These pictures are dedicated to the Hardcores and Pinoy Fans of the LA Lakers.
Note: Pictures Posted through the Courtesy of Mr Victor Lazo, a friend of the family. Thanks, Victor!
More Pictures @ LA Lakers Parade
Category: Pictures
“Walkabout” @ LA Lakers Parade
The people here in Los Angeles love to see parades, most especially yesterday when the LA Lakers paraded themselves on top of firetrucks and two-deck buses in celebration for winning the Championships in the 2009 NBA Finals. This event had been customary for the LA Lakers to have this kind of Victory Parade from the City Hall to the Staples Center and last one happened in 2002. After seven years, the Lakers got the NBA Championship back but instead of the usual route of the parade, they made it to start at the Staples Center and ending at the LA Coliseum which is about a 2-mile distance along Figueroa Street.
Thousands of fans lined up along the edges of Figueroa Street up to the LA Coliseum and I was there to observe and take pictures. Most of the people in the parade were wearing LA Lakers Jerseys and LA Lakers T-shirts and I was one of the few who was wearing a different attire for the day. I positioned myself about 100 yards away from the starting point of the parade which was the entrance of the Staples Center. After waiting and standing for at least 20 minutes, the parade finally started at 11:22 AM. It was a sunny day and there was a festive mood everywhere at Figueroa Street.
Thousands more of fans were waiting at the LA Coliseum as a Program was prepared for the fans to celebrate the victory of LA Lakers as the 2009 NBA Champions. Reports and estimates from the LA Police showed that the LA Lakers Victory Parade was attended by 250,000 fans coming as far as San Diego and other cities near Los Angeles. After almost few minutes of the firetrucks and two-deck buses where the players rode had passed my position, I decided to go back to my “walkabout” routine for the day.
I did at least 3 hours of walking along the different streets at Downtown Los Angeles and it was my workout for the day.
The following were the pictures taken during the parade.
Kobe Bryant, His Family & Mayor of Los Angeles at the 2009 LA Lakers Victory Parade (Photo Courtesy of Ben Gaetos)
He’s Sasha Vujacic, not Pau Gasol at the 2009 LA Lakers Victory Parade (Photo Courtesy of Ben Gaetos)
Pilates @ Gold’s Gym
My daughter, Jovelle, brought me to her Pilates Class at the Gold’s Gym at 7th & Figueroa Streets in Downtown Los Angeles at 1:00 PM. The class was held inside one of studio rooms of the Gym where it could accommodate at least 30 people. We entered the room a few seconds before the class started where I was the only male in the group. After taking some yoga mat, roller tube foam, foam blocks and light dumbells from the equipment room of the venue, the class started immediately.
It was my first attendance to a formal Pilates class and it was a new experience for me. There are exercises that seem to be easy but after doing them for more repetitions, I felt that there are muscles on my core and back that are not fully used and stretched.
It was a non-stop transition from one exercise to another and I started to sweat after 15 minutes. I hope I could explain in details the different exercises where you have to use those hard foam blocks, those hard ball weights, and those hard foam tube that you roll on top of your body and arms while making those sit-ups from lying position on your back and other exercises which are mostly on the mat.
Aside from making the core muscles strengthened, the back muscles and spinal bones were also given some exercises to make them in their original alignment and make you sit tall.
I’ve observed that there are some pose that resembles yoga positions but I think Pilates exercises are more intense, though they emphasize also correct breathing cycle through a rythym of inhale and exhale. I like that pose where you lift your back & head & both legs/toes straight up in the air while your straight arms are pumping (and your butt is only the one that touches the mat) while breathing with a rhythm. This exercise really hardens your abdominal muscles!
The ladies, to include my daughter, in the class were very graceful in their movements as if everything to them was so easy but I was there at the edge of the room moaning, breathing heavily and sweating. And I realized that all the ladies, to include the instructress, were all in their 20s, 30s, and I was the only guy who is in his late 50s!!! Ha! Ha! Ha! Well, the instructress noticed me in my predicament and she just made a general statement that “to take it easy if you are new to the Pilates class”! It was nice to hear it and I slowed down with my exercises after hearing her words of warning. (To the Hardcores: Guys, I was surrounded with beautiful ladies!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!)
Due to the smooth transition and continous instruction from the lady instructor, the class and different exercises passed so fast that I wanted to have more of them. The class lasted for one hour. It was a nice experience to attend a formal class in Pilates. I hope I will be able to make Pilates as part of my running exercises. In fact, in my readings from the training of top ultrarunners, they recommend Pilates exercises to strengthen the core muscles and be able to maintain a good running form.
After the Pilates class, I had an additional 30-minute workout with the machines and kettle bells in the gym.
I hope I could attend more of the Pilates classes in the coming days.
