Race Report: #Across the Bay 415K

This is a little late coming, but life has been busy. I found a few minutes to write this morning while I enjoy coffee in our breakfast nook before work.

I planned on running the 415K — my first 12K ever — for months and even convinced my future sister-in-law, Megan, and college friend, Kathleen, to run with me because it was my birthday weekend. Well, I also registered them for the race without there consent, so there's that... The running group is in a base-building phase (several people will train for the PDX marathon this fall) so I've been running pretty regularly, on top of hot yoga, a couple weight training sessions and some dog walks. Yes, life has been so busy that I've come to count dog walks as exercise.

But anyway, back to the race. We hustled down to Aquatic Park to pick up our packets (Kathleen actually got mine because I left for the city too late). This wasn't easy and the next morning, when we saw race-day packet pickup happening, we were a little frustrated (though, as a race director, I understand the reasoning for not promoting morning-of pickup). Oh well. We were there and ready to go, and that's all that mattered.

I love these two girls. They're tough. And that was important because neither has been running.

"I've run three times since February 1," Kathleen declared as we waited for the bus to the start line in Sausalito.

The race goes like this: three waves start from Fort Baker, climb a hill, cross the Golden Gate Bridge, then snake along the bayside through Fort Point and Crissy Field, finally finishing at Fort Mason. It's about 7.5 miles and almost entirely flat. We didn't get the wave start plan because the race didn't seem that big, so we snuck Megan into Wave 1 with us.

Waiting for the 8 a.m. start felt like forever. I really wanted some water, which was no where to be found at the start line (or the bus loading area in San Francisco, for that matter). I guess since so many people carry hydration systems -- even for short-ish races like this where you would never really need that much liquid -- races are cutting back on what they provide. I really don't want to carry a waterbottle unless I'm trail running, so I guess I'm outta luck.

OK, but the race. The first 1/2 mile was downhill and super fun. (Kathleen zoomed this! She was so happy!) After a little bit of flat, we started climbing up to the Golden Gate Bridge. Later I would say this was not that hard of a hill, but I really did want to puke a little on the up. Megan gutted it out and crested the hill first of our little trio. We ran together for a moment on the bridge and then separated.

Running the bridge is ALWAYS cool. I wanted to take photos but my pace felt strong and I couldn't bring myself to stop for a pic. Thankfully, the race photog was up there and took photos.

Mile 3 comes somewhere in the Fort Point area, after the bridge and the downhill to get bayside. From there, the race was a bit of a slog. Flat. Straight. I got bored and tired and regretted not bringing music. Around Mile 5 I ate the Gu I was carrying in my RooSport Wallet, which helped sooooo much. There also were some Taiko drummers -- my favorite -- that boosted my spirit. I even passed some dudes.

The race ends with an uphill, steep downhill, hard right turn and -- boom! -- you're there. Had I checked out the course ahead of time, I might have shaved a few seconds off my finish. Coming up to that last hill (you can see it forever and it looks bigger than it is) was demoralizing, but the finish actually is fast.

My official race time was just over 70 minutes, a 9:20 pace by their clocks. My Garmin told me I ran a little more than 12K (as you always do in a race) and averaged 9:11 miles throughout. I feel pretty good about that. It also motivates me to run more and get back into some speed workouts, because I realize I've run marathons at a faster mile pace than that. But for a lazy Sunday run, that was great.

Ride Report: Clubbin'

Saturdays often are reserved for cycling with my sweetie but we hang out and exercise together A LOT so last weekend we decided to get our spin on separately. While he took off with some dudes to summit  the Eureka Canyon climb, I joined the Santa Cruz Triathlon Association for the club's weekly group ride.

Technically, I'm an employee of the club because I serve as Race Director for the Santa Cruz Triathlon, a nonprofit Olympic-distance race that's in its 33rd year this year (it's just my second as RD). But even though I work hard to put on the race, I haven't spent a lot of time with club members. The group ride seemed like a good way to connect with my people and a nice change of pace from chasing the boys all over South County.

We met at Natural Bridge State Beach at 8:30. Instead of driving into town, I decided to ride the 11-ish miles from home. Serendipitously, so did a handful of other Aptosians in the club and they picked me up on the way in. We zoomed into Natural Bridges nice and warmed up for our Highway 1 ride.

About 30 people showed up for the ride, which even had pop-up bike support courtesy of Wade from the Spokesman (also a sponsor of the race!). Many of the cyclists are in Nu2Tri, a training support program for newbies to the sport. They were going up to Davenport on Highway 1, essentially the bike course for the race, while more experienced riders set their sights on Swanton Loop.

Unwittingly, I got in with a fast group right at the start and we flew up the highway at something like 20 mph. We took turns leading and I managed to stay with the pack until almost Davenport. By then, the front group had spaced out quite a bit, with people stopping for bathroom breaks or snacks, and others cruising in twos and threes. I rode solo through Swanton, an idyllic coastal valley dotted with herb (like rosemary) fields, apple orchards, farmhouses and timberland. It's one of my favorite stretches of rural road in the county and I was happy to have it to myself.

Swanton ends with a one-mile, 500-foot climb that feels awesome: enough to make you sweat but doesn't zap all of your energy for the ride back to town. I spotted a pack of guys in front of me and geared down to chase after them. Two of the club's badass guys had already made the climb and were circling back down to pick up the rest of us. They rode with me for bit and helped me reel in the other guys. I won't lie — it felt amazing to finish the hill with the lead pack.

We stopped at the top of the hill to snack and chat while others caught up with us. The women I had ridden out with arrived, along with a few other club members I had yet to meet. Then I floated down the other side of Swanton, toward Highway 1, with the guys for a quick turn-around and another climb to the top. The hill is actually easier from the highway side, and I'm all for avoiding the highway when possible. Plus doing the "Swanton Double" just sounds cool.

I'd like to say the ride home was just as enjoyable but man, was I whipped. I'm not sure if we hit a notorious Highway 1 headwind or if I just overdid it on the outbound ride (probably the later). I rode back with a girl in the club I had yet to meet and we hit it off, chatting about our jobs and Santa Cruz as we swapped leads the whole way to Natural Bridges. She shared some cookies with me and we traded phone numbers before I pedaled back toward Mid-County.

I logged about 57 miles on the ride and 3,100 feet of elevation (there was a little GPS snafu when I forgot to restart after the cookie stop and I lost a mile). The boyfriend was impressed — and got a little competitive. He had a great, fast, hill-climbing ride that totaled out at 50 miles, a little shy of my mileage.

So my weekend rides in January were 38 - 55 - 40 - 57 miles, with varying elevation gains. It's a good base to get fit for a metric century (100K) ride in April or early May, and then a century (100 miles) in late May. With some more work on hill climbing, I may even attempt the torturous Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge in the summer and get redemption on Jamison Creek Road.