Wind(Fall) at the Rodeo Beach 50k

Last Saturday it was time to close out the 2009 season with the Rodeo Beach 50k. It was a chance to get one more ultra in (first one since August), to see some trailrunning friends and to once again enjoy the wonderful trails of the Marin Headlands.

The lady would join me at this race and meet me several times throughout the race (all three Tennessee Valley aid stops plus Rodeo Beach at the 30k mark). We got to the start rather early and, as usual, fueled by Peet's coffee. The second I got out of the car, I knew conditions would be tough. A cold and surprisingly strong wind was making everyone put on an extra layer. Brrrr!

Pre-race - all layered up

The course is typical Headlands fare: big hills (nearly 6,000 feet gain) with smooth, non-technical trails and, most of all, breathtaking views. I had provided my lady with an aggressive time-table of splits (5 hour pace; my 50k PR was 5:12). There was really no basis for this other than my race the previous weekend on almost the same course, which gave me plenty of confidence. In general, I was a bit undertrained (no runs of >20 miles since August), but my head was in the right place. And that's usually half the battle.

We took off from Rodeo to Tennessee Valley (TV) via the Miwok Trail. Strong headwinds made the first climb quite a chore. That 5 hour pace seemed ludicrous only two miles into the race. But somehow I emerged five minutes ahead of that pace at TV. Had I pushed too hard?

Next up was Pirates Cove, perhaps my most favorite of all Bay Area trails. It's a single track trail that runs along high ocean cliffs down into the cove and then back up. Crashing waves provide the backdrop. The winds continued to be very strong and made balancing a bit more precarious. Further, the strong head winds made climbing out of the cove along the already steep, steep trail even tougher than usual. Back at TV though, I was now 7.5 mins ahead.

It was time to take it a bit easier to the halfway point at around the Conzelman aid station. From here it's a long downhill back to Rodeo Valley. As usual, I was cruising on this trail. And then BOOM! I tripped and fell. Hard. I found myself with cramping hips, completely disoriented and a bit of shock laying on the trail. Thankfully, somebody behind me pulled me up and got me going again. In a haze, I continued to the 30k mark.

Over time, it became clear that nearly everything was hurting, in particular my right shoulder and wrist, which took the brunt of the fall. Then the wheels came off going up Miwok again. My legs just didn't seem to want to move. I had gone out too hard.

I rolled into TV aid completely demoralized. I strongly questioned how I was going to make it back up the Marincello let alone run another 13k. People were saying things to me, but I couldn't tell you what it was. I was in a complete daze. Five minutes later, I decided to try to walk up Marincello and somehow make it to the top. Moving slowly helped. And slowly I came to. Once I reached the top, I realized that it hadn't taken me all that long and that a PR was still possible. My spirits took a 180 degree turn. Time to get a move on!

The Marincello Trail. Treat it with the utmost respect or it will get you!

I couldn't believe that I got to Conzelman aid at 4:27. Only 6k to go! Could I break 5 hours? Despite the fall, the winds and my less than ideal state of mind? Why not! I seized the moment and ran as hard as I could to finish in 4:55. That's a 17 minute PR. What a way to end the season!

At the finish, I caught up with some of the other finishers and learned of the Nathan Yanko's brilliant performance (3:43:51) beating the blazing-fast Chikara Omine by a whole 13 minutes. It was a very fast field as a whole. A whopping 21 people finished in under five hours. While this may not be the most difficult (i.e., technical) course in the world, it's not exactly the easiest either. Them are some big climbs in the Headlands.

As usual, my thanks to Sarah, Wendell and all the volunteers who braved the elements and pulled off a another sold-out event without a hitch. Can't wait for 2010!

