Year End Report 2024

Strange.  I logged 1,357 miles running in 2024, my fourth highest annual total ever - behind 2021 (1,538), 2012 (1,406), 2023 (1,376), and somehow beating 2020 (1,320).  I am not sure how I managed to do so in a year where I not only took a break from running full marathons and entering races, but also didn't once ramp up my distance as if I were training for a full marathon.

I mean, in 2023 I ran at least one 26.2+ miler, but twice trained as if I was going to run the full distance (the latter to ensure I was fit for hiking in Peru).  These past two years both included a two-week long travel imposed break from running.  Heck, this year I only ran two runs that were a half marathon distance or more (a full training schedule includes at least 9...10 if you count the marathon) and yet somehow I finished within 20 miles of last year's total.  I finished 2024 with more miles than the last two years I ran full marathon races (2019, 2020).

That said, I actually should be able to run as many as 1,482 miles if I merely run my four week between-marathon training schedule.  I only ran more than this total once in all of the years I have run marathons.  In other words, I usually fall short of distance targets or missed training days for various reasons (injuries, illness, air quality, work, travel).  I know I had an injury in 2019.  Can't remember if I had any issues in 2023 (a quick review of 2023's year end report mentions injury and illness), but I did have two big falls this year neither of which caused me to skip any running days.  That said, I did think the first of the two might have bruised or even cracked a rib (not a totally different one than the one injured in 2022 and 2023).  My wife is starting to wonder how frequently I injure myself.  She didn't realize running is a full contact sport!

I am a little disappointed that I did NOT improve my pace in 2024. I actually lost a couple of seconds per mile over 2023, but that is the downside of not including any races or race-like efforts.  The big differentiator was March of 2023, when I finished a marathon training cycle ahead of running my personal "Sea to the Sea" marathon.  Though I did not run it like a race, I still completed the distance faster than 10 minutes per mile.  I also find that ramping up the distance for an endurance event and then tapering tends to naturally gives me a boost. That said, I didn't see the same boost when I tapered ahead of Peru...likely because I wasn't worried about taking an excessively long time to do a single 26.2 mile run!

There is hope though...I finished the year completing a mile challenge in 6:33, besting the times I set in 2022 and 2023 by half a minute!  I've also shed quite a bit of weight, but for reasons outside of running.

Legend of the Falls

After hearing that I tripped during this morning's run, Valerie commented that I seem to fall a lot.  She didn't buy my explanation that running is a full contact sport.  That said, I did get curious...how often do I trip without being able to stop myself from hitting the ground?  I certainly have had a lot of close calls (that I don't record) and also have been known to roll my ankle from time to time.  But how frequently do I actually hit the ground?  How often does it lead to bleeding?  Have I ever missed running because of gravity induced injuries?

I vividly recall my first crash landing. I had just recovered from my first full marathon, resuming lunch break training runs with an ultra running coworker (what we used to call "Dog Runs" because we both worked for Naughty Dog).  He was quite a bit faster than me and I was trying to chase him down as we started the final relatively flat stretch back to the office.  I caught my toe on something protruding from the sidewalk and didn't just fall on the concrete, but off the curb and on to Santa Monica Blvd.  It was quite a blow, but apparently I just picked up a few minor scrapes and was able to finish the run.

That was back in 2009.

I didn't always write about my falls in my running blog, make note of it withing my running data, or even mention such incidents in the captions of my running photos.  In September of 2013, I vividly remember falling while crossing a cobblestone intersection near the end of one of my longer runs in Paris, but there's no mention of it in my photos from that trip (pun intended).  And at some point I fell and nearly ruined my favorite running shirt (a technical shirt I picked up at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca)...but I cannot find any photo evidence of when that happened.

Here's what I could retrieve by reviewing Strava activities and looking through my photos:

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

I was not entirely surprised the sometimes uneven dirt trail between the Hollywood Riviera and Palos Verdes tripped me up.  I was not injured as it was a soft landing, but I needed to rinse off my shirt and water bottle in one of the beach restrooms.  What's interesting is that I don't often do long runs on Tuesdays and this fall happened only 3 miles into a 14 miler.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Another dirt landing, this time on the hard packed median trail of Palos Verdes Drive North only 2 miles into my usual 6 miler.  I don't recall any injury from this fall either.  

Friday, March 29, 2019

Got "punched by a tree".  This time I got knocked me down by a branch from a bush or tree that was protruding into the sidewalk towards the end of my short four miler.  Scraped my knee and the branch scratched my shoulder.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Toe caught a bit of raised sidewalk next to Peninsula Center and I fell hard...scraping the ends of four fingers and the palm of my left hand.  My Nathan water bottle took the brunt of the damage.  During the fall, I landed on my chin, I dirtied another running shirt AND my brand new running shoes, my glasses went flying and got scratched upon landing (I started using a strap to keep my glasses on shortly thereafter).  I was only a mile into an 8 miler and not happy about having 7 miles to go.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

I successfully sprinted down the rocky Burma Road trail only to trip on what appeared to be a smoothly paved section of sidewalk during my cooldown jog home (toe must have caught the smallest crack).  Got road rash on palm, elbow, and hip, but somehow didn't scrape my knee.  Happened roughly seven and a half miles in a 9+ miler just when I let my guard down.  And here I thought the side-effects of my first Moderna vaccination were going to be the worst thing I'd experience that morning (I did get hit pretty hard after I got home, but only for a couple of hours)

Sunday, June 26, 2022

Two miles into a 10 miler, the tip of my shoe snagged a root hidden in a patch of softer dirt on the boundary trail between the Hollywood Riviera and Palos Verdes...and I thankfully landed in the softer dirt.  Though I was not injured, I did soil another white running shirt and cap.  My water bottle was so dirty I didn't want to risk drinking from it even after I rinsed it at the beach.  Dirt made it into the package of Shot BLOKS (that I had only just opened minutes before I fell) inside of my pocket.

Saturday, December 17, 2022

What started as a 21 miler ended as a half marathon.  I somehow tripped in the middle of a intersection along Palos Verdes Drive South not far east of Terranea Resort...and I fell so hard on to the pavement that the top of my water bottle completely sheared off, spilling most of its contents on to the pavement before I could use it to rinse my wounds.  The fall tore one of my running gloves, scraped the skin on my palm underneath.  I was bleeding from my hand, my elbow, and my knee.  I continued running until I reached the restroom at Pelican Cove, where I could finally rinse my wounds while waiting for a ride from Valerie.  I couldn't really continue since I no longer had the means to hydrate.

Sunday, August 13, 2023

This fall seemed to happen in slow motion: my toe caught a root under the wood chips on Veterans Parkway roughly five miles into a 14 miler.  I seriously thought I was going to be able to stay on my feet...I took as many as four strong strides fighting to stay vertical, but gravity ultimately won.  I thought I avoided any injury as I rolled when I landed, deflecting the energy of the impact, but I picked up a few scrapes.  Surprisingly none of my wounds bled.  My left arm was sore around the elbow (point of impact) as was my chest (where I landed on my arm). My right foot apparently took most of the stress simply from my effort to stay upright ...the whole top of my foot was now tender to the touch. That said, I could stand and run on it without feeling much pain, so I was able to finish my run. My shoes, socks, shirt, and water bottle had collected some of the wood chips in the fall. I'm so glad I fell on the trail and not the pavement.

