San Francisco 1st Half Marathon Recap

San Francisco is, by far, my favorite California city. I had so much fun during this trip, I had to write a separate post to recap the rest of the week. But running the 1st part of the marathon was why I was there, so here's my story.

Back in '09, unbeknownst to me, I ran part of this course while training for the LA marathon on a random visit to the city. That day I only made it to the foot of the bridge. So on Thursday, my friends and I drove part of the course to refresh my memory. My main goal was to run the whole thing without stopping. I was determined to attack the hills with all I got and never slow down my pace.

Sunday morning I woke up at 3:30am, that's the earliest I have ever been up for a race. As I approached the starting line I started feeling the electricity of the other runners. Everyone's excitement was palpable and its simply amazing to be in the middle of that.



I looked for other runners whom I have met over twitter and DailyMile but the separate waves and the throngs of people made it impossible to find anyone. Oh wells. Better luck next race.

At about 6:30am our wave got the go ahead and we were running. The first couple of miles of the race were fairly easy. We followed The Embarcadero along the piers and are treated to the colorful touristy part of the city. A bit after passing Pier 39 you can smell the bread being made at Boudin. It smelled delicious. But the fun ended at mile 2.5 where we encounter our first hill. This is exactly what you expect, almost a hundred feet of elevation in less than a quarter mile. I had a fairly good idea of how long that climb was so maintained my pace and got to the top rather quickly. After that, a slow downhill got us back to sea level to do a few easy miles along the Marina. Here the route curves towards the beach for a minute to give us a breathtaking view of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was really exciting to know that in a few minutes (maybe "few" is not the right word) we would be running across it! However, the closer I got to the bridge the more I noticed how high I was going to be climbing up to it.

The second hill comes when we reach the foot of the bridge. this one is steeper and longer than the previous hill but thankfully there were a lot of supporters at this point. Something I found interesting: there were lots of Harley Davidson riders volunteering along the course. It was rather amusing seeing them wearing their leather pants and jackets, while standing near their bikes, and also donning orange SFM volunteer hats. HAHA

And then there was the bridge. This structure is truly a marvel of engineering. Its hard to really get a feel of how big it is when you drive across it, so you can imagine the feel of actually standing under the pillars. It truly is humbling. I couldn't stop looking up to really get a sense of how tall they are. A few times while crossing, the fog would creep in and cover the top of the pillars. That was really an amazing sight. As soon as we reached the north end of the bridge we turned around and did it all over again. It is at this point where the curvature of the road is more visible and you can really gauge how much climbing the bridge actually makes you do. I had underestimated how convex its shape is, but I never once really noticed it. I think I was looking up way too much to notice it. Also, during this part of the run a girl and I kept passing each other. She mentioned that it was going to be her and I to the finish. We talked a bit while on the bridge and it was very nice to connect with someone while running. So Sarah, wherever you are, thanks for being awesome!

Crossing the bridge was great but its definitely not the hardest part of the course. That title is rightfully earned by the uphill into the Presidio which is immediately after we got back to the south side of the bridge. Two words: steep and long. That's really all I remember. I was truly set on not stopping or slowing down so I focused on anything else I could to not let my mind get tired.

Just as fast as we started climbing, the course turned into an insane downhill. Next thing I know, people were sprinting pass me. I thought this was funny because not much later I was passing all of them again haha.

By mile 11 I knew I was going to finish and accomplish my goal. I tried to push a bit harder pass the 8 blocks between us and the Golden Gate Park but these were at a slight uphill as well. I don't think the course let up after that. I continuously felt I was climbing. But the energy always comes back when I start seeing more spectators and other runners already wearing their medals and walking about.

I knew PRing in this course was out of the question for me. It was never a goal. So finishing at 2:13:25 didn't bother me. This was actually the slower half I've ran. Since I felt I could have done about 5 more miles after finishing I know I didn't give my all physically, but I'm truly content with just running this course and not worrying about the time. Maybe next year.

Five Days in SF

The City by the Bay is alluring. There's something about its neighborhoods, its people, and its bridges that draws me in. So Thursday morning I set out for the Frisco Bay looking forward to a few days of friends, running, and anything else the city had to offer. However, I greatly underestimated how great these days were going to be.

I flew Virgin America, and I must say, that airline is the most fun to travel in. They have a distinctive approach that makes you feel like a rock star from the moment you get your boarding pass to the moment you leave the plane. You can even play Doom while you fly!



I arrived at SFO and was picked up by my friend Ginny whom, along with her boyfriend Sufian, invited me to stay at their place while I was up there. We all had lunch in Palo Alto at Pluto's and then Ginny and I wandered around Stanford University. This school's architecture alone would make me study more. It truly feels like an university. Also, I was very surprised to find a church on campus that very much resembles medieval churches you can find in Europe.



