What is "Normal?"

I love getting my yearly physicals, if my doctor would let me, I'd get them every 6 months or even 3 or 4 months. Its always better to be safe than sorry, and as we age, we're no longer the "invincible" teen that could rebound from a crash within a few hours.

When I get my blood work done I have them check for everything and every cancer possible (that is capable of begin tested for). Most doctors wont run those additional lab tests unless you request it, because they think, "oh you're young, you dont need to worry about that" But now-a-days that is very wrong. Many more 'young people' are succumbing to diseases earlier due to our diet and environment.

In my mid 20's I developed ployps which most people don't develop until they're 50.

I went to 4 different doctors. The first 3 brushed me off because of my age, and said the text book, "oh its stress related". But I knew something wasn't right, so I didn't give up. Finally I found my 4th doctor which didn't brush me off, and did a colonoscopy, which found and removed the polyps.

If I waited til I was 50 to get checked I would've already gotten colon cancer at that point or be dead.

Anyway.. I got my yearly physical results and on paper it looks like I'm in top health and I was pretty happy, until I compared my results from last year.... and my cholesterol went up (the BAD one) & my uric acid levels are pretty high as well. The top range is 5.7 and I'm at 5.5.. thats too close for comfort.

Its still in the "Good Normal" range but what if every year it keeps going up a little bit more, then I'll soon be out of the normal range and into the "Bad" range.

Its better to know now, so I can take Action Now.

My action plan:

Drink 3 liters of water a day,
More calcium, fish oil, more fiber and Vit C daily.
More alternative veggies. (I've been loving Spinach this year- but spinach can cause higher levels of uric acid)
Water and Vit C are good for reducing Uric Acid. Fish oil and Soluble fiber are good at reducing the "bad" cholesterol.

Weight Loss 101: How to Calculate a Calorie Deficit

Great Article By Matt Fitzgerald 
For Active.com
http://www.active.com/fitness/Articles/How-to-Calculate-a-Calorie-Deficit.htm?cmp=17-3-668

Do the Math

Your ultimate goal is to figure out exactly how many calories to eat daily to lose weight without being hungry and lethargic and without sabotaging your training. To do that you need to figure out how many calories you burn each day and then subtract your target deficit of 300 to 500 calories from that number.

There are two components to your total calories burned daily: calories burned at rest and calories burned in workouts.

To begin, add up the total number of hours you train in a typical week and divide that number by seven to yield the average number of hours you train daily. For example, suppose you train seven hours per week on average. This works out to one hour per day. Next, multiply this number by your body weight in pounds and the average number of calories you burn per pound of body weight per hour of training. The average number of calories you burn per hour of training is influenced by your speed. Use this table to get the appropriate multiplier.

Training Speed	Calories per pound per hour
Slower (run 11:00/mile)	4
Average (9:30/mile)	5
Faster (7:00/mile)	6

The result of this calculation is the average number of calories you burn through exercise daily. For example, suppose you run one hour per day on average, you weigh 150 pounds, and your speed is slower. In this case, 1 hour x 150 pounds x 4 calories per hour = 600 calories per day on average through exercise.

Your next step is to calculate your calories burned at rest (i.e. outside of workouts) during the day. To do this, first visit the caloric needs calculator and enter the information requested. In the "Activity Level" field enter "Sedentary" if you are mostly inactive outside of your workouts (that’s most of us) or "Lightly Active" if you have a physical job. Do not select "Active", as this option is intended to account for your workouts, which you’ve already accounted for separately for greater accuracy.

The result is an estimate of the number of calories you burn in 24 hours outside of exercise. But since you spend part of those 24 hours working out, we need to remove that part from the estimate.

To do this, take your estimate of calories burned at rest and divide it by 24, then multiply the result by the number of hours per day that you donot spend working out. For example, suppose your calculated calorie usage outside of exercise is 2,000 calories per day. If you work out 1 hour per day on average, then there are 23 hours of the day when you’re not working out. In this case, your daily calories burned at rest is (2,000 calories per day ÷ 24 hours per day x 23 hours a day you do not work out = 1,916 daily calories burned.

