Pacifica 50K Race Report

Just finished the PCTR Pacifica 50K a few hours ago. Hats off to Wendell and Sara for yet another spectacular race. They should teach courses on putting on races. They are that good.

The course was a challenging set of loops. We started with the 20K and 30K racers and that helped to push a strong early pace. Ryan Commons (50K ) and Will Gotthardt (50K) set the pace for the first three miles and then Jason Wolf took off on the last stretch of the Montara fire road. I was close to Will and Ryan on the way to the summitt of North Peak but couldn't keep up with them as they rocketed the descent. I found it hard to believe that anyone could go that fast down the rocky, off-camber singletrack section but they did it. I was only a turn behind them (50 m) when I took a wrong turn and lost about 40 seconds hoofing it back to the course.

I thought for sure I was out of contention for first and second place but good hydration, fueling and tailing a fast 30K racer was all I needed to catch up to Will G. Ryan C. was at least 10-15 minutes ahead at this point and it looked like fourth place was 20 min back so Will and I ran conservatively up to North Peak on the fourth loop. I knew what a strong descender Will is so I thought if I could stay with him to the last lap maybe I could put enough distance between us on the last climb that I might squeak into second place.

As it turned out when I started the descent and tried to mimic the nimble steps and blistering pace Ryan and Will demonstrated on the first lap, it worked! Soon I was alone on the last climb. I was haunted by the possibility that Will was just behind me, lurking out of sight. I tried to push the pace and as luck would have it, I finished second behind Ryan Commons. My finishing time was 4:52:53, just about ten minutes behind the victor and new course record holder.

I had a great time chatting with Will, Ryan and Jason Reed at the end of the race. I look forward to racing with them again in the future.

What went well?
-Hydration - I drank a full 20 oz of sports drink every 6-7 miles.
-Fuel - I ate a gu every 40 min
-I washed my legs with dishwashing detergent to get the dirt and poison oak off when I got home

What didn't go well?
-I somehow managed to get poison oak on my face (cheeks, eye, ear) and neck. I probably got it when I took my shoes off and then scratched my face in the car on the way home.
-Four days after the race I needed a cortico-steroid shot, prednisone pills and salicylic acid to get the rash under control. Lesson learned - Just becuase I didn't see the tell-tale "leaves of three" doesn't mean I didn't come in contact with poison oak.

I'm really looking forward to competing in the PCTR Woodside 50K February 2nd. It is one of my favorite courses and we don't have to battle the 17K or 35K crowd on the way out and there's usually only a few that I see on the way back. Should be fun!

30 Mile Trail Run at Point Reyes

12-30-07
Point Reyes is a gorgeous place to run. The terrain is varied. There are countless trails, many of which are singletrack. We were staying 45 minutes away in Bodega Bay for New Years and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do my long run in this beautiful national seashore.

I started at the Bear Valley trailhead and headed south on the Rift Trail. The trail was slick and muddy from recent rain. I had to skirt a herd of cows as I headed through the meadows in the rift zone. The pond (below) was just getting the first rays of the sun as I passed by.

Rift Trail in the morning mist

Just south of the pond was a stream crossing. There was no bridge as the stream is probably no more than a trickle the rest of the year. But at this point it was about a foot deep and eight feet across. Stepping stones were well submerged. Not wanting to run the next twenty miles with wet feet I dragged some logs over and made it across. About a mile later as the trail crossed through the middle of a meadow the trail looked like this with no way around it.

I despite best efforts to keep the feet dry I ran straight through. 20 miles later my feet were just about dry!

The Rift Trail led to the Texteira trail (not sure I spelled that right) which climbs up out of the rift valley up to the Ridge Trail. The forest here is very lush and the light meanders through the tall trees. The lower branches of the Douglas fir trees are all broken off (high winds?) making the forest bright and open. Running in between the shoulder-high vegetation that makes up the understory felt like running through the pews in a cathedral.

The Ridge trail connects to PaloMarin and the Coastal Trail after about a mile of running on the road. I was hoping for a place to fill up with water at the parking lot at PaloMarin but no luck. I had enough in the pack to make the distance but it never hurts to have a little extra.

On the Coast Trail: Allamere Falls junction

The Coast trail is dramatic with awe inspiring vistas and ever changing scenery. The name , however, is a little misleading. You'll spend as much time climbing in and out of canyons out of sight of the ocean as you will on the cliffs overlooking the waves. No complaints from me as there were plenty of beautiful sights inland as well.

Pond on the Coast Trail (inland)

Local Fauna

At about twenty-six miles I reached the Bear Valley trail where it hits the Coast trail. With only four miles to go on a very forgiving trail I picked up the pace to make it back to the cabin for lunch.

