twitter 12-11-2009



  • 03:00:42: Just finished editing my #CIM video, and BOY is Adobe Premiere Elements screaming in agony. 3rd crash tonight, 2nd reboot.
  • 03:01:12: But epic doesn't begin to describe it. :-D #CIM
  • 03:04:04: New post on my blog: From Twitter 12-10-2009: 00:30:35: New post on my blog: California International Marathon (CIM... http://bit.ly/8Zy0vF
  • 03:32:57: Now that the #CIM video is uploading, I can go to bed. It's way too late!
  • 07:50:37: Wt: 166.6, RHR: 49, BF: 16.8%
  • 10:53:56: My #CIM video is up! Please let me know what you think: http://tinyurl.com/yb32z6p
  • 11:32:09: New post on my blog: Running Vlog #22: CIM 2009!: After about 5 hours of editing, and fighting with incompatible fi... http://bit.ly/6Xx7et
  • 12:27:07: I just saw an ad for the Wiggles. That's not what's weird. What's weird is Leo Sayer was singing "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" with them.
  • 13:19:52: I'm at Target (1153 Butte House Rd., Yuba City). http://4sq.com/5akz7J
  • 13:19:55: I'm at Target (1153 Butte House Rd., Yuba City).
  • 13:21:46: That was weird. Oh well. :)
  • 13:57:27: I'm at 2 Bits Cafe (1272 Colusa, Yuba City). http://4sq.com/6yTMzp
  • 19:57:44: I'm at Monterey Marriott (350 calle principal, Monterey). http://4sq.com/8sXvdD
  • 21:25:42: How do I tether #pre, let me count the ways...
  • 21:57:57: I found out a coworker's daughter won 2nd place in the Nike Women's Half in SF this past year
  • 22:19:02: Alright, time to go to bed. I need the sleep. :)


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Friday, December 11, 2009

Running Vlog #22: CIM 2009!

After about 5 hours of editing, and fighting with incompatible file formats, conversions, and long upload times, I'm happy to report that my CIM video is finally online.

As I mentioned in the race report, you can just tell in my face how much better I felt compared to the Avenue of the Giants Marathon. What a day!

From Twitter 12-10-2009





Tweets copied by twittinesis.com


Thursday, December 10, 2009

From Twitter 12-09-2009





Tweets copied by twittinesis.com


Wednesday, December 09, 2009

California International Marathon (CIM) 12-6-09

After three days of thought, business, and rest, I've finally found the time to write my race report for the 2009 California International Marathon. About time, don't you think?



Good Morning
The alarm woke me up at 2am, and as expected, I didn't get up until 2:30. I'm sorry, that's just too early a time to get up, no matter what Mister Fonzie says.

I brushed my teeth, brushed my hair, took my Mega Men vitamins, then got my stats: 172.8 pounds, resting heart rate 45 beats per minute, body fat 17.2%... 172.8 pounds? I knew I was going to gain weight in the week before the marathon, but almost 4 pounds? I had no time to worry about that now, I had business to take care off. I posted it to Twitter on my phone.

The next step in my ritual was into the living room, where I had laid out my clothes ahead of time. I was a good little marathon runner the night before, with everything just so, and afer applying an ample amount of Body Glide to my nipples, I strapped my Garmin heart rate monitor securely around my floppy chest, went back into the bathroom, and put on my altogether too-inexpensive kit with my running bib already pinned on.

Finally, on top of my running clothes, I put on the $5 jacket I bought at the Goodwill the night before, and a pair of gigantic sweat pants I'd never worn from my heavier days.

Breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal, but no banana. No banana? That was one thing I forgot to check the night before, but I suppose if I had, I wouldn't have wanted to go back to the store for one anyway.

The Drive
After getting settled into the car and the heater nicely running, I checked the temperature on my Pre: 29 degrees. We were going to be in for a fun day!

The day before, I was reading a blog entry about the ultra runners who were doing the marathon, twice. They were going to meet at the finish line at 2:30am, run to the Folsom Dam start, then run back with everyone else. During the drive, I posted a few Twitter entries.