If you haven’t tried Pilates, find time to do it in your Gym workouts or better buy those DVDs where you could play and imitate the movements while watching it. This is not a guarantee that it will make you faster in your runs immediately but I am sure it will strengthen those hidden muscles in your core & back which you haven’t exercised before and prevent your body from injuries related to your running and other physical activities.
Dante’s Peak @ Griffith Park
This is not about the movie which was released in 19997 about the eruption of a volcano in Dante’s Peak, a small town somewhere in the USA. The movie was played by a pair of popular stars in Hollywood—Pierce Brosnan (the former James Bond actor) and Linda Hamilton (Sarah, the lady character in the Terminator movies).
For the past days, I’be been planning to run to the highest peak of Mt Hollywood at Griffith Park, starting from the house as part of my running workout. Finally, yesterday, I went out of the house bringing with me my Nathan Hydration Belt, some cash and identification card. It was 11:40 AM and the sky was covered with thick clouds and there was a 20% chance of rainfall as predicted by the Weather Report. The weather was cool at mid-60s and I wore my TNF long-sleeved technical running shirt.
From the house, I maintained an average pace of 5:45-6:00 mins/km while running along the sidewalk, facing the incoming traffic. The streets from the house to Griffith Park consisted of uphill & downhill terrain but there are times that I had to stop whenever I cross busy intersections. There are designated pedestrian crossing areas on the streets that you have to wait for that pedestrian light (a walking figure in white light) to glow while a blinking red light with a figure of a palm of the hand means that you are not allowed to cross the road yet! It is a simple street light in crossing a street but the people here follow the lights even without the presence of a police. By the way, do you wonder why there are no traffic aides or policemen here in every corner of the streets? The answers are: the traffic lights are there (very efficient) in every crossing and the citizens (drivers & pedestrians) are disciplined in terms of road rules and regulations. In the Philippines, we have those traffic lights, yet, we still have those traffic aides & PNP & Highway Patrol & LTO, but most of us do not follow those pedestrians lights and coss the streets along the pedestrian lanes!!! Very simple rule but it is hard to implement. Your answer is as good as mine.
After running for almost 10 kilometers, I finally reached the foot on the northern part of the mountain at the Griffith Park. I intended not to go to the trails that I’ve been into last year and I started to explore while I was on the road that goes to the Griffith Park’s Golf Course. While running uphill along the asphalted road, I saw an opening of a trail track on my left and I immediately went to it and started to run uphill. Yes, the small trail led me to a wider trail which is a part of those many trail roads/fire roads that snake up to the peak of every ridge at Mt Hollywood.
Even with the coolness of the place, my sweat, coming from the visor of my runner’s cap, started to drip to my legs and shorts and it was continous while my legs were taking shorter strides and my arms were swinging at a moderate frequency. It was a very challenging uphill climb where I had to brisk walk along steeper climbs along the way. I have to practice what I’ve learned in ultra trail running—“brisk walk” on those steep uphill climbs and “fly” on the downhill side in order to preserve my strength for the rest of my running workout.
After 15-20 minutes of steady uphill climb, I came up with a water fountain! I walked towards it and drank some water and took some pictures and later I was back on my run. Later, I was running on an asphalted road but it was a short distance. At the end of the asphalted road, I saw some people who are preparing for a buffet lunch in one of the vista places along the route and I realized there was a movie or TV “shooting” in progress within the vicinity. I did not dare to stop but just greeted the people I met along the road.
I entered Bridle Trail and that was the start (again!) of another more challenging uphill climb. Every time I reached a high part of the route, I would look up for another target to reach and study the trail that leads to it. That procedure had been repeated until I reached the highest peak of the mountain. I did not realize that the name of the highest peak is Dante’s Peak. It was my daughter who told me of the name as she already reached such place by hiking. I further “googled” it and I was able to see this website.
After taking some pictures at the said place, I was thinking of pushing myself to go to the HOLLYWOOD sign but after looking at my GF 305, I was already on the road for more than 2 hours! So, I decided to return here on my next running workout and be able to reach the said sign and retrace the route I’ve taken. So, Dante’s Peak became my turn-around point and I prepared for downhill run!
The traction of my TNF Arnuva 50 BOA trail shoes was very helpful on my downhill run as it gave me the needed traction on those steep portions of the route. My quads started to absorb the weight of my body and I started to feel some “burning” pain and my knees were starting to show some pain, too while trying to gain speed on those downhill runs. It was my mistake not to bring any GU/sports gels on this workout as I started to feel hungry. As I reached the water fountain, I drank more water and “peed” on the forested area. After a few minutes of running along the trails, I finally reached the place where I entered and then slowly jogged on the asphalted road until I reached the Los Feliz entrance of the park.
