California Classic 1/2 Marathon Recap

         Last year I participated in the Cal. Classic challenge, which consisted of a 100 mile bike ride on Saturday followed by the 1/2 marathon on Sunday. The bike ride had a cool route through downtown Fresno then out on the 168 fwy. towards the hills and back. There were scattered aid stations on the bike course, for the first 50 miles they were spread out just right then on the last 50 there was only one aid station. At about mile 75, it was already warm and I was completely out of water so I actually stopped at a home along the road and asked if I could fill up my bottles. I ended up finishing the ride just fine but was disappointed by the lack of aid and organization for the race. The 1/2 the next day was a good experience and I ran a pretty decent time with a 1:31, my fastest 1/2 at that time.
         With all that happened on the century in 2011 I decided not to do the ride and just run the 1/2 on Sunday. Having ran the Shinzen 10 mile race a couple weeks prior with a 1:01, I had a good idea of where I might be able to finish in this race. I was going to shoot somewhere between 1:20 and 1:25, I figured somewhere in that range was a safe bet. Considering that the fastest I have ever ran was that 10 mile race, I had it in the back of my mind that maybe I wouldn't be able to repeat that performance, regardless though I was going to push myself in the half and find out if I could.
        In preparation for the race I took a couple days off from running and avoided any crappy food. The day before I ate some whole wheat pasta and some salad for dinner, not with intentions of carbo loading but just eating something I was familiar with. My wife was also very thoughtful and told me she would take 100% charge of our 3 week old baby that night, which was more than I would have asked for. I figured I was pushing my luck just going to the race but I suppose I shouldn't doubt her awesomeness.
      While I managed to get in a solid 3.5-4 hours sleep I definitely wasn't feeling rested the morning of the race. I went through my normal routine of grabbing some iced coffee, orange juice, half a bagel with nutella and a banana. I headed out and drove to Chuckchansi park with about an hour to spare, just so I would have time to park and use the restroom. I waited around in my car until I had about 15 min to start then made my way to the start line. I lined up right in front since last year I made the mistake of starting in the middle and had to weave in between tons of people in order to get to a place where I was with people running the same speed.
        So the race starts and I am thinking to myself that I want to start off a little bit slower but not so slow that I end up trying to make up for it with only a few miles to go. First few miles go by nice and smooth I'm feeling pretty good, legs are a bit tired and I can feel it's starting to warm up outside. By the time I hit the Zoo, which is about half way, the temperature has gone up at least 5 degrees and I am feeling hot. At this point I wanted to either turn up my speed a bit or at least hold a nice solid pace but as I check my Garmin every so often my pace keeps slowing. I'm getting a bit frustrated at this point I can see two people about a minute ahead of me and I'm thinking to myself I can catch them. Every time I feel like I am making a move though my pace has either slowed or is about the same. Mile 11 comes around and I feel like have tons of energy but for some reason I still can't get going so my new plan is to just make sure that no one passes me in the last 2 miles.
       The race finishes inside of Chuckchansi park, which is kind of cool for both spectators and runners since your family can see you finish and it's easier to meet up after the race. As I come down onto the stadium field I am still feeling full of energy but with tired legs, yet I find comfort in knowing that I have still met my goal of finishing under 1:25. I crossed the line in 1:24:24 and finished 15th overall and fourth in my age group. Had I finished 3rd I would have won a couple bucks which would have been sweet, maybe next time. As I made my out of the finish chute I saw Oswaldo Lopez who was helping pace the female overall winner, I introduced myself and let him know that I was big fan.
      Overall it was an ok race for me I wasn't stoked with my time or with the heat but I'll have plenty of time to get used the heat this summer. I am looking forward to my next run, Shadow of the Giants 50k which is June 2nd up in Fish Camp, Ca near Yosemite. That race is beautiful and is a bit more low key than most other races so it should be a great time.

Mile splits

Race route

A shitty run, literally!

