Race Report: 2015 Nike Women’s Half Marathon

The down side to running back-to-back races is that you have back-to-back race reports to write. I am, as usual, a bit behind in blogging. Way behind.

On October 18, 2015 I ran the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco. I’ve run the full marathon here five times, but last year they changed it to a half, so this was my first time doing the shorter distance. Although some parts of the course were vaguely the same (it still started in Union Square), it was pretty much all new. Golden Gate Park was still in the race, but we ran in the opposite direction, so parts that used to be uphill were downhill and vice versa. It was familiar, but also totally different, if that makes sense.

This was also my first time doing the race on my own and not as part of Team In Training. I found a great place to stay at the San Francisco Downtown Hostel and managed to get a plane ticket with frequent flyer miles, so even though it was an expensive race in terms of the registration, the overall cost of the weekend was pretty reasonable.

The hostel was right around the corner from both the start line of the race as well as the race packet pick up, so I couldn’t have asked for anything more convenient. I had a room that was shared with three other women, two of whom were also running the race, so that was also good. The hostel is set up wonderfully for travelers. Our room had two sets of bunk beds and a private bathroom. Each bed had a box where you could lock up your luggage (bring your own lock). The headboard of each bed was also decked out for technology, with a light, a standard outlet, and two USB ports. They also served breakfast every morning, included in the price of the room–fresh bagels, fruit, oatmeal, etc. (I paid around $50/night for my shared room–for comparison, my total cost for three nights at the hostel was less than the cost for a single night at any of the hotels in the immediate vicinity. It was a real deal). I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a comfortable, clean budget option.

I flew in the Friday morning before the race. After I picked up my race packet I hoped on BART and rode out to Berkeley, where my friend Myong-Jae picked me up and took me to his house in the North Bay for the evening. I hadn’t seen him in many years and it was great to catch up and play a little music.

Nike always does this great display on the outside window of Niketown at Union Square with the names of all of the people racing.

Nike always does this great display on the outside window of Niketown at Union Square with the names of all of the people racing.

For the first time my name was down low enough that I could stand next to it.

For the first time my name was down low enough that I could stand next to it.

Saturday morning I got up early and walked around the corner to Union Square for a Nike-led shake out run. There was a huge group there–hundreds and hundreds of women. I didn’t know anyone but introduced myself to a few people in my corral (they had us organized by something–maybe pace? Not sure). We ran a couple of miles through the streets of San Francisco and it felt good to move a little bit after traveling the day before.

I had lots of plans to visit with friends, but all of the visits stacked up on Sunday, so I spent the rest of Saturday walking around San Francisco. According to Google maps, Fishermen’s Wharf was about a mile and half from the hostel. What I didn’t realize until I was about .5 miles into the walk was that it was all uphill for the first mile and then all downhill the rest of the way. My calves were not happy, and it was probably not the smartest thing to do the day before a half marathon, but there you have it.

I just walked up that.

I just walked up that.

A bit of birding at Fisherman's Wharf.

A view of Alcatraz.

I made it to the wharf and walked around slowly–I had my binoculars with me, so I did a bit of birding, looking towards the Golden Gate Bridge, ate some ice cream, and then decided to walk the long way home, along the water, so avoid those hills. I ended up walking more than 6 miles, but I think it was better than tackling the hills again.

The route I took back to the hostel was longer, but flat.

The route I took back to the hostel was longer, but flat.

I got some takeout for dinner and headed to bed. I’d finally started reading Born To Run a few days earlier and was down to the final couple of chapters. Even though I knew I needed to get to sleep, I couldn’t stop reading it and stayed up a little too late just so I could finish. In my defense, staying up too late reading an inspiring book about long distance running the night before a long distance race seems reasonable.

Flat Jennie, ready for the race.

Flat Jennie, ready for the race.

Sunday morning dawned bright and early. I got dressed, grabbed my banana and a bagel I’d bought the day before, and headed around the corner to the start. Holy moly–so many women! I found my start corral and got in line for the bathrooms. That’s my strategy, whether I have to go or not: get in line, go, and get in line again. With about fifteen minutes to the start time I checked my gear bag and made my way into my corral. As I was standing there I noticed another woman in a Oiselle singlet–I can’t remember her name anymore, but I think she said she was from Portland. We chatted for a few minutes as we waited for the race to start.

The start line

The start line

Randomly meeting a Oiselle teammate in my start corral: fantastic.

