Saratoga Fat Ass 50K

My aid station was my car..

Please see other pictures here...

What a run.. Wow…. It was great. These Fat Ass runs are very interesting because there are not trail markings… all we get is a map and a good luck and we are in our way. I decided to wait for someone that knew the course so I could follow him/her. Well I picked the wrong people to hang with. They dropped me pretty fast and all of the sudden I was on my own. I tried to navigate the course on my own but I came to the conclusion pretty fast that I will never survive on my own in the wild. Damn.. So I decided to wait for somebody that knew the course. A couple of people show up and I tagged along. After a little while two of us were ahead and I assumed that the person I was following knew the course. We took one wrong turn and we were lost… We finally navigated our way back to the starting line and the following two loops were much easier.

Check out the trail.. felt like running on pillows.. It was amazing..

Although the last loop we had a little incident.. we were running and all of the sudden this person comes out to his porche and informs us that we are breaking the law since that was private property. We were, WTF, where did we miss the trail? We went back and found the trail once again, we cruised to the finish lane from there..

These little bridges are pretty cute.. The smell of wet soil is amazing.. Love it.


Pre race, getting ready for the run, or was it at the end of the first loop I don't remember anymore. Andrew and Me...


Some of the runners prior to the start..

During the whole run, we kept going around a shooting range; you could hear the gunshots again and again. In more than one occasion I thought about a stray bullet, not a comfortable thought. I just don’t understand the use of firearms as a sport.. What is the point? Which brings me to other activities that I don’t think they should be considered sports, ultimate fighting? WTF is that?

This is my second FatAss run, I loved them both.. The only thing missing in this particular run was my running buddy, Janet. But she was out for a good reason. She and I are going to run the MOAB 100 Miler in 29 days… OMG, I am getting scared now.

This race was put together by Keith Bloom, I hope I can help sometime to do something like this. Running is just not about winning or getting a t-shirt, it is about going out there and enjoy yourself and your friends. The views of this particular run were so beautiful, the weather was perfect. Sunny and the ground was so soft.. It was like running on pillows..

Andrew, Keith, Anil and myself after the run... Felt fucking awesome.. :)

What is a FatAss run? Here is a quick definition.. FAT ASS is the name given to a series of low key runs that are frequented by experienced runners & walkers and characterized by the phrase "No Fees, No Awards, No Aid, No Wimps". Yes, the runs are totally free to enter and are put on by passionate runners who are also running. Think of it as a bit like meeting some people for a bushwalk - except it's a run. Because the runs are not races in any sense, there is no guarantee of anything other than a course to run (maps and directions will be provided). There are no course marshalls, and no course markers, and you should not expect any aid either -they are not intended for beginning runners.

Overall this was a great run... I had a great time. As the time to the big dance, MOAB 100 Miler approaches I am getting scared.. I cannot wait to get there and I hope that I don't get injured before the race.

Ha... today while writting this update I ate chocolate. I ate too much of it that now I am wired and I need to hit the sack.

Fremont Fat Ass 50K

Quarry Lakes Regional Park, Fremont CA.

Yesterday (Saturday 24) Janet, Kim and I went to Fremont to run the Fat Ass 50K. This is very small run put together by Catra Colbert and Mike Palmer put together. It was a self-sufficient run; we had to carry everything we needed to make it until the end. There was a single aid station with water, a few cokes and chips. I had my camel back, but instead of water I carried food. I was the mule although Janet did not need any of the stuff I had and Kim relieved my weight by one cliff bar.. The run took place at the Quarry Lakes East Bay Regional Park. Apparently this place was at one time a sea salt harvesting facility. It has lots of paved trails frequented by cyclists and runners… It also has dirt trails which we use, it is a really cool place to run..

Catra Colbert and Jerry RDs and bad ass ultra runners.

Kim and Janet drove from San Francisco to pick me up bright and early. We drove to the East Bay through the San Mateo Bridge. Neither Kim nor Janet were familiar with the bridge and they were surprised of its length. It is one of the longest in the world (25th). The first time I crossed it, it reminded me of the King Fahad Causeway that goes from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.

