Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

Thanks to the extended business trip, I had a chance to have 32 mi solo run along Tony Knowles Coastal Trail in Anchorage AK. Starting from the West end of downtown Anchorage, the trail followed the Alaskan coast line  down to Earthquake Park, around the South side of Anchorage International Airport, and through wooded trail section with fairly flat elevation. There was a major 2 mi uphill section to Kincaid Park followed by 3 mi moderate decent along Raspberry Rd to the turn around at Minnesota Rd. I tried to keep a comfortable pace through out the run, so the time to run back to downtown Anchorage was almost same as the out-bound time (2:49 vs 2:50). It was very relaxing solo run enjoying beautiful scenery and a few moose encounters.

Tacoma City Marathon 2010

Marathon Maniac Reunion Race was held at Tacoma City Marathon 2010. A lot of maniacs were running in yellow, red, black, or white maniac shirts through out the course. It was very well organized and well supported event.

The weather was not cooperating but it could not stop the fever of the running. The course was very challenging. There were a lot of hills especially in the 2nd half, although the last 2 miles were toe-jamming decent to the finish line.

My goal at TCM 2010 was to break my PR (3:36:42). Theoretically, 8:00 pace in the first half and then a little bit slow down in the second half could make it happen.

So, I started off strong with early morning excitement. I ran through the downtown Tacoma maintaining 7:40 pace until I entered Point Defiance Park where a series of uphills started. However, a stomach problem forced me to have an extended potty stop at Mile 13. Then, I passed the half way point at 1 hour and 45 minutes.

From the half point, I could enjoy the nice water view of Tacoma Narrows and beautiful suspended bridges. However, strong head wind started to pick up and it made the hill climbing even more difficult. The head wind continued for the most of the hilly section up to Mile 19. Of course, my pace got noticeably slowed down to 8:30~8:50-ish.

Getting out of the hilly and windy section, the course began to run a paved trail along the SR16 and wind effect was slightly improved, although the rolling hills still continued until the last aid station at Mile 24.

For the last 2 miles of downhill, I tried to push myself hard with 7:20 pace. I passed a lot of people for this section. About 0.1 mi to the finish, my right calf was cramping up. Maybe I pushed myself a little too much. I slowed down not to limp and finally made an easy finish.

The finish time was 3:37:02 which was 20 seconds too late for PR. Considering the tough course and weather (wind) condition, I am satisfied with my time. In fact, it's more than 1 hour faster than last year's time.

Now, I hope to break my PR at the next race (Green River Marathon). I will try to make it inside 3:30:00. Then, I will try my first serious attempt for BQ at Seattle Rock 'n' Roll in June. Backup BQ attempt race could be Skagit Flats in Sep.

Mt Si Ultra (50 Miles)

The 50 mile course started at Snoqualmie Elementary School, followed the paved city roads, changed to Snoqualmie Valley Trail toward Northwest direction up to Mile 10, and then back toward city of Snoqualmie (Mile 20). From that point, it joined 50 Km course that followed the Southern section of Snoqualmie Valley Trail down to Rattle Snake Lake (Mile 29). It then turned to Iron Horse Trail climbing up to the peak at Mile 35. Afterward, it became gradual downhill back to the finish at Snoqualmie Elementary School.

The weather was a little bit chilly at start and stayed cloudy for the first half. Then sun came out and warmed up for the rest. The trail condition was very good because the weather stayed dry for previous several days.

When the 50 milers started at 6am, I was still sitting on my car trunk with the hatch lifted up to figure out how to sort out the entangled shoe laces. So, a few minutes late start gave me the last position in the pack. The positive side of this hassle was that I could maintain my “survival mode” pace from the back. Because it was so tempting to speed up in the beginning due to the early morning excitement and the smooth paved road, keeping the pace slow and steady was very important in the early phase to survive in the first 50 miler.

I was able to keep about 10:00/mile pace consistently for the first 20 miles. I got a few hot spots on my right foot but nothing major. When I reached the drop bag location at Mile 29 around Rattle Snake Lake, I treated some blisters with blister pack and Band-Aid while changing my socks. It really helped for the rest of the run.

From Mile 29 to Mile 35, the course turned to be fairly noticeable uphill. Of course, my pace became slowed down pretty much in that section (approx 12:00/mi). The worst part was a big drop right after Mile 35. After getting down to the bottom, I had to climb up. I took a walk break on that section while eating some snacks (energy bar/gel).

However, the course became gradual downhill all the way to the finish afterward. I could retain consistent pace of 10:30/mile until I crossed the finish line. The finish time was 8 hours and 53 minutes claiming 21st  place overall and 19th place male.

Although I didn’t set any specific time goal for my first 50 miler (The only goal was to finish with smile), I am really happy with my finish time. Especially since I could maintain the slow but steady pace through out the race, I felt pretty comfortable and strong at the finish line.

For running almost 9 hours in the trails, I could have many thoughts. Thoughts about the family, marriage, kids, sports, education, friends, work, algorithms, circuits, future, past, politics, philosophy, and the universe. What a precious time it was!

34 mi solo run

Last long training run before the first 50 miler at Mt Si next weekend. I feel like I am ready. Bring it on.

Redmond Watershed Preserve Marathon

3 laps of 8.7 miles loop for Redmond Watershed Preserve Marathon 2010. After finishing marathon in 3:55:13 (6th place), I put an extra lap just for my training.