Randomly meeting a Oiselle teammate in my start corral: fantastic.

This race was way, way more crowded than I remember any other Nike race being. It was hard to settle into my pace. I found myself weaving around people left and right, jumping over trolley tracks, and hopping up and down curbs to try to find a little bit of clear room. There were also some early hills around mile 2 that got the old ticker pumping. These miles were slower than I was hoping, but at least I was warmed up.

Mile 1: 10:28
Mile 2: 9:53
Mile 3:10:18

By here things had thinned out some and I was finally able to settle in and run my race. It helped that these miles were either flat or downhill, but either way, I was able to make up for some lost time in those first few miles. This section of the race took us through Golden Gate Park. It was definitely a part of the park where I’d run in years past, but mostly going the other direction, so what had been uphill before was downhill instead. It was still beautiful and the wide roads let everything spread out even more.

Mile 4: 9:33
Mile 5: 9:30
Mile 6: 9:00
Mile 7: 9:09

Things got a little weird here, as the race organizers started shifting part of the runners around to an alternate course for a few blocks before meeting back up with the main group. I was at the front of the “alternate” group, so I had the weird sensation of feeling like I was in the front of the race for a few blocks. Basically they had us run around the other edges of the block, if that makes sense. I guess it helped thin things out a bit? Not sure, but it made it really hard to stick with my pace group, which got split up.

Mile 8: 9:49
Mile 9: 10:02

Around mile 9.5 we entered the Presidio. And Mile 10? Holy moly. I knew there was hill here, but damn! This was a long, steep 1 mile climb straight up. I was thanking my lucky stars for all of the times I’d run A-Mountain and done Via Entrada repeats. I went for it, though, passing lots of people who slowed down to walk. I remembered Coach Mark’s advice from way back in 2005, talking me through the hills at Sabino Canyon and giving me tips to keep my body moving. And it helped. It was a hard climb, but I never felt like I needed to stop and when I looked at my time, I was shocked to see that I’d run it in 10:19.

Climbing the hill.

Climbing the hill.

And at the top of the hill, my gosh, what a view! The Golden Gate Bridge was down below us, breathtakingly beautiful. It was a great reward after a tough climb. I couldn’t resist and stepped to the side to snap a quick picture and then quickly started running again–this time downhill.

Quick view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the top of the hill.

Quick view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the top of the hill.

Mile 10: 9:30
Mile 11: 10:19

My legs were eating up the downhill miles and I ran this in 8:56. I was feeling really strong and knew I had some kick left for the final push. When I hit the 20k mark I knew it was time to kick, and for once my legs responded. I ran the last mile in 8:47 and pushed to the finish, buoyed by the cheers.

Mile 12: 8:56
Mile 13: 8:47
Mile 13.1: 2:12

The only decent race photo of me in existence.

The only decent race photo of me in existence.

Finish time: 2:07:30. Nowhere near my PR, but I was just hoping to run under 2:15 so I was thrilled with this. More than that, I felt like this was my first long race where I had a strategy and it worked–my body didn’t crap out early and I had enough kick at the end to really run it in. My last two miles were the fastest. Ending a half marathon with your fastest mile is a good feeling. There’s strategy to training and racing, and I’m still working on figuring it out even after a lot of years of running.

Goldfish crackers: an excellent post-race snack.

Goldfish crackers: an excellent post-race snack.

It was weird to be on my own at the finish line–normally I’d go over to the Team In Training tent to check in and meet up with my teammates. I got some food, picked up my checked gear, and walked over to the shuttle to take me back to the hotel (aside: they had us walk probably three quarters of a mile to get to the shuttle–come on, Nike. You can do better).

There was a beautiful view of the Golden Gate from the finish line.

There was a beautiful view of the Golden Gate from the finish line.

Although I was feeling kind of alone at the finish line, almost as soon as I crossed I had a text from my running pal Sergio. He’d been tracking my progress all morning and sent me this awesome screen shot (below), along with some wonderfully kind words. Funny how a few texts can change your whole perspective.

IMG_1508

The rest of Sunday I spent visiting friends in the area–lunch in the East Bay and dinner down south with people I hadn’t seen in far too long.

Lunch and a wonderful visit with Jackie and Chris--too long since we'd seen each other.

Lunch and a wonderful visit with Jackie and Chris.

Bonus fantastic visit with Zobi and PJ, who had moved to the East Bay without me knowing it.