After running for another 3 kilometers on the streets, I entered Ralph’s Grocery Store and bought some cookies and sports drinks. I ate and drank what I bought while I was “brisk walking” along an uphill climb at Glendale Blvd. Finally, I resumed my running until I reached the house. I was able to run/jog/brisk walk a distance of 30.66 kilometers in 3:40 hours! It was a tiring “runabout” but it was refreshing to be out in the mountains and explore what I want to see.
From the base of the mountain, I thought of coming up with a test or survey on how or what the person/s I met or passed along the trails would react if I greet them or wave my hand to them. I usually greet walkers/hikers or runners along the trail with a simple “Good Morning” or “Good Afternoon” or just simply wave my left or right hand while smiling at them. This simple courtesy was a good lesson that I’ve learned and observed when I had those trail runs at Mt Wilson with my kids last year. I was able to count 24 people whom I met or passed along those trails at Griffith Park. Out of the 24, only 12 of them greeted me back, most of them ladies and couples (husband & wife) who replied “Hi” or “Hello” and they are “white”. I saw some Asians (I really don’t know if they are Chinese or Vietnamese or Thais or Koreans or Japanese) but they did not greet me back. Unfortunately, I did not see any Filipino!
After the run, I had a shower and ate a lot of food. Later, I started to cook for dinner while watching the NBA Finals’ Game #3. As I predicted, the Magic won this time.
I’ll be back for another run to Dante’s Peak and to the HOLLYWOOD sign soon!
And finally, my food (yes, I cooked them!) and supplement drinks for the past days!!!
Elysian Park Trail Run; Gym Workout; & Easy Long Run
10:30 AM 30 May 2009 @ Elysian Park
Thanks for the tip from Ben Gaetos regarding the Elysian Park Trails. I was able to make confirmation from my daughter about the said trail after she told me that she had a chance to visit the place last year. My son simply gave me the direction on what street to take to be able to reach the place. And after “googling” the place, I was able to get the details about the streets that lead to the place.
I left my place in the morning of last Saturday at about 10:30 AM as the sky was still overcast and the temperature was still in the low 60 degrees Fahrenheit. I started slow during the early part of my run until I reached the uphill road at Scott Street that leads to the Elysian Park. Running along Scott Street from Echo Park and Glendale Boulevard was already a very challenging uphill climb. I never stopped running until I reached the said park.
Being my first time to visit the place, I took the right road which is closed to vehicular traffic and started going uphill and tried to look for those trails. I later found a fire road and followed it to where it will end and then followed some trails good for one person. I just did a clockwise run along these trails until I was back where I started along the end of Scott Street. There was another fire road on my left and I started to run into it and I found out that this is the more popular fire road for the walkers. I would overtake a lot of walkers with their dogs, small and big, and meet also walkers on this fire road with and without their dogs. After running about one kilometer on this fire road, I observed that I was the only one running along the trails! There was this steep and winding downhill part of the trail which ends in the switchback (leading to more plain trail) with some woods buried across the road to prevent erosion every ten meters along the trail. This fire road was a rolling one and it ended near the entry to the park from Stadium Way Street. After taking some pictures of the place and drinking some water from my Nathan Hydration Belt, I decided to cross the Stadium Way Street and go for the higher part of the park.
As I crossed the street, I took the trail on my left and it was a trail which is good for one person. As I maintained my running pace on this trail, I could see Highway 5 on my left (way down below my feet!) where I could hear the noise of cars and vehicles passing along the busy National/Federal Highway. I was practically running along the edge of the mountain! I could see more walkers along the trail who gladly went to the sides, allowing me to pass as I greeted them and I kept on running until I ran more trails and finally led me to where I started after crossing the Stadium Way Street. After reaching my starting area, I had to retrace the trail I had taken and went all the way to the top again of the mountain and took the trail back.
I crossed the Stadium Way Street once again and retraced the fire road and went to that “challenging steep winding downhill” part and try to run up to the top without walking. With much determination and positive attitude, I was able to run through this part of the fire road without stopping. Later, I was able to reach Scott Street where I started. I slowly jogged around the visitor’s park and parking area and orient myself and see where the trails are located.
I knew I had 2 hours of run along the trails and it was time to go back. From the Stadium Way Street, I took Scott Street and back towards Glendale Blvd. I took another loop at Echo Park where I replenished my water supply before proceeding to my favorite uphill climb (near Belmont High School) where I do my hill repeats before proceeding at the house.
I was able to run a distance of 22.22 kilometers (almost 14 miles) in 2:30 hours with an average pace of 6:45 minutes per kilometer. I was surprised to observe that I was “sunburned” even with the overcast sky and lower temperature during my workout run! I finished the race at 1:00 PM and immediately took my lunch. It was a nice workout. This will be my alternate trail run location but I still need to go to Griffith Park Trails for a higher altitude/elevation workout. However, what is good about Elysian Park is that I can run along its trails for hours and it is very near to my place. Next time, I will bring food provisions in my backpack in my next runs and run along its trails for 3-4 hours.