The church had gorgeous stained glass windows, painfully detailed mosaic murals, and a very impressive organ which was being played while we were there. Sadly I didn't get a picture of the windows but here are the other two.





After that, we got together with Sufian and headed to the city. We had dinner at the Castro and then drove part of the course of the half marathon. I described how this went in this post which recaps my whole running experience.

On Friday, Ginny and I went for a short run, and then she showed me a few basic yoga moves. This turned out to be harder than I thought. Holding those poses really takes a toll on many different muscles that are not hit by running. Needless to say, I felt like a pansy haha. However, it was really fun and your muscles feel very relaxed after. I think I might start going to classes. We'll see.

At around 10am we headed back to the city to hang out with her friends and get a tour of the real San Francisco, none of this tourist stuff for me this time. We first stopped at Bi-Rite's creamery. I don't really toss the "Best" adjective very often, but this little place has the BEST vanilla ice cream I have ever eaten. Try it. Seriously. Ginny guaranteed me that a line forms around the corner for this place but since we were there at 11am there was no line and I was skeptical to her claims. We hang out in Dolores Park for a little bit and entertained ourselves people-watching. Some dude was playing guitar AND a didgeridoo at the same time. Too funny.

After, we meet with Ginny's posse. Since she is getting her Master's in Graphic Design they are all artsy people which made it very interesting and fun. We spent the afternoon getting drinks, changing venues, meeting more people, having more drinks, and just enjoying our day.

A few anecdotes of that day: One of Ginny's friends referred to Bear worship, a custom used to be done in her native Finland, as "The God of Bear" I don't know why I found this so funny, but she made me take a picture of her necklace:


Its ok if it doesn't make sense. I don't think it makes sense to me either haha.

At the Elbo Room we met a couple who was from Houston. I was shocked when I saw the dude cause he looked exactly like Jason Segel from How I Met Your Mother. Much to our entertainment, his name was also Marshall and he is a lawyer who used to work for non-profits but now works for an evil corporation. If you watch the show you're already smiling :-)

Ginny at one point of the night said "God doesn't taste like gummy bears" HAHA


Saturday we woke up early and went to the deYoung Museum to see their exhibit Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay. I have too much to say about this exhibit so I'll just leave it at that. Afterward we headed to the Expo for the race and I got my bib number and goody bag.

For lunch we stopped at Brenda's. This was, by far, the smallest restaurant I have ever been to, but don't let the size and location fool you (its in the Tenderloin), they serve great beignets, an outstanding bowl of jumbo, and a delicious shrimp po-boy. Another Must when you visit.

We took the rest of the day pretty easy by heading back home. One of my favorite things about my friends is that we can talk about anything for hours and we never run out of topics. They continue to baffle me on how intelligent they are. Great times.

On Sunday after the race, and after a hearty breakfast, we stopped at Bi-Rite again. This time I got TWO scoops of vanilla. I'm not kidding, it's that good. Then we went to Dolores Park where we found a giant stage being built. We were in for a great surprise, the San Francisco Symphony was going to play a free show later that afternoon. Seriously, how much better can this weekend have been? Since we arrived so early we were able to pick one of the best spots to hear the show and just had a great time. The performance was in celebration of the bicentennial of Mexico's independence and was conducted by Alondra de la Parra, Mexico's leading conductor.



The first set featured a variety of pieces by prominent Mexican composers. The second set included Antonín Dvořák's 9th Symphony. This was the first time I've heard a symphony played in its entirety and its really hard to describe how great that was. The last piece that was played was chosen by the listeners. We did this by texting during the performance and we could pick either Mozart or Bernstein. Mozart won and we were treated to The Marriage of Figaro's Overture. I really don't have anything more to say about this part. I simply can't get my head around how awesome this was.

For dinner we went to Chinatown and had authentic Chinese food. Ginny taught me how to eat dumplings correctly. I can add that along with my correct use of chopsticks to my Chinese Food Knowledge database. haha

Monday morning we all had breakfast at home. Ginny cooked dumplings just for me :-) They were delicious. Then I had to pack up and head back to reality. Back at the airport I met a couple of people that ran the 2nd half of the marathon and one that did the whole thing. It was really cool to talk to strangers about something that we both shared. Also, on the way into the plane, the pilot and I started talking about the race. He said that he would have ran it if he wasn't doing an Ironman this following weekend. I mentioned to him that I'm interested in training for a sprint tri and he suggested the Vineman Showdown as a good beginner's tri. Very cool.

To say I had a great time this trip is a ridiculous understatement. I can't recall having a more fun weekend in years and it was all thanks to Ginny and Sufian. I truly love being their friend. They are genuinely great people.

Week Recap, Prep for SF, and Tri Challenge?

