Our third race of the weekend was the 21st annual Trailblazer 5k in Mountain View, CA. Similarly to the Moonlight 5k on Friday, it was a race along the edge of the San Francisco bay, but this time in bright sunshine on a Sunday morning.
About half a mile into the Trailblazer 5k
This was a really nice mid-sized race. Super well organized, plenty of parking, great crowd, nice course, and a beautiful day to be racing. If you’re looking for a fun race, this is one to pencil into your calendar for next year — and there’s both a 5k and a 10k, and runs and walks too.
We started off slow, promising ourselves we’d aim for 25+ minutes for the 5k race after two races in the two previous days. As usual — and Selina claims it’s my fault — we sped up as the race ran along, and wound up traveling at just over a 7-minute mile for the final mile. Sigh.
Anyway, the result of our labors was that I came 27th out of 300+ folks, and Selina came 28th. As is common in our racing adventures, she was the 5th woman and won her age group, and I didn’t; in fact, I was 10th in mine. Sigh again.
Well, that’s 34 races done, and 3 in one weekend. Only 18 more to go this year, and around 13 weeks to do it! Wish me luck!
In my case, the canine is question is our faithful dog Buddy. He’s never been a fan of running, but I figured I’d take him out, he could sniff a few other dogs, we’d give running a shot, and worst case we’d walk. (And the rule is: if there’s a timer, it’s a race, and it counts on the way to 52 races in 2015.)
Buddy doing his best smile for the camera at the 5k9
Buddy helped me set an all-time slowest 5k time of just over 39 minutes. The first mile was great, and then he put the brakes on. We walk-ran the 2nd mile, and then walked the rest — with a little bit of a jog at the very end. But he got some treats, met a few other dogs, and took a nap afterwards — so I think he had a fine time!
Starting the 5k9. Buddy’s already dragging, and we’re only 50 feet into the race
The bizarre thing is I came 2nd in my age group, so I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one with some dog running issues. In fact, if you think about it, if you’ve got dog running or people running issues, you’re not going to set a great time.
A reasonable first mile with Buddy, and then he put the brakes on… but we made it!
Anyway, we made it, and that’s race #33 done on our way to 52 races. And it’s race #2 of 3 in a single weekend!
We ran the Moonlight 5k on Friday night. It’s the 31st running of this unique event that weaves its way through trails surrounded by marshland on the edge of the San Francisco bay. The race is at the Baylands Athletic Center in Palo Alto, and our 5k race began at 8:45pm in darkness under the Harvest Moon.
Headlamps set for the Moonlight 5k
We were told to bring headlamps, but we noticed at the start that only a few people had them. I put mine in my pocket, and headed out without it. About half a mile in, it was pretty much dark, and we’re on an unpaved trail traveling along at a sub 8-minute mile. So, I quickly put mine back on and lit up the trail. Power to the folks who didn’t have one, but I’d recommend it if you’re running the race next year.
Anyway, this was the first of three races we planned to run on the weekend. So, we didn’t exactly crank up the pace to maximum (and you couldn’t anyway — there was over 2,500 people out there and plenty of traffic jams, and it was very dark). So, with those excuses declared, I’ll tell you that Selina came 124th and I came 126th. She was 2nd in her age group (how does she do that every week?), and I was 11th.
Race #32 is officially done, and that’s 20 more to go in this 52 race adventure in 2015.
For those who’d like a little more, here’s a write up from the Palo Alto Weekly.
We ran the Awesome 80s race in San Francisco on Sunday morning at 7:30am. Getting out of bed on a Sunday at 6am isn’t that awesome. I’m renaming it the 80s race.
Crossing the line. That must have hurt…
One thing I’ve learnt over 30 races is to be wary of novelty races. They’re either lame, badly organized, or run at some of the least pleasant places you can run. (I’m looking at you The Super Run.)
This race was actually a nice surprise: there were more than 500 people and they took the costumes seriously. We saw everything from a transformer to Slash from GnR, from Tetris pieces to a Star Wars stormtrooper, from bad aerobics costumes to Richard Simmons.
Plenty of costumes at the start
We got a bit lost in the middle of the race. So, the badly organized piece was a little true. Put some chalk down, guys. But, other than that, this was a pretty nice way to spend a Sunday morning: running along a marina near the San Francisco bay, lots of people having a fun time, and a very amusing DJ and announcer guy.
Selina crossing the line in 2nd place overall
Anyway, Selina and I ran the 5k, and I guess the few serious runners that were there must have run the 10k. Selina came 2nd overall, and I came 3rd. And it wasn’t like I let her win — she just blew me away at the end.
