Races, Long Runs, Workouts, and Days Missed

Jeff Edmonds has a fascinating blog. In his most recent post he talks about the extremes of philosphy in its purest form & racing in its purest form. While Jeff finished his PH.D in philosophy this past spring, I know very little on the matter. But I'll take a quote from his blog (hopefully not out of context): "philosophy in its purest form, like all living things, can never be completed."

As a runner, training can never be completed. Steve Prefontaine said "If you are a runner your never completely satisfied unless you get a World's Record." I dare say that Steve Prefontaine would not have been completely satisfied even if he did break a world record. This is the man who held the American record at 2000 meters, 3000 meters, 2 miles, 3 miles, 5000 meters, 6 miles, and 10000 meters the night he died.

So why did I fall in love with a sport in high school, come to loath it by the end of college, and rediscover a passion for it in my 30's? A sport where you can never be completely satisfied? Well... what do I look like? A man with all the answers?

I think the answer is that I enjoy the challenge of training again. I'm excited for my track workouts, and not anxious. As a runner if you don't enjoy that grind, then you'll be way too impatient if you don't see the race results immediately. A recent Wall Street Journal article featuring Kara Goucher discussed the approaches that African runners take compared to Americans runners. "Africans 'enjoy the battle' in endurance running while most Westerners 'race with anxiety.'" I still have some anxiety in races, which must be part of why my races haven't reflected my training.

Moving on.. I had my first race of the year 2 weeks ago finishing 19th in the Santa Cruz XC race in 22:11 (compared to 21st place in 22:57 last year). I'd rate the performance as not bad, but not great. My place didn't improve much from last year, but that was due to a much more competitive turnout. The race climbs steadily for the 1st mile, mostly uphill (but rolling) for the 2nd mile, then turns around and runs back down. Somehow I managed to die in the last mile going downhill. But had I held my position it would have been a good race. One thing I promised myself this year was to not get too disappointed anytime I significantly improved a performance from last year. So I'll stick to that.

Next up is a 4 mile race in Golden Gate park. This is a course I've raced several times, but usually on the 6 mile course (which is just one additional 2 mile loop). I ran the 6m course - the league championship - at 5:31 pace last year. My last race on the 4 mile course was my 5th year of college coming back from injuries. I ran that race in 21:15. If I can get anywhere close to that time I'll be really happy.

My best workout of the summer were 5 times a ~1400 meter (7/8 mile) loop where we ran 800 meters around the base of a big hill, then 600 meters charging up the hill. I managed to stay relaxed on the flat part, then be able to really attack the top of the hill. It's been the only time I've ever managed to push our top runner all the way through a workout. On the last interval he was 10 meters in front, when I caught him looking back. That was all I needed to quickly catch him, then sprint along side to the top. After the Santa Cruz race (where he finished in 2nd place roughly 2 minutes ahead of me), he joked how when he was tired at one point of the race he told himself "this is nothing compared to running the hills with Gifford". Well... glad I could help him with that one aspect of his training. Now I just need to work on running flats and downills!

Other than that, I've gotten a lot of good mileage & long runs. Last week was frustrating because I had hoped for a good week of mileage, but missed running all together on Friday when we headed to Washington, DC, and I only managed a very short run Sunday. But Dana & I had a great time at Tyson's wedding, then kicked around the Mall and the Air & Space Museum Sunday. So it was a great weekend. And I'm sure I won't have any problem making up for the runs missed.

This weekend we're heading up to Mammoth Lakes for some camping and hiking.

Sorry to alarm

Two family members were reading my last post and panicked thinking the story was going to end with "I got hit by a car". I promise if something like that were to ever happen to me, I wouldn't first tell you about it in a blog post :)

Dammit Run & 71 mile week

It hit me right after I ran the Bay to Breakers race in May that I was racing just like I was training. I was running decent races for a washed up 31 year old with a serious job, but I had turned into a Runners World runner; always in that comfort zone. I was doing some hard workouts, but so many days I was overcautious about backing off when I was tired. In addition to not having the conditioning I needed, I found myself unable to gut it out in the middle of a race when the pace started to hurt. I started to change my approach the last month of the season, and it paid off with a very rewarding finish at The Dipsea.

After the Dipsea it was off to the East Coast for the wedding. I was happy to take 3 weeks off (not counting the wedding 5k and a few short runs on the honeymoon) to focus on the big day and the honeymoon.

