Had Good Intentions to Run the Miller Family YMCA 5K on the 4th of July

But...I didn't actually run the race. In fact, I had signed up myself and my 10 year old to run the 5K together but he ended up sleeping until 9 a.m. that morning and I didn't want to drag him out of bed.

The Miller Family YMCA in Newbury Park hosted its 3rd Annual Independence Day 5K/10K, Classic Car Show and Pancake Breakfast on July 4th. I hadn't done a race since the 5K in April that trashed my right hamstring and am still not 100% recovered to run another "full on" race. But I thought it would be fun to run with my son to start out the holiday.

Near the start of the 5K.

He was out too late the night before bottom line, and with plans to watch firewalks that evening, I didn't want to wake him. So I went over to the race anyway to check it out. I actually placed my bib number on my shirt and timer card on my shoelaces, but changed my mind before the race based on how my hamstring felt. So I decided to just go for a run instead and cheer on some of the runners.

I spoke with John Fedoroff of Thousand Oaks, age 44 and overall winner of the 5K in 17:19, a somewhat pedestrian time for someone who was the overall winner of last year's Malibu Marathon in 2:37. He noted the hill in the first mile of the race was pretty challenging. Maybe he's right, as only 3 of the 430 finishers completed the 5K in under 20 minutes, including 2nd and 3rd place finsihers, Brandon Rista, age 21, of Newbury Park (18:55) and Justin Spina, age 33, of Newbury Park (19:55), respectively. John's entire family ran the race as he went back to cheer them on after crossing the finish line!

Top female finishers in the 5K were Sara Pearson, age 20 (hometown not indicated) in 20:18, Swathi Samuel, age 15, of Newbury Park in 20:47 and Nicole Burch, age 13 of Newbury Park in 21:13 (wow!).

The 10K started 10 minutes before the 5K and I managed to catch the eventual winner, Logan Beteta, age 15, of Newbury Park, running below between the 2 and 3 mile mark of the race. He handily won in an outstanding time of 34:24.

Miller YMCA 10K winner Logan Beteta, age 15, from Newbury Park.Filling out the top 3 of the 10K were 38 year old Chris Clarke of Newbury Park (36:41) and 30 year old Steve Cox of Newbury Park (38:50). Thirty eight year old Jennifer Todd off Newbury Park was way out in front in an outstanding time of 39:10, followed by 30 year old Janelle Achenbach of Thousand Oaks (44:35) and 51 year old Tina Burch of Newbury Park (45:54). I strongly suspect a family relationship between Tina and Nicole, 3rd place finisher in the 5K. Like mother, like daughter, as they say! (again, I'm making an assumption here...)

Bodily Ailments in Process of Being Resolved at the Chiropractic Office

Good fridge or bad fridge? Maybe good fridge as it forced me back to visit my chiropractor.My training has been hampered for several months now due to a problem with my right hamstring that I tweaked at at 5K race in April. Additionally, I kindly yet ignorantly decided to help a friend lift a refrigerator into a truck without wearing some type of lower back support. The combination of the two left my walking like a zombie right out of Night of the Living Dead a few weeks ago. As a result, after a long hiatus from chiropractic care, I paid my favorite local chiropractor, Dr. Stanley Jensen of Jensen Walkin Chiropractic in Camarillo, a visit.

The first issue to resolve was my back. There was a delayed reaction between the time I helped with the fridge and the following day, when I felt the lower back "go out" (technical terminology). When I blamed my friend for my back ailment, he mentioned perhaps it was the two hours of swimming and messing around in the pool with the kids that did it. Nah. It was the fridge.

As is usually the case with my chiropractic experience, the day after my initial adjustment is often worse. I'm in more pain. I have less flexibility. I'm more miserable. But having gone through this cycle for so many years now, I know that the pain and suffering is part of the recovery process. Kind of like the day after the marathon, which is usually the day that I'm at my peak soreness.

