This past Saturday, I ran the Inaugural San Jose Giant Race – the South Bay counterpart to the San Francisco Giant Race held in September.  It was a picture-perfect day for a run – clear skies, no wind, mid-sixties, …simply wonderful!  Especially after a week of running in the Florida humidity!

The start corral. [hopefully, most of these people stay behind me!]

I forgot to hit STOP on my watch, thus the “bracket” at the end…

The race, which had a 5K and 5 mile option, drew about 1735 finishers (937 and 798 respectively.)  The course was a flat and fast one (!) that started near San Jose Municipal Stadium (home of the single-A farm team for the SF Giants), wound its way around the local area, through portions of San Jose’s Historical and Happy Hollow parks, and finished in center-field of Muni stadium – entering from the outfield gate:

Pretty cool finish line! I’m sure many were tempted to keep going and slide into second…

I did the 5 mile distance and, having reviewed the course online prior to the run, was concerned how course management would go – with all the turns and backtracks and starting both distances at the same time.  The volunteers and course managers did a fantastic job – everything was clearly laid out and at every possible point where someone could take a wrong turn, someone was stationed to provide direction (and encouragement!)  Sports Basement staffed the course aid station, which was placed so the 5 miler’s could hit it twice – at ~1.7 and 3.6 miles.

The post-race expo was held on the stadium field and had an assortment of SWAG and food options.  They also had the stadium bar-b-que open and were serving breakfast tacos.  I didn’t grab any food, opting to keep my traditional Saturday breakfast with my wife: McDonald’s pancakes – one stack for her, two for me!  I hung out for a while and left – though people were still enjoying the activities and probably did for a while.

Expo goodness

All in all, it was a fantastic inaugural race – one that will be annual event for me going forward…I love the local races!  I can’t do the SF Giant race in September, as I already scheduled another race on my calendar for that date…maybe I’ll do it next year.

My Race

Results:

• Garmin time: 37:44 at an 7:32/mile pace.
• Official time: 37:43 at an 7:32/mile pace.

Based on my current pace plan goals, which are calculated from my Pleasanton Half Marathon results, my goal time/pace for this race/distance was 38:29 @ 7:41.  As you can see, the flat course allowed me to beat that.  After running in the Florida humidity last week (I squeezed in 35 miles!), I wasn’t sure how I’d do.  At the 7:32 pace, which was about well below where I was able to train at in FL, I was tiring at about mile 4.  I sucked it up and kicked it at the end – averaging a 7:03 pace for the final 1/2 mile and a 7:00 pace for the last quarter mile.  BOOYAH!

As for pre-race fuel and prep, with the shorter distance, I didn’t really “carb load” other than eating an additional 300 calories on Friday (a big bagel); though I did have spaghetti for dinner, but that wasn’t outside my normal caloric intake for the day.  One race morning, I ate a bagel thin, a couple of GU gels before the start, and drank about 12 oz of GU Brew during the race.  The start line was right next to the San Jose State track, so I did stretch and do a few warm-up laps before the race.

Since both distances were started/run at the same time, it was hard to know where you were placing in your distance until the two groups split at about mile 2.4.  Needless to say, I was pretty jazzed about my placement in each category.  The training seems to be working!

Wrap-Up

Overall, it was a great morning!  I even sported my aviators, a la Jessie Thomas, which were a gift from the Picky Bar Crew to Picky Club members a few months ago.

Thanks Picky Bars!

Next up:

• San Francisco Marathon – First Half on July 29th

Giddy-Up!

Training Journal – 6/19/12:

• Current plan: Half-marathon program
  
• Today’s session: 6 Mile easy run @ 9:19
  
• Comments: I did 6.5 @ 8:45
  

This past Sunday I ran the 101st Bay to Breakers, the quintessential San Francisco foot race – or, as the B2B website puts it:

Boston has its Marathon… Pamplona has the bulls…
New Orleans has Mardi Gras…
San Francisco has the historic Zazzle Bay to Breakers 12k.