Running with Ken Burns at Muir Beach (18M)

Another frustrating non-race last weekend. Woke up sick the morning of the race. Not good timing particularly with finals upon me. It continued an awkward string of issues getting in the way of my racing this fall. BUT THEN:

I got an e-mail reminder about the Coastal Trail Runs and this weekend's race at Muir Beach. Forgot about those! I promptly decided to sign up for the 18 mile version of the race. It would be a decent warm-up for the season-ending Rodeo Beach 50k and a nice present to myself for finishing my penultimate semester of grad school at Cal.

Some of you may have seen Ken Burns' documentary on National Parks. It's BIG. BEAUTIFUL. AWE-INSPIRING. Of course, the series spends some time talking about John Muir for whom so many natural landmarks in California are named, including the start location of the race.

Anyhow, the show came on the night before the race. I started to watch, of course. And what can I say? It fired me up! Some people watch Rocky for inspiration others watch Chariots of Fire. I watch Ken Burns. (Yes, that's my wife in the background yelling: "Nerd!").

Some of you may know of the anecdote of John Muir sitting through a massive storm on the top branches of a 100 foot tree. I agree with Mr. Muir's sentiment that nature is best experienced during "bad" weather. And that's what we had for the Muir Beach 18 miler: rain and wind.

I bundled up well knowing that I'm not fully recovered from being sick yet. The idea was to get my legs moving at a decent pace for an extended period of time without killing myself in anticipation of Rodeo Beach next week. Jason Reed, who is quite the speedster and runs a LOT of races, lined up for the 18 miler as well. I figured he would win.

We took off and immediately hit Pirate's Cove, one of the most beautiful sections of trail in the Bay Area. You gotta love the sound of the crashing waves while trail running! I was cruising on the downhills but my legs felt a bit weak when going up (perhaps from being sick?). Jason and I hit Tennessee Valley together before he pulled away by a couple minutes on the uphill.

It was windy and raining with increasing intensity. But it was fun playing in the mud and listening to the little creeks that formed on the trails. At aid 2, Jason was about 2 minutes ahead, which I was able to halve on the ensuing downhill. Time to go up again (3,780 feet of gain in just 18 miles means a lot of up and down). Here I ran into a coyote right in the middle of the trail. I stopped and Mr. Coyote started to approach me. Time to whistle and make him move. I had a race to run!

This was also about the time I considered upgrading to the marathon. I wasn't going to catch Jason, but I would have a sizable lead in the marathon race. The switch was something I had discussed with people prior to the race, so I wasn't just being opportunistic! In the end, I decided to keep some juice in the tank for next week. Jason came in at 2:40 and I came in second a little under 2:43. A lot closer than I had anticipated!

As always thanks to Sarah and Wendell and all the volunteers for making this race happen in sub-ideal conditions! It is much appreciated

Onwards and upwards!

Know Anything About Running in China?

Over winter break (which is a nice side effect of grad school, btw), I will be going to China as part of school trip. (No, I am not just discriminating in favor of countries starting with "Chi").

I am wondering whether any of you have traveled to Shanghai or Beijing and gotten some running in. While in South America, I went on an amazing running sight seeing tour of Buenos Aires (something you can do in most US cities, too, btw). Something of that nature would be fun. Or any other tips you might have. There is one running tour group that I found in Beijing, but their runs seem awfully short.

Beijing at night
(sort of a surprising image, don't you think? - can't wait to explore!)

Any tips, advice, etc. would be very much appreciated!

Odds and Ends

I know, I know. I have been noticeably absent over the past couple of months. So what has happened? Here are some incomplete thoughts:

• SF One Day was supposed to be my big race for the fall. A friend's wedding got in the way of that. Such is life. I wish there was a comparable race some time in the spring to make up for it. I'm still a bit bummed.
  
• The kids (wait, they're my age) over at trailruntimes.com featured a blog entry of mine as a winner of the "My First Ultra" contest. Read it here. It won me the most comfortable sweater of all time. I wear it 8 or 9 days a week. Thanks to Brett Rivers, et al in making that happen. Visit their site, read their race reports and meet them at a race. Likely before or after, since their are all fast!
  

