DSE Waterfront 10 Miler: Attack of the Hamstrings - 1/24/10

It was the type of weekend that reminds me why it is great to be in San Francisco.  Friday dinner at Perry's on the Embarcadero.  The fish and chips special probably was not a good choice for a race weekend, but that is what struck my fancy.  Saturday morning run in Golden Gate Park and through Lands End.  Saturday night at the second evening of Noir City, the annual Film Noir festival at the Castro Theater. A cable car ride on the Hyde Line to and from Aquatic Park for the DSE Waterfront 10 Miler on Sunday morning.  Plans on Sunday afternoon for a free concert by a faculty member at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  The performance was cancelled due to illness.  So, it was back to the Castro for another night of Noir City. 

I rarely ride the Hyde Street Cable Car because it is typically jammed with tourists.  Sunday morning -- not so much.  Riding up Hyde to Aquatic Park, I realized what a scenic ride this is.  There are panoramas of THE CITY and the bay.  There is also the view down Lombard, billed as the most crooked street in the world.  It was quite a pleasant way to go to a race. 

I pre-registered for this race and already had my race number.  So, I visited with a couple of people and then headed out for my warm-up about half an hour before the start of the race.  I ran to the one mile mark and back.  This section of the race course goes along Fisherman's Wharf.  The one mile mark is a short way along the Embarcadero.  Running past the Boudin Bakery is heaven.  They have an exhaust on the front of the building just over the sidewalk.  You cannot miss the smell of sour dough bread baking. 

The race started and we had the usual sorting out in the first mile.  Some people take off like rabbits and then settle into a slower pace.  I started off jammed in a pack and gradually picked my way through the pack as people slowed down.  I tend to stay in the street and then on the streetcar tracks through Fisherman's Wharf because there is more room there.  Once we get down onto the Embarcadero things open up.  I was looking to run a little under 6:30 miles.  Overall, I was hoping to finish just under 1:05:00. 

My first mile was faster (6:21), but that is not unusual.  After that, I settled into miles just over 6:30.  I wanted to run this more like a time trial than a race.  So, I was not concerned about runners around me.  Peter H. passed me a little before the three mile mark.  He must have started slow and kicked it in after a couple of miles.  At this point he was probably running about 20 to 25 seconds per mile faster than I was.  He finished about three minutes ahead of me.  He is a good runner and will enter the age 50 group next year.

At AT&T Park we take a left turn through Willie Mays Plaza, across the Lefty O'Doul Bridge and into the former industrial waterfront.  My miles continue a few seconds over 6:30.  I am about 5 seconds slower than I want to be, but I can still make my 1:05:00 goal with a strong mile on the decline after the turn around.  For some reason, I missed the mile 4/6 marker going each direction.  So, it is mile 7 before I can see if I am still on target.  I hit the mark at 45:30.  I am exactly on a 6:30 average pace.  I have used up the cushion from miles 1 and 6, but I am still on plan.  I need to push a little to make sure I finish strong. 

Then, just after mile marker 7, the attack starts. I feel both hamstrings tighten.  I am running through the questions in my mind.  Why is this happening?  Is there something I can do to stop it?  To minimize the effects?  I back off the pace a little while I am trying to sort out the possibilities.  The best I can come up with is that I have not been running on concrete lately and much of this course is very hard.  Seven miles at race pace was too much.  This stretch, just past AT&T Park, is flat and hard without much variation.  Mile 8 is 6:41.  I regroup and do a little better for mile 9 at 6:38.  By mile 10 the hamstrings have settled down a little and I can afford to be less cautious.  It is a 6:31.  Yes, the picture above left is what you look like after running 10 miles and finishing with aching hamstrings.

My finish time is 1:05:20.  Miles 8 and 9, with the attack of the hamstrings, pretty much tell the story of this race.  I finished 17th out of 174 racers and second in my age group.  Along with the companion 5K race, there are 342 racers.  A very good turn out for a DSE race. 

The year before, I ran this same race in 1:04:44.  Last year I was able to capitalize more on the decline between the turn around and mile 6.  Also, mile 8 was my strongest mile last year but my weakest this year.  2009 was a great race.  This year was a good race, except for the hamstring problem.  The hamstrings cause me some concern for the Kaiser Half Marathon in two weeks.