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Month: October 2018

2018 Belmont Water Dog Run 10k Race Recap – Belmont, CA

2018 Belmont Water Dog Run 10k Race Recap – Belmont, CA

I recall, probably a couple years ago now, that my dear friend Stephanie — whom I had first met through TSFM’s ambassador program back in 2014 — mentioned that she was planning a community race, the Water Dog 5k, 10k, 1 mile kids’ race, and 1 mile Fido run in her hometown on the peninsula between SJ and SF. I wanted to support my friend and the hard work that she had been throwing down for two years to make her race come to fruition, so when registration went live earlier this year, I signed up for the 10k without thinking about it. A 10k in October? I’ll be in CIM training by then. It’ll be great.

Thus began and ended any research I did for this inaugural race. To be fair, there wasn’t much research to be done, with it being inaugural and all. Sure, I read the emails, and I occasionally read the facebook updates, but that was it; there were no previous years’ race reports to pore through or anything like that. Plus, up until a week or so before the race, I had never even been to Belmont before. It’s on the peninsula … somewhere … maybe around SFO? Sure. That seemed about right.

Aside from supporting my dear friend’s hard work, I also planned to use the WDR as feedback for how my CIM training is progressing. It seems to be going well, but I’ve struggled a bit with pacing for most of my workouts. It’s super common for runners to race their workouts during their training — doing workouts much, much too hard when they shouldn’t be — and I’ve been doing this stuff long enough to know all the reasons why that’s inherently a horrible idea. Leave the racing for Race Day, ya know? That said … by and large, that’s been my experience with a lot of my workouts of late. (not a humblebrag, promise) I conferred with Coach Lisa on the subject, and rather than me playing a guessing game — am I being irresponsible and over-running my workout paces, or is something better underfoot and my prescribed paces actually too slow?? — we’d have me really race the WDR and use the feedback accordingly to guide the rest of my CIM training.

Race day brought with it an early morning so I could go get my bib (hooray for race-day pickup) and get in a little bit of a warm-up before getting the show on the road. I didn’t realize that I’d be parking about a half-mile away from the starting area, which was also where I’d be picking up my bib (again with the whole “lack of research” theme). It was fine, and I got my bib and still managed to get in a warm-up with enough time to spare. Before too long, I lined up toward the front of the race — after quickly hugging Stephanie and telling her how much ass she kicked — and it was go time. The weather was basically quintessential perfectly autumnal: clear and (California) crisp.

The race began on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur, and right off the the line, runners had a pretty steep downhill. Once we jutted off the campus, we began a long, slow climb that (spoilers) basically didn’t end for three miles! Miles 0-2 were primarily on roads and through a little neighborhood seemingly pretty near the college campus; as far as I can remember, I think this little section between miles ~.25-1.2 were the only residential parts of the run. Once we were out of the neighborhood, circa mile 1.5, we were back on a main road, slowly but surely continuing to grind our way up. What?! I thought this was a fast 10k?!, I thought to myself. Oh, right. I have no idea. No where to go but up. Head down. Effort over pace.

perhaps a huge hint that we wouldn’t be on roads, exclusively, was seeing our little foray into a park (but hey, hindsight is 20/20) (PC: WDR twitter)

Right around the 2 mile mark, we 5k and 10k runners split from each other, and the 10k runners hopped off the pavement and entered a trail system that was beautiful, of course, especially with the great morning light, the leaves changing colors, and that perfect autumnal backdrop I mentioned earlier. It also meant that the two miles of climbing that I thought were behind us were just the beginning! At this point, it was almost laughable. I obviously couldn’t be mad or upset — I didn’t do any research, so I had literally no idea that the race was 50/50 road and trail — and since I had never really been to Belmont before, much less run there, I had NO idea where we were and where we were going (besides up). Right as we started climbing on the trails, two women overtook me. Keep the slow burn going, I thought, and adjust expectations. We’ve gotta go down at some point.

