Race Report: Great Race of Agoura - Pacific Half Marathon

Signed up for the trail race, the Cheseboro Half, but the National Park Service shut the trail down because of the recent rain and thick mud so we were all switched over to run the Pacific Half Road 1/2 Marathon. I was hoping to wind up on the podium but got 7th overall out of 1,676, 3rd AG. Felt good about my time of 1:19 (PR) though considering there was 1,400 feet of climbing. 


Race website has a cool video here with clips from all the races.


Christian Hesch won the race with a time of 1:10, I kept up with him and the lead pack for the first half mile or so, but quickly realized that these guys were way out of my league, total studs.  2nd place was only 6 seconds behind him, and 3rd only 40 seconds behind him.

Got a lift to start with the Salinger's, always fun to run w/ Andy, I think he ran it in 1:32. Saw Mike Becker (2nd place at  Bandit 50k), he won AG in 1:26, saw Christian Chiappe at start too, he was just out for an easy run since he's competing at the Oceanside 70.3 this weekend, good luck Christian!

Tried out a new pair of Drymax socks today, the Running Lite Mesh socks.  Loved 'em, no feet issues at all.

I definitely slowed down a lot on uphills and got passed on 'em, but passed people on downhills.  I didn't expect this.  I consider myself a good climber out on the trails, I guess that doesn't exactly translate to running fast up gradual slopes on the road.

Hard to run a 6min mi for 13 miles!  Not used to running at that pace, but it was fun to mix things up a bit. 

SPILTS: 

1: 5:58 
2: 5:53 
3: 6:15 
4: 6:49 
5: 5:12 
6: 5:53 
7: 5:48 
8: 6:04 
9: 6:12 
10 6:10 
11 6:10 
12 6:06 
13 5:55 
last .1, 4:47 


Here's a shot of me looking tired at the end:

The guy behind me to the right was about 30 seconds ahead of me for the last 6 or 7 miles... I felt bad passing him in the last half mile, but not bad enough to not do it.


My buddy Andy and his daughter Audrey both got 4th place in their age groups, way to go Salingers!

I tried a different flavor of FLUID recovery drink after the race today, chocolate...mmmmmmm.  Tastes like the hot chocolate powder mixes, definitely hit the spot after the race.


Now it's time to train for Leona Divide!  I did have a lot of fun running a road race for a change, but running longer distances on the trail is more enjoyable for me, and I think I'm more cut out to run slower, up and down mountains on trails rather than run fast on the road... we'll see!

Report on Chris

During change of shift I either give or get report on the patient(s) I'm taking care of... thought I'd give report on myself:

75kg, 30 y/o male

Neuro:

·         Alert & oriented

·         Occasional complaint of pain related to muscle soreness

Cardiovascular:

·         Sinus Brady. rhythm at rest

·         BP WNL

Respiratory:

·         Manages secretions with a snot rocket/farmers blow or by hawking a lugie.

Gastrointestinal:

·         Drinks FLUID recovery drink immediately after exercise.  Eats all the time, might have a    tapeworm.

Skin:

·         Poison oak rash present on all four extremities.  Treat with Technu soap and benedryl topical gel BID.  Zanfel scrub used PRN excessive itching.

·         ALWAYS wears Drymax socks when running and never gets blisters.

Psychological/Social:

·         Happily married to my beautiful wife:

Has tons of support from a great family:

What I ran this week:

Pics from last week's gorgeous run are up on Hone's site.  Were the views worth the poison oak I have all over now?... Sure.

Su:   0 miles (iPhone turned alarm off with daylight savings = no time to run before work =( )

M:  AM:  16 miles on Bulldog loop
      PM:  4 miles running around neighborhood

Tu:  AM: 17miles in Wildwood Park
       PM:  4 miles running around neighborhood with Elissa.

W:  AM: 16 miles on Los Robles Trail
      PM:  6 miles on Los Robles Trail with Elissa.

Th:  AM:  17 miles, down Sycamore Canyon to beach and back
    
F:  AM:  16 miles in Wildwood Park, first hour and a half in dark... thought I saw a Dic-Dic... but it turned out to be a bush. 

