Beyond Distance

Sidelining 2012 UAE Healthy Kidney 10K [Photos]

Kevin — Wed, 16 May 2012 01:28:07 +0000

On May 12 I stopped by Central Park to see some friends in the star-studded 2012 UAE Healthy Kidney 10K. It was nice to see some elite runners up-close, including Olympians Meb Keflezhighi and Ryan Hal. I stayed for the whole race, as well as the post-race events, to snap some nice photos. Below are some of the best shots from the race:

Meb Keflezighi warming up before the race

Meb Keflezighi walking towards the start

Meb Keflezighi warming up to get ready

Meb Keflezighi getting ready to line up

Ryan Hall getting ready to start

Matt Bayley getting ready to line up

A wheelchair racer lining up

Daniele Meucci looking serious before the raceAustin Ramos seems relaxed before the start

Austin Ramos warming up

Female 2nd place winner, Alemtsehay Misganaw, warming up

Bobby Curtis walking towards the start

Ben St Lawrence is almost ready

Ben St Lawrence warming up before the line up

Ben St Lawrence looks ready

Abdi Abdirahman going towards the line up

Abdi Abdirahman smiling at fans before the race

Abdi Abdirahman getting ready to line up

Bobby Curtis Ben St Lawrence ready to take off right before the start

Bobby Curtis Austin Ramos lining up

The front runners: Daniele Meucci, Leonard Korir, and Tesfaye Girma

Daniele Meucci and Leonard Korir dueling near the end

Henry Kiplagat Rutto getting chased by Mengsti Tabor Nebsi

Henry Kiplagat Rutto getting some serious air time at 5.5 mile mark

Ben St Lawrence and Meb Keflezighi in mile 5

Abdi Abdirahman smiling in mile 5

Ryan Hall and Zembaba Yigeze side by side in mile 5

Tesfaye Assefa Dube at 5.5 mile mark

Is Matt Bayley having a good time?

Female winner - Bekelech Bedada

Top male winners: Daniele Meucci and Leonard Korir

Ryan Hall speaking on stage with Meb Keflezighi next to him

Ryan Hall speaking on stage post-race

Meb Keflezighi and Ryan Hall on stag post--race

Female winner, Bekelech Bedada, looking at the post-race stage

The healthy kidneys!

Author Bio: Kevin Lu is an engineer. He received his B.S. and M.S. in biomedical engineering from NJIT. Science, technology, and running are Kevin’s passions. In his spare time, Kevin trains for and participates in races of various distances. In addition to Beyond Distance, Kevin also writes for iRunnerBlog as a columnist. Find out more about Kevin here and follow him on Twitter.

NYC Street Pull-ups

Kevin — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:25:16 +0000

Is this what people do now as the latest fitness fad? I spotted one guy busting out pull-ups in Midtown, and the other in the East Village within hours apart.

Next up – literal bench press!

Race Recap: 2012 New Jersey Marathon

Kevin — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:31:43 +0000

It’s true that you will always remember your first, especially when it’s also one of the worst. Although I’ve done several marathons in the past few years, they were all solo runs that I conducted on my own for leisure (yes, it’s actually fun for me). This year I picked the New Jersey Marathon as my official debut race to gauge where I am as a marathoner, and how my training measures up to my expectations. As it turned out, no part of my training and experience (or inexperience to be exact) prepared me for the catastrophe in the final 7 miles of this race.

The Course

With the start and finish being 4 miles apart, the bulk of the race circled around the residential area near the Atlantic Ocean. I was a bit disappointed because I didn’t get to see the water all that much. As indicated on the map, the only parts of the course where I actually saw the horizon on open water were between mile 18 to 20, then again from mile 24 to the finish. Since I am from NJ, to me this race resembled a lot like a long training run in my own neighborhood.

The 2012 course has been altered from previous years

But boring can be good – as there was nothing out of the ordinary in particular. The run was almost flat entirely, except some minor hills sprinkled here and there. There were plenty of support from the volunteers and spectators, as well as a few bands playing live music.

