NYC Marathon 2010 Recap Part 2

Saturday 11-6-10

Woke up early again just to get as much of  NYC has to offer, and this time I decided to to check out the Empire State Building, They open at 8am so I went to the McDonald's right across the street from it and get myself some breakfast, coffee, free WiFi so I can update my facebook statue on my iPhone before I head to the building.

When I walked in the building, there were already a few people lining up by the escalator to go to the top, they were mostly tourist, as so was I . I waited for around 10mins before they let us go up to the escalator, then to the  security check point before we even get to the ticket booth, it was $21 for just the 86th floor, but for extra $15, you will get to go up to the 102nd floor for a even higher view, I only went for the 86th floor this time. So after I bought my ticket, the guy lead me to an elevator and told me the elevator will take me to 80th floor, then after that I will have to take a 2nd elevator to get to 86th floor, I was pretty much the first one to get in the elevator since the people infront of me were making a stop at the restroom. So when I stepped out of the elevator on the 86th, the guy told me that I was the first one to the top, I didnt get anything special for that but it was nice to know. It was really cold early morning once I walked to the observatory deck, it was like around 40 degree, I was glad I bought my gloves at the expo or my hands will be freezen.

The view from the top was unbelieveble, I could see miles and miles from there, I walked around the building a few time and make sure I took enough pictures before leave.

I held on to my bib so it doesnt get blown away

I stayed up there for almost 2 hours before I had to go and get ready to go back to the expo and meet Deena Kastor and Ryan Hall around noon. So I walked back to the hotel, changed a little bit and take the shuttle bus to the expo.

I was glad to get to meet Deena Kastor and Ryan Hall again, plus Greta Waitz, 9 times winner of the NYC Marathon. I had all of them signed my bib also.

Pre Race Dinner

I met up with my Maniac buddy "Kino", who happens to lives in NY, and few of his friend for dinner at this little Italian restaurant nearby the Central Park, Their food and service was OK, nothing special to write about, no wonder they received a letter "C" for the health and safety inspection grade. After the dinner we all headed home and called it a night and get ready for the race in the morning.

Us four at the dinner, but only 3 of us were running the race the next day.

Race Day 11-7-10

Woke up at 4am, left our hotel by 5am, walked to the New York Public Library to get on the shuttle bus to the start. Got to the villages in Staten Island before 6am. I was suppose to go to my BLUE village, but my friend starts in ORANGE village, so I just stayed with her for awhile before I headed to my BLUE village.

Inside the Orange village, they have coffee, water, gatorade, baegals and powerbar for us to keep us warm and fed. Some even brought their sleeping bag to keep themselves warm since they wont start for another 3 hours!!! Some other were stay inside one huge tent, aka "refugee camp". We just sat outside on the grass by the light pole, the sun started to peak early morning.

View of the Verrazano-Narrow Bridge early morning

By 7am, I started to head to my BLUE village to get ready since I have to check my gear by 8:10am. I saw even more runners hanging out while I was on my way there, some even brought their tents!! I went to check my bag early so I wont have to deal with it later on, so all I had on me was my race outfit, plus a t-shirt and my sweatpant to discard when the race starts. I figured those will keep me warm until then.

Runner gathers around hours before the start

Runners inside the "Refugee Camp" before the race, looks like they just finished a marathon.

This runner even brought his tent with him.

About 8:45am, I got into my Corral since they will close at 8:55am, the race starts at 9:40am. Then around 9:15am, they open our corrals and let us make our way down to the entrance of the  Verazano-Narrow bridge and wait for the start, people started to throw away their clothes on the side while they were making their way there, some were even taking a pit stop by the bushes.

The race started around 9:40am, it was a thrill running on the bridge will thousands of runners, I can't help but kept taking pictures of the bridge and the runners infront and behind me, I can feel the vibration of the bridge with so many people running on it. I told myself I will stop taking picture after the first mile, then I will just concentrate on the race, hopefully I could PR. I tried to run on the right side of the road just in case I need to stop and take pictures. The view from the bridge was amazing, I wish I could just stop and admire the beauty of the view, but I gotta keep going. I was going a very good pace, maybe faster than 4 hour pace, I was suppose to run at a 9min pace, but I think I was running a 8min pace, I didnt want to slow down cuz I was feeling good and comfortable at that pace, at least for awhile. Below are my mile by mile split time.