9:30 AM 31 May 2009 @ Gold’s Gym
My son and I went to Gold’s Gym at Downtown LA for a 1-hour workout. I did my core muscle and upper body workouts for one hour. I was surprised to see the overall set-up of the gym to have changed for the better since I had my last visit last year. The gym had a bigger space and more equipment. There was no “traffic’ in the use of the equipment as more options had been added due to more equipment. Before going to the gym, I was already set to do my rituals for my core muscles and my upper body muscles. It was a very fast workout with easy and light weights so that I will not strain my muscles after almost three months without any weight-lifting workouts.
After the gym workout, we returned to the house and I cooked pork adobo for our lunch. It was rest time after lunch!
7:00 PM 31 May 2009 @ Echo Park & Silverlake Reservoir
At this time here, the sun is still shining and it will take another one hour for the sunset to finally arrive. I decided to have an easy long run. I had an easy and slow start as I started to jog towards the Echo Park and did one loop and finally decided to go to the Silverlake Reservoir loop. After one loop at the Silverlake Reservoir, I started to feel the urge to relieve my urinary bladder but it became problematic when I found out that the comfort rooms at the Park were closed. I tried to control my bladder until such time that it became too dark and saw to it that there were no runners/walkers who would see me going to the thick bushes to relieve myself. I did it successfully without any problems! Sometimes, you need to take the risk when emergency comes. At least, my “style” is better than the video clip of Paula Radcliffe peeing on the street while she was running a marathon race! ha! ha! ha!
I did 4 1/2 loops around the Silverlake Reservoir before going back to Echo Park and finally proceeding home. I did another loop at the Echo Park and slowly had my cool-down run a block away from the house. I did my post-stretching exercises before entering the house. My GF 305 registered a distance of 23.10 kilometers (14.4 miles) with a time of 2:29:11 hours with an average pace of 6:40 minutes per kilometer.
I will take a day-off tomorrow for my stretching and Pilates exercises. It was a nice weekend.
Running Pictures @ 2009 LA Marathon
Simply log on www.marathonfoto.com.
Select Race: LA Marathon 2009
Type my last name: Narcise
Type my Race Bib # 8155
Click: See My Photos
Enjoy!
Race Report: XXIV Los Angeles Marathon
7:31 AM 25 May 2009 @ Figueroa Street & 6th Street, Los Angeles, California
Most of my friends and readers were surprised to know that I ran the BOTAK 42K Marathon Race last 10 May knowing that I have the Los Angeles Marathon scheduled on my list of Road Races to participate into after 14 days of recovery. They don’t know that I was not serious to exert much of my effort in the BOTAK Run and I treated it as my long run in preparation for the bigger event which is the Los Angeles Marathon. Aside from that reason, I had predicted that the BOTAK 42 would be a failure in its administrative, technical, and logistics support for the runners by just looking at their race route. And I was right! The race was a failure in terms of a standard and well-organized Marathon Race but I accomplished what I intended to be attained–to make this race as my “long run” before tapering off for the LA Marathon.
At my age, who would dare to run two (2) Marathon Races in one month with 14 days in between? Hmm…I think it’s only the Bald Runner! (and my Ultramarathon runner-friends) Ha! Ha! Ha! This was the reason why I did not register for the TNF 100 Solo Run—I was already registered to run the LA Marathon way back during the last week of January 2009 (when TNF was not yet decided to conduct the said race!). And this point/issue shows a big difference of the major races done in other countries as compared to the schedule of races that we have in the Philippines. Major races in the USA are scheduled one year ahead while most of our major races are “knee-jerk” running activities where you have at least 2-3 months as lead time. I am sorry but this is the reason why the 2nd Bataan 102K Ultramarathon Race is already scheduled on March 5-6 next year and it will never be postponed.
Running the LA Marathon was a dream to me since its creation, 24 years ago. A year after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, the LA Marathon was born and I had been a spectator on this event whenever I was here for a vacation. Traditionally, the LA Marathon was held on the month of March but I usually come over here during the months of June or December but there are times when my December vacation would be postponed to January or February and I would stay up to the day of the LA Marathon. So, there was no chance for me to seriously consider running this marathon. The original route of the race, to include the 1984 Olympic Marathon, was 2 street blocks away from our place and I was just contented to watch the elite runners and other competitive runners passed along Sunset Boulevard.
Due to the change of ownership of the LA Marathon last year, it was decided that the March schedule was changed to the month of May. There had been a lot of debates and arguments about such change but the owner’s decision prevailed and had it scheduled on Memorial Day to honor their dead heroes and other soldiers who died in the line of duty, most especially those who are assigned across the seas. And so, my kids and I planned to run together again in a marathon race just like what we did last August 2008 in the San Francisco Marathon as early as January this year.
