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Ran my 13th Bay to Breakers race in 1:55:31 today! 4min+ faster than last year.
Once again the Midnight Runners crew cheered runners in Hayes Valley at the park a couple of blocks before the hill.
Felt better than I did last year, more able to sustain a moderate pace.
One quick pitstop in Golden Gate Park, and then picked up the pace to finish with a negative split and well under 2 hours. This time I made sure to keep running until I was well past the last timing strip.
Other than the Midnight Runners cheer gang, this year I did not see anyone I knew the whole race. Bus + BART + jog to the start. Howard street up to Hayes hill, then by the Panhandle and through Golden Gate park to the finish.
I did spot a neighbor after the finish and we caught up on the walk to the N-Judah light rail. Seeing the long line I decided to easy run backwards along the race course to see the costumes and a few human carried floats.
Caught the Midnight Runners crew on the Conservatory of Flowers steps and hiked back to the Panhandle together. After catching up with a few friends I went home to shower and eat before heading back to the Panhandle.
In contrast to last year, last Friday I only did a short shakeout run — no evening run and staying out late with Midnight Runners. Saturday SFRC was about the same distance.
Similar to last year I took a bus to Van Ness, then jogged to the Civic Center station and took BART to Embarcadero. It seems that’s the only reliable transit option, no matter what any mapping application (Apple Maps, Google Maps, or Routesy) claims about bus or lightrail times or routes (they were all wrong, yet again, just like last year).
Despite not seeing any friends running the race, feeling both stronger and more confident in my training was enough to boost my mood for the duration. I was grateful to be out there running on a beautiful day.
Last year: https://tantek.com/2024/150/t1/ran-baytobreakers
#SanFrancisco #run #runner #race #roadRace #B2B #Bay2Breakers #BayToBreakers
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ran the Spartan Turkey Trot #5k #race in 44:34 @SpartanTurkey5k!
2min/mi+ faster than 2023’s #turkeyTrot walk / slow jog of 47:37 on a shortened course (2.86mi).
Arrived early for a warm-up and it was the coldest it’s been in years (30-something F).
Alternated run/walk sessions for ~20min then jogged back to the track start area where they had moved the start since last year. Used the bathroom, and kept warming up with back/forth strides then high knees while waiting with the fam in wave 3.
Ran out at a moderate pace, and once we were on the street the cold air really to hit my lungs. Listened to music nearly the whole time. Mile 2 was my slowest but still kept it under 15min/mi (my goal pace). Ran much more than walked in the last mile, and had enough left in the tank to push a little harder the last quarter mile to the finish where I hit my highest heartrate of the race.
See also: https://www.spartanturkeytrot.com/
#turkeyTrot2024
Previously:
* https://tantek.com/2022/329/t1/spartan-turkey-trot-5k
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Ran my 12th #BayToBreakers race in 1:59:54 on Sunday 2024-05-19.
After a comedy of transit struggles to get to the start line, I jumped in with Corral C runners (my bib was for Corral B) and started with them.
Great seeing the Midnight Runners crab rave cheer gang in Hayes Valley before Hayes Hill.
Made it into Golden Gate Park, and eventually saw Vivek and David Lam making their way back from the finish.
Just before the bison paddock, I saw Paddy & Eleanor walking back as well, and stopped to briefly chat with them.
Soon after I saw Adrienne and a few other #NPSF pals running and as they stopped to say hi to Paddy, I took off to go finish.
Adrienne and friends caught up to me on the last segment before Ocean Beach, and decided to run together. After turning the corner onto Great Highway, I could see the finish line. Glancing down at my watch there seemed to be enough time to finish under 2 hours if we picked it up. I asked Adrienne if we could try for a sub-2 hour time and she said to go for it. We picked up the pace and after crossing the finish line I stopped my Garmin — it read 1:59:54.
Oddly the official Bay to Breakers results (which are not at a linkable URL) showed 2:00:07. The only explanation I have is after the first timing strip after the finish line where I stopped my watch, there was a big crowd of loitering people that made it hard to keep moving, and cross a second timing strip. It is possible the first timing strip did not register my bib chip, and only the second timing strip picked it up. I have emailed Bay to Breakers to see if they can correct it, and included a link to my Strava activity that shows I recorded the entire race on my watch.