Well, yes and no, ha. While we were on the trail, we eventually did begin descending — praise be! — only to turn around and begin ascending again. This was around the halfway, halfway-plus mark of the race, and I assumed that if we’d begin retracing our steps, the second half of the race was going to couple the first half’s ongoing ascents with a LOT of descents. Maybe if we were lucky, all those hills we climbed in the front half we’d get to fly down on the back half. That whole mentality about adjusting expectations was going to come in real handy because even if my 10k pace went to shit on the front half, perhaps I could recoup something on the second half. Maybe I could even pick off the women who had passed me on the climb. Game on. It’s not over ‘til it’s over. This is where all those hours of listening to podcasts featuring pro runners (and especially hearing them talk about their mental strategies) comes in handy.

Running downhill on trails isn’t my strong suit, but I think I’ve gotten marginally better at it (emphasis on the marginally). I tried to bomb downhill as much as I could responsibly handle from the halfway point on, and compounding the challenge with the trail footing — dry dirt, loose stones, random tree roots and the like — was the fact that we were running directly into the sun. I had on sunglasses, per yoosh, but I still looked like I was having a moment with the Force or something because I had to run with my hand in the air, repeatedly, to try to block the sun. The stakes were high here if I misjudged my footing; at best, I’d just faceplant and eat shit. At worst, I’d run into the oncoming racers who were still ascending or fly off the hillside into the cliffs below. Along the way, on my descent, I saw my teammate Michelle, which was a great pick-me-up, and the incoming racers buoyed my spirits as well with their enthusiasm and support that I gladly reciprocated.

The trail section ended up being right about 50% of the course, from about mile 2-5, and it was literally right as we were exiting it, right around mile 5, that I caught up to the second woman and passed her. We gave each other good job, you’re killing it remarks, and I was hopeful that I could continue to find the higher gear for the final 1.2 of the course that I was hoping would be exclusively on the road and continue to be downhill. I correctly anticipated merging with the slower 5k runners and walkers, and fortunately the ped traffic wasn’t an issue at all. It was really easy to get around people without consequence.

I never saw the first female again and focused on running scared, as though the third woman was hot on my heels. (In reality, I had no idea where she was after I passed her). Most of the final 1.2 was on the main road that we had ascended initially, the one that dumped us into the trail system, and at about mile 6, we hopped off the road and into a little city park, the same area that I had visited a week or two before for two nights of Girl Scout camping training. How funny: I had been to Belmont exactly twice before in my life, and the race ended literal steps from exactly where I had been hanging out for six hours just a week or two earlier. I tried to finish as hard as I could and not eat shit in the process, what with the tricky footing of getting around strollers, walkers, and families who were finishing the 5k. I didn’t want to inadvertently take anyone out, much as I also didn’t want to take anyone out, myself.  

I finished pretty gassed and happy with the effort, regardless of whatever my watch said. Any chance of a PR was completely out the window with the terrain and the hills, and I’m pretty confident that this was the hardest 10k I have ever raced. It was impossible not to laugh about it at the end; Stephanie is a badass ultra trail runner, so of course her race would have a ton of trail and a ton of uphill! I wanted to use the WDR as a barometer to gauge my fitness and my workouts for my marathon training, and instead, I managed to race a really hard trail/road hybrid that left me in the dark about my current fitness. My bad. Most importantly, all of this was on me; had I done even an iota of research about the race — including, oh, I don’t know, looking at a course map — I would have been tipped off that I was going into the experience with inaccurate assumptions. It was all good, though. I got to see Stephanie again after the race, tell her how I was alternatingly loving her and cursing her name throughout the race on the ascents and descents, and honestly, the race was really well-executed. I would have had no idea that it was in its inaugural year.

After seeing in my teammate, Michelle, I went for a short CD, helped myself to the complimentary pancake breakfast, got a post-race stretch that hurt so good from one of the sponsors, and also managed to run into my other fellow TSFM ambassador buddies Claire and Scott (the latter with his family in tow who’d all be doing the Fido run later). All these little mini reunions made what was already a really enjoyable and beautiful morning even more so.

Wolfpack love with Michelle! It was awesome to see her mid-race

 

I’ve been trying to convince Scott that this should be his holiday card this year. I just love his and his wife’s smiles.