So after my initial adjustment on Monday, by Wednesday my back was back to about 60% normal at my second adjustment, and on Friday, back to 90%. That was two weeks ago. Last week, after resolving the back issue, the goal was to remedy my nagging hamstring issue. I actually can thank my friend who asked me to help move the heavy refrigerator as the back spasm it caused forced me to finally get back to my chiropractor to resolve the chronic hamstring issue that wouldn't go away!

I pretty much run through all pain, unless it is practically impossible to do to, like last year, two weeks prior to my Malibu Marathon, when I developed a sharp pain in my lower left calf halfway into a long run. It the pain is sharp I stop running. If the pain is dull, yet nagging, I stil run. That's the mode I've been in since mid-April. I can't run fast and I can't run much more than an hour due to the annoying pain.

My hypothesis as to the cause for my injuries is often wrong. I thought I had strained my hamstring muscle. Nope, Jensen indicated it was a nerve issue, of which I cannot recall the name of the nerve he mentioned. He's resolved some extremely chronic, recurring issues for me in the past and I trust him to make the right assessment. Whatever he's doing now, it is very slowly...but surely...getting a little better each week. So I'm hoping to be back to running with a smile on my face soon.

Ventura County Sheriff Reminder That Pedestrians in Bike Lanes is Prohibited

Today a press release from the Ventura County Sheriff's Office came out and it was kind of a downer for me. It was a reminder that since 1/1/77, California law prohibits pedestrians (e.g. walkers, joggers, runners) from using bike lanes when sidewalks are available. I do a lot of running facing traffic in bike lanes early in the morning. Uh oh...

Press release from local.nixle.com/alert/5015878:

Jogging and walking in bicycle lanes when sidewalks are available is against California Vehicle Code law.

With the beautiful warmer days ahead, many people will be heading to the roadways and sidewalks throughout the city to enjoy the fresh air and scenery. We want to make sure that everyone enjoys this nice weather safely. It is very important to remember that bicycle lanes are for bicycles and not for jogging or walking.

Violations of this law can result in the violators receiving a citation.

California Vehicle Code---21966. States no pedestrian shall proceed along a bicycle path or lane where there is an adjacent adequate pedestrian facility (Added Ch. 751, Stats. 1976. Effective January 1, 1977.)

Be conscientious of all of those around us enjoying the outdoors and be respectful of the laws designed for our safety so we can all enjoy a great summer.

Clif Bar Mountains 2 Beach Marathon and Half Marathon Results From Last Sunday

The Clif Bar Mountains 2 Beach Marathon and Half Marathon took place this past Sunday, May 26th, on Memorial Day wekeend. The course begins near Nordhoff High School in Ojai with a 10k road loop followed by over 10 miles of downhill, paved bike path before beginning a road and bike path loop near the Ventura Oceanfront. There is a net downhill of over 700 feet over the course.

We saw some of the final finisher coming through back up the bike path from Marina Park to Surfers Point underneath the pier.This I believe was the 3rd year of the event (previously called the Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon) and it has fast become very popular , selling out registrations for both the full and half marathon. I think it is safe to say that this is the fastest marathon course located solely in Ventura County. There 1,258 finishers this year and the top 3 finishers were:

• 41 year old Ricardo Ramirez of Sun Valley in 2:31:23
• 22 year old John Svet of Brea in 2:31:57
• 52 year old Matt Ebiner of Covina in 2:32:55 (Run at age 52 and just 6 weeks after running the Boston Marathon 2 seconds faster! In fact Matt is something else...according to his El Camino College website, he is currently ranked #1 in the WORLD for age 50+ marathoners and ran the 1988 and 1992 Olympic Trials Marathons. Wow Matt, let's get you transfered out to a local Ventura County college!)

The top female finishers in the race were:

• 33 year old Jenni Johnson of Tustin in 2:51:34 (16th place overall)
• 20 year old Paige Burgin of Los Alamitos in 2:53:20 (23rd overall)
• 29 year old Jill Himlan of Santa Barbara in 2:55:25 (32nd overall)

A total of 54 runners, or 4.3% of the total, ran under 3 hours at Mountains 2 Beach. That compares to less than 1% of runners at the Los Angeles Marathon, 2.2% of runners at 2012 Santa Barbara Marathon and 1.1% of the runners at last year's Rock 'n Roll Marathon in San Diego as a comparison.