When I got settled in back home, I was ready to start running hard, but had to balance an aggressive approach with an intelligent build up. I wanted to focus on 2 things over the summer: building mileage into the cross country season, and consistent tempo runs (2x a week). For one of my running routes - the 7.5 mile Immigrant Point to Chrissy Field loop - I made a rule that I had to put the hammer down for 1 mile along Chrissy Field. I've done this run once every week or two and usually hit 5:15 to 5:20.

Two weeks ago I ran a good 61 mile week with solid workouts. One of the workouts was the 5 mile Los Gatos Dammit Run last Saturday. I knew this had been a competitive race in the past, but had no idea how hard the course was going to be. I got to the race really late (only warmed up about a half mile), so took the first mile super easy. I was in about 10th place for the half mile. Then shortly before the mile mark, the course started climbing uphill, and I was finally warmed up. I quickly passed some high schoolers who went out too fast, and was in 2nd place by a mile and a half. At this point we were climbing a steep grade up to the Lexington Dam. I had closed ground on the leader (Kevin Pierpoint - one of the top Bay Area runners). We reached the dam, and I thought that was the high point on the course. I still heard the 2nd place runner's footsteps, so I tried to run smoothly & quickly on the flat while I waited for the inevitable downhill. OOPS! We made a left turn and I realized the steepest hill of the race was straight ahead. Half way up, I felt like I was barely running, but Pierpoint was still in sight, and the footsteps behind me were gone. I never saw Pierpoint again after he crested the hill in front of me, but I kept the hammer all the way down the steep trail back into Los Gatos, and finished the race in 2nd place. I don't have a great benchmark for my performance, but felt like I ran hard & smart and that my fitness is right where it needs to be.

With Saturday's race, a hilly Sunday long run, and consistently high mileage, I felt pretty tired heading into Tuesday's workout. But I had a great workout running 3 x 2 mile "tempo" intervals at last season's race pace on the Golden Gate Park cross country course. As the week went on, I kept the mileage going, including a hilly 12 miler on Thursday. Then Friday, I decided to wake up at 4am and run before work, since I was playing golf right after work (running after beer and hot dogs isn't much fun). I wouldn't do it often, but I thought the morning air was pretty invigorating. Then the mishap occurred. I was running on a road through the Presidio when a car was coming. The road had a wide shoulder, so I drifted more and more to the left. Then SMACK I didn't even see the little ditch on the side. I landed hard on my hands and knees. I saw the car slow down to (presumably to make sure I was ok), but I just jumped up and kept running. As soon as I came to a street light I stopped for a sec. I was bleeding from both my hands and knees and the pain was throbbing, but I toughed it out for the 2.5 miles home. Cleaning it out was painful, and I had to bandage it all up for work. I still played golf, but sat out a number of the holes (I did manage a par on a par 3).

I didn't know how my weekend running would go. I started off Saturday and my knees were sore, but after the first few steps, I was comfortable the bruises wouldn't be any worse from running. I ran 7 Saturday morning, 4 Saturday afternoon with some hill sprints, then 14 Sunday. A 71 mile week! I've averaged 60 miles a week for the last 4 weeks.

I'll be backing it off this week, then next Saturday I have my first race of the Pacific Association cross country season - a hilly 4 miler in Santa Cruz. I'm very happy with how my summer training went, and I think I've taken a better mental approach to my workouts.

Obama's Answer: Drink Beer

Obama, Gates, Crowly get their drink on

To alcohol! The cause of -- and solution to -- all of life's problems!
-Homer J. Simpson

Nothing like a depressant to chase the blues away!
-Lenny (Homer's friend)

Harris Ranch Steakhouse

A couple weeks ago I had the impulsive thought to head down and take a plane up for a quick flight. I didn't get to fly much during the spring because of running and wedding planning. But this Monday, Dana was out of town, and I was going to take the day off running, so an after work flight seemed like the perfect activity. Since work was not busy, I left before 3:00 and headed down. As I left my house I decided to see if Jonathan Stevens (who lives near the airport) wanted to go, and he tagged along. We flew the "Bay Tour" where you fly right next to SFO (assuming the tower will grant you a Bravo airspace clearance) and over the city. Jonathan enjoyed the flight so I suggested another adventure.

