February 19th, 2011
50k - 5:43:52 - 4th/11
Garmin Tracking here.
I had been planning on running the Buzz Half Marathon and considered the possibility of running the full marathon but made a last minute decision not to run it. I had run Buzz twice before and would have liked to again but it’s a long drive to San Miguel and it was supposed to rain. I didn’t want to go that far to run a rainy half marathon. Also, they hold it on a military base which and they require all visitors to go inside where they request licenses of everyone in the vehicle, car registration, and proof of insurance which is a pain to deal with before a race. So instead at 11PM Friday night I decided to run the Coastal Trail Runs Golden Gate 50k.
I arrived with plenty of time to register and get my stuff together. Ray Sanchez was the only person on the pre-entrants list I recognized as being faster than me, but as I got to the start line Leigh Schmitt came over to say hi and I knew I’d be quite a bit behind him. The weather was cool and cloudy. The first climb is a tough one but I hung with Leigh as we had started talking. I fell off his pace after a half mile and settled into my own race from there. There was a magnificent view of snow capped Mt. Tam ahead to our left as I descended toward Tennessee Valley. A couple other runners in who were in the shorter races passed me but I still felt fine.
As I was getting to Tennessee Valley we started to get hit with hail. It stopped briefly once and returned as I started climbing the Fox Trail to Coyote Ridge. I was glad I ran with a hat because the visor was keeping the hail out of my face. It continued as I ran along the ridge all the way to the Coastal Trail at the Pacific Ocean. The hail turned to rain by the time I hit Pirate’s Cove but and that’s when Ray passed me. I was feeling very cold. I struggled to get back to Tennessee Valley and looked forward to getting back to the start so I could get more clothes.
The rain mostly kept up on the way back and I kept my head down and just focused on what was in front of me. When I completed the first loop I replaced my wet shirt with my warm up jacket from the car. My hands were so cold I had a tough time opening the car door. I got some food and headed out for the 2nd loop. It was the same as the first, minus the 5 mile loop with the Fox trail climb and Coastal Trail back to Tennessee Valley. I was warm for a short time until I got to Tennessee Valley again. As I stared climbing Marincello out of Tennessee Valley my watch started to beep because it was out of memory. This was an annoyance. I started to walk a little too – I was having a less than fun time. I had no difficulty finishing the 2nd loop but could not get my legs to move fast. I finished in 5:43:52 which was easily over an hour slower than I had previous run on a very similar course. Leigh and Ray had already left but I stayed a while to eat some food and talk with the race director, Wendell. I was glad I ran this race instead of the Buzz marathon, but the cold rain ended up getting to me too much.
Showing posts with label 50k. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 50k. Show all posts
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Race 08-07 Jed Smith 50k
50k - 4th/ - 3:39:35
Oliver, Chikara, Eduardo, and I decided to carpool for this event. We met at Oliver's house at 5:30 and left at 5:45 to pick up Eduardo on the way. It was supposed to be about a 2:15 minute drive but we did it in about 1:45. On the way I had a big bowl of spaghetti which I didn't quite finish and a 6 ounce box of Hot Tamales Cool Mint flavor. We took a quick survey and determined that I was racing as fast as I could and the other three were using the race as a training run. It was Eduardo's first ultra and my 8th. Oliver has done a handful I think and Chikara had done more than I could count on my fingers.
We had plenty of time to get our numbers and chips, warm up, and get ready. The weather was overcast and mid 40's. It was cold just standing around but looked to be good for racing.
The course consisted of an out and back accounting for 1.6 miles and then had to run a 3.3 mile loop 9 times. The 3.3 mile loop was actually like a figure 8 with the overlapping section being about a half mile. One end of the loop was road, the other end was a trail which got muckier the longer we ran. It was not a day to keep the shoes clean.
When the race started 2 guys started well in front of the rest of the pack. I started with Chikara and 2 other guys. I didn't really pay attention to who was in back of me. One of the guys asked if I was planning to run 7 minute pace and I said yes.
About half way through the first loop I backed off into 6th place. The first 5 loops were pretty boring. I debating taking a restroom break whcih turned out to be smart. I started wondering where the other 3 were. By the end of lap 5 I saw Chikara had a 7 minute lead on me and I had a 5 minute lead on Eduardo and Oliver (Oliver slightly in front). I could tell because we started passing in the overlapping section. On loop 6 i started to gain ground on Chikara because we stopped passing in the overlapping section. On the next half lap Eduardo said something about Chikara being close and I let him know where Oliver was. Very shortly I caught up to Chikara who looked fine but obviously he slowed down from racing mode. He said he was fine. Eduardo (who looked fresh the whole way) ended up catching Oliver. 