After I have acclimatized for one week since I arrived last 17 May by running under the cold and hot conditions in LA, I knew I was ready for the race. We woke up at 5:00 AM this morning and I did the usual “ritual” everytime I join a marathon race (except taking the Immodium tabs)…hot coffee, instant oatmeal, cereal with milk, hard-boiled eggs, and bananas. Shaved, took a shower, apply petroleum jelly on my feet, inner upper arms, and upper inner legs/groin part, tied the D-Tag on my shoe lace, and wore my running kit with my bib. We were out of the house at 6:40 AM and walked about 2 kilometers to the Starting Line.
I was amazed to see a lot of runners, more than the runners I saw in last year’s San Francisco Marathon. Almost a distance of 200 meters from the Starting Line up to the back was filled with runners and walkers. We immediately positioned ourselves about 100 meters from the Starting Line as more runners were packed like sardines in the front areas. After the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner, which could hardly be heard in our position, was sang by a choir and it was followed by a Prayer. The speech of the City Mayor followed and it ended with the blowing of the horn which officially started the race. The race started at 7:31 AM, a delay of 11 minutes from the scheduled time of start.
The weather was cool with a prevailing temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and there was an overcast sky. It was a perfect weather for a marathon race! We started to walk towards the Starting Line as the runners at the front started to run and vacate the space where they were waiting before the race started. Even if we occupied the whole wide Figueroa Street, the runners were still shoulder-to-shoulder and tightly could not run or move faster. It took us almost 5 minutes and 35 seconds to finally cross the ChronoTrack Timing sensor at the Starting Line which activates our D-Tags tield on our running shoes and I simultaneously pressed the Start Button of my GF 305. My watch cooperated this time as I deleted some of the data stored in it and made sure that it was fully charged.
Mile 1
The whole stretch of Figueroa St going south covers the whole first mile and succeeding miles of the race. My pace was a slow one as the runners were still closely near with each other. I was forced to slow down because of the situation and I maintained my pace and imagined it as my warm-up run. I had to make a zigzag moves to prevent from bumping on some walkers who were mixed with the runners and who were located infront of us. I finished the first mile in 10:20 minutes and I panicked because it was a very slow pace for me. I started to calculate my finish time by making an average pace of 10 minutes per mile and I assumed that I could finish the race in 260 minutes or 4:20+ hours! I wanted to finish the race with a faster time than that! A group of Japanese drummers would fill the air with noise and rythmic beat as we reached the Staples Center. And that was the start of a festive and noisy environment along the route.
Mile 2
The roads along the route were completely asphalted roads and it is more comfortable to run with it than running on a concrete road. At this portion, the runners are still tight and there is a lack of space where I could overtake the runners infront of me. I just took my patience and slowly increased my pace as the road is slightly downhill and flat. You could see a lot of people along the sidewalk cheering the runners and the LA Police and other security units would be around to see to it that all runners are protected. The runners practically owned the whole street and there were no vehicular traffic crossing the street where were are. We are still along Figueroa Street and as I approached the end of mile 2, I could see that I have gained some speed and was able to shave off at least 30 seconds. I registered an average pace of 6:15 minutes per kilometer, a 9:00+ minutes per mile pace.
Mile 3
We are still along the Figueroa Street and I could see the entrance to the LA Olympic Stadium at my right and later I could see the stainless steel markings of the Exposition Park. The crowd of runners is slowly loosening and I was able to increase my pace. This is the part that I started to perspire but the cold air that is meeting us would slowly dry up my sweat. This is where I started to overtake more runners—some are teen-agers, lady runners, male runners older than my age, and US Armed Forces Veterans carrying the US Flag. Along this portion, I started to feel the urge to urinate as I drank a lot of water before leaving the house. I controlled it as the portalets along the way have a long line of runners waiting for their turn. Despite this situation, I had to drink water and Gatorade in every hydration station. I started to take in my first regular GU Sports Gel as I carried with me 2 regular GU and 3 GU Roctane and a pack of Cliff Shots (Chewable Electrolyte Source). My TNF Racing Shorts was equipped with side & back pockets where my ration was stashed. My right hand was holding my SONY Cybershot Digital Camera wrapped in a Ziplock Bag to prevent my sweat from going to the camera. I was able to shave off another 30 seconds from my average pace.
Mile 4-6
From the wide road of Figueroa, we turned right to a narrow road where there is a construction on the opposite side of the road. Even if it was a narrow, the space in between runners became bigger and had more chance to overtake a lot of runners. And then suddenly, after a series of turns, the first uphill climb would appear infront of the runners. I didn’t panic as I increased my pace by taking shorter and faster strides as I run through the uphill climb. I had to overtake more runners along this portion. After the climb, it was downhill and I was back on my usual stride and had to make my leg turn-over faster. I was registering a faster pace this time.