So anyway, we drove to the East Bay and got a little getting lost for a few minutes, but eventually we found the place. There were abut 25 people running the 50K and the weather looked promising. We parked and started getting ready to start our little running adventure of the day.

Fat Asses pre-run picture.


Janet, Kim and myself a few miles from the start..

What none of us knew was that most of the course was pretty flat. It wasn’t that hilly, but it was hard. The reason? we ran a lot on paved trails (bike trails) and my knees and IT bands are not used to run that long on pavement anymore. The longest I have run in pavement is 10 miles and at a fast pace, so not really a big deal. But being on paved trails for more than 3 hours and your knees will feel it. My left IT band started to flare up, luckily, I usually carry an IT strap with me and this time I was glad I did. I braced my left knee and I could run again… until.. my right IT band started to flare. So I switched from left to right and from right to left as needed. I had a moment where I simply could not run anymore.. I was in pain and hungry, I asked Kim and Janet to take a small walk break and I believe they were relieved to do so. Prior to that we were cruising and none of us wanted to stop the momentum. We walked for about 5 minutes and then picked up the pace again. The truth is that we did not want to lose track of Catra who was just ahead of us. The course was a little complicated and having someone that knew the course ahead of us was a good thing. Being in pain I was not going to miss a turn and do extra miles…. And as Janet put it, "I am in pain right now so I want to make sure I am doing the whole 50K"…

A paved hill.. Oh crap!! my poor IT bands. Janet had some calf issues too.

Kim did not show any signs of pain whatsoever, and not having had a long run in a long time, she did great she is a tough cookie.. Janet and I on the other hand had our issues. Janet had some calf problems and I had IT band issues. Nevertheless, we trucked through and finished.

My best Running Buddy!!!

The day was overcast with sporadic very light drizzle. It was a little cold in the morning that I had to wear arm warmers and gloves, as the day started and I warmed up, I removed the globes and the arm warmers. It was a great day for running. Loved it… yes I hated that my IT bands were not liking it. I think this is something I need to deal with since I intend to do the IM in Arizona this year. Last year I did IMcDA, IT bands were OK since I practically walked a lot of the marathon because plantar fasciatis issues. But in any event, this was a great run and looking forward to this new year full of ultras and personal accomplishments.

Once again thank you to Catra and Mike for putting this race together and Kim and Janet for being such a great running buddies.

We are done... OH MY.. fun fun fun...

As I was running yesterday, I kept thinking about stuff. For the first time in a long time, I was not involved in every conversation we had going on during the run. And I thought about thinking… I thought about what was thinking at the moment. I have been reading this book called the Power of Now and one of the thing the author talks is about being in the moment. Most of us think about the future and the past, start creating “what ifs” and we really become prisoners of our own thoughts missing the present moment. Being in the present is what is important and what keeps us alive. I am not thinking of the future anymore.. It is not here and will never be here. All we have is today and nothing else…

What is next.. There is another 50K next weekend that I just learned about… I might do it and if I can rope Kim, Janet or both into doing it with me.. It would be amazing.. Until then..

IronMan inspiration

The best video I have seen in a while... Man talk about motivation... I cannot wait for IM training to start for me.. I am going to rock my IM this year..

When I saw this video I had chills in my stomach.. I had an amazing time in IM last year, and I am sure I will do better this year. My fitness is better and I am motivated... Very motivated to do well.
I rode my bike today... while driving to start my ride I listened to some music and I randomly picked a song. I picked Eminem's Lose yourself... Wow.. what a powerful message that is.. I am a not a rap fan, but this song hit home..

Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip?

The chorus goes like this

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo

Interestingly a friend of mine shoot this video when I did Ironman this year.. It is only a few seconds long.. I was not aware of this video, but it is pretty cool. check it out

DipSea trail Again and some other thoughts!!

