The Run Your Potential runners had a great year so let me list some highlights:

The coach managed 14 races in 2010. The total included 3 Marathons, 2 Half Marathons, 7 5K’s, and 2 mile races. The best times were:

USATF Road Mile in 4:57
Dana Point Turkey Trot 5K 16:57
California International Marathon in 2:42:01

Here’s a good picture near the finish of the road mile which was held on the old air strip of the El Toro Marine Base. That was a really fun race and intend to go back in 2011.

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Laurent had a great year!

At the Marathon distance he went from a PR 3:24 at the San Diego RnR in June to a big PR 3:10 at CIM in December.

At the Half distance he started the year with a 1:33 at the LA 13.1 Half and in October set  a PR  1:26 at the LA RnR Half.

In March he ran a 10K time of 41:24 at the Spirit Run and in November a PR  39:10 at the Dino Dash.

All very solid improvements and he is just starting to really get into the swing of things as the year closed out. Next big goal for him is running  a PR at the Boston Marathon in April ’11.

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Matt ran the OC Marathon in May and qualified for the Boston Marathon with a ‘perfect pacing’ time of  3:19:23.  After major celebrations lasting for weeks, he toed the line at the Down Town Anaheim 5K in June and set a PR of 19:44. He also went 19:21 at the Long Beach 5K but hard to count that one since the course was short. At any rate, Matt is totally committed to the training for the 115th Boston Marathon coming up in just a couple months and looking to PR at the marathon once again.

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Robert also had an incredible running year in 2010. After many seasons of trying to qualify for Boston we laid out a Run Your Potential plan to make sure he had a good chance. The Long Beach Marathon was the venue and Robert did not disappoint by running a very even split 3:32:55 .. about 3 minutes faster than what was needed to achieve his goal!  Robert is also in the thick of training for his first Boston Marathon and looking forward to seeing him run a great race there.

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Sydney had a great year but with a tough finish. After setting a huge PR at the SD RnR Marathon she trained all summer for the Marine Core Marathon. She ran more than she ever had and some great tune up races. She had the fitness to easily qualify at MCM (including running the first 20 miles of the Camarillo Marathon at BQ pace as a training run!). But her achilles heel turned out to be her achilles heel. In the marathon minor problems have a way of becoming major problems and Sydney’s heel started to protest heavily with only half the race over. Despite slowing to see if it would go away, it became apparent that continuing on would risk some serious injury. So for the first time in her running career she decided to stop, which was the smart thing to do. Now Sydney is running pain free and training has started for the OC Marathon coming up in May. Sometimes running is a sport of delayed gratification and we see great things in store for Sydney this year!

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Sabrina ran a big 3 minute PR at the OC marathon in May with a 3:08:37  After doing some shorter races in the summer she started ramping back up for a fall marathon. Unfortunately some minor issues came up that kept pushing back the training schedule until we could decide to put it together for the Surf City Marathon in early February. We did quite a few training runs on the course which allowed her to become very familiar with the layout of the course and the terrain she would encounter. On race day she was on target until late in the race but she dug very deep during the last 10K and crossed the line in 3:03:41 for third place woman overall and a nearly 5 minute PR!!

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Lauren ran a wide variety of races in 2010. She started with the Southern California Half, then ran the Spirit Run 10K on the way to running her first  Boston Marathon! She quickly followed that with the OC Marathon two weeks later!  Later in the summer she ran the Bulldog 50K Ultra .. her longest race to date and the Pacific Coast Triathlon in September. Now she is training for a big PR at the OC Marathon in May.

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Susan put in some great training which translated into outstanding races in 2010. She ran a 18:47 PR at the Carlsbad 5000 .. more than a minute and half better than the year before! Then she ran a 1:27:57 at the OC Half which was another PR. Next up was an 18:34 PR at the Magic Shoe. In October she ran a 1:25:02 at the Long Beach Half which was almost 2 minutes faster than her OC  Half time. An excellent year and really looking forward to seeing what she can do in 2011!

Then I drove off to figure out parking and getting to the course around the 10 mile mark. 4 RYP runners were in the race, Doris and Sandra both running the Half as training runs. And Sydney and Laurent were in for the Full.

The weather started out pretty good with overcast conditions but as time went on the sun started to peek out from the marine layer. Sydney was shooting for a 3:50 goal and she lined up an awesome race and a 20:34 PR!  Here are her splits:

5K goal 27:15 (she ran 27:07)
10K goal 54:31 (she ran 54:00)
Half goal 1:55:00 (she ran 1:55:05)
Full goal 3:50:00 (she ran 3:49:00)

Laurent had a goal to BQ. His training and shorter race results were very encouraging and it looked on paper like getting a big PR and BQ was going to happen. But as we all know, the marathon can be a very humbling experience. Laurent went out fast and strong only to slow significantly in the final 10K. The sun came out, Laurent melted and had to go through some seriously tough miles to get to the finish. But he did continue to run and even picked it up at the end. The result was a 12 minute PR, and that Boston Qualifier that he wanted so much! Since then Laurent has been putting in some great training and smashing his PR’s at all the shorter distances. Next up for him is CIM in December (quick edit .. Laurent ran a 3:10:19 at CIM .. a 16 minute PR which moves him way up in the corrals for Boston!)

