Doggie Dash - Splash and Dash
You gotta watch this video.
Once they lined up, I knew I had recorded gold. This was a great way to wrap up our 5k day.
Please share this video with others and spread the SoCalRunning.com word. Thanks!
Dog Focused, Steve Mackel - Animal Trainer
Catalina Marathon Race Report …Part 3
This was my third time doing the Catalina Marathon.
What began as a dream a long distant goal of an island sitting out in the Pacific Ocean free from the cars, trucks, exhausts, freeways, and dirty green water of the Los Angeles. It seemed like an escape a place to get away from Los Angeles for me and my family.
My family has always had a close affinity with the Island. I have always had an affinity for islands.
My father in his twenties already tired of the rainy English weather left that Island for a sunny Island in the Bahamas when he was still in his twenties.
He arrived in tropical paradise with only $50 in his pocket, my mom, and three young kids, myself at six, and my younger brothers Jason, four, and Karl, two.
Pursuing a dream of a better life somewhere. From where these CALLINGS from is so hard to say…but I can only envision my father sitting at work or in his house looking out at the crummy English weather and dreaming of something better.
Most of his family ridiculed his decision. “You’re bloody crazy for going to a little island with three young kids”. “You’ll be back in a year”. “You’re denying your kids of proper childhood”.
But these are all trappings that you must learn to overcome when going for some rediculous goal.
I like to call it the CRABS IN A BUCKET SYNDROME. Put a bunch of crabs in a bucket, as one climbs out, others will try to pull him down.
Ever felt like that with your fitness goals? Like as soon as you say it…someone shoots it down. Your vision of running a marathon. Or running a half marathon. Or a triathlon. Or maybe even the Catalina Marathon. When you thought the idea…felt the calling…do the people in your life say “yes you can do it” or do they start finding reasons for you to fail…maybe that voice that shoots down your dreams is in your own head.
In two weeks, I will be interviewing someone on the phone, Greg Norte a peak performance Coach who will talk in detail about LEAVING THESE CRABS behind. That’s a call you don’t want to miss.
So let’s back to the story.
My father did well in the Bahamas. We lived there for six years. I grew up on a Caribbean Island. White sand beaches. Snorkeling. Waterskiing. Great friends.
A childhood a could not have asked for any better. My younger brother Jason was my playmate much of that time. We’d climb trees together…play catch for hours…kick soccer balls…ride bikes…it was amazing…and I still consider him my best friend.
At twelve my father moved to Southern California where we’ve grown up since. We moved to Palos Verdes.
So after moving here, my father always a lover of boats, has bought a series of bigger boats until he got boats big enough to do…you guessed it…go to Catalina Island. I’ve been over there numerous times with him on his boats. Fishing. Snorkeling. Sitting drinking tea. Eating fish and chips. Something about the island…the small town of Avalon…the clear water…the smell of the ocean all reminders of who and what my family is…and what’s important for us.
Like a trip to an Island away from all the bussle of our lives. Enjoying one another’s company…out in nature…well maybe there’s nothing better in this life.
Maybe it comes a little close to what we’d like to call heaven.
Writing this out now…so much more becomes clear to me about who and what I am and why I pushed cajoled so many runners to go to Catalina and run the marathon.
As I write this…I see now how this is so much more than just Steve and I wanting runners to go do a hard race. We’re not nuts. There is always a purpose behind what we do with the people we coach.
But now as I write this…as I reflect back on this journey…its clear that there was a deeper purpose behind this crew of people we’ve been building. A purpose to the miles on wet muddy trails. A purpose to the cold morning runs. A purpose to Monkey Hill, Del Cerro, the Bataan Death March, hill intervals, the grueling Buffalo Run.
So like I’ve written before there was a lot of special meaning to this Catalina Marathon as it was my younger brother Jason’s first marathon.
He ran with the Beach Runners a few times. Fast runner…very nimble trail runner. This was his first time with the unique training requirements of the marathon.
The Weekend…the finale…the FINAL BATTLE.
Steve and I arrived in Catalina Friday. Checked into 319 Catalina Ave, and then went to lunch with my parents for guess what?…Fish and chips.
So we sat with a view of the ocean…talking running…talking marathon…speaking to my brother and his daughter, Kelsea (my niece), excited…just glad to be away…away from LA for the day…the weather was fantastic. I bet a lollipop to Kelsea I would beat her Dad. A marathon is one race I would have a chance.
On the boardwalk of Catalina beachfront other Beach Runners began arriving…Uncle Sam, Sara, Sandy, Jake, Gwendolyn, Alex, Yolanda.