Janet and I went to run the DipSea trail today.. The day was so freaking beautiful.. I loved it… It was amazing.. and the thing is we rocked the course.. AGAIN!! When we did the Quad DipSea last December, we finished the double in 3:06, that was including the aid stations and the start which was very crowded. Today we finished in 2:59:08, it was a great day.

Of course during our run we talked about everything and nothing, it is amazing how time flies when you are having fun. No, neither of us was miserable today which sometimes happen in a long run. Not today, today we both felt great. I did not bring my camera, so I did not take any pictures., but the day was amazing. Not to many trail runners today, but a ton of hikers. In one occasion we were running down a steep hill, very technical with roots and rocks and stuff like that. Two hikers were looking at us in disbelief.. it was funny to see their faces.

This is one of my favorite picture of us running the DipSea Trail..

Next weekend we are running a 50K (http://fremontfatass50k.blogspot.com/) , we are looking forward to that one run. My ankle was bothering me a little today, I think I need new shoes (always an excuse to get new shoes). The ones I got have been working for me so I think I am going to go and get another couple of pairs before they go out of production which usually happens all the time.

Hey.. by the way… not to get too philosophical here, but I was just wondering.. Do you know your purpose in life? When do you know when you have accomplished your purpose? Oh Crap.. my head hurts…

But in any event… Life is great and I just want to say… Wow… What a ride. I have been working really hard on living a healthy lifestyle… With the intention of living a happy long life.. Talking to a friend today she asked me.. How do you define happiness? How do you know you are happy? I did not know what to answer really, but she said. Well in my view happiness is when you are satisfied with what you are and what you have in the present moment. I was like.. hummm.. then I guess I will never be happy because I want more… I really believe that we are never satisfied with what we have, we always want more. I do, don’t you?

Crystal Springs Water Shed Run.

Yesterday Janet and I went to run at the Crystal Springs Watershed. It is a protected area and not available to the public. The only way you can get in there is with a docent. The docent has to open the gates he/she must remain with you for the duration of the run/walk. Suki Martin and George Miller, our docents were the “supervisors” making sure we were not got lost and or abuse the trails.. The views were amazing and as always it is good to get out there and run.

This time it was for a cause as well, the Coast Side Running club is sponsoring an scholarship fund for one or two deserving cross country high school runners. This run was part of their efforts.. We were privileged to run in this beautiful pristine area in exchange for a donation that would go directly to their scholarship fund. I think it is an amazing cause.

A pic of the runners previous to the run..

Of course the source of this run was Janet’s email. She forwarded me the invitation and I gladly accepted. I have run this trail before, a year ago with my running club So I knew how beautiful this trail is, so without hesitation I wrote Geroge (the organizer) and put my name down. It is alwasy fun to run with Janet, she is such a talker and a good listener too... Or maybe she pretends to be.. :)

So this is officially my first long trail run of the year, although I ran 10 miles on the first of January in Woodside with Nicole. However a long run to me is anything longer than 15 miles… I guess I am moving up a notch.

The run is of course was self supported, so we did not have any aid stations or anything of the sort. I usually get hungry really fast, so I made sure to eat plenty before going there and took a couple of bars with me. There was something wrong with my tummy, I just could not get in the grove until mile 16 or so. I had to go to the bathroom two times and I was not very happy. As I said, I was hungry; thank God they had some fig-newtons. I had some of those, they gave me a new wind, therefore I miss the assorted items of the aid stations put together by Sarah and Wendell (PCTR). I was not feeling all there, thank God this run was not a 50 K, otherwise I would have been in so much trouble.

But back about the trail, as I mentioned, this is a beautiful place. The trail (fire road) is well maintained and not technical at all. There were some climbs, nothing major and Janet and I like always talked a little (not). We always have something to talk about, this time we talked about.. hummm.. … Well if you really want to know you have to join us in the trails.. It is fun, really fun.

Happy kids...

Suki Martin (our docent and ultra runner phenomenom) and me..