The fastest marathoners based in Ventura County were:

• 38 year old John Kitt of Ventura in 2:52 (18th overall)
• 28 year old Jose Lastre of Camarillo in 2:55 (30th overall)
• 40 year old James Casper of Newbury Park in 2:55 (33rd overall)
• 37 year old Joseph Jauregui of Newbury Park in 2:59 (51st overall)
• 28 year old Melissa Hernandez of Oxnard in 2:59 (54th overall, 6th female)

Congratulations! Learn more about this race at www.mountains2beachmarathon.com.

Running Through Hamstring Problem and Trying Out Skechers Running Shoes

When my running is "off" I tend to have less to write about; hence the month long break between postings here. My right hamstring became problematic at a local 5K race on April 13th and I've been running through the issue for the last five weeks.

If this were a sharp pain I would take some time off, but since the issue is more of a general, dull, soreness, I opt to continue running. But I generally get away with about an hour of running. But the good news is that it feels a little less sore as the days pass by.

For years my kids take me to the local Skechers store at The Oaks Mall. I've purchased a few pairs of casual wear shoes in there and like their shoes, but never ventured into their "GoRun" running shoes. Well recently I gave it a try. And I like them!

These GoRun shoes only weigh about 7 ounces but actually feel reasonably cushioned to me. I was shocked at how comfortable and light they felt the first time I actually ran in them. I've worn these on trails and roads and they feel perfectly fine on both. And they look different than other running shoes.

Skechers GOrun ride offers extra cushioning for elevated comfort and support on every run. Shop now!

2013 Boston Marathon Results for Ventura County and Adjacent Area Finishers

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the today's cowardly Boston Marathon bomb attacks along with their families and the entire city of Boston. It was really a challenge trying to get anything done this afternoon as the news reports rolled in.

I've run two Boston Marathons, had to cancel my third Boston Marathon last year and having passed on the opportunity to run this year's race, this attack was particularly troubling for me. We are all in mourning and in shock. But let's take a brief moment out of all the chaos to recognize those from our local community who completed the 2013 Boston Marathon.

I noticed that Jack Redmond of Camarillo finished just seconds before the first explosion. This Ventura County Star article talks about the aftermath and the stories of some local runners. The article notes some runners were diverted as a result of the blast and thus were unable to cross the finish line. Stacy Stapleton of Camarillo falls into this category. Contact us if you are aware of other locals who were unable to finish due to the attacks.

Benjamin Atkins, Westlake Village, 2:48:15

Jay Loppnow, Camarillo, 3:00:51

Scott Hambly, Thousand Oaks, 3:02:51

Bobby Scott, Ventura, 3:07:56

Christopher Eldridge, Malibu, 3:08:00

Daniel Greider, Ventura, 3:12:08

Rob Hennick, Moorpark, 3:12:11

Jason Griffith, Thousand Oaks, 3:13:34

Glenn Fout, Ojai, 3:20:05

Rafael Gonzales, Camarillo, 3:21:36

Leanne Mohr, Camarillo, 3:23:14

April Lecroy, Ventura, 3:25:54

Jeff Hager, Camarillo, 3:26:24

Jenny Loppnow, Camarillo, 3:29:38

Becky McClintock, Calabasas, 3:29:54

Janice Hyllengren, Moorpark, 3:31:01

Lauren Matzuka, Oak Park, 3:31:15

Mallory Ham, Simi Valley, 3:32:31

Randy Miller, Newbury Park, 3:32:52

Karen Faulhaber, Thousand Oaks, 3:33:26

Lane Desborough, Thousand Oaks, 3:33:30

Rachael Parent, Moorpark, 3:35:02

Amada Garcia, Thousand Oaks, 3:36:55

Julie Ungerleider, Camarillo, 3:37:23

David Moore, Moorpark, 3:39:16

John Wheeler, Simi Valley, 3:39:40

Wendy Raymond, Westlake Village, 3:41:23

Christine Powell, Thousand Oaks, 3:42:35

Sara Jones, Moorpark, 3:43:19

Kirk Waldron, Westlake Village, 3:43:29

Jackie Jones, Newbury Park, 3:45:13

Lisa Mcclellan, Simi Valley, 3:45:52

Steve Arce, Malibu, 3:46:00

Melissa Hernandez, Oxnard, 3:46:00

Rosa Cameron, Oxnard, 3:46:34

Nicholas Duca, Simi Valley, 3:48:10 (Nicholas is 70 years old and finished 6th overall in his division!)