A little over a week ago I was invited through DailyMile to run with a group that meets at one of the parks near where I live. This is awesome! I'm very happy this happened since that was the main reason why I joined that site; to meet other runners, be motivated and make new friends.

The runners in the group are all of different levels and skills. Of the ones I ran with this week only one hasn't completed a race (but he's planning on it), two just ran the Missoula Marathon in well below 4 hours, and another is running the Berlin Marathon in a few months! She is also running the 1st Half of the SF Marathon, which she says she has been doing for years! This is way cool! This is the first person whom I'll be running with that I knew in person before race day.

The group usually runs a 6-mile course on Tuesday and Thursdays. This route is downhill half way and uphill on the way back. I found it challenging enough on Tuesday that I decided to do something a bit crazy on Thursday. I ran from my house a little after 6pm to meet them at the park to do their course. From my house to the park is a bit over 1.8 miles downhill. Adding the group's course, plus the run back home, I did 9.56 miles. Two things of note here: first, the route's elevation profile looks like a bowl since its an out-and-back; and second, the temperature that day was in the 90s. Needless to say, it was a hard run. My mile-pace was horrible but I was going for completion not time. I think I'll keep that route for days when I want to challenge myself (This will probably turn into "Every Thursday")

Moving along! SF is in exactly seven days!!! I.cannot.wait. big races are the best. The energy of that many people getting ready to challenge themselves is incomparable and indescribable. The whole atmosphere is electric and I cannot wait to be in the middle of it again. I'm going to meet a couple of DMers there as well, so I can already tell its going to be a great weekend.

And lastly, since watching PunkRockRunner finish his first IronMan, I've decided that I too would like to do tris. Now, I'm not planning on full IronMans. No way. That takes way more mental toughness that I can summon at the present time. I want to start with Sprint and Olympic distances first. So, since I know someone who is an avid rider and swimmer who wants to start running more, I have challenged her to do the Mission Bay Triathlon. Most importantly, SHE ACCEPTED! So, as soon as I get back from SF and rest up for a week, I will begin training for a triathlon. That last sentence is probably the most insane thing I have ever written.

But first, SF! Lets get that done!

Keep L.A. Running 10K Recap

At first I thought this race was going to be atrocious. First of all, my legs felt weird the whole week due to the 5K of last Sunday; I spent most of the week thinking doing events on back-to-back weekends might be a bad idea. Then Saturday was my first night at the new apartment. This resulted in only three and a half hours of sleep before heading out to Playa del Rey. And lastly, after the hour-long drive, I found out I only had $8 cash while parking was $10 and, since I don't know that area, got turned around while looking for a bank. Thankfully I was able to get my number and get to the starting line before the 8:30am starting time. It's a good thing the races were running 30 minutes late so, not only did I make it with enough time, but I was early! I like punctuality.



So, the races! The 5K started well. The setup of the course allows for spectators and 10K runners to see most of that race and the finish line while we wait for our starting gun. The overall winner finished in 15:16! That's amazing!

As that race winded down the 10K got started. It took me about 30 seconds to pass the starting line since I prefer beginning farther back in the pack and snake around the slow runners than to be clogging up the way for the faster ones. By the start I was feeling much better. I was not sleepy at all and I had an abundance of energy. My first mile is always a bit slow as I get settled into my pace, but after that I felt amazingly energized. I had not passed mile 2 and was already planning on picking up the pace at mile 3. I decided against this since there were a couple of short hills right before mile 4. Again, thanks to the route being set as a circle most of the way, you can see where you're going to be running in a few minutes. Another good thing about this route is that you get to see the finish line and the elite runners, so you can gauge really well how to use your energy and get pumped watching the amazing athletes that always lead these packs. So slightly after mile 4 I picked up the pace just a tad and cruised to the 5 mile marker. It was here where I began pushing the most. I knew that I could set a good time in this race, but I was not prepared for the amount of energy I had after 5 miles. I was able to keep a pretty good stride until the end.

My official race time was 52:22. Taking in consideration the 30 seconds of earlier I think I can finish my next 10K in under 50. I'll leave that to Mercury and the next race, whenever than is.

I'm starting to think that middle-distance races are my favorite. As much as I enjoyed the 5K last week, I think 10K and half marathons are going to be races I do the most. Speaking of which, I have 2 weeks for the 1st half of the SF Marathon!!! I can't wait!! I'm sure its going to be a good one.

One last thing, at the beginning of the 10K we were informed that Mel B. was going to be starting and running the race with us. Since I passed her sometime during the second mile I can officially say I can finish a 10K faster than a Spice Girls. One down, four to go. Bring it Spice World.