# 03:37:05: It's getting down to the wire, the ultra folks are out there :) #cim
# 04:35:13: 29 degrees! Woohoo! #cim
# 04:53:34: It's nuts being up this early. #cim

Upon my arrival, I had to announce it of course. Call me the RoboRunner.

# 05:23:03: I'm at Best Western Sutter House (1100 H Street, Sacramento). http://bit.ly/4v2L4G
# 05:24:51: Parked next to an SUV that sports a Tri sticker. This must be the place. #cim

The Sutter House was where the bus would be picking me up for a ride to the starting line in Folsom. I picked the Sutter House, because that's where Gina Harris was staying, so I'd have someone to talk to on the bus.

The bus was actually a rented school bus, and freezing inside. It wasn't so much that the bus itself was freezing, but the seats themselves were like ice cubes! As we were sitting down, they asked us if we wanted to board another one, because they still had a few stops to make and the other one was almost loaded. We'd get to the starting line sooner, so off we went.

# 06:34:58: Hop on the bus, God's on the move, there's a seat for me, there's a seat for youuuuu...


It was like going from one extreme to the other. We sat in the very back of the bus, where the heater vent was, and by the time the long bus ride was over, we felt like Christmas hams.

As we started to drive by the Folsom Dam, I was hearing the call of nature pretty fierce, so I decided that once we stopped, I'd make a stop. Gina opted to stay in the warmth of the bus as long as possible. I looked out the back window of the bus to see hundreds of other school buses, each unloading its runner cargo. I bid my farewell to Gina, and off I went in search of a porta potty.

# 07:39:21: Gotta pee gotta pee gotta pee




Lines, Lines, Lines
As I walked to the end of the buses, I came along about 50 portable toilets, each of which had 10 or so people waiting.



I found the shortest line I could and got in. Shortly thereafter, two guys stood behind me, and of course we got into a conversation.

The first was an older gentleman who quickly told us he'd done over a hundred marathons during his life. Done was his word, which he purposely used because he mostly walks the marathons he runs. The second was a younger guy who looked in his late 20s but was in his 40s, and today would be his 5th marathon. He was shooting for an under four hour PR, but told the older guy that a hundred marathons sounded like a good goal to have. The older gentleman told him, "If I could give some unsolicited advice, if you want to run over a hundred marathons, you should slow down. No need to ruin your body along the way." I told them I was in the minority here, this being only my second marathon.

After standing a while, and noting that the faster lines were all men, we noticed that closer to the starting line, there were no lines for the restrooms. None! The younger guy sprinted off, and I told the older guy, that doesn't seem like such a bad idea, so I followed. I used the facilities quickly, putting my gloves in the pocket of the Goodwill jacket, and took off the extra sweats once I was out the door. Off towards the starting line, I heard the cheers of runners, so I figured I'd better get over there.

It's a good thing I did, because as I got over there, the countdown started! I tossed off my jacket, frantically made my way somewhere around the 4:00 pacer.



A little bit about my Twitter activity during the race: there's a service called Twitterfone that allows you to call a number, leave a message, which then gets transcoded into text and sent to Twitter. Once I made one call, I was able to redial by holding the phone button on my bluetooth headset. That's how I Tweeted during the course of the race. It also made for some hilarious messages, which I'll share here and attempt to decode. Twitterfone is also supposed to save the recordings, but for some reason, none of them work now.

# 08:06:40: We're on our way. http://tinyurl.com/yctvrff


I started my Garmin, and was a little worried I wouldn't have a signal before reaching the starting line when I noticed my hands were extremely cold. Looking down, I realized: my gloves are still in the Goodwill jacket I threw on the ground!

I had dropped the jacket against the curb so as to not block runners, and it's a good thing I did! I ran back to where it was, got my gloves, put them on, and made my way back into the pack just as the 4:05 pacer passed. The commotion of running back gave me the time I needed to start the Garmin, alleviating that worry. I was off, in the middle of the pack, running my second marathon!

Miles 1 to 5
Things started off slow, of course. I saw runners around me passing each other, but that wasn't my goal at all. I ran at a pace that was comfortable to me, speeding up and slowing down as the runners in front of me did the same. My thought was, I had 26.2 miles to run, there really was no need to rush this first mile, especially since that's what got me in trouble in Humboldt!

