Event Summaries - 05/31/11 to 06/30/11

After close to a month of fussing, I decided that I did not have enough to say about the Marin Memorial 10K to make it a full blog entry.  So, I am doing a number of summaries of the most recent events, leading off with Marin.

Marin Memorial Day 10K - 05/31/11

MY SPRING RACING BLOCK ended on a high note at the Marin Memorial Day 10K.  Marin was one of the fastest 10K's I have ever run.  It was the third race in a four week period that included The Relay and Bay to Breakers.  That is a lot of racing for me.  I decided I would adjust my training and treat the three races as a goal series.  I finished the race in 39:01 gun time and 38:53 chip time.  My 2002 personal record for this distance is 38:54.  My average pace was about 6:16 for the race and my age graded score was 82.2.  In contrast, the age graded score for my 2002 PR was 77.05.  I totally smoked my eight-year younger self.

While this was part of the racing block, I treated it as a casual, train-through race.  Other than trying to match my PR for the distance, the casual attitude was the story for this race.  I did not pay attention to the pre-race e-mail and missed-out on the Pamakids group photo.  Then, I was talking with Ken F. and Jerry F. as race time approached.  Jerry and I started to work our way toward the front, but we only got half way there when the gun went off.  I was caught flat footed and shocked at the start.  Despite the start, I had a great run.  The first half I was running about 6:15 miles and paced off of Peter H.  In the second half, Peter pushed the pace.  I could not keep the same pace, but I still had an even effort to the end.  I worked hard not to slow down along the Corte Madera Creek in the fifth mile.  All-in-all, a very satisfying race. 

2nd Annual DSE Donut Dash - 06/03/11

The first Friday in June is National Donut Day.  It started in 1938 as a depression-era fund raiser for the Chicago Salvation Army and also honored the women who served donuts to the soldiers near the front lines during World War I.  It is now a "holiday" used by the national chains and many independent donut shops to promote their products.  As I noted last year, I love donuts.

A small but dedicated group of DSE runners went from the Brotherhood Way parking lot at Lake Merced to the Krispy Kreme in Daly City to get a free donut.  This is an un-timed fun run with no set route.  There is an informal winner.  Although, I am not sure if that relates to the speed of the run or the number of donuts eaten.  I ran with Steve P. who grew up in the area and knew the best route to get to the donut shop.  Krispy Kreme was much more crowded this year.  We waited in a snaking line to get our free donut and headed back.

DSE Double Dipsea - 06/25/11

This year's theme for the DSE Double Dipsea crew at the Muir Woods was "Fiesta."  My support crew could not stop laughing at the picture of me in a sombrero.  The Double Dipsea is one of DSE's largest and most popular races.  It starts at Stinson Beach in Marin County and follows the famous Dipsea Trail to Mill Valley.  The runners then turn around and head back to Stinson Beach.  The trail runs through heavily forested terrain, up and down hills, across creeks, down and then back up 688 steps in Mill Valley.  Runners must be careful to avoid falls and poison oak.  Outbound, the runners come down a hill, across a single plank of wood at Redwood Creek and make a small climb up to the Muir Woods parking lot.  They cross Muir Woods Road, proceed up a drive past a ranger station and resume running on the trail.  The past few years I have volunteered on the crew that provides traffic control for the parking lot and road.  Steve N. is the captain.  There is also an aid station beside the drive on the hill at the ranger station.  Janet N. is the captain.  All together, there are probably about a dozen volunteers at this location.  In addition, there is a professional first aid crew and emergency radio support.

This year's race had 717 registered with 519 finishers.  There were over 110 volunteers.  The race is handicapped based on age and gender.  Sixty year old female, Jamie Rivers won the race this year.  She was the first runner through our station in both directions.  Well, actually, two wild turkeys were the first to run through our station.  Traffic control went very well this year.  Some years there are a couple of drivers who get frustrated and act badly.  This year, regardless of how they felt on the inside, everyone was patient and courteous on the outside.

DSE Summer Race Series - 06/09/11 to 08/25/11

This marks the fourth year of the Summer Race Series at Lake Merced.  It is a 4.5 mile loop that starts and finishes at the Sunset Blvd. parking lot.  The traditional direction for races at Lake Merced is clockwise.  This year, the race is alternating between clockwise and counter clockwise each week. 

The first year was an eight race series.  Since then, it has been a 12 race series.  I have completed all six races run to date and hope to complete the full series.  Managing work conflicts is always the challenge.  If I can make the full series, I should be able to win the 50 - 59 age group.  I need to do that this year because there are two fast 49 year old runners who will advance to the age group next year.  More on the Summer Race Series to come in a future blog post. 

PHOTO CREDITS

MARIN MEMORIAL BANNER PROPERTY OF TAMALPA RUNNERS
MARIN MEMORIAL PHOTO BY NOE CASTANON
ALL OTHER PHOTOS (C) 2011 BY PAUL MOSEL