A R T

For the last few weeks of training, I have been experiencing pain in my left quad and hip areas. I don't feel it when I'm sitting, but whenever I stand up or walk, there is a dull pain deep in that area. It also hurts when I run, but tends to go away after a couple of miles. It has been pretty easy to ignore, and in fact I think the pain first arose back in July toward the end of my training for the Wine Country Half-Marathon.

I was ready to just run through the pain, but it started getting worse over the last couple of weeks and I figured I should do something about it before the race. A number of people in my running club swear by "ART," otherwise known as "Active Release Technique." I was a little skeptical (especially since the name sounds a little dirty), but I decided to give it a shot.

So what is ART? According to the Active Release Web site, it is a "patented, state of the art soft tissue/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves." Basically, it is a combined deep tissue massage and stretching technique that involves someone pressing very deeply into various areas of the affected area while the patient (victim?) stretches to allow the ART practitioner to dig even deeper into that area. The goal is to break up scar tissue and fascia to loosen up the area and, eventually, end the pain. It is an interactive process that enables focus on just the problem area.

So far, I have had two sessions, and it is a workout! I was sore after the first session, but immediately noticed less pain. I was even more sore after the second session, and got a bit worried as the pain seemed to affect my runs (unlike the first session, I didn't have a rest day after the second session). After a rest day, however, I was able to run 11 miles today with almost no pain and felt faster than I have for quite some time. The jury is still out on ART, but with two weeks left before the race, I think it is helping and I am on the right track.

On the training front, I ran my longest run last Saturday, a 20 mile run on the Iron Horse Trail. It took me almost three hours to run 20 miles, and running for three hours straight is a f***ing long haul! I ran nearly the entire trail on a point to point course: Jessica dropped me off at the southern end of the trail near the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station and I ran 20 miles north to Heather Farm in Walnut Creek. I felt pretty good, until about mile 16, and then pretty much everything starting locking up. I made it through, but the last couple of miles were not pleasant. I was also running by myself, which I think made it even tougher than race conditions. Recovery was also pretty slow, which I hope may at least partially explain some of my pain during my shorter runs this week. Luckily, I am now in taper mode and hope to be well rested come December 10.

Here are the totals for the last couple of weeks:

Week Eleven
Miles: 34.57
Time: 5:01:14

Week Twelve
Miles: 22
Time: 3:05:23

Totals
Total miles (running): 277.68
Total time (running): 40:12:27

# 426

It is exactly four weeks until race day, and it's official: my bib number for the Las Vegas Marathon is 426. There is no turning back now! It looks like a good group of people will be joining me in Las Vegas, and the excitement is starting to build! Send me an e-mail or leave a comment if you are interested in joining in on the fun.

I have recovered from my injured foot/ankle, and training has been going well. Brian (who is running the Seattle Marathon in two weeks) and I ran an 18-miler last weekend. Actually, I ran 18 miles and when I was done Brian kept going for another 5 miles. I then ran 14 miles on the Lafayette to Moraga Trial this weekend. I am feeling good going into the longest run of my entire training (20 miles) next weekend, and am definitely ready to start tapering off.

This weekend, I also went to a dinner for the members of Lake Merritt Joggers& Striders, and the speaker was a club member named Geores Buttner-Clevenger. This guy is amazing! To celebrate his 66th birthday, he ran the 2,284-mile historic Route 66. He then celebrated his 69th birthday by running the 1132 miles of Route 69 between Texas and Minnesota. He did this most recent run all by himself with a van, a bike, and his two legs. He told some great stories and is a real inspiration.

I have several training updates:


Week Seven
Miles: 25.75
Time: 3:43:15

Week Eight
Miles: 14.86
Time: 1:59:09

This was the week I had my mishap with the pothole while running in the dark, so I reduced my mileage. Luckily, I was able to recover pretty quickly.

Week Nine
Miles: 31
Time: 4:35:38

Week Ten
Miles: 26
Time: 3:41:10

Totals
Total miles (running): 221.11
Total time (running): 32:05:50

The Perils of Running A Marathon

About two miles into a seven mile run on Tuesday night (it was completely dark), I stepped into a pothole and twisted up my foot pretty bad. It didn't hurt that much at the time so I decided to finish up the remaining 4 1/2 miles of my run. It got pretty swollen afterward and really hurt the next day, forcing me to take a few days off. I don't think it's too serious, however, since it didn't really affect my ankle.