To determine the total number of calories you burn daily, add together your average daily exercise calories burned and your calories burned at rest. So, if you burn 1,916 calories per day at rest and 600 calories per day through exercise, then the total number of calories your body burns per day on average is 2,516.

This number also represents the total number of calories you would need to consume daily to maintain your current weight.

The total number of calories you should aim to consume is equal to the number of calories you would need to eat daily to maintain your current weight minus your chosen calorie deficit. Remember, the appropriate deficit range is 300 to 500 calories. Let’s say you choose 400. Then you should aim to eat 2,116 calories per day (2,516 total calories burned per day – 400 calorie deficit) during your weight-loss initiative.

Vegas or bust

Ok... now that I've experienced the freshman 15 for the 2nd time in my life, I need some major damage control, and to be ready for Vegas in July.
I'll do my best to log my food and exercises until I hopefully reach my goal.
Come play along :)

Goal - 

lose 2 -3 inches off waist

lost 10 lbs (if possible)

Week 1

Lbs: 128
Waist: 29 in
Hips: 32 in

Week 2

Lbs: 127

Kashi U Cereal

Really tasty and healthy. Some high fiber cereals kinda taste like wood, but this one is really tasty. Gets a little soggy in the milk, but overall holds its crunch well.
There's tasty black currents, walnuts and oat clusters.
Best part it has 7 grams of fiber, (2gs soluable, 5 gs insoluable)

Some fiber Facts via http://www.healthcastle.com/fiber-solubleinsoluble.shtml



Insoluble Fiber

Functions of Insoluble Fiber

-move bulk through the intestines
-control and balance the pH (acidity) in the intestines

Benefits of Insoluble Fiber

-promote regular bowel movement and prevent constipation
-keep you feeling fuller longer
-remove toxic waste through colon in less time
-help prevent colon cancer by keeping an optimal pH in intestines to prevent microbes from producing cancerous substances

Soluble Fiber

Functions of Soluble Fiber

-bind with fatty acids
-prolong stomach emptying time so that sugar is released and absorbed more slowly

Benefits of Soluble Fiber

-lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the Bad cholesterol) therefore reducing the risk of heart disease
-regulate blood sugar for people with diabetes

Compression Sock Review: Zensah vrs Zoot vrs 2XU

Thanks to technology, I can't imagine being without compression socks now. I use them on my higher mileage or hilly runs where I need the extra ankle and calf support and during races. They really help so my legs are not tired after the run. Also  they are great to wear on planes, snowboarding, or at home for recovery. I even wore them during my vacation to New York where I knew I would have lots of walking and standing to do.

I really love these things and I've had the opportunity to try 3 different brands,

1 - 2XU
2 - Zoot
3 - Zensah

Zensah Compression Sock

 These are usually more affordable than other compression brands. I think I got these for around $35 or less.
However the material is thicker, so its good for winter or cold runs, but in the summer it can get a little too warm. Also the material isn't as "tight" as other brands. Over all pretty decent for its price. I like wearing these socks on planes and for snowboarding.

Race Results - I ran a 13.1 race in these, and afterwards my calves weren't tired. Over all very pleased.

Zoot

 I found these on sale at Amazon for less than $35, (pretty good deal). The material is much thinner than Zensah and very tight.

Race Results -  I ran a 13.1 race in these and my legs felt better than when I ran with Zensah, but they were still tired but a little sore, but again better than running without them.




2XU ( currently $30-35 on amazon. Retails $50)

 My Favorite compression socks so far. I got these as a gift. The material is similar to Zoot, very thin and very tight. I'm not sure if these perform so well for me because I'm wearing them 1 size smaller. I should be a S on their chart, but these socks are XS.