Wednesday, July 3, 2024

As I ran out on to the mobi-mat on the beach to take a photo of the #SirensOfSilence lifeguard tower, my toe caught one of the grooves and I couldn't stop myself from falling. While the mat itself is soft under foot, the texture of the mat's surface is very rough (to prevent slipping) and of course I slid on it. The cuts on my knuckle and knee and the rash on my thigh weren't the worst injury... I landed hard on my chest and probably bruised a rib.  My chest bothered me for awhile, but I did not miss a single day of my usual running routine.

Sunday, December 22, 2024

My left toe caught uneven pavement at the end of someone's driveway on Palos Verdes Drive North, roughly 12 miles into a 14 miler.  This is the kind of thing I would have guessed happens more often than not...as it happened late in what was relatively a long run, when I might get sloppy and not lift my feet as much.  The surprising thing? This was the first time people actually came up to me to ask if I was ok...two people on bike, a hiker, someone driving a truck.  They must have all seen it happen.  The driver offered a ride.  The hiker was a former marathoner who had been in my shoes on many long runs.

I thought I fell as much as once per year, but looking at this I can definitely see the frequency of falls has increased in recent years.  I also assumed my falls happened towards the end of longer runs, but, if that were the case, I would expect to see more Sundays in this list...and some of my falls happened early into runs too.  I thought there might be a correlation between falling and new shoes, but I am not seeing that in my data either.  And trail running doesn't seem to increase the risk.

One Bud Flatlines

Just over a week ago, on runs leading up to a rare business trip, one of my Galaxy Buds+ earbuds starts refusing a charge, the left earbud.  I did all sorts of things to try and get it working again, from cleaning it, to resetting it...jiggling it in its case trying to trigger the green charging light...but nothing works.

I decide to pack both my failing Buds+ and my new Buds Pro.

The funny thing is that I have not been willing to run with my newer buds...partly due to how much more expensive they are (though mine was included in the price of my S24 Ultra), but mostly because of how much I have liked my Buds+.  Yes, I am the same guy who bitched and moaned when Samsung dropped the headphone jack from the Galaxy series of phones, but my Buds+ have outlasted any of the wired headsets that shipped with my phones over the years, likely reduced the wear and tear on my SPIbelts (since nothing needs to protrude from the0 zipper pouch), and I no longer worry about tugging on a wire pinched to my chest shirt (lost many clips).  

I really appreciate the Bud Pro's active noise cancelling...works well to filter out the portable AC in my home office when I need to join an online meeting during a hot day, to listen to alternate content when my wife is watching a show I'm not interested in...and I loved using them during my recent five hour flights.  I do not plan to use the noise cancelling while running (too dangerous...I don't even hear my foot falls), but I fully expect they will last longer (a Bud+ dying during a run had been a pretty rare thing until now).

For this morning's run, though, I somehow tricked one of my dying Bud+ to give me one more run.  It came back to life with what appeared to be a 100% charge, but I decided to run with it while it was actively connected with my phone.  Much to my surprise, it lasted the entire 8 mile run...but it didn't look like it would.  15 minutes into my run, it had already dropped to 32%.  30 minutes later, it was down to 28%.  An hour into my run, a really strange thing happened...the charge went up to 33%!  But that was a short-lived gain as the watch dropped back to 27% over the next half hour.  When I finally got home, the bud's charge was -1% (yes, below zero), but it was still playing audio. I returned it to its case at 10:40am on August 18, 2024.

That would be the last time I ever heard audio from the left earbud.  It would never accept another charge.  Even worse, the bud would rapidly drain the case's battery (it was so bad, that I thought the case was failing).  But the right bud continues to hold a charge and, with only the right bud in the case, the case still provides a week worth of charging before it needs to be plugged in.

I continue to run with a single bud and will continue to do so until it dies.  And then I will consider running with my Buds Pro.

Year End Report 2023

My last run of 2023 was rain delayed into the afternoon, but not abbreviated, deterred or deferred to 2024.  I wanted to do at least 10 miles and was determined to see what yesterday's high tide and waves did to our local beaches, so there was a decent amount of elevation change.  I was especially glad I dressed for cold weather because the overcast sky kept afternoon temperatures unusually cool, noticeably dropping as I climbed towards my neighborhood.  With this final run, I managed to beat my annual average pace (not hard to do) and return home before the sun (which finally appeared through thinning clouds) dipped below the hill.

I clocked nearly 1,376 miles running in 2023, my third highest annual total behind 2021 (1,538) and 2012 (1,406) and easily beating 2020 (1,320).  If I factor in walking and hiking activities, I match 2012's running total.  Since I resumed running in 2007, I've totaled over 1,000 miles in nearly twice as many years as under 1,000.  That all said, I am somewhat disappointed in my performance this year.  As with last year, my goal was to focus on pace, not distance.  And I continue to get slower...10:33 per mile was my average annual pace.  In terms of total time spent running, this year is second behind 2021...I spent 25 more hours than 2012 to run 30 fewer miles.  I'd very much like to reverse this trend.  Reducing my total mileage and increasing my pace should help me get quite a bit of time back.

The two things that consistently help me improve pace are track intervals and registering for races. I entered my first race since the pandemic (The Hills Are Alive 10K) and finished in just under 51 minutes...not my best time, but certainly not my worst.  I barely did any track intervals in 2023, but did end the year with a 7:01 mile (beating the mile challenge I did in 2022 by a few seconds).  Still, I should be able to run in the 6's...and my annual average should be under 10 minutes per mile.  I will need to register for more 10Ks and maybe even half marathons before I attempt another 26.2.

I was really feeling the distance in 2023, especially as I approached the end of my second marathon training schedule. Though I was not planning to attempt a second 26.2 mile run within the calendar year, I felt I needed the routine to improve my fitness by October since my wife and I had planned a few high altitude hikes during a bucket list trip to Peru.  As our travel date approached, I started feeling like I needed more recovery time between runs. I started waking up with really sore heels and found wearing sandals with arch support helped reduce foot pain whenever I walked on our hardwood floors, especially on cold mornings.  Long runs were again aggravating an old ankle injury.

In mid-August, shortly after the Hills Are Alive run, I had a pretty hard fall during a 14 mile run.  I initially thought the way I tumbled into the fall had reduced the force of impact since I was able to resume running.  It wasn't until I lay in bed afterwards that I realized I had likely bruised or re-injured the rib I broke a year before. This injury didn't affect my routine as much as the previous one, but it did make sleeping uncomfortable until I found a position that didn't aggravate the pain...at least a month later.

I didn't run for two weeks due to our trip to Peru and then got sick shortly after we returned...a nasty cough made running impossible until I had completely shaken it.  And I had really been looking forward to getting a performance boost from having spent time approaching 16,000 feet above sea level.  Oh well.