View from near the Bear Valley/Coast Trail intersection

View Route at link below:

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.mb?episodePk.pkValue=4734497

2008 - A year to remember

Time to post the 2008 race calendar.

Definite:
PCTR Pacifica 50K 1/19
PCTR Woodside 50K 2/2
Big Sur Marathon 4/27
SF Marathon 8/3

Most likely:
PCTR Ultramarathon Series - I'd like to see how I well I can do in this series. There always seems to be a battle for first place in the PCTR runs but the gap between first and eighth place is often 45-60 minutes. I'm hoping consistent placings will help my place in the overall standings. That is if I can handle running one or more 50K's a month!

My first race of the year is this weekend and while I plan not to run too hard it will still be a good test of fitness.

A lot to talk about

I just ran the California International Marathon this morning. Looking back the day has had two highlights; the hot bath after the race and coming home to see my daughter. The race was one I would sooner forget.


Pre-race activities went well although I skipped a warmup for one last trip to the bathroom. I started the race very relaxed and felt smooth as I went through the first three miles in 19:20, the next three in 19:00 and soon thereafter (mile 7) everything unraveled. I was probably in shape to run 2:55 off a conservative first half of 1:28:00 but with a lingering cold/flu and an overly ambitious first 10K I spent the second half of the race struggling with cramps.

I am my own biggest enemy in the marathon. That said what did I learn?

1. If the race is over 13 miles wear training shoes, not racing flats. My legs were much more tired than they should have been due to racing flats. In addition my left hip was out of whack which might have been a previous strain but was exacerbated by the racing flats in the second half of the race.
2. Sickness takes its toll. The toll is levied on high performance. I had a cold five days before the marathon. While I wasn't feverish and felt reasonably good a few days before, congestion was still lingering. I should have started the race much more conservatively. 6:45 pace would have served me better than 6:25.
3. Racing well requires a master plan. Racing well requires a contingency plan in addition to the master plan. I usually set A, B and C goals for a race and these can be the basis for the master plan. But if something goes wrong what is the contingency plan? Give up? Hitch a ride home? Better to detail ahead of time how to approach the B or C goals than to give up.
4. I need to be objective in my assessement of race pace for the first half of the race. I started work on a quick tool using Jack Daniel's prediction table as a point of departure
   http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pftdNKV17KYvN-tx59z01JQ (WIP)

Tuesday's workout

I really struggled and ultimately failed to accomplish the purpose of the workout for Tuesday 9/4/07. 4:18 pace was beyond my reach on Tuesday. Any way you look at it, heart rate or pace, I wasn't anywhere near "I" pace. Well, live and learn!

Two things I could improve on: Sleep and Recovery. I didn't sleep much over the weekend while we were in San Diego and I believe that hindered my recovery from Sunday's workout. We were supposed to take 4:00 recovery between 1200 intervals but we instead took 2:00-3:00 (I probably should have recommended a 600 reovery jog rather than a 400).

It has taken me a while to wrap my head around "I" pace. I know I can run 4:18 1200's but I need very fresh legs to do it.

San Francisco Marathon

I wanted to run under 3:05 and I ran 3:03. I ran dead even for the first half and the second half. My final 10K was faster than the previous so overall I am very content with my performance.

Mom and Dad came up to watch me race and managed to see me four times along the course.

Race was hilly but runnable. The course doesn't have the jagged feeling of the Big Sur course but is certainly slower than other Bay Area marathons.

The Curse of Jack Daniels

I was happier living in ignorance. My blissfully ignorant running career is over and I owe my descent into reality to Coach and Author Jack Daniels. I used to have whimsical goals based on the occassional outstanding workout. Now I am presented with hard facts in the form of merciless pace tables.

These pace tables relate race history to workout pace. There are also predictive tables showing potential race times. The combination of these tables form walls on either side of me that provide a austere and unforgiving corridor down which I must travel to achieve certain goals. I'm sure with more experience working in the "T", "I", "E", "M", "R", "L" pace zones as prescribed will give me more perspective and make me a better runner. But for now it seems like that corridor is awfully dark and a little scary.

I estimated my VDOT value as 56 based on past race times. After the last three weeks of workouts I am wondering if I shouldn't drop down to the pace associated with a value of 55. Melissa S, my training partner, insists that I am really a "56" and gave me a littany of excuses as to why I should persist at the faster pace. I will honestly have to review the heart rate data from today's workout to determine if I was performing at or below the target zone.

Fatigue is defninitely a factor and as I've known for some time I'll have to monitor the amount of sleep I get more carefully. I need to monitor my training better in general. Automated recording of workout data and upload to computer is great for just that, recording, not for analysis. I'll see what I can come up with.