I cannot tell you much this is special for me. It’s beyond words. The feeling of being part of a team about to do a REDICULOUS GOAL like the Catalina Marathon. It is a damn hard race as the team would attest to but its like I just want to yell out loud like the Obama cheer, “YES WE CAN!”.
We all checked in. Had to walk up some crazy big hill for registration. Saw more Beach Runners…Mina, Doug, John, Bill, Keith, Pamela, Andrea.
Steve and I began meeting a bunch of oldtimers of the Catalina Marathon. Runners are religious about this marathon. It’s like a pilgrimage…a trip to a sacred foreign country…a place where you see the fellow people on your journeys.
The night before Matt and I cooked up a damn fine meal. I meditated and visualized the race ahead the next day. We had Beach Runners come by the place for last minute coaching…it was going to be GOOOOOOD.
The next morning we took a very rough boat ride at 5 a.m over to Two Harbors. A lot o f people got sick.
Then we all met up at the starting line. Like 20 Beach Runners…by far we had the biggest team there. The starting line…I kid you not…was drawn in the dirt. We waited for a little while then we were off.
My plan…well you know how those things go…was to run with Matt and Jason for while…well I think their plan was maybe to keep up with me. It’s so funny that other people see me as fast…if you guys only knew where I came from 5 years ago. Another story.
I ran with Jason for about two miles. Up the first set of hills. I really love my brother. He was always the athlete in the family…star soccer player…good at everything … now he’s a really fast runner. Even on trails. So we ran together checking out the awesome views then after the first little downhill I looked back and he was getting into his pace…I was finding mine. And I was off.
I don’t understand Beach Runners who run with other people on races. It is strange to me. I find a pace that’s good for me on that course on that day with how I’m feeling with my goals in mind…and damn if I’m going to wait for your ass.
A RACE IS A RACE. Some of y’all got to get this into your heads a little better. A RACE is not a training run where you kick back and talk about the crumpets and tea you’re going to have at the finish line.
It’s a chance to spill your guts out on a course against people that have been training for months just like you have. A chance to run until you’re damn tired then you gotta run for many more miles.
A chance to GET ON THE PODIUM. Any which way you can.
So leaving my brother behind, I was off. The first six miles for me were frisky to say the least. A big long downhill took us down to Little Harbor and a series of big hills began.
I did notice I was getting a little tired by this point. Not good. My fear was that doing th e LA Marathon a few weeks earlier would effect me. This was turning out to be the case. Screw it…I was still going to run hard.
I passed mile 13 at 1:53. About five minutes faster than last year. Pretty good. Then a long straight section goes through the middle of the island. I got into a groove here and just plugged away. In retrospect I felt good here…but people were certainly beginning to pass me. With some fatigue starting to show in my legs…I kept just one thought going through my mind…just do each mile better than the mile before…just do each mile better than the one before. GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT.
I had to walk up the first third of nasty Pumphouse hill at mile 18. But I always feel guilty walking hills on a race, so I finished it up running. At the top of the hill my legs cramped up for a few minutes. Strange. I had been taking lots of electrolytes the whole race.
The rest of the race I was tired. I have to admit. A few reasons for this: the traveling to Orlando/San Francisco with lots of luxurious foods, the dropoff in training after Buffalo, not enough sleep in the nights leading up to the race, and running LA two weeks before. The last few hills were tough. I was beat ass tired. But hanging in there. Plugging away. Not giving up. No way was I going to give in to this course to my competitors no way!!!!
Then the downhill came and I was much slower than I usually am on the downhills… but still doing 6:30 miles. I got on the road and decided I was going to go all out for the finish line…the last five miles had been a trudge…and I wanted to go under four hours. So I gave it my all. Passed about three people. Everyone is sooooo fast at this pace.
Saw the finish line and cranked it. My parents cheered me on. My niece cheered me on. Bernice and Noretta cheered me on higher up on the road. I was going to leave nothing out there on that course.
My time…3:59:55. Whew. That cut it a little close.
Matt came in eight minutes later. Then Laurie with a smoking 4:09 (she should have won a podium spot but they got the paperwork wrong…more on that later).
Then we waited. My niece was getting anxious but finally Jason came down the road to an awesome time of 4:25 for his first marathon.
The rest of the Beach Runners came in. Some did better than expected. Some a little slower but all of that is irrelevant. Everyone just loved the course.
There were wildflowers everywhere. The air was clean and crisp. A tail wind helped us through the middle of the island. The views were magnificent. The food was tasty on the course.
The course is tough…it’s challenging…for most of us…it’s the hardest thing you might ever do athletically…but EVERYONE of our runners finished.
I cannot even begin to put into words how proud I am of everyone of you.
