I have run the San Jose Half Marathon 3 times before in 2008 (1:36:59), 2009 (1:36:53) and 2010 (1:29:53 – PR) so it was nice to be back for the 4th time. When I initially registered back in January, my goal was for this race to be the peak of my racing season but like most of the time when it comes to long distance running, plans change.

Coming into the race, I had taken close to 3 weeks off running in September as we were traveling in France and England (that is the large white empty space above) and had only been back on schedule for 2 somewhat light weeks so I had low expectations for today. In addition, I woke up this morning feeling somewhat queazy, some kind of soreness in the throat.

My plan was then to start slow and see if I started feeling better. The first few miles did not feel good for sure. I even had to stop at a port-a-potty for a break. I still managed to average a 7:30/mile pace for the first 9 miles while keeping my heart rate in the mid-170s (a bit strenuous). Things got a bit better past that mark and I started finding my legs. Not sure why, maybe the runner’s high kicked in?

Anyway, I managed to complete the 4 last miles at a 7:10/mile pace for a 1:38:44 finish time. That is my slowest time ever in San Jose. Still, not too bad considering the circumstances!

This weekend, I ran my 15th half marathon: the Water to Wine Half Marathon between Sonoma Lake and Healdsburg, CA.

Since finishing the Pleasanton Half Marathon in 1:40:14 (7:41/mile), I have been following a new training program that got me running 580 miles in 14 weeks so I had high hopes of getting back down to my early 2010 times in the sub 1:35 zone.

The course is point to point with a net elevation loss though it is mostly rolling hills all the way. The weather was perfect with temperatures in the mid-50s. The race started 5 minute late at 7:05AM to give the lone wheelchair participant some welcome head start. Based on my expected finish time and last year’s results, I decided to position myself toward the front of the pack of 1200 or so runners so I crossed the start line 3 seconds only after the gun.

After a fast first half mile, I managed to settle at the 7:15/mile pace necessary for a 1:35 finish time and successfully maintained it for the first 6 miles.

Since I was feeling good, I accelerated a bit to 7:10/mile average for the next 5 miles, then down to 6:55 for mile 12, and again down to 6:30 for the last mile to finish 52nd in 1:33:53 (7:10/mile average).

Of course, I am now hoping to run another sub 1:30 like I ran in 2010 at the San Jose Half Marathon. My next race is actually the 2013 version of that event so we will see where I stand then.

Today, I ran my second half marathon of the year… in Pleasanton. Right, I was somewhat surprised as well to hear about it but I have to say it was very well organized.

The course is very flat and we had perfect running weather one more time. The race started promptly at 7AM with around 700 runners. I started a bit faster than 4 weeks ago in Santa Cruz running 7:50/mile and had to keep looking at the watch to not run too fast and shatter my race plan. After 10 miles, I used a similar strategy than in Santa Cruz and accelerated to around 7:30/mile catching up with a bunch of runners to finish in 1:40:14 or 7:41/mile average.

The post-race party was very well organized. The food was tasty including warm burritos! The medal and technical shirt are very nice. I even managed to get in line at the chiropractor’s tent that gave me an awesome dynamic stretch. My legs definitely appreciated the special treatment after pounding the pavement for 13.1 miles.

My hat off to the organizers and volunteers. I hope to run the race for many years to come.

Back to Santa Cruz for my 3rd participation after running it in 2009 and 2010 finishing in 1:43:03 and 1:30:55 respectively. Since I have not run any race for almost 2 years, I was not hoping to repeat the 2010 finish time but I thought I could get close to 2009’s though 1:45 would have been great.

The weather today was perfect, mid 50s, blue sky, barely any wind. My run went well as I ran the first half at an average of 7:55/mile, had a bit more trouble in the hilly section averaging 8:05/mile for 2 miles and finished strong once we were back on West Cliff Drive, as I was feeling very good, averaging 7:35/mile for the last 4 miles. I even beat my 2009 time finishing in 1:42:31!

As usual, the race was well organized. They even closed West Cliff almost all the way to the finish line this year that making that section easier to run through the back of the 10K runners pack and a lot safer. I sure look forward running this race many more times.

Sunday morning, I ran the Napa Valley Marathon (NVM) in you guessed it Napa Valley. The race is known as the “Biggest Little Marathon in the West” since it only accepts 2,400 entrants though it is very well organized.

From the start, the race feels different. Unlike some other races, bib pickup is very convenient extending late till 8PM on Saturday night and available for free on Sunday morning for those that want. As a sweat bag, runners have a choice of a duffel bag or a backpack. And then, there is no additional fee for the bus service from the finish line to the start line. Of course, you could think that I ended up paying for all of those anyway, and you might be right. I just don’t like feeling nickeled and dimed for something that you have to get anyway.

Right, back to the race. As you may know, it was raining non stop since Saturday morning and it did not end before after 10AM on Sunday. Most of the race was done under some form of rain and I ended up running drenched the whole 26 miles. The course is nice, scenic with great views of the many vineyards along the Silverado trail. It is more hilly than I thought it would be.

I had a good first half marathon, running on pace around 7:25/mile and except for the fact that I was soaked from head to toe, I was feeling good. I was drinking well and eating my gels as planned. The next few miles went OK and the rain even seemed to stop.