Stacy Galer, Westlake Village, 3:49:57

Susan Duenas, Thousand Oaks, 3:53:15

Laureen Friedman, Oxnard, 3:54:54

Timothy Giller, Simi Valley, 3:55:03

Amy Kupic, Newbury Park, 4:06:43

Jack Redmond, Camarillo, 4:08:10

Lisa Jones, Thousand Oaks, 4:21:07

Dave Czerwonka, Thousand Oaks, 4:22:12

Another 5K Race...at Least I'm Consistent at the 35th Annual Camarillo Kiwanis 5K

Today I ran my first race in about 6 weeks, the 35th Annual Camarillo Kiwanis 5K/10K. According to race organizers, this is the oldest race in Ventura County.

This is one of the most low key, mellow races you'll find. With only 134 total participants in the combined races, parking is not an issue. This year the race took place at a new venue, Pleasant Valley Fields. The course circles around the park onto the Calleguas Bike Path, where most of the running takes place for both races.

I felt fit a week ago but my hamstrings have been sore from sitting too much I think. Maybe I need to sit on ice bags or something. This morning my right hammie was a little sore and stiff before the race and stretching didn't do me any good. But the race started at 7:30am, I was paid for, so I was gonna run, sore buttock or no sore buttock.

First mile was 5:42 behind a youngster who was wall ahead of me. But I knew I would not be able to maintain that pace as my right hamstring at that point had an even more distinct pain. So I plugged onward for an 18:18 5K, good for 2nd overall. It was a disappointment for me because when I signed up I felt I could regain my sub 18 5K time today based on my recent training. But it just wasn't to be today. I believe a day or two off will help me more than anything.

Kudos to the Camarillo Kiwanis for running a nice local event while maintaining registration fees at only $25, including t-shirt and post-race eats. $25 5K races are a dying breed. $30, $35, $40 and even more is what I'm seeing out there. So for that fact alone, do consider the 36th Annual Camarillo Kiwanis 5K/10K in 2014! Visit kiwanisclubofcamarillo.com for updates. The Kiwanis uses all net proceeds from the race for local scholarships. A worthy cause.

Results From 28th Annual Great Race of Agoura Hills on March 23, 2013

The 28th Annual Great Race of Agoura Hills, one of the largest and longest-running (no pun intended) local running events in the Conejo Valley as well as Greater Los Angeles area, took place on Saturday, March 23rd. I was not able to make this year's race due to kid commitments but it certainly was a nice morning. Let's take a look at the top finishers in the various races that day.

Here are the stats and some of the top placing runners in this year's event:

• Deena Kastor 5K: 1,456 finishers (652 male, 804 female) (1,409 finishers in 2012)
• Old Agoura 10K: 1,319 finishers (493 male, 826 female) (1,639 finishers in 2012)
• Pacific Half Marathon: 441 finishers (203 male, 238 female) (549 finishers in 2012)
• Cheseboro Half Marathon: 913 finishers (478 male, 435 female) (1,034 finishers in 2012)
• Kids' One Mile: 381 finishers (205 male, 176 female) (443 finishers in 2012)

In total, there were 4,510 finishers in the five races, down about 11% from 2012.

Here are the 5 finishers from each race! Visit www.greatraceofagoura.com for more details.