I planned to stick around for the award ceremony because I was the second woman finisher and thought I had read that winners had to be present to accept their awards, which is often par for the course. It ended up that I had made another mistake in this regard, since I thought I had read that the awards were being given out three deep to both men and women, which, again is often par for the course for races. Because this was the race’s inaugural year — and because all the prizes were donated — they were three deep, period, regardless of male/female distinction. That ultimately meant that of the top 3 women finishers, the 3rd place woman — who had finished high in her 20 year-old bracket — was recognized but not the 1st woman or me since other 30-39 year-old men placed higher/finished faster than us.

Stephanie being thanked for her hard work by the Chamber of Commerce (I think – not sure). Proud of my friend!

Once I realized that this was the case — after talking with the #1 and the #3 woman finishers and getting a pic of all three of us together — I left and headed for home since I had 12083048 things to do that day and my family was waiting around for me. Admittedly, it was different to finish so high on the female side and not be recognized, but it wasn’t the end of the world. It wasn’t until I got home and re-read that emails that I saw that my original understanding was wrong. No big. Add it to the ever-growing list of mistakes I had made that morning. I race to get the most out of myself on any given day, to push myself to the limit, and to be satisfied at the end of the race, knowing that I put myself out there. Those are feelings that no amount of material or recognition can even come close to replicating. I left the race satisfied with the effort I produced on the day.

L-R #3 F, #1, and me (#2)

I couldn’t be more proud of my friend, Stephanie, and all the work (and basically her soul) that she threw into making her inaugural race such a success. It sold out with over 900 participants across all the events, and when they planned it, they audaciously aimed for 600. There was such a great community feeling to the race, too, and the commentary I heard in person, at the race, and afterward, online, all indicated how much her community really needed and wanted a race like this (and one that benefitted public education, no less). While I didn’t accomplish that which I set out to on race day, I was really happy with the effort and satisfied with what I was able to do. I’m already looking forward to the 2019 iteration (and you’d better believe I’ll read those emails and check out the course maps a little more closely before the next go).

September 2018 training recap

September 2018 training recap

It’s probably redundant to begin each monthly recap here on le blog with sentiments conveying holy shit, how is another month behind us already????! …but damn.

How is September already behind us?!

It’s that time of year, and it’s awesome. There’s so much going on, so much to look forward to, and lots of opportunities for fresh beginnings, that on any given day, I just feel like I bop around (for lack of a better phrase) from task to task, doing lots of behind-the-scenes stuff to help keep The Ship moving in the right direction.

 

apple picking at the end of September with Brownie families at the ranch

It’s particularly during times like these that I am especially happy that I run and that I have chosen to train for, and race, marathons. It’s a luxury, and I get that, but damn, am I ever lucky and fortunate to have it.

although admittedly, sometimes I forget about this great luxury and just laugh at myself when I sorta piss myself (reason #197123497 why runners wear black shorts!)

I’m at a proverbial season in life that finds my days very segmented and regimented, leaving very little/virtually no wiggle room for error, so when it comes to my running, it’s important to me that every run has a purpose. Don’t get me wrong: I’m one of those types of runners who loves to run all the time, with or without something on the calendar. However, that said, I find that my enjoyment factor is significantly higher — and to be honest, I use my time much better — when I’ve got a deadline (a race) to work toward.

This is all to say that even though this is one of the busiest times of the year for my family and for me, I absolutely love — and am so incredibly grateful — to have begun training for CIM in earnest in September. I ended September with over 200 miles in the bank, about 213, and ran a few races in the mix, including the 6k GGP Open XC meet in SF, the 5k XC meet at Garin, and Viva Calle SJ’s inaugural 5k for fun (the day after Garin, and as part of a LR, woof. No RR because I’m lazy, but it was fun). I’m working under Lisa’s tutelage again for CIM, just as I did for SF ‘18 and CIM ‘17, and we’re having fun with it. On some runs, I feel like my ass is getting handed to me, but for the most part, my ass has been staying exactly where it should be… or something. At any rate, I’m getting stronger, and I feel really, really good.

