The Dell Streak was originally launched in the UK on the carrier O2. Now, it has finally arrived in the US.

I signed up for the Dell Streak pre-sale event, which entitled me to order it one day before the main “launch” day and get a Plantronics Bluetooth headset for 99 cents.

The pre-sales event was on Thursday, August 12th, and I got both items on the 16th.

Unpacked:

Close up:

Another closeup. Note the part about it being “Pocket Friendly(TM)”…

Yet another closeup. Note the use of Gorilla Glass. Dell even specifies the CPU type and speed. Yes folks, CPU type and speed is now an important differentiator. Did you even care about that when you bought your Motorola Razr?

Opened box:

The Streak itself:

I bought the Streak without a subscription, but an AT&T SIM card is included:

This is the battery cover:

And the battery:

This is the soft case:

AC adaptor, separate charging cable, wired headphones. Note that Dell is using a plug adaptor like the Apple MacBooks to deal with different power socket plugs in different countries. That’s the item in the middle of the picture.

Everything all laid out:

The backside of the Streak. It comes pre-installed with a 16GB microSD card:

With the battery and SIM. The latter is a little difficult to insert:

The one thing I dislike here is that Dell chose to use a proprietary connector like Apple instead of the more common micro USB found in most newer Android devices:

This means that you will have to deal with incompatible car chargers, spare chargers and the inevitable missing cable…

So there it is, the unboxing of the Dell Streak. I will use it and post impression on my Twitter stream: @benchong408

I don’t run particularly well. At least not compared to a lot of people. But then neither am I an all-show-no-go runner.

So I am not too ashamed to go out running while being decked out with different brands. See the pictures below.

I am really not brand-conscious. However, I value comfort and safety while running. At my age, I am also concerned about short and long term injuries. As a result, I look for equipment, apparel and consumables that will help me run the distance I want to go while keeping away the effects of heat and other bad stuff.

The question is how would I know if a particular piece of equipment is good for what it claims to do? The answer is: the brand. By wearing a Adidas running cap, for example, I am assured that I will be comfortable and not overheat. It sounds really dumb and I agree that I could have gone out to Target and bought a Champion-branded cap. It will probably work equally well, but Champion is an unknown brand. Do I want to take a risk with my health? I have run up to three hours at a stretch in that Adidas cap, sometimes finishing the run at noon. It gets hot in San Jose at noon!

This is something to bear in mind as Under Armour launches a range of athletic shoes which they term as “trainers”. It is not clear if Under Armour is positioning these shoes as running shoes or cross-trainers. One thing I am certain of is that I will not buy them for running. If you were to look at all the articles and forum postings on the choice of running shoes, you will realize that it is difficult to get the right pair of running shoes: something you can run for miles without shinsplints, ITB and other pains. Furthermore, runners tend to be rather loyal to particular models or brands that have worked well for them.

So Under Armour will have a tough time selling running shoes. It is not that other companies have not succeeded. Pearl Izumi launched their running shoes 4-5 years ago and have made inroads.

We will see.

The Haas Student Association is forming a team for this year’s Bay to Breakers. So we have a whole bunch of people who have never joined a road race signing up.

After looking at the email exchanges, I think it is time for a first timer’s guide.

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So you want to run or walk a road race. Your friends are begging you to join them for a one. What do you need to do?

1. Discovery. The event would normally have a website. Go to the website and find out more about the event.
2. Date. Are you free on the day of the event? Most road races are held on Sunday, but some are held on Saturdays. So don’t assume anything. I signed up for the Santa Cruz 1/2 Marathon and then realized that it was being held on a Saturday, a day when I had class. It was throwing money away.
3. Distance. Make sure that the distance is something that you can handle, physically and psychologically. Most events have a cut-off time after which the roads re-open for vehicular traffic and all support facilities (drinks, first-aid) are closed. So make sure that you are able to walk/jog/run fast enough for that distance.
4. Race packet pickup. The race packet contains your bib, last minute instructions, timing chip etc. Some races will mail you the race packet if you sign up early enough. Other races will allow you to pick up the packet on race day. Still some other races require you to pick up the packet the day before the race. Some races require a photo ID before they will give you the packet. So make sure that you or a friend can pick up the race packet before the race.
5. Sign up. Registrations are generally not refundable for any reason. So once you are very sure that you can handle the race and related logistics, sign up using the registration link on the event website. In addition to the basic registration fee, you may need to pay extra for transportation to/from the start/end points. So read the race information carefully and make the right choices. You don’t want to be stuck at the finish line and unable to get back to your car…!
6. Pre-race. On the day before the race, prepare your equipment, bib, shoes etc. Make sure you have directions to the parking areas around the start line (if you are driving to the race). Make sure that you plan to start off early enough in the morning so that you have enough time and not arrive in a rush and panic. There may be thousands of people going to the same place, so plan on arriving early to get a parking spot. Drink a lot of water!
7. Race-day. Get your stuff together. Don’t panic. Get down some food, especially if the start time is a couple of hours away. Drink a lot of water. There will always be porta-potties at the race. Most importantly, enjoy the race.