Claremont's 4th of July 5K Race Report

Since I signed up for the Claremont 5K at the last minute I didn't keep track of all the details as much as I usually do. Saturday was packet pick-up day and completely missed it. Thankfully the race was set so we could pick up our numbers the day of the race. Since this event takes place very close to where I live I was able to sleep on my own bed the night before. I had not done this to any other race so it was a nice change of pace.

I arrived extra early to pick up my bib. Even before the race started I was having a good time. The bib pick up was very well organized and as I walked back to my car I noticed that the post-race snack area was very well stocked with fruit and water and nicely organized. That gave me a good feeling about the race.



While I waited in my car I ripped off the small tag underneath the bib. I've never knew what this tag was for so I left it in my car and headed back to the race's starting point.

The website said there was going to be a 1K Fun Walk before the 5K, which turned out to be a kids run. Now, I've never seen a kids race before, but let me tell you, this was one of the most fun things to watch. Everyone was cheering the little ones as they approached the finish line. They were running their hearts out and were very fun to watch.

While this was happening I started to think about how they were going to time the race. They were not using D-tags as bigger races usually do, and there was no big clock on the sides of the finish line. As I pondered this, I noticed that everyone still had the little tag attached to their bibs. I wasn't really sure, but I headed back to my car and tuck the tag I ripped off earlier into my shorts. Just in case.

After all the kids finished their race the organizer asked for everyone to get ready for the start of the 5K. This part was a bit disorganized. The only delineation of the starting corral were the sidewalks leaving runners and spectators mixed together. After the anthem was sang, there was a slight shift forward that confused everyone and then unexpectedly the gun went off.

Since I've used to work in Claremont I thought I had a good idea of the course. My thinking had me prepared for a fairly flat route that would make a below-23 minute finish possible. Sadly I was slightly wrong. The beginning was as expected, flat and easy. This was good since I started a bit faster than I usually do. After the 1-mile marker I slowed down a bit and planned to pick up the pace after the end of the second mile. However, when I reached the 2-mile marker I was already pretty tired. I had pushed a bit harder than I thought and while I had kept up a fairly good pace, I had not anticipated the 1/2 mile uphill that was coming at the end. Here the wheels fell off. I felt I was barely moving. I actually contemplating walking a bit, but I could not bring myself to stop. So I kept chugging along and tried to ignore the burning feeling in my legs. When I reached the top of the ascend the route turned left and I could see the last turn before the end. I knew I had a bit more in me, so I pushed as hard as I could pass the last corner and over the finish line.

Here was the most interesting part of the race. The tag I had ripped from my bib earlier and had gone back to get before the race was what they were using to give the runners their official time. As we crossed the line, a guy was pushing a button on a timer while someone else took the tags in the order the runners finished. Then they placed the tags on a board with the place of the runner and later matched the place with the name and the time of each person.

I am so glad I went back to get the tag. If I had left it in the car I would not have an official time for this race and that would have bummed me out.

Now to the official time. I finished in 23:54. I was fairly confident I would break 24 minutes, that was not in question. However, I was hoping to break 23. Since I missed it by almost a whole minute, I have to see exactly where I went wrong in my prediction. I usually run hills and I have done a hilly path of a similar distance, albeit slightly shorter, in only a slightly slower time. My mile pace this race was 7:42 and the previous fastest I had done was 7:48. Only shaving 6 seconds off each mile is not a great improvement. I believe this minuscule difference is due to my non-existing eating habits. My diet has consisted of pretty much anything. Really, I have not done a good job with my food intake. So as soon as I get situated in my new apartment I will go back to being nearly-vegetarian. I've done this before, and it is a pretty radical change and I might even explain later what this means but for now I'll leave it at that.

Overall, this race was fun. I could feel Claremont's essence permeating this race. I'm glad that now I have an official time, which gives me a goal to beat in future 5Ks, and I'm thinking I will be running this again next year.

EDIT: (7/12/10) I was sent this video of the start of the race:



I pass by at 0:13 I'm wearing a red and black shirt with blue and white shorts! USA USA USA! Too funny.

Change of Plans, Apartments, and Swimming?

On Monday I received an email from Active informing me of a few local races coming up this month. I noticed there is a 5K in Claremont on the 4th. Since I want to get an official time for this distance, I signed up. So I changed my training plan for Keep LA Running a bit to fit this into it. Nothing big. So to recap, this week consisted of 5, 4, and 8 mile runs, all kept within the mile-paces set up last week. Next week training continues as planned.

Also, I will be moving to a new apartment during the next few days so I'll get to explore a new area and make new routes. That's always fun.

Lastly, I've been inspired to begin swimming. Since I've never done this before, it will be a learning experience. I'm not sure how successful I will be, but I will do my best. I've been reading as much as I can regarding techniques, and lane etiquette. I think I will start this madness after the 11th. This should be interesting.