My First Ultramarathon Race: Bulldog 50K

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Pictures, Races, Running30 Comments

Recap of the Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run in Malibu Creek State Park, Calabasas, California, USA (23 August 2008)

I registered to participate in this ultra trail run on the 2nd week of July after I arrived in Los Angeles, California to experience what it takes to run an ultramarathon, a running event which is longer than a marathon. My son paid $ 70.00 for the registration fee through his bank’s debit card and my application was accepted immediately.

I ran through the route of the race for two times except for the actual last 3 kilometers of the trail that connects the Corral Canyon/Backbone Trail to the Malibu Creek State Park, which is the Tapia Trail, instead, I had to run along the side of the Las Virgenes Road facing the incoming traffic.

In my first practice run in this route (25K-loop) with my son, my GF 305 registered a total ascent of 4,593.6 feet (1,392 meters) not including the last steep hill between Tapia Park and Malibu Creek State Park, and a total descent of 4,217.4 feet (1,278 meters). After running the whole distance of the Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run, I expect to run run twice the figures above as my total ascent & descent distances. The race started at an elevation of 600 feet (182 meters) and reached the highest peak of 2,528 feet (766 meters) at the end of Bulldog & Corral Canyon Trails. And I have to run through the peaks and the trails twice under the heat of the sun!

Continue reading “My First Ultramarathon Race: Bulldog 50K” →

Results: 2008 Men’s Olympic Marathon

On By kingofpotsIn Marathon Race Results, Running1 Comment

Samuel Wanjiru of Kenya won the Gold Medal in the 2008 Men’s Olympic Marathon with an Olympic Record time of 2:06:32 hours. This is the first time for Kenya to win the Gold Medal in the Men’s Olympic Marathon.

Jaouad Gharib of Morocco won the Silver Medal in the 2008 Men’s Olympic Marathon with also an Olympic Record time of 2:07:16 hours.

Tregay Kebede of Ethiopia won the Bronze Medal in the 2008 Men’s Olympic Marathon in 2:10:00 hours.

The detailed results could be seen here.

“The Same Story Goes On And On”

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Running1 Comment

The reason why I could easily predict what these politicians, sports officials, columnists, and sports fans would say and do is because I have read and heard the same story (plans, strategy, actions and what have you) repeated over and over every time we don’t win any medal in the Summer Olympics.

Read the following news story…Very sad, indeed! Continue reading ““The Same Story Goes On And On”” →

Race Strategy & Tactics: Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Running5 Comments

1. Finish The Race—The ultimate objective in participating to this ultramarathon trail race is to finish the race. This will be my first ultramarathon trail run and treat this as my benchmark for future training in ultramarathon races.

2. Think Time, Not Distance—Since this will be a run along the mountain trails of Malibu & Calabasas, my average pace will be slower and I have to finish the race within the 9-hour limit, starting at 6:30 AM and closing the race at 3:30 PM. I should be able to run eack 25K loop within 4 hours or better.

3. Familiarity of the Race Route—I ran the 25-K loop twice, one week before and after the San Francisco Marathon finishing each run practice at 3:30 to 4 hours. At least, I have a knowledge of the route and had experienced running it during noontime. Continue reading “Race Strategy & Tactics: Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run” →

Opinion: On Philippine Sports

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Running2 Comments

The column below by Mr Recah Trinidad shows his dismay in the dismal performance of our athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games through the comments he got from sports fans and from his friends. It seems also that our athletes were just used to represent our country in the Olympic Games and thereby letting our sports officials, politicians, and their friends/supporters to have a “free ride” to watch the Olympic Games in behalf of the government’s and taxpayers’s money.

I made a prediction that the Philippine Team will not win any medal this time for the simple reason that our athletes’ qualifications before the Games are not considered within the Category “A” of Olympic Standards which means that there are more elite athletes on top of them and our athletes are not even Gold Medalists in the past Asian Games. And the other reasons are just personal impressions and opinion from what I have read, heard, seen and personally experienced. Continue reading “Opinion: On Philippine Sports” →

Zero Medal For The 2008 Pinoy Olympic Team

On By kingofpotsIn Insights6 Comments

Our last athlete competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in taekwando just lost her game few minutes ago. No medal for us in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games!