Mile 7-10
More spectators would cheer the runners by shouting, “You can do it”; “Looking good”; Runners! Go! Go! Go!; “Bald Runner, Wohoo”. Yes, a lady who was giving Gatorade drinks to the runners, saw my race bib and shouted those cheers! I guess, there were at least five people who saw my race bib and shouted “Bald Runner”. There was a mixture of Rock and Roll Bands and Mariarchis (Mexican Band) along the route and it was a delight to hear live music from these volunteers/spectators. As we passed along the Residential Areas, I saw the residents cheering and shouting to the runners. They even have banners and posters where they wrote greetings to the runners. Others would have their “coolers”/ice chests with them and gave cold bottled water and soda/sports drinks to runners who are in need. Wow, this is unbelievable. The whole community treated the Marathon Race as a festival with music, cheering, and drinks ligned up along the route and each of the resident-volunteers showed some hospitality to the runners. I had a steady pace along this portion as I passed more runners along the way.
Mile 11-14
Finally, I could no longer hold my urinary bladder and made a “bold” move on the ligned 6 portalets on the right side of the road. Instead of waiting on the line of runners standing infront of each portalet unit, I immediately went at the back of the portalets and relieved myself with my urine dropping at the grass. Another two white runners would follow me and relieved themselves, too! One guy would say, “Hey, that was a smart move’! I answered, “yes! the grass on the sidewalk needs some fertilizer” and both of us laughed. As I approached the 13.1 mile mark, there was a “carpet” for the RFID timing system that triggers my D-Tag to register my half-marathon split time and passed through it while checking at my GF 305. I saw that my watch registered a time of 2:03 hours and I panicked (again!). I wanted to have a finish time of sub-4 hours on this marathon race. I was already calculating to have a finish time of breaking the 4-hour limit but I recalled that the second half would be a harder task for me because the route is uphill up to the finish line. I tried to increase my pace by “shuffling” and counting the number of strides per minute and made the counting as my running “mantra”.
Mile 14-18
The distance in between runners would stretch at this part as some would be seen walking, other would be seen stretching their calves and legs along the sidewalk, and most of the runners would walk while drinking their water or Gatorade drinks. This part is really the hardest as more uphill climbs would challenge the runners. There was some relief for the downhill but it would take the runners for another uphill climb again. It was a roller coaster at this part. Volunteers along the route would ask each runner if they feel pain and they would spray Salonpas liquid on the parts where the runner would feel pain. Other volunteers would offer Vaseline Ointment or Petroleum Jelly for those who have problems on “chaffing”. Other volunteers would offere sliced fresh oranges and bananas, and sometimes candies. There is also a hydration point where volunteers would offer “ice cold beer” to the runners. I could just imagine if any of the volunteers in the Philippines would offer this kind of hydration to our runners. I am sure the Filipino runners would ask for the “pulutan” that goes with the “ice cold beer”! Ha! Ha! Ha! At this point, a familiar face overtook me and it was a 7-time Badwater Ultramarathon runner-finisher who was introduced to me by Joe Matias of the A Runners Circle Running Store (I forgot his name!). I would make him as my “target/benchmark” as we had a “see-saw” race on this portion of the route. He is a tall runner and he is fast.
Mile 19-22
I was surprised when one of the spectators shouted “Manny Pacquiao” when I passed him. Hmmm..I think he means that I am a Filipino! More cheers, more rock bands, more fruits and water along the way. I took my 2nd regular GU at Mile 6 and then started to take my 1st GU Roctane at Mile 10; my second Roctane at Mile 16; and my last one at Mile 22 which would carry me up to the finish line. The Cliff Shots were mostly taken from Mile 16 to Mile 24. At this point, I don’t feel any pain on my legs except for some slight pain on my left knee cap which disappears whenever I shift to my “shuffling” mode with faster frequency of strides. I really do not bend my knees when doing my “shuffling” and only lift my feet a few inches from the ground and I gain more speed and grounds by doing this and I would be relieved from the pain. It was still a slight uphill along the route. One of the volunteers would shout to the runners, “Dude, you have less than 10K run to go, the Finish Line is near”. Yes, dude, it is easy to say that if you are not running!