A few people noticed me running with the camera and started laughing, as they tend to do in races. In fact one woman was so giddy, she could barely breathe, laughing so hard. She still ran though, so kudos to her.

# 08:17:04: Mile and a quarter. Go team. http://tinyurl.com/yjezomx
# 08:24:57: Mile 2 was the 956 (?). http://tinyurl.com/ya5jvma
# 08:32:04: The 4.50 (?) just passed me. http://tinyurl.com/ylhl24x


I have no idea what Mile 2 was, but shortly thereafter, the 4:15 pacer passed me.

Arriving at the first water stop, I found that I was in the middle of the road and there were too many runners to allow me to make my way over in time! This early in the race that was fine, so I planned to get some water at the next one. When it arrived, I did what I had planned: I walked through.

I hadn't planned to use a run/walk method, but I wanted to walk all the water stops to at least give myself some sort of rest as I went along. This turned out to be a smart idea, because with the weather being as cold as it was, the water was freezing to the ground!

# 08:35:15: Mile 3. Good for me. http://tinyurl.com/ycd9alx


As I recorded this, an old guy next to me who looked to be in his 70s started laughing, and said to me, "That's right! Good for us!" I had heard him behind me a little bit before, he was making a very distinct clomp-clomp sound as if he was wearing wooden shoes. I asked him if he was wearing orthotics, but he appeared to not be able to hear anything except my earlier proclamation! I'm not sure if he had a hearing problem or just wasn't in the mood to talk, but I took it as a hint.

# 08:39:48: Water at the aid station appears to have frozen on the ground. http://tinyurl.com/yj4yztq
# 08:48:53: Over the river through the woods tomorrow 4 we get off. http://tinyurl.com/yjjefxu to mile 4's house we go
# 08:55:36: Mile 5. We're now in fit to tights.
http://tinyurl.com/ydrcw85


Miles 5 to 10
As I came to the Mile 5 construction, the flashing sign that usually directs traffic had been changed to read "RUNNERS" with arrows telling us which way to run. There was a guy standing in the middle, wearing a hard hat, so I made some wise crack for him to watch out for falling boulders. He just smiled.

As I passed through, I heard a guy tell a woman that his wife and two daughters were running the relay, and they timed it as such so he'd get a chance to run with his wife later. I congratulated him, and told him good job for keeping it in the family, to which he responded that it was the first opportunity they'd had to be able to do it, after a few failed attempts prior. He was also smiling ear to ear.

Just before Mile 6, I passed a street with a familiar name: Melva Street!

# 09:00:38: It's too bad mu Aunt Melba isn't still alive. She didn't even know they named a street after her. http://tinyurl.com/yg5d7yn
# 09:07:21: Miles 6. Just crossed the map. Should be on way now. http://tinyurl.com/yexe6uy I have no clue what I said here.


Reaching Mile 7, not only was it a fierce headwind, but it was uphill. Not the best combination to keep the mood up! Lots of smiling faces though.

# 09:15:48: Miles Steadman. Half of the hill no less.
http://tinyurl.com/yz3vmad Mile 7, uphill no less.
# 09:27:33: The (?) don't constipate mile 8. Oh this one's better. Let's celebrate.
http://tinyurl.com/ykmv6jv The sign says, "Don't constipate Mile 8!" Oh this one's better: Let's Celebrate




At Mile 9, I saw a guy run behind a large tree to use the restroom, and I figured that I'd better do the same, so I followed. When I got behind it, there were about 10 guys doing the same! Big tree, I guess. I made a comment that there wasn't much room left, and one guy said, "That's okay, nobody will care. And if they do, then hey, you found a date."

09:35:15: Stop. She use the restaurant. Got cash by the 430 pacer. http://tinyurl.com/ygsg8p4 "Stopped to use the restroom, got passed by the 4:30 pacer."


Before I knew it, I'd hit Mile 10.