The course was monotonous but safe

As for the weather, it was calm and cool in the mid 50′s when we started. The overcast and windless condition proved to be enjoyable. However, during the final portion along the shore the sun began to distract me. Fortunately the cool ocean breeze helped relieve the heat – I got a little burned on my shoulders though.

Before

Sean (@aspirasean) drove me to the race and stayed around as my photographer. As I mentioned in my New Jersey Marathon Expo article earlier, I know this area very well since I lived in a nearby town for a while. Immediately after exiting the Garden State Parkway, we got stuck in a monstrous traffic jam about 3~5 miles from Monmouth Park. Luckily I was able to make it to the entrance with 30 minutes to spare.

Found this in the middle of a traffic jam before the race

I met up with Jocelyn (@enthusiasticrun) and Laura (@50by25) before the race because I had agreed to pick up Jocelyn’s race packet for her because I’m just super awesome like that. You can read about how Jocelyn PRed in her own disastrous race in her NJ Marathon Recap here. After the meet and greet, we took care of our potty business, checked our bags, and climbed – literally – into corral B, 5 minutes before the gun went off.

Right after the bag check with Jocelyn

During

I charged off the start line with the 3:45 pace group with a goal of catching the 3:30 group, and ultimately the 3:25 group – at least this was the plan. This mistake turned out to be suicidal as I’d find out 2.5 hours later. I was going out way too fast because I was chasing pacing groups. During the first 5 miles I was dropping splits 10~20 seconds faster than my goal pace. Bad Kevin.

As I finally caught up with the 3:25 group after 3~4 miles, I eased down to a more realistic pace and cruised with the pack. The pacer was a solid runner and a fantastic pacer. He joked around with those who could hang with him with ease and comfort. The first half flew by rather quickly for me. I ended up with 1:41:47 at the 13.1 mark – just 2 minutes slower than my Half Marathon PR in March. At this point I felt quite confidant because I was on pace to get my 3:25 goal time – or even slightly faster.

This could have been avoided easily...

However, what I wasn’t prepared for began to materialize a few miles after the halfway. Somewhere during mile 16, I had a hint of negativity because I felt a sudden dip of strength. That was the point where I began to to slow down in hopes of reserving or recovering some strength that never made it back to my miserable legs. Mind you it wasn’t my overall energy or sugar level that weighed me down – because I didn’t bonk during this run. It was something else entirely new to me.

In mile 19 it happened. Both of my quads were cramping, hard and painfully. As I’ve never experienced cramping quads during a run, I wasn’t remotely sure what to do - especially during a race. So I walked because I couldn’t even jog.

What transpired between the first sign of cramping and the finish line was a mixture of agony, confusion, and despair. I wasn’t running any more at this point as I had resorted to pick up the pace, run for a few minutes until my quads started to cramp, walk it off, and repeat the process until the end.

Several runners would slow down and ask me if I were okay – and each time I bitterly told them I was fine, just to watch them zoom by. This part of the race was much like what was going on during my half marathon in March; except this was poised to be an even bigger disappointment.

As I jetted for the final .5 mile I was not too tired. My mood was dramatically lifted by the sight of the crowd and finish line. In fact, as I smiled and stepped through the end zone, I heard some spectator shouting “look at this guy! He doesn’t look like he ran at all!” Ironically he was right: I didn’t actually run 26.2 miles. In any case, what I had was 3:57:58 – still a new personal record.

After

In hindsight – although I’m no doctor or medical professional - I attribute the cramps to muscle fatigue. The reason is that I was well hydrated and fueled. So the cramping was definitely not induced by electrolyte imbalance.

I missed my goal time by 30 minutes or more. And I find it difficult to convince myself that my finish time has any major significance or value. As this was my first official marathon for which I signed up and paid, I could’ve run it in 6 hours and still called it an official PR. This PR was not a big deal because I had an almost identical marathon time (3:57:19) during a training run exactly one month ago. I can do better – and I will.

