Race 11-15 Golden Gate Bridge Vista 10k

February 13th, 2010
10k - 40:32 - 5th/132
Garmin Tracking here.

By now I’ve run most of the DSE courses with the only ones I haven’t done being the ones created in the last 2 years. I’ve tried to attend different races to mix it up, but one of the DSE courses I’ll never get tired of is the Golden Gate Bridge Vista 10k. Since I like this course and there was nothing else I’ve been dying to do, I ran this race. Also, it’s only a $3 race cost which is better for my wallet than most any other race.

The course starts at Land’s End which is the northwestern most point of San Francisco – just north of the Cliff House. It heads south and does a quick hairpin turn to a trail that we follow for a little more than a mile before hitting the paved road just below the Legion of Honor. We follow the road from there almost all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge then turn around and come back. On the way back we follow the road to the western end of the Legion of Honor parking lot and take a short trail directly to the Land’s End parking lot, instead of following the windy trail by the water. There is a little concern for traffic, especially near the turnaround but the views for the first 2 miles are excellent if it’s a nice day. For today’s race the weather was perfect.

Winning a DSE race is sometimes a possibility for me although not as much recently because three crowds have gotten bigger and more competitive runners have been coming than several years ago. I immediately ruled this out when I saw Chikara Omine there, and shortly after Sloane Cook. I also saw Joe Weirheim before the race and mentally moved myself down to 4th. I finish in front of Joe at every Thursday night series and recently ran faster at the California International Marathon and Jed Smith 50k, but I generally have no hope of keeping up with him at the weekend DSE races.

I started the race a little fast, actually too fast, right next to Chikara for about as long as I could. Sloan was in front of us and I fell off of Chikara’s pace before the mile mark. Eventually Joe and DSE President Ky Faubion passed me before we hit the road. Ky has been running faster than me at DSE races as well. A younger guy I don’t know passed me as we hit the road. He didn’t know which way to go as we got to an island in the middle of the road. I shouted ahead that they both go to the same place so he took the lower road while I took the upper. The 2 choices meet up at what is rumored to be Robin Williams’ house, something I’ve been unable to verify. I was disappointed to see the vine shaped like a dinosaur in the front lawn that was overlooking the 8 foot wall at that house had been taken down.

The younger guy pulled away in the road section and I was solidly in 6th. I kept him in sight however hoping I could catch them on the hills we still had to run. It looked like I made some ground going up the winding hill to the turnaround and I was happy to see Vince French at the turnaround. Going down the winding road I made up more ground and I caught the young guy near the former dinosaur possible Robin Williams house. I tried to get by him before the climb to the Legion of Honor but he was able to stay with me. I surged a few times going up that hill and finally by the time we hit the top I opened some space. I was also well spent and aware he could catch me in the short trail section so I kept moving as fast as I could. It turned out he wasn’t going to close the gap and I had that figured out as I got to the parking lot. I ran as hard as I could at the end but was a little disappointing with my time.

After the race I had some snacks and got re-acquainted with Steve Stephens’ cat. Steve brings his cat to races and lets it roam around like a dog. A bunch of us all furthered our plans to hike up Mt. Whitney this summer – a trip of hopefully 15 DSE members mainly being organized by President Ky.

Race 11-11 Arts and Sciences 5k

Race 08-06 Jazz Trax Snowshoe Stomp 10k

SATURDAY

This entry has 2 parts because really the trip started on Saturday night. I had a reservation to get a rental SUV at 4PM from SFO. I planned to pick it up, and go to the annual DSE Gala Dinner at 7PM, then leave S.F. with Oliver and head east toward our reserved hotel in Stockton. Upon coming home from a trip to the gym (ran there and back of course) I realized the dinner was at 6PM, not 7PM. So I hurried to get the car and went to the dinner. I had 5 cars from which to choose and I took a charcoal Jeep Cherokee Laredo. It had under 1000 miles and it was an automatic with a slap stick shifter.

I left the rental place and headed for the Gala Dinner. The dinner was very good. Ken did a great job of putting it on. I had the salmon for the second year in a row. People had a great time letting off loud squeaky balloons at random times. The balloons shots around the room, flying up toward the ceiling, and darting at people hair, and going all over the place. We saw an excellent movie about Harry, a totally blind runner who ran the Dipsea race. Most everyone in the club knows who Harry is.