That you all choose to not just do a marathon but a damn hard one because you knew that through these kinds of challenges it makes you grow into a stronger more determined person than you are already.
And that you know how beautiful that Island is. Especially this year…especially with all the wildflowers that were out there.
Your friendships mean the world to me. All the days on the trails of Palos Verdes…talking about our lives…our dreams…the flowers…the mustard…how to run uphills and downhills…getting lost…getting our asses kicked by Monkey Hill.
I loved every single moment of the whole journey. And I’m bummed it’s over already.
So that night we had a party at 319 Catalina Ave. We gave speeches. Mine was on my real goal…no it wasn’t about going under four hours. Or winning the American Trail Championship for my age group (which I did but paperwork, again, not correct).
The real goal was to be like the old timers we met over there. The ones walking around with bars showing 20, 26, 27 marathons done year after year on that island. Because its a chance to go to a beautiful place with good friends, do a hard race, and celebrate.
A real pilgrimage. Like I told everyone that night. You will see me in Catalina every year doing those two races. I’ll add in the fifty miler this January (my new goal). But no big copywriting jobs, no chasing the almighty dollar, no luxurious hotels, can even begin to compare to the joy and the pride I felt watching all of you come to that finish line.
I look forward to training you all again next year. On the trails.
We finished the evening off similar to the way we did last year. Matt, Jason, Sandy, Anna, John, his girlfriend, and Uncle Sam, well we went to the Karoake bar. The Chi Chi bar was closed…the girls wanted to dance…and Uncle Sam being the gentleman he is showed us all a bunch a nifty dance moves.
Thanks to all the great mentors that helped out in Palos Verdes this season…Uncle Sam…Keith…Matt…Janet…George…LaTonya…John. You folks were the real reason behind the program’s success. You all are the most amazing people.
If I’ve forgotten anyone please excuse my A.D.D.
2008 Catalina Marathon Runumentry Part 1
Friends,
I still have no clue if it will be a two or three part Runumentry. I just wanted to get something up ASAP. The sub-plot is about a first time marathoner and Beach Runners, Christy, running this fantastic marathon. She is also running to win the American Trail Championship, in her Age Group, which is the lowest combined time of the Catalina Buffalo Run half marathon and the Catalina marathon.
I met some great people and some footage I had hoped would make the movie wound up MIA. If that was you, I am very sorry. This movie provides a great look at the course, the wonderfully kind participants, volunteers and staff.
Watch Focused, Steve Mackel - Catalina Marathon Videographer
Gary’s Buffalo Run Race Report 2008
Interestingly enough, I was speaking to someone the other day about this race and said that it felt weird…because I did not have a lot to say.
Certainly I have never been at a loss for words but after this race I was. It’s taken me a week to get some perspective on this.
Let’s go back a year.
I had just got back from four weeks of heavy partying in Thailand/Cambodia. On two nights rest, and while still jet lagged I went out and ran this race last year.
First five miles were tough trying to keep up with Steve but I did, and was able to take advantage of four miles of downhill to finish with a decent time of 1:57.
A year later I chose to not travel anywhere this January, to focus on my copywriting (I am trying to switch careers).
But more importantly, I wanted to stick around here to train myself and others for the American Trail Championship…the Buffalo Run and the Catalina Marathon.
Beach Runners began training in November. We have done hills, hills, and more hills every Saturday up in Palos Verdes.
And to be honest with you, it hasn’t been for everyone because running so many hills is not for everybody.
It’s tough on the body. The heart beats at high rates. You can’t keep any kind of pace. And the knees get sore from many downhills.
We had days of mismarked trails, mudbaths, freezing cold mornings, and small turnouts throughout the holidays.
But despite all the challenges a core group of runners kept on showing up on Saturdays.
A different type of runner. Runners that liked the challenge of a Monkey Hill. Or the uselessness of pacing a mile. A runner that liked scraping mud off their shoes. And believed that a panaramic view of the Pacific Ocean is so much better appreciated after climbing for three hard miles.
Meanwhile somethings were stirring in me athletically. I was quite competitive when younger having two very athletic younger brothers. But I was the non-athlete of the family. The book worm…the writer…and during college…the championship speaker and debater. Meanwhile my younger brothers were winning many soccer tournaments.
I ran here and there and loved to play racquetball but that was about it athletically.
But the fire was always in me. Steve Mackel began stirring it up with all his exploits up Mt. Baldy. And last summer I tried beating him up that mountain to no avail but I did train. And my Catalina Marathon last year was fast…sub four hours…which got me thinking by the end of the year…
Could I be a competitive trail runner? I mean I have the downhill speed for it. I have trails in my back yard. So the ingredients were there…but I needed to get much faster on my uphills and get better race endurance. Could a non athlete like me get competitive at the age of 39? What would it take?