Mile 23-26
I managed to overtake more runners as these runners were positioned at the front before the start of the race. They are walking and some are having cramps. Others would run quickly to overtake and then stop and walk. The Badwater Ultramarathon runner would eventually build a considerable distance between us and he was able to position himself at least 300 meters ahead of me. He is the only runner who overtook me from the start of the marathon race at this point. As I was approaching Mile 25, I noticed a loud steps of a runner on my left who was about to overtake me and to my surprise, it was Dean Karnazes in person! I tried to keep up with his pace for about 800 meters and I greeted him and told him that I am the “Bald Runner”. He offered his hand and we had a handshake and started a conversation by asking him about his TNF 100 Australia experience. He told me that the TNF 100 was fine and challenging and I told him that the TNF 100 Philippines was held last weekend. I asked him if he is joining the upcoming San Diego 100-Mile Endurance Run and he said that he’ll not join the ultra running event as he will be running the San Diego “Rock & Roll” Marathon next Sunday. I checked on my GF 305 average pace while I was running with him and it registered a 5:00-minute per kilometer pace! I tried to keep up with his pace and I slowly faded with his blistering speed/pace as we are approaching the last 300 meters to the Mile 26 marker. It was my fourth encounter with the famous Karno since I met him at Badwater last July 2008. Dean Karnazes was the 2nd guy who overtook me during the duration of the race! In summary, those guys who overtook me were two (2) elite ultramarathon runners who are much younger than me.
Finish Line
As I reached the Finish Line, I stopped my GF 305 and saw the readings on the digital clock with a time of 4:13:02 hours. My GF 305 registered a time of 4:07:35 hours and my official Finish Time (Chip time) is 4:07:33 hours as posted on the Official Results. Not bad! If not for the heavy traffic of runners at the first half and the difficulty of the terrain on the second half, I could have reached the finish line in less than 4 hours. Anyway, it will be one of my objectives to improve my finish time in the coming days in preparation for the Milo Elimination Marathon Run on the first week of July.
Based from the Official Results, I placed #1,902 out of 14,185 finishers; # 1,630 out of 9,011 Male runners; and placed #47 out of the runners in my Age Category 55-59 years old. I registered an average pace of 9:26.6 minutes per mile.
In my GF 305, I registered an average pace of 5:48 minutes per kilometer and an average heart rate of 154 beats per minute. As for the distance, my watch registered a distance of 42.68 kilometers. I could have ran an extra distance of 500 meters!
Assessment & Conclusion
It was a blast and fun to experience running a marathon with almost 14,000 participants where infront and at your back is a “sea of runners”. The cooperation of the whole community and the support of the volunteers are awesome and phenomenal which is hardly experienced in the Philippines. What surprises me now is the fact that there are high-ranking influential and rich personalities in our society (they are in government service and some are in the corporate world) whose feats and finishes in international marathon races (like New York & Boston) for the past months and years had been published in the newspapers with their pictures on the front pages of our daily broad sheets but I don’t feel or see or heard from them any actions or initiatives to raise the bar or standards of helping or supporting our running events (especially an International Marathon Race in Manila) in the country which could attract international runners. You know already as to whom I am referring to. Kailan kaya tutulong ang mga ito? Kinakailangan bang maki-usap at lumuhod tayo sa kanila para tutulong at gagalaw sila?
As an advise to the hardcore runners and competitive ones who want to experience a memorable and “complaint-free” Marathon Race, save some money and travel to the United States and select one of the marathon events held in the cities along the Pacific States or in Hawaii. You can also try the New York Marathon or to any other marathon events in the USA where you are comfortable (where you have a relative who can support you in terms of accommodation and transportation). Once you experience joining one of the Marathon Races in the US, then you will know what I am talking about. Guys, forget Hongkong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and other Asian city’s Marathon races, go to the USA and you will never regret it.
Lastly, I consider the XXIV Los Angeles Marathon a “perfect” marathon event.
D-12 Hours: XXIV LA Marathon
7:00 PM 24 May 2009
In 12 Hours I will be joining my first Los Angeles Marathon. After this LA City Marathon had been conceived two decades ago, this will be the first chance that I’ll be running the famous marathon event in the western side of the USA. The LA Marathon was usually held on the month of March for the past years but because of reasons I don’t know, the new owners/management of this marathon event had it done on the celebration of Memorial Day for the whole USA.
Few hours ago, Dean Karnazes aka Ultramarathon Man arrived, on foot, at the LA Marathon Exposition for a brief Lecture and Book Signing which is being held at the LA Convention Center. Dean K started to run 100 miles from Santa Barbara, California and arrived at the LA Convention Center with a lot of runners waiting for him. After sleeping tonight, he will be joining the rest of the participants for the 7:20AM start tomorrow.
I will let the pictures do the explanation on my preparation for this event.
Of course, I will not forget my Bandana and Oakley Sunglasses!!!
For details of the Marathon Event, please browse at www.lamarathon.com.
TNF 100 Clark Philippines CHAMPIONS!
23-24 May 2009 @ Sacobia, Clark, Philippines
Eduardo Villanueva of Team Bald Runner won as the Overall Champion in the TNF 100K Solo Run at Sacobia, Clark, Philippines. Ed Villanueva was also the Overall Champion in the 1st Bataan Death March 102K Ultramarathon Race held last April 5, 2009.
