Results

Well, I finished the Disneyland Half-Marathon. Considering that it was about 80 degrees at the start (at 6 am!), I'm happy with how I finished. My time was 1:41:34. That was my chip time. It took 26 seconds to get to the starting line after the start.

The route was nice, mostly flat. It was interesting running through the two Disney parks, having various characters cheering you on. I gave high-fives to a couple monsters from Monsters, Inc. And running through Angels Stadium was pretty cool. They had the Angels' announcer calling out names as we rounded home plate with our image being put up on the huge jumbotron screen in left field.

I was very impressed with the organization of the race. Very well-organized for only their 2nd annual race. I'll be running it again next year, but we might make a weekend of it and stay in a hotel close by or maybe at the Disneyland Hotel itself.

Running with Goofy

Wow, I just realized how long it's been since I last posted. A week ago, I ran almost 4 miles in Phoenix at 3:30 pm. It was about 108 degrees and sunny. That was the toughest 4 miles I've run in a long time. Felt good to get back in the cool hotel room. I don't know how they do it down there.

This weekend is the Disneyland Half-Marathon. I'll be running in that and one other person from Elijah's Running Club will be running in the 5k race on Sunday. I'm beginning to think that the 6 am start time for the half is not all that bad, since we've been having a mini-heat wave here lately. I'll post on our results next week.

Surfing with no waves

Okay, so we didn't surf on Saturday. We just ran. Perfect running weather again--marine layer, cool. They were having the International Surf Festival at the pier this past weekend. When we showed up, they were starting the 2-mile beach run. There were probably 100 people running.

Not sure how much surfing they did on Saturday, because it was pretty calm before our run. And a friend from Hope Chapel told me he ended up doing a paddleboard workout Saturday afternoon before church because it was so calm.

Running on the beach

Since everyone else was either out of town or sick, I decided to run on the beach down by the water. The sand was nice and firm, but still a softer surface than the concrete of the strand. It was nice hearing the waves crash as I did the pier to pier run. Curiously, I didn't really feel a breeze off the ocean. It felt good to take my shoes and socks off at the end of my run and wade into the water to cool my feet off.

Still looking for anyone wanting to train for a half or full marathon. As I said in my last post, I'll stay around after our normal Fun Run (3.3 miles or so) and do a longer run.

Long Distance Runners Wanted

Sorry about slacking off the last couple weeks and not posting. We cancelled last weekend's run since a few folks were going to be out of town. I drove down to Aliso Viejo to pick up my free Avia running shoes after being one of the first 1000 to register for the OC Marathon, which will be on 6 January. I didn't make it for the entire morning's festivities, but they had a trail run, some motivational speakers and coaching clinics, free running and T-shirts, a delicious pasta lunch, and free massages. It appeared well organized and was in a beautiful location (for an office complex).

As the title of this post suggests, I'm looking for some folks who are interested in running some longer distances with me on Saturdays. I am still going to run the "Fun Run" from Hermosa Pier to Manhattan Pier and back, but I'd also like to do some longer runs after using the Fun Run as a warmup run. I'm just over a month from running the Disneyland Half-Marathon, so I'm starting to ramp up the mileage on the weekends. And I'll keep it up as I start my OC Marathon training. So anyone who wants to go a little longer can show up at 8:00 am at the Surfer statue at Hermosa Pier to warm up with the Fun Run and then stick around for a longer run. Or you can just show up around 8:30 if you want to sleep in a bit later.

Happy Running!

New Attendance Record!

First of all, congratulations to Nancy for running in the Redondo Beach 4th of July 5K race! It's great for motivation to enter a few races a year.

We had our largest turnout so far at ten!!! The morning marine layer was back again this morning. Nice and cool, but a little humid. Today there were a couple events going on. The U.S. Paddleboard Championship was being held right by the Hermosa Beach Pier. There was also a rowing competition being held, but I'm not sure what that was all about.

I've heard through the Hope Chapel grapevine that at least one person has not shown up for Elijah's Running Club because we don't run far enough for them (this person is a marathoner). My response to that would be that I will run as far as you guys want, since I'm getting started in training for the Disneyland Half-Marathon. We can do the Pier to Pier and back as a warmup and then do a good 6-8 mile run or longer if you'd like. My goal is to get as many folks out as possible with a wide variety of running levels.

Well, have a great week and happy running!

Beat the Heat

This weekend's run was the warmest yet, I believe. There was no June gloom this Saturday as we had blue skies and plenty of sun already at 8:00. But there were plenty of people out for their Saturday morning walks and runs. And plenty of dogs. I'll have to bring my camera and take some photos of the variety of dogs that people walk on Saturday mornings.

For this week's running tips, I'll pass along some advice from this month's issue of Runner's World. With the weather getting warmer, overheating while doing your running can become a concern. Here are a few tips to deal with the heat.

1) Go running early. Running before the sun is up is cooler and helps start your day off with a jump-start for your metabolism.

2) Cross-train indoors. Instead of riding your bike outside, try riding a stationary bike indoors with the A/C or a fan on.

3) Ease into the heat. If you can't entirely eliminate running during the hotter parts of the day, slowly build up your mileage during that time. Let your body get used to running in the heat instead of starting out with a long run.

4) Have a hydration plan. For longer runs, have a plan for drinking plenty of sports drink on the route. Either do loops on a shorter route and place water bottles at the starting point or place a water bottle at various distances on a longer route.

5) Run, Swim, Run. After running for a while, try going for a swim in some cool water. This would be easy if you're running along the Strand. Run a few miles and then jump into the ocean to cool off.

6) Sign up for cool races. There are plenty of races in Southern California throughout the year. There's nothing that says you have to register for a race in San Diego in August. Sign up for one in the fall or even in the winter. I've registered for the Orange County Marathon, which is on January 6th next year.

Happy Running!