social media ambassador – Running Ruminations

BioFreeze San Francisco Marathon 5k & Second Half Marathon Race Report (July 2019) – SF, CA

August 14, 2019 Erin Comments 5 comments

Though I had known since winter (or thereabouts) that I would be running the BioFreeze San Francisco Marathon in late July — in what would be my sixth year as a social media ambassador for the race and my fifth go at the marathon course — I didn’t particularly begin training for it until the fam and I were in the midwest in mid-June. Back in the day, I used to run marathons in back-to-back fashion, so I figured having ~6 weeks between MTB and SF would be more than enough to train and race both well.

Aaaaaaaaand yeah. For whatever reason — and I have my theories — training in Illinois and later, in Ohio, for the six weeks preceding SF this time around was extremely difficult. After a lot of reflection (and a lot of text messaging), I made the decision to step down from the SF marathon and instead take on the second half. Even though I knew stepping down was the best decision in the figurative and literal long run, I still felt somewhat conflicted about it and as though I were squandering the opportunity that the race gave me.

The kids and I arrived back in California just a couple days before race weekend, making the weekend feel like it came fast and furiously and seemingly, out of nowhere. This year’s race weekend featured a 5k shakeout race on Saturday (in addition to the usual one on Sunday), so come early Saturday morning, I hauled north to SF to run the 5k for fun before working at the expo from 12-5.

Sandwiched between the Saturday 5k and working all afternoon was meeting up with Chicago friend Erin and her husband for tea; I hadn’t seen Erin since she was last here in ‘14 to run the race, so it was really great to catch up. By not having a marathon staring me down on Sunday morning, I wasn’t worried at all about running a 5k on Saturday, hanging with my friend, and then being on my feet all afternoon.

loved catching up with Erin B. on Saturday, post-shakeout. we go all the way back to Boston ’09 training in Chicago

super fun meeting many (but not all!) of this year’s ambassador crew before/during/after the shakeout on Saturday. You know you’re in SF when it’s late July and everyone is wearing long sleeves. (PC: Elysha)

Meeting up with many of the other SF ambassadors on Saturday pre- and post-shakeout was really sweet. Anne and I were both doing the Saturday shakeout for fun (and both running the second half on Sunday), so we simply smiled the miles on Saturday and ran our mouths all morning long. It’s so funny how the internet has made the running community so small and personal.

catching-up with Anne throughout the 5k shakeout was just the way I wanted to begin the SFM weekend.

evidently I’m very excited to see someone. gotta love the black tops/black bottoms “i’m wearing a leotard” look

clearly, Anne and I are taking the shakeout seriously (jazz hands and dance arms for everyone!)

Helping Elysha and filling in wherever I could made the day go by really quickly, and by 5pm, I was beginning to lose my voice after talking to runners all day long in the screenprinting booth (which was a bit of a hot mess but still pretty fun, except that one time an angry runner accused those of us in the screenprinting booth of discriminating against him and threatened “to tweet about it.” (SMH)). At any rate, it’s pretty impressive how many people come from all over the world to run one of the SF races, and it’s very cool to see so many people so amped about running. The enthusiasm is contagious.

Given that I wasn’t running the marathon on Sunday (and doing the requisite 3am wakeup for a 5:30 start), I opted to drive back home to sleep in my own bed and simply do the SJ-SF drive twice, instead of crashing at Erin’s for the weekend. The late 3am/early 4am wakeup two consecutive days wasn’t as bad as I anticipated, and not having any time goals at all for the half really lifted any pressure to perform; I simply looked at the race as a long run — perhaps my first for XC and CIM training — surrounded by a whole lot of friends. I didn’t care how fast or how slowly I ran; my only purpose was to run.