Even better, I ran it with my oldest brother, who was visiting from Montana for the week.  It was the first B2B for both of us, so that made it cool as well.  Having just started running last September, it was a great way for my brother and I to spend some time together in a different venue (he’s been a runner for a long time.)  [you’ll note that there is no joint photo here.  I realized after the fact that I never had anyone snap one of us for posterity!  what can i say, i’m a dude…]

The course, which I assume has been the same year after year, is a point-to-point from the Bay side of the City, through various districts, neighborhoods, and Golden Gate Park, to the seaside part of San Francisco. The infamous Hayes Street Hill is the part that many people fear/dread – in the end, it seemed a bit of hype to me, though if I were running it drunk or in costume, that may be different.

The weather was excellent!  It was a clear day and it a bit cold at the start; but, as people gathered, the light breeze disappeared.  As the race started, the weather only improved.  I was concerned that once we got to the “breaker” side, things would cool down considerably, but that didn’t seem to happen.  It was an awesome day.

This being my first B2B, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  As for transportation, we opted for the park and ride shuttle transport, which was actually great.  We were picked up at 0530 at the Millbrae Bart Station and dropped off about 2 blocks from the star line.  Our return trip went well too – scheduled to depart at 1200, we actually were able to leave at about 0930 (since there was 15 people waiting and a smaller buss available. Thanks Bauer Transport!)

We hung out at the start line, watched people, and even got to experience the traditional B2B Tortilla Toss activity:

As for mid-race sights, we saw about various superheros, Dr. Seuss characters, bride and grooms, and about eight nude runners (6 male, 2 female).  The course management was great, with volunteers and police keeping things moving – they even had two checkpoints where they kicked non-registered runners off the course.  There were a ton of porta-potties on the course as well.  The buffalo at Golden Gate Park were all hiding, so I couldn’t snap a photo of them for my wife!

The post-race expo was pretty disappointing – most of the activity (bands, people, sights, etc.) took place on the course. The “Final Mile” was pretty much some SWAG tents, a merchandise tent, and one food tent – I have to admit, I expected more. Maybe things picked up later in the day…  We picked up our race shirts (somehow, I ended up with two!), walked around a bit, then caught the early shuttle back to Millbrae.

All in all, it was a good race that, because of its notoriety, will be annual event for me going forward.

My Race

Results:

• Garmin time: 1:27:11 at an 11:27/mile pace.
• Official time: 1:27:07 at an 11:41/mile pace.

This was less of a “race” and more of a run – something to be experienced.  Early on, my brother told me that he was OK with my running ahead, but I told him that it was about doing this together, so I ran/walked with him.  Knowing that I would do this anyway, I only did a light carb load the day before and didn’t even GU up prior to or during the race – thus, I finished with a ton of energy…

Wrap-Up

Overall, it was a great morning.  It was cool to participate in a longstanding SF tradition – one that I will do annually, if possible.  My brother is already planning to come back next year – maybe we’ll even do costumes!

Post-race meal was a great lunch at El Burro – I think I downed a basket of chips!

Next up:

• San Jose Giant Race (5 mi) on June 16th

Giddy-Up!

Training Journal – 5/25/12:

• Current plan: Half-marathon program
  
• Today’s session: 6 mi at race pace (8:22)
  
• Comments: Windy morning run! I did 6.62 @ 7:58 – with most of the run into ~15mph, shifting winds. BOOYAH!!
  

This past Saturday I ran Brazen Racing’s Western Pacific Half Marathon. It was my second half marathon, coming only seven days after my first. The weather was excellent!

As advertised, the course was mostly gravel/fire trail with a small portions of pavement. The course was well marked and there were plenty of volunteers to provide directions and water/sports drink along the way. The event also included a marathon, 10K, and 5K – drawing over 1500 runners in total.

As is the case with all Brazen races, it was a quality event – they know how to do it right. The post-race expo was great with plenty of food and people simply hanging out. I hadn’t run a Brazen race in a few months and noticed that this time they had pacers for the half and full, which was nice.

My Race

Results:

• Garmin time: 1:51:42 at an 8:28/mile pace.
• Official time: 1:52:14 at an 8:34/mile pace. [the time diff is because I hit the wrong watch button at the start…doh!]