Cheseboro Half Marathon (Men):

1. CAMERON ZIMMERMANN 1:22:41
2. SHAI BIRMAHER 1:23:03
3. MYLES COCKBURN 1:23:40
4. KEVIN BUELL 1:24:19
5. JAMES DAVY 1:25:55

Cheseboro Half Marathon (Women)

1. ELAINE WOODWARD 1:31:13
2. JENNIFER TODD 1:31:40
3. ERIN WHARTON 1:35:28
4. CHRISTINA LIGHTFOOT 1:35:37
5. ANISSA FAULKNER 1:35:43

Pacific Half Marathon (Men)

1. JEFFREY JACKSON 1:13:01
2. TYLER TOCKSTEIN 1:14:09
3. CAMDEN MCALISTER 1:16:32
4. MARCUS GEORGE 1:20:43
5. PAUL COONEY 1:26:29

Pacific Half Marathon (Women)

1. JESSICA DOUGLAS 1:28:49
2. RACHAEL PARENT 1:35:07 (Rachael was 4th last year in 1:39:51 - nice improvement!)
3. MARA STEGEMANN 1:35:35
4. GINA JOHNSON 1:36:07 (Gina was 3rd last year in 1:37:50)
5. LAUREN PHILLIPS 1:36:31

Old Agoura 10K (Men)

1. ISIDORE HERRERA 30:46
2. SERGIO REYES 31:17 (Sergio was also 2nd last year in 29:49)
3. EULOGIO RODRIGUEZ 32:09
4. JUSTIN PATANANAN 33:28
5. TEERTH PATEL 35:58

Old Agoura 10K (Women)

1. LIZ CAMY-BLACKWELL 36:46 (Blackwell also won last year in 36:14)
2. JENN BETANCOURT 41:42
3. JENNIFER SUNAHARA 43:59
4. GABRIELLE BRADLEY 44:47
5. SANDRA SCHWARTZ 46:16

Deena Kastor 5K (Men)

1. ZACK SCHWARTZ 15:14
2. DYLAN MAJERUS 16:51
3. JEFF WELLS 17:43
4. RUSTY SNOW 17:45
5. GARY BARBER 18:09

Deena Kastor 5K (Women)

1. ANDREA MCLARTY 17:12
2. CAROL MONTGOMERY 17:38
3. CINDY ABRAMI 18:06
4. OLIVIA GHAUSSY 19:22
5. SARAH SHULZE 19:38 (Sarah is in the 11-12 age group! Way to go, Sarah!)

Kids 1 Mile (Boys)

1. MICHAEL BARBER 5:46
2. GRIFFIN ARCHER 5:59
3. MATTHEW SPEER 6:04
4. ARMAND ASLANIAN 6:12
5. JACK MILLSPAUGH 6:19

Kids 1 Mile (Girls)

1. CELESTE SCHREIFELS 6:20
2. TATIANA BANI 6:40
3. JENNA FORSTON 6:40
4. TAYLOR NITZSCHE 6:43
5. NATALIE NITZSCHE 6:46

You definitely need to sign up in advance for these races if at all possible, preferably by mid-December, as pricing gets pretty high as the race approaches. For example, the Old Agoura 10K is $35, already a bit on the high side, rises as high as $45 a month prior to the race. As great as this race is, that's a bit too much in my opinion. Another popular local race, the Calabasas Classic, charges $25 for the 10K up until just a few weeks prior to the event.

The half marathons are also great but if you procrastinate like me you end up paying $95 to $100, which, frankly, I won't pay for a half marathon. Just too much. The price this year was $70 prior to December 16, 2012, which is a fair price, albeit $20 higher than it was just five years ago. Hope to make it back out there next year!

Los Angeles Marathon "Stadium to the Sea" Course - Is It Faster Than Previous Course?

It was a lot of fun watching the LA Marathon last Sunday. Having run my PR on the LA course "back in the day" and other solid times in the late 1990s, I was kind of curious about how fast the newer "Stadium to the Sea" course was compared to previous courses that started and finished in downtown Los Angeles.

"Stadium to the Sea" saw its first running in 2010, brought about by new owner, Frank McCourt. McCourt, widely villified as Dodgers owner, only to reap a record price for the team last year, was seen after the race with LA Mayor Anthony Villaraigoza having fun congratulating the winners of the race.

I considered signing up for the race as a last minute fun run but it was sold out. Not too many years ago you could sign up last minute for the LA Marathon, but it has gained popularity, as has marathoning in general, leaving last minute signups more of a challenge.