     PM:  6 miles in neighborhood with Elissa.

Sa:  0

So stoked that Elissa is on spring break and I got to run with her!

Total Mileage:  101.

What's been working for me:

I would like to preface this post by stating that I don't have years and years of experience like many runners, but I have had a lot of luck lately so I want to write down  my current habits so that I can look back at them in the future and to see what others think about them.  A lot of what I'm about to list as things that help my running I learned while running and chatting with  Andy Salinger and/or Evan Hone, two great guys that both know a lot about running.

What's been working for me:

Mileage, the more weekly miles I put in the better I feel and the better I perform.  I don't put in as many long runs anymore, instead I'll run twice on some days - once in the AM and once in the PM.  While long runs are important, splitting up the mileage like this had allowed me to put in a lot more miles.

Sauna: I try to hang out in the sauna at least twice a week for 20 minutes or so, because my body hates running in the heat, it slows me down a lot.  I think using the sauna is helping me get over this issue... slowly.

Recovering after races by taking the next day off running and easing back into my normal routine.  I've also been drinking Fluid recovery drink after every run or gym workout, seems to help a lot.  Tapering a couple weeks out before an event also helps my muscles recover to and feel "fresh" for the race.

Yoga: Helps maintain a fuller range of motion for all my muscles - important for a good stride.  I should probably do a lot more of this.

Weights:  I only lift light amounts of weight, but I try to do a lot of reps.  I think this helps prevent imbalances.

Nutrition:  I try to eat as little processed food as possible.  Ironically, during a run, all I eat and drink is processed.  I haven't really been eating any dairy the last couple of weeks and my body seems to like this.  

Researching:  websites put up by other runners (Stan Jensen's is a great hub of ultra info), chatting with physical therapists, respiratory therapists, doctors, dieticians and other nurses at work for tips on training/injuries/nutrition, etc.

So what did I miss?  

Anything up there ridiculously NOT important for running?

Thanks!

Malibu Creek 50k Race Report

4:12, first place, CR whooooo! 

Went out too fast on the first loop, just like when I ran the bulldog last August... felt good doing so, but paid for it on the 2nd loop. I knew I'd be hurting on the climb on the 2nd loop because of how hot it was getting, but I wanted to build a big lead so I did.  One person not only stayed with me, but passed me on the climb at about mile 5, luckily she (Anna Frank) was running the 25k. I toyed with trying to catch her but eventually gave up. I think I got to the 25k turn around 2 minutes behind her. How someone from Bakersfield learned how to climb like her, I have no idea - awesome performance. Beat the next 25k finisher by 5 minutes. 

Lukas Temer finished in 2nd place in 4:20, then Michael Alfred in 3rd in 4:25.  It was great chatting with Mike and Sara, the RD's of PCTR after the race, super nice people. Looking forward to seeing Sara at SD 100 in June. 

Halfway up the hill on the first loop I saw a couple guys standing on the fire road, one guy with his hands folded on his chest and... what the?!  His shorts where around his ankles, working on his tan lines I guess... who the heck is that guy? Then as I got closer he yelled out... "yeah Price." What! Who IS this guy? Then I realized it was Keith, a buddy of mine to started chasing me when I passed. The other guy, another buddy of mine, Andy, BA'd me when I saw them on the next loop. Uh, thanks for the inspiration guys?  The second time I went to cross Malibu Creek my hamstring totally cramped up, couldn't move my leg. Luckily they had a rope strung across the river that I used to get myself to the other side, stretch out and pop some saltstick pills. For a second I thought I was done for. 

Chatted with tons of fun people at the start and finish... can't wait to see Luis Escobar's pictures of the race, here they are:  http://www.photostockplus.com/home.php?tmpl=159&user_id=68927&event=792747&album=792748 he got a bunch of cool creek crossing shots.

Now, time to not race for awhile. Welllll, I do have a race in 3 weeks, The Cheseboro Half Marathon, but I'm going to run it as a training run. I'll run it hard, but I don't plan on tapering for it. With these races so close together recently I have been tapering too much and running too little.