And like all great questions…the answer became the journey. I made the DECISION TO COMPETE at the Buffalo Run and Catalina Marathon.
Now a decision like this has some ramifications. And I think many Beach Runners need to take heed of this…competing means some ass kicking hard work in training. No longer would a long run on a Saturday suffice for the heart of the training. No, I needed INTERVALS AND TEMPO RUNS. And hard ones during the week.
So back in December I began doing hard runs in the week. I trained with three partners…Anna, Matt (jackass), and later on, Jake. And lots of solo hard runs. But bottom line…I did ONE HARD RUN a week. And according to Tim VanOrden, a very competitive runner I interviewed last year, that is sufficient for most runners in training. Of course I still did a long run, and one other run. And hard hard power yoga. Also I ate a lot of carbs, drank green juices, drank 0 alcohol, and paid way too much money for body work to get my muscles relaxed.
So I came into this race trained. I was. I expected a good result. How well I would do, who knows? I mean it’s funny all the talk runners do about their expectations for race day…when there are a million factors at play that can influence your performance…weather, mindset, level of competition, injuries, etc.
So I’m learning to keep my expectations more to myself. I get a little quiet race day. Way more serious. I get a “game face”.
I did have a strategy. I would be the first Beach Runner to the top of the first five mile hill. That meant staying ahead of Matt and Steve. Matt is getting faster and faster but ran a marathon the week before at Surf City so I figuered I’d be fresher. Steve I just hadn’t seen much on Saturdays so I figuered I just might have him on the uphill.
Bizarre thing was because I was attacking this first hill, not that many runners were ahead of me. In fact, not many runners at all were ahead of me. If I could just hang in there…
At the end of a vicious first five miles that were all uphill, I had them both. Yet they were both within fifty yards of me. This was my strategy. Crank the uphills all out and then use my skills downhill to recover then lengthen the lead. It worked like a charm.
I did the last four miles smoking fast…and finished with a 1:53 which was only four minutes faster than last year…but all the garmin geeks told me the course was .5 miles too long…so maybe my time was more like a 1:48 in relative terms. All the interval and tempo training runs paid off as I did not bonk out at all and could recover midrace on the downhills.
Then I waited around and watched runner after runner come in…Steve who told me Matt had collapsed due to dehydration trying to keep up with me after doing a marathon the week before…Duncan…Jake…Laurie…Beach runner after Beach runner. The finish line is very intimate in Catalina. Its fun. And the runners were so exasperated from the tough course and the searing heat for a February.
It turns out Matt was okay. Then my hero, Barb, with her partner Cissy, came in like six hours later. The biggest warriors of the day in my opinion. Because Barb didn’t let the toughness of this race intimidate her, just like Baldy last year, she gave it a shot. I mean what’s the worse that could happen? You might finish last? Who cares. Just finish!
The awards ceremony was like something from my championship debate squads. Beach Runners took home EIGHT MEDALS (top three finishes in their age groups). It was soooo fun cheering on team member after team who went up there. Many of our runners like Jake, Uncle Sam, and Janet finished fourth in their age group. Which means we were real close to finishing with 50% podium finishes.
Other runners like Sandy and John had their own personal victories on the course.
I began to see something emerge that ceremony…a competitive trail running team. And it excites me to push this team even harder in the upcoming years.
How did I do?
I finished 12th overall. 1st in my age group 35-39. This was my first FIRST PLACE finish in anything athletically, EVER! The hard work paid off. If there is one thing I learned from this experience, it is you must PUSH YOURSELF IN THE WEEK if you want to get faster. Ask Steve and I how you should do this and we’ll guide you as coaches.
And coming back sitting on the back of the boat, getting to know Nikki who just ran her first trail race, sharing our experiences, looking at the ocean, at the rest of my team, fingering my medal, everything seemed so very…well…perfect.
See you at the Catalina Marathon.
Rebel Runners Long Beach Marathon Race Report
Long Beach Marathon, 10/14/2007: And so ended another chapter in the epic history of the Beach Runners, associated with socalrunning.com, aka “SoCal’s Funnest Running Group.” So many Beach Runners (“BRs”), so many stories, so many outstanding experiences, and so many personal records (“PRs”).This report is not about PRs, and not about typical BRs. We are the Rebel Runners (or “RRs”).
To assist in this story, here are a couple of RR concepts—or really, fictional characters—who played a big part in RR amusement during our training season.There are “Bad Idea Bears,” derived from the Broadway musical “Avenue Q.”Bad ideas for training are, for example, going out drinking the night before a long Saturday run, missing scheduled runs, or focusing on things like weddings instead of form while running.Bad ideas sound, well, bad.But Bad Idea Bears sound really cute, cuddly, and socially acceptable.That’s why the RRs like the term Bad Idea Bear.