       There has never been a point in my adult life where I really faced the possibility of shitting myself. However the poor choices, that I seem to make all too frequently with my diet, put me in these oh so delightful situations. I guess eating tons of sushi is never a good idea, or eating tons of fiber rich food the morning after eating tons of sushi. Having tons of any food in your system and then drinking a healthy amount of coffee usually helps to empty out said system within a good hour or so. After this hour has passed and bowel movements have been made I figure at that point I'm back at square one and I shouldn't encounter any problems for the rest of the day. Well I suppose that idea is a bunch of shit, pun intended.
       It's about 4 in the afternoon on Wednesday and a nice 90+ degrees out and I'm feeling pretty good, so I think to myself lets go for a little 10 mile run. First 4.5 miles I'm feeling great, not feeling to hot you know, sipping on some Cytomax along the way averaging about 7:15 min/mile pace, just cruising. At my turnaround there is a little pit stop with a gas station, Mcdonalds and Starbucks, I take a quick piss at johnny quick and then head back out on my way.
       At about oh 0.5 miles after I hit the turn around I get the overwhelming urge to push, like it's time to give birth to a massive dump. So, as I'm still running at a slowing pace, I weigh my options, do I go back to Johhny Quick and drop this bomb, do I continue on and hope it goes away or do I wait for another 2 miles before I hit the next pit stop. Oh no! it's coming now, so I turn the fuck around and pick up the pace with Johnny Quick in my sites. I get back there petty quick and I'm overwhelmed with relief that there is no one in the bathroom and I get straight to work. Wham bam and I'm done. I head across the parking lot and get back out to the trail feeling lighter on my feet and ready to get home to a nice cold shower.
       Now I'm about 5 minutes out and starting to feel like maybe I should have taken my time in the bathroom because it's starting all over. Nice poop cramps right in my lower gut, but this time it's no joke, this is the real deal, this is going to happen now. As I am trying to cope with these overwhelming feelings of shitting myself I see 3 older ladies walking the opposite direction on the trail. At this point I have stopped running because I am literally flexing my butthole so tight that I can't extend my legs enough to even power-walk. As the ladies get within feet of me I don't look in their direction because I'm thinking to myself that they are going to see a grown man in running shorts literally shit himself right now. They pass and I still haven't shit myself, now what, there isn't a tree, shrub or any scrap of cover for which I can use conceal this shitpocalypse that is about to take place. I look left, I look right, then down, a small trench maybe 6" deep with weeds growing in it, my shorts are at my knees, squatting just above the ground I feel the weeds poking my ass, ahhhhh relief. It's over, my shorts are up head down, weeds in my crack.
I get to the next pit stop and clean up, then head home. Garmin stopped as I am walking the last few feet to my door I am now thinking how I will retell this story to my wife, for some reason I don't think she will be too surprised.

New Shoes!

Oh snap got these bad boys off of Amazon for almost half price. I have the green and black ones but I've almost worn them through the sole. I love the Hattori's for running around town but definitely not on the trails. New shoes make you run faster, that's a fact. These look Usain fast, don't be scared when I pass you, lol.

Ultrarunning Magazine

    This past Christmas one of my gifts was a year long subscription to Ultrarunning magazine, freaking sweet gift. Well after receiving one issue in the mail for December I never got anything thereafter. So I emailed the magazine with my info and they said they would fix the problem and I would get the next issue in the mail. So the date for the next issue comes around and I get nothing, what the hell? I email the magazine again, still using a friendly tone, and explain to them that this is the second time I am contacting them about not receiving the magazine and I was assured they would fix the problem and get the next issue out to me. Well low and behold I checked the mail yesterday and guess what I received? Thats right, my Ultrarunning magazine the May/June issue, finally. Oh and guess what was inside, other than many awesome reports, my Rocky Road 100 results and also my buddy Eric's 50 mile results. This is the first of many times I hope to see my name in the magazine.

19th Place

Eric in 10th