The following story about this year's winner of the Chicago Marathon also reminded me that it could be a lot worse (this is from the AP wire):

(10-24) 11:53 PDT CHICAGO, (AP) --

Chicago Marathon winner Robert Cheruiyot left the hospital on Tuesday after spending two nights there with a mild concussion he sustained when he slipped at the finish line.

The 28-year-old had sprinted away from fellow Kenyan Daniel Njenga during the final stretch of Sunday's race when he slipped backward and banged his head, causing internal and external bleeding. His momentum carried him across the line, making him the winner in 2 hours, 7 minutes, 35 seconds.

Cheruiyot, this year's Boston Marathon champion, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

He had no recollection of what had happened immediately afterward and asked his coach if he had won. But his agent, Federico Rosa, said his client's memory is intact. There were decals with the marathon's logo at the finish line, but Rosa did not blame them for the fall. He suggested after the race and during a news conference on Monday that wet conditions, shoes and even just a lack of balance caused Cheruiyot to slip.

The weird thing was that he fell backward while crossing the finish line. I figure this is unlikely to happen to me since there is almost no chance of me running that fast (there may, however, be some danger of getting kicked in the head by a showgirl or failing to get around a wall of Elvi; this is Las Vegas, after all!). Here is a video:



I should be back in action shortly (luckily, my long run this weekend is only scheduled to be 12 miles, so it should not cost me too much to either reduce it or cut it out).

Training Woes

Last week, we spent a few days in Big Sur, that part of the coast along Highway 1 between Carmel and Hearst Castle (San Simeon). I had never been to Big Sur before, and it is exactly what you think of when you picture the Northern California coast, rugged and beautiful. We camped for a couple of days at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park, which is right on the Big Sur River. We also stayed for a couple of days at Deetjen's Big Sur Inn, a rustic inn with cabin-like rooms (complete with working wood-burning stoves!).

I decided to do my long run (only 10 miles) on the day of our Anniversary, Sunday, October 8. I prefer running the long runs on Saturday to get them out of the way, but we got down to Big Sur late in the afternoon on Saturday and I was only able to get in a short, four mile run. Note: try to avoid running through campground areas in the early evening; the smoke from the campfires can really slow you down.

On the recommendation of one of the park rangers at our campground, we decided to run the "Old Coast Road," which was apparently the original road from Big Sur to Monterey before the construction of Highway 1. "Road" is something of a euphemism in describing the Old Coast Road as it is actually nothing more than a loose dirt trail which, in many places is barely big enough for one car. As shown in the pictures here, the terrain is both remote and hilly. The trail starts just across the street from Andrew Molera Park and travels over to the Bixby Bridge.

Unfortunately, the ranger said the Coast Road was about 6 miles, so I decided to run five miles out and back for a total of 10 miles. This was by far the toughest run I have ever been on: I was forced to walk large (uphill) portions of it, and was actually praying that Jess (who was running a much shorter distance) would start wondering where I was and save me with the car. The first 2 1/2 miles were entirely uphill, rising nearly 1,000 feet. This was followed by an abrupt, steep drop of 900 feet over the next two miles, coupled with the knowledge that I would have to return up this steep climb. This descent was followed by another climb of 500 feet over the next 3/4 of a mile (my GPS could not pick up a signal through much of the thick foliage while I was at the bottom of the valley near the Big Sur River, so I actually ran longer than 10 miles). In short, it was miserable, and took me nearly two hours to cover 10.5 miles. Yeah, the scenery was beautiful (expansive views of the ocean, and I even saw a couple of deer on the way back), but I was thinking more about survival than my surroundings. Here I am, in my official Las Vegas Marathon training gear, glad to be alive:

Oddly, there were several Port-A-Potties along the trail, and I found out that they held the Big Sur Trail Marathon on this trail the day before. To understand how difficult this trail is, take a look at the results: there were only 43 entrants, and it took the winner 3 hours, 36 minutes and 12 seconds to complete the distance. Half-marathoners did not fare much better, as it took the winner 1:37:40 to complete the distance. Yikes! We also later found out that the Coast Road is actually 10 miles (not 6, as explained by the ranger), so I could have run point to point and at least avoided the mental terror of having to run back up that steep two mile hill I had run down. Maybe next time (just kidding).