There was a low key awards ceremony. Instead of handing out trophies and the like as names were called, it was up to us to pick up our hardware from a table. They just announced the names and it was up to us to stand up when we were called. it was much better this way as it moved along. i found it helpful to leave my awards on the awards table because there was limited room on the dinner table. I got several awards:

- A Mongo trophy for having done a certain number of DSE races and volunteering (I don't remember the requirements, I just do them)
- A small trophy for 1st place Age group points. This was largely due to Grant not moving to SF until February, getting lost on a couple courses, and missing that start for another race, etc. He will win from now on if he wants to.
- A plaque for being 2nd overall in top 5 finishes (ironically Grant was 1st, because when he did run the races he usually won). The plaque was also for most racing miles in 2007. This is the award I care most about. I ran 606.5 miles in 2007 (plus swam a 1 mi. race that didn't count toward my total). I achieved my goal of 600 (50 race miles a month). This is largely due to running most races I could find up to 31 miles. It is difficult because I actually race every race with 100% effort. I don't ever run a race and take it easy (why go?). The thing that really helped was getting in 2 races in many weekends (or sometimes 3 races, and on one occasion 4 races in 1 weekend). I have set a goal of 800 race miles 2008 and 1000 in 2009, so we'll see where it goes.

At some point I invited nearly everyone I could to he snowshoe race Sunday but had no more takers. After I left I picked up Oliver who had gone home to finish packing and Chikara who couldn't make the dinner. So it was rainy and uneventful for the group as we went to the Stockton hotel. We checked in quickly and made it to bed at 1AM. We scheduled a 6Am wakeup call.

SUNDAY

The wakeup call came at 5:45. I took a shower, Chikara and Oliver opted not to. we checked out without a problem and ate at a MacDonald's just up the road. I had orange juice, and a biscuit with cheese (I took the bacon out). I don't really like MacDonald's but we were in Stockton before 7AM on a Sunday and our options were limited. The weather looked good for most of the way. We noted how many Ron Paul signs were in people's lawns (there were a lot). I started to get a little nervous about chain controls after we saw a sign saying CA-4 was closed at a certain point. According to Oliver's GPS the closure was 4 miles past where we were going.

As we started climbing the road became wetter, then slushy a little, and just past Arnold we hit the Caltrans authorities. They turned us around for not having chains so we went back to Arnold to get some. The 4 or 5 stores we went to were out so we didn't know what to do. A courageous member of the group wanted to hitch, a less daring person wanted to go back up and try to talk our way through, and an undecisive one of us did not offer an opinion or break the tie. So we decided to go see how far we could get. When we got back to the chain control checkpoint the police cruisers were gone and only a couple Caltrans people. The same woman greeted us and informed us that chains are required. She also noted that she was not an officer, she was just Caltrans.

So we made it through and got to the race at 10:16 for a 10AM start. However the race was postponed until 10:30 and Patty Jo (the race director) was very accomodating to make sure all entrants were ready and had their equipment ready before started. So we didn't miss the start. Chikara, another guy and I started in the lead group. After about 10 minutes Chikara started to open a serious lead (so what else is new), Oliver caught up and passed the other guy and me, and the places were set - Chikara, Oliver, other guy, me. It stayed that way for the whole race, other than Oliver missing a turn (not his fault).


It felt fine while we were running, but it was freezing after. the temperature was 33 degrees and during the race we picked up a couple inches of snow. After geting warm clothes in the car we went in for food and awards. The food was excellent for the 2nd year in a row. I had a few different soups, some bread, and hot chocolate. I got a medal for 2nd in my age group (Chikara counted as 1st overall, not age group). I also won a candle in the random draw prize. There were 3 big prizes - 2 pairs of snowshoes and an Ipod. None of us got those despite odds that were more favorable than normal. we stayed a while, took some pictures, and headed home.

Going down the mountain wasn't so bad. I kept it in 1st gear for an hour as went about 15mph and lost 2000+' of elevation. I didn't have to hit the brake at all in that stretch and we didn't slide on the snow at all. By the time we got to 5000' there was no more snow and it was a long boring drive back. We stopped for gas because we were on E for quite a while. We got quick cheap food at a K-mart. I ate a pound of Twizzlers, Chikara got a hot dog and nachos, and Oliver got something I don't know what it was because I never saw it before. ("Asian delicacy" he says). i dropped them off, and went back to bring the car back. Unfortunately since we didn't make it back until after 8PM we got charged for another day with the car (I haven't told them yet!). It was a very fun trip and all 3 of us were very glad that we went.