So the trick in 2024 will be to increase pace but not so much that I accelerate injuries.  Increasing my ratio of trail to road runs should help (as will frequenting the track).  Not attempting a marathon training schedule until I'm naturally running faster will likely be the key to success.

Year End Report 2022

In terms of my running routine, this year ends on an unusual note.  I had planned to do my long run today so I could take a break tomorrow, but ended up running it yesterday afternoon.  I rarely run on Fridays.  I can't remember the last time I ran after lunch.  This morning, I proceeded with my usual short run, but as a track workout...without any plan to run on New Year's Day.

If you recall, I completed last year with a personal record in terms of total mileage, so my goal for this year was to work on pace.  I pretty much failed to do this.  This morning's track workout was one of only a few I attempted to do in 2022.  I took a page out of Vic's book and did a mile challenge.  I did it in 7:04... nowhere close to a PR.  In past years, I strived to break the six minute mile barrier...not seven. In some ways, I'm happier I managed a 7:39 during the seventh mile of Friday's eight miler. That said, I'm still considering this a win because very few of my miles this year have been under eight.  

My annual average pace slowed back into the mid-tens (10:29/mile to be specific) after being just under ten in 2021.

About the only goal I successfully hit was running fewer miles...cracking 1,200 with yesterday's run and finishing with just over 1,206.  So what exactly went wrong?

Well, I lost roughly ten weeks of training due to travel, injury, and illness.

I spent much of February traveling in Tanzania and Rwanda...my first trip since the pandemic began, first time my wife and I visited Africa, our first genuine safari, a pandemic deferred 25th anniversary celebration combined with my milestone birthday...a bucket list item boldly checked.  There is really no way to run while staying in safari camps, so I didn't even bother to pack running gear (plus bush flights have significant luggage weight limits and much of my allotment was reserved for camera equipment and batteries)...but we did a bit of hiking (which included mountain gorilla and golden monkey trekking).

I am nearly certain I cracked a rib in a freak non-running accident in April.  The injury sidelined me for six weeks. Around the end of May, shortly after I had resumed running, I caught COVID-19.  By the time I finally shook its lingering cough, my pace had significantly slowed and it took awhile to get back on track. I completely lost track of time and didn't realize I hadn't started on a full marathon training schedule until I couldn't possibly complete it within 2022.  And then, just as I was getting comfortable running longer runs, I got sick again...with a fever....just before Thanksgiving.

ASICS Sizing Confusion 2022

When my wife ordered my first pair of ASICS GEL Kayano 26s in 2020, she ordered my usual size 11 shoe...and I didn't discover the size was off until I tried using them at the beginning of 2021.  What added to my confusion is that most of the industry considers U.S. size 11 the equivalent of a 29cm shoe, but ASICS lists their size 11 as 28.5cm.

So she ordered me another pair of Kayano 26, this time in size 11.5.  We just had to get used to the idea my feet would likely need ASICS shoes a half size bigger than what I usually wear.

Three pairs of Kayano 26s and two pairs of 27s later, my wife confronted more sizing confusion when she tried ordering my next pair from ASICS website.  The size guide link next to the Kayano 27s now suggests size 11 is now the equivalent of 29cm, but the Men's size guide elsewhere on the same website still shows size 11 being equal to 28.5cm.  Which is it?  My current pair of 27s are size 11.5, with 29cm printed as the size equivalent on the tongue.  I could see ASICS changing the size alignment on a new generation of shoe (like I discovered the hard way when I attempted to transition from 25 to 26 wearing the same size), but it would be most unusual to offer the same model in different sizes, don't you think?

Meanwhile, I still have that first pair of Kayano 26s...only used for a single six mile run.

PSA: Don't Use Equestrian Trails

 Every year I forget how torn up the equestrian trails get during the rainy season.  Last week we had a few consecutive days of rain (rare for the Los Angeles area)...Friday being the first dry day.  I just just assumed that five days would be enough time for the wetness to evaporate, but we have also dealt with unusually cold daytime temperatures.  So there are still many muddy patches on our local equestrian trails (the tunnel under Crenshaw Blvd is still flooded!)

But even the dry patches are no fun to run on right now...the ground is really chewed up.  It's not just uneven, but there are some especially large ditches in the downhill stretches, obviously carved by flowing water.  One wrong step and I could easily trip or twist an ankle.

The hard packed dirt trail on the Palos Verdes Drive North median strip is still in pretty good shape...it rarely gets affected by the rain.  That said, this latest storm toppled a tree across the entire median and into another tree, so that trail is currently obstructed.

In other words, I'll run upon roads more than trails for the foreseeable future...

1500 Miles YTD

In 2012, I made sure to run on December 31 so I could push my annual total past 1,400 miles for the very first time.  Since then, I have only exceeded 1,300 miles twice...last year and in early November of this one.  Though I fell short of 2012's total in 2020, I managed to top it before I ran my not-a-race PV Marathon.  I set my new personal best during Thanksgiving week without even noticing.

Just before I finished this morning's run, I surpassed 1,500 miles year to date.  Took me 232 runs and nearly 240.5 hours to accomplish this feat in 2021.  Every step I take in runs between now and New Year's Eve will reset my record.  I have six scheduled runs remaining.

Palos Verdes Marathon(2008's 26.2 Mile Course In 2021)

A big question leading up to this day was would I be able to start by 7:00am as if this were an actual race.  Last night, I didn't exactly place myself on the right path by setting the alarm for 5:30am.  When I ran the Palos Verdes Half Marathon from Point Fermin in 2008, I woke up at 5:30am...and that race started at 7:30am.  For nearly every marathon I have registered, I aimed to arrive at the event an hour ahead of the race, minimally a half an hour before.  For last year's Los Angeles Marathon, I had to catch a shuttle in Santa Monica ridiculously early on the same morning we lost an hour due to time change.  For LA, I spent an entire week shifting my hours earlier and earlier.  I had no need to do that for this run.  In fact, last night was the first night of the week I went to bed at a reasonable hour.

Sure I wake up as soon as the alarm sounds at 5:30am, but I don't exactly rush to get out the door.  I make a Nespresso latte and enjoy it with a Porto's Refugiado while still lying in bed.  If I want to reach Point Fermin by 6:30am, I really should leave the house by 6:00am.  It's already 6:15am.  Should I wear short sleeves or long?  I check the outside thermometer and the forecast for Rancho Palos Verdes.  I'm definitely wearing calf sleeves, but why am I still on the fence about what shirt to wear?  I decide to wear long, grab a sweat jacket for after I finish, and a towel to cover the car seat.

I finally make it out the door after 6:30am.  I should be able to make it to Point Fermin in time, but I am cutting it close.  Thankfully this is not a race day.  I do not anticipate traffic, I should not be competing for parking spaces at this early hour, and I will be able to park just steps from where I plan to start running.  Damn!  I forgot to grab a water bottle I had planned to sip on while driving over!  There is no need to turn back though...I do have my full running bottle with me and a plan to swap for another mid-run.  I think I can safely sip on this one without fear I'll run out.