Bonus fantastic visit with Zobi and PJ, who had moved to the East Bay without me knowing it.

Dinner with Melissa and Sandy--it occurs to me that I have a lot of fantastic friends in the Bay area...hmmm.

Dinner with Melissa and Sandy–it occurs to me that I have a lot of fantastic friends in the Bay area…hmmm.

I spent Sunday night with friends in Oakland and Monday morning had time for a quick breakfast with a friend from my days in Kino. Then I got back on BART and headed to the airport and back to Tucson, just in time for another half marathon the following weekend. Race report in the works…

 

Race Report: 2015 Great Pumpkin Race 5k

Last Thursday evening I was faffing about on Gametiime, looking for some races to keep me motivated. I’ve been traveling so much this summer and fall that I seem to miss most local races, but I was in town this weekend, and I noticed there was a 5k on Sunday. I’d offered to drive a friend to the airport that morning, but after some quick calculations, I realized I could drop her off and still make it before the start. It only cost $15 and the race benefitted the Arizona Center for Autism. I figured that the worst case scenario would be that I didn’t make it in time to run and instead made a donation to a worthy cause.

So that’s a long-winded way of saying that on Thursday I signed up for a 5k at the last minute. I’ve mostly been getting in long miles the past month or so. I have done exactly NO speed work since…let’s see…since fall 2014. So I had no idea what I’d be able to do.

After the airport run I headed west. The race was at Buckelew Farm (west of Three Points, for those of you who know southern Arizona), so it was a bit of a haul to get there. I arrived about 30 minutes before gun time, feeling a little rushed. But I got my race number and even had time to warm up a little bit, jogging up and down the parking area.

The race started with a 1 mile kids’ run, so as that was ending the 5k runners started to make their way to the start line. I picked my way around folks to make my way closer to the front of the group so as not to have to dodge around walkers and people pushing strollers for the first mile.

500+ runners waiting for the start.

500+ runners waiting for the start. Note the corn maze on the right, which figures into the last part of this race.

We counted down from ten and were off. The route was mostly through the farm’s pumpkin fields, so it was a combination of dirt tractor roads and recently mowed areas. The dirt made for some dusty running at points, the newly mowed areas were a little slippy with all of the fresh cuttings, and the footing was a bit uneven, so you had to pay attention.

The first mile was mostly on the dirt tractor roads. Dusty, and a bit uneven, but relatively solid. I focused on not going out too fast and settling in, getting a good breathing pattern going.

On the Oiselle Team Facebook page the other day a woman asked for advice about the best way to mentally approach her upcoming 10k race. Someone gave the advice, “Just run the mile you’re in.” Boy, that resonated with me (in running, and in life, but I’ll stick to the running for the moment). So that became my mantra.

Just run…the mile…you’re in…Jennie.

Just run…the mile…you’re in…Jennie.

Just run…the mile…you’re in…Jennie.

I repeated it in my head (and maybe under my breath a few times) over and over again.

Just run (breath in) the mile (breath in) you’re in (breath in) Jennie (breath in).

Mile 1: 8.16

My Garmin beeped to let me know I’d finished the first mile. Wow! I was not expecting it to be that fast. I quickly put it out of my head, though, and focused on Mile 2–you know, the one I was in. I was pushing a bit, but I didn’t feel like I was overdoing it.

The first two-thirds of mile 2 were more dirt tractor roads. Then the route turned into the pumpkin patch, weaving back and forth between the rows. This section was hard because it felt like you just weren’t getting anywhere. Run up one long row, down the short side, and back down another long row, times five.

Just run…the mile…you’re in…Jennie.

This is where I started muttering it under my breath. Somewhere in there I passed the mile 2 sign and shortly after my Garmin beeped.

Mile 2: 8:29

All right! Slowing down a bit, but still feeling good. These are the fastest two miles I have run since…oh, probably since March.

Mile three continued through the pumpkin rows, down the long edge of the parking lot, and back down towards the start line. Then we curved to the west and entered…THE CORN MAZE. This was both cool and challenging–lots of twists and turns so you’d go a few strides and then need to take a sharp right turn for two more strides and then take a sharp left turn for two more strides. It was hard to maintain speed.

Just run…the mile…you’re in…Jennie.

I caught a glimpse of the heels of the man in front of me a few times, and could hear the breathing of the people behind me, but mostly it it felt like I was running on my own. I passed the mile 3 sign.

