The Giant Race Half Marathon

On 8/27/2011, I ran the Giant Race Half Marathon start to finish. That's the summary, here are the details. I intended to leave home by 4:30 to get the parking lot before it filled up. Decided to take my time, take a shower, etc., figuring that I would have plenty of time since the race didn't actually start until 8 AM. However, the parking opened up at 6 AM and I have a 2 hour drive, minimum, to get there. So my wife and I left home at 5:10, then realizing that we didn't have enough gas to get there and back, I got gas and we left town at 5:20. We crossed the Bay Bridge (into fairly heavy fog) and got within 3 blocks of AT&T Park when the unthinkable happened. Traffic. Lots of traffic. It was 7:15. It took me 5 lights to get through the first signal. About the same at the next one. I still needed to put my bib and my IPod on. So as we set waiting for the third light to turn left toward the parking lot, I grabbed my Giants bag (a giveaway from a game last year), and fetched my bib and my IPod out and my wife and I looked for a place beyond that intersection to switch so she could park the car while I went to the start line, used the porta-potty, and warmed up, etc. I got out of the car two blocks from the special event $10 parking lot and my wife took over. It was so chilly with the overcast that my teeth started chattering uncontrollably. I was walking, trying to put my bib on, teeth chattering, and hands shaking, trying not to puncture myself. I made a comment about how cold it was and a female runner who was walking next to me said, "Don't worry, we'll warm up soon enough". I said, "I guess you're right", and fumbled around long enough to get my bib pinned on. I shoved my IPod into my pocket so I could listen for cars and starting line instructions as I got near the start area (which was on the other side of the parking lot that we were trying to get into). I got to the first set of porta-potties and they had quite a line so I kept walking up to the starting corral where there were a lot of facilities and very short lines. Good. Because by then the two bottles of water that I drank over the last 2 and a half hours had to go somewhere. Now it was close to 7:45. Timing was good, I just didn't like splitting up from my wife. We didn't get a chance to make meetup plans after the race! I got right into a potty, had a nice open area near there to stretch and warm up a little. No longer shaking at this point. Nothing but adrenaline pumping. I started going over the race in my mind again. I had planned it out the night before. It was an out and back. Approx. 6.7-6.8 miles out and then back to AT&T Park, where you enter through the outfield fence and finish near home plate! I decided right there, 10 minutes before race time that I had prepared well, and that I wasn't going to stop for anything. I had never run more than about 8 miles without stopping before. I ran a half in Santa Clarita last year and stopped at 8 miles to catch my breath, then stopped at every mile marker after, just to finish. My longest training runs mostly included walk breaks. But I knew I was ready for this. So as we approached 8:00, they announced that we were waiting for a special musical group that was going to sing the National Anthem. A gospel choir. They didn't start until around 8:05, but worth it. They were outstanding. Then they did a wave start, and I tried to creep forward, feeling like I was too far back. The people around me looked like walkers. So I found a comfortable position and our wave started off around 8:12. Turned out the stress getting there was unneccessary. I was there waiting for the start as I should have been. Also turned out that I should have pushed farther forward as I was still behind a lot of slower people. The first block there was nowhere to go! I looked down at my Garmin which was saying that we were barely moving, around a 13 minute pace. I moved to the sidewalk and buzzed by that wave of slower runners and was clipping along at about a 7:47 pace. I settled in between the waves and sort of hit the cruise control around 8:50 to 9:00 minute pace. This seemed really comfortable and I knew I would PR at this pace. It was still very overcast and cool. Perfect for a nice PR run. My previous half in Santa Clarita was 2:17:53. That should be a piece of cake to beat (kill) here. So my only thought was to stay hydrated, hitting every aid station (without stopping) and not to even think about it until the turnaround in mile 7. I hit the 5K timing mat at 28:13. Still good. Then I hit Fort Mason and an intermediate hill. I ran whole thing slowing to about an 11:15 pace, then kicked it in again on the gradual downhill on the other side to try to get some time back. We had already split off from the 10K runners who started with us. They didn't get to enjoy our hill with us. I hit the 10K mat at 58:05 and felt pretty good about that, although I knew at that point any opportunity of breaking 2 hours was probably gone. (I didn't expect to). The turnaround was at 6.8m and I hit that mat at 1:04:01. Still felt great. Kept dousing my head with water at every aid station (every 2-3 miles). Loved the cool water, but sprayed some girl behind me who was quite surprised by that. She yelled in shock. Sorry. Also nearly took out a couple of other girls at the water stations who stopped right in front of the station instead of getting their water and getting out of the way. I wasn't stopping. Sorry. So I determined to wait for the last person at each station to get my water so no one had a chance to stop in front of me. That worked well the rest of the way. Note: when dousing head, your ears may fill with water causing issues for headphones. I couldn't hardly hear my IPod most of the way. It was just loud enough to know it was there, but not loud enought to really enjoy. So I was still cruising. I had come up behind 3 girls, probably in their early 20's, all dressed with cute pinkish shorts and white tees. Very cute. They were obviously running together and pacing at my pace. Around 9:15 at that point. One of them had a Garmin and was setting the pace. I first noticed them about 30 yards in front of me around the 3 mile mark. They were still there at the turnaround. I just paced with them up until around mile 10. I hit the mat there at 1:35:18. There was another aid station about that time and they all stopped and I didn't. I kept going, determined more than ever at this point to finish without stopping and beating my PR by as much as possible. I figured that I was looking at 2:04-2:05 range, knowing that I had to climb that hill one more time. I never saw the three girls again until the post race expo. I asked them how they finished and told them that I had paced of them for miles and they said they did well and finished around 2:12. I told them about passing them around mile 10 and finished around 2:06. Didn't have an official time yet. That made me feel great. They were very nice. So anyway, I ran the hill the other way and tried to make up more time coming down, as I had slowed to 11:15 again climbing the hill. At the bottom I knew that I had about 2 and 1/2 miles to go and had outrun anything that I had ever done before, so I decided to cruise home and try to sprint to the finish. I gradually slowed to about a 10 minute pace for mile 12 and 13 as we joined the slower 5K runners for the finish. They had started around 9:30. It got a little crowded approaching the outfield fence, but I knew the end was near and I suddenly felt like I could be a Kenyan. So I tried to pass a group of slower ladies before the gate and barely did and as I flew by them a guy was standing well out into the gateway trying to high 5 everyone as they came through. I yelled "Get out of the way" as I flew through and stayed left of the slower people making their way down the warning track toward home plate. I was giving it everything at this point. I was drenched from sweat and the water I kept dumping over me. My right ear was nearly plugged. So my wife had taken a spot along the railing to cheer me on when I came through but was unable to get a photo due to the crowd leaning over the railing. She said she yelled at me, but between the crowd noise and the IPod sort of working and my ear being plugged up, I didn't hear or see her. I made it through the large crowd getting water and climbed the bleachers (yes, after 13.3 miles, we had to climb up to the concourse level to get to the post race expo. At the top all I could see were people. It took 30-40 minutes of being bumped my strollers, other runners, etc., shoulder to shoulder to get to the other end. I needed to stretch my legs and couldn't hardly move because the crowd was too thick. I eventually got my food, coconut milk, TIM LINCECOM bobblehead (ah, yes), and my shirt and got through and my wife had made it up there to meet me. Finally I could stretch out and walk a little as my legs were starting to tighten up. (I got water and my finisher's medal at the finish line). They had some nice stuff. I got a half glass of nasty wine (tasted really cheap). Won a Giants' pin at the wheel game, so did my wife. I think they gave those away in your goodie bag last year, oh well. It only cost a buck to spin. Got some popchips, CLIF bars, etc. Very good food and nice goodies. Just a struggle with the crowd to get through. Last year that was all outside and very easy to get around. So I had plans to meet up with other Daily Mile runners after, but I needed my cell to find out where they were. The cell was in the car a couple of blocks away and by the time I got it, I just wanted to get out of there. I had several messages, so I let them know that I was going to go ahead and take off, and my wife and I headed to the mall to walk around and get some lunch. I know, long recap. Overall, the best race I've ever done. Not fond of crowds, but I survived all that. Would definitely do it again. The cloud cover made for exceptional running conditions. Official time: 2:05:44. Previous best was 2:17:53, so I beat it by over 12 minutes. Bib #2654. http://results.bazumedia.com/event/results/event/RCAQ2011 for the official results, video, and photos from race. At the mall, I was so out of it, that I lost my wallet for a while. I recovered it before anyone had a chance to take anything, thank goodness. I totally freaked. Again, this was the first time that I had even come close to running that far without stopping and my brain was somewhere else. Overall, extremely pleased with the run, the weather, the bling, my wife for being there, and to God who makes all things possible. Go Giants!