Race Results - I ran my fastest 13.1 race in these and afterwards my calves felt Fantastic. Every other part of my leg from the knee up was really sore and tired Except for my calves. My calves felt normal as if I hadn't just run 13.1 miles. I think these socks are magical.


Compression gear can get really pricey if you pay at retail. So if you have a coupon or keep an eye out for deals. Right now the 2XU are a pretty good deal at Amazon.. I just picked up my 2nd pair. :)

Why Triathletes Are Well Prepared For A Zombie Apocalypse

I came across this blog and this was too hilarious not to repost. :-D via http://swimbikerunlive.com

http://swimbikerunlive.com/2011/05/why-triathletes-are-well-prepared-for-a-zombie-apocalypse/

this is my favorite part -

Taste

You know why most shark attack victims are just chewed and spit out instead of swallowed? Humans are not delicious. You know what is even less delicious? A super-lean shaved down human with -5% body fat. If you are traveling in a group, I guarantee you’ll be with someone far more delicious looking than yourself.

I love Tri's - its an Addiction

Sometimes out of the blue, I'll think about Tri's and I'll smile to myself.

As  much has tri's consume your life, it really makes me happy. Its so much work and effort and time, but when you're at the event in the water with all the other swimmers, its just so exciting. Then to finally cross that finish line, exhausted, but you know its over.. its really over and you did it..

Time like this really remind me of why I do, what I do, and why its so freaking awesome.

Water - Drink it up

I admit, for the past few months, I got lazy. Usually I'd drink about 2 liters and I probably was drinking less than 1 liter a day, maybe only half a liter. During the winter its hard to think of 'water', when there's "hot coco or Hot tea" as an alternative :)

So for the past 2 weeks Ive been making it my mission to drink at least 3 liters of water a day. I know some people who drink by the gallon, I'm not quite up to that point yet..

And so far its been really great! I've noticed my skin looks So much healthier, (shouldn't have wasted so much money on expensive creams when water works even better and faster!)
Also, I've lost weight without even trying! I lost 2 lbs without exercising or cutting my diet.. (water retention was the culprit for the excess weight)

All and all, I'm really glad I finally stopped procrastinating and got on the ball of drinking more water. 

Even my dad is drinking more water!

For the past few years I've been on his case to just Drink more water, like 2 cups or 1 bottle, (I'm not even going to mention a liter).  He's always been a tea drinker, and if you know Chinese tea, its very small in quantities. Yes, Tea is healthy for you, but you still need more liquid in your system. And 2 small pots aint gonna do it. 
So talking to him til I was blue in the face, he never believed this "witchcraft" of water drinking. So I gave up.

Then a month ago while we were having dinner, he says to me, "I've been drinking 2 large cups of water (about 32 oz) each day and I feel so great. I realized tea isn't enough."

OMG I've been saying that to you for years and finally, he's doing it now and seeing the benefits. :-D Yay!

70.3 70.3 70.3!!!

I just signed up for my first 70.3 I'm really excited. I hope to finish in 7-8 hours. It'll be a summer of hard training. Looking forward to it!!

Superfrogtriathlon.com

2011 OC Half Marathon Review

I wasn't really planning on doing this race this year, but they sent me an email saying, "If you do 3 years in a row you get this awesome Duffel bag, and a special bib!"  This was their first year launching this Legacy program, and I wanted a free duffel bag. Also this race is part of the Beach Cities Series, and for 2011 I really want to complete a series, so I signed up.

The duffel bag ended up being really small, and quite poor in quality, and the "special" race bib, only added the word "Legacy" to the end of the banner, it was pretty much the same as everyone else. I was expected at least a different color or something.

This year the course was new with more hills. The general location of the race was the same. You start near Fashion Island, and then end at the OC Fairgrounds.

Prior years we would have to park the car at the Fairgrounds, then shuttle to the start at Fashion Island, but Luckily this year, our friend was kind enough to drop us off at the start near Fashion Island, and then pick us up at the end. It saved lots of valuable sleep time. I was able to wake up at 5am, and make it to the start line right at 6am.