Before diving into the details of the race, let me say that I am happy with my sub-2 hour time and overall/gender/age group placing…

Again, this was my second “half”, so the pressure was on to meet or beat my results from last week – pressure from myself and no one else, of course. I pretty much followed the same pre-race tapering, pre-race carbing, and mid-race fueling plans that I did for the Pleasanton Half. I also planned to follow the same pacing plan (1:49:), so I started the race with the 1:50 pace group.

Ah, the best laid plans…

As you can see, by mile four, I dropped the plan and just ran the race/mile I was on until the final 1.1 miles.

Anyway, like I said, I’m happy with my sub-2 hour time and overall/gender/age group placing, but here are my take-a-ways from the Western Pacific Half:

• Start pace. I still start too fast for a longer race. Last week is was -:27 and -:21 for miles one and two – this week -:24 and -:14. I knew I was running too fast (by feel and watch) and, in my head as I ran, I could hear that part of the movie Without Limits where Bowerman and Prefontaine argue about negative splits. must. do. better. in. this. area.
• Shoes. I need to get trail shoes. After about mile eight, I could pretty much feel each rock pebble on each footfall. I love my Reebok RealFlex Runners and they did fine for the 3 to 4 miles of trail in last week’s half, but they are NOT trail shoes and 13.1 in them was too long. Investment in trail shoes on the horizon.
• Injury (?). The day after running the Pleasanton Half, I noticed that my right hip had a “crick” in it. I rested it, nursed it on and after my subsequent taper runs, and it seemed to have worked itself out. I felt good on race day and I didn’t really have pain during the race. I did notice it slightly after the race, later that day, and a bit today. Not sure it’s an injury, maybe just soreness or the result of…
• Frequency. Doing two halfs in as many weeks may not be the best thing – at least at this point in my training. I did well on both, but in the long run (running actively the rest of my life), I probably need to throttle back or at least bow out if I have a “crick” or something. That said, would I do it again – probably; though quality of the race needs to trump quantity.

Wrap-Up

So, half marathon number two is in the books! As with #1, it was a learning experience and further reinforced my love of running.

For my post-race meal, I risked pink slime and downed an Angus Bacon Burger and fries from McD’s – CHOMP!

Next up:

• 101st Bay to Breakers on May 20th

Giddy-Up!

Training Journal – 5/7/12:

• Current plan: Half-marathon program
  
• Today’s session: Rest day
  
• Comments: Given my “crick”, I am taking a few extra days off for recovery…
  

This past Sunday I ran the inaugural Pleasanton Half Marathon – which happened to also be my “inaugural” half marathon as well. When I saw the ad for the race, I thought it would be cool to make it my first. The race benefited the Pleasanton Partnerships in Education (PPIE), a community organization that supports local public schools. They also held a 5k “fund” run that started about 30 minutes after the half marathon – it looked like there were quite a few participants in that race as well.  The event is part of the California Running series, which includes two other events: The NORCAL Marathon & Half and the Morgan Hill Marathon & Half.

The course was a flat one that looped through several sections of Pleasanton, including neighborhoods, industrial areas, a portion of the Alameda County Fairgrounds, part of their downtown, and about 4 miles of trails. The course was well marked and there was plenty of volunteers and police to control traffic and manage the course. Some of the community even turned out to cheer! The weather was excellent.

The post-race expo was really nice, hosting a variety of vendors, other organizations, and food. My favorite SWAG item was the free samples of Wrips Wipes. They actually work pretty good and I ended up buying a box. They had a band playing and people hung out for a while enjoying the weather and community.

All in all, a great inaugural event and one that I think will grow in popularity.  Hats off to the Racemine, South Valley Endurance, the City of Pleasanton, and the tons of volunteers who made the event a great success.

The bummer next year will be if the race is scheduled for the same weekend – my goal is to run the Big Sur Marathon in 2013…

My Race

FYI: this is a long post – mostly for me to record what I did… So, here we go

Continue Reading…

This past Sunday, I ran the Presidio 10 (10 mile) up in San Francisco. The race benefited two organizations: The Guardsmen Foundation and the Ashlyn Dyer Foundation – both great causes.