The Big Sur Marathon is this Sunday.

So I’ve been “tapering” i.e. running less.

I’ve also been “carbo-loading” i.e. eating more.

The shocking part is that I’ve been gaining weight: 4 pounds over the past 4 days!!!! I am now 6 pounds heavier than normal.

Am I doing something wrong somewhere?

Or is it perfectly normal?

I am also planning to run with a hydration pack containing something like 2 liters of electrolyte water. So I am going to be running at a total of 10 lbs over my normal weight.

Adding to that, I ran a fast 5 miles with the Palo Alto Run Club yesterday wearing cheap Target socks and ended up with a big blister.

It looks like Big Sur is going to be miserable: overweight and running with a blister.

I ran 23 miles today. It was supposed to be 22 miles, but I got ambitious.

At the end of it, I was aching all over with aches in the legs, back and stomach. I had run continuously for 4 hours with stops only at traffic lights. But other than the aches, I was fine. Gu and the 2-liters of electrolyte water that I was lugging around probably helped.

When you run on public roads, you are always a moron away from getting killed or maimed. Today was no different as a guy in a Toyota Camry sped along Piedmont Road, almost missed his exit and turned into a side street in a hurry. Just as I was crossing it. The sad part about these people is that someone else invariably pays for their stupidity, whether with a life or higher insurance costs.

This 23-miler is the end of the Big Sur Marathon build-up. Next week, I’ll taper down to maybe 16 miles and probably 8-10 miles after that. And then, it’ll be the EVENT itself. Yay!

I am already looking beyond Big Sur with plans for running Silicon Valley Marathon (all 26.2 miles) and the California International Marathon . So I’ll probably do at least one 22-miler every month just to keep in shape.

Yesterday, I joined my running club, the PARC, for intervals training.

The runs are every Tuesday at  Angell Field track at Stanford University.

This was the second time I joined in the Tuesday runs. Normally, Stanford U is a little far from home and where I work (both in San Jose). But this Tuesday was a special event. We were celebrating the time change (to daylight savings) and the availability of “more sunlight”, and so there was a raffle of interesting items from various sponsors etc. I won myself a little running cap from Zombie Runner.

Readers of this blog will know that I have been trying to get faster. This, for me, means an 8 min/mile pace for a 1/2 marathon sometime this year. The long term goal is to qualify for Boston, which means the same pace for 26.2 miles. Oh yeah, I am insane, all right…

So I have been doing some interval training. Generally, I have been doing laps of 400 meters at less than 2 min/lap followed by a recovery lap. Last week, I started running 800m intervals with Phil (a colleague). The target pace then was something like 1.50 min/lap. One lap is 400m or one round of the track.

Now, with the PARC folks, 1.50 min/lap is REALLY slow.

Picture this: I was doing intervals with the group of “slow” runners. I did the 800m runs at something like 1.35-1.40 min/lap pace and I was DEAD LAST in the group. Everyone else was at least 20 yards ahead.

Man!

Not only was I running faster (than with Phil), I was also running more. My own training is for 2×800. These guys were doing 5×800.

I am now quite motivated to drive to Stanford every Tuesday. Yes, I just love the pain. And the speed, of course.

I finally got around to doing a 20-mile run today. I got up late (after 7am), didn’t start running until about 9.15am and did a solid 3 1/2 hours of running.

It was hot in San Jose today, so I was a fair bit slower than my last 18-mile run; running mostly at a pace of 10 min/mile or more.

Like the 18-mile run, I did try to push hard on the last two miles to do a strong “finish”, running at better than 9:20 min/mile. But that was really pushing my limits.

After the run, I was completely out of it and ached all over.

Boston is looking further and further away…

The good thing is that my ITB didn’t bother me before or after the run. So it looks like I have just one more session with the physiotherapist and that will be it. Yay! I am healed!