Mile 1 - 10:15      

Mile 2 -7:13

Mile 3 - 7:56

Mile 4 - 8:04

Mile 5 - 7:59

Mile 6 - 8:00

Mile 7 - 8:08

Mile 8 - 8:21

Mile 9 - 8:25

Mile 10 - 8:24

Mile 11 - 8:50

Mile 12 - 8:37

Mile 13 - 8:41 ( had to run up this hill at this point.)

Finished in 1:50.35 at halfway point

Mile 14 - 9:05

Mile 15 - 10:27

Mile 16 - 11:40 (had to use the restroom after coming off the Queensborough Bridge.)

Mile 17 - 10:48 ( feeling really tired and sleepy from this point on.)

Mile 18 - 12:06

Mile 19 - 15:10

Mile 20 - 11:28

Mile 21 - 11:50

Mile 22 - 10:37 (start running inside Central Park, crowds were everywhere!)

Mile 23 - 11:56 (3 more miles to go, I was almost done!!)

Mile 24 - 11:51

Mile 25 - 11:50

Mile 26 - 10:23 (start giving high fiving to people on the side. =-))

.2 Mile -  3.17

I finished in 4:21.11, my goal was to go Sub 4, but with all those little hills here and there, I will accept my time, plus I had a lot of fun, I didnt want to finish when I crossed the finish line. 

After we finished, we still had to walk forever just to get out of the park, runner with high bib number get to get their gear earlier than us with a lower numbers, so I had to walk pretty much ALL the way to the end to get my bag since my bib number was 4083. AND after I got my bag I STILL have to walk for a long time to get to the subway, but I didnt end up getting on it, I just kept walking back to the hotel, plus I did pick up some food on the way.

Overall I really enjoyed NYC Marathon, the aid stations were awesome, none of them were more than a mile apart so I didnt have to carry my own bottle. The crowds were also amazing, I havent seen so many crowds since Chicago Marathon. I will definately want to run this one again whenever I got in the lottery again.

Next Race......................Malibu International Marathon, 11-1-2010

NYC Marathon 2010 Recap Part 1

This is my 15th marathon this year and 71th overall.

WOW!!! I still cant' believe that I got the chance to run the NYC Marathon!! Every year many runners got rejected from the lottery system, I was very lucky to be picked on my first attempt. I didnt really expected to be picked cuz I know my chances were very slim, but I was glad to say "I'M IN!"

After I found out that I was accepted to run the NYC Marathon, I was thinking about postponed it until 2012 because once I got accepted, I could postpone it as many years as I want with quarantee entry, but I will still have to pay th entry fee. Because I have 3 other races in October that I have to run so I didnt want to travel too much and have to miss work.  But my mind changed a few months later that I would rather run a double that weekend in Indiana and West Virginia, I registered for both races but haven't booked my flight and hotel yet.

THEN about 2 weeks before the NYC Marathon, I had my mind changed again and decided that I really should run the NYC Marathon, I would be stupid not to run it once I got IN!! Many people are dying to run this race and that is no way I would skip this opportunity, plus I dont want to waste my money to have it pushed till 2012, that would be REALLY stupid.

So just A week before NYC Marathon, I made my flight reservation and motel stay thru Priceline.com(for flight and Travelocity.com(for hotel). I did a lot of searching and finally found the flights, price, location that I wanted.

Wednesday 11-3-10

Catching an early flight from LAX to Philadelphia for a connection flight to New York at La Guardia Airport(LGA). When I arrived at LGA, it was around 5:15pm local time, I went to the Ground Transportation counter to wait for my shuttle  from SuperShuttle to take me to my hotel, they are only $19 each way!! Way cheaper than taking the taxi, although they had to drop other people off on the way, it's still worth it. They got to my hotel an hour later, and I was glad I wasnt driving in NY cuz the traffic was INSANE!!

I checked in this Hostel call Gershwin Hotel, they are only $39 a night, but of course it's a dormitory style with bunk beds, so I had to share a room AND bathroom with other people, which I didnt mind since I wont be doing a lot of sleeping anyway. =-)

Thursday 11-4-10

Woke up at 7:30am, left my hostel by 8am and walked to the convention center to catch my tour bus for the marathon course tour that I signed up a few days ago, it was drizzling that morning, plus a bit strong wind, my weak umbrella was blown out of shape!! The marathon tour lasted 4 hours from 9am to 1pm, the tour guide talked thru the whole course and told us the history behind all the popular landmark, It starts from Staten Island, then to Brooklyn, then to Queen, then to the Bronx, then to the finish in Central Park in Manhattan. It was a very fun 4 hours ride, I couldnt have driven the course myself if I was driving, plus the rain would make it even impossible.

