Day 435: Today was a good day

Keeping on track with my 1,000 days to Boston journey, I passed another milestone today. I ran the San Jose Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon, and met my goal! Highlights from the race included a running Elvis, at least 15 rock bands lining the race, someone offering free bacon (I declined), lots of cow bells ("I gotta have more cowbell!"), a little rain at the start, and lots of cheering spectators along the way.

Time wise, I ran my first sub-8:00 min/mile pace race! I came in at 1:43:59, for a 7:56 overall pace. My previous best was an 8:52 pace half-marathon in February, and an 8:39 pace during the first half of my full marathon in July, so I'm ecstatic with a 7:56. The next big race is the California International Marathon in Sacramento in December. I'm hoping I can run an 8:00 pace for 26.2 miles, but I have a lot of training ahead of me before I can achieve that time.

Day 366: The Next Adventure

Fresh off my first marathon yesterday, I'm eager to set a new life goal that is even more daunting than my first marathon. I hereby publicly commit myself to running the Boston Marathon in April 2012.

This goal is slightly more complicated than the last one - in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon, I have to run a marathon in 3 hours and 10 minutes. For a bit of reference, I ran the race of my life yesterday at an 8:42 min/mile pace. For a Boston qualifying time, I need to run each and every mile at a 7:15 min/mile pace. Ahhh!

This feels extremely challenging and slightly crazy - which is exactly where I want to be. I felt the same before deciding to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and the 1st marathon, so I just need to create a plan, and stick to it. The Boston race will be especially significant for me, as it happens to take place on the day of 32nd birthday (April 16, 2012) and it will be Day 1,000 from Day 1 (technically Day 995, but close enough :-).

Thank you again to everyone for the congratulatory calls, texts, emails, tweets, and "likes". You inspire me to push harder.

Day 365: Mission Accomplished

One year ago today, I wrote a blog entry (Day 1), where I set a goal to run the SF Marathon one year from that point, in less than 4 hours. This was a slightly audacious goal, since I had never ran more than a couple miles before, and was very out of shape. But alas, I'm pleased to report that I did it!

Today's race was filled with memorable moments, including running across the Golden Gate, drum circles, gongs, live rock bands, Hip-hop DJs, and crossing the finish line. Some of my fellow runners included an elvis impersonator with a vuvuzela and a guy dressed as a Trojan warrior (metal shield and armor). For myself, I was cheered on by my parents and pushed my running pace from a planned 9:00 min/mile to an average 8:42 for the course, which added up to 3:48:01 for the day - 12 minutes better than my 4:00:00 goal. Although I'm quite sore, stiff, and tired (woke up at 4:30 AM!), I'm thrilled to have successfully completed my first marathon, especially with a time that surprised me. We'll see what's next, but I have a feeling this is just the beginning...

Embracing change

"When the winds of change are blowing, some people are building shelters, while others are building windmills." -Old Chinese Proverb

Milestone complete

As a follow-up to my original post 6 months ago, I completed a major milestone in my quest to run the SF Marathon in July. This past Sunday, I ran the the Kaiser SF Half Marathon; beating my 2 hour goal by a few minutes (1:56:31). Highlights of the half-marathon include: running with a unicorn, listening to the one-man drum circle, high-fiveing a human-size Lego man, and finishing!

In order to beat my 4 hour Marathon goal, I still have a lot more miles in front of me. But I'm thrilled to be on plan.

Twas the night before Announcement...

Twas the night before Announcement, when all through Cupertino
Not an atom was leaking, not even a neutrino,
The banners were hung on the auditorium with care,
In hopes that SJ soon would be there.

The fan boys were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions on gadgets danced in their heads.
When out on De Anza there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

"Now Schiller! now, Johnson! now, Cook and Jony Ive!
On, Forstall! On, Oppenheimer! On, Serlet, look alive!
To the top of Caffe Macs! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

He was dressed in blue jeans with white sneakers of old,
And a black turtleneck to protect from the cold.
He wore circular eyeglasses from decades ago,
His appearance was humble, simple, no show.

A knowing smile, soon covered his face
He knew the media would soon be on the chase
I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Think Different to all, and to all a good-night!"