Mile 3: 9:12

I made a few more turns in the corn maze and popped out to a crowd of spectators shouting, “Kick! Kick!” The finish line was in front of me. I put my head down and gave it all I had left.

Finish time: 27:00

I went into this race with two goals, goals that I barely even whispered to myself because I was so unsure I could do either of them: 1) Finish in under 27 minutes; and 2) place in my age group.

When I saw my finish time I couldn’t believe it–SO close.  The lesson learned here is that you should never, never let up. One second! Then I realized that this was 17 seconds faster than my PR, and that I hadn’t been training for a 5k, and that I was actually pretty pleased with the result. I ran a 27 minute 5k–onward and upward! I finished 105/502 overall, the 29th woman, and first out of 22 in my age group. (You can see all of the results here).

I walked around for a minute or two until I caught my breath and then made my way over to the finishers tent, got some water, and went to sit down in the shade to wait for the official times and see if I had made my second goal. I hadn’t been there long when a woman came up and moved some people out of the way, saying, “I’m not sure she can walk that far.” I looked to where she was gesturing and there was a young woman sitting in golf cart who had collapsed on the course around mile 2. I walked over to the two of them and said, “Can I help? I’m an EMT.” We walked the runner into the shade of the tent and got her lying down with her feet elevated. Now, I have been an EMT since 1999 and used to work on an ambulance, but it has been a long time since I used my skills on a daily or even a weekly basis. I was grateful for my EMT instructors who drilled those skill sheets into my head year after year during refresher courses, and my WMI instructors who taught me how to improvise in the back country when you don’t have any actual first aid equipment. I snapped into EMT mode.

The long story short is that the woman had heat exhaustion. She was dehydrated, hot, and woozy. I had a willing crew of bystanders just waiting for something to do, so I sent one to ask for a t-shirt, another for water and sports drink, and a third to grab some flyers on a nearby table. I got the t-shirt wet and used it to cool her down, poured water over her head, and had three people fanning her with the flyers to get some evaporative cooling going. I didn’t want to get her so wet that she took a chill, but she needed to be cooled. It took about 30 minutes, but she started feeling better slowly. As I was working on her I heard the race director ask over the microphone, “Will the woman who is helping  [the patient] please come up?” I was confused, because I was still helping her, but he was insistent, so I walked up to the front of the tent, where he handed me a coupon for a free pumpkin and thanked me for my help.

I went back to what I was doing. Her pulse came down and pretty soon she was able to sit up, drink a bottle of sports drink, and eat something. As we were doing all of this they began to announce the overall winners, as well as the age group winners. I was pretty focused on what I was doing, so I didn’t really hear where they were but then I heard my name. What?! I walked back up to the front and the race director looked at me like, “Yes?” I said, “You just read my name, Jennie Duberstein.” He consulted his sheet and said, “Oh! You won your age group–congratulations!”

So in addition to my Good Samaritan pumpkin, I got a plastic milk bottle-looking cup with an orange straw. But holy cow, I won my age group!

The end of the story is happy: the runner had a peanut butter GU that someone had generously given her, she finished a 32 oz. bottle of Powerade, and felt much, much better. I got to pick out a lovely pumpkin to take home, got some strangers to take a picture of me in front of a giant chair, and drove home.

Next up: The Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco a week from today.

1st in Age Group!

1st in Age Group!

Race Report: Saguaro National Park Labor Day Run

August and September have morphed into one big blur of travel. I feel as though I have spent at least a solid week in transit at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. I returned home on Friday evening, and on the last leg of my flight my seat mate asked where I’d been. It took me a minute to remember.

I have about eight different blog posts partially composed, and another eight ideas in my head, but haven’t quite gotten around to finishing anything. All that is to say: writing about my race at the Saguaro National Park Labor Day Run is a little behind schedule.

I’d been sick for the couple of weeks leading up to the race and still wasn’t feeling 100% on race day. I hadn’t run in ten days, so my goals for the race was 1) finish and 2) try to finish in under 90 minutes. It’s a hilly course, so I didn’t have any expectations of a speedy time.

My friend and running partner Sergio runs this race every year. This year he finally talked me into doing it. Saguaro National Park is split up into two separate segments, one way the heck out on the west side of Tucson and the other way the heck out on the east side. The race was along the beautiful rolling 8 mile loop at Saguaro East.