Bad Idea Bears—Aren’t they cute?
And (surprise!) there is the “Good Idea Bear.” Avenue Q doesn’t feature such a creature. After all, Avenue Q is a comedy, and good ideas are not nearly as funny as bad ideas. So the RRs just made this bear up.
The RRs stuck together throughout the training season, sometimes rebelling from the BRs. Like when we decided to make up our own RR course on Saturdays. I guess that course was a Bad Idea Bear, in the sense that we didn’t get to meet as many BRs as we might have. But it kept us particularly motivated to run (especially seeing the numerous jellyfish floating in the Marina Pacifica residential area). So, on the whole, the RRs thought that course was a Good Idea Bear. (See “A Different Sort of Run Report,” posted earlier on socalrunning.ning.com.)
The RRs also had a lot of distractions this season. Especially weddings. Lani got married to John (not me, but some other guy named John) in August. Kristin will marry Wade in February 2008, and Mina and Doug marry each other in May 2008. I can say from personal experience (married to Laura—not BR Laura, but another gal named Laura) that getting married is definitely a Good Idea Bear. But wedding planning is certainly a Bad Idea Bear when concurrent with marathon training. Especially for the women. I can’t say how many times the female RRs started going too fast in training while talking excitedly about wedding planning.Thus, the RRs did not feel particularly prepared for the LB marathon. Thus, we set our race goals as: (1) finishing, and (2) no barfing. We thought pacing ourselves at a 11:00/mile pace would do that trick. (And, that’s one great sign of an RR. Coach Gary complains that he “bonked” when he was running 10:00/min miles. RRs, in contrast, think it’s better to run “bonked” for the whole marathon.)Shortly after we started, some of the RRs soon started rebelling from the RRs.After about 4 miles, BR Jim (aka Uncle Sam) passed us up with a group of other BRs who were doing about 10:30s. Right at that point RRs Mina and Doug decided to take off with them, leaving the other RRs behind. For awhile, we kept the rebelling RRs in sight, but around mile 14 they were nowhere to be found. Also, around this time, RR Randy fell back a bit.
“
Kristin, you’re too slow. Mina and I are going to speed up!” “Okay Doug, but remember—NO BARFING!”
Thus, RRs Kristin, Lani and me were alone when we approached Studebaker Road, around mile 18. Ugh. That part of the race is the bleakest, ugliest, and (with the bridge over 7th Street) the hilliest section. The RRs were dreading this part of the course the most. I guess the advance dreading was definitely a Bad Idea Bear, because that’s where we started bonking and walking. (I’m sure Coach Gary would’ve advised us that we should’ve been chanting “Studebaker Road is our friend.”)
The week before the race, Lani had a Good Idea Bear regarding this part of the course: tell a story to help keep our minds off the dreariest part of the race. So Kristin came up with hers, about the time she ran the Honolulu Marathon under trying circumstances. I told my story about how I shouldn’t be running marathons post-knee surgery and post-orthodics, but ChiRunning® keeps me going.Then, Lani decided story-telling was a Bad Idea Bear and she refused to tell hers. That was an admirable rebel trick for an RR.
As we passed to the north of LB State, I was looking for some inspiration to get through the run. I then spotted people passing out FREE BEER!! How ironic: much earlier in the run I was telling the RRs that it would be a Good Idea Bear if on one of my training runs, I filled one of my Fuel Belt® bottles with beer. I could then swill it down after, say, 3 hours, and see how my body responded. That way, I’d know if I could drink a beer during an actual marathon.So, here was my chance to test the theory, but during the run instead. I knew what Coaches Steve and Gary would say: if you haven’t tried something in training, then DON’T DO IT DURING THE RUN!!! Thus, the thought of drinking beer now was definitely a Bad Idea Bear.Since I am an RR, I had to drink some. Mmmm, beer….Meanwhile, Mina and Doug’s decision to run ahead of the other RRs was definitely a Good Idea Bear—they
finished ahead of us.
“Mina, I don’t believe in ‘ladies first,’ okay?” “Aw, Doug, you’re so romantic.”