My stats for the race

Being my first marathon, officially anyway, the 2012 New Jersey Marathon will always be remembered as the race for which I expected so much yet wished I had approached it diffidently. Leading up to the race, all the intense track workouts and 20-something-milers (longest training run was 28 miles) still turned out to be inadequate. The take away point is that no amount of training will be able to replace or simulate a race experience. More, the most valuable lesson I learned from my first marathon is to pace slowly and moderately in the beginning – even if I feel like I can run a marathon easily. This has been a truly humbling run for me.

Here are some interesting photos -courtesy of Sean and MarathonFoto:

It's go time

Paper or plastic? The answer is clear...

The front runners

The Elvis twins were here to rock 'n roll!

Mr. Plastic made it to the start!

Better tie your laces BEFORE the race!

I'm just getting started

Ladies from Team In Training working it

Mile 25 - the final stretch

Barely running there...

Is that Quentin Tarantino in disbelief?

Forcing that smile...

I've still got it

Almost there...

DONZO!

Here comes the customary Jersey Shore fist pump in front of the Star-Spangled Banner!

Saw this as we were leaving. It's hard to see it - but he has a huge cross on his back on that blue suit

My somewhat ironic medal

Have you run the New Jersey Marathon? What’s the most recent marathon you’ve done? What was the most unexpected race experience for you? Please share in the comment section below.

Website Review: Earndit

Kevin — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:13:11 +0000

The Earndit Hamster - Courtesy of Andres

Surfing around the web today, you’ll find many sites designed for runners and fitness enthusiasts. There are websites for mapping and tracking your running route, as well as fun and engaging social networks based on fitness activities such as running, biking, and swimming. Also available on the web (and mobile platforms) are fitness games that offer friendly and fun competition among friends. Of course, there are the more traditional running logs that let you document your progress. I’ve recently discovered a website, Earndit, that gives users something different – something tangible in fact.

Earndit is a neat little site that’s packed with goodies. The idea there is that they will give you rewards such as fitness products or gift cards based on how much you exercise. It’s free to use Earndit – and you don’t even need to create a new account for it. For more check out my review of Earndit on iRunnerBlog.

Blogger Wanted – Female Only

Kevin — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:12:24 +0000

Image by Sergio Roberto Bichara

Beyond Distance is expanding! With the help from all my readers, bloggers, friends, and countless runners I’ve met along the way since the inception of this blog, I’m getting a bit overwhelmed from the unexpectedly strong traffic growth. I feel this way because as much as I love running and talking about running, there is one thing missing on Beyond Distance. You see – being a manly man that I am, I am unable to provide a female perspective on my blog. And I know for sure that many of my readers will appreciate some estrogen on my blog. So without further ado, let’s get started with a brief outline.

What I’m Offering:

One position for female contributing blogger on Beyond Distance.
Opportunities to receive running-related products and services for reviewing purposes on Beyond Distance.
Backlinks and traffic to your personal blog.
Your full author bio on my blog and a mini bio at the end your posts.
My personal social media and promotion to your content and blog.
This is a non-paid columnist position.
My everlasting, waterproof, windproof, heavy-duty friendship in addition to all the swag mentioned above.

What I’m looking for:

A passionate female blogger, in USA, with experience in recreational or competitive running - preferably marathon distance and above.
Ability to produce one well-written, unbiased, informative article (500~1000 words) every two weeks.
Content topics will loosely circle around women and all things long distance running, as well as female running product reviews.
Applicants must love running – at least half as much as I do.
Bonus: ability to communicate without excessive use of “abbrevs” such as “LOL” or “FML”.

At this point, I know you can’t wait to email me or Tweet to @SweatEngine for more details. So go ahead and do that right now – this offer will end on May 31, 2012.