Sitting at our tour bus

Passing by Chelsea Piers during the tour

After the tour I went to the expo and pick up my bib and everything. I was kind of suprised that the expo was as big as I thought it would be, I finished within an hour. All I bought was a apir of ASICS gloves with all 5 boroughs name on the fingers, and a few packs of Gel blasts from Powerbar, they actually came back with the cola flavor, which I LOVED!! I walked/ran back to my hostel afterward, which was only less than 2 miles. I didnt know how to take the bus since I dont know which bus I should take, so I just decided to walk instead.

Friday 11-5-10

Woke up early cuz I had to meet up with my friend Lan at her hotel, she just took an red-eye flight  from CA, we went to get some breakfast at this restaurant call Maxie, our omelettes were really good, a bit over priced but it was worth it. I decided to check out my hostel and stay in her room till after the race, so that saved me $80. =-) They werent allow us to check in early, but we could leave our luggages with them and pick them up when we check in later on.

My plans for the day were to visit the Status of Liberty Island, plus the Ellis Island. Then attend the New York Knicks vs the Washington Wizards game at night.

So around 12pm I took the subway down to the Staten Island Ferry station and took the ferry to the Islands, but when I got there, there was a LONG line waiting for the ferry ride because everyone had to go thru the airport-style security check before hand, so we all have to remove our jacket and everything and go thru the metal detector machine. It was really a hassle but I guess it's better safe than sorry.

When I got back from to the Staten Island Ferry station from Ellis Island, it was around 5:30pm, I took the subway back to the Time Square station and walked back to my hostel and get ready for the Knick game. Since everywhere are so close by, I walked to the Madison Square Garden just in time for the tip off, they were passing out t-shirt while we were walking up to our sections. My seat was in the 1st row of the upper level, so sometimes people were walking by many time kind of blocking the view just a little, but I did have a good view of the court from the end. The Knick won that game 112-91.

To Be Continued......................

Inaugural Rock n Roll Denver Marathon Recap

This is my 14th marathon this year and 70th marathon overall

Thursday 10-14-10

After my connecting flight out of Salt Lake City was canceled, they put us on a standby for the next flight to Denver, unfortunately, I wasnt able to get a seat in that flight since it was full. SO, I had to wait for the  NEXT available flight and hope I will get a seat then. So I waited by the ticket counter and hoping they will call my name, then finally that guy called my name and I was on my way to Denver, FINALLY!!

Friday 10-15-10

I decided to go check out Pikes Peak early in the morning and see how tough it is to hike up to the summit. It was only about an hour drive from where I stayed so it was a short drive.  I arrived at the bottom of the trailhead called Barr Trail at around 9am, I was carrying a water bottle and a sling bag with my jacket since they said it could get chilly up there above 10,000 feet..

After about 6 miles into the hike the elevation had reach 10,000 feet, it took me about 2 hours just to finished 6 miles hike, 7 more miles till to the top, it sounds like easy, but it isnt. Around 8 miles there was this campsite call Barr Camp where people could camp there, they have restroom and first aid station there also. I stopped to use the restroom and continued my journey. 

While I was hiking there were snow on the side of the trail, so I grabbed a handfull of snow and put them on my head, my neck, my knees to cool myself off, it felt REALLY good. Then around 9 miles, I came across this place call Timberline Shelter, a.k.a "A Frame", so I followed down the trail and check out this little A-Frame house.

The A-Frame at Timberline Shelter at 9 Miles

With 3 miles to go, it only got tougher and I was getting really tired, every steps felt like a dead man walking, I was breathing heavy, I stopped and sat at every shade that I could find and catch my breath, it was around mid afternoon but felt cool even when the sun was up. Then with 1 mile to go, the time was around 4pm, I knew I had to get back down to the trailhead before it gets dark, so after hiking for another 15 mins, I decided to  headed back down without getting to the top of the summit because I knew the sunset was around 6:30pm. =-(

There were even snows on trail.

