Feature Friday: James the Marathoner

Good morning! I am so happy it's Friday! woot woot! And I got in a killer double workout yesterday, so I am feeling great :) All that adrenaline sure does help!

Today's Feature Friday is someone you are probably familiar with by now: James.

He's been the best training partner I could have asked for, and we've run most of the races together. He was really excited for the opportunity to express himself and to have you all know him a bit better!

So here's ten minutes with James (a bit of background on him: he's born and raised in Hawaii, played waterpolo in college and high school, and recently completed his first marathon)

Q; Did you have any running experience prior to your marathon training?

Running is in my blood. My dad was a track star throughout high school and in college. He used to tell us kids he could run between raindrops. I believed him. So he had little trouble convincing me to sign up for track when I was in middle school. I wanted to run between raindrops too. Just like my old man, I was a hurdler and a sprinter. I loved race days. Nothing made me more nervous than digging my spiked shoes into the starting blocks and lifting up to glance at a battalion of barricades. At that moment, the air was electric. When the gun went off, the worst was already over. As long as I was running hard, the hurdles couldn't hurt me. Twenty seconds later it was all over, but the rush would linger. And what a rush it was.

Q: You just ran your first marathon with me! What were some of the challenges you overcame to run those 26.2 miles? What were you most nervous about?

Well, I have to admit: I'm no endurance athlete. All my life I've been a fast-twitch kind of guy. I go big, then I go home. Prior to training, I had never run more than 6 miles at one time. The biggest challenge for me was pacing myself. Running slow was against every instinct. Seven years after my last track meet, my legs still want nothing more than to carry my body as fast as it will go. I've gotten better at pacing, but truth be told, without a wonderful running partner to help on those long runs, I may never have broken the 10 mile mark. I had to try three separate times before I was able to complete a full ten mile run. Come race day I was worried I would simply run too fast to start out. Not running every step of my first marathon was my biggest fear.

Q: You've run a marathon, and you've also completed a biathlon. What are some of your future goals as an endurance athlete?

Iron Man, baby!!! That reminds me, I need to buy a bike.

Q: Do you have any weird running quirks?

Quirks, huh? I dunno, I put my right foot down, then my left. I breathe in and then out. Is that quirky?

Q: What's your favorite running distance?

I love running 400 meters. Just one lap around the track, I get to kick it into high gear. I love the distance because I can open up my stride and really push the speed. It's a great feeling. Like I said, I'm a sprinter.

Q: What has your favorite race been and why?

By far my favorite race has been the Maui Half Marathon we did in September. (click here for recap) It was my first half marathon ever, and I was surprised myself by actually racing it. I owe a big thanks to Julia for helping me prepare for the event. I got 3rd in my age group (out of twelve) and got a nifty little koa bowl shaped like a honu (seaturtle). (please see below) Then we spent the rest of the day frolicking in the ocean. It was divine.

Q: If you could have any running buddy for a day, dead or alive, real or imagined, who would you choose?

No question, the late great American humorist and writer Kurt Vonnegut Jr. We'd run (really slow) all day and we would just talk. Well, he would talk, and I'd ask endless questions. We'd talk about war, love, beauty, youth and it's passing, and so many other wonderful, tragic things that are inevitable consequences of the human condition. And we would laugh. After all, "Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter could be said to remedy anything"

Q: If you could race in any city of the world, where would you want to run?
Prague, Czech Republic. I lived there for 6 months in high school and it is by far the most beautiful city I have ever seen. Old Town square has some of the oldest buildings in Europe, having narrowly escaped conflict in both of the world wars. Charles Bridge is awe-inspiring in the morning haze. The food is delicious and the beer is peerless. If you think you like pilsner beers, visit the Plzensky Prajdroj brewery in Plzen, Czech Republic (aka Pilsner Urquell, available at most Whole Foods stateside). Fried cheese and croquettes would be the best post-run food.

Q: Favorite pre-run food? On-the-run fuel? Post-run fuel?

Julia makes the BEST pancakes. Fluffy and filling, they go well with jam, pumpkin pie filling, honey, applesauce, syrup, greek yogurt, or the freshest of fruits. Hands down, the best pre-run fuel, complimented by a nice pot of coffee. On the run fuel? PBJ sandwiches save my life. Once, on a long run, some bum stole my sandwich. I was a sad panda for the last three miles. I had to settle for my Gu's. Those are great too. For post-run fuel, pizza and beer would be the next best thing to genuine Czech fried cheese and croquettes and of course pivo (beer).

Q: So we know you enjoy running. What are some of your other hobbies?

I like... drawing, painting, surfing, strummin' on my gui-tar, which, much like running, I'm still learning.

Q: If you had to run a race dressed head to toe in one color, what color would you be?

Colors can say so many things. But nobody has said as much with a monochromatic wardrobe as my man, the late great songwriter and singer, Johnny Cash.

"Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black"

I'd wear black.

Thanks, Julia and all you wonderful readers out there. Keep on keeping on!

(at Healdsburg Half Marathon)

Thanks for reading everyone, and thank you James for doing this! I hope you all got to know him a tad bit better :)

Hope everyone's weekend is filled with mind-blowing runs :)

McConnell's Endurance Events Race Recap

Good Morning! I am trucking along in this SUPER busy week; I can't wait for it to be over so I can breathe, relax, and resume reading up on all of your blogs!