Another set of good news, a few weeks ago I signed up for the lottery to get a slot at the Miwok 100K. Yesterday they announced the people that got slots to run this great race, Janet and I both got in. I am really excited it will be 100K or pure fun.. I haven’t gotten sick since Mount Diablot 50Milers, and my IT band has not flared since a few months ago. I believe that the new found fitness and lack of injury has been because I started to do CrossFit. Saul, my trainer has explained how doing some major strengthening will help my running, I can see it and I am happy.

All right, for this month I hope to do another race 50K perhaps, that will help with the Moab 100Miler training. I am so excited about this.. but then again I get excited really easy over really little.

Wanna see more pictures?.. click here and click here

It is a new year!!

So 2009 is here and I wonder where 2008 went.. I am in awe how time passes by so fast. I think that 2008 was a great year for me when it comes to running and my career. I finishe several ultras including 4 in 4 weekends... that was the highlight of my year. I finished Ironman Cour dAlene, I also completed my MBA. That was great.. In matters of the heart that is a different story.. It sucked, but I am sure that 2009 is going to be a great year.

A fellow blogger mentioned something about following your heart. It is amazing if you could do that all the time. The thing is that many times the things that your heart wants and needs are beyond your reach. You simply cannot have them so it becomes painful and the only thing you can do is move on. It might be painful to let go but at the end it is the best thing for your mental health. You should not have people in your life that don't add value to it.

To finish the year well.. I decided to go skydiving.. So on the 28 of december I went to take the jump.. It was sooo much fun.. I really enjoyed that and I hope to do that again sometime... It really was an amazing experience. I love it..

I started the new year well.. Hopefully it will continue to be as good as the last.. I have a few goals that I want to accomplish... I want to do 4 marathong/ultras in 2 weekends.. I will do Ironman Arizona and Moab 100 miler.. Those are my three ambitious goals among other things. I also hope to finish a book manuscript at the end of the year.. I hope to meet new people and most importantly to keep myself healthy... Wohooo!!!

Rodeo Beach 50K

It is my birthday today...… YAY…. I cannot believe one more year is gone… (crap, I am on a schedule here and I am not getting any younger)

Once again I had the joy to participate in an amazing run thorough the trails of Marin, The Rodeo Beach trail run 50K.. Another incredible event put together by Wendell, Sarah and Aaron (http://pctrailruns.com). This is my fourth ultra in four weeks, I never thought I could do this. I got to say I have to thank Janet for being such a great running partner/inspiration and Saul J, my crossfit coach (http://www.maddawgfitness.com). This thing really works. Since I started crossfitting I have lost some unwanted weight, my running times have decreased considerably and I feel so much stronger.

The days was simply amazing, the weather could not be any more perfect. The forecast was right on the money… It rained the day before and it rained the day after, but for 24 hours, the conditions were just perfect for a perfect run. Unfortunately Janet, my running buddy was not able to make it, so I ran this race solo.

But there were lots of familiar faces there… including Sabrina Okada, she did her first 50K. She is a seasoned runner, but never had done anything larger that a marathon. This day she went out and conquered… More on that later..

As usual, after getting up and devouring a not so healthy breakfast, I brew myself some tea and got on the road. It was cold in San Mateo and I was a little afraid that the weather was going to be too frigid, but fortunately it was a glorious day. In my way there I missed a turn and ended up in Sausalito. I turned around and in my way back I saw one of the most amazing views I have ever seen. I actually had to stop in the side of the road and just stare… it was glorious.

As soon as I got the the site I went to check in and of course had to say to the regulars. I loved to see the familiar faces and the new ones too. I saw Sabrina and we started to talk. She was a little nervous, but I knew she will have no problem finishing the race, in fact I was watching over my shoulder most of the race. She is a tough cookie.. She will be running the Tokyo Marathon soon if I had some money laying around, I would love to go do that one too..

And we were off!! Of course this is one of my favorite parts of any race, the start. After hearing the usual instructions regarding the course markings we were given the signal to go. I started as usual… S L O W. At any race, this is when Janet and I start our 6+ hour conversations about nothing and everything.. Well, I truly missed her today and she missed out an incredible day.