Prepping for the Giant Race at AT&T Park

Getting excited to run the Giant Race in a week and a half at AT&T Park, in SF, CA. This will be my second half. Just need to beat 2:17 for a PR. Shooting for more like 2:07. I think a 10 minute improvement on my PR would be outstanding. I have been running well lately. If this one goes well, I will probably try a more hilly half in October and see how I do with that. A great year so far. I have 17 races under my belt, several PRs, and lots of miles on my shoes. Running pretty much pain free at this point. Should be a great race.

Race Update

So far this year I've run five 1M races, one 2M, five 5Ks, two 5Ms, three 10Ks and a 12K. Did another mile and 5K on 5/28 at the Modesto Classic. Need to start building my mileage base toward the Giant Race at AT&T Park on 8/27. Doing the half. Haven't done a half since Nov. of last year. My longest runs this year have been 8.25 (2M and 10K) in Jamestown on 4/30, and 7.46 (12K) at the Bay to Breakers on 5/15. Really having fun running now that the hamstring is 100% again. No real issues. The weather has been perfect lately. Making a lot of friends out there at races. I really like that! New 10K PR on 8/13/11 at the VIPS Keep Moving Forward race in Riverbank, CA. 55:36.4. Took a minute and a half off my 10K PR. Pretty excited about that. Really pumped for the Giant Race on 8/27.