Miles 10 to 15
# 09:50:07: Mile 10. (?) foks. Old time folks. http://tinyurl.com/y9btqly
# 09:56:01: Still (?) in sunrise. Didn't see Kathy but she needed be up ahead for (?). http://tinyurl.com/yg3t5sg Fair Oaks & Sunrise. Didn't see Kathy, but she may be up ahead further.
# 10:03:14: Mile (11?). John pretty good. http://tinyurl.com/yk5sj7z Mile 11, feeling pretty good.
# 10:04:15: Just stopped (?) Road. How cool is that.
http://tinyurl.com/yf6koam Just passed Bannister Road! How cool is that?
# 10:14:20: (?) Avenue. My amp (blow?).
# 10:27:49: Mile 13. Almost halfway. http://tinyurl.com/ybbc4bg


Halfway


# 10:33:21: Mile 14. http://tinyurl.com/ycprkve
# 10:51:32: With this phone. Just hang up on me.
http://tinyurl.com/yejlech Twitterfone just hung up on me!


Apparently Twitterfone wasn't able to understand what I said, because after one message, it responded with, "What a good Twitterer you are! Goodbye." At Mile 16, an old man who was speedwalking passed me, almost just like at the Avenue of the Giants Marathon. At the next aid station, I refilled my Cytomax.

# 10:57:35: Mile 16 Ladis and gentleman. Sara's a new old speedwalker dude. There's a new old speedwalker dude. http://tinyurl.com/y9fmm2r
# 10:57:56: Mile 16. http://tinyurl.com/yjcdx4h
# 11:09:28: Miles 17. http://tinyurl.com/ycweo3c
# 11:13:49: 8 station. (Phytomax?) refill. Aid station. Cytomax refill. http://tinyurl.com/ylo3g7q
# 11:27:03: Mile 18. Pretzels. http://tinyurl.com/ykq8m9c
# 11:40:27: Mile 19. Getting there (?). Getting it done. http://tinyurl.com/yjm4lcj
# 11:44:00: After Mile 20 I'm going to treat myself to some rest. RUSH. Treating myself to some Rush. http://tinyurl.com/y8hcbju


Miles 20 to the 26.2 Finish
Mile 20 is a bit of a party at the California International Marathon. Hundreds of people come out to cheer the runners as they hit "the wall", represented literally by an arch made up to look like a brick wall. This is also where people start telling you that you're almost done. These are the people who have never run a marathon.

Actually that may not be true. They may be people who have run marathons, but love screwing with those who are running one for the first time.

The Wall


As I promised myself, I pulled out the phone, turned on the Music app, and put Rush's Chronicles on shuffle. They didn't fail me, as the first notes of The Trees started to play.

# 11:56:30: Mile 20. http://tinyurl.com/yeeweup
# 12:08:46: Mile 21. http://tinyurl.com/yk8fqk8


At Mile 22 came the H Street Bridge. I forget his name, but at the expo on Saturday, one of the speakers said if you want to walk, walk before and after, but do NOT walk over the H Street Bridge. So I made it a point to run.

12:20:16: Mile 22. Do not walk over the bridge. Thank you very much.
http://tinyurl.com/yknoqs8


As I came over the bridge, proud of myself for having not walked over it, and with Rush blaring in my ears, I heard, "Greg! GREG!!!" I looked to my left to see two bundled up cousins, Kathy & Christopher, who'd come out to cheer me on! She had taken my picture as I approached.



I can't tell you how much it meant to have people there for my support! I think I gave Kathy the bear hug of her life, and her son Christopher was a recipient as well. I told him his hat was really cool, and could I have it, but he wouldn't go for it. I said bye with renewed energy, and made my way towards the finish. I did have to stop at one point, because half my bib came undone and I had to fix it.

One thing I had forgotten about during the Avenue of the Giants Marathon was that while the Accel Gel worked great, it gave me serious gas. Using it again this race, again I had gas. Maybe it propelled me faster, who knows.

# 12:33:50: Had to stop for a moment to fix my (?). It ripped.
my bib http://tinyurl.com/ye7q5xd
# 12:44:35: This marathon has a new nickname: parking around.
FARTING around. Get it right, Twitterfone! http://tinyurl.com/y8qcqh8
# 12:49:17: Mile 24. 4 hours 44 minutes. http://tinyurl.com/yzfpgnw
# 13:03:32: Mile 25. http://tinyurl.com/ybx38bx


Getting down to the wire now! I found myself walking more and more. I shook hands with a National Guardsman who was directing traffic. I started thinking about Shelly Centis (@smellycents on Twitter) and her beer boots after races.