Check out the trails... beautiful aren't they?


One of the many hills... pretty steep, technical and beautiful

It was déjàvu, just the weekend before we ran many of these very same trails specially coming into and out of Tennessee Valley. Going for the first 30K is fun because you have company at all times. Going out for the last 20K could get pretty lonely and it did. Nevertheless, the views were amazing and it is a really an incredible privilege to be able to see all of this. We ran through what it appears to be some sort of old military buildings. I kept thinking to myself, I wonder how much concrete was used to build this place. Steel doors, tunnels, and watch towers, an incredible spot, I wonder what it looked like in its prime.

Check out those doors, I wonder how many secrets they hold?

Sabrina finished her first 50K in 6:32... you go Sabrina.. woooohooo!

I cannot describe what it feels to run these trails and what does to my soul. As I was running by myself, I did a lot of soul searching. Thought about my life, my goals accomplished for this year and about the next year. I thought about my parents and the fact that I am not going home this Christmas and the reason why I am not.. I thought about what the next year will bring and I think I even had a couple of emotional moments. No, I am not sad just amazed of how my life has turned out to be. This year has been a great year, my life has been a great ride.

Muir Beach Trail run 50K

Muir Beach Trail run 50K

This is why I run the trails... look at the view... Amazing huh?

Another great run this past weekend… Sara and Wendell (http://pctrailruns.com) put together these races that are just amazing. They truly know what they are doing. I guess that is what happens when you love what you do. Amazing organization, they truly have changed the way I see running.

But on with my little report for this race, it turns out that I have been nursing a bad throat for the last three weeks. It all started when I felt I was losing my voice at the end of the days, especially after working out. In fact during the Woodside 50K I was already not feeling well. Janet also was not feeling good; she had some issues of her own as well. We decided to play it by ear… and by Wednesday I got this little note from her.. She simply said… “Ready to sign for muirwods? I got the registration page open” . I remember I was drinking tea and when I got that email I just laughed out loud so hard and I spilled my tea all over my desk... It was hilarious... But on with the story, my response to her note was “lets do it” and that was it... We were on…

Happy kids... we did great considering we were sick. Here we were at the ridge, don't let the smiles fool you... We were damn cold, but it was sooo much fun.

As the week went on, I seriously had doubts about even starting the race. My throat was not getting any better, but I managed to keep a positive outlook. Saturday came and I was up and ready to tackle the trails. Picked up Janet bright and early and we drove to the starting line. It was cold and night before it rained. In fact the forecast called for rain and we were worried about it, but neither of us wanted to be negative about the race. As always we met a bunch of regulars.. Fred Ecks who decided to dress as Santa and ran the whole race like that.. It was great to see him. We have decided that next year if Fred runs as Santa we will dress up as elves..

Fred Ecks running as Santa... Look at him go..

But back to the story, we got to the starting line and as Janet went to check us in I sat in the car thinking.. Damn it is cold out there.. But hey… we are here and we are going to do this thing. As I was getting ready, I met this guy from France, Olivier Nepomiachty… He was soo excited and happy to be there. Unfortunately, he twisted his ankle really bad, the remarkable thing is that he finished anyway. It took him over 7 hours and change but he finished. He is definitely a real trooper..


The day was cold indeed, thank God I was wearing enough clothes.. Janet let me borrow her arm warmers and I am glad I used them. This run has lots of open spaces and it windy and cold. However the day did not turn out as bad considering the forecast. It was supposed to rain and it did rain for about 10 minutes. As we were getting back to the starting line to finish the first loop it got rainy and cold. We turned around and went for the second and last loop. Sometime after we got to Tennessee Valley, Janet told me that she thought about telling me to call it quits at then end of the first loop. I am glad she did not say anything because that is what I was thinking as well..

Janet at the ridge..