The 10 miler course was a loop from Crissy Field, up through the Western part of the Presidio, over and back across the Golden Gate Bridge, down and around toward Fort Point, back along the bay, and then a final turn back to the finish at Crissy.

It was a perfect morning for a run. The temp was about 50 with overcast skies – fine for shorts and long sleeves (at least for me.) There was a westerly breeze, but not enough to be a huge factor crossing the bridge. All in all, a great morning.

The race was very organized and well run. Directions were clear and volunteers ensured people stayed on course, since there was both a 10 mile and 10k race at the event (30-minute start differences.) With the Doyle Drive construction, I wasn’t sure how parking would be, but it seemed to be OK – I got there early and parked at the East Beach lot with no issues at all.

The expo was pretty organized as well – water just off the finish line, t-shirt tables as you exited, and food options (pancakes or breakfast burritos) for all runners. The race was also host the 2012 Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) Western Region Championship 10-K Race and 2012 RRCA National Championship 10 Mile Race, so it was pretty cool to see the awards ceremony after the race. There were quite a few SWAG booths and live music, which kept people hanging out after the race.

As I’ve written before, I don’t seem to catch/appreciate sights during races, though I did catch some great sights of the Pacific along Lincoln Boulevard, sights as I crossed both sides of the Golden Gate, and the Bay as well. I still can’t being myself to stop and shoot pictures though – which many runners seem to do.

My Race

Results:

• Garmin time: 1:22:24 at an 8:19/mile pace.
• Official time: 1:22:27 at an 8:14/mile pace.

I tried something different this time with regard to pacing. I have set a plan or desired finish time goal for the past few races, but this time I planned the race by mile (based on my review of the course.)  I taped the pace plan (I had three – giving myself options) to my water bottle:

It worked pretty good – I think I’ll make this a practice for all future longer distances.

My “plans” were negative splits for three finish times: 1:27, 1:28, and 1:30.  As you can see above, I ended up beating them all and finished at 1:22:27.  Below is a comparison of the 1:27 plan and my actual:

As I wrote yesterday, my mind started messing with me late in the race – even so, I still did better than I planned and am happy with my results.

As seems to be the case with each race, I learned a few things:

• Planning the race was good. While I ended up doing better (even if only by seconds), I think on a longer race (half or full marathon), I’d do well to stick to the plan…unless I feel really good later in the race, of course.
• Having the “plan” on my water bottle was good – I do need bigger printing next time though.
• Since this was a longer race, I purposely stopped drinking liquids 2 hours before the race – aside from a couple of swallows with my GU at t-minus 15 minus to start.  This seemed to help with possible “potty break urges” mid-race. I did, of course, drink GU Brew during the race.
• Finding someone to pace helps. I think during the race I paced a total of five people as the race progressed (passing them or them pulling away.)
• Hill training paid off – keep it in the program.  duh!
• Practicing “gliding”  during hill training was also helpful.  I used it on the two significant downhills, though it did possibly tire my out slightly.
• Spreading my “fueling” across the race worked actually good…though someone probably stepped on the GU Chomp that I dropped while running under the Bridge Toll Plaza (sorry dude or dudette.)  Though I’m wondering if I didn’t fuel enough, which may have resulted in my late race fade…

Bottom line goal: Keep learning!

Wrap-Up

Anyway, overall, it was a great day: I beat my race plan!  After checking out the expo and grabbing a couple of pancakes to go, I headed home – just as the overcast skies started to break up.

My post-race meal was an indulgent one at Famous Dave’s with the family – I think I earned it:

…chased with a grande, mocha frappuccino (no whip)!

Next up:

• Brazen Racing’s Western Pacific on May 5th

Giddy-Up!

Training Journal – 4/16/12:

• Current plan: Prep for Western Pacific / bridge program in preparation for the start of a 12-week half-marathon program starting on April 30th.
  
• Today’s session: Rest
  
• Comments: A little stiff this morning getting out of bed – you’d think I’d run a 10-mile race or something yesterday.