Did about 17 miles back here since they wouldn't sell me a last minute entry to the Los Angeles Marathon. Score a win for me!

So, about this course...is it faster than previous "loop" courses?

For the "average" runner, and by average I mean the average time for all finishers, the aggregate time for the first 3 years of the course (2013 results still not available in a manageable format) was 5:18. This compares to an aggregate average time over the previous 10 years, on various loop courses, of 5:33. (Thanks to MarathonGuide.com, my favorite website for marathon information, for this data.) This would indicate the new course is faster overall, which makes sense as the course now has a net elevation drop of 430 feet.

Something that more "competitive" running types sometimes do is compare how their time on a course would have placed them in other years. While many factors are at play in making year over year comparisons, such as weather, course conditions, the competition, it is just one of those things that we like to do.

My PR marathon time was on the 1997 LA Marathon loop course, where my 2:35 got me 35th place. That same time on average would have garnered an average place of 23 to 24 over the last 14 years, as well as over the last 4 years of Stadium to Sea. I guess when I ran the race, there was simply more competition. Last Sunday, a 2:35 would have garnered 22nd. While I'm nowhere near that kind of time today, it would be fun to go back and give the Stadium to Sea course a try. Bottom line however, is that for whatever reason, the times for non-elite age runner top 100 placer times appear to have slowed over the years.

Let's get back to the aggregate numbers. The average aggregate recent times in the LA Marathon, while 15 minutes faster than on previous LA courses, are still significantly slower than other large races. For example, the previous 5-year average times at New York (excluding the cancelled 2012 race due to the impact of Hurricane Sandy) and Chicago were 4:26 and 4:37, respectively. Those are dramatically faster than the average times in Los Angeles.

Why is this? Well, I'm guessing but I suspect that we have more marathon "walkers" and fundraisers in LA that bring the average up. Also, each year the wonderful Students Run LA charity brings 3,000 at-risk teens to the marathon, including nearly 3,200 in 2013. Nearly 100% of the SRLA high school seniors graduate high school and go on to attend to attend college. I don't know the average time for SRLA runners but I suspect it does bring down overall aggregate times to a degree.

But let's digress again. how about the overall winning times at the LA Marathon? They have definitely dropped. Prior to the Stadium to the Sea route, the average Downtown LA Loop course from 1996 to 2009 was 2:11:48. Stadium to the Sea has run for 4 years now, including the unbelievable 2:06:05 course record first-time marathon performance in 2 inches of torrential rain by Markos Geneti of Ethiopia in 2011 has been 2:09:27. Three of the four Stadium to the Sea events have been sub 2:10.

So definitely, the course has made progress, though we're still not at the level of other major U.S. courses. The average winning time at Chicago over the last six years was 2:06:39. The average winning time in New York over that period (excluding 2012) was 2:08:04. Still solidly ahead of LA...but in this case, I suspect it is because they payday at those races is substantially higher than at LA.

OK, enough of this analysis paralysis. Let's get running!

Interval Training on the Roads as an Alternative to the Track

There's no arguing that if you're looking to improve your speed, doing intervals on the track will help. A standard 400 meter track makes it easy to run any distance in repetitive format. I prefer simple workouts like 400s at 5K or faster pace with a 200 or 400 meter jog in between.

But I don't like running on the track for various reasons. It is always challenging finding/making the time to get over to the track when it is open. Running in circles isn't particularly fun for me. And I tend to get injured on the track.

As an alternative, a few weeks ago I started to do a little stealh interval work on a local road. Starting out with only 4 repetitions from one point to another on a slightly downhill surface, I'll jog back to the start, a noticeable crack in the pavement. The finish is a sign adjacent to the road. Nothing fancy. I don't even know the exact distance (though I'd estimate it is about 450 meters).

I feel fitter already, having done this routine just once a week. I'm up to repetitions. This upcoming week will test my commitment with the Daylight Saving time change...one less hour of sleep this week!

So think about mixing it up in your own routine a bit. You'll definitely notice a difference.