The race starts off in Waves A - D (although C&D pretty much combined themselves).
The Full Marathoners and Half Marathoners all start at the same time, so the 3 "corrals" are pretty big. Expect to dodge a lot of  elbows, and people that started walking at mile 0.25 during your run.

They did have lots of water stops pretty much at every mile with a sports drink (Lemon Gatorade - yum).

There was a section around mile 9-11 where you get into a narrow trail of the Back Bay. About 3-4 people could fit in width of the trail, so it sucked if you got suck behind some girls that decided to walk and not move over and instead stay in the middle of trail and mess with their ipod, walking side by side with her friends, so they make a very firm wall, and are completely oblivious to the 15,000 people behind them that are still running, saying excuse me, and trying to Squeeze through, but all their efforts are wasted because her music is on too loud.

After the finish line, there was a complete bottle neck just trying to get out.

1 - They put the photo booth right after where you get your medal, so people are standing in line to take photos, and you can't get out and to get to the water.

2- Then once you passed the traffic of people waiting for photos, you had to deal with people that would get the drinks and food and Stand there, again bottle-necking, and again halting my goal of getting to water.

The event organizers shouldn't have put the photo booth right there and they should have organized to flow of traffic better.

m.i.a

Sorry for being m.i.a lately. I've been going back to school, and working full time from 8-5, then going to school M-Thurs 6-10, and studying and training, had led me to sacrifice things like TV, movies, internet, and long distance training.
Sometimes I'm so oblivious to the outside world and events. I don't watch the news or get the newspapers, and When I do have time to read, it'll be my textbooks, not a newspaper. But I'm halfway through the semester, and then I'll have summer break to train more and next semester I've learned to not take 2 science classes. Physics is totally consuming my life. I feel everything is sacrificed just a little because I don't have enough time. My work is suffering, my grades, & my training.
I ask myself if its worth it, but I still can't answer myself.
But I made some time today to post up a few more race reviews. yay.

2011 SuperSeal International Triathlon review

this weekend, I finished my first Olympic distance Tri. the SuperSeal - http://www.superfrogtriathlon.com/

It was tough, but so great to finish it. My goal was really to just survive it. I didn't care about times or transitions. Maybe next year, I'll aim for time. Surprisingly, the day after, I'm NOT sore at all. Very strange.

Coronado island is really pretty, and the weather was perfect! For a few days the heavy rains was threatening our triathlon to be changed to a duathlon, but luckily our Tri was able to go on.

We stayed at the Loews hotel, which hosted the expo for the race. It was so convenient to check into the race and into your hotel at the same time! then the race was just right out side the hotel too. Not having to drive and find parking is fantastic!!
Loew hotel was amazing. Pet friendly, very clean, great amenities the staff was super friendly, and we got an awesome rate being participants of the event!

The most stress free I've EVER been on a race morning.

The Swim part of the race starts out in the Bay, which I was really relieved, because the waves in the ocean were huge!

Before the race began, my fellow OC-Tri-Meetup buddy gave me some very useful advice. Put water inside your wetsuit which helps insulate you from the cold. and it really worked. It was really cold but it made the swim portion much better.  As we were dipping ourselves in the water, a boat goes out and outlines the course. Then the First waves starts. A few minutes later it was my wave, and we were off. Swimming in the bay wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. I actually didn't need to take any breaks, and was able to swim the whole course. I had to stop a few times to sight because I'm terrible at sighting, (even on land!)

The 1 bad thing about the course is the transition areas seemed a little far away, but maybe that is normal?
You have to go under a tunnel that crosses a 4 lane highway, then curve up to get your bikes. and walking on the rocky pavement is painful! ouch!!

I was so tired from the swim, I walked over to the bike and took my sweet time. People are cheering, and I didn't care. I wasn't rushing, LOL I think i took about 15 mins in transition 1. I ate some of my cliff bar, drank my protein shake, hydrated - I was very dehydrated - went to the bathroom, then put on my cycling gear to head off.

