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Garin Park Cross Country (XC) Challenge race recap – Hayward, CA

Garin Park Cross Country (XC) Challenge race recap – Hayward, CA

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Garin. Sounds like Erin, conveniently, with a G in front of it.

In the almost five years that my family and I have lived here, and for about the same length of time that I’ve been running with my Wolfpack team, I think every time I’ve heard someone mention racing cross-country at Garin, it’s been like watching the part in the Lion King (bear with me) when the hyenas are talking about how every time they udder the word “Mufasa,” the antagonist’s archenemy, the mere word sends an intractable chill down their spines. They can’t say Mufasa without shuddering; similarly, people here won’t speak of Garin without following it with some sort of moan or groan. Garin. Gaaaaaaaaarin.

It’s never oh, the course is so pretty! or the hills make you so much stronger later!

It’s always it’s hilly. It’s hard as hell.  It’s hella holey right off the starting line. It’s hot and exposed. God I hate that course.

It sounds super fun, right? Why not go try to race a 5k that has a couple hundred feet of elevation gain on terrain that alternates being flat but completely pocked with gopher holes everywhere (watch those ankles!), to some healthy-but-doable-climbs, to some fierce downhills that you kinda have to hope that the laws of physics and gravity won’t betray you, to more uneven footing, and more climbing, and more harsh downhill?

Add to the terrain mix the idea that, with it being a 5k and all, the idea is to redline as much as (un)comfortably possible.

And couple with those characteristics the backdrop of the rest of the east bay hills, which makes for a beautiful run and some sweeping views, but also the potential for the race to be hot hot hot — free of any tree cover or canopy whatsoever.

Again: it sounds super fun, right? Why not pay money to do something like this?!

I didn’t race Garin last year for some reason — I might have been doing a LR that day at home instead, or that might have been right after C’s surgery — so going into this storied race and course that my team has been doing for-just-about-ever,  I was blissfully unaware of what I was getting myself in to. Sorta.

I was delighted to learn that the women would be racing first, at 9am, since historically, I had heard that this was the only race on the PA XC circuit wherein the women raced last (read: in the hotter mid-morning weather). Plus, even better, come race day, Garin greeted us with a TON of fog, throwing at us some lovely autumnal crispy morning weather.

warming-up over one of the hills we climbed in the race

 

working on my mid-run photog skills. I’d give this a C+

We fielded a full men’s and women’s team this year, which made the morning even more fun than usual, making it as much a social opportunity as a racing one. Janet and I carpooled up to the east bay, and upon getting there, ran about a 2.5 mile warmup with our other lady Wolves who’d be racing that morning. Only a handful of the women that day had raced Garin before, but I think all of us knew going in that this course would be a tough one and that people spoke so trepidatiously about it with good reason. We had just covered most of the race course in our warm-up miles; we knew what was awaiting us.

full Wolfpack squad at Garin (minus Isaac, who (appropriately) was climbing some hill somewhere) PC: WRC

My strategy for the race was pretty straightforward: stay controlled on the first mile, most of which was flat or uphill; open it up on the downhills and continue to stay controlled on the uphills in the second and third-ish miles; and on the last 1200m to home — flat (with maybe a teeny, tiny uphill) — hammer. Oh, and not eat shit. That is always the (laudable) goal in these XC races.

the lady Wolves who raced Garin this year. PC: WRC

Much as I did at the SF GGP open a couple weeks ago, at Garin, I never looked at my watch for the pace. Even when the mile marked beeped, I didn’t bother. I didn’t know it; I didn’t want to know it; I honestly didn’t care. Teammates have told me before that in XC, time matters less than place, and I think I’ve finally taken that to heart and have tried to race fairly strategically (or at least attempt to). The goal is to be the team with the lowest finishing score (akin to golf), so what matters more is finishing placement: try not to get passed. Pass as many women as you can. That sorta thing.   

Right off the line, I found myself fairly far back in the pack, per yoosh with the PA races (and especially XC), but I tried not to worry about it, thinking that I still had 2.1+ miles to make up for it and move ahead. With our team’s new highlighter orange jerseys, it makes it super easy to spot us, and this was especially true during the race. Even though the course was pretty ensconced in fog, I could make out my teammates ahead of me at any given time, which was fun as I willed myself to pull myself closer to them.

right off the starting line and in full-on “don’t eat shit, don’t eat shit” mode (PC: WRC)

Running most of the course during the warm-up was also helpful because I had a good idea of what to anticipate. Certainly, running at XC race pace feels completely different than running casually over the same terrain, but it still helped to think ok, after this big climb, we have a big downhill or the footing is tricky here, so we better stay over to the right or whatever. I absolutely didn’t anticipate how much my eyes would be watering — and how hard it would be to see while careening downhill — but hey, XC is nothing if not full of surprises, right? (I almost always wear sunglasses while I run for this very reason, but I decided not to that morning because it was so foggy out).