I stood closer to the middle of Paseo del Mar in 2008 because the road was closed to traffic

I arrive at Point Fermin Park just five minutes before 7am.  It is even cooler here, but there is no fog and the marine layer only appears dense to the west.  I find my way to roughly where I stood in the starting corral for the 2008 half marathon.  Yes, I'm in the middle of the street.  There are no people (and thankfully no cars) around me...I capture the moment with my smartphone, send the photo to my wife and mom along with the message "7am is a go".  With less than two minutes, there is no time to warm up.  Does a warm up even matter?  This is not a race.  The route I will be doing will actually be longer than a marathon due to a necessary detour.  My warm up will be the first few miles of the run.  I watch the seconds count down and...

...I start my Garmin watch at exactly 7:00:01am.   I'm off to the not-a-races!

This may not be a race, but I have photos of
me 14 miles into the run thanks to my wife

Since today's run was not a race, I won't go into details like I would in my typical race report.  However, I did complete this attempt in a manner that is far closer to a race than any of my long training runs with surprisingly few interruptions caused by red lights at intersections.  I rarely had to slowdown for or detour around traffic...vehicular or pedestrian.  Thanks to my Garmin Fenix 5's ability to navigate an upload course, I strayed only once...and it was an insignificant distance.  The only thing I would not have elected to do during an actual race was wait a few minutes for a park employee to open a public restroom (I think my only mid-race bio break was during Surf City in 2011...still my all-time marathon PR).  Thanks to my wife, I was able to stay sufficiently hydrated, exchanging water bottles 14 miles into the run...a handoff as smooth as any relay baton exchange I have made.  I carried exactly the right amount of Clif Shots and Bloks to maintain my energy level throughout.

Comparing my start with the half marathon I raced on nearly the same course over 14 years ago, I actually maintained a faster pace on each of the first six miles today...though it is somewhat unfair to compare the two runs.  In May of 2008, I had not yet run a full marathon (had only begun to train for my first) and it was unseasonably warm.  Though starting that race slower, I was actually running faster than my target pace, especially on the climb up Western, because I anticipated suffering on the back half...whereas today I was just maintaining what felt comfortable.  Another reason I cannot directly compare the two...today's numbers include a necessary detour (around the stretch of Paseo del Mar that collapsed in 2011).  This came after the first mile.  In other words, subsequent mile splits in my GPS track data do not align.

Today, I reached the 13.1 mile mark in 1:57:27 (at 8:58:49a).  If this had been a race, I would have tried to run the first half faster.  I often have half marathon splits of under two hours on longer runs.  Of course most of those are flat or downhill trending...not constantly rolling like this.  It took me 2:16:23 to complete the 2008 PV Half Marathon!

As expected, the back half of this mostly out-and-back course proved a lot more challenging than the front. What were gradual westward descents became painfully long eastward ascents.  Based on my experience from that 2008 half marathon, I knew the climb from the lowest point in Portuguese Bend to the peak in San Pedro would be a grind.  Heat was thankfully not a factor this time, but I was already feeling the elevation change as I left Lunada Bay.  And I ran into a headwind, first around Terranea Resort and again closer to the finish.

PV Marathon Finisher Selfie at Point Fermin Lighthouse

I completed 26.2 miles in 4:15:28 (at 11:17:59a) and crossed the finish line at Point Fermin Park in 4:19:44 (at 11:22:12a).  Even if I include the bio break, I still managed to do the whole 26.59 mile course in 4:22:11.  All of these numbers are better than my chip time in Maui by a considerable amount.  My marathon split was comparable to Los Angeles in 2015.  Of course, I got injured during Maui (which was also my very first marathon) and didn't realize I was sick during the 2015 race...but those courses lack the punishing rolling hills of this one.  The total amount of elevation change in Palos Verdes' full marathon course is nearly double than that of LA's Stadium to the Sea, more than double of Maui's, over six times more than Surf City's nearly sea level course.  I have not raced upon a course that compares, but now have a fairly good idea of what I might be able to do.

Only once before have I run 26.2 miles or more without the incentives of a race...nine years ago I joined former Naughty Dog coworkers in raising money for the 27 Sandy Hook victims.  On that day I hit my marathon split in 4:33 and completed 27.1 miles in 4 hours and 42 minutes almost exactly the same amount of time as my first marathon, but I ran with a pack for the whole distance and took many breaks along the way.  If I just compare moving time, I actually completed that half mile longer run a few minutes faster than today's...upon a nearly flat sea level course.  That said, today's effort (and the training that preceded it) was 100% self-motivated and the hilly run was significantly more challenging.

So was this a race?  At this point does it even matter?  It was only the 11th time I completed the distance...a PR for the course.  My mom pointed out that this is my first marathon win.  Of course, I also finished in last place...

Garmin Data

Marathon Training #11 Complete

I aligned this training schedule as if I were going to run the California International Marathon (a race I have yet to run), but with COVID-19 variants still causing surges around the country, I didn't feel comfortable registering for any race, even though I was fully vaxxed before Mother's Day (and boosted in time for Thanksgiving).  But I also didn't want to break my goal of running a marathon per year so soon after I had successfully resumed running them...nor did I want to waste the solid mileage base I managed to maintain through the pandemic.

Without an actual race as an incentive and with my local track not being available for interval training for most of this schedule, my average pace didn't experience the final boost I usually see when I begin to taper...but I did find the motivation to more than complete my distance goals.  I wasn't sure if I could ramp up my mileage without the dangling carrot, but here I am....ready to run another marathon in 2021.

How I'll actually fare tomorrow remains to be seen. I only recently decided that I am going to attempt to run the Palos Verdes Marathon 26.2 mile course from 2008...and I didn't really train to attack a course consisting of constantly rolling hills.  My only experience starting and finishing at Point Fermin was during my final long run of this cycle and during the PV Half Marathon in 2008.  The latter was only my second half marathon...and it didn't go so well.  Will I treat it as a race? Or will it just be another long run?

Final five weeks of this cycle:

10/31-11/06: 24.05 @ 9:32/mi
11/07-11/13: 45.75 @ 10:06/mi
11/14-11/20: 35.90 @ 9:33/mi
11/21-11/27: 31.14 @ 9:50/mi (my long run and Thanksgiving kinda slowed me down)
11/28-12/04: 21.50 @ 9:22/mi

Final five weeks before the Los Angeles Marathon in 2020:

02/01-02/07: 47 @ 09:34/mi
02/08-02/14: 28 @ 09:55/mi (reduced mileage while on Oahu)
02/15-02/21: 38 @ 09:04/mi
02/22-02/28: 31 @ 08:45/mi
02/29-03/06: 25 @ 08:32/mi

Final four weeks before the Long Beach Marathon in 2019:

09/15-09/21: 23.16 @ 10:11/mi (does not include cycling on 09/15)
09/22-09/28: 53.72 @ 10:04/mi
09/29-10/05: 19.22 @ 09:28/mi (with 5K @ 08:54)
10/06-10/12: 20.28 @ 09:02/mi

Thinking About PV

With "race" day of my current marathon training schedule fast approaching, I have to make a decision as to where I actually want to run 26.2 miles. For some reason, the Palos Verdes Marathon keeps popping into my head.  PV has not hosted a full marathon since 2011. Their course was notorious for its rolling hills, but, when the event was still being held, I was new to running marathons and only considered flat or downhill trending courses.