I called Twitterfone and said, "Forget beer boots, get me a hamburger!"

# 13:10:43: (?) won't do it for me. Then they had a hamburger. http://tinyurl.com/yg7fs8n


One of the volunteers overheard me speaking, and I think she thought I was delusional because she started walking with me, telling me, "Walk it out... walk it out..." I told her, "I'm on the phone!" but she didn't seem to buy it. I had to get away from her, so I ran off. I tried to relay this to Twitter, but I'm sure I sounded as delusional to those on Twitter as I did to that lady!

# 13:11:55: Got hamburger comment in one of the bottle peers. Think that I was crazy. She was telling me walk it out. Walk... http://tinyurl.com/yegb75c


I ran by Taco Bell, around the corner, then walked again. I walked for a little over a block, but started running as I got to the downtown construction. A few minutes later, it happened: I saw the "best building in the world", as described by the speaker the previous day, and the curvature of the course around the corner which led to the finish!

# 13:18:57: Miles 26. Here we go. http://tinyurl.com/yb65kk3


I started to speed up. I wanted to finish strong, and not to look completely wasted, like I did at Avenue of the Giants. As I rounded the corner, I had no idea that the Sacramento Bee was shooting pictures of the runners.



As I passed the announcer bandstand, he said, "Bib #1131, Greg Chance!" I waved at him, but had a job to finish.



I consciously raised my arms to give the most cliche pose known to runners. But I didn't care: I'd run 26.2 in the California International Marathon. I not only ran two marathons in the same year, but ran them within a 7 month period!



The Aftermath
Immediately following my finish, it was overwhelming. What should I do next? A girl approached and gave me a water, so I took it. I left one last Twitterfone message.

13:24:15: It's over. (?) for me but it's probably an hour at least. Details to follow. PR for me http://tinyurl.com/ydv2gmd


That's right, I got a PR, ran about an hour and 3 minutes faster than I did the last time. Someone gave me a space blanket, which didn't help worth jack. I went and had my picture taken with my medal, showing off what looks like my tremendous gut.



At the food tent, I got a pancake, banana, apple, and a cookie. I got my belongings bag, and sitting on the capitol steps, I used my netbook to try an upload of my Garmin data, but it was just too cold and too bright to do anything. At least I was able to use the netbook to charge my phone. After listening to Rush for an hour, my battery life was down to 18%.

I took the opportunity to send some messages to Twitter that weren't from Twitterfone.

# 14:13:15: Hi there! :)
# 14:18:00: Dude just turned off the gas heater.
# 14:23:16: http://twitpic.com/sg3zi - A beaming @jose_galvan
# 14:57:25: http://twitpic.com/sg9vj - The spoils of victory
# 15:18:01: Just read my marathon tweets. Comedy gold. #cim
# 15:19:19: I'm also proudly proclaiming that my DWD is now 0.
# 15:23:13: BTW, my son insists I was on KCRA. #cim I did pass a camera guy


Sadly, in the end I wasn't on KCRA.

I thought I had heard earlier in the day that there would be a heated area for runners, and sure enough, I found a gas heater with some chairs around it. There was only one girl sitting there! I sat down and got warm while we talked. She didn't run CIM, but she had run the New York City Marathon not too long ago, so we talked about it.

I got a pat on the back, turned around, and it was Jose Galvan, asking how it went. I talked to him for a little while, but he had some other people to greet, so we parted ways. I called Gina to see how she did, and thank her for meeting and spending time with me. She was back at the hotel, sitting in an ice bath!

I wanted to try and find some other people I knew from Twitter, but by that time a cloud had covered the sun and it was getting cold very quickly. I walked the six blocks back to the car, and took one more picture before heading home.



How Did I Do?
In the end, my time was 5:18:24, 559th in my age group, 5355 overall, and burned 2900 calories. According to the posted results, I was beaten by at least one 78-year-old man. That said, I got a 1-hour PR, had a great time, and finished as strong as could have been expected, especially considering my prior injury and reduced 8-week training.