Recovery was tough, as my quads and hamstrings were burning for a couple of days. At least we were able to enjoy the fine four course tasting menu that evening at Sierra Mar Restaurant at the Post Ranch Inn. As you can see, the way the clouds rolled in it almost looked like we were on an airplane:



Here are the totals for week five:

Week Five
Miles: 17.75
Time: 2:55:38

The following Tuesday I was able to run five miles along the relatively flat marina trail in Monterey. I then squeezed in a four mile run along the Embarcadero heading toward the ballpark on Friday after work. For the second week, I chose to do my long run after running a shorter run the day before again with less than great results. On Saturday, I returned to the Iron Horse Trail for a 15-mile run, this time starting at the Pleasant Hill BART station. I could not get into a good rhythm, and had to stop a couple of times because I just was not feeling comfortable. I made it through the 15 miles, but it was a struggle the entire time. I am wondering if it might be smarter to rest the night before a long run rather than putting in a short workout (any thoughts on this appreciated!).

Week Six
Miles: 24
Time: 3:27:28

Totals
Total miles (running): 123.5
Total time (running): 18:06:38

Iron Horse Trail

It has been a couple of weeks since I have had a chance to update everyone on my training: things have been very busy at work, and I also celebrated my first wedding anniversary by spending a couple of days in Big Sur (more on that soon). I hope to be able to get current sometime this week as the marathon is less than two months away and I really need to get serious about my training.

For now, I will go back a couple of weeks to September 30 and a 13.1 mile run on the “Iron Horse Trail,” which is part of the network of trials maintained by the East Bay Regional Park District. The trail, which is paved and about 20 feet wide, runs between the cities of Concord and Dublin and follows the Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way established in 1891 and abandoned in 1977. In all, the trail runs more than 30 miles and connects 12 cities through a variety of terrain (although mostly suburban). Here are a couple of maps covering the area where I started, the middle part of the run, and where I wound up.

At about 2:30 in the afternoon, I picked up the trail near I-680 at Rudgear Road and from there the trail passes through a rural/residential area to connect with downtown Alamo and the Alamo Square shopping center. Continuing south, the trail passes through downtown Danville, passes under the I-680, and heads into San Ramon. I turned around a little after a mile past Sycamore Valley Road in San Ramon. The course primarily passes through suburban neighborhoods, although there is some nice open space, including views of Mount Diablo. I also passed by the law offices of a co-counsel on an earlier case, as well as a restaurant where I had an initial meeting with an expert in another case, although I had no idea at the time that this great trail even existed!

This is a pretty easy run, and I felt good the entire time, running the half-marathon distance in well under two hours (1:51:26). Although the trail seems flat, it actually increases in elevation by about 420 feet. This may not sound like much over a distance of 6 ½ miles, but it is markedly easier coming back with a slight down grade.

Here is the weekly summary:

Week Four
Miles: 19.35
Time: 2:45:45

Totals
Total miles (running): 81.75
Total time (running): 11:43:12

Golden Gate Bridge Run

Two weeks ago Tuesday (I hope to catch up to the current week soon!), my friend Brian sent me an e-mail asking if I wanted to join him on a "long run" that Saturday. Brian has a few marathons under his belt and is pretty good about keeping an even pace during a long race. He proposed running 15 miles since he had just recently decided to run the Seattle Marathon on November 26 and really needed to get his training going. He wanted to run from the Ferry Building in downtown San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge and back. I was only supposed to run 12 miles for my long run, but it sounded fun, so I agreed.

I also mentioned this long run to one of my co-workers, Christina, who has not run long distances regularly, but is faster than both of us. She clearly outpaced us during the Cable Car Chase, but I think this is only because (a) she is much younger than either of us and still has a lot of spring in her step, or (b) some of Alan Webb's (who she apparently dated in high school) speed wore off on her. For the non-runners, Alan Webb ran the mile in 3:53.43 in 2001 while he was in high school, breaking Jim Ryan's record.

I hadn't really done any training runs with other people before, and I was a little worried that I might have trouble keeping up. Luckily, it was much better than expected as the miles ticked by pretty quickly as we chatted. We started at the Ferry Building in downtown San Francisco, ran along the Embarcadero, past the tourists at Fisherman's Wharf, through Aquatic Park, Fort Mason, the Marina, Crissy Field, and, finally, to the Golden Gate Bridge. The variety of scenery is amazing, and we got to see a nice cross-section of San Francisco. The weather was also nice and cool although the winds really started to whip up as we approached the bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge was built in 1937, is about 1.7 miles long, and stands 220 feet above the San Francisco Bay. Traffic roars past on the left of the pedestrian lane, and there are wide gaps to the right which look right down on the Bay below. It was cloudy when we ran (the view of San Francisco was entirely lost in the fog), which minimized the number of pedestrians on the bridge. Still, the views down toward the Bay were pretty amazing, as people were out kite surfing right under the Golden Gate. At the end of the first half of the run, we stopped at the Visitor's Center on the Marin side of the bridge, and I was feeling great. Unlike in San Francisco, it was sunny and warm in Marin. We stopped for a minute, I had a Cola flavored Clif Shot, and we headed back.