Before PV dropped their 26.2 mile course, they had the second longest running annual marathon behind only Boston! I actually worked a water station for the PV race when I was in middle school. In those days, I had no idea I would ever consider running even a mile.  Running a marathon didn't even become a bucket list item for me until I completed my first half in 2007. Los Angeles became a bucket list marathon as soon as they announced the "Stadium to the Sea" course. When I completed Long Beach 2009 in well under 4 hours, I added both Boston and PV to my list (only adding the latter because the peninsula is my home). I checked LA off in 2010, but have yet to qualify for Boston. I considered attempting PV in 2012, but PV's organizers changed the course in 2011 (full became two laps of the half marathon course that starts and finishes near Terranea Resort).  Later that same year, a section of the previous course collapsed near Point Fermin, a stretch used both after the start and before the finish...and there were no plans to rebuild.  When the organizers dropped the full altogether in 2012, I figured the box by PV was one I could no longer check.

Since I ran the PV Half Marathon in 2008, I started looking for course maps or GPS data from runners who participated in the full that year. I couldn't find any publicly shared GPS data from runs on that day (other than my half marathon).  For awhile, the only course map I could find online was in an archived local newspaper article about the inaugural PV Marathon in 1967.  That particular point-to-point route would be interesting to try, but would also require permission to cross through the gated community of Rolling Hills.

Today, I finally found it thanks to the Internet Wayback Machine.



My biggest worry about attempting the full PV course as this year's not-a-race marathon is that its considerable elevation change may provide an excuse to just treat this as another long run.  Even during this particular training cycle, I have not had great experiences when longer runs have stayed on the hill.  I favored sticking to the beach for my longest runs to avoid anything that might discourage me from even attempting the goal.




Keep in mind, this will be my first truly solo effort to attempt the distance.  There will be no specators lining the course to cheer me on.  I won't be able to draft behind a competitor or match another's pace or reel in someone who appears to be struggling.  I may have to stop at intersections, yield to traffic both pedestrian and vehicular.  There is no carrot being dangled in front of me to even complete the course...no shirt, no finisher's medal, no post-run snacks.  Hunger will likely remain my biggest motivation...on a non-active day I don't like spacing meals by more than six hours.  I definitely have a five hour threshold for doing outdoor activities without  break.  Thus far, I have run all of my 26+ mile runs in under five...even when injured, sick, or just running for charity.

I won't feel like I have truly checked the PV Marathon off my bucket list unless I actually attempt to run the whole distance and do so within a total time in which I have completed actual races.

So...should I even attempt to run this course?

One Marathon Per Year?

With anti-vax sentiment / vaccine hesitancy far more widespread than I could have ever imagined and with the worldwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccines slower than expected, I simply cannot foresee when I will feel comfortable participating in an organized race.  Major marathons, like Los Angeles' "Stadium to the Sea" course, traverse through diverse population centers supported by both official and unofficial volunteers and spectated by the general public.  Normally these are reasons why people run them, but now I view them as uncontrollable vectors for spreading disease.   I may be fully vaxxed, but feel a breakthrough infection would negate months of erring on the side of caution.  I have done everything that has been recommended to protect myself and slow the spread.  I refuse to register for any races until this situation genuinely improves.

I do not see this happening through the end of 2021.

That said, I want to stick to my goal of running at least one marathon per year.  I worked hard in 2019 to get myself back into shape, not just for Long Beach, but for a better result in Los Angeles in 2020. After meeting both objectives, I did not allow pandemic lockdowns to break my between marathon routine. I ended last year with a near record distance total and have continued to maintain that solid base through now.   It would be shame to waste this investment in time and physical effort without at least attempting to run 26.2 miles before the end of this year.

This morning, I reworked my usual marathon training schedule as if I was ramping up mileage for the California International Marathon in early December.  It is a marathon that has been on my radar for quite some time (many use as a Boston Qualifier), but not one I have ever run.  I do not plan to do so this year either...but figure I could at least learn what the training conditions when targeting a race held that late on the calendar (I've run marathons in early February and mid-November).

For an early December marathon, I will need to break out of the holding pattern in early August.  Distances will increase as temperatures rise.  This may not be ideal, but the longer runs should force me to vary my routine more with routes I have not explored since the pandemic began.  I won't worry about choosing a 26.2 mile course closer to "race" day.

My training schedule has been on a Google Sheet for a few years now (makes it easier to update and track my actual total against my mileage goals), but my latest update to the spreadsheet now automatically populates the calendar dates based on the "race" date I provide...as long as it falls on a Sunday :) 

Running One Year Into A Pandemic

One year ago today, I decided I would continue my between-marathon training schedule despite the emerging threat of COVID-19.  I had only just started working from home that Monday.  The World Health Organization declared we were officially experiencing a pandemic just one week before...which is when my employer decided our team should go remote, erring on the side of caution to remain productive.

Just days before the WHO declaration, I had been thanking the LA Marathon organizers for going ahead with the race I had spent months training for, thanking the people of our city for coming out to support us crazy endurance athletes despite the looming threat of a highly contagious airborne disease.  I did my first recovery run on March 11, the very day it was announced COVID-19 had spread worldwide.

As I said, I resumed my between-marathon training routine with the plan to not ramp up my mileage until a few months before Surf City in 2021.  My second scheduled run was just ahead of Mayor Garcetti's "Safer at Home" order which was the beginning of what would become a nation-wide shutdown of all but essential businesses...the beginning of a two week lockdown.  Fortunately, I had already started working from home, but my wife would soon find herself furloughed.  Now things were starting to feel serious, but I decided to stick to my routine.

One year later, I am still following the same training schedule...and there have been obvious health benefits, both physical and mental.  Routines are important.  Nothing has ever interrupted more routines quite like lockdown, but mine didn't really change all that much.  If anything, I benefited from staying home.  My wife, who found herself forced to abandon her yoga routine, started asking to join me on runs (not to run, but to hike while I run).  Just getting outside on a regular basis does a lot to elevate one's spirit...especially since we now spend most of our days inside our home.  It doesn't hurt that we live on a beautiful peninsula with a spectacular coastline and many trails to explore.

Without any interest in registering for a race (Surf City was postponed) until most including myself can be vaccinated (I likely won't be eligible to receive one for awhile), I have had no reason to focus on speed or increase my mileage.  Doing either have historically increased my chance of injury (as was the case in 2019), so I tend to only push myself harder when I have a compelling reason to do so (like registering for a race).  That said, when I maintain a consistent routine, I naturally get faster.  It just takes a little longer.

As recently as 2019, when I decided to register for the Long Beach Marathon, I needed to significantly ramp up my training since I had just experienced one of my lowest mileage years...among the lowest since I had started running marathons.  I went from being the heaviest I had ever been to the lightest I had been post high school (when I ran cross country and distance track).  I have maintained that low weight throughout the pandemic...which is pretty remarkable considering how well I ate while my wife was furloughed (we definitely began the pandemic with a lot of comfort food and baked goodness).  Heck, I'm probably still eating better than I did when I used to commute...largely because I never go out to eat!