Most of the rest of the race is a blur and passed by relatively quickly. It was cool to see my female teammates ahead of me on some of the hills — Claire (our lead woman) was like a beacon in the sea, guiding us all safely to home — and of course, hearing the support from my male teammates (whose race was after ours) mid-course was a fantastic pick-me-up. I tried super hard to stay mentally engaged, to not check out when things got tough, and to not ease up on the downs. Let me tell you: keeping the effort high on the descents was tough! I’m typically not a particularly fast or brave downhill runner, and holy shit, I felt like I had some pretty close calls racing the descents. I thought that whole don’t eat shit goal was hanging precariously in the balance.

I wanted to finish with a really strong kick over the final 1200m, especially if it was going to be the flattest part of the course. I finished feeling like I didn’t have a whole lot left to give and managed to finish as our 4th woman that day, behind Claire, Lani, and Shannon, but I also thought that I probably could have worked harder on the final finishing straight. Runners typically tend to think this way, right? I could have done better, pushed harder. Eh. Next year.

the last little bit before the finish line (PC: WRC)

 

really, really uncomfortable right before the finish line and quelling said discomfort with a big ol’ smile (science!) (PC: WRC)

Shortly after the women’s race, the men toed the line, so my lady Wolves and I got in some CD miles while cheering them on at various parts in the race. Fortunately, the fog was still hanging out, so the open’s men race also had more pleasant-than-usual temps for their Garin experience. I think all of us, save for the master’s men who raced last, after the fog had dissipated and the temps began heating up, got pretty lucky this year with race day weather.

cooling down in a different part of the park (that wasn’t on the XC course)

I can definitely see why or how many runners would view Garin somewhat antagonistically, in some type of twisted love-hate relationship. Without a doubt, it’s a hard course.

That said, honestly, I think that’s part of what makes XC so gratifying though (and, going out on a limb here, such a “pure” type of running): it’s you against the terrain. That’s it. You know it’s going to be hard.

You’re not signing up for these types of races in exchange for sponsor-splashed swag, or copious amounts of on-course entertainment, or an Old Country Buffet-style of food options afterward. It’s you, your race bib pinned on your singlet, the course, and an official time. Oh, and a couple Dixie cups of water afterward, provided you remember to grab some.

There are no roads closed off, no real accommodations to speak of to make for an “easier” racing experience, no nothing. The fastest way out is through.

Chalk up the experience to another deposit to the bank of mental and physical callusing for CIM.

August 2018 training recap

August 2018 training recap

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The eighth month of the year is behind us, incredibly, and in my household anyway, we have already returned to the thick of it with school beginning and all the other concomitant obligations and priorities. It’s sorta like going from zero to 100. I almost forgot to write my July training recap — and then completely forgot to post about it on instagram or fb — but the world kept turning, so here we are.

BTS

 

she *loves* it

What to say about my training in August? To be honest, not a whole lot. The name of the game was recover from racing TSFM, and it took the better part of the month to get there. I’m still not quite sure why it took my body so long to recover from SF — you’d think that after doing more than thirty of these things, I’d be able to predict it a little better — but it did. It was peculiar only because I knew my training had been solid going into the race, and post-race, I didn’t have any new or residual niggles or injuries come up; instead, it was more just a feeling of total exhaustion, of sludge that seemed to populate my legs and never really leave for a long time. Meh. It translated to a month of my almost-lowest volume this year (121.2, exactly half of July’s), but I sure felt like I needed it. I inadvertently took an entire week off (coinciding with a trip to Disneyland), only raced once (“raced”) to help field a full women’s team for XC, and it has been just within the past two weeks that my legs have finally been like oh yeah hey what’s up when I’ve tried anything beyond just GA or recovery paces.

you can’t exactly tell we’re at Disneyland, but we were, and it was hot as hades

Having a “down” month in running right at the end of summer was pretty refreshing. I’m so glad I decided against pacing at the Santa Rosa Marathon at the end of August — for once,  I had some foresight, yay! — because it was nice to have a bit of a break after the marathon and not try to rush my recovery, like I had to last year. In the four weeks of August that I wasn’t running a whole lot, not only did my fam and I head to Anaheim for a little getaway, but the girls and I also enjoyed the rest of summer by doing things around the house (bunkbeds!), playing tourists with my sister’s neighbor’s family who was in town for a few days, and gearing up for a packed year of Girl Scouts stuff and lots of other activities that completely escape me now but that are super time-consuming (but also super fun and mega-rewarding).