Race 08-05 DSE Sawyer Camp 10k

January 20, 2008
10k - 6th/118 - 36:29
Complete Results here

Since I raced long yesterday I didn't have high expectations for today's race, the DSE Sawyer Camp 10k. I was hoping to be around 38 minutes. Once again there was a good group of fast guys at the start and I hung on to them for a while. It spread out after a mile and I ended up right in back of the guy in 5th. The first woman, Maria (who I had never seen before) stayed right on my shoulder. I went back and forth with the guy in 5th but found it very difficult after a while because every time there was a curve (of which there are a lot) he would go off the paved road and cut the corners. Maria told me after she was pacing off of me, but toward the last couple miles it appeared that she dropped off a little.

I was happy with my splits - 5:43, 11:33, 17:32, and 18:13 at the half. I didn't get mile splits on the way back because the signs on the road count the miles down and don't account for the extra .1 we run at the turnaround. It turned out that I ran the second half in 18:16 which is as consistent as I've been in a while. On the way back I knew I would be close to a PR but I missed it by 7 seconds. I was very happy with that considering what I ran yesterday. This concluded a 52+ mile week which is my highest weekly mileage total since 2002!

Race 08-03 DSE Fort Point 12k

January 13, 2008
12 kilometers - 6th/92 - 45:36
Complete Results here

The weather was a perfect sunny and 60 or so degrees. I left home later than I wanted (as usual) and when I saw a gathering of people at the east end of the Marina green I drove over there. It turned out to be the wrong place but fortunately Phyllis was there to direct me to the proper place. As I was going back to my car I ran into Chikara who also was mistaken about the starting place. I gave him a ride and we both registered as the pre-race instructions were given out.

We nearly had some confusion a quarter mile in as Ky, who was leading the pack could not decide which direction to circle at the end of the Yacht Harbor parking lot. He finally decided to go clockwise and we all followed. At the mile mark we had the largest pack I can remember at a DSE race. Nathan, Grant, Chikara and I were chatting it up. Oliver and a couple others hung in with us too. During the second mile it got more spread out. Oliver passed me going up the hill to Fort Mason and I passed him going back down the other side. I stayed in the same place the rest of the way.

We turned around at Aquatic Park and as Eduardo and I went by end other he commented on the strong field that showed up. It appeared Eduardo was on another training run. We ran back over the Fort Mason hill all the way to the building under the Golden Gate Bridge. At that turnaround I noticed Oliver in a dual with the lead woman which indicated a strong women's field as well. I finished strong but uneventfully as I was almost a minute in back of Chikara and almost a minute in front of Oliver. About half way through the race I decided 45:00 would be a good time but I must have slowed down because I ended up with a 45:36. My splits were 5:50, 11:48, 18:12, 24:13, 30:31, 36:46, and 42:54.

I had as much of an enjoyable time at this race than I have at any DSE race so far. This was largely due to the (relatively) competitive field, the weather, and the course.

Race 08-02 - DSE Double Lake Merced Loop

January 6, 2008
9 miles - 1st/32 - 54:40
Complete results here

The second race of the year was the weekly DSE race. The options were the single and double Lake Merced loops, in San Francisco. As I usually do, I ran the longer event which totaled 9 miles. I arrived at 8:27AM for an 8:30AM and did my typical warmup of 0 miles. The only person i saw at the starting line that I thought could keep pace with me was Eduardo, who I go back and forth with seemingly every other race.

Due to recent heavy rain and wind the course was littered with pieces of trees - bark, branches, pine needles - you name it. It didn't feel like it slowed me down. I started quickly which I felt was about the same as I would start a 10k. I was trying to finish under 53 minutes, or at least 54 minutes. At the far end of the lake I looked back and didn't see anyone close which made me wonder where Eduardo was. I didn't look back again until the same spot on the next loop, although I had figured out I had a pretty big lead well before that. In the end my splits turned out to be 5:40 (1mi.), 11:22 (2mi.), 17:30 (3mi.), 26:42 (4.5 mi.=1 loop), 29:56 (5mi.), 48:59 (8 mi.). I didn't get all of my splits because I failed to clear enough space in my watch before the race. I finished in 54:40 which turned out to be 1st out of only 32. Eduardo incorporated the race into a 3+ hour training run which explains why he didn't run it with me. That was unfortunate since I was hoping he would be there so we could pace each other.

When I was about 7 miles in I began doing the math in my head to figure if anyone in the single loop race would catch me. Since I made it through 1 loop in 26:42 I concluded that if they started on time no one would. I started my second lop with a 3:18 head start and I didn't think anyone would be able to close that gap in only 4.5 miles. I anticipated running the 2nd loop in 27:30 and I ended up doing it in 27:58 and I didn't think anyone would run the single in 24 minutes. Grant won the single loop race (as usual) in 26:16 with Chikara who is getting back in shape following closely behind.

It started to rain just after I finished so I took refuge under a tent. I was glad I was not still out there running.