Year End Stats

Given the unexpected turn of events that affected literally everyone's plans this year, I am really surprised I managed to log more miles in 2020 than in any year other than my peak.  I recorded my longest year in 2012 by running a total of 1400 miles...the year after I set my personal best time in the marathon.  In 2012, I felt nearly invincible.  I ran three races which included my half marathon PR, another full marathon, and a 27 miler for charity only a month later.  

This year I ran just one race...the Los Angeles Marathon.  This was pretty much the last major running event held before we all entered lockdown due to COVID19.  I wasn't even sure it was going to happen because event organizers had just canceled the Tokyo Marathon.  For the remainder of the year I elected to follow a between marathon maintenance schedule, some of which was interrupted due to wildfire induced air quality issues...so I was really shocked to see that I still managed to total 1322 miles in 2020.

What may be even more shocking is that in 2018 I recorded the second least number of running miles over a single calendar year (the fewest miles since 2008, the first full year I wore a GPS watch...and the first year I ran a marathon).  When I had my annual physical in early 2018, I recorded my heaviest weight.  That's when I knew I needed to commit to a race...and I signed up for the 2020 LA Marathon on the first day I could do so.

I have my weight under control once again thanks to my running and my running alone...shedding 24 pounds since that physical.  I cannot recall my lowest post-college weight (partly because my physicals often happened after I had gained weight over the holidays), but I am surely near it now.  This comes even though my wife has been cooking and baking like crazy during the pandemic.  I feel like I have been eating better than ever and I certainly have not made any effort to control the quantities I consume, but somehow have found the motivation to keep up my running routine even without any races planned for the foreseeable future.

According to my Strava stats, I achieved this total mileage in 209 runs over 213 hours and 16m minutes...which happens to be 4 fewer runs than my peak year, but an hour and 16 minutes longer.  So I officially spent more time running during 2020 than in any previous year.  I might have expected this in a year where I did not work, but I was one of the fortunate ones who could immediately work from home when "Safer at home" became a thing.  I am still considerably off my peak pace, but I am glad to see that my average is now around 9:43 per mile...I had been averaging considerably slower than 10 minutes per mile over the latter half of the decade.

I gained more feet in elevation in 2020 as well...128,064 vs 126,867 in 2012.  I am guessing this is the result of me limiting my running options to those close to home (one of the *advantages* of living on a hill I suppose).

So my goal for 2021 is to not run more miles, but to work on speed.  It hasn't helped that the local high school's track has been closed for months while the field gets renovated, but there are obviously other ways I can work on speed.  I just have to remember that every time I have focused on speed to watch for warning signs.  Unlike 2019, I managed to survive 2020 without any injuries even though I have upped my mileage and average pace considerably.

Running During the Pandemic

It was a beautiful morning for a run...hopefully we will continue to practice social distancing so we won't need to follow Italy's lead and ban all outdoor activity. It is times like these where I appreciate that, as an introvert, social distancing is a natural inclination and not something that will require me to change my lifestyle significantly.

For me, California's safer at home rule is more like business as usual (I continue to spend long hours seated at a computer)...except that this marks the first time that I have been a full-time employee of a game developer that I have worked from home. At my current employer, I have always had this option, but never bothered to set up my home PC to do so before last Monday (my boss voluntarily imposed a work from home policy ahead of the County and State mandate).  For this past week, running has been the only time I have stepped away from my property. I have a feeling I will value it more the longer we are encouraged to stay home and miss it if a more thorough lockdown goes into effect to slow the spread of Novel Coronavirus.

I have always preferred to run alone. Even when I'm outside for hours pushing the distances and struggling up the final hills, I like the solitude...though I definitely need music to accompany my journey. Sure I have seen benefits of running with friends, work colleagues, and clubs, but, in general, I like not being bound by another's schedule, free to chase my own goals based on how I am feeling at any given moment. Yes, this requires a great deal of self-discipline and self-motivation (being able to eat what I want is powerful motivation), especially in the latter weeks of a marathon training schedule, but, again, this is how I tend to approach everything I do in life. I have never shied away from putting in the really hard effort, but it helps to have goals (hence why I sign up for endurance races) and to understand that putting in the effort directly corresponds to whether or not such goals can be achieved.

Today has some significance since it marks two weeks since I ran the Los Angeles Marathon. As I have not developed any symptoms (other than a cough that could easily be dismissed as seasonal allergies), I can now say I likely did not get exposed to COVID-19 while running from the Stadium to the Sea. I was never really concerned I would contract it from fellow marathoners, especially those who qualified to start from a seeded corral alongside of me. Anyone who has run one of these before and has enough incentive to start from the corrals probably has invested a similar amount of time and effort in their training...and likely spent the month before the marathon consciously avoiding situations that would increase exposure to any illness (I was a little worried about traveling to Oahu during what is normally my peak week of training, but had more reasons to be concerned about a couple of coworkers who came to work sick in the weeks surrounding my trip). No one wants to run a marathon while sick.

That said, I ran Los Angeles in 2015 without realizing I had a fever (just before the race, I had developed a slight headache, my throat was dry, and I had a queasiness in my stomach). I had no reason to believe I was sick because I had no symptoms at any point before then, but was finding it hard to keep running 17 miles into the race. I managed to complete the marathon, but didn't truly understand my compromised physical state until we headed to the car (thankfully, I wasn't driving). We stopped for lunch and I couldn't stomach eating a burger. I got home and continued to feel uncomfortable in the shower. I decided to take my temperature...102...which quickly became 104 by the time I hit the bed. My head was throbbing, so I had a hard time getting comfortable. When I finally fell asleep, I didn't wake up until the next morning...and then I pretty much slept through that day as well. I felt so bad that I nearly swore off running another marathon.

In other words, I probably should have been more concerned when I ran this year's Los Angeles Marathon...considering that most people will not have any reason to believe they have been infected by the Novel Coronavirus until they have already spread it to others. While I am sure everyone who even slightly felt sick stayed home, a marathon is supported by many volunteers who come into close contact with the runners. The official ones wore gloves while handing out water, electrolytes, and Clif shots, but there were others on the course holding bowls with cut fruit, licorice, gummy bears, and other various treats. Had they taken precautions while preparing their handouts? In those cases, a runner would have to reach into their bowls with their bare hands...which had likely been used to consume items or rub sweat from their faces. And what about those handing out the medals after the race?

Two weeks after 2020, I still have my health, so I can safely reflect upon this year's race as nothing but a positive experience. I continue to believe the city made the right choice by letting the event continue, but a lot changed over the week that followed the race. The race would have likely been canceled had it been scheduled on the 15th, definitely so had it been scheduled for today. It is clear the only way to stop it is to take unprecedented measures to keep people from spreading the virus. And if that eventually means no more running outside I may have to rethink my opinion of treadmills.