Splits
07:03:48 1.00mi 00:09:46 6.16mph 10.4mph 144bpm 152bpm
07:13:35 1.00mi 00:09:56 6.03mph 7.1mph 152bpm 157bpm
07:23:31 1.00mi 00:09:42 6.16mph 7.1mph 149bpm 156bpm
07:33:14 1.00mi 00:10:02 5.96mph 7.0mph 146bpm 153bpm
07:43:17 1.00mi 00:10:16 5.82mph 6.4mph 147bpm 152bpm
07:53:33 1.00mi 00:10:22 5.77mph 6.8mph 146bpm 151bpm
08:03:56 1.00mi 00:10:24 5.77mph 7.3mph 147bpm 153bpm
08:14:21 1.00mi 00:10:39 5.64mph 6.7mph 147bpm 153bpm
08:25:01 1.00mi 00:11:34 5.20mph 7.0mph 141bpm 151bpm
08:36:35 1.00mi 00:10:26 5.74mph 6.8mph 143bpm 149bpm
08:47:02 1.00mi 00:10:36 5.65mph 7.6mph 142bpm 150bpm
08:57:38 1.00mi 00:10:40 5.62mph 7.1mph 144bpm 150bpm
09:08:18 1.00mi 00:11:02 5.43mph 7.2mph 142bpm 148bpm
09:19:21 1.00mi 00:11:51 5.06mph 6.7mph 143bpm 152bpm
09:31:12 1.00mi 00:11:58 5.01mph 6.9mph 138bpm 146bpm
09:43:12 1.00mi 00:12:17 4.88mph 8.9mph 136bpm 145bpm
09:55:29 1.00mi 00:12:37 4.77mph 6.6mph 135bpm 145bpm
10:08:06 1.00mi 00:16:11 3.71mph 6.2mph 124bpm 144bpm
10:24:17 1.00mi 00:13:19 4.50mph 6.4mph 133bpm 144bpm
10:37:36 1.00mi 00:15:05 3.98mph 5.8mph 127bpm 142bpm
10:52:41 1.01mi 00:13:21 4.53mph 6.9mph 135bpm 155bpm
11:06:03 1.00mi 00:12:39 4.75mph 7.8mph 142bpm 158bpm
11:18:43 1.00mi 00:11:33 5.21mph 7.4mph 149bpm 157bpm
11:30:16 1.00mi 00:14:47 4.06mph 7.7mph 136bpm 153bpm
11:45:03 1.02mi 00:13:47 4.44mph 6.6mph 134bpm 148bpm
11:58:50 1.01mi 00:14:36 4.17mph 7.4mph 128bpm 142bpm
12:13:27 0.60mi 00:06:53 5.25mph 7.4mph 147bpm 156bpm


For some reason the Garmin shows 26.62 miles instead of 26.2. I took two restroom breaks, drank two bottles of Cytomax, and 4 ounces of water at each water stop. Two handfuls of pretzels at aid stations, along with about 20 M&M's.

I successfully learned from the last marathon and didn't go out too fast in the first half. I was tired, but not totally and was able to use Rush in the last 6 miles to keep my mind off the drudgery, feeling great at the finish. Best of all, I had fun. I'm not sure if I'll run the California International Marathon again next year, but this will not be my last marathon.

Besides, I still need to break 4 hours.

From Twitter 12-08-2009



  • 09:47:29: Heads up everyone: http://www.runcim.org/ has been overloaded, bandwidth limit exceeded. We slammed 'em. #cim
  • 11:16:06: http://www.runcim.org/ is back up. :) #cim
  • 13:19:51: RT @MikeOMearaShow: The Tuesday show is up for your listening pleasure... www.MIKEOMEARASHOW.com
  • 14:32:29: Huh. I ran slower than a 78-year-old man. #cim
  • 21:28:28: SportPhoto.com has the #cim photos up!
  • 22:35:28: Question: What is the point of weighing fruits & vegetables at the store? Do we really need precisely 1 pound and not .89 or 1.04 pounds?
  • 22:49:55: I'm happy to report I dipped below 16% body fat this morning... 15.8%.


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