 

At the GGP XC open, I felt strong throughout and paced it much better than I did in 2017, leading to a small XC PR for that course.
(PC: WRC)

 

first time racing Garin XC, and man, that was tough! …but also super fun. Runners are twisted. (PC: WRC)

 

lots of fun at VivaCalle SJ with Janet (also one day post-Garin) and Ashley. It was a super flat 5k course that would be very PR-conducive. (PC: Ashley)

Suffice it to say that September was good to me as it pertains to my running. Sure, there are definitely enormous dumpster fires going on in other areas of my life right now that leave me equal parts pissed and scratching my head in utter disdain, but as for running… hooray! Let’s keep it up! 

YAY RUNNING

————

Eliud effing Kipchoge. How amazing was it to watch him shatter the world marathon record in Berlin in the beginning of September? I know it’s old news by now, but man. We’re going to feel that reverberating for years (decades) to come. I think I read just about everything I could find on the subject on the internet and still feel like I didn’t get enough. Something that I find especially attractive about him (in a “you’re a really fantastic human being” type of sense) is his apparent humility and his absolute eloquence. So much of what I’ve read about him lately — as post-Berlin reactions or otherwise — seem to be completely surprised by how this super fast guy, from probably pretty humble beginnings, can be so supremely athletically gifted and incredibly philosophical and cerebral (if not professorial) simultaneously. You (we) don’t have to treat these tenets as being mutually exclusive. After all, runners often make terrific writers (and by extension, communicators), as we all are well aware. There’s so much online on the subject of runners being writers, and writers being runners, that it strikes me as odd that people seem to be so amazed that this guy’s (really, really) good at both.

 

Boston. Fresher news in the running world revolves around Boston ‘19 and Boston ‘20 and namely, that in order to make Boston ‘19, runners had to run a BQ time -nearly 5 minutes. As if that isn’t powerful enough, the BAA tightened standards beginning for ‘20 and tightened everyone’s qualifying times by 5 minutes. For ‘20, that means just to qualify — not to guarantee your entry and secure a slot in the field — the youngest men will need to run no slower than a 3:00:00 and the youngest women, a 3:30:00. In reality, of course, assuming that the field continues to be as competitive as it was for ‘19, men and women in the youngest age groups (18-34) will likely need closer to a 2:54/2:53 or a 3:25/24 to stand a better chance of their qualifying time being fast enough to allow them entrance to the coveted field. Let that sink in for a minute. A 2:53 marathon. A 3:24 marathon. And those folks would be the slowest qualifiers in the fastest age-based field.

Honestly, I’m pretty stunned. Needing to be five minutes faster than your qualifying time is pretty huge. Boston times are already pretty fast, though I think the delta between men’s and women’s qualifying times may be worth examining. But to require BQ minus-5 minutes (or more) to ensure acceptance? I wonder how much longer it’ll take before BQ times are closer to that of NYC qualifiers.

Personally, essentially nothing has changed for me. I’m about to hop age groups, so my ‘20 qualifying time will stay the same (3:35:00). Unfortunately, I don’t have any solutions as to how the BAA can make this any easier on anyone — I think it boils down to supply/demand 101 — but man. My heart hurts for people who are on the cusp.

I’m really glad I ran Boston the two times I did, but at the second time — literally when I was within the first mile of the race (I remember it vividly, I was on the right side of the road) — I decided then and there that I didn’t want to return to Boston for a long, long time. I trained with people who have gone on to become my lifelong friends, we had an amazing training cycle together through a predictably shitty Chicago winter, and C and I had just an absolute blast in Boston together (pre-kiddos). The icing on my Boston cake was that I ran a great Boston, requalified, and just ran with great joy from start to finish. My Boston experience was positive, and while I feel confident that I can run a faster time there now, I don’t know if my cumulative experience can top what I already have. Sharing is caring, right? Why try to have a “better” experience if you’re already pretty damn happy and satisfied with what you already did? My personal opinion is that unless you are completely en fuego for Boston, don’t register for it. “Give” “your” “spot” to someone who wants to do it with all his/her heart and soul and who has been busting ass to get there. That’s just me, however. Do whatever you want. 