For the rest of the summer many of us have been working on our speed and short race training. Each Tuesday in the wee early hours at the Laguna Beach track, the LBHS ‘breakfast club’ meets to do form drills, run 200 repeats and then 5K intervals. Sometimes we take to the local hills and run hill intervals to work on strength and VO2max. Other times we stick to the track and run 600 to 1200′s. The group dynamic has been very good and having running partners to help with pace and consistency is really beneficial. Below are some videos of some track workouts in slow motion:

April - Bob R. , Karen, Lauren, Doris and Bob T. ran the 114th Boston Marathon.

Bob R. set a 9 minute PR and met his goal of running every step of the way while finishing strong!

Karen ran another BQ at Boston despite getting a last minute cold. She has been working on her speed and form and expects to really kick it on the Boston course next year.

Lauren found out the Boston hills were tough but she ran a 3:41 and had a fantastic time and plans to run the OC marathon in a couple weeks.

Doris’ goal was to take in Boston for a victory lap and she surprised herself by running so well she missed her BQ time by less than a minute.

Bob T. cruised to finish under his BQ time.

May – Sabrina ran the OC Marathon with a 3 minute PR time of 3:08,  first in her AG and fourth female. She was primed for something faster but as can happen often in marathons a couple issues cropped up. She’s now training for the Surf City Marathon in early Feb. 2011.

Matt also ran the OCM and finished with a PR and in BQ goal time! Major props to Matt for his dedicated training and focus. Also props to pacer Greg who made sure in no uncertain terms that Matt was going to BQ.

Lauren completed the Boston/OCM double with a 3:41 and 3:40.  BQ’s again and shows she has a gift for the marathon.

Coach John also ran the OC Marathon in a time of 2:50. Good for first place AG award and was about as expected due to the short training cycle.

A good running friend from Riverside, Jeff finished in a PR sub3 time. Something that has eluded him for quite a few years. So very cool to see him run the final stretch and see he was going to finally sub-3! It was so cool that his picture is being used for promoting next years race!

Susan ran the OC Half, finished with a PR in 1:27 and a first in her AG. Her consistent training is really paying off.

Sandra ran the 5K .. her first race in a long time after injury. I expected her to run 20:52 but she came in with a 20:30 so she beat expectations!

Next up for RYP runners .. SD RnR in June!

First up was Bob Rowan who ran the Spirit Run 10K in Newport Beach on March 21st. The target pace was 6:51 and Bob ran a 42:17 which equals a 6:49 pace! Excellent pacing and a good confidence builder for the upcoming Boston race. Here’s a picture of him stretching it out into the finish .. and a great shot of Bob running the 5K with his better half, Mary Ellen.

My brother Terry and his daughter Kelly ran the Spirit Run 5K.  Terry won 2nd place in the 50-54 age division with a 22:47. I paced him in for the final mile and he ran a PR (funny he didn’t look all that happy about it in the finishing chute).  Kelly won 3rd place in the 19-24 age division with a 26:54 (which was also a PR). A fun time for all. Here’s a group shot with the medal winners and coach!

Bob continued with another tune-up two weeks later at Santa Anita. Despite the slower conditions of the final quarter mile on the soft dirt of the horse track, he clocked a 20:25 5K .. a 6:34 pace which matched up with his target exactly. I’m predicting a sub 20 is in his future, once we do some specific 5K training and unleash the speed on a fast course.

Then Sabrina got into the tune-up race mode with the Seal Beach 10K on April 10th. She ran a blistering 39:26 (6:22 pace) for 26th OA and 1st in her AG. This was a big 3 minute 15 second PR and well under the sub 40 level! Here is Sabrina post-race with Gary and Tom, two SCRR runners who also had great races.

And as a bonus while waiting for her award she got meet and talk to Mary Akor (in Blue), one of the top US Marathoners who won the 10K outright, beating all the male runners.

The Carlsbad 5000 was the very next day and we had couple RYP runners there, Susan who had been training for this as one of her goal races and yours truly. Also present were many friends from A Snails Pace, SCRR and just about everyone else in Southern California. I lined up for hopefully my first race finish in 2010.

I went out purposefully a little slow and sure enough there were lots of people passing me and forming a large crowd in front. But I cruised along, listening to many people starting to breath hard and held to my pace. I passed the one mile clock in 5:32 (which was a little disappointing considering I passed it last year at 5:16) but I felt like I was where I needed to be. I passed a few coming out of the 180 turn and on the upgrade during mile 2 and felt like I was running about the same pace. Mile two was 5:38 and at least I felt smooth and nothing was hurting. The final mile has some slight down, another 180 turn and some slight up grade. The Garmin showed that mile passed in 5:34 and the final .15 downhill in 4:43 pace. So I was able to add some speed near the end and finish strong  with 17:25.

