Bay To Breakers My Second Chance To Beat A Kenyan

I had a tough time today. After 3 weeks fighting with my second sprained ankle of the season decided yesterday, the Hell with it I'm just going to go for it and did it anyway. Ouch! I woke up too early and wasn't feeling great. My stomach was off and I just felt tired.
I think with all the frickin dogs we've had here over the week I probably got one too many puppy kisses.

Just getting to the race was quite an arduous task. Walking with three gabby girls (Gabby Gaga Sisters who I actually enjoy hanging with)...

 I wasn't making great time and finally said bye and started running for the start. I should have left earlier to find a spot in Coral A. When I got there the security was ridiculous. The way people were being funneled up to their start locations was simply ludicrous! It took me 15 minutes just to get one block. By then the count down began and people just started panicking and started jumping the fences to get into place. I ended up getting in coral B which really sucked. Sitting there pissed well getting pelted off the head with flying tortillas is not my idea of a great time. I had a minute to get situated and turned my Polar watch on but couldn't sync up to GPS. I used my Strava phone app and turned it on at the gun. I sat there for over a minute before the mob even began to move. It took me a minute just to get to the Start line.
>It was extremely difficult to get around the slow people who for some reason had signed up for Coral A. Every time I'd see a gap some Clydesdale would roll over into it and I found myself making better time going up the sidewalk. I should have just commandeered a Clydesdale and rode em through the crazy mob.
My ankle was painful and very stiff and I wasn't in a very happy mood. I don't know how I did a 7:18 mile for the first one. 
Finally by the turn on to 9th street things began to thin out somewhat but still it was a struggle to keep a line. By Hayes street I had been pushing a little hard and I figured no PR on this. I just wanted to survive it. I hit the top of the hill of course with my heart rate pinned. I looked at my heart rate zone at the end and I was in HR 5 for the whole damn race. That's pretty good for an old fart.
One note on the course. It didn't seem as fun and festive as last year. The crowds were pretty small. Hayes street seemed almost vacant.

Have the terrorists won?...kind of sad what it's all come to. Way too much security but, yes we need it because too many people in this world suck and are willing to make everyone else in the world suffer. Well maybe I'll save the rant for another blog...just sad.

I kept trying to stay to the middle due to the camber on either side of the road was hurting my ankle. I did make two stops to grab water. I felt really de-hydrated.
I thought I would best my time of last year. I was getting some nice 6 something minute miles finally. I probably could have gone faster at this point but my ankle was getting pounded. At the end of the course this year they placed a weird left turn, a right and another right to the beach. Some idiot clipped me around the corner and threw me off kilter. 
As I came up to the timer I saw 1:00:00! WTH! That was a minute slower than last year? No way. When I shut off my GPS it read 8.3 miles? Supposed to be 7.4 That's a mile longer than last year. My Strava is pretty much right on. So I don't get it. I think the course change had something to do with it. In my book I'm thinking I actually did the race 5 minutes faster. Which would make sense when you compare last years miles with this year. If my ankle wasn't tweaked I'd probably have done better too. Oh well, excuses, excuses...
At my age and only running for a year and a half I'm a happy camper. I'd put the results link here but I can't seem to get back on the web site. I'll add them later but, I was in the top 150 in my age group out of close to 2000. It works for me. I'm getting there.
I tried to jog home but after 2 miles the pain was a little much and grabbed a cab.
I just had a huge glass of water with some Nuun and I'm actually feeling lot's better. I'm home with just my doggies and there all over me so I'm happy. Happy to be alive, able to run like them and life is good even through the short falls.

Biking, Running, Dogs - Time Down With Injury -thoughts-

Some of the benefits of riding my bike. I can actually carry my camera with me so I'm coming across some nice photo ops lately.

This was over the weekend and the surf was unusually high coming under the Golden Gate. A Surfers dream or, nightmare I guess.

 It's now coming up on three weeks of no running! I'm becoming obsessed with this issue, waking in the middle of the night with anxiety and losing sleep over it. Fortunately I can ride the bike with a little discomfort. It probably has been a good thing in a way because I'm spending a lot of time doing core work, reading about running science, training and letting the rest of my body (my back) heal from the beating it took all through 2012.

Realized recently I could easily become one of those crazy "A&E Channel" Dog Hoarders if it wasn't for Cathy disallowing any more mutts coming on board.
I happened to see this doggie on my bike ride Sunday and she looked so much like my Beyonce that it made me think..."I'd love two of those"!

My Beyonce

The one I wanted to steal...

I'm reading "Born To Run" for a second time. I first read it when I started running back in the beginning of 2012. Over this past year the information, stories and characters have become much more pertinent to where my head is now. I love the book and actually understand some of the controversy surrounding Christopher McDougall's portrayal of the characters, experiences and how many athletes felt unhappy with his recollections and characterizations of them.

Going back and researching some of the responses from the main players in past interviews gives it all a bit of a "Soap Opera" quality. I didn't even know who "Anne Trason" was last year. Now I realize how she probably is one of the most amazing athletes of our time. How did that one get away from me. Her accomplishments are truly astonishing.

Here is a link to a fantastic rare interview with Anne Trason by writer/runner Sara Lavender Smith.

Here is another great blog regarding the controversy with Anne "Sponsor The Fool Blog"

I've been living in the cycling world too long!

One of the other thoughts that woke me up in the middle of the night. "Barefoot Running"! There is a great argument for barefoot/minimalist running and how the shoe industry may have created more foot issues in regards to design than they ever could have imagined. It brings to mind the movie a saw many years ago "The Jerk"... Invention gone bad.

Two months into my experiment with running last year I developed serious IT Band issues. I made a trip back to Fleet Feet SF and got myself into a pair of 0 drop Brooks. The problem went away immediately.

Yesterday I started walking around in a pair of my old surf shoes and worked through the day in them. My ankle felt a lot better tonight and the pain was a lot less with the pressure on it. I think my running shoes were forcing my ankle into a pronation situation that was causing a lot of pain.

I'm thinking about getting a pair of the Vibram FiveFingers to start working with while my ankle heals. 

These may be my Marathon shoes, Brooks Pure Drift.




One thought here... I imagine any die hard runners out there that may happen to read my blog and their eyes just rolling reading this.

"Dude! Been there already"!
"You're a little late for the party".

That's true but, I get like that with runners who have just discovered cycling. Can't help being sarcastic with them sometimes. I think I'm alienating my Cycling friends too.

"Yep, He's gone to the darkside".
"Now we'll be running into him every day coming up the bike path the wrong way"!

In reality I think I'll always be half and half Bike/Run. I love my bike and it's a lot more forgiving on this ancient body.