Recovery Short Orbit

Even though I usually give myself a longer break after a marathon, my body was telling me I was ready...so I ran a short orbit to see how my legs actually felt.  And surprisingly, they felt pretty normal.  If I hadn't started as late as I had, I probably would have attempted a full 6 to 8 mile run.

Sure my right ankle is still bugging me when I walk (as it often does after long runs) and is especially noticeable first thing in the morning, but otherwise I feel surprisingly good and probably could resume my normal maintenance routine tomorrow or Friday.  I'll likely just pick the morning without rain since there's quite a bit of the wet stuff in our forecast.

Los Angeles Marathon 2020

As I suspected, I got a little ahead of myself with the predictions I made in my last blog entry.  While I thought there was a chance I could better times I set back in 2010 and 2013 at this year's LA Marathon, even ideal conditions proved to not be enough for me to even come close to equaling those earlier feats.  I am still very happy with how I ran my race and the experience of running from the Stadium to the Sea has not gotten old, but I was a little surprised that I didn't finish faster.

I would describe the weather as not only ideal, but also unexpectedly postcard perfect.  I made mental photographs as I watched the early morning sun pass behind the fountains of Echo Park, first spotted a practically glowing Hollywood sign (followed soon after by the Griffith Park Observatory) from Sunset Blvd, noticed clouds that looked like Starship Enterprise flying behind buildings in Hollywood, and when I finally saw the finish line framed by palm trees and the rich blue sky.  The crisp morning air was likely as clean as it ever gets in LA (due to overnight rain), clouds were never overhead (the only rain I experienced this morning was brief, during my drive to catch the shuttle from Santa Monica), the breeze was light (though I was very aware of a slight headwind during my San Vicente descent).  The only thing that disturbed this idyllic atmosphere was the presence of numerous homeless encampments...I cannot recall seeing any tents along the course in past years, but there were many throughout and west of downtown.

Normally I would have been upset that the marine layer / morning fog was completely non-existent, but, due to the early start, much of the course remained in shadow and heat was never a factor even when running in direct sunlight (I am pretty sure I finished the race before the temperature hit 60).    The temperature range nearly matched what I enjoyed under overcast skies in 2013.

 And I was feeling as good as ever from the moment I woke up and through most of the race.  So why did I not finish faster?

I only started to really feel the miles as the course stayed on Sepulveda a bit longer than on previous races, turning on Wilshire to get around the VA Hospital rather than cutting directly through it on Dowden Drive and through the Veterans Park.  Either way the 21st and 22nd miles continue to be the wall of the LA Marathon...the last significant incline in the race...and its effect lingers until I reach the downhill section after the mile 23 marker (around the intersection of San Vicente and 26th Street).  I was affected a bit more this year by it, but I probably would have slowed down just as much even if the course had not changed.  As is often the case on longer runs, my right ankle started to feel raw...and my right nipple was screaming for vaseline, partly because the right pin from my bib would make contact from time to time.

Perhaps my Garmin Fenix 5 led me to believe I was running faster than I actually was...because my watch displayed a faster pace based on distances I was hitting well ahead of each mile marker.  According to my GPS data, I traversed 26.2 miles in 3:42:00...which would have made this my 3rd fastest marathon...but I still had nearly a half mile to go.  When I crossed the finish line, my watch data suggests I ran 26.6 miles at an average of 8:29 per mile.  At that pace, I would have finished 26.2 miles in 3:42:16...which would still been my 3rd fastest marathon.  Note that my Garmin data from 2013 indicated I traversed 26.4 miles from start to finish, but my training analysis of the race was based on the official average of 8:31 per mile and not my Garmin data from that race (which would have implied I needed to beat 8:28 per mile).  In other words, I may have better prepared myself if I just looked at my Garmin data (though 2013's would have been based on a different watch).

Comparing my official 10K splits shows just how close my 2013 and 2020 races actually were, but I was never once ahead of my splits from that earlier race:

Splits:	2020	2013	2010
5Km: 10Km: 15Km: 20Km: 25Km: 30Km: 35Km: 40Km: FINISH:	00:24:37 (7:55/mi) 00:50:11 (8:05/mi) 01:15:23 (8:05/mi) 01:40:57 (8:07/mi) 02:07:15 (8:11/mi) 02:35:48 (8:21/mi) 03:05:50 (8:33/mi) 03:35:12 (8:39/mi) 03:46:23 (8:19/mi)	00:49:00 (7:53/mi) 01:39:40 (8:09/mi) 02:35:11 (8:56/mi) 03:32:27 (9:13/mi) 03:43:30 (8:13/mi)	00:24:20 00:49:39 01:14:01 01:39:14 02:05:06 02:32:31 03:01:32 03:28:36 03:39:31
Avg race pace:	8:38/mi	8:31/mi	8:22.5/mi

1,979 / 21,879 overall finishers
1,690 / 12,871 male finishers
154 / 1257 male finishers age 45-49

Garmin Data

Strava Data

My Photos



Even though I thought my push from the 40K timing mat to the finish was faster than 2013, I ended up being 8 seconds slower.  That said, I did set a PR for the final 0.7 mile stretch.  A strong finish is always something to be proud of, and, at the very end, this was the strongest of the four times I have completed this marathon.

I may have finished nearly 3 minutes later than I did in 2013 and only recorded my 6th best marathon result (out of 10 if I include the 27 Miles for 27 Victims charity run I did in 2012), but I'm still quite happy.  I still improved 7 minutes from last year's Long Beach Marathon (my average pace never fell below 10 minutes per mile).   If I directly compare GPS data from all of my previous LA Marathons, I recorded 2nd bests over several segments and actually set two PRs.  By data, I only fell short of my 2013 time by one second per mile.

An amusing footnote:  I spent a good amount of time running behind a guy dressed like a bright orange traffic cone.  I passed him before I finished, but found a pic of him courtesy of the Daily Breeze.  I looked up his bib (#2633) to see his result.  He actually crossed the start line 5 minutes after me, but his chip time indicates he was nearly a minute faster!  You can see how close we were by comparing our clock times using the searchable results at each split.  I was a minute ahead of him at 20K, he passed me before 25K and increased his lead to over 30 seconds by 35K, but then I passed him for good before crossing the mat at 40K.

One more thing...I really want to thank the people of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica for not letting the current health scare deter them from volunteering or otherwise coming out in large numbers to support those of us crazy enough to run these long races. Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world especially during the tough latter miles. I would like to give an extra shout out to Ryan VanMeter who rode his bike to intercept me multiple times while I climbed toward the peak on San Vicente.  This definitely motivated me to pick up the pace just when I needed encouragement most.

Marathon Training #10 Complete

That's right, nearly ten years after my first Los Angeles Marathon, I have completed my tenth marathon training schedule...and despite concerns of the Coronavirus outbreak and a slight chance of rain in the morning, all signs are looking positive for race day.