The Biking course was 2 loops back and forth down the highway. So its like 6 miles each length that you go back and forth on. At times i hate loops because the turns sharp and you have to slow down, and you get bored. I kept myself entertained by memoring debris I saw on the road. I would think, "Oh hey i saw that dropped bottle, that means I'm 10 mins away from the roadkill"

The last 5 miles of the 24.6 mile biking part was the hardest. My Hamstrings were so tired, and my butt hurt!

The run was the hardest part of the race for me. My legs were tired but they were able to push through, but my body was tired, my lungs were tired, and my feet were numb. I walked a lot, (run a mile, walk half a mile)

During the bike there was a mean old man that yelled at me to move to the right, when I was already on the "rightish" side, and there was plenty of room on the left for him to move around me. He was just a bitter man.

On the run, I saw him, and we HAD to beat him!
That was our goal to beat the mean old man who yelled as us. hahhah

Overall we finished in just under 4 hours. If we had a shorter transition time, we would've had a better time, but overall I'm happy with my time. I estimated 4-4.5 hours, and I was glad to have come in under 4.

Its a great event, and I recommend this event to anyone looking for an olympic tri.

What's Tri?

my friend asked me, "What is a tri?" and then asked, "is that like the Special Olympics?"

umm...?

a Tri (short for Triathlon) is a 3 part race/event that has 3 portions - Swim, Bike and Run - hence the name Tri

Tri's vary in the length of the activities you have to do which determine the Name of the event.

I'll go over the common ones from longest to shortest. 

1 - The most common one people hear of is the IRONMAN aka 140.6 
   Swim- 3.86 km    (2.4 mi)
   Bike - 180 km    (112 mi)
   Run - 42.2 km    (26.2 mi) marathon
the name "140.6" comes from adding up all the miles together.
 Actually Ironman is more like a brand name. There are races that equal in length but are not called "Ironman"

2 - Half Ironman aka 70.3 or Long Distance Triathlon
  Swim - 1.93 km    (1.2 mi)
   Bike - 90 km    (56 mi)
   Run - 21.09 km    (13.1 mi)
 The name 70.3 comes from adding up all the miles together, which is Half the distance of a 140.6

3- Olympic/International       
    Swim - 1.5 km    (0.93 mi)
    Bike - 40 km    (24.8 mi)
    Run - 10 km    (6.2 mi)

4 - Sprint 
   Swim - 750 m    (0.47 mi)
   Bike - 20 km    (12.4 mi)
   Run -  5 km    (3.1 mi)
For pool-based races a 400 or 500m swim is common. Distance can very, sprints can be considered anything under an Olympic distance

Nike Training Club App

Great apple app and its FREE! super awesome!

 Chose a Goal

 Choose a Level

 My Favorite Goal is "Get Focused", which are 15 mins of targeted areas that I add in addition to my cardio workouts.

Start your Work out
There are videos that show you what to do.
You can add music and the timer will count down when to switch to the next move.

Run in Small Portions

A large misconception when a non runners thinks of the word "Running" they think, miles after miles at lightening speeds". Then they easily get discouraged because they think, "I can't run 5 miles! I can't run 100 meters, I can't run 6 min miles."

Running isn't all or nothing, Its not 5 miles or bust. Its putting 1 foot in front of the other, at a pace faster than speed walking, for whatever amount of time you want. There is no judge, only yourself.

Dont focus on "can't run # miles". Instead break it up.
Do 1 mile in the morning and 1 mile at night. Or even break it up until 3rds. Morning, Noon and Night.
You're working on building up the muscles in your legs. Once your legs get stronger, you can then work on building endurance, by extending the distance of each segment and then cutting down the # of segments. Then once you get your endurance up, you can focus on speed.

This is also a great method for runners recovering from injuries.
Instead of running 6 miles, run 3miles in the morning and 3 at night, or 2 miles Morning, Noon and Night.