It was a harder race than usual, despite the good weather.
There were a few things that contributed. First, I had run each of the prior two days: 5km+ at Friday night’s Midnight Runners 5th anniversary run and run/walk celebration afterwards totaling ~5 miles, and then 6.5 miles at SFRC on the trails on Saturday.
I slept reasonably well the night before the race, and having checked the news announcements about the availability of transit options in the morning, planned accordingly. When I checked the actual train arrival times, none of the MUNI trains that were supposed to be running were running. I ran down to take the MUNI bus which was supposed to go downtown, except it stopped at Van Ness avenue, inexplicably, and the driver told everyone it was the last stop.
Admittedly I was already annoyed that SF MUNI for some reason decided to stop the MUNI trains the morning of Bay to Breakers that could easily have taken thousands of runners to near the race start at Embarcadero via the Market Street subway. Having the bus stop sooner than expected was a second disappointment and discouragement.
I (and many other runners) decided to run towards the start, which was still ~2 miles away at that point.
Upon reaching the Civic Center station on Market street, we realized from the street level displays that BART trains appeared to be running normally like any other Sunday, so we went downstairs and paid for a second transit ticket to take the BART a few stops.
The BART train was full of costumed Bay to Breakers runners. Disembarking at the Embarcadero station, I jogged/ran the rest of the way around the entrance corral maze to the right spot for Corral B entrants, and joined the group waiting at the start line.
Lessons learned: I am not trusting MUNI rail or bus into downtown on Bay to Breakers race day again, despite any announcements from SFMTA. Too many years of bad experiences.
However, BART seems reliable so I plan to find my way to taking BART in the future. Perhaps by taking a bus to the 16th street BART station, avoiding all street closures.
Having missed my start corral due to the transit mishaps, I didn’t see anyone else I knew. The combination of being annoyed at MUNI’s unreliability (both in what was announced vs what was running and premature bus termination) and starting in a crowd not knowing anyone took my motivation down several notches.
Still, the weather was pleasant yet cool, ideal for a race so I ran a pace that felt good for me, and kept an eye out for friends along the course. I stopped after mile 1 for a portapotty pitstop. Back in the chaos of Howard street and then Ninth to Hayes, I saw a few folks I knew from a distance.
Seeing and high-fiving the Midnight Runners crab race cheer crew at Hayes Hill turned my mood around though, and I enjoyed the rest of the race, from Hayes Hill through Golden Gate Park.
It was my slowest Bay to Breakers yet, however first in a while that I finished with friends!
After we grabbed our medals and snacks in the finish area, I hiked/jogged back to the Panhandle, found the Midnight Runners crab rave crew keeping the party going and joined in.
2023: https://tantek.com/2023/157/t1/ran-baytobreakers
#2024_140 #SanFrancisco #run #runner #race #roadrace #b2b #bay2breakers
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Yesterday I ran the Spartan Turkey Trot #5k #race in 41:42 @SpartanTurkey5k. First #turkeyTrot in a while that I ran/jogged/walked. #turkeyTrot2022
Arrived early like last year for a warm-up. Alternated run/walk sessions for ~10min then jogged back to the track start area. Got my bib, pinned it on, used the bathroom, and kept warming up with back/forth strides next to the track. Saw niece & nephew2 start in wave 1, kept warming up. Decided to start with my dad in wave 3.
Had to use the bathroom one more time, and by the time I got out, wave 3 was already off. Got stuck waiting in wave 4 (walkers & strollers). Made my way to the start then ran without pacing myself to catch my dad. Found him and decided that I’d rather stay with him and keep him company. Ran/jogged/walked the rest of the race, eventually returning to the high school track. We ran the back straight through the finish arch.
See also: https://www.spartanturkeytrot.com/
Previously:
* https://tantek.com/2021/329/t1/spartan-turkey-trot
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ran the Spartan Turkey Trot #5k #race in 31:13 (MV CA, 8°C). my 2nd fastest on the @SpartanTurkey5k course, and first #turkeyTrot in 4 years! A pleasant surprise.
niece(11) crushed it in 23+min, nephew2(14) in 29+min, dad in 38+min. #turkeyTrot2021
Arrived early at Mountain View High School to do a warm-up, my first “proper” warm-up before a 5k. ~10min moderate steady running, a 1min intense push, then 4x 30s strides, and walked it off.