Santa Cruz Boardwalk fun with friends (naturally, we’re playing a game that involves toilets)

 

hiking fun with her GS troop

 

first swim meet in her new AG

The end of the month marked a “soft beginning” to CIM training, though it likely won’t begin in earnest for a couple weeks still. I’m excited to return to the race — along with a bevy of my teammates and buddies from other teams! — and to train through the gorgeous autumnal weather in SJ (which usually equates to “cool and crisp in the morning and summer-like in the afternoons”). We’ll throw in some XC action into the mix, plus maybe a couple road races this fall, and December will be here before we know it.

descending from MP and into the fog (PC: Janet)

 

taking it all so seriously with Janet and Meredith (PC: Janet)

Racing: Just the Santa Cruz XC Challenge in mid-to-late August. I haven’t gotten around to writing a RR about it, and it’s like three weeks ex post facto by now, so suffice it to say that I probably won’t. (You can read last year’s recap and imagine it was pretty similar this time around). The course was the same or very similar to last year, and we had a much bigger team turnout than before. It was a warmer day, I still wasn’t feeling recovered from SF, and I ended up running about 2 minutes slower (bah) than last year (and in the process, sorta lost a toenail). No matter; it’s a pretty course, and I love the opportunity to see my teammates and other buddies. It’s always the company that makes this stuff so enjoyable and memorable.

Wolfpack love! and Robin love, too! and desperately hoping I don’t trip on any_one or any_thing (PC: WRC)

Running: Basically all easy miles and just a handful of trail runs in August. I went back to MP for the first time since January, and it was just a few weeks after part of the hills had caught on fire. Sadly, some of the hillsides were still very black and a bit apocalyptic (and even still smelled smoky). On another weekend morning, Janet, Saurabh, and I hit ARP, and my nose exploded 2.5 miles into the run, which was … amusing.

at ARP: yay running is fun!

 

(literally seconds later) go ahead, guys! I’ll, uh, catch up!

 

back in business! (PC to all: Janet)

Reading: Eh. I think I mentioned it in July, but I started The Handmaid’s Tale and didn’t get too far with it. Same goes for Brene Brown’s Braving the Wilderness. Very surprisingly to me — since I say that I don’t particularly enjoy reading fiction anymore — I picked up Crazy Rich Asians at the library and just had a blast with it. That said, I have zero desire to see the movie — I’ll do one or the other, but never both — but definitely would recommend the novel if you want something fun for a change. Since finishing that, I began Ben Rhodes’ The World As It Is and am making my way through it.

Eating: I had to put this on here this month because I had the impossible burger twice in August, once at The Counter and again at the Cheesecake Factory. I’m an unpretentious eater, generally speaking, but after being vegetarian for more than a decade (and being almost-vegan for most of that), experience has taught me that veggie burgers are not created equally. I had heard about the impossible burger and hadn’t thought twice about it, writing it off as a stupid gimmick, but when I saw that it was available at the aforementioned two places here in town, I gave it a try. It was good! I can’t really comment to how “meat-like” it tasted or its mouth feel (because let’s be honest, I don’t exactly remember what a burger feels like anymore), but I enjoyed it. For what it’s worth, the Counter prepared it medium well, and I think that tasted better than how CF prepared it.

Cooking: Probably like the rest of the running world, I picked up Shalane and Elyse’s new cookbook this past month and have enjoyed working through some of the recipes. I haven’t made tons from it yet, but everything I’ve made (the can’t beet me smoothie, the chicken cannellini bean soup [sans chicken], presto pesto, superhero muffins with carrots and green apples, and the black bean chipotle burgers) has all been delicious and other-people-approved.

Listening to: Courtney Dauwalter’s interview on I’ll Have Another was super entertaining, and she sounded like such a down-to-earth person in real life that it was almost hard to believe that the same person was such a fierce and formidable ultra competitor. I’ve continued to listen to the same IVF-focused podcast that I’ve listened to pretty regularly for the past year-plus, and I won’t give away any spoilers, but it has gotten super interesting of late. Just within the past week or so, I began listening to Lauren Fleshman and Jesse Thomas’ Work Play Love series as well, which I have enjoyed much more than I anticipated (and would highly recommend).

Annoyed by: Carelessness? Sure. Exhibit A: the whole fambam was in my van a couple weeks ago, with C driving, and we got rear-ended. We were stationary, and the car who hit us was going probably not much more than 10-15 mph. It was enough to make that horrible sound of metal on metal, and when it was all said and done, it cost more than $1k in repairs to my car. Fortunately — importantly — everyone was ok, but it was aggravating because the guy who hit us was 21 and driving without a license (and presumably, without insurance). Everything’s done and over and taken care of by now, and like I said, fortunately, no one was hurt, but seriously: it’s aggravating how careless (or selfish, or however you want to describe this type of behavior) people can be sometimes. 21 years old and without a license??? And still driving a car (that wasn’t his)?! Grrrrr….

Anticipating: Everything. Every day is a new adventure, rife with potential and endless opportunity. How’s that for motivation 😛