When I was making my way down, I tried to make a short cut by just walking down the hills without following the trail, BIG MISTAKE!!! I ended up not knowing where I was because I couldnt find the trail!!! I made my way thru the tree branches and bushes and bamboo sticks and still couldnt find the trail, I was nervous and thought I would ended up spending the night in the bush if I couldnt find my way down. But I tried to stay calm and figured if I keep find my way down, I will eventually hit the trail, so I continued to make my way down thru the trees and rocks and everything, I FINALLY found the trail and decided to just stick with the trail and forget about making another short cuts. It was easier to run down the trial since the elevation started to drop, I was able to run a mile or two before I stop and catch my breath, then I continued the run and walk and get back down as soon as possible. With about 2 miles to go, the sunset was already set and I could BARELY see the trail, so I just took it slow and just walked till the bottom of the trail. When I got down to the trailhead, it was already 7:30pm. I spent pretty much the whole day on the trail, I guess that's the way to get used to the elevation 2 days before the marathon. =-)

It was about 13,000 ft but I decided to head back down, the milege was wrong

Saturday 10-16-10

I decided to take the light rail to the expo since the closest station was  only a few miles from where I stayed, plus it was only $2 each way, way cheaper than park in downtown.

The expo was a little bit smaller than a usual RNR expo, I only bought the RNR Denver Luggage Tag and the iFitness waist belt, which was a very good investment because it was very light weight and I didnt feel like I wasnt carry it while I was running, I was debating whether I should get the Splitbelt or iFitness, but I am glad I chose iFitness over Splitbelt since iFitness is sweatproof.

Carbo load Meal

I ordered the chicken alfredo pasta with cheesesticks and 10 pieces honey BBQ wings from Pizza Hut as my carbo load dinner, but of course I save the wings as my post race food.

Race Day - 10-17-10

The race starts at 6:55am , I decided to just take the 4:50am light rail again to downtown and just walk to the start, which was only half a mile. It was about 50 degree in the morning, a lot of runners were gathered at the staging area, I walked around and saw the runners were lining up for free coffee, so I got in line and got myself a cup to keep me warm and awake. Then I headed to drop my gear bag off nearby since they didnt have the UPS truck for this RNR event, they just put the bags in an open grass area by the concert stage. I bumped into my Maniac buddy Emil at the drop off table, he was wearing his Maniac shirt so I was easily recognize him from behind. We then made our way thru the  sea of runners to our starting Corral #4 and get ready for nice cool race.

me and Emil before the race.

My goal for the race was 4 hrs, so I was planning to follow the 4 hour pace group, but since the 4 hr pace group was in the corral behind me, I figured I would just run my own pace and jump on the pace group later on when they pass by me.

After the race started, I wanted to keep my pace around 9:00 min/mile so I could finish around 4 hours, I didnt carry my usual water bottle with me because I knew they have aid stations every 2 miles or so, so I just carried my disposable bottle for the first half and throw away once I finished the bottle, I found out later I seems to run faster without the bottle with me. At around Mile 4, the volunteers at the aid stations were dressed in tuxedo with bow tie and fake mustache, kind of looks like waiter/ress outfit, very creative, too bad I didnt get a picture of them cuz I didnt want to stop. We ran thru a few local parks throughout the course and it was nice to see the Relay race happen at the same time, the full and the half ran together for the first 12 miles before we split up. There were a few turnarounds during the course, so I got to see the runners who were infront of me and behind me.

At about Mile 19, I started to slow down a bit and started to take a little walking break, then I found out the 4:00 pace group were not far behind me, so I just waited for them to pass by and jumped on the wagon and hopefully they will pull me thru. I followed them for about 2 miles and I couldnt catch up anymore, so I decided to slow down and run on my own from then on. I took at least 2 to 3 cups of water/cytomax at every aid stations, I think it was because of the altitude that made me even more thirsty, I even pour some on my head to cool myself down, it wasn't too hot but it was around the 70's I would say. After Mile 20, I knew my chance of finishing under 4 hours was out of the question, so I just hoping for a sub 4:15.

One mile to go

With 3 miles left to go, we have this out and back hill that we had to run thru, nobody likes hill at this late of the race, but I just tried to run/jogg whenever I could. Then with 1 mile to go, I was very excited that I was about to finish, so I just started to run the final mile, when I got to the corner and ready to make a left turn to the finish, I could see the finish line ahead of me, the people on either side were cheering for us, I started to run a little faster toward the finish line, then I raised my hands up and crossed the finish line at 4:09.45. A Sub 4:10 finish.