My legs felt a little wobbly on the way back, and Christina and Brian were whipping up the pace. Once we got back across the Bridge, after almost 10 miles (unfortunately, my GPS device malfunctioned about 4 miles into the run, so I am not 100% sure how far we went), Christina decided she was done and we parted ways. Brian was still feeling good, and he got me to press on. I was starting to feel sore in both of my knees and my hips and, after about 12 miles, was really starting to fade. Fortunately for me, the entire run was only about 14 miles (rather than the anticipated 15) and I made my way back to the Ferry Building intact.

All in all, it was beautiful run, and it was also nice to share the pain with others. I also felt pretty good about running the length of a half marathon (13.1 miles) in less than two hours. All told, we ran 14 miles in 2:05:39. Jessica and Brian's fiancee (and Jessica's high school friend), Sarah, met us at the Ferry Building and we enjoyed a glass of wine at "Wine" (in Embarcadero Center 2) followed by a fine rack of ribs at MacArthur Park Restaurant.

Here is the recap for the week:

Week Three
Miles: 24.5
Time: 3:33:45

Totals
Total miles (running): 62.4
Total time (running): 8:57:27

I was definitely sore that evening and a little sore the next day, but recovered pretty quickly. Things are still looking good!

New Surroundings, Bad Health Report

I had a feeling the first week of training was going too easily. At the beginning of week two, I got hit with a double whammy: a series of twelve-hour days at work, followed by a cold that drained me for most of the week. As a result, I did not get my first run of the week in until Friday, and that was only because I took a day off from work. By the end of the week, however, I was able to salvage an "OK" week of training and still feel that I am on track.

Two of my workouts during week two were in a town called New Cuyama, population 80, in central California. New Cuyama is located along Highway 166, about 50 miles east of Santa Maria between the coast and Bakersfield. Much of the landscape around New Cuyama must be similar to what the moon must look like, and we even had the chance to drive on an unpaved road which ran right along the San Andreas Fault. I also found out that the exit to get to New Cuyama from Interstate 5 is Frazier Park, which was the site of the campsite for UCLA Unicamp, where I met Jessica.

We were in New Cuyama for the wedding of one of Jessica's cousins, Tony. We had a great time visiting with Jessica's family, including being treated to fantastic barbeque (amazing ribs!) for the rehearsal dinner at a ranch run by Jessica's Aunt Claudia and cousin Jubil. The wedding was beautiful, and both the ceremony and reception were held in a space built to resemble a traditional Mexican zocalo complete with a bullring! Needless to say, we had a really good time.

We were lucky enough to get to stay in the only motel in town, the Cuyama Buckhorn, which was only about 3 ½ miles from the wedding site (rather than the 50 mile drive back to Santa Maria).
The Buckhorn is a lot of fun with comfortable rooms (and only 40 bucks a night!!), a bar, and a restaurant that unfortunately is only open for breakfast and lunch. If you make it there, be sure to try the biscuits & gravy as well as the tuna melt (which may be the subject of another blog of mine one day).

On the afternoon before the wedding, I decided to take a run along the road behind the Buckhorn, which apparently is in use by an oil company. Unfortunately, they did not take good care of the road and it was completely broken up, making for a treacherous run.
After about 2 ¼ miles, the road also ended unexpectedly at a gate monitored by video. Rather than risk it, I turned around and finished my six mile run by running through the neighborhood of New Cuyama. On Sunday morning, I got up and ran 7 miles along the highway, going out and back from the Buckhorn to the wedding site. Other than the traffic whizzing by to get to the coast, it was pretty peaceful and completely flat.

Here are the current totals:

Week Two
Miles: 16
Time: 2:16:28

Totals
Total miles (running): 37.9
Total time (running): 5:23:42

I made it through the week, and would like to think that I got my cold out of the way early in the training. More to come soon!