And then, at some point, the landscape opened more than usual and I hit a somewhat strong face wind that was definitely punishing. So much so that when I passed another runner, he jumped in my stride and enjoyed the protection for a while. I did not think much of that at first. I mean, he was running a bit close to me for my taste, but that was it. But then, I started noticing a squishy sound every other step. Squish… OK, the guy must have walked into a puddle or his shoe had a hole… no big deal. Squish… Hum, that is a bit annoying. Squish… Don’t you think. Squish… Exactly, I accelerated a bit to leave Squishy behind and luckily, he was either too tired or too smart to keep my pace.

Almost 20 miles. Still going though I had been gradually slowing down to around 7:35/mile and knew my goal time was out of reach.

And then, it hit me right around mile 20. The dreaded wall. Right in the face. If I had been on better pace, I think I would have found the strength to overtake it. But I was not and I slowed down a lot. By mile 24, I was feeling pretty wasted and the little good form I usually have was all gone (as you can see on the pictures above). I walked/ran the last 2 miles at 10min/mile.

Overall, I still finished with an OK time, 3:28:51, and I enjoyed most of the race but no BQ for me yet.

Back to the basics: Need more speed… and now, more endurance :).

Today I ran the San Francisco 1/2 marathon for the second time. Last year’s race was the beginning of a nice streak of PRs.

I always tell people that ask me that you never know how a run will go before you reach mile 2. Sometimes, you feel like crap for the first 2 miles and then have a wonderful run. Other times, you feel great at first and then, something does not feel right and you have to slug it all the way to the end.

Well, today was more like the former! Even though the weather was perfect, I started feeling pretty lame early on and it took a lot of willpower to drag myself all the way to the finish line. I just felt kind of weak.

Thing is that today’s goal was not to set a new PR but to prepare for the marathon I am running on 3/6 in Napa. I wanted to run at marathon pace finishing feeling like I can run another 1/2. The way I should feel in one month at the halfway mark.

Anyhow, that is the way running goes. I still did OK time wise (1:35) so not that bad after all. Hopefully, I will feel stronger on marathon day :).

No Sacramento Marathon for me this year: Did Not Start (DNS).

The short story is that I got what I think is an extensor tendinitis that sidelined me for most of November and I thought it was wise not to attempt running a marathon with such a gap in my training.

The long story is a bit more complicated. 3 weeks after my last post, I caught a cold and did not run for a week. Then, as I was resuming my training, I might have overdone it a bit running 24 miles over 2 days and I started filling a slight pinch on the top of my right foot. 2 days later, I put on a brand new pair of shoes for a short 5 mile run at tempo pace. The pinch kept on growing with the run to become a sharp pain by the end of the run.

After a couple days of slight latent tension in the foot, I did some research and self-diagnosed it as extensor tendinitis. I took as easy as possible and ran only short distances once a week to test the foot. By Thanksgiving week, I was able to run again but that was too late for Sacramento.

It is tricky to pinpoint the root cause of my injury. I think it is a combination of too much running too fast after being sick and the new shoes. I might have been able to run through it if not for these shoes.

No need to tell you those are going on ebay and I am now on the hunt for a new pair of shoes. In the mean time, my current pair still has 200 miles in so I am running exclusively in them.

I am now thinking of running the Napa Valley Marathon on March 6. It fits nicely in my schedule (KP San Francisco Half early February and Santa Cruz Half in April) and it gives me enough time to train correctly for it.

Seven, that is the number of seconds I have now put between my half marathon PR and the 90 minute mark.

Seven, that is also the number of minutes I shaved from last year’s PR I recorded at the same race last year.

Seven, that is how old I felt while running free, and full speed, in the final stretch of the race.

For my third participation to the San Jose Rock’n’Roll Half Marathon, I had set my mind on the 90 minute mark and decided to join the pace group at the start. Soon enough though, I had to let it go as the pace was feeling too fast for me and I did not want to implode later in the race.

In place, I settled on a 6:55 min/mile pace on my watch, knowing it was off by some at each mile, and cruised for the first 9 miles.

At mile 9, I knew I was a bit behind optimal pace. Mind games were on full time and I had thoughts that I would not reach my goal. Still, I was feeling good physically so I upped the pace to around 6:45 for the next 3 miles.

At mile 12, the clock was showing 1:22:50 and while pushing hard and struggling mentally to keep the pace, I was able to do the math and knew it was possible if I could just push a bit harder.

I must have hit the runner’s high at the same time because I ran the next mile in 6:38 and went under the 6 min/mile mark for the last stretch with the finish line in sight.

I could hear the speaker counting down the seconds and see the clock ticking so I sprinted all out to finish in 1:29:53 for a new PR. The amazing thing is that, as of this moment, you can actually see it!

Now, I am really pumped and I feel I can run a BQ in Sacramento in early December so back to training.

Like last year, I made it early and fresh. I got into my wave on time though a bit late so I was at the back going through the line more than 3 minutes after the first runners in the wave and 5 minutes after the “elite” runners!

I felt very strong for the whole race passing a lot of runners along the way. Though, starting 5 minutes behind the fastest runners means that I did not see that many people running at my pace except for the last mile. That last mile ended up being the hardest and I had to reach deep into my reserves to stay on pace.

At the end, I finished 70th in 1:33:43. That is 5 minutes faster than last year.

Based on my race results this year so far, I decided to give another shot at qualifying for Boston and registered to run the Sacramento marathon for the third year in a row. But first, there is the San Jose half marathon in October with the 90 minute mark in sight. We shall see.