Found my dad, niece, nephews and waited in wave 2 only a few minute before we got started.
First mile felt a lot stronger than any flat road mile I’ve run in quite some time, at least a couple of years. Passing the 1 mile marker at under 10 minutes felt really good. Paced slowed a bit, but still passed the 2 mile marker at under 20 minutes. That’s when I knew I had a chance at a 31-something time. Tried to keep pushing in the last mile or so, and it went faster than I expected.
When I reached the track for the last 300m, all my Kezar training kicked in. Gradually picked up the pace until I kicked as hard as I could on the final 100m straight, passing several, not being passed by anyone.
Stopped my watch after crossing both timing strips after the finish arch: 31:13. Official results pending. Feels like with some training I could get a sub-30 next year.
More: https://www.spartanturkeytrot.com/
Previously:
2017-11-23: 30:21 personal CR. No post, only a mention: https://tantek.com/2017/333/t1
2016-11-24: 31:27. https://tantek.com/2016/329/t1
2015-11-26: DNR. Recovering from injury. https://tantek.com/2015/330/t1
2014-11-27: Time unknown. https://tantek.com/2014/331/t1
2013-11-28: https://tantek.com/2013/332/t2
2012-11-22: https://tantek.com/2012/327/t2
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#TBT to the Rodeo Valley 30k and how good the first half felt, running uphill (1) and downhill (2). Then learning in the second half that I had what it took to endure hours of 90-95°F temperatures to run, jog, and hike to finish a five hour trail race. Race photos 📷 Chris Cleary @insidetrail
#optoutside #getoutside #run #trailrun #insidetrail #runner #rodeovalley #race #trailtuesdaythrowback #latergram #nofilter #2018_174
Previously: tantek.com/2018/175/t1/finished-rodeovalley-my-first-30k
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Yesterday: finished my first #DoubleDipsea #race in 3:59:26! 📷 IG jasonthepatsfan
Felt strong, especially on the downhill finish. When I saw the guy in front slow down with maybe 20 yards to go, I sprinted extra hard to beat him by mere feet: 620th of 691 finishers.
#dserunners #optoutside #getoutside #raceeverything #run #runners #trailrun #trails #Dipsea #Stinsonbeach #Marin #yestergram #latergram #nofilter #2018_167
Previously: http://tantek.com/2017/167/t2/went-double-dipsea-cheer-ran
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🌅 #100DoPP d8: #iwokeuplikethis #NPSF #sunrise6k done! 39:52 in ~42F. #nofilter.
I was finally in town (and not injured!) for a @Nov_Project_SF Sunrise 6k race, and finished, hitting my sub-40-min goal by mere seconds.
This morning was yet another exercise in facing my cold weather breathing demons and stubbornly overcoming them breathing through a buff the whole time til I sprinted to the finish to get my sub-40.
Pretty sure I was the “slowest” with my 39:52 finish (results at https://tracking.november-project.com/events/4504); our speedy co-leader Paddy O’Leary lapped me before I’d even finished my first of three laps! He ran literally more than twice as fast as me 😂. I’m grateful to hangout with such amazing (super)humans.
However, I got the satisfaction of finishing a 6k, and seeing *that* dawn & sunrise before most of my friends were hitting their snooze buttons. #whileyouweresleeping
Next up: In nine days I will race my ninth half marathon, the Surf City Half in Huntington Beach, California for the second time, with my dad (our fourth half together).
Previous recent adventures in cold air running:
* 31:27 TT 5k: tantek.com/2016/329/t1/ran-spartan-turkey-trot
* PR Wed. DNF: tantek.com/2016/335/t1/npsf-pr-wednesday-good-bad
* ECSCA PR: tantek.com/2016/338/t2/thenorthface-ecsca-marathonrelay-done and despite colder start: tantek.com/2016/359/t2/weeks-ago-ecsca-colder-start
* 8:59 track mile: tantek.com/2016/355/t1/timed-track-mile
#dawn #sunrise #6k #race #bay #sfbay #seenonmyrun #fromwhereirace #novemberproject #finisher #raceeverything #raceyourself
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I was visiting npr.org and saw a little bit about Rachel Dolezal and her situation. I'm trying real…
Tantek
Christopher M. Hobbs
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