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good times at SJ’s Race to the Row 408k + kids’ race

good times at SJ’s Race to the Row 408k + kids’ race

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Some days, I’m a process-oriented runner; if you ask me what I like more, the training or the actual race day, I’ll tell you that most of my enjoyment with my running endeavors lies in the work and hours and mileage that leads into the grand affair that is race day. Other times, of course, if you ask me my preference, I’ll say it’s all about the race day experience because, yeah, a lot of you can control, but much of it you can’t; it’s what makes the experience so magical–when all goes well–and understandably frustrating and humbling–when things go south.

Running during pregnancy is shifting my mindset toward a much stronger “process” orientation simply because I’m not in a train-my-ass-off-to-notch-a-PR mentality. If anything, I’m going after a one hour labor and delivery (hey, why not), but the running these days–even if it takes place at an actual race, wherein I adorn myself with my Wolfpack singlet and affix a bib to my ever-growing torso–is entirely and purely for fun. Yeah, I want to see what my body will give me that day, but no, I’m not starting (or finishing) any runs or races with any grandiose expectations or unicorn-chasing desires. I mean, obvs, right.

Sunday was Represent Running’s Race to the Row 408k, an 8k that started at the SAP Center and wound its way through SJ city streets and ‘hoods before ending at Santana Row 4.97 miles later. I totally dig 8ks for no real rational reason, and I was especially stoked for this year’s race because a) I knew I’d see a ton of my teammates volunteering or running, b) running and racing (relative terms) while pregnant is just a fuckin’ blast because it’s virtually absent of expectations, and c) A would run in the kids’ race a bit later in the morning. It wasn’t her first race–that came when she was about 1.5 years old, when we were still in Chicago, at a PBS-themed race on the lakefront–but nonetheless, she and I and C were all really stoked for her to be able to go “run fast like Mommy” because she really loves to run. Plus, prior to Sunday’s race, she and I volunteered at packet pick-up for a couple hours on Friday with fellow Team Run the Bay gal Bernadette (who is incredibly inspiring in her own rite–she recently had a stroke at the end of October, and two other runners from SJ’s chapter of Moms Run This Town wheeled her during the course before B got up and walked the final strides across the finish line. B-a-d-a-s-s). Anyway, it was a good weekend, and as always, race weekend and race morning gave me a wonderful reminder of how utterly and thoroughly I just totally dig the running community.

 

My race? Well, my 16 week self gave me a much better run than I had anticipated–it almost felt like a normal, pre-pregnant run, though significantly slower than how I’d race an 8k–but damn, was it ever fun. Highlights:

  • aaaaaaaaaall the Wolfpack teammates and volunteers on course
  • Choking back tears mid-race. I had a moment with myself in an attempt to avoid hyperventilating/ugly crying when we went through the Memorial Mile and past Joe Bell’s memorial his son had placed in his front yard. I distinctly remember talking to Mr. Bell mid-run last year, as I ran past his house, and this year, though he wasn’t there, the line of veterans who were standing on the street–some vets had even traveled in to SJ from out-of-state to be at the race, giving shout-outs, side-fives, and fist-bumps to the runners–evoked the same sort of emotional response in me. It was really moving. (For the backstory on why and how everything that happened last year in front of Mr. Bell’s house was so amazing, from the RD’s POV: http://www.soulfocussports.com/the-408k-goes-viral-or-human-moments/).
    • In this mile, between miles 2-3, I did something I’d never do in a race and said “fuck the tangents” and veered left and right to get as many vets’ 5s as possible–sometimes, memories > tangents, kids–and left that mile thinking how great it was that RR started the Memorial Mile this year and hoped that it’d be something they’d continue forevermore. It was really cool.
  • Miles 3 to 4, through more ‘hoods, was pretty quiet.
  • In the final mile, about 5 or 6 mariachi bands lined the streets, and I instantly fell in love with the probably-not-even eight-year-old little mariachi boy vocalist crooning at us en espanol outside Valley Fair mall. He was darling. Steps from the finish line, I saw C and A yelling and waving ferociously–which rocked–and then was reunited with them steps later, since A was distraught; she loves to see me during races and wave to me and get 5s, but she hates– loathes– it when I run past her without stopping to get her. 🙁
free race pics ftw! also, one day I'll learn that smiling mid-run just makes it look like I'm in pain. and: this shows why it is impossible for me to find super running shorts; I'm thigh gap antithesis. see also: quads for daaaaaaayz
free race pics ftw! lessons learned: smiling mid-run = accidental pain face. more: this pic is like the poster for why it’s impossible for me to find fantastic running shorts that fit well. see: thigh gap antithesis. see also: quads for daaaaaaayz.

 

moments earlier, one of us was a hot mess
moments earlier, one of us was a hot mess

 

a rare family picture! not so rarely, one of us is in spandex.
a rare family picture! not so rarely, one of us is in spandex.