• Cal football - Yes, football Saturdays make both race and long-run scheduling surprisingly difficult. Oh, well, at least it was worth it with the Bears living up to expectations this year. Oh wait, that's right. We only really good on paper. That helps. They must beat Stanford this weekend for this season to find a sweet ending, but I digress.

Best. Sports. Moment. (links to 45 sec. YouTube clip)

• I loaded up heavy on academics this fall to have a bit more time for job search in the spring. That's kept me busy. That edumacation thing is pretty important, you know? 16 credit hours is a lot though.
  
• Without any real races on the calendar, it's been hard to motivate myself to run much this fall. Been feeling both mentally and physically tired for a couple of months. It took me a while to realize that the lack of race goals may have contributed to that. I also need to get out more. I've fallen victim to running the same long run in Tilden over and over. Why? No idea. The Bay Area is trail heaven. I must be stupid for not having taken better advantage of that. Headlands this weekend. I'm making a change!
  
• With school, job search, etc. I have really fallen behind on reading blogs, the other HUGE source of inspiration. I am slowly catching up, so don't be offended if I comment on a race you did in September. :)
• I'm going to run Woodside and Rodeo Beach to finish the year out in style. And I cannot wait. See you all out there!!
  

A Twitterific Skyline Ridge Race Report

(Trying something different for this race)

6:10 - getting up...been awake since 3 a.m. Bleh.
6:17 - Not sure whether I can do 50k without proper training. 37k at a minimum today, right? right.
6:27 - at Peet's, getting the usual pre-race food (caramel latte, scone, muffin)
6:55 - crossing Bay Bridge. Golden Gate, the city, Marin....esp. gorgeous in this morning light
7:02 - still brooding over Cal's terrible loss...season down the drain
7:12 - wondering how walking all over Berkeley and standing all through the game last night will affect my legs. Likely not good.
7:35 - Arrive at race. Say hi to @BrianWyatt
7:36 - Brrrrr...I doubt it's even 40 degrees. very windy, too. Check in time. hug @SarahSpelt
8:00 - bio taken care of. Changing into race gear and keeping warm in car.
8:15 - Meeting some Floridians, including first time ultra-runner. Big day for him
8:24 - another bio break. wtf?
8:29 - Hello @RickGaston! Smile. Picture.
8:30 - Off...taking it easy.
8:33 - Super smooth trails.
8:40 - Relaxing big time
9:28 - Out and back...time to grunt my "g'd'job"s
9:29 - g'd'job!
9:30 - g'd'job! g'd'job!
9:31 - g'd'job! g'd'job! g'd'job!
9:37 - aid #1. Lamenting my out of shape self and the Golden Bears disappointment with @BrianWyatt
9:40 - Feeling GREAT!
9:55 - Running smoooooooth
10:12 - stomach acting up. It should be settled after two bio breaks before race
10:37 - Now, it's completely empty. bio break #3
10:38 - Desperately trying to eat at aid 2. Not working out so well.
10:42 - starting to eat another gel. Tastes terrible. Usually that's my favorite.
10:44 - stomach cramp. ugh
10:52 - cramp, cramp, cramp
11:02 - still trying to eat that gel. Not good.
11:24 - at aid#3. Have yet to finish gel. pretzels work better but not enough. stomach still cramping.
11:45 - can't run more than a quarter mile without stomach cramps. Legs are starting to feel ueber-weak b/c I have no calories in me. BAD
12:02 - walking way to much in order to try to settle stomach cramps.
12:08 - This is stupid. I'll take the 37k and call it a day.
12:15 - Pulling out of race. Realizing I'm in 4th and had a good pace. @Wendell looked surprised. I'm frustrated
12:20 - time for chili! @RickGaston is the cook
12:35 - saying my good-byes.
12:45 - driving home. Really wish I could have finished. Must return next year. Definitely some unfinished business.
2:02 - Back in Berkeley. Shower and off to the Spice of Life festival. Food, food, food right at my door step!