They had a lot of good food at the finish line, I was able to grab a box and just get whatever they have there, chips, oranges, Cytomax drink, etc.. I then went to grab my checked bag and changed and listen to Semisonic at the post race concert area with my delicious wings from Pizza Hut the night before. =-)

Overall I really like this race, it was pretty flat, not a lot of hills, the volunteers were awesome, I had a lot of fun,  I really like how they finish around the Stage Capitol. If the expo is bigger next time, I would love to return.

My Splits

Mile 1- 8:52          Mile 14 - 8:55
Mile 2 - 8:55         Mile 15 - 9:47
Mile 3 - 9:13         Mile 16 - 8:56
Mile 4 - 9:01         Mile 17 - 9:16
Mile 5 - 9:03         Mile 18 - 9:42
Mile 6 - 8:45         Mile 19 - 10:07
Mile 7 - 9:03         Mile 20 - 9:23
Mile 8 - 8:58         Mile 21 - 8:54
Mile 9 - 9:08         Mile 22 - 10:19
Mile 10 - 9:14       Mile 23 - 9:28
Mile 11 - 9:31       Mile 24 - 10:47
Mile 12 - 9:04       Mile 25 - 10:19
Mile 13 - 9:11       Mile 26 - 10:06

Next Race.................................Rock n Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon 10-24-2010

Mother Road Marathon Recap

This is my 13th marathon this year and 69th marathon overall

I signed up for the Mother Road Marathon just a few days after the registration was opened earlier this year, since they said it is their inagural race, I made no second thoughts about running this race. Still cant believe it was already here.

The Mother Road Marathon is located in Joplin, MO, I did a few researches and found out the best and cheaper way to get to Joplin was to fly to Kansas City, Mo and drive around 200 miles down to Joplin. I didnt mind the drive so I decided that will be my plan.

Thursday and Friday - 10/7 - 10/8/10

After catching a red eye flight from LAX to Minneapolis to Kansas City, I was in KC early morning, the first thing I wanted to do was drive over to this place in downtown KC call College Basketball Experience, it's a place where they have   everything about college basketball history from the begining to present, signed basketball, trophies were displayed in the lobby, plus they have a full court basketball upstair so people can play some pickup games. You could shoot free throws, 3-pointers, dunking a basketball on a lowered basketball. It was a basketball heaven for any basketball fan. I was there for almost 4 hrs playing basketball and make sure I play all the games there. Since it was an early weekday, I was pretty much the only one there so I felt like I got this basketball heaven all by myself.

I also went a few museums there and took some pics while I was there

Saturday - 10/9/10

I got up early and drove 3 1/2 hrs down to Joplin, MO to the packet pick up inside the Joplin Musuem, it was a nice smooth drive with no traffic on a 2 lanes highway, saw a lot of roadkills though.

The expo was really small, it was just inside a small room with only 2 vendors, I was out within 15mins, I bought a poster and 3 ROUTE 66 pins, each represent the state of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri, since it runs thru 8 states, I need to collect 5 more to collect. =-)

So after I was done with the expo, I decided to drive to Wichita, KS, cuz I heard they have another marathon expo also happen on the same weekend. So I drove ANOTHER 3 1/2 hours east of Joplin and arrived at the expo just a little over an hour before it closes at 5pm.  The reason I wanted to drive to this expo was because I heard Dane Rauschenberg will be there at the pasta dinner, he also was the guy running 52 marathons in a year a few years back. So I got his book signed and he was kind enough to give me a few poster of him. I was able to listen to his speech at the pasta dinner at the Hyatt Hotel right across the parking lots from the expo, the speech alone was well worth the long hour drive, he was very entertaining talking about how he got into running and the ups and downs on his journey of his 52 marathons in a year.

I drove 3 1/2 hrs just to meet him again, he is an awesome runner.

You can follow Dane at http://danerunsalot.blogspot.com/

After the pasta dinner, I decided to drive BACK to Joplin to rest up for rest day, yup, that's ANOTHER 3 1/2 hours drive.

Race Day - 10/10/10

I actually slept in my rental car in the parking lot where the finish area was, which was a few blocks from the Joplin Museum at the Sports Complex, they told us we could park there and take the shuttle to the start. I was there early so when I got there, I realized there wasnt much cars there, I thought I was at a wrong spot, but later on the cars started to arrived. After a quick change and got everything ready, I was headed to the shuttle bus, since I parked at the finish line, I didnt have to bring any bag to be checked.