… and btw, I did pass the guy in blue seen here in front of me on the final turn.

Susan ran the Carlsbad 5000 last year in 20:12. This year, with better training, she went out quick and held on strong for a 18:46! A huge PR at this distance.

This earned her a 6th place AG and 15th place OA .. sweet! Here’s a post race photo with friends and relatives that came out to support her.

Next up Boston .. think I’ll stop here for now and give the Boston recap in a new entry.

So two weeks later I was toeing the line at a 5K (So Cal Half/5K on January 9th). During the first half mile of the race my foot I could feel the pressure and some discomfort on the arch. I tried adapting my stride slightly and then tried the ‘I’ll just ignore it’ technique hoping it needed to ‘warm up more’. Well, at about the 3/4 mile point the body signal that you can’t really ignore, SHARP PAIN, became all-consuming and I stepped off the course. I limped along for awhile and then stopped and cheered for the runners going past.

Once back at the start/finish area I changed shoes, watched the finish of the 5K, hung out with A Snails Pace friends (see below) and waited for the 1/2 marathoners to start coming through.

I was bummed about my injury but soon focused on the performance of others. I got word that Cheryl Smith, one of the runners I coach, was in first place. I headed over to a point of the course .. the final 1/4 mile where there was a good vantage point and no crowds. The half marathon was a tune-up race for Cheryl and part of her preparation for the LA Marathon in March. I caught sight of her running strongly on the bike path.

And then she was charging around the final turn … and heading into the final stretch.

Final time  1:17:26 . 5:55 ave pace. 1st place Female!

Cheryl went on to run the Los Angeles Marathon on March 22, 2010 with a time of 2:45:19. This qualfies her to compete in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials being held in Houston, TX January 14th, 2012. The top three women at the trials will make the U.S. Team and compete in the 2012 London Olympic games.

Coastline Pilot article

Also running a tune-up race in the first Quarter of ’10 was Karen Winter. Karen is training to run the Boston Marathon in April. On February 7th she lined up at the Redondo Beach 10K and ran a 51:37, This was almost the same time as the Dino Dash in Nov. but on a more challenging course. Here’s Karen (in green top) flying towards the finish.

Bob Rowan, who is training for Boston in April, ran the Surf City Half as a tune-up race. His had a race goal of  1:36 (7:19 pace) but really cranked in the final miles and ran a 1:33:49 (7:10 average pace) !

Bob Thews also jumped into the Half as a training run. His very even split 1:39:29 showed he is looking good for reaching his Boston PR goal.

Matt Hood signed up with RYP shortly after running a 3:26:42 at Surf City on February 7th. His goal is a 3:20 Boston Qualifying time and wants to be ready for another attempt at the Orange County Marathon on May 2nd. Also in February Matt ran a 33;13 at the Brea 8K showing he has the leg speed at the shorter distance races. The focus will be on increasing his weekly run volume and introduce a variety of running paces to stimulate the proper adaptations to get him under 3:20

5 runners at RYPs are training for the Boston Marathon this year, two for the OC Marathon and one for San Diego. Also have runners targeting the shorter distances who are building up for a fast times at the Carlsbad 5000 and some local Half Marathons. But I’ll get into all that in the next update. Train well everyone!

The biggest problem I had over the years with running partners was finding someone that ran about the same pace. It wasn’t fair to either party if one had to wait all the time or the other was forced to run faster than they should. So I would just go back to my one training partner that I knew I could hang with .. myself.

But this last year I trained with far more people than the previous 52 years combined. What changed? I joined the South Coast Road Runners http://www.roadrunners.org/ and started doing most of my long runs with the group. With a large group you have the wide spectrum of runners represented. Young and not so young … fast and not so fast.   It’s much easier to find a group or another individual that is going your pace for that day. Or if you like to vary your paces you can leap frog from one group to the next and back again.

From a training perspective it is well known that running with a group is easier than solo running. There is a group run dynamic where pacing becomes more automatic and easier to follow as like runners fall into the same rhythm. Plus it’s easier to tell if you are slowing down or speeding up since the collective group will hold a more even pace. And those times when your energy ebbs are easier to deal with when you are with others. Their strength can help keep you focused or you may help pull them along .. it’s all a little easier to deal with with a gaggle of runners.

Then there is the purely social aspect! Maybe because most runners do the majority of their workouts solo, when you get them together they make up for lost time. Talking about running, making jokes, discovering the true meaning of the universe and plain being social happens before, during and after the run. Going for a post run breakfast and coffee becomes the norm and making good friends and running buddies is the natural outcome.

So, if you haven’t already joined a running club in your area I would definitely recommend that you try it out. Be more run social in 2010 and your training will benefit too.