Anne and I easily connected again in Golden Gate Park before the race’s start, but since we had different race plans (she to pace a teammate to a ~1:34, me to simply smile the miles and finish), we parted ways as we entered the corrals. Prior to race day, I hadn’t done a long run since my 20-miler on July 11th, and my weekly run volume had been quite low when I was in Ohio due to a whole host of reasons (weather, childcare, helping my family, all good stuff). I knew that I’d be able to cover the distance aerobically, but in terms of my pace, I had no idea and figured I’d post around a 1:50 fairly comfortably.

There was a time in my life when I’d intentionally register for races and run them all as training runs or workouts, but it’s not really something I’ve done in recent history, probably because I’m more judicious with my time and finances than before. There’s no doubt in my mind, however, that running the second half for fun was the right choice to make; I knew I wasn’t in any real shape or fitness to speak of, and I didn’t want to wreck myself for no real good reason. I planned to simply try to smile during every single mile and enjoy the SF course in an entirely different way than I usually do when I race the marathon.

somewhere in GGP in the earlier part of the course

As far as I can tell, the second half’s course this year is the same as it has always been during the previous years when I’ve run the full. Just like last year, this time around, we didn’t loop around Stow Lake, and we spent nearly half the HM running in what seemed like never-ending, dizzying back-and-forths in GGP. I swear that sometimes it seems like running in GGP is akin to running in some weird Twilight Zone dimension; I always feel like we spend so much time there (especially during the marathon!) that one of these days I’m going to drop a birthday while we’re in there.

I was so eagerly waiting to be spit out from GGP atop Haight Street because I knew I’d see Erin soon (and because it’d mark about the halfway point); once I saw her walking her dog, I didn’t hesitate and zoomed over to the left side of the road to accost her with a huge, sweaty hug. Any time I’ve seen her during the marathon, I’ve only given so much as a wave or a holler; this time around, since time wasn’t an issue, I made a full detour and stopped to chat for a few. For real! I stopped mid-race to talk and just let my Garmin keep running. What a way to run!

ERIN I LUV U THIS MUCHHHHHHH (PC: Erin S.)

It’s hard to give much of a turn-by-turn account of what was essentially a training run dressed up as a race — especially since the course was the same that I’ve run several times now — but it was fun, and all the usual water stop groups were out in force on what was a strangely warm-for-SF and sunny day. I repeatedly thought I’m so glad I’m not running a marathon today and I’m so glad I turned down that 1:45 pacing opportunity throughout my 13.1 sojourn, making me even more confident that I had made the right decision; it was great to only be responsible for myself and no one else. My body felt tired way earlier than usual — that’s what happens when you train very lightly, kids! — but there was nothing on the line; no A, B, or C goals; nothing. Just run.

looks like another shot from somewhere in the never-ending GGP

I wanted to enjoy my supported long run, and I did. I squeaked in with a 1:49, right around where I figured and I would, and I both started and finished the race with a smile on my face. It was a pretty straightforward and victorious morning.

Seeing Elysha, ambassador manager extraordinaire, in the finish line chute was delightful. Clearly I’m still taking all of this v seriously. (PC: Elysha)

Shortly after I finished, I headed over to Marketbar to take advantage of the VIP Party (breakfast! A change of clothes! Real bathrooms!) and eventually met up with Meredith, who had run the 5k, and her friend, Katie, who had run the first half. They graciously gave me a ride back over to Erin’s, where I’d hang for the afternoon at her baby non-shower shower.

costume change & Erin (Erins?) time (PC: Martha)

As usual, seeing many friends over the context of a race weekend was energizing (4am wakeups be damned), and when everything was said and done, my cup felt very full. Suffice it to say that I slept very well Sunday night.

The SFM has held a special place in my heart since moving here because it was through the ambassador program in ‘14 that I met some of my first friends in California. Because the running community here is so small — and social media makes it even more so — the networks formed from that initial ambassador program have led me to even more people throughout the ~six years my family and I have lived here. If I wanted to, I think I could probably trace many of my current CA friendships back to that ambassador program, Kevin Bacon-style.