Week One Recap

My poor training habits as a high school track athlete (playing basketball instead of running, etc.) were mentioned previously. I think that our coach (Mr. Voss?) got wise to this at some point and made some changes. One day, without any explanation, he loaded a bunch of us into the back of his truck and started driving. And he kept driving. After we got a considerable distance away from school, he stopped on the side of the road and told us to get out and run back to school. By taking away access to distractions, he forced us into a "proper" workout.

I decided to relive those days with today’s long run. I had Jessica drive me out to the Emeryville marina, a distance about 10 miles from the house, on her way to a class in San Francisco. Unlike the high school days, however, I had a pretty good idea about where I was going. I mapped out my route using the “America’s Running Routes” feature on the U.S.A. Track & Field Web site. The route is pretty varied, starting with views of the Bay and San Francisco from the Emeryville marina. It goes under the 80 and passes through the Bay Street shopping center, and then travels down the newly-refurbished Mandela Parkway. The route then crosses under the 880 and heads through Jack London Square (which was crowded due to the Farmer’s Market). From Jack London Square, I headed up Oak Street (and back under the 880) to Lake Merritt. After going around Lake Merritt, and in about the last mile or mile and a half, I faced the only difficult part of the course: heading up the hill from MacArthur Boulevard between Lake Shore and Park (an approximate increase of 200 feet in elevation in about a half-mile). From MacArthur, it was a short run over the 580 back to the house. All in all, I ran 9.78 miles in 1:24:34 (about 8:39/mile), although I told myself to go much slower.

During today’s run, I tried out my new Brooks “Water Boy” water bottle. I should mention that I never run with water, and rarely feel the need to drink water during a run. Since I am now going on longer runs, and “eating” during the runs (I tried a mocha-flavored Clif Shot today after about 7 miles. This flavor has caffeine and really packs a punch!), carrying water has become a necessity. This bottle has grooves for your fingers and thumbs, and fits comfortably in either hand. I am happy to report that the bottle really was not a distraction at all!

I haven’t reported on this week’s earlier runs, so I will mention them briefly. On Wednesday, the weather was kind of nasty, so I decided to run 5 miles on the treadmill. I chose a very slow pace (8:57/mile pace), and man was that boring! On Friday, I ran four miles around the neighborhood in 33:10 (8:17/mile pace). Here are the totals for week one:

Total miles (running): 21.9
Total time (running): 3:07:14
Next run: Tuesday

So far, so good!

Training Begins!

Prior to starting training today, I spent the weekend engaged in activities that are not conducive to exercise, or healthy living in general. On Friday evening, we went to a dinner party at a friend's house and had a few glasses of wine (we had to leave fairly early, though, since the party was in San Francisco and the bridge was closing to east-bound traffic for the entire weekend at midnight).

To help make sure that I got it all out of my system, my friends Dave and Heidi came up from Los Angeles on Saturday. I went to high school with Dave and he was also on the track team but, like me until recently, swore off running for the "good life." Recently, however, he has decided to start exercising again, although he is having the natural tendency to push himself too hard rather than ease in to training. I definitely started out this way, and wound up with various injuries, including a stress fracture in my left leg. I tried to encourage him by letting him know that he'll reach whatever fitness level he wants to reach, but also reminding him that it is important to be patient and not do more than your body can handle.

We spent Saturday catching up, starting with visiting Dave's older brother and his beautiful brand new (one week old) baby. We then went to lunch at Quinn's Lighthouse, an eclectic place on the marina in Oakland. After Quinn's, we went to Alameda for vodka tasting at Hangar One. The location is amazing with great views of San Francisco, and they have a fantastic array of vodka products. We then headed into San Francisco, and had a glass of wine at the wine bar in the Ferry Building, walked up to Gordon Biersch for some garlic fries and a beer, and then headed to Tres Agaves for dinner. I didn't think that getting a table at Tres Agaves would be a problem since the Giants were not in town (the restaurant is right by the ballpark), but the place was packed! We were told that there no were tables available because the "Cazadores Girls" were performing. I have no idea if this is actually the reason why the restaurant was so packed (we saw the performance, which was basically a marketing campaign for Cazadores tequila), but we were able to find some room at the bar and enjoy some of Julio's fine margaritas (as well as some delicious carnitas and carne asada). After dinner, we walked over to The 21st Amendment, before winding up at the Gold Dust Lounge in Union Square. In all, a very full day!