Half way through the last lap I saw a guy just in front of me going about my pace. I guessed (correctly) that he was finishing as well so I made a point to catch him. I was prepared to sprint if necessary, my legs felt fine but I didn't need to. I passed him with a half mile to go, he maintained and I picked it up for a finishing kick. I ran the last lap under 23 minutes (6:57 per mile). Initially I was very happy with that but after finding out my average pace for the whole race was 7:04 the last lap turned out to be nothing special.
My legs were more sore than any race under 26 miles but less than they usually are for an ultra. This race was not a typical ultra anyway, it was more like a marathon+5. Given the weather and muddy conditions I was happy with my pace (under 22 minutes per 5k!). This was my 8th ultra compared with only 7 marathons so I've made a milestone that I probably won't be able to undo. It was also my fastest pace maintained in an ultra (by far). Actually it was a faster than 4 of the 7 marathons...
It was cold after we finished. I was less than impressed with the post race meal which basically consisted of aid station food. I also noticed the shirts were less than spectacular (kind of plain), not that I care about shirts, I have enough. We all waited for the entire group to finish, we got food together and left. We made it home quickly other than my first time inside a Jack in the Box (I didn't eat anything).
Oliver, Chikara, Eduardo, and I decided to carpool for this event. We met at Oliver's house at 5:30 and left at 5:45 to pick up Eduardo on the way. It was supposed to be about a 2:15 minute drive but we did it in about 1:45. On the way I had a big bowl of spaghetti which I didn't quite finish and a 6 ounce box of Hot Tamales Cool Mint flavor. We took a quick survey and determined that I was racing as fast as I could and the other three were using the race as a training run. It was Eduardo's first ultra and my 8th. Oliver has done a handful I think and Chikara had done more than I could count on my fingers.
We had plenty of time to get our numbers and chips, warm up, and get ready. The weather was overcast and mid 40's. It was cold just standing around but looked to be good for racing.
The course consisted of an out and back accounting for 1.6 miles and then had to run a 3.3 mile loop 9 times. The 3.3 mile loop was actually like a figure 8 with the overlapping section being about a half mile. One end of the loop was road, the other end was a trail which got muckier the longer we ran. It was not a day to keep the shoes clean.
When the race started 2 guys started well in front of the rest of the pack. I started with Chikara and 2 other guys. I didn't really pay attention to who was in back of me. One of the guys asked if I was planning to run 7 minute pace and I said yes.
About half way through the first loop I backed off into 6th place. The first 5 loops were pretty boring. I debating taking a restroom break whcih turned out to be smart. I started wondering where the other 3 were. By the end of lap 5 I saw Chikara had a 7 minute lead on me and I had a 5 minute lead on Eduardo and Oliver (Oliver slightly in front). I could tell because we started passing in the overlapping section. On loop 6 i started to gain ground on Chikara because we stopped passing in the overlapping section. On the next half lap Eduardo said something about Chikara being close and I let him know where Oliver was. Very shortly I caught up to Chikara who looked fine but obviously he slowed down from racing mode. He said he was fine. Eduardo (who looked fresh the whole way) ended up catching Oliver. 
Half way through the last lap I saw a guy just in front of me going about my pace. I guessed (correctly) that he was finishing as well so I made a point to catch him. I was prepared to sprint if necessary, my legs felt fine but I didn't need to. I passed him with a half mile to go, he maintained and I picked it up for a finishing kick. I ran the last lap under 23 minutes (6:57 per mile). Initially I was very happy with that but after finding out my average pace for the whole race was 7:04 the last lap turned out to be nothing special.My legs were more sore than any race under 26 miles but less than they usually are for an ultra. This race was not a typical ultra anyway, it was more like a marathon+5. Given the weather and muddy conditions I was happy with my pace (under 22 minutes per 5k!). This was my 8th ultra compared with only 7 marathons so I've made a milestone that I probably won't be able to undo. It was also my fastest pace maintained in an ultra (by far). Actually it was a faster than 4 of the 7 marathons...
It was cold after we finished. I was less than impressed with the post race meal which basically consisted of aid station food. I also noticed the shirts were less than spectacular (kind of plain), not that I care about shirts, I have enough. We all waited for the entire group to finish, we got food together and left. We made it home quickly other than my first time inside a Jack in the Box (I didn't eat anything).
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