I know what the BR coaches are thinking right now: Mina and Doug’s decision to do all that trail running for the March 2007 Catalina Marathon and the September 2007 Mount Baldy run paid off for them; that’s why they ran faster. Sorry guys. The official RR position is that trail running is a Bad Idea Bear. There’s a possible exception when the RRs need beautiful scenery in the mountains for purposes of getting engaged, which is what Mina and Doug did in March.At around mile 22, I felt like I had more energy than my RR buddies, and I sped along. I walked through the rest of the water stations, but otherwise kept up the pace, and I actually ran the last mile in about 9 minutes. (I’m guessing, because I had another Bad Idea Bear that day: I forgot my Garmin.) am certain that I finished ahead of Lani and Kristin because of the Good Idea Beer.
“Woo, a strong finish—must be the beer!”
After the run, I headed off to the BR tent where BR helper Laura was greeting a whole lot of BRs, along with my next-door-neighbor Suzanne, and Lani’s sister Maile. Laura was waiting with a lot of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for me to scarf down. So I achieved my goals: finishing, and no barfing. All of the other RRs finished also. But I’m not so sure about the barfing.
John Siqueiros - Beach Runner and Rebel Runner
Beach Runner Long Beach Marathon Video
Thought you might be interested in seeing my video. It took some time to figure this out & get it posted. Anyhow when you have a moment (about 12 mins.) you can check out video from my race Oct 14th. My friend edited it pretty well. I’ll post on my socalrunning.com members page shortly, too…Gotta run…
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=3994792485168094573&hl=en
Best wishes,
Betty
Gary’s Long Beach Marathon Race Report Part II
To run my marathon under 3:30 you have to average 8 minute miles. So our plan was to run 7:45 minute miles. That way I would have a few minutes to spare if I slowed down the last few miles
My tendency is run the pace of my running partners. Whether that be the fast runners like Matt or the back of the pack runners. I like to hook up with someone and cruise at their speed. I have to admit, Matt is faster than me on the flats. So this could be a problem.
Matt and I fired off our first 10K in 47 minutes…a 7:38 pace. I know what you’re thinking…thats a bit fast. I agree. I tried to slow things down. But all the excitement, the adrenaline, the desire to run 3:30 kept us accelerating. It was like we would find a pace, my lean, then I’d relax, get into my breathing, then Matt’s alarm on his Garmin would beep beep beep indicating we were going too fast. So I’d back off my lean, and the whole cycle would repeat itself.
I’m eating goos. Drinking lots of water on the course. And drinking my Accelerade.
Then at mile 8 on the bike path. I saw a flock of hundreds of seagulls lift off from the beach. I smiled thinking of God. Thinking of Jonathan Livingston Seagull…
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If you have not read Jonathan Livingston Seagull, you must…especially if you practice ChiRunning.
Jonathan was a seagull who would rather practice new flying tricks than following the flock. See the flock had a regular routine of following the fishing boats around waiting for scraps of food. Then they’d come back to shore. And sleep.
The same life day after day. Just trying to get through the day.
Meanwhile Jonathan would be out over the ocean trying new techniques. He’d try to go faster and faster on his dives than any seagull before him.
“Most gulls don’t bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight–how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else, Jonathan Livingston loved to fly.” (p.12)
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So Matt and I just flew along. Trying to pace. Enjoying this speed, like Jonathan, we had worked so hard to develop. “But the speed was power, and the speed was joy, and the speed was pure beauty.”
Then God had other plans for us.
At the halfway mark we were at 1:41. That works out to a 7:45 pace. Our speed was still cruising but I began to worry as hips began getting fatigued.
That’s where it always starts for me. The upper hips. Then the fatigue spreads like a virus through my body.
By the time we reached Studebaker (mile 17) Matt began pulling ahead and I began slowing down. Even though I was hydrated and had been eating GU’s, three at this point, drinking Accelerade, my legs were getting heavy and tired.
Dammit!!!!
Same thing happened to me the year before. Same point of the race. Why? Why? Why? My ChiRunning form was good. I felt relaxed. I’d trained for this pace.
Well, after speaking to Steve in detail after the race. The problem was that I’d not trained enough LONG RUNS AT THIS PACE. This is one of Steve’s key training precepts…you must train the same way that you will race.
So while I could run 7:45 miles in my sleep. And I could run 26 miles any day of the week…I had not been putting the two together. Matt had been doing his long runs fast. I had been hanging out coaching doing a more leisurely pace.
So my body by mile 20 gave out from exhaustion for about four miles. In other words, I BONKED. Pace at this point…10 minute miles?, though it felt much much much slower than that.
Absolute exhaustion. I even got some light leg cramps. When you bonk, it feels like you’re running in slow motion, like running through mud, you’re trying your very best and can only eek out a snails pace crawl.
I dug down deep. I breathed hard. I had to walk a little hill. I sent my heart out to every street corner ahead of me to keep me going forward. I prayed. I thought of Jonathan. I thought of my Grandfather. I didn’t give up.