Luis in his way down to the finish line... :)

Went for the second loop and as we were finally making our way back to the end we realized that we were running at a speed that would be faster than this very same run last year. We did this in 6:46 and this time we finished in 6:22 which was fast considering that we were not feeling 100%.

I can see that I am getting stronger I love so much to run in these trails. As I said in previous posts, this trail running thing has been a blessing for me. We are definitely a pair of tough crazy kids. Janet and the trails have been a blessing..

Hapy kids just before the start... It was damn cold I tell you..

As I prepare for the next one (next weekend) I am going to miss my running partner. But I’ll do my best to make her proud.. She is definitely a very bad influence and I love her for that. Our running adventures for the next year will be amazing.. We have a 100mile race in March and she will be running Western States 100…. Woohooo!!

Me at the ridge... Look at the view.. Isn't this incredible.. Man I cannot believe how lucky I am.

A view of the Golden Gate bridge from the trail... It was an amazing day, look at the view!! Damn.

An view of what Janet called Heart Attack hill.. People were breathing sooo hard here it was almost painful to hear.

What is next? see you on the 20th of December at Rodeo Beach 50K.. Yeah Baby!!

Wanna see more pictures? click here

Woodside 50K

Damn… another great run today.. I am sooooooo freaking happy and excited about my performance yesterday.. I simply cannot believe how strong I am getting. It must be all the weight I have lost over the last 2 months.. Went from 154lbs to 142, that is right 12 lbs lighter and I can feel them off.

So last year I went to run this race in February. The day was miserable, raining and my IT band flared up really fast. I walked to the finish line after a miserable 30K, Janet drove me to Isabel’s house and I had to wait for about two hours in the cold because a miscommunication with Isabel. So it was not a great day, this course owed me a good run… damn it.

Taking in consideration that we ran the Quadruple dipsea trail last weekend, we were prepared to have a long day racing the Woodside 50K. Janet picked me up this time and drove to the race start. There were not too many of us for this particular race. We saw two people wearing the quad dipsea shirts, we acknowledged each other. Met Brian Harvey, my scar buddy, this guy is also a great runner and he and I share a commonality, brain surgery and a passion for trail running

.

Scar buddies!!

We started slow since we knew we were going to have a long day in the course. Many people passed us really quick and we settle for a nice easy pace. As the day went by we started to pick up the pace without realizing it. We thought we were going slowly. There was this guy who stayed with us for a big part of the race. We talked for a while and shared running stories. My shoe become untied and he took off really fast; we finally caught him a few miles before the end of the race. At that moment we realized that we could go under 6 hours, we could not believe it. What the hell, I personally could not believe it since if I did go under 6 hours it would be probably a PR for me. So with that in that in mind we picked up the pace, really picked up the pace and went for it. At one point we saw a runner in the distance and we were probably doing 8 minute miles or so, we were cruising and I remember her face as we passed her. She made one of those faces that say it all, “how can you run that fast after so long?”

.

Janet and I were so happy, in our way back we could not stop thinking and talking about it. Went to get some Jamba Juice to celebrate, she dropped me home and we talked about doing it again next weekend. Yes, another 50K next weekend, that will be three ultras in three weeks… we are soooooo bad asses.

The highlight of my day wasn’t the fact that we ran a great race, or the fact that I felt good. The highlight of my day was at the end of the race. I was talking to this guy who also did Quad last weekend and he asked my name, I said Luis. He said, “Luis Velasquez?” I was like… wow… he knows who I am. It was a great feeling indeed.

I am excited about this race, I am really happy about the outcome. Yet I see myself humbled by the experience. When we saw the leaders coming back and see how fast they were running it was amazing. 5 hours 52 minutes is a decent time, but when you compared to the winning times it is just a turtle pace. But it does not matter, a PR is a PR and I take that any day.

As the end of the year approaches, and I am about to see another number added to my age, I realize that I am a blessed individual. I have lived a full life and I wish with all of my heart that next year will be better than this year. I have gone through a lot in my life and I know that no matter what, the only thing we have today is today. People in my life bring joy and I hope they always will.