Sunday was more of the same, as Dave's parents joined us for a trip to the Wine Country. They had never been, and it is always fun to introduce people to some of the world's best. We started out with a tasting on the "Member's Patio" at Cakebread, which was very relaxing. We then headed for the exact opposite experience at V. Sattui: it was wall to wall people, although we were able to get a table on the grounds there for a picnic lunch. After lunch, we headed to Heitz (great wine, and no charge for tasting!), Goosecross Cellars (a nice smaller winery off the beaten track), and ended the day with some sparkling wine at Domaine Chandon. For dinner, we headed back to Berkeley for barbecue at T-Rex. We ended the night with a drink at a new tiki bar on Piedmont Avenue called the Kona Club. This place used to be a great dive bar called the King's X, and while they definitely seemed like they were trying, they didn't quite have the full concept down yet. After all of this, we got home and were in bed by around midnight.

After this action-packed weekend, I had put on a few pounds (current weight: 173 pounds) and was definitely ready to start training. I still have not settled on the exact training that I will follow, but will most likely combine one of Hal Higdon's training schedules with some of the other schedules out there, like the recent marathon training published by Runner's World that requires only three days of running per week. I don't know if running only three days per week will be effective, but it certainly sounds realistic!

Mondays are typically rest days but, because I did not run a long run on Sunday, I decided to start the training with a short run. We were thinking about going to Lake Merritt, but instead decided on Inspiration Point, which is the course for the Tilden Tough Ten annual race in May. I run this course pretty regularly and forgot that the course is called "Tough" for a reason: it contains plenty of rolling hills (as Dave reminded me once we completed our workout up there). We got there at about 10:30 a.m., and the sky was clear with some fog in the direction of San Francisco. It was fairly warm, although a cool breeze was blowing through the open parts of the course.

I started with a five-minute warm-up walk (.33 miles), followed by an out-and-back totaling about 3 miles (1.53 miles on the way out in 12:07, or 7:54/mile pace, and 1.59 miles on the way back in 12:38, or 7:58/mile pace). I ended the workout with a quarter-mile walk in 3:40. One easy day down!

Total miles (running): 3.12
Total time (running): 24:45
Next run: Wednesday (5 miles)

26.2 Miles. Why?

The modern marathon is 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195K), and it seems that there should be some rationale behind the distance. I mean, we’ve even created a race of half the distance called the “half-marathon.” Surely, there must be some good reason why the race isn’t just 20 miles, or maybe even 25. Right?


According to legend, the marathon commemorates the run in 490 B.C. of a Greek soldier named Pheidippides. So how far did Pheidippides run? The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the Athenians sent a military courier named Pheidippides to request help from Sparta. He covered that distance (about 150 miles) in less than two days. This sounds a little long for a race but, with the advent of the “ultra-marathon,” perhaps there is an audience for Herodotus’ version of the “marathon.”

Luckily, legend makers came to the rescue. About 600 years after Herodotus wrote about Pheidippides, the legend arose that Pheidippides had been sent to Athens to bring news of the victory of the Greeks over the Persians at Marathon. After reaching Athens, he delivered the joyous message, “Niki!” (“victory”), and then died from exhaustion. The distance between Marathon and Athens is about 25 miles, and a phenomenon was born.

Or was it? The Greeks came up with reviving the Marathon for the first modern Olympics in 1896, and the first marathon was actually a time trial for the 1896 Olympics. This first marathon was won by Charilaous Vasilakos in 3 hours and 18 minutes. The course went from Marathon Bridge to the Olympic Stadium in Athens, a distance of 40 kilometers, or 24.85 miles. The marathon in the 1896 Olympics was won by Spiridon Louis, a Greek postal worker, with a time of 2 hours, 58 minutes, 50 seconds, an average pace of 7:11 minutes per mile. Spiridon is definitely my kind of guy: he won the Olympics despite stopping on the way for a glass of wine!

The first marathon in the United States was on April 9, 1897 in Boston. There were 15 runners, and John McDermott won the 24.5 mile race in 2 hours, 55 minutes, and 10 seconds. The 26.2 mile distance was not established until the 1908 Olympics in London. The course covered the ground from Windsor Castle to White City Stadium, and the royals added 385 yards so the race could finish in front of the royal family's viewing box. We can all thank the British for the 26.2 mile distance!

For most of the first half of the 20th century, the Boston Marathon and the Olympic Marathon were the only regularly scheduled marathons. It was not until the 1960s and 1970s, during the jogging craze, the recreational runners thought it might be a good idea to run the distance.