Start of slow, in small segments and you'll reach your goal.

Lap Swimming Etiquette

Being new to swimming (about 2-3 years), I had a lot to learn, but some things just seem to be common sense, like Pool Etiquette. Just as you don't trim your nails at the dinner table, you'd think some things would make sense.

Now for myself, I was new to swimming, so I do understand how some things wouldn't be the first thought to come into your head if you're nervous and getting into the cold pool water. Sometimes I think its Karma for my beginning mistakes, that now I have to deal with. Or maybe its just the cycle of life in the gym pool.

Here is much more lengthy list rules.
http://www.enjoy-swimming.com/swimming-pool-etiquette.html

Here are the top ones that I've come to figure out on my own (which aren't new), just common sense from swimming at the gym. 

1.  If you're alone in a lane you can take up the middle
2.  If you all the lanes are taken, Scan to see which swimmer is around your speed and your style. 
3. WAIT for the swimmer to reach the end, and lightly tap them on the shoulder and ask if its ok to share. They have to say Yes, its just a Nice gesture to ask, and also you can set up ground rules.
• If there are 2 of you, just take a side and swim back and forth. 
• If there are 3 or more, swim in a circle (right lane goes out, and left lane comes back), so no one bumps into each other, and everyone can go at their own speed.
4.  If you can't find someone of you're speed, and you are slower, just pause and let them pass.
5.  Space out - Let there be enough space between you and the swimmer in front, so you dont touch their legs. 

Its really not too much to request, but there are some pretty comical situations that happen at the gym.

• People think that if they start on the Opposite side of the lane, that you magically wont bump heads. I really don't understand that concept.
• New, learning, or non swimmers seem like to stay on the left side with the sprinting swimmers. Why? I imagine the pool like a freeway, slow on the right, fast on the left.. These must be the same people who drive 50mph in the 1st or carpool lane
• Some reason the most popular stroke is the Frog, (not a legitimate breaststroke, its more like a modified doggy paddle). And those darn froggers take up the whole lane, and if you don't act fast, you risk getting groped by the creepy old dude. *shudders*
• Slowest swimmer in the world thinks its dandy to swim in the Middle of the POOL, not the lanes, the pool itself, so everyone has to swim around them, and they're not even phased by the disturbance they're causing. They're completely oblivious to it. And you can tell theyr'e not doing it maliciously, they're just doing it because they are stupid.

Peroneal Tendon Injuries

What is that?

About a month ago, I started getting a really bad pain on the outer side of my foot, and near the bottom of my foot. It would happen a few hours after a long run.  It feels similar to the pain felt with a stress fracture, except the only difference is that this pain will fade away, and a stress fracture wont.
It would prevent me from even walking. It was a very sharp Stabbing type of pain, mixed in with a deep cramp. It would go away after a day, so I didn't think much of it. Then it happened again and again.

X marks the spots of pain 

I found out my Peroneal Tendon is pissed off. It supports the ankle and foot movement. I've been having ankle problems for the past few months, so its no surprise that another issue as risen. I did a trail run, and uneven ground made for a pissed off Peroneal Tendon.







Here is a good article about it
http://www.foothealthfacts.org/footankleinfo/peroneal-tendon.htm

Treatment:
I took some aspirin, elevated my foot and rested, and sure enough it went away. But for good? Not sure.. but at least I know what it is now.

Trapezius Muscle pain

Last week I learned of a "new" type of pain. The Trapezius muscle pain.

Last week, after my 13.1 and nursing some old injuries, I wasn't able to run as much as I normally do. And on top of that, I was insanely stressed out at work, putting in LONG hours sitting at the computer.

Finally Saturday morning, my body had enough, and the spot right between my middle and lower trapezius was in excruciating pain.

I've never had a pain so bad where it made me want to throw up and I couldn't breathe. And whats worse is that I didn't even "earn" the pain, like through rock climbing or from training, just stress at work. So unfair and evil...

