DSE Double/Single Lake Merced Run - 11/22/09

IT WAS A COLD AND RAINY MORNING as I pulled the car out of the garage and onto Jones Street.  With San Francisco's micro-climates, the conditions change every few blocks.  It was windy and a little wet on Nob Hill.  Off the hill, the wind died down, but on Geary Boulevard through the Richmond District there was a steady drizzle requiring the windshield wipers.  I hate running in the rain.  I had to hope that the conditions would be better at Lake Merced.  I made the series of turns needed to get onto Park Presidio Boulevard, headed South.  With San Franciso's no-turns, no-lefts, no-rights and one-way streets it is rarely the case that you get directly to where you want to be.  Park Presidio Boulevard goes into Golden Gate Park, merges with Crossover Drive and emerges at 19th Avenue, headed into the Sunset District. 

I pass Judah Street where the tracks of the light rail system are being replaced.  Northbound is closed, but Southbound is open.  I make a note not to return Northbound on 19th.  Good fortune continues to smile on me.  There is a 76 station with gas at $2.75 (cash price).  The standard price on Geary is $3.03.  Even the no-brand cash price on 19th is $2.95.  Gas is almost always cheaper South of Golden Gate Park.  Zone pricing.  I am getting wet as I pump gas.  I turn on Sloat Boulevard and then make the turns to get onto Sunset Boulevard.  The windshield wipers are off and the pavement looks relatively dry.  I pull into the Sunset Boulevard parking lot at Lake Merced.  No rain.  Yea.

I pay the $3 fee and sign-up for the Double Lake Merced Run (9 miles).  It may seem that I run at Lake Merced a lot.  With the Summer Race Series, it is probably true.  Although, I have run more at Lake Merced this year than all my other years in San Francisco combined.  I know the course pretty well and have an idea of how I want to race it today.  I also want a good, even effort throughout the distance.  George B. (to the right) is the race director this week and I talk to him for a few minutes.  As I am leaving for a warm-up run, I see Steve N. and stop to say "Hi." 

After my run last weekend, I decided that a full loop is too much warm-up when combined with the two loop race.  So, I run to the one mile mark and back for my warm-up.  George B., a retired police office, gathers everyone for the start.  He delivers the pre-race announcements and instructions with authority.  Both the double and single loop races start at the same time.  We are off.

With nine miles to run, I start conservatively.  I generally stick to the dirt strip along the inside of the paved bike path to pass the initial surge.  I see one runner who I normally pass in the first quarter to half mile.  At a half mile, he is still solidly ahead of me.  He is running the single loop, so I am not concerned.  If I pass him eventually, good.  If not, it does not matter.

I also see the guy who had a big gap on me at the Great Highway Run.  As you may recall, he eventually came back to me and I passed him at the middle to the end of the second mile. He is running the Double and I decide I need to keep an eye on him.  Even though he may start fast and fade, he still places high in the finish results.  I run steady and slowly gain on him.  I pass at about the one mile mark.  A short time later, he passes me.  Up and over a short hill, I slowly pull ahead.  After that is the biggest downhill of the course.  He comes bombing down the hill, passes me and starts to open a decent gap.  I have picked-up my pace down the hill, but I decide not to match him.  We have a little better than seven miles to run and he will come back to me. 

We complete the hill and I start to close the gap on the guy as we approach the South end of the lake.  Starting up the West side, I pass him again at about the two mile mark.  There are a couple of small overflow channels on this side that cause the path to dip. One of these comes shortly after I pass.  I decide to put in a surge climbing out of the back side to try to open a gap and discourage the guy from sticking with me.  The dip is not that big, but the tendency of most people is to let up a little as they hit the incline or at the crest.  The third mile is a gradual up hill.  I have my gap out of the dip and push a solid pace up the hill.  If he is going to pass me, it will have to be on the incline.  That will require a significant effort.  It works and I don't see him again for the rest of the race. 

Miles three and four are pretty uneventful.  I pass some people, but it is hard to tell which race they are in.  In fact, they may not even be in the races.  It is an open course.  I pass the parking lot and start area, beginning the second loop.

As I am going down the East side I notice an obvious racer up ahead.  I am very slowly closing the gap on him.  I keep a steady pace.  The gap is closing and I pass him just before the one mile mark.  Just after the one mile mark another runner passes me.  He looks to be in his 30's running comfortably.  It is obvious his strategy was to run easy for the first loop and open it up for the second.  I figure I can't match him and let him go.  Also, I am still concerned about the guy I just passed.  At about this point there is a short incline to the top of the hill just before the downhill.  I put in a surge to the top of the hill and then bomb down the hill.  This is the second loop and I can afford to push the pace.  I actually run this stretch slower than the first loop.  With fatigue, it feels faster.  Whether tactics or his own fatigue, I do not see the guy I passed again. 

That is pretty much the end of the racing.  I work to keep my concentration and keep a solid pace up the hill on the West side.   At the end, there is about a minute and a half to the guy in front of me (the one who passed me one mile into the second loop) and about a minute to the guy behind me (neither of the ones above).  So, I am running by myself.

I finish the race feeling I have put forth a solid, even effort for the whole distance.  Some people come over to congratulate me before I have caught my breath. It turns out I came in third.  First place is a 24 year old guy visiting from Germany.  Second is a 35 year old guy, the one who passed me on the second loop.  We all stand around and talk until the ribbon ceremony.  With two concurrent races, some of the faster guys were siphoned off for the other race, helping my finish placement.  I finish in 57:12, about a 6:21 pace.  As they are handing out the ribbons the drizzle starts.  I am cold, getting wet and decide it is time to go. 

I drive up Sunset, skipping 19th Avenue.  When I come to Judah, the Northbound is open and the Southbound is closed.  Good fortune, again.  I drive into Golden Gate Park, along MLK Drive and back to Crossover.  I am back on my route and head home.  The drive may have been wet, but the race was largely dry. 

All Photos by Paul Mosel (c) 2009.
1. Title photo by Paul Mosel based on prior year photo.
2. Race Director George B.
3. Registration tent at this year's race.
4. Me from the Summer Race Series.
5. Finish line at this year's race.