Despite the longer distance, winning times are also a lot faster now. Paul Tergat from Kenya is the fastest man to run a marathon, setting the record on September 28, 2003 at the Berlin Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 55 seconds (4:45/mile). The current world record holder for the women’s marathon is Paula Radcliffe, a distance runner from England. She set the record on April 13, 2003 at the London Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 15 minutes, and 25 seconds (5:10/mile).

The Las Vegas Marathon

The Las Vegas Marathon is one of the oldest marathons in the United States, having been run since 1967. By comparison, the biggest marathon in the United States, the New York City Marathon, started in 1970.

The Las Vegas Marathon has gone through some drastic changes, however, and the course underwent a major facelift last year. The old course started in Jean, Nevada, around 15 miles north of the California-Nevada State line. In Jean, you can find the Gold Strike and Nevada Landing casinos, and it is only about 10 miles from Primm on the State line, home to Whiskey Pete’s, the Primadonna, and Buffalo Bill’s. If you’ve driven to Las Vegas from Southern California, I’m sure you’ve seen the sign, but the thought of stopping there never crossed your mind, particularly in the frenzy of the final half hour of the drive to Las Vegas itself. On race day, runners presumably had to be bused out to this desert location and left to find their way back to Las Vegas.

The original course was desolate, and spectators could not even cheer on runners until mile 15. The original course also went nowhere the Strip, ending up someplace in Las Vegas called “Sunset Park.” Not surprisingly, the original course triggered comments like the following (I’m not making this up):

• "It was horrible, ugly, nasty, scary, just plain awful. I can't think of any other words to describe the experience. Don't do this one!!!"
• "I recently received my finisher's certificate from the marathon and it reawakened miserable thoughts about this year's race . . . SUPPORT???!! Was there any? Running out of cups at one of the water stops, no gels, no oranges -- just a lot of wind both from Mother Nature and from the organizers. I can't figure out what happened to the $75 entry fee if all we got was a ride in a school bus to the start... "
• "Coming to Las Vegas on vacation? Do the marathon. Maybe. Coming to Las Vegas for the marathon? Forget it. Save your money and play the slots. Your odds at getting more out of them will be better than what you get out of the money spent on the entry fee. I can usually find something good to say about all the marathons I have done (this was #72), but can't think of much good about this one. Oh yes, as one of the previous commentators said, they let us stay on the bus up until the start. Wait, I remember something else that was good... we only had to deal with 30-35 mph headwinds; no rain, sleet; dust or freezing temperatures."
• "Seriously, the wind and dust started around mile 15 and lasted through mile 25. I ended the race feeling like a Sand Trooper from Star Wars. Don't expect a glorious start/finish with thousands of spectators in front of the Mirage Volcano or the Bellagio water show. In fact, spectators consist of passing tumbleweeds and the occasional blue-belly lizard."

Last year, the race was renamed "The New Las Vegas Marathon", and the course was updated to include both the Strip and Fremont Street. The new course marks one of the rare occasions that the Strip is closed to traffic. I also understand that the race is now very well supported, so no need to bring cups. The men’s record for the New Las Vegas Marathon was set by Stephen Kiogora (2:11:56), and the women’s record by Adriana Fernandez (2:31:54). With the course running down the Strip, I hope to make like Spiridon Louis and perhaps enjoy a fine glass of wine on my way to victory!

Born To Run (Part 1 of 2)

Some people have running in their blood, born with good genes promoting a natural ability to run fast or for long periods of time, or both. Others start young, perhaps emulating their parents and developing running as a lifelong habit. For example, in May of this year, Len Goldman (President of the Lake Merritt Joggers & Striders), Jessica and I started short races for kids prior to the start of the Fourth Sunday races at Lake Merritt. The kids' races take place every other month starting at about 8:45 a.m.; if you're in the area, come check it out (and put in a 5, 10 or 15K yourself!). The course runs out and back in the parking lot and is probably only about 200 yards, but these kids take it seriously! Many of them, some as young as 3 or 4, get there early and start warming up on the course. When the "Go!" signal is given, the kids take off, although usually 1 or 2 of them get stuck at the line, frozen with apprehension. At the end, every kid receives a medal, and you can see the feeling of accomplishment on their smiling faces. These kids definitely have a head start in developing running as a habit for life.