This past Friday night, Jonathan, Jenn Stevens, Dana, and I took off from San Carlos and headed South to Coalinga, CA, 120 miles South in the central valley. Coalinga is pretty much just known for the Harris Ranch, which sends beef all over California (and other places I'm sure). Right off Intestate 5 & in the middle of nowhere is the Harris Ranch Steakhouse. The website states that the steakhouse is "Conveniently located midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles". Well since these 2 cities are a 6 hour drive apart, I'd say that's only convenient to the cows that live there and haven't realized they're going to be steaks soon. So with this in mind, they stuck a small landing strip parallel to the freeway - The Harris Ranch Airport. The airport consists of a 2800 foot runway that's a mere 30 feet wide with no taxi-ways. It's a crazy landing because it looks like you're aiming toward a pencil when you're on final approach. And if you drift off the centerline you'll probably land it in the gravel. My landing wasn't pretty, but I hit the marks.

We enjoyed some delicious fresh steaks with the Stevenses (unfortunately no wine for me as the pilot). I also picked up a couple vacuum sealed racks of tri tip steak to cook if we get around to having a housewarming party. So after dinner and after nightfall we climbed back in the plane to head back to San Carlos. It was a bit interesting heading back into the Bay Area as a very thin, but low cloud layer had settled over most of the Bay. The approach control warned me that San Francisco International was reporting instrument conditions (which I'm not rated to fly in), and San Jose had a very low ceiling. The San Carlos tower was closed, but there's a frequency that broadcasts the automated weather conditions... Somehow they were reporting clear skies. This was clearly an error since it was only 9 miles south of SFO, which was completely fogged in. But as I got close to the Bay, I slipped under the initial cloud layer, and sure enough when I approached San Carlos, the skies were clear. Weird summer weather in the Bay Area!

We stayed in the city the rest of the weekend. Saturday night went to Tyson Hendrickson's engagement party - praise the Lord that man found a girl! Then I rolled out of bed at 5am Sunday morning to combine a long run with SF Marathon spectating (the race starts at 5:30 so that they can incorporate the Golden Gate Bridge). I ran with a guy I bet at a recent race who I've recruited to run with West Valley, and I got to see a couple friends run well in the race.

Dolphin South End Runners

Sunday morning I decided to give my running an ego-boost and hit the Dolphin South End race (DSE for short). The DSE running club is low-key club that hosts a race almost every weekend of the year for the unbeatable price of $5 per race. There's no t-shirt's, fancy aid stations, etc. Just a race in a different (often scenic) location each week. I say it's an ego boost because you rarely see any of the competitive runners who kick my butt in the Pacific Association series. Not a hint of prize money, nor fancy trophies, just a ribbon for finishing and a ribbon if you win.

My first DSE race was two years ago. I had been running more than I had in a while, feeling good, so I decided to find a race and jump in. I did the 5k that day, while most runners ran the more challenging 6.8 miler. I won the shorter race pretty easily in a very slow 18 minutes. That day was really the start of what I'm calling my 2nd running career (or alternatively my 30+ running career).

So Sunday was my 2nd DSE race. It was the same event, but I went back for the 6.8 miler. The course was a 3.4 mile / 1000 foot climb straight up San Bruno Mountain, then straight back down. I averaged just over 6 min / mile pace to win by about 4 minutes. 2nd place was a rising high school junior is hoping to make his varsity squad for the first time this year. You'd always like to say you dusted some stiff competition, but it was my first win since the last DSE race, so I'll take it.

I didn't get to pick up my ribbon because I rushed back to the city to go to church with Dana.

Here's a picture of San Bruno Mountain















* Interesting fact: In 1998 a United Airlines 747 buzzed San Bruno Mountain by a mere 100 feet. One of the right engines had failed on takeoff, and the inexperienced pilot tried to compensate for the uneven thrust by rolling the wings to the left, instead of the proper procedure of using the left rudder to keep the plane level with the nose still pointed forward. He then had to push the nose down to pick up speed and avoid a stall. Unfortunately they were now headed straight for the mountain. Thank God the plane just cleared the mountain and the 307 people of board were spared. Perhaps if I ever train for a multi-engine certificate I'll post an entry on proper lost engine procedures.

Wedding pics

As you can imagine I was bit to busy to be snapping photos, so no original material here. But my groomsman Jonathan Stevens put together a shutterfly page where people have posted some good pictures. Here's the link.

http://giffordsgetmarried.shutterfly.com/