I know we should never say never, but I think 2019 will be the last time I run SF for a while and participate in the race’s ambassador program. I think it’s time that I share this special race’s love with others and let someone else experience it for herself/himself; it’s kinda the same way I feel about not returning to Boston for a long time (share the love! Let someone else take a turn!). Plus, pragmatically speaking, as my kids get older, and our summers become more full, training in earnest for a big mid-summer race is getting harder to manage. Impossible? No. Challenging? Extremely.

By virtue of being a loyal runner (having run the race, in some capacity, in ‘10, ‘14, ‘15, ‘17, ‘18, and now), I earned a special “loyal runner” medal at the race, in addition to the one from Saturday’s shakeout 5k, Sunday’s half, and also in addition to the 5k+HM double medal (that I failed to pick-up, whoops). If you’re into collecting race medals, SF is usually a pretty good bet. As usual, the race offered a quality long-sleeve technical premium, and runners also had lots of opportunities to get additional premiums (such as beanies, arm warmers, or quarter zip-ups) based on which discount code they used during registration. I really like the quarter zip I earned from the ambassador program and foresee using it during the winter running months.

I think this race does a great job of taking care of its runners (and its ambassadors), and I think it’s a race that’ll continue to improve over time. Probably the most noticeable change in this year’s race was switching from nuun to Gen UCan, and holy moly, my stomach and I sure were ecstatic for that!

Obviously, the second half marathon has a fraction of the elevation from the full (#math), but I think it can still be conducive to fast times, particularly if you’re accustomed to undulating courses. We had weird, warm weather this year, but usually it’s much more mild and is probably the only late-July race in the entire country where you can find runners routinely wearing long sleeves and tights. (No doubt they were hot this year).

SF’s a fantastic and difficult race — arguably one of the most challenging marathons I’ve ever done — and also one of my favs. There’s something to be said for working really, really hard, and this race (and any of its distance offerings) sure is an excellent avenue for that.

It’s a little bittersweet to run a race knowing that I’m not planning to run it again anytime soon, but my several years’ worth of race memories from SFM are quite fond. I’m grateful for the experiences for sure.

2019 Represent Running Silicon Valley Half Marathon Race Report (April 2019)- San Jose, CA

July 24, 2019 Erin Comments 1 comment

In a perfect world, Represent Running’s 408k race in early February would be a rust-buster for me — my first race since CIM in early December — and an excellent way to begin training in earnest for May’s Mountains to Beach Marathon.

Larry-2986 — again: racing while sick is ill-advised

In reality, February’s 8k came after being sick for about a week (much to my denial), and I spent the rest of February under the weather and visited the doctor’s office almost weekly (and dealt with a whackadoo doctor who partially diagnosed me as being “sensitive” because I’m a redhead — that’s a great story for a long run).

My winter and spring weekend schedule was seriously prohibitive, and ultimately, that meant that the one and only time I could race pre-MTB was at Represent Running’s Silicon Valley half marathon, situated at just about a month out from MTB. If you’ve been following my running for a while, you know that historically, I don’t race HMs well (and especially in the thick of marathon training), but since the SV half was the one and only race I could swing pre-MTB, Coach Lisa and I were determined to make it work.

I ran the inaugural SV half and 5k last year (thanks to being on RR’s social media ambassador team), and since my experience was so positive, I expected the same this time around. The biggest difference between last year’s and this year’s race was that the 5k was going to be held on Sunday, just a few hours after the half concluded, instead of the day before. Even though I’d be running in both the half and the 5k, I planned to focus my efforts on the half and just treat the 5k as part of a longer cool-down.

True to form for RR races, all morning long, from the time I spent warming-up to the time I spent cooling-down, I ran into tons of people I knew, making an already fun environment even more so; I’m telling ya, these things are as much social as they are athletic endeavors. Meredith had come down south to also run in the half marathon (yea!), and we were all excited for a great race to unfold before us, with our respective race plans in hand. We planned to share warm-up mileage and cool-down mileage together, and after not seeing each other for a while, it was just lovely to catch-up.