Still other people have both: good running genes, and development of that talent from an early age. Take, for example, Tom, one of my good friends from high school. Both of his parents ran competitively at the collegiate level, and he started running at an early age. He won a CIF title in the 2-mile in high school, and was pretty easily the best distance runner on our track and cross-country teams. He still runs pretty fast (his older sister is even faster, though, having recently won the La Jolla Half Marathon, with three boys in tow).

As for me, when it comes to running, I had none of that. I don't want to overstate the point: as a kid, I was definitely active, but I preferred sports like soccer, football, and basketball. My parents were also very supportive, making sure I got to practice, even if it meant driving half an hour to get to a 5:30 a.m. practice before school. But running? Not for me. I probably had above-average foot speed but, I mean, what was the point? There was no team, no real objective, just solitary effort.

Somehow, and quite by accident, however, I wound up on the track team, and then the cross-country team, in high school. As a freshman, I played water polo (a very Southern California sport for which I had no prior experience), which I liked but, like running for running's sake, I hated swimming. I started out in the Spring of my Freshman year on the swim team and quickly quit. In the Fall of my Sophomore year, I learned that I couldn't play water polo if I didn't participate in the swim team. Kicked off the team, I decided to take the Fall semester off from sports.

I tried out for basketball in the Winter (I had played on the Freshman team the previous year), but again didn't make the team. During tryouts, I met the aforementioned friend, and he convinced me to try out for the track team in the fall.

Ultimately, I lettered three times in track and twice in cross-country. I was definitely passable, but our team was not very good. I'm sure someone will quickly correct me if I don't get this exactly right: I mostly ran the 400m (posting a best time of 54 seconds) and 800m (best time of 2:07). In cross-country, I was even more middle of the pack, running a best of 17:40 (5:41/mile) but averaging 18:30 or slower (5:57/mile). I would definitely take that pace now! More importantly, I made some great friends who remain close to this day.

On the other hand, there is a downside to being such good friends with your track teammates: a complete lack of motivation to train. Too many times after being sent on a long run, we would head straight for the basketball court and play instead of practice. Other times we would just hang out and goof around. As a result, I never got in proper shape. During my Senior season, I was 6 feet tall and "lanky"(?) at 135 pounds. My times did not measurably improve, and I always suffered from nagging, lingering injuries. Running became pain, pain, and more pain. Throughout my Senior season, I suffered from mysterious knee pain which eluded treatment. I ran through the pain, and my times were just average. I decided to run out the season but vowed never to run again.

(To be continued)

Ready, Steady, Go!

A little over a year ago, as I was doing research for my "bachelor" party in Las Vegas, I came across the Web site for the "New Las Vegas Marathon". Instantly, I was intrigued. Could I possibly go to Las Vegas and run? Gambling (too much). Drinking (excessively). Eating (like a pig). Little (or no) sleep. Sundry misdeeds. Running?

The 2005 Las Vegas Marathon was less than five months away at that point and getting ready in that timespan was not an option. I had never run a marathon. I had never even really seriously considered running a marathon. I had just finished reading Michael Craig's The Professor, the Banker and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time. Had the story about Ted Forrest running a spur-of-the-moment marathon on the UNLV track on the fourth of July to win a bet gotten to me?

The longest I had run at that point was a 10K (6.22 miles for you non-runners), I think. Nevertheless, I made a note of the site and started telling people I was going to run the Las Vegas Marathon in 2006. I told people at the "bachelor" party. I told my co-workers. I told anyone who would listen.

Well, now the time has come. The race is December 10, 2006, and I am registered. The hotel (Mandalay Bay) is booked. I told a lot of people, and four of them so far have even agreed to come and support me (it is, after all, in Las Vegas). In short, I'm accountable.

The thing is, I don't really mind running, but I can't stand the thought of it. It's a constant struggle to train, run races, and focus on the things I will need to do to actually run a marathon. I have selected a twelve week training where I will run 3 or 4 times a week. Running any more than this is simply not realistic with professional demands and other interests. To help me focus, I plan to record my progress every day during the course of training. I will get you up to speed on how I got to this point, including how I could not even run for five consecutive minutes less than two years ago. I will talk about the benefits, and even joy, of running, as well as the sheer dread I regularly experience at the thought of coming home from a long day of work only to head right back out and pound the pavement. I will even get into my lifelong fascination with Las Vegas. We'll all see if someone who once vowed never to run again at the ripe old age of 17 could, more than 15 years later, come full circle and run distances he never dreamed of then.

The journey begins on Monday. I hope you'll join me!