Before I get into the race recap, thank you so much for the well wishes on my knee. I tend to be extremely paranoid, borderline neurotic, armageddon is coming tomorrow! about injuries, so reading your words was very encouraging. I went to the Dr. this morning, and the winner is Ron, who correctly guessed my diagnosis! You are a PT extroadinaire! (ok I know, this isn't a contest, lol).

I don't have a stress fracture!

(Insert GIGANTOR sigh of relief here. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

But I do have Bursa tendonitis. So that means No Running This Week. Maybe next week too. Yikes! Maui Half Marathon is only 4.5 weeks away! But I'd rather rest it now and be safe and well for Maui, instead of overtrained and injured. This little running hiatus is gonna be tough, but better now than later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok on to the race.
The race was a part of a series of events; there was a 5K run, a 5K walk, a biathlon, a 10K, a mile swim, and a kid's mile run. I did the 10K, and James did the Biathlon, which was the 10K followed by a mile swim.

The event was a rather small, very local affair, and it seemed like everyone knew each other there. I loved the small, non-intimidating atmosphere. And best of all, WE WERE NOT LATE!!!! That made me a very happy camper, and saved me from having to chew James' head off.

The run started at 9:30. The weather was very overcast and chilly. It was so foggy that it was practically raining. Whatever. Better to have a cool race than a hot one. James and I got there 45 minutes early, and ran a mile to warm up, and stretched. The gun went off, and we made a run for it; a straight and flat out and back.

Ahhh the adrenaline rush of a race! It's something that can never be recreated. The thunder of footsteps, the heavy breathing all around, the pounding heart, and the anticipation of the road ahead. I looked at Garmy, and it said 6:54. Woah Nelly slow down. For the first mile, I ran right behind a man who was running a straight 7 min mile. Who knew I could run that fast? I kind of surprised myself. However, that was too fast for me to maintain, so I then ran behind a lady who was running 7:30 miles. I stuck with her till mile 2. Even that was a little too fast for me to sustain. But I couldn't believe I had run two whole miles in less than 8 minutes each!

This was the first race with Garmy, and I absolutely CANNOT imagine how I used to race without this beauty. I kept checking my pace to make sure I stayed below a 8:20 pace. Unlike the Semana Nautica race, I kept getting passed, but I tried not to let it bother me. At around mile 2.5, I saw a black kitty, and that totally lifted my mood. In Japan, black cats are auspicious, and plus, I love cats. The road was flat and straight, which helped tremendously in keeping a steady pace. Pretty soon, I saw the super fast runners coming back from the turn around point. Man, they were hauling some maJAH a$$! I made sure to cheer the first 5 or so runners on. It was so inspiring to watch their form. I want to run like that!

At mile 3.1, I unwittinly blurted out "$uck yeah!". I was so embarrassed that's what came out of my mouth, and quickly followed by "oops, excuse my language!" haha. I WAS happy to turn around though. I was running faster than I ever have!

I tried hard for the next half to maintain my pace. I could not do negative splits, but I was extremely satisfied with my performance. I really wasn't thinking much at all, other than, 2.2 more miles to go. 2.15 more miles to go. 2.1 more miles to go. I was literally counting down every hundreths of a mile till the finish.

Around mile 5.6, I looked at my watch, and realized if I really pushed it, I could reach my goal time. I took a deep breath and just all out went for it for the last half mile. I got kind of queasy, but I was able to finish all 6.28 miles (woah, longer than a 10k!) at

49 minutes and 9 seconds!
7:55 average pace

My goal was to shave even 10 seconds off my previous time, but I had a secret desire to beat 50 minutes. And I did it! woo! A new PR! And good enough for a third place AG! (A secret goal is a "hopeful" goal that I won't be sad if I don't accomplish, but think it would be rad if I could. Does anyone else ever have secret goals?)

And congrats to James who rocked his first 10k at 44:44! He then moved onto the swim portion of the biathlon (this race is kind of unique in that it is a run THEN swim). There were only about 10-15 biathletes, so it was a very low key, very mellow race. James even swam it in his surfing wetsuit! We used a very helpful blog tip and sprayed the wet suit with Pam to make it easier to get into. He said it was very helpful!

First biathlon successfully finished

For getting third, I got to make and decorate my own cool visor, AND I got a coupon for free ice cream! LOL, at an event where there is free ice cream, the winner gets even MORE free ice cream!

For some reason, my eyes aren't open in any of my race photos. Apparently, I run with my eyes closed. How on earth is this possible?

Running strong

I really like this candid shot from the starting line. We both look nervous.
Race photos from SantaBarbaraPix.com

We both had A LOT of fun at this event, and we made sure to stuff our faces with free ice cream. Ok ok I lie. I made sure I stuffed myself with ice cream. (BTW, lots of COLD dairy right after a hard race = NOT a good idea) oh well lesson learned, haha.
This race also raised my confidence for the half marathon next month. I don't know how my knee issue is going to affect my racing/training, but I feel pretty good about it. I just need to remind myself to REST MY KNEE, and to NOT OVERTRAIN it.
I WILL be able to do this!

Happy Tuesday!