Around 6am I boarded the bus to the start, they actually have 2 buses, one for the full and one for the half. About half an hour into the drive, the driver actually got lost and couldnt find the way to the start, then one of the runner on the bus was offering some directions cuz he said he drove around the area a lot, that seems to helped a little, but they finally had to ask one of the officers on the street to guided us to the start. What a joy ride!! We got there about 45 mins till the 8am starts, so many of us were either sitting on the sidewalks killing time or sitting on the bleechers socializing or just taking pictures. The start was at Commerce, OK on Route 66 and run thru Kansas and ended in Joplin, MO

Before the start, they had a girl from local high school singing the national anthem, she can really sing, then with less than a few mins before the race starts, I was lining up at the front of the start with all those fast runners, because I knew the course infront  of me was pretty wide open so I dont think people behind me would have trouble passing me, plus I just wanted to get into the pics at the front. =-)

Early in the race while we were still in Commerce, OK, I found out we were running on Highway 69, how perfect would that be?? This is my 69th marathon and I get to run on Highway 69!! Could not have been any better.

Here are my splits for the first 9 miles before I felt a little discomfort to my right hip, I was pretty much struggling the rest of the way, but with stretching every once in awhile, I was able to run for a few mins before I had to stop and walk and stretch and run again.

Mile 1 - 7:44 - gone out way too fast!!

Mile 2 - 8:19

Mile 3 - 8:30

Mile 4 - 8:23

Mile 5 - 9:10

Mile 6 - 9:07

Mile 7 - 9:29

Mile 8 - 9:42

Mile 9 - 11:20 - I started to having some problem with my right hip, never felt this kind of sore before.

The volunteer and the crowds were awesome, plus the police were pretty helpful also, when we entering the start of Kansas, there was one officer standing on the side and welcome every runners "Welcome to Kansas", I think that was really cool. The race was very well organized, the mile markers were very visible since they were really high up, you can see it from the distance. The aid stations were every 2 miles so I didnt really need to carry my water bottle, I felt like I run better without my bottle with me.

At about Mile 13, we actually had make a right turn and run around the school parking lot, then ran back out on the Route 66 just to add some distances. We actually got to run on the OLD Route 66 for a few miles around Mile 20, that was a long stretch of boring course with few spectators, plus the warm temperature was helping me getting faster. Once we got back on the regular Route 66, they actually had a huge fan blowing cool air on the side, I stopped by there and just cool myself down a little before I moved on, that was a huge relief.

So after Mile 24, I have half an hour left if I wanted to finish under 5 hours, I wasnt really thinking about my time because I was kind of tired and sore, I just wanted to finish without further injury. So I kind of took it easy and just take it one step at a time. Then when I got to the home stretch to make a left turn to the finish, I saw a Maniac who I met earlier during the race greeting me on the side, she finished around 3:48 and I saw her medal around her neck, which was very nice. Then I could see the finish line ahead of me, luckily my hip felt better so I was able to run the final stretch without stopping and was able to pass by 3 other runners right before the finish, and I BARELY finished under 5 hours at  4:58.05

After I finished, I rested for about an hour and a half before I drove ANOTHER 3 + hours BACK to Kansas City to get back to my room and rest.

Overall I really like this marathon, great support from everywhere, if I live in Kansas, I would run this one again, too bad I dont.

Next Race.................................Rock n Roll Denver - 10-17-2010

Tahoe Triple Marathons Recap

3 Marathons in 3 Days in 2 States ~ Mission Accomplished!!!!!

This is my 10th, 11th and 12th marathon this year, and 66th, 67th and 68th overall

This year I have been challenged myself to do some races that I have never done before, so I called this year the "Go Big or Go Home" year. And doing the Tahoe Triple was definately the one I was looking forward to it because not that many races you can do them on 3 straight days Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Plus being able to run around the Lake Tahoe was a thrill.

Thursday 9-23-10

I saved myself around $60 by taking the bus to the airport instead of driving there and park at their expensive rate parking lot, since I live close to the John Wayne Airport, taking the bus is way cheaper.

I flew out of John Wayne earlier morning to Salt Lake City, then to Reno, then I picked up my rental car and drove down about 50 miles to Super 8 in South Lake Tahoe, which was where I stayed, although the outside didnt look too fancy, but inside it looked pretty homey, it has microwave, a coffee maker, a small frig, plus a balcony, since I was on the 2nd floor, which you could see the pool. After I settled all my stuff in the room, I headed to the packet pick up at their host hotel, Horizon Hotel, which was only 2 miles down.