There was no way I was going to give up.
My mile 25 mile I found my second wind and ran my ass off the last mile. Passed about 5 people in the last 200 yards.
Time 3:40. Ten minutes off my goal. No doubt due the bonk from miles 21-25. I felt the exhilaration from all the Beach Runners cheering me on.
Matt’s time…3:26. He kept the pace up. And experienced no bonk. Awesome, impressive time for a first time marathoner.
The next few runners to come across the finish line…Dave at 3:45, Kevin at 3:50, and Anna at 3:59.
FOUR out of the FIRST FIVE FINISHERS for Beach Runners were all avid TRAIL RUNNERS. All four Tuesday night Trail runners in Palos Verdes.
Our top male finisher, Matt, and our top female finisher, Anna, were both regular Tuesday night trail runners and would come to my POWER YOGA CLASS . I’ll let you come to your own conclusions on whether my trail running, yoga combination makes runners faster.
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In retrospect, when I look back at my race, I did the classic mistake of going out too fast for me. It was a good pace for Matt but not for me. I tend to overestimate my abilities, because of my ChiRunning skills, so I thought I could keep up an uncomfortable pace for 26 miles.
No, I’m human like everyone else.
I did make some deep realizations out there when I was BONKING.
Running that fast with a Garmin beeping every minute on city streets trying to speed up slow down speed up slow down trying to hit some arbitrary mark of 7:45 minute miles…WAS NOT FUN FOR ME.
Everything and I mean everything on this race was focused on breaking 3:30.
For what purpose? Would it really make me a better runner? Would it transform my life? Would I find God’s beauty in a sub 3:30 time?
Or is running 3:30 more a goal of my EGO. A way of me showing how fast I am to the rest of the Beach Runners and the world. I sense the pursuit of these numbers is the source of so much dissatisfaction in this society. We chase the ideal salary, the retirement number, the ideal body weight, chase chase chase instead of…relaxing, feeling, loving, enjoying the company of others.
This goal..this obsession I’ve had for four years now. Has cost me. It’s taken me away from enjoying the very thing I was doing on Sunday…RUNNING. Because you see, I love the movement of running. I love to do my yoga breathing. I LOVE ChiRunning…the soft feet, the relaxed legs, the solid core, the opening of my hips. I love cheering on people I pass. I love cheering to the crowd. I love finding God on my runs in the smile of young child or the sight of a flock of seagulls.
And it came to me Sunday…I will no longer try to break 3:30. My attachment to this goal…my ego being all wrapped up in this goal…this thought of numbers numbers numbers every mile…was not me. Was not what I believe in. Not what I teach.
So there will be a different goal for me my next race. An internal goal. A goal based more on running well, of doing my ChiRunning, of actually getting faster each mile instead of slowing down like I did on Sunday.
Even if I finish 3:50 or 4:00 or 4:30. The time doesn’t matter. The way I run, the way I feel, the person I am on the run, is much much more important.
And what really mattered to me Sunday happened after the finish line. When I saw all you come across the finish line. My feelings of pride my love for you the tears in your eyes were worth more to me than any time I could have run my race in.
Joy came up to Steve and I with God’s tears in her eyes hugging us telling us how much a difference this experience had meant to her. Hugging her, looking around our booth, feeling this very special moment we shared together this year put my race in perspective.
And I released that goal of 3:30 to the universe with love.
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So Jonathan being the fast Seagull that he is…finds a teacher named Chiang in the story.
They fly together. Jonathan following Chiang’s every exquisite beautiful movement. Just two seagulls flying side by side practicing moves over and over again to they get it right.
And they’re sitting on the shore discussing the days lesson and Chiang says…
“You’re a very fast flier, aren’t you?”
“I…enjoy speed,” Jonathan said, taken aback but proud the Elder had noticed.
“You will begin to touch Heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn’t flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn’t have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there.”
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Being There
Being There
Being There
Little did I know how 3:30 became not a goal for me, but a limitation.
Gary’s Long Beach Marathon Race Report Part I
“You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential.”
Steve Garvey
This season of Long Beach Beach Runners has been another growing experience as usual.
The seasons of my life now coincide with my marathons. I can think back to every marathon I’ve done (10 now), and see what phase I was going through in my life.
I’ve seen relationships come and go. I’ve gained new friends. I’ve lost 40 pounds. I changed into a yoga teacher and chirunning instructor. I deepened my connection with God. I traveled in exotic countries…all the while training for a 26.2 mile run.
Fascinating isn’t it? How much life happens in training for one race.
This season was no different.
I began the season fast after a stellar performance at the Catalina Marathon (sub 4 hours). I quickly found a running partner in Matt Brown aka Jackass.