Continuing to qualify is still such a huge honor for me. That’s enough. At this point in my life, I’d much rather revel in my training partners’ and friends’ Boston trainings and experiences because I know how special it all is. I’ve been there. I understand. If you’re reading this and so badly want to be Boston-bound, take it from Desi. Keep.showing.up. I will gladly and enthusiastically support you. I get it. It’s a big deal, and if it’s important to you, keep grinding. You’ll get there.

showing up. (PC: Janet)

Reading. I was still in a bit of a lull this month with reading. I haven’t made any more progress on Handmaid’s. I started Dopesick, and while it’s pretty good, it’s just really, really hard to read because my mind goes to my cousin and starts playing all the hypothetical, what if? games. I finally, just recently, got my hands on a copy of Bad Blood (after waiting for it for a few months from the library), and holy shit, it is absolutely ridiculous in just about every way possible. I am so intrigued, enthralled, and disgusted, pretty much all at the same time. I have no words.

Listening. I came upon a new-to-me podcast called Bodies whose pilot I listened to (about birth control), and it was okay. I haven’t listened to another episode simply because I haven’t been in the mood for it. Lauren Fleshman’s and Jesse Thomas’ Work Play Life podcast has had some great episodes in the past month, and Lauren’s guest appearance on Mario’s podcast, the morning shakeout, this month is well worth a listen, too. I also really enjoyed Ben Rosario on Lindsey’s show, I’ll Have Another, and would recommend that to anyone, particularly — and especially — if you’re a fan of Hoka pro athletes. Lots of listening-about-running to be sure, but with it being fall marathon season and all, it’s to be expected.

Writing. Less freelancing this month due to some structural changes for the company/guy for whom I was ghostwriting this past month, but still a little bit, which was fun. I think I may be starting to write under my own actual name (what a novelty!), so maybe I’ll start linking to some of it here on le blog if it actually transpires.

Racing. Racing definitely played a part in my September, including two XC PA races at Garin and in GGP, and for funsies, the inaugural VivaCalle SJ 5k. Come October, I’ll likely do some more XC action as well as a half marathon (gasp!) and some 10ks as part of my build for CIM. In my book, anytime of year is a fantastic time to be a runner, but there’s just something so awesome about running and racing in the autumn.

crispy mornings is part of the autumnal running fun! sorry I blurred your face, Janet!

Family. September was pretty stacked, thanks to the beginning of the school year and the “beginnings” of other life aspects starting up again in earnest, and unfortunately, included in that mix was the eventual folding of my eldest’s swim program. What was a thirty-plus year-old institution is now gone, and the organization that came in to essentially “save” them has also quickly come and gone, leading some to believe that something nefarious may be underfoot, something that starts with E and ends with mbezzlement. Yeah. Not good. Trying to explain business stuff is hard enough as it is, particularly if you’re not equipped with a robust business acumen (ahem), but trying to explain lots of changes to a 7 year-old who’s invested lots of time and energy into being part of one particular team, at one particular location, with particular coaches and teammates — who then had it all taken out from under her — is tough. She’s not alone, obviously, which just makes the magnitude of suckery that much worse. She’s since begun swimming with another organization, so life has gone on, but we could have done without that dumpster fire that consumed the better part of the month.

pre-swim goofing around. IIRC, we just finished doing push-ups just cuz.

In preschooler news, she loves it and gave me a good meltdown the other night when I told her we couldn’t go to school at 7pm because it wasn’t open. When she asked me again at 7am if it was time to go, and I said no, another meltdown ensued. How sweet it is to genuinely love school that much.

besides being completely filthy after school, she also comes home with produce they’ve picked from the garden, which is awesome for all the obvious reasons.

That’s about it for September. I felt like I was surrounded by dumpster fires in many regards, fires that seemed futile to try to put out, but I guess just like anything else in life, control that which you can and let go of that which you cannot. Knowing your limits can be empowering, or it can be frustrating. Like just about anything else in life, it’s your choice, your call to make.

we got a lot of wear out of that Wonder Woman costume in September

Final quarter of 2018.

…!