In the 100K Team relay, Cresenciano Sabal and Reynaldo De Los Reyes of Team Bald Runner also won Overall Team Champion in the said event.
Ed Villanueva received a cash prize of Twenty Thousand Pesos (P 20,000) and other Gifts from The North Face and other sponsors. The members of the 100K Team Relay also received a cash prize of Seven Thousand Pesos (P 7,000) each and other gifts from The North Face and other sponsors.
Congratulations!…”Good Job”!!! Mabuhay ang Team Bald Runner!!!
43rd Mt Wilson Trail Race
7:20 AM 23 May 2009 @ Sierra Madre, California (The 2nd Oldest Trail Race in the USA)
Last September 2008, I had a chance to run at the Mt Wilson Trail from Sierra Madre up to its peak and back to where we started with my son, John and then for the second time, with John, Jovelle, & Bryan. It was a memorable experience as it gave a challenge to all of us. Through this experience running along this trail, I found out that there is a yearly trail race event every month of May.
Actually, I’ve recalled this event when I was trying to browse for a trail race where I could register and run while I am here in California since last month. Due to its proximity to the Los Angeles Marathon’s race day, I opted not to register in this race and tried to look for another ultra trail race where I could join after the marathon. Finally, I thought of planning to go to Sierra Made for me to observe the race.
This morning, together with my son, John, we went to Sierra Madre to witness the start and finish of the 43rd Mt Wilson Trail Race. A few seconds before the race started, I was already on the sidelines taking pictures to the runners. At exactly 7:20 AM, as scheduled, the race started after a brief ceremony and briefing to the runners. After ten minutes, the race for the kids started and it was finished before the trail runners arrived. This is what I like with the races here, they start promptly on the scheduled start time of the race.
The Mt Wilson Trail Race started at the commercial center of Sierra Madre with the participation of 328 runners. It was a small race but the whole community was involved in the event. The youngest runner is a 10-year old boy and the oldest is 71 years old. The race is one of the attractions of Sierra Madre and most of the volunteers are senior citizens living in the area. It is a very organized race with the appropriate and adequate water stations along the trail. There were lots of food—fresh fruits, bread, pretzels and sports drinks at the finish area which were distributed by the volunteers to each finisher. The race is a 4.3 mile going up to the Orchard Place at Mt Wilson and another 4.3 miles in going down towards the Finish Line. Last year’s 1st place finish time was 1:01:53 hours.
I waited for the top 3 runners to arrive and I could see how strong the runners are. I observed that these top runners were using ordinary running shoes and nobody among these tops runners were using those sophisticated trail shoes. They are just being practical because they are running on loose soil, rocks, and small rocks and most of all, there was no rain.
I was also impressed how the children could run with or without their parent’s assistance during the kid’s race. Each of these kids really enjoyed crossing the tape at the finish line and I observed some of them would return on the road and experience crossing the tape for another round. These kids ran a distance of less than one mile. Very athletic and strong kids!
I had also a chance to inspect and observe the technical people at the finish line. The Emcee (a lady) kept on updating the status of the race from start up to the finish and I guess, she did not stop talking up to the awarding ceremony. The Emcee would tell to the crowd where the first/second/third runners and also the first lady runner are located along the route at a certain time. She gives the update every five minutes! There were no entertainers or singers during the event! I have also a chance to inspect the timing and digital clock devices. I observed that there were only 3 people involved in the timing system—one is operating a laptop computer and the other two guys were operating the digital clocks and the RFID system by ChronoTrack by checking these equipment if they are working. I suspect that these two guys are Filipinos but I did not dare to talk to them. I found out later that these people belong to one of the biggest road racing event companies in the USA/California. By observing how the race was going on, I was able to get some ideas which I think our Race Organizers/Race Directors in the Philippines should know and be able to apply in order to raise the quality of our road races. I would personally suggest to these Race Organizers in Metro Manila to spend some time to go abroad and observe how races in other countries are managed. The race results were posted on the website of the Race Event Organizer after 3 Hours reckoned from the time the race started.
The first runner, James Timphony, who happens to be the defending champion, on the said race arrived at the finish line with a time of 1:00:35 hours and he was able to improve his time last year by 1:18 minutes. He is 21 years old. The second runner arrived after 2 minutes and he is 35 years old. After almost ten runners had arrived at the finish line, my son and I left Sierra Madre for another appointment for the day. (Note: Because of the D-Tags tied on the shoes of each runner, the finishers were not wearing “strings/straws” or anything that would prove that they reached the turn-around point of the race!!!)
I have the impression that the race organizer have not offered any cash prizes for the winners. Each of the finishers receives a certificate and the Champions in the overall male and female categories are the only ones being given with trophies.
(Note: For more information and details about the race and the City of Sierra Madre, please “google” Mt Wilson Trail Race)
Bald Runner 
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