That’s it! My prediction came true and it very sad to know that the Philippines is zero in medal earnings for the past three (3) Olympic Games.

Very sad!…Quo vadis, Philippine sports?

5 Days Before Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Jogging, Runners' Training, Running5 Comments

Last Monday afternoon, I did a speed run around the neighborhood covering at least two blocks and this session was an impulsive action on my part just to test if I still have some speed on my legs. It had been months that I did not have this kind of speed drill due to the fact that I concentrated much on my endurance for the San Francisco Marathon and lately, for my first ultramarathon trail run this Saturday. The streets in the neighborhood is relatively flat with some ascending portions and I thought I could make some sprints along the sidewalk. And I did!

One loop has an average distance of 850 meters as my GF 305 registers 845 to 870 meters on those repetition runs I did. I was surprised to see that I averaged 4:30 minutes per kilometer on my pace for the whole speed session. I did eight (8) repetitions of the loop with at least 200-300-meter recovery runs in between reps. I was happy and surprised that I still have that speed with my legs and I guess, I am becoming faster with my average speed. Continue reading “5 Days Before Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run” →

Results: Men’s; Women’s 10,000-Meter Run; & 20K Men’s Racewalk @ 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

On By kingofpotsIn Race Results, Races, Running6 Comments

Tirunesh Bibaba of Ethiopia won the Gold Medal in the Women’s 10,000-Meter Run in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games with a time of 29:54.66 minutes in a new Olympic Rececord, breaking the old Olympic Record of Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia with a time of 30:17.49 minutes in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. This is the complete results of the said run in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On the Men’s 10,000-Meter Run in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia won the Gold Medal with a new Olympic Record of 27:01.17, breaking his old Olympic Record in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games with a time of 27:05.10. This is the complete results of the said run in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

On the Men’s 20K Racewalk, Valeriv Borchin of Russia won the Gold Medal with a time of 1:19:01 hours. His time is faster than me running the 20K distance! This is the complete results of the said event.

Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run: Reminder Before Race Day

On By kingofpotsIn Running, Trail Running, Ultramarathon2 Comments

I just received this reminder from my e-mail sent by the race organizers of the Bulldog 50K Ultra Trail Run.

Dear JOVENAL:
Your event is coming up and we want to be sure you’re event day ready. Please take a moment to review your race registration information below:
Print and bring along to your event
Confirmation #: 33899847-071808171743
Name: Jovenal Narcise
Event Name: Bulldog 50K Ultra Run
Date: 08/23/08
Location: Malibu Creek State Park
Event Web Site:  
http://www.bulldogrun.com
Sunglasses
Hat
Sunscreen
Safety ID Tag, Like Road ID
Post Event Snack
Plenty of Can-Do Attitude
We hope you have a safe, fun and successful race day!
Your friends at Active.com

When I am Not Running…

On By kingofpotsIn Insights, Running9 Comments

…I am cooking! Yes, I am cooking “gout-free” dishes at home. One of the co-nurses of my wife gave fresh ampalaya and tomatoes taken from their home garden and my wife’s relatives from San Francisco gave also leaves of kangkong when we visited them briefly before the San Francisco Marathon.

The following pictures show the Bald Runner cooking some Filipino dishes in California:

This is the hardest part in cooking, preparaing and cutting the ingredients needed for the dish!

It’s time to heat up the stainless wok that my daughter suggested me to use when cooking.

Guisadong Ampalaya ready to be served and…

Adobong Kangkong with Oyster’s Sauce!

It is becoming a “bad habit” and boring in eating foreign dishes here, sometimes in fastfood chains and chinese/american/italian restaurants, which serve food with high cholesterol content and too much in quantity per serving! I have to see to it that I eat a lot of vegetables and prepare them in my own way.

Runner and a Cook? Why not?…Nice combination! Bon Apetit!