Psychedelic Climacteric 50k

Woah! What a name. Don't try looking it up online. It's a small run put on by Mike Palmer every year. Mike is a well-known figure in the Bay Area community who is also known for his in-the-know e-mail list.

12 of us gathered at the starting line on a small dirt track near (on?) the UC Berkeley campus. There were lots of hugs, smiles and laughter. A few speedsters were there. Mark Gilligan (1st TRT 50 mile), Joe Binder (3:47 at Skyline 50k) and Rob Silva (5th at Ruth Andersen 50mile). But no one was really there to race. We were all out to have a good time!

The PC is a tough course. 7000 feet of elevation will do that for ya. You get a course description, hope that there may be an aid station at mile 8 and perhaps a few ribbons and chalk arrows on the ground. Old school. And I like it that way. (It turned out that the course was pretty well marked actually.)

I settled in with Rob, who was returning from an injury. We got to Volmer Peak without any issues, passed the aid station and headed to one of my favorite spots in the area: Wildcat Peak. It usually has sweeping views of the entire Bay, but it was hazy that day. Bummer. We hung out for a bit anyways.

View towards the Bay on a clear day (with a bad camera).

Somewhere past the ensuing downhill things started to not go so well for Rob. We were slowing down considerably. Time to walk and see if I can get him out of the funk. But things were just getting worse and worse for Rob. After about two hours, Rob declared he was going to walk the whole way back to Lone Pine (another 2.5 miles or so). I decided it was time for me to move on. Rob had a cell phone, the next group of runners was going to happen upon us soon and we weren't too far from the Jewel Lake parking lot (to get picked up if necessary). We said our good-byes, and I took it up a notch.

I ran a couple of sub-8s without much effort. Bought some M&M's at Lake Anza and headed home. I was surprised at how relatively easy it felt going back up to Strawberry Canyon. Still running the uphills. Good stuff! I know the firetrail like the back of my hand and that energized me even further. In the end, I finished in 6:19. I ran the last 12 or 13 miles in 1:45 and felt very strong throughout the day. My summer training has definitely come together well. Now, it's time to take that into the fall.

My thanks to Mike, the aid station guy (sorry, didn't get your name) and whoever else helped in putting this event together. It was psychedelitastic!

Lessons Learned Sweeping the Headlands Hundred Course

This past Sunday, I volunteered at the Headlands Hundred. I took on the task of sweeping 17 miles of the 25 mile loop. Armed with a ton of podcasts, sunscreen and a camelback I set out to clean up the course that witnessed local Nathan Yanko take home the win in his very first 100. Nice job, Nathan!


Course Markings are Heavy!
It may have been the fact that this was an overnight race, but, sheesh, course markings are heavy. Course flags, clothespins, glow sticks, those little metal flag thingies, signs and tent stakes (!) add up quickly, especially on a course as well marked as this one was. Between the start at Rodeo Beach and and Tennessee Valley, I picked up at least 15 lbs worth of stuff (including a few gel wrappers). I was glad to leave those course markings at the Tennessee Valley aid station and head back out with an empty bag. (Btw, it was fun to hang out at an aid station for longer than 30 seconds for once. I enjoyed my 45 minutes there).

It Takes Longer Than You Think
With all that extra weight and the time it takes to pick everything up, it really takes some time to clean up a course. I ended up doing 20 miles (added some out-and-backs for good measure) in five hours. That's probably about two hours longer than it would have taken during a normal run.

Sweeping Is A Fantastic Workout
Boy, was I tired. You run 20 miles, but it's more like a 25-28 mile effort. I was BEAT afterwards.

You Become An Ambassador For The Sport
About 20 people must have stopped and asked me what the course markings were for. "A race" was my usual answer. The reactions were all over the board. Some were "just happy that people are finally cleaning up after themselves" while others (most) were completely taken aback by the distance (50/100 m) of the race. You end up talking a lot about your sport. "People run for that long?" Yes, sir, they do.