Next week, I will do a 16-mile run, followed by a 22-miler the week after. Now, that will be a killer.

I just ran this today.

It was a last minute thing. I was a little bored on Tuesday, looked at the training calendar and thought that a fast 12K run might be better than a 20-miler, especially since I had just done an 18-miler last Sunday.

So there I was, at some awful hour on Sunday morning, driving up to San Francisco with Mark. I initially thought that leaving before 6am was too early. But we were lucky to arrive at the time we did. We parked at Ghirardelli Square and when we arrived (just before 7am), it was already almost full. The “nice” thing is that they take your car keys and leave you a receipt (so no need to run with keys). The flip side is that it cost $10 to park. Oh well…

Since I had signed up at the last minute, I had to pick up the bib which was fast and easy. Then there was a long queue for the buses that would take us to the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge where the start point was (East Fort Baker).

It was pretty cold, although not as cold nor wet like the Kaiser Permanante 1/2 Marathon.

We basically wore our outer clothing until the absolute last minute, before putting them in the sweats check bins.

To their credit, RhodyCo had the event pretty well organized, with bins all marked out with  bib numbers, plastic bags and lots of permanent markers.

5000 people had signed up for the event. So runners were split up into 3 waves. Presumably the first wave had “faster” runners. Even then, runners did not always followed the pace start lines and there was a little bit of a traffic jam at the beginning.

However, at about 1/2 a mile or so after the start, we hit the first hill. And it was a little bit of a killer. At least for this old dude. It seemed like it was never ending and brought us up to the Golden Gate Bridge. I started off going a little fast up the hill and by the time I reached the bridge, I was quite pooped. So it was quite disheartening to see people I had passed on the hill pass me on the bridge…

The weather was great and the view was magnifique. So the pain was at least bearable.

The path near Fort Point was interesting because it was high tide and waves were washing over the running path. So before race started, they warned us that we might get wet, but that it was not dangerous. I did see a photographer get splash by a large wave. It was quite amusing, perhaps not so for the camera (it was an expensive looking SLR).

I found my running legs only at around the 6th mile or so. From that point onwards, things got a little better. I started overtaking people. Having learned my lesson, I slowed down when I hit the uphill going up Fort Mason. Then half-way up, I opened up, coasted over the top, zoomed down to the on the other side and really gave it all in the last couple of hundred yards. In many ways, it helped to be familiar with the area and where the end point was.

Result? I finished in under 60 minutes, which translates to a sub-8-minute/mile pace. So I met my goal. Yay! Now, if I can do that for a 1/2 marathon…

Mark did pretty well too: 52 minutes or a 7 min/mile pace.

Post-race festivities was the usual: live band (pretty good music), bottle water, nuts (it’s sponsored by Emerald after all) and various promotional tents (Subaru, GEICO etc).

Would I do the race again next year?

Defintely!

UPDATE:  The official results are out (look for Benedict Chong). I got in at 59:48 race time which translated to 8:01 min/mile. Since I passed the start at 15 seconds after the official clock, I could argue that I really did 8:00 min/mile or better. But that’s just splitting hairs. I aimed for <60 minutes and I got it. That’s why I like running: the ability to achieve my goals.

I did another 18-mile run this morning and was in better running form than the last time I did a distance like this.

The first 30 minutes were a little painful. Fortunately, my running legs woke up after that and I was able to achieve a pace of between 9:20 and 9:50 minute/mile for most of the 18 miles. In particular, I forced myself to run a little faster towards the end, in order to “simulate” a strong finish.

I was also careful to drink lots at every 2 miles and took an energy gel sachet at every 6 miles. This translated to an energy gel every hour.

The best news is that my ITB did not bother me after the run. I used the foam roller before the run during warm-up and immediately after. So it looks like the combo of foam roller and physiotherapy is working.

Now, I am wondering if I should do a 20 mile run next weekend. The plan is yet another 18-miler. But perhaps doing a 20-miler followed by two 18-milers would allow more time to rest before the 22-miler in April.

I found out today that I am improving my running speed.

Several months ago, running a single 400-meter lap in 2 minutes was a “go all out” effort.

This morning, I did some interval training. My “all out” lap time was 1 minute 40+ seconds. Wow!

Now, my goal is to achieve a consistent 8 min/mile for a 1/2 marathon distance. Well,  maybe I’ll need to do that for a 10K first

Part of the my training involves trying to run an 8 min/mile pace for more than a mile at a time. Technically, I guess you can call that my “tempo” pace.