I spent all Saturday using all my remedies - foam roller, a tennis ball, stretching, yoga, massage therapist, soaks. Nothing relieved it. People say don't move it, but the less I moved, the MORE it hurt. So I tried to always keep moving, not matter how painful it was. Sunday morning, my back was still in pain, but I had more movement in it. At least I could swing my arms for my 10k that day.

I thought it was going to be hard to run with my back pain, but actually running HELPED! Half way through the race, all the pain in my back was gone, and I felt 'normal' again! It was great! Running is my savior.

Later that day, the pain slowly crept back, but not as strong as it was initially. But now I know what I have to do, run, and run some more. :)

2011 Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker 5/10k Run

This was the 33rd Annual Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker 5/10k Run. But this was the first year I've heard about it.



It was a really fun event, 100% put on by volunteers which donate all the proceeds to the Chinatown community.
Its a great event for a great cause.

Here is the link to their Facebook site which has some videos - http://www.facebook.com/lacfrc

and their main site - http://www.firecracker10k.org/

When I signed up for the 10k, my friend told me, he ran this race last year, and it had a ton of hills and he wasn't doing it again this year.
I usually dont mind hills and thought, "How bad could it be?"

If I had to describe this race with 1 word it would be HILLS!! It was tough, but Beautiful.. You start off near the end of Chinatown, and run up toward Elysian Park, coiling up all the way to the top, then down towards Dodger Stadium, and back down onto Broadway, where you have the last stretch to the finish line. At times I wanted to take out my camera, but then I didn't want to slow my time down.

As we started the race,  I saw the 5k runners coming down the last final turn, and making it back onto Broadway, so I had in my mind, "that's the last turn, then gun it for the finish line."

The race wasn't very crowded, a few thousand people, so the corral markers were pretty much ignored, I didn't stand in my corral, because I wanted less people to dodge.

At the first hill people weren't defeated yet, we ran. It went up forever... After the first mile, it flattened like 100 feet, and I thought, yes its over.. I usually like hills, its my strength where I usually find opportunity to pass up others, but that joy was short-lived as another hill approached. There were a few times when I thought, its over..but no, another hill around the corner. But through all the painful hills, running up Elysian Park had beautiful views of Down town LA and Dodger stadium. It was worth it.
I wanted to run the entire course, but at the peak, it was just too much and I walked the last 100 feet incline.

The rest it was "mostly" all downhill from there. Made up my lost time, and when I saw that last turn, The finish line was near.

I really liked having the finish line so close to the last curve.. If I had to run another 1-2 miles after that brutal hill, I don't know what I would think.. in my mind I kept telling myself, just look for the last turn, it'll all be over soon. It's really what pushed me through it.

I think I might do this race again next year. :-D

2011 Surf City Half Marathon

The weather was fantastic for racing. It was cool and a nice marine layer kept the temps low. When your running your body temperature rises and keeping yourself cool improves your performance.

This was one of the most well organized races Ive been to and its a HUGE race too. Seriously other event coordinators should take some tips from Surf City on how to organize an event.

Usually most races everyone start at once, marathoners, halfers, 10k, elite, and 1st timers, so the first few miles are dodging elbows, cutting around slower runners, and finding the right pace.
But with the way Surf City was set up, you didn't have to deal with that. I loved it!!

1- Marathoners started 1 hour before the half marathoners so the crowds were already cut in half.
2- Your bib number was determined by your time. For me I put my expected finish time to be 2 hours so I was in the 8000 group.
3- Your bib# determined your corral so it was a no brainer. So if you think "hey everyone here is a 4000 and I'm a 15000... hmm am I in the right spot?" (there are the occasional few that have late regs or something else, but for the most part it follows that pattern)
4- The corrals were sectioned off in 3-5 min waves with ribbons and tape, so people couldn't get anxious and go ahead.

This enabled everyone to have a crowd-free experience during the Entire route. Awesome!