Sergio picked me up bright and early and we got to the park around 5:30. Sergio, who is much speedier than I even when I am not recovering from being sick, was going for a PR, so I found some other friends and left him to warm up and get towards the front of the pack.

There is a 5K and an 8 miler at this race. The 5k goes off 15 minutes before the 8 miler and runs counter-clockwise on an out-and-back course, while the 8 miler does a clockwise loop around the park. Summary: there were a lot of people at the start. In spite of this, I kept seeing folks I knew, which was a lot of fun.

Lori, Elise, and me before the race.

Lori, Elise, and me before the race.

The race director welcomed us. Park Superintendent Darla Sidles welcomed us (she was running the 5k). Ross Zimmerman, father of Gabe, gave a lovely speech (this race is the second leg of the Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown). The national anthem played. And then the 5k runners were off. The 8 milers shuffled toward the start and before we knew it we were off, too.

Saguaro National Park Superintendent Darla Sidles welcomes racers.

Saguaro National Park Superintendent Darla Sidles welcomes racers.

The first three miles of the race are mostly downhill or flat. The sun was rising over the Sonoran Desert, and the scenery was stunning. At this point I was feeling really good.

  • Mile 1: 9:27
  • Mile 2: 9:20
  • Mile 3: 9:38

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and even snapped a few pictures of the people ahead of me as I ran along.

The light was breathtakingly beautiful. Early in the race it was cool enough and gorgeous enough that all I felt was lucky to be able to run in such a lovely spot.

The light was breathtakingly beautiful. Early in the race it was cool enough and gorgeous enough that all I felt was lucky to be able to run in such a lovely spot.

About halfway through mile 3 the big hills begin. At first I really thought I could hang. I made it through mile 4 in 11:37–definitely slowing way down, but still running. But by mile 5, which is basically all steep uphill, the two weeks of being sick and ten days with no running caught up to me and I found myself walking.

  • Mile 5: 15:40. Yikes.
The scenery was as breathtaking as the hills.

The scenery was as breathtaking as the hills.

At this point I changed my second goal. Pushing myself to finish in under 90 minutes just didn’t feel like any fun at all, so instead I decided to see how many species of birds I could spot or hear while running. That was a lot more fun.

  • Red-tailed Hawk (a pair, chasing each other)
  • Verdin
  • Curve-billed Thrasher
  • Cactus Wren
IMG_1200

Trying to power up the hills.

I think I can...finish this race...

I think I can…finish this race…

Runners behind me, coming up the hill.

Runners behind me, coming up the hill.

Mile 6: 11:18 (getting back into some downhill here). Mile 7 ticked away in 12:07 (rolling hills again).

  • Common Raven
  • Lesser Goldfinch
  • Anna’s Hummingbird
  • American Kestrel

As I eased into mile 8 I heard someone coming up from behind me saying, “I’ve been chasing you for the last three miles!” It was my friend Sean–so great to see his smiling face. We ran together for about a half a mile and then he pushed ahead towards the finish.

I was almost there. I put my head down and went for it, running Mile 8 in 11:21.

This was supposed to be an 8 mile course, but when my Garmin beeped for mile 8, I was interestingly not at the finish line. My watch measured out another .15 miles before I crossed the line. Hmmm.

According to my Garmin, I ran 8.15 miles in 1:31:42.

According to my timing chip, I finished the 8 mile race in 1:32:18. (The race website said they had some issues with the timing chips, so I am leaning in the direction of my Garmin).

You be the judge.

I walked over to the finishers’ area and quickly reunited with Sergio (who had run a PR–67 minutes, I think; way to go, Sergio!), as well as a handful of other friends who all work in my building. We ate pretzels, drank water, and found a tiny spot of shade to recuperate from the heat of the morning and the run.

Finishers!

Historic Y Finishers! Greta, Carolyn, Joey, Sergio, and Jennie.

One of the neater parts of the race is the medal, which is the second part of the puzzle for the Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown. Two races down, one to go (a half marathon in October).

Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown in progress.

Gabe Zimmerman Triple Crown in progress.

I was surprised to be reasonably close to running the race in under 90 minutes given the amount of walking I did in the middle. I was even more surprised to see/hear just eight species of birds. But birding while running definitely helped take my mind off of the fact that this race was freaking hard. In fact, as I got to miles six and seven I even found myself wishing that there were a few extra miles in the race so I could see more birds. I really wanted a Gilded Flicker, guys.

Maybe next year.