This is one of the few training schedules I actually exceeded my scheduled total mileage (104%), partly because I intentionally started my whole schedule one week early.  I did so because I wanted to insert a light week while I vacationed on the island of Oahu...a week which just happened to coincide with my usually scheduled peak distance week (and I didn't want to spend the bulk of my stay in paradise running and sleeping).  That's not to say I didn't miss an occasional run or two or swap days due to weather or a race...I just managed to make up for skipped mileage on other days.   More importantly, I stayed healthy and injury-free throughout this 16 week schedule, 19 weeks counting from when I completed the Long Beach Marathon.

While I would usually look to the data I have gathered over the last four weeks of training to help me determine my marathon pace, I realize I probably should swap the runs I did five weeks ago (which, due to the aforementioned trip, was my peak week) with my week in Hawaii as my pace from my time on the islands shows I may have spent a little too much time playing tourist (I did take a lot of photos while running since I started those runs before sunrise).  That said, my average pace over the past four weeks was 9:03/mile...considerably faster than the 9:50/mile I logged before Long Beach and still better than the 9:11/mile I logged before running Los Angeles in 2013.  I completed these races averaging 8:58/mile and 8:31/mile respectively...which suggests I should be able to achieve my targeted goal of finishing within the 3:40s.

Things get more interesting when I swap the peak week with runs I did on island time.  Initially I would have assumed that the peak distance (in this case, 24.33 miles) and the additional mid-week run (an 8 miler) would have slowed my average pace...but they did not.  While I ran at sea-level on Oahu, I did not shy away from hills during my peak week...and even that did not slow my pace.  My four week average after the swap is 9:00.8/mile.  Completing my next marathon sub 4 is practically guaranteed.

Additionally, Sunday's forecast is cool and partly cloudy (low 50's at the start with a slight chance of rain, a daytime high not expected to exceed the low 60's in Santa Monica).  These optimal conditions suggest I should really go for it...a time in the low 3:40s is not unrealistic.  As I have proven a few times before, I can easily shave 40 seconds per mile from the pace I set during my final four weeks of training.  If I can manage 8:20/mile, I may even have a shot at my Stadium to the Sea PR.

Ok...perhaps I'm getting a bit too optimistic.  I am concerned I may have peaked a week early.  Additionally, I set my Stadium to the Sea PR ten years ago...a time when my average training pace was significantly faster and practically the same as my race pace.  And above all of that, I still have to wake up by 3:30am on race day...the day we change our clocks for Daylight Savings Time!

I spent this week successfully shifting my metabolism to East Coast time so that on Sunday I will only need to wake up an hour earlier than my current norm...which shouldn't be too hard, right?  I want to give a shout out to playing GT Sport first thing when I wake up.  Usually I would log my daily "driving marathon" (yes, the game offers a daily reward for those who drive at least 26.2 miles) as the last thing I do before going to sleep, but doing it first thing in the morning has the benefit of increasing my focus and pumping me full of adrenaline.  When combined with coffee, I am up up up...

Final five weeks of this cycle:
02/01-02/07: 47 @ 09:34/mi
02/08-02/14: 28 @ 09:55/mi (reduced mileage while on Oahu)
02/15-02/21: 38 @ 09:04/mi
02/22-02/28: 31 @ 08:45/mi
02/29-03/06: 25 @ 08:32/mi
Average pace over last 12 months: 9:47/mi
Average pace over last 6 months: 9:23/mi
Average pace for last four weeks: 9:03/mi
Last four on mainland (include peak week): 9:00/mi

Reposting for reference:

Final four weeks before Long Beach Marathon in 2019:
09/15-09/21: 23.16 @ 10:11/mi (does not include cycling on 09/15)
09/22-09/28: 53.72 @ 10:04/mi
09/29-10/05: 19.22 @ 09:28/mi (with 5K @ 08:54)
10/06-10/12: 20.28 @ 09:02/mi
Annual average pace over previous 12 months: 10:19/mi
Average pace for month: 9:50/mi
Average race pace: 8:58/mi

Month before the Los Angeles Marathon in 2013:
02/17-02/23: 37.74 @ 9:29/mi
02/24-03/02: 37.17 @ 8:58/mi
03/03-03/09: 30.19 @ 9:17/mi
03/10-03/16: 20.41 @ 8:53/mi
Annual average pace for 2013 YTD: 9:14/mi
Average training pace for month: 9:11/mi
Average race pace: 8:31/mi

Month before the Los Angeles Marathon in 2010:
02/21-02/27: 45.41 @ 8:47/mi
02/28-03/06: 36.16 @ 8:23/mi
03/07-03/13: 30.11 @ 8:08/mi
03/14-03/20: 20.17 @ 7:59/mi
Annual average pace for 2010: 8:29/mi
Average pace for month: 8:24/mi
Average race pace: 8:22/mi (Stadium to the Sea PR)

Two Weeks To Go

Two weeks before the LA Marathon, I would love to say I am feeling confident about my upcoming race. As this will be my fifth time starting the Stadium to the Sea course, I know what to expect more than any other marathon.  I have already put in all of the hard work while remaining healthy and, unlike my training for Long Beach, have somehow managed to stay injury free.  I will even end up exceeding my mileage total because I started my training schedule a week early to shift my peak distance one week ahead of a week-long trip to Oahu (I still ran, just not nearly as much).

So why am I not confident?  Because I'm terrified I won't be able to wake up!

This is the first time race day coincides with the change to Daylight Savings Time.  In other words, I will lose an hour on the a morning where I will have to wake up earlier than normal.  If you've read my previous race reports, you may have noticed I often mention being anxious the night before a race, challenges falling to sleep, and concerns about being able to wake up early.  By my nature, I am not a morning person even though running has forced me to become more so (I prefer running in the morning before it gets hot).  I hate waking up when it is still dark.  

In order to give myself enough time to sip coffee and enjoy a light breakfast before driving to catch a 5am shuttle bus from Santa Monica, I will need to wake up around 3:30am (2:30am under Standard Time).  Since I just got back from Hawaii, I have two additional hours to make up (which is not as bad as it sounds as I managed to mostly wake up on West Coast time for most of the days we were there).  So I have already begun to shift my hours towards East Coast time.  It hasn't been easy. My wife just got back from a week long trip to New York and even she hasn't been able to wake up at the same time as me.  I experience time shifts like being on a pendulum.  One morning I wake up early, but then can't fall asleep early...so I wake up later on the next.   To smooth the transition, I cannot simply shift my sleep schedule, but my eating schedule as well.

By next week I hope to be regularly waking up at 3:30am on DST, so I only have to wake up an hour early on race day.  Crossing fingers I can get there.

Year End Report

Well, I finished the year with 1,151 running miles...the most I've run since 2015 (which makes sense given that I ran a marathon and was training for another during that year...just like I am now).  I fell only 19 miles short of that total, miles I would have run had I not gotten injured.  After sequential years of slowing, I have also seen an uptick in my annual average pace...back under 10 minutes per mile for the first time since 2015 (again this makes total sense), but ever so slightly faster (closer to my average back in 2013).

It remains to be seen if I can bring my annual average pace back under 9 minutes per mile as was the case during my peak marathon running years, but I suspect I will not be able to reset my PR unless I do.  In other words, I must focus on improving my pace over the coming year so that I am ready for another attempt at Surf City in 2021...