We’re very close to $43,000 raised on our way to $52,000 for the GBS/CIDP Foundation. And we’ve run 30 races, so there’s only (cough, cough) 22 races to be run in three and a half months. Wish me luck with that!
Weekly stats: 83% of the way to our fundraising goal, and 58% of the way to our running goal
What’s been happening?
My friend and colleague Marc Delingat very generously donated $150 to the cause this week. Thanks Marc for getting our fundraising out of a serious rut and back moving again. You’re the man!
We’ve run two races in the past two weeks. We really need to get moving, but they were tough ones! Race #29 was an especially challenging trail race in the hills, and Race #30 was a nice lap around Lake Merced in San Francisco.
The Dolphin South End Runners host more than 40 races each year throughout the greater San Francisco area. We decided to run their Lake Merced 4.5 mile race this morning, and enjoyed a cool, foggy San Fran start to our summer morning.
A foggy SF day at Lake Merced. Selina came 3rd in the women’s single-lap race.
Lake Merced is a large lake in San Francisco, with a popular paved 4.5 mile pedestrian trail around its perimeter. The area is largely residential, and it’s surrounded by reasonably busy surface streets. That’s probably under-selling it: when there’s hundreds of runners circling the park at any one time in both directions, it has a great feel of community and it’s a fun thing to be doing on a Sunday morning.
This was hands-down the cheapest race of the year. Race day sign up is $5 for non-members, and $3 for members. For that, you get a bib and a ribbon when you’re done, and they set up a finish line and it’s timed (without the chip — just remember your time when you’re finish, it’d not that hard). And there was watermelon and a water station. A sweet deal!
Like Race #29, we put in a slightly-less-than-max-speed effort, in the spirit of surviving another 22 races this year. Even with that, and Selina’s unscheduled restroom break in the middle of the race (that’s a first!), she managed to finish as the 3rd woman. I have no idea where I finished, but I am pretty sure it wasn’t in the top 20 men.
The good news: this was an amazing trail race. The bad news: thieves got into my car and stole my wallet and phone, and ran up $3,000 worth of expenses before we even got close to home. The good news: the card companies removed the charges without an ounce of hassle. The bad news: I have to buy a new iPhone, and good old AT&T is taking 10 days to send me a new SIM card. Sigh.
The Race
The Brazen Racing Trail Hog 10k is awesome. It’s within the Joseph Grant County Park on Mt. Hamilton Rd in the hills east of San Jose, California, and takes you on a run with magnificent views of the surrounding hills including a close-up view of Lick Observatory. This was our second time running it, and you can be assured I’ll be back a third time.
About a mile from home. A gentle climb to the finish.
It’s a challenging, beautiful trail race. I’d imagine the Half Marathon is a tough grind, because the 10k certainly is (starting with the fact that it’s actually about 6.6 miles or 10.6 kms). At the 1.5 mile mark, there’s a pretty tough 500 foot climb — and after that it’s an undulating run that ends with a gentle climb back to the start. But, overall, it’s pretty hard to beat for scenery as the pictures show.
If you put a camera near the lady…
I was the 4th male in my age group, and Selina was the 2nd in hers. We didn’t crank it out — we’re trying to get in the habit of running the races at a below-competitive pace in the spirit of making it through 52 races in the year. Anyway, that’s 29 races done!
The Theft
I opened the trunk of my car, put my phone inside, and closed the trunk. I walked away from the car without locking it, since my car locks automatically in 30 seconds or so when I take the key with me. I’m guessing as I walked away, the thieves quietly opened one of the doors a few inches.
Once I’m out of sight, they popped the trunk, grabbed the phone, and then emptied out the console in the front and found my wallet. With the booty stolen, they jump in their car, and head for two different Walmarts to run up $3,000 in charges on one card. They also stop and buy $50 worth of gas on another card.
Once I’m done with the race, I figure out I’ve been robbed. But we can’t call anyone from Selina’s phone, since there’s no cell coverage in the park. We drive back, cancel the cards on the ride, use the “Find iPhone” app to erase the iPhone, and suspend the phone service through AT&T.
The card companies cover all the losses (thankfully!), and AMEX even sent me a new card within 24 hours. Fidelity are taking their sweet time. And AT&T still hasn’t delivered my new SIM card.
You live, you learn. Smart thieves come to races — since racers are definitely not coming back anytime soon. And you should lock your car manually — don’t wait for it to auto-lock, even though that’s a cool feature.
Fifty-Two Fives: Racing against GBS 