We decided we would try to break 3:30. A goal I have been trying to accomplish for years. Why? Really not sure. Its just one of those running things. I’ve finished sub four hours in 5 of the 9 marathons I’ve run. But never sub 3:30. It is a stepping stone to me qualifying for Boston. Which God willing, I will qualify for one day.
That goal of breaking 3:30 has made me run more marathons than I planned to. I think I was going to quit running marathons after I did five. This was my tenth. That goal of breaking 3:30 has made me learn to run fast and efficiently. That goal of 3:30 motivates me to not give up and keep TRYING TRYING TRYING. I know I can do it.
Training went well this summer. I got strong from Tuesday night trail running followed by my power yoga class. New muscles popped out of my core that I never knew I even had.
I even ran an ultramarathon in training…33 miles…hoping that it would give me the endurance to pop 3:30. Training two amazing women Sandy and Sindy for that race was a highlight of the year for me. Your strong spirits continue to inspire me daily.
Now some of you won’t believe this but I even quit drinking. I usually don’t drink for 2 weeks before a race. But this year some drinking incidents prompted me to give it up all together. It hasn’t been easy. I’m learning to live life on life’s terms on a daily basis. Can’t say I miss it. Like my birthday evening I was able to talk to all of you with my full attention and love. I didn’t need a drink to share your company. In fact, I don’t need a drink for anything or anybody. Life is beautiful enough as is. That’s what I’m realizing.
Some Saturdays I ran with Matt. Other Saturdays I started in the back of the pack and worked my way up through the legions of Beach Runners trying to catch him…never could unless I started with him. But these were my favorite days…running with all of you…sharing stories…giving each other encouraging words…running on the beach together…buying cold Gatorades. Its always the little things that stand out on those runs isn’t it?
Matt ran 26 miles THREE TIMES on the Saturdays. All at close to race pace. Go ahead I told him. That’s a testament to his character. Certainly he is one of the hardest working runners I’ve ever met. This was his first marathon and HE WAS READY!
The last few weeks Matt and I did lots of pacing work together. We’d try to run at a consistent pace of 7:45 minutes a mile…but we never could…as we both are soooo much faster than that at shorter distances.
I ate well the week before the marathon. I had a nagging cold though for about two weeks. Maybe some of you had that nasty little chest cold going around also.
Best thing I did though, was staying OFF my feet at the Expo for two days. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you Beach Runners for volunteering and sharing your enthusiasm with everyone at that event.
I ate well the night before. I got adequate sleep. I even had some deep body work done the week before (Rolfing…another story for another day).
I was ready. Right? 3:30 should be no problem. And I had better run 3:30 because I told everyone that was my goal. I’d be embarrassed to not do 3:30.
But God had other plans for me race day…
To be continued…
“Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land amongst the stars..”
Les Brown
Larry’s San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon Experience!
A picture that we can all relate too from the SF 2nd Half by Larry
Thinking it might be an opportunity for me to meet-up with my nephew and his girlfriend (she’s currently working on her master’s in the Bay Area while he’s preparing to join her from Chicago), I, in mid-June, registered for the San Francisco 2nd Half Marathon.
To clarify, this wasn’t my second half marathon overall; nor was it the second time I ran the San Francisco Half Marathon. What the San Francisco Marathon folk have created are two half marathons within the full marathon so when it comes time to register, runners choose to run either the first half or second half of the full marathon course (well, more like weave in and out of it; at least that’s what we 2nd halfers did).
Beach Runners and SoCalRunning.com Members Take Home Medals
L-R Janet, Uncle Sam (Jim), Steve and Gary
Sunday was the best race day ever for Beach Runners on the podium at the Pacific Open Water Challenge 5K.
Congratulations to the whole Beach Runners and SoCalRunning.com crew who came out and raced or supported the racers.
It was a historic day with 8, yes 8 medals!!!! And 2 top ten finishes.
Steve wins 1st in age group and 10th overall. (20:42)
Pat 1st in age group - Beach Runner
Uncle Sam (Jim) 2nd in age group - Beach Runner
Jennifer 2nd in age group - Beach Runner
Janet 2nd in age group- - Beach Runner
Jorge 2nd in age group - Beach Runner
Nichole 1st in age group -SoCalRunning.com Member
And Finally…….
Gary 2nd in age group and 6th overall! Time (20:02)
I am so stoked today. This was one of my big big goals this year to stand on the podium with a medal.
Notice that all six people on the podium are serious practicing ChiRunners.
Who says ChiRunning is slow?
Congratulations team.
I love you,
Gary
Beach Runner Jennifer Takes 2nd in Her AG and PR’s
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Co-Founders
