adidas Urban Run SF - June 2, 2008

ROUTE- Coit Tower-Taylor St ~ 4.3 Miles hilly

Start at adidas Sport Performance Store
Right on Market
Left on Battery St
Left on Filbert St.
Proceed up Filbert St stairs (DIPSEA!?!?!)
Right on Telegraph Hill Blvd to the top of Coit Tower
Descend on Telegraph Hill Blvd.
Right on Grant
Left on Chestnut
Left on Taylor Street (HILL ALERT!)
Left on Washington
Right on Waverly (Be on the lookout for this historic alley!)
Left on Sacramento
Right on Grant
Right on MarketFinish at adidas Sports Performance store
www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1941322

Ohlone Wilderness 50K

How can you acclimate to hot weather on the fly? On Sunday, I had the chance to find out. When Oli and I arrived at the finish for the bus pickup for the start, it was probably in the high 50s and we were one of the first to wait at the ranger kiosk to let us in at the parking lot at 6am. We should've left much later than 4am...my bad. I had to sit next to this guy on the bus ride who was weird; he had a Ben Davis shirt and corduroy shorts (both of which he was going to wear for this hot race!) and holding what appeared to be a Windex spray bottle or Aunt Jemima plastic container which also served as a water bottle. I remember seeing this guy's drop bag at the Diablo 50 Mile when I was stationed at Juniper Aid as a volunteer; he had a wide array of crazy ass elixirs in flasks and the similar type of bottle I saw him holding on the bus. I'm 100% positive it's the same guy.

The 21st Ohlone Wilderness 50K was met with reasonably cool weather 30 minutes before the start, mid to high 60s. We started 4-5 minutes late and the leaders took off after the start. I'm pretty sure they knew what they're doing. Despite the heat that's expected for the day, it really could've been a lot worse and I'm really not one to complain since the race has seen hotter days. Hell, Badwater is a true testament that you can run amidst any type of condition. For obvious reasons, I had to readjust my goals. I actually believed that given my better fitness I could set a slight course PR. Realistically, I really had my sights on running a sub-7 hour run. As the race progressed, however, I was on a tight schedule for a sub-8 hour run on dire straits. In hind sight, I ran a smart race. My goal was to do as much I can to do well for myself and represent my local team, Pamakids; but I was also trying to preserve myself for a 10K which I plan to go really hard on Memorial Day. So although I might have gone harder and finished slightly better at Ohlone, I was not going to risk anything and have many days off following the race. Staying hydrated and running a safe race were my goals today.

According to the Ohlone 50K website, the following are a few vital statistics: 31 miles, 7,800 feet of elevation gain, and 7,440 feet of elevation loss. You can peruse the course map and elevation map to get a general feel for the difficulty of the course: http://www.abovethefog.net/Ohlone50K/Course_Info/course_info.html I'm actually amazed I picked this race as my first ultra 2 years ago. But I'm also glad that my first ultra experience was under cool San Francisco conditions...a rarity for this race in its short 21 year history.

I don't recall much of the race other than a few highlights, much of which included the undulating trails and some technical sections that I tried hard not to slip on. I do, however, enjoyed providing much needed optimism for those that passed me or those that I passed on the trail. I do think that being kind under trying times can work wonders, giving you and others around you much needed mental and some would say physical strength. I met a guy who lost 65 pounds from his 215+ original weight and still zoomed passed by me, an old couple who would always pass me on the downhills, and a man complaining about his quads. There was also Hao who effortlessly passed me at one of the aid stations leading to a short, but stupid steep 2 mile stretch; mind you those two uphill miles took 35-40 minutes! The volunteers were very generous and highly optimistic. As stupid as it is to hear the clichéd words and phrases of encouragement, they really do work. Then there were the two cows that were budding heads, face to face, and licking each other's tongues; I'm sure they wanted some alone time as one of the cows gave me a discerning eye! They didn't want pesky ultrarunners staring. And another time, a cow ran across the trail right after I crossed it's path; luckily it didnt' decide to headbutt me! I also remember either the corridor of heat or tunnel of cool tailwind you run through. When you’re running under a short patch of shade from a grove of trees, you’d think that it would be slightly cooler; in fact, it was anything but. The heat gets trapped under those trees making it hell's cavern. The temperature high for the day was 96 degrees! That’s surface temperature…I’m sure that it was probably hotter than that from the heat radiating from the ground, perhaps 100 degrees? Perhaps, I do remember more than I thought I had...maybe I should have run harder and done less looking. :)

The scenery is gorgeous, words that wouldn't do any justice for nature's beauty. On any given day, one should appreciate the skyline, wildlife, and native plant species along this trail. Sometimes a taste of heaven comes with a price of hell. (BTW, there is a section of the trail called Satan's Pit or Satan's Ravine. This is after 1-2 miles of steep, technical descent; but that's not what it's named after. It's named after this cool creek that you can briefly refresh yourself at ~mile 27...maybe to dip your cap or refill water bottles or a bath. Then you look up and realize you have to climb this hill that winds it's way to the top of a hill. According to Lillie, some patches of the trail had a gradient of 46%! http://sillylillie.blogspot.com/ I believe this was one of them!)