2011 Bay to Breakers in SF, CA

This will probably go down as the biggest event I've ever or may ever be a part of. Official participant total was 43,927 (55,000 paid). I was 6172nd, It was originally forecasted to rain, but we only got a short shower around mile 6. It was a wave start so others probably missed the rain altogether. As you can see in the photo of a DM meetup after the race, I was psyched out by the forecast and overdressed. Sweat pants, sweatshirt, etc. Overheated a little by mile 3 on the big Hayes Street Hill. Walked about half the hill to avoid further issues. Managed the rest of the way by taking walk breaks about every mile. That killed any chance of breaking 70 min., but I did finish in 1:12:43, beating my initial goal of 73 min. Started from Corral C. Got up to start line in about 5 minutes, which was impressive. Saw way too many walkers for my taste. So I hopped up onto the sidewalk with other "faster" runners and blew by a bunch of them. Realized that I was going way too fast in the process (7:24 pace, according to my Garmin). I found an opening and got back onto the street and fell back into about an 8:45 pace which was comfortable until I got halfway up the big hill around mile 3 or so. Then realized that I was already drenched with sweat and it was only 7:30 AM. So I adjusted my thinking and used the run/walk strategy to finish. Overall very pleased. Had fun tossing tortillas while we were waiting in the starting corral. Really enjoyed checking out all the costumes, but could have done without the 8-10 naked runners that I saw. That was supposed to be banned this year. Oh well. There was a Footstock area after for food, music, and meeting up with friends so we planned a Daily Mile meetup out there and I met about a dozen of my Daily Mile friends there. That was the highlight of the day. I will remember this day forever. It turned out to be beautiful weather. Great friends. I spent most of the day with my friend Bill from Pleasanton. We met at the BART station near Pleasanton and rode BART over then walked together to our starting corral. We were both in corral C. We took turns heaving tortillas that were thrown our way. We met up about 1/2 mile from the finish where he passed me and then we walked over to Footstock together, got our medals and free food and then I introduced him to my DM friends. All in all a very memorable occasion.

2011 Wildflower Run 10K

So I got a Garmin 305 Forerunner with the purpose of being able to monitor my pace more effectively and it paid off in a big way in this race. You can look down and see your current pace as you go. I could see when I was falling off and needed to get up to speed again. I could also set lap times as I passed the mile markers and monitor where I was at compared to my 10K PR that I was trying to beat. That time was 57:42 from last year's Jamestown Run. I started a little quickly with the crowd and got separated from everyone that I needed break free from in the first mile. Then it was just all about monitoring pace and hydration. It was perfect weather, right around 65-70. Splits: 8:44, 9:24, 9:22, 9:31, 9:28, 9:13. That put me at 55:42 at 6 miles. I finished in 57:07, which means that I did the final .2M in 1:25. That's a 7:05/Mile pace. I leaped across the finish line knowing that I had beaten my PR and forgot to hit the stop button on my Garmin, which meant that I had to wait for 2 1/2 days to get my official results. It was a beautiful day. My wife ran the 5K and did well for her. We spent the rest of the morning eating and shopping, which is a great day for her. We didn't spend a lot, just shopped and got her a dress for a future event. Overall it was a lot of fun. I have another chance to beat this PR in 2 1/2 weeks when we do the Jamestown Run again.

Current Weight is around 167 again.
Body Fat is at 21 1/2.
Need to focus on fat intake again.

Race and Injury Update

So the Jamestown Run got snowed out! That was a bit of a relief, I can't lie. I really want to do well there and the hamstring is not 100%. Maybe around 70% or so. I can't push it until it is good. It doesn't even feel right. So they will reschedule the race and hopefully that will give me time to recuperate fully and retrain to perform at the level I have been running. Otherwise I will focus in on the Morgan Hill Wildflower Run on 4/10. If I'm good by that one, I will go for the 10K and see what I can do. Main focus now is to be 100% for the Bay to Breakers in May. This will probably be my featured race for the year. It is the 100th running and should be something very special to participate in. Check it out!
http://zazzlebaytobreakers.com/index.php?page=what-s-new-for-2011

Taking it Easy

Sorry that I haven't posted much lately, but I haven't run much lately. I strained my right hamstring in the race in Ripon at the Almond Blossom Festival. I went ahead and run the 5K and jogged the mile at Henry's March at CSU Stanislaus to see if I could, but it didn't feel right. My hamstring tightened all up again, and maybe worse. That was on 3/6. So I barely jogged/walked a mile on 3/14 to test it. That was OK. I'll probably try to go 1.5 or 2 miles today. I want to do the 2 mile on Sat. at the Jamestown Run and forget about the 10K for now. I can do the 10K in Morgan Hill on 4/10 at the Wildflower Run. That should get me ready for the Bay to Breakers on 5/15. I'm taking it slow so I don't keep re-injuring the hamstring and prolong the injury. I'll be back to speed soon. I promise!