There were only a few tables set up in the hallway, I picked up my bib, a long sleeves tech shirt, a blue "Tahoe Triple" singlet, a gym bag and a finisher license plate. What a great swag!! I will be using the same bib for day 1, day 2 and day 3's race.

I met up with my friend Karen, whose mom will be supporting us for Day 1 and Day 2's race, since on these 2 days were total self supported, but they did have a few fixed aid stations along the course like every 7 miles or so. Then we all agreed to meet up at the buffet dinner at the restaurant right next to the expo at 5:30pm. The buffet was REALLY good, lots of great food, pastas, rice, pizza, salad, chickens, deserts, soups, etc... And while we were enjoying our dinner, the race directors were going thru the course with us, plus guest speaker Dick Beardsley was also there to share his stories with us. I have met Dick Beardsley 3 times previously at different races, but I am always looking forward to listen to his speech because he is such a great entertainer with his stories. Then after the dinner I headed back to my room and get everything set up for my Day 1 of 3 marathons adventures.

Friday 9/24/10 - Day 1 Marathon - from Emerald Bay to Spooner Lake

We took the shuttle bus at 6:15am at the Horizon Hotel parking lot to Emerald Bay, the bus was comfortable, it was one of those tour bus with restroom at the back, not the school bus. The race started at 7:15am, I was able to snapped a few pics of the beautiful lake before we started running, plus the race director gathered all of us together for a group pic before we started.

I got to meet Sam Felsenfeld, who is running a marathon or more every weekend to raise money for Austism Charities, you can follow his journey at www.operationjack.org

I decided to run this 1st day as easy as I could because I heard the 2nd day is a easier one so I wanted to have a negative split between these 2 races. I actually ran with my fellow Maniac "Quiksilver" Ed for most of the race, he was doing the Super Triple, which means a marathon on Fri and Sat, then a 72 miles around the lake on Sat night, so he just wanted to take the first day as his "warm up".

During the first few miles, we were running on the side of the road with no shoulder, so we had to be careful to stay inside the road because the road was open to traffic.

Running on the white line was definately not an option cuz we might slip and fall off the hill.

Once we got to around Mile 7, we saw this little aid station table set up at the street corner, all they had was water since we were encouraged to carry our own water bottle, I took a few cups and we continued to move on. We tried to run on the sidewalk on the bike path as much as possible, or just stay away from the traffic. We ran behind the host hotel Horizon and got to our second aid station at around Mile 13, this time they had water and cookies, I again took a few cup and pour one on my head since the weather started to get warm, but I didnt get any cookies though. Then Ed and I continued our way thru a next few miles until we arrived at the next aid station around Mile 17, this time they had water and 2 huge buckets oranges and few snacks for us, the aid station was unattended when we got there but who cares, as long as they have water and oranges. =-)

At Mile 17 aid station

Then at around Mile 19, we were about to go thru this tunnel on US 50, glad that they had half of the road blocked, or else it will be very dangerous to run on a narrow shoulder with cars coming at us.

We continued to run and walk the next few miles, it was really tough to run on the side of the road with some constant incline. But I was just taking my time and just enjoy myself. Then we got to the final aid station at around Mile 23. My friend Barefoot Todd was there volunteering and helping us with water, oranges, pretzels and everything, I chatted with him for awhile before I moved on, my friend Ed was already on his way cuz I think I was taking too long at the aid station so he couldnt wait.

Barefoot Todd at Mile 23 aid station

The last 3 miles uphill were ROUGH!! It was a slowly climb all the way up for about 3 miles before making a left turn at US 28 to Spooner Lake at the parking lot. I finished at 5:32.42.

Imagine running on this narrow shoulder for 3 miles against traffic!! Fun huh??

Karen and her mom were waiting for me in their car, she finished the race about an hour before me. We then headed back to Horizon Hotel to pick up my car and see each other again for Day 2.

Saturday 9/25/10 - Day 2 Marathon - from Spooner Lake to Tahoe City

Well, how could I ever forget about this marathon, I actually MISSED the shuttle bus to the start on race morning!!