 

being cheesy
being cheesy

 

It was a super fun morning for a race! We hung out for a bit before the real fun began–the kids’ race–and A got to spend the interim playing on a playground, coloring, and hula-hooping before her run began. She decided last minute that she wanted me to run with her, so we toed the line, got super excited, and began our maaaaaaaaaybe 100m dash with the kiddos under 5 and their caregivers. C was on the sidelines snappin’ shots while we ran by–she was so excited to see him!–and immediately upon finishing, she got her very own SJ 408k kids’ race medal (that also functions as a bottle opener, for those late-night …  milk fixes). She was stoked and had so much fun!

 

 

If you’re ever in SJ on the first Sunday in March, totally look up this race. It’s well-organized, it’s a ton of fun, and I think it’s only going to continue to get better over time… though really, I don’t even know how it could because it’s already pretty damn awesome in my book. And! If you’re in the area AND you have a kiddo, totally register him or her for the kids’ race because it is just wonderful and so fun. 🙂  Next year, kiddo dos will be too little to run in the kids’ race by him or herself, but I wouldn’t be surprised if A tries to convince us otherwise.

I helped promote the 408k as a social media ambassador and member of Team Run the Bay, but obviously I wouldn’t do either if I didn’t totally love this race already. Views are my own and aren’t at all influenced by RR because they wouldn’t do something as d-baggy as that; instead, they just put on a really good race, making a positive write-up about it basically write itself.

It’s race week – the 408k Race to the Row

It’s race week – the 408k Race to the Row

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The kinda weird 8k distance–4.97 miles–is probably my second preferred distance to race after the marathon. I don’t know what it is about it, but I find it somewhat refreshing. An 8k isn’t really the soul-crushing effort of a 5k, nor is it as necessarily calculated as a 10k or half marathon… hard to say. For lack of a better description, I just find the distance “nice.” That description is useless… suffice it to say that I just dig the distance.

Really, I think the thing that endears me to the 8k is my positive associations with the race distance. Chicago’s Shamrock Shuffle 8k, organized by the same folks (Bank of America) who run the Chicago Marathon, is allegedly the world’s largest 8k, with something like over 30,000 runners, and in Chicago, the Shuffle marks the unofficial beginning of the Chicago marathon and “running” season… though plenty people will remind you that, ahem, people run in Chicago year-round.  🙂  When I lived in Chicago, I ran the Shuffle a handful of times, and that’s where my current 8k PR is. The course cuts through sections of the marathon course, which is super fun, and for many people, it’s just a huge party, kinda like Bay to Breakers is here. If you want to run fast–and plenty of people do–you can. Most are just in it for the party, though.  Each time I shuffled, I’d inevitably see tons of people I knew–either out running the race as well or lining the course–and it just always made for a really fun morning. The weather could be wonderful (sunshine and rainbows and 40s+) or terrible (ankle-deep snow, slush, freezing rain), but whatever. That comes with the territory; it’s Chicago weather.

post-shuffle. A looks so tiny!
post-shuffle in 2013. A looks so tiny!

 

Of course, once we moved to SJ in late 2013, running the Shuffle each spring in Chi was no longer in the cards. Instead, last January, I serendipitously got hooked up with Represent Running, a group here who organizes a series of races run in and throughout the Bay Area. Each race has its area code affixed to the race name somehow, and for me, for SJ’s area code, “our” race is the 408k, the Race to the Row (describing the course, which begins at the SAP Center [where the Sharks hockey team plays] and ends at Santana Row [kinda an upscale shopping area exactly 4.97 miles away].  Kinda funny how the universe works, right? My somewhat annual springtime 8k tradition in Chicago got replaced by a new somewhat annual springtime (wintertime?) 8k in San Jose that had only been around for a handful of years. Last year’s race was especially cool because on the course, probably in the final mile, a World War II vet was sitting outside his house greeting the runners, and tons of runners ran over to greet him and salute him. Really cool. The veteran, Mr. Joe Bell,  just recently passed away, and this year, the 408k has added an additional event, the Memorial Mile, to honor all local military. Really, really cool.

 

 

Last year’s 408k was my first time sporting orange for Wolfpack, and it was awesome; there was Wolfpack orange everywhere, both in the race and lining the streets, volunteering. The 408k is a huge event for us, in terms of our opportunity to promote the club and enlist other people, and people really seemed to dig the support last year.

 

orange for days! [PC: Lisa/Wolfpack]
just a handful of the orange for days! [PC: Lisa/Wolfpack]

 

I’m really stoked for the 8k on Sunday because not only is racing fun (duh) and running while pregnant a blast (hello, no expectations), but my kiddo is running a kids’ race as well–something she hasn’t done since a little PBS-themed race back in Chicago a few years ago. I’m really excited and can guarantee that I’ll be counting down the minutes til she toes the line at 10am 🙂 truth be told, I might be more excited for her race than I am for mine!

Promoting the 408k for the past few months has been a blast, and I’m so looking forward to running slogging the streets of SJ for 4.97 miles! It will be aweeeeeeeeeeesome.