On many occasions during the later stages of the race, you're running long stretches of the trail by yourself, isolated from any form of life. But when you hear other runners/volunteers supporting you, you get second wind and you want that much to finish this race, even if it's not your best. The journey is what fuels the finish. I was also glad to see Rick at the aid station volunteering, the very same aid station he passed me two years ago...oh, the irony! To have the volunteers at the aid stations know what it’s like to be a runner in an ultra is truly fantastic, telepathy at its best. I didn’t have to tell them to put a cool, refreshing sponge on my head with the ice water dripping down my back and neck. They also topped off my water bottles. I had the difficulty task of trying to force down PB&J square sandwiches down my stomach; when you’re running so hard and long, you tend to not have an appetite. I also had a shitload of Coca-Cola and electrolytes at each aid station and at least two salt capsules; the salt tablets must have worked because I didn’t get the usual salt residue on my face and back as much as other races. Coca-Cola isn't just a shits and giggles fun food that's sitting at aid stations. The caffeine promotes fat metabolism; fat becomes a fuel after 6 hours of running. In fact, what you see at the aid stations that appear to be junk food is really fuel that can sustain you for the long haul. Yes, even those Payday candy bars can do the trick after expending all those calories. The ice that was still available at some aid stations on this very hot day topped off my water bottles and a handful was placed underneath my cap. After five minutes, all the ice had melted.

You must eat! Yes, as in life, food is what powers our bodies and sustains us. But in an ultra, it's even more important even if you might feel nauseous. It's inevitable that you will encounter nausea when running long miles and eating on the run as blood flow that normally aids digestion is now diverted to other organs in the body. How do you deal with it? Practicing may help, but even experienced runners get this feeling and just learn to accept it.

There were a lot of ups than downs during the race. But regardless, if you want to conserve energy you must speedwalk a good portion of the ascents especially under the sun. You can easily catch people and make up time on the descents and flats, only if your quads aren’t suffering. Most of the downhill was encountered during the last third of the course, and even though you do your best to run on them, your energy reserves are severely depleted at this point if you didn't load up early on in the race. It’s now become a death march to the finish…better make it look good! This is one race where it definitely pays to do negative splits because of it's strenuous first half and more runnable second half.

At the mile 19 aid station, I asked when the leader came by. The guy said 2 hours ago. In the end I finished in 7:55, much slower than my 6:36 time two years ago. But I was relieved to end the run with reasonably good spirits. The first place finisher won in 4:55!

On the downhill finish, I saw EMT tending someone closer than 50 meters to the finish. Apparently, the woman fell and was unconscious; it probably wasn’t bad, but I don’t know what became of it. Regardless, I took off my hydration pack and water bottle and sprinted home for the finish. For some reason, I was convinced that I had a good shot of getting third place in my age division. I wasn’t greeted with a trail award post or a goody bag because everyone was preoccupied with the person who was unconscious. On the results board, I didn’t see a name for third place. Could it be that I actually got it? I asked the volunteer if I got 3^rd. He said, “yes, but let’s check to make sure.” During this time, he hands me the third place award and peruses the results. I see that someone has gotten third place and have to give it back since he was not taken into account. So I call over the third place guy, and I was really disappointed and upset at the time. I know it sounds petty and childish but I think I was just delirious from finishing; when it conflicted from the outcome I was expecting, it didn’t jive. The third place was really a nice guy and he truly deserved the award, I’m not going to take anything away from his achievements…that would be retarded. Begging to get my finisher’s award (not the age group award) played a part in my wild emotions too since the volunteer didn’t believe me that I didn’t get one; he kept insisting that he gave it to me when I finished. I think that was the major down point of the race…but that was so minor.

Would I do this race again? 'Probably not next year,' I reasoned to myself while waiting 30-40 minutes for my appetite to return. But after downing two chicken sausage dogs and an orange soda, I rethought that decision; I’d like to compete in the PAUSATF ultra series and get points for myself and for my team…even more so next year since the third place guy (he's also first in the age group standings for the series) will turn 30, giving some extra room for others like myself to compete in the under 30 category. Once I turn 30, my ambitions won't be that great since people during this age group (even more so in the 40s and 50s!) are highly competitive and are suffering from mid-life crises and use endurance sports as an outlet to mark their achievements in life.

Overall, I’m more proud of this Ohlone 50K this time around than my first one, two years ago, because I know I could have done much better under better circumstances. I do have a knack for picking races, however, in the most inopportune times such as Chicago Marathon 2007. The results don’t reveal the whole story, but at least I can move on to the 10K and do something there if I have any leftover energy.

Summer Evening Race Series Coming Soon!!!

This summer, for eight consecutive weeks, Dolphin South End Runners will be hosting a Thursday evening race at Lake Merced. The dates of the races are: June 26, July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, August 7 and 14. These races will be even more low-key than the regular Sunday races, with no course/mile markings, no aid stations (water fountain available at the halfway point), a pared-down finish line, and “grab-bag” race ribbons (we will be distributing ribbons from our retired or revised races from the past).
The fee will be a mere $1, for members and non-members alike, regardless of age. No Top 5 ribbons will be presented at the weekly races. Instead, runners will accrue points in the following divisions – Youth/Teen (ages 18 & under), Open (ages 19-37), Masters (38-49), Seniors (50-62), Veterans (63+) – as the series progresses. Top point holders at the end of the eight weeks will receive a medal or other award (to be determined).
The races will begin at 6:30pm sharp, at the Sunset Blvd. parking lot of Lake Merced. The race is one 4.5 mile loop around the lake on the paved bike path, with the finish back at the parking lot. Race day registration only and please try to bring exact change (no coins, either!)
If you don’t want to race, you also have the option of arriving between 6-6:16pm to walk or run the course on your own or with others. There will be no fee for walkers/self-timers, but your name will not be included in the race results. Since DSE currently does not have a weeknight group run, this is a great opportunity for those who would like to walk or run with others.

We hope to see many of you out there this summer, and look forward to hosting a great new event!

Please go to www.dserunners.com and click on Summer Evening Race Series on the lefthand column for more details.