I woke up at 6am and thought that the shuttle bus leaves at 7:15am, since the race starts at 7:45am. So I was taking my time and getting my stuff ready. I stopped by McDonalds on my way to the Horizon Hotel and got myself 2 sauage mcmuffin with egg and a small coffee, then I texted my friend Karen and asked what time does the bus leave, and she said they've already LEFT!!!! I started to panic since I wasnt sure where was the start at, but she told me it was where we finished from the previous day and she gave me the direction how to get there. So I just drove there within 15 mins, I really thought I wasn't gonna make it and not getting my Triple.

I didnt have the tradition pasta the night before, instead I drove 25 miles to get my In N Out burger, Animal Fries and a chocolate shake!! I gotta get my In N Out fix on!!

So I arrived at the start area and saw bunch of runners there so I knew I was at the right spot. I saw Karen, Quiksilver Runner Ed, Yolanda, Jen, and some of the runner from the day before all getting ready for Day 2. I told myself I wont be taking any pictures for this one because I just wanted to concentrate on the run and hopefully get a faster time since I heard this one is a downhill course for the first half. So I just left my iPhone in my car, finished my coffee and get ready for the start, I didnt even have time to eat my sandwiches.

Race started at 7:45am, my legs werent too tight, I was able to run at a comfortable pace, but since I TOTALLY FORGOT my Garmin, I wont know how fast I was going and how far I have gone, but I did have my regular watch though, so I was just going by how I feel and just go from there. It was nice to see the sun start to shine early morning on our right side while we run on the left side against traffic in single file.

The first 11 miles were mostly downhill, with aid stations every 6 or 7 miles or so, I remembered I was just following this guy infront of me as my pacer, when I get a little closer to him, I will back off a little bit either by run a little slower or just take a short walking break, then when he was a little further away, I will start running again and try to keep up with him. I used this strategy for most of the first 13 miles until I had to stop at the aid station and refill my bottle. Because the aid station at Mile 13 is for both the runner AND the cyclists, so I saw a few a lot of cyclists passing by that spot, plus lots of water bottles on the ground since after they finish their water, they will just toss the bottles away.

The first half was done and it was fun with the downhill, the second half wasnt as fun though. At one point I was running on this narrow shoulder on this highway when a few of the cyclists were coming at me, I actually had to stop and let them pass thru before I could move on. I did a lot of running and walking at that point, well mostly walking since my legs were really tired, I had to stop and stretch every now and then.

When I got to the aid station at Mile 20, Barefoot Todd was there again volunteering, he got oranges, watermelon, pretzels and water in his little bins, no table though. I chatted with him a little bit before I moved on, all I knew at that point was I only have 10k to go!!!

The next few miles has a few rolling hills, I remember before I had to go up to this hill, there was this one guy helping out giving out water to us runners, I dont think that was the planned aid station but I was glad he was there helping out. I was either on the bike path or the side of the road, whichever I thought it was safer or faster. Then I saw sign that made me want to start running again, and it was a sign that said "25" on the sidewalk, since there werent any mile markers on the course, that was a nice one to see and a important one. So I continue to run/walk and made my way into Tahoe City, I saw lots of stores and restaurants everywhere and I knew I was close to finish, but I just didnt know where, they didnt have any direction or anything so I just kept running straight ahead, then I ask this lady on the sidewalk where is the finish at, she told me it was just straight ahead, so I just kept running and saw lots of people waiting at the finish area. I finished at 4:47.23, about 45 mins faster than the day before.

At the finish they have free beers, soda and cookies, I didnt take the beers, just root beers. I waited there for awhile for this married couple to take me back to the start to get my car back since Karen and her mom were having a get gather with their friend so they couldnt take me back. I finally got the chance to eat my sandwiches when I went back to my car. =-)

Day 3 Marathon will be up soon, I promise. =-)

Sunday - 9/26/10 - Day 3 Marathon - from Tahoe City to Emerald Bay


I didnt have pasta the night before, I settles for pizza and wings at the nearby pizza joint. Was gonna go do some sightseeing, but was too tired so I just stayed in for night and ready for Day 3.

I made sure I woke up on time this time for the shuttle bus, so I got up early and arrived at the Horizon Hotel by 6:15am, there wasn't much runners were there that time, only a few of us, so we just chatted for awhile before the bus came. After an hour bus ride, we finally arrived at the start area, the Common Beach in Tahoe City, which was where we ended the day before. I was able to stop by the nearby restaurant Rosie's Cafe to get some coffee before the start.