From what I can recall about the 2018 SVHM, the 2019 race followed roughly or exactly the same race course, and we got supremely lucky with the weather (again), since late April can be a bit of a crapshoot between rain or heat. Fewer Wolfpack teammates were racing or volunteering this year than usual (no doubt due to a PA race occurring over in nearby Saratoga), but much to my surprise, by about mile 2, I saw Meg and mini-KEG, Kim, Elise, and Connie on the sidelines, cheering their hearts out. Talk about a huge pick-me-up! That girl gang kept moving throughout the course, too, making it seem like they were appearing out of nowhere, just adding to the already uber-positive vibes that morning.

super excited to see the girl gang!! I think this was from our first encounter race morning. I didn’t know they’d be on course cheering, so I was so happy to see them. (PC: Kim or Elise)

Typically speaking, if I can squeak out a sub-1:40 half during marathon training (essentially running at GMP), I’m satisfied, simply because I tend to not race the distance very well, mostly due to either improper pacing, GI blowouts, or a combination of the two. Coach Lisa gave me pace ranges for various parts of the course (roughly divided into 5k or 10k blocks), but more than anything, she stressed going off perceived effort and not clock feedback. Though I was hitting the early pace targets, the effort felt much higher than it should have been, so pretty early on in the race, I dialed back from a HM effort (or a big negative split) and settled more in a GMP-tempoish-SS range.

I think this was from the second time I saw the ladies on course, maybe around the 10k mark. Let it be known that unless my life is on the line, if I see you when I’m racing, I will absolutely acknowledge you (and may clobber you with aggressive and enthusiastic side-fives). (PC: the girl gang)

In the throes of the race, I distinctly remember feeling like I was running strong but not necessarily fast, which is kinda… weird. I recalled having the same feelings at SFM ‘18 and CIM ‘18, like I had the aerobic capability to keep chugging along and not necessarily tank my pace, but I didn’t have much to give when it came to actually digging a little more deeply; where I was, on the day, was going to be where I was going to be. I have theories as to why this has happened relatively often in my racing, but during the SVHM, I tried very hard to not fixate on my perceived lack of speed and instead just tried to keep the turnover coming and slowly pick off all the racers ahead of me.

For what it’s worth, running strong and running fast aren’t mutually exclusive, but I think feeling one — at the other’s expense — ultimately comes down to any number of variables, from the obvious (training) to perhaps the less-so (what did pre-race recovery look like? How well did I sleep that week? How mentally in it was I in the thick of the race?). Mid-race, even when the paces temporarily climb, or the effort temporarily becomes more laborious than we’d like, I think we all come to a crossroads with the dilemma at hand: freak out and lose our shit — and maybe make a not-ideal situation far, far worse — or tell our amygdala to relax through the rough patch — and stick with it and expect it to get more palatable again.

This makes me think of something I read from pro runner Stephanie Bruce along the lines of in racing, we can control exactly two things, our effort and our attitude. (And IMHO, that’s some pretty powerful stuff when it comes from someone whose livelihood literally depends on how fast she can run a given distance on a given day). At the SVHM, when the running got hard, I tried to keep grinding and keep focusing on the positives and that which I could control. It was (literally) the only thing I could do.

we can choose our attitudes always. it’s a conversation I have near-daily with my children and one that I find having with myself, too. (PC: girl gang)

For most of the race, I stayed near GMP, plus or minus a few seconds, and actually felt really good in the process, and over the final 5k, I tried to dig a little more deeply and finish a little faster; I was (stubbornly) not convinced that my output was the end-all, be-all best that I could give that morning in those miles. Serendipitously, I ran into one of my teammates (who wasn’t in Wolfpack gear), and chatting with him for a few strides along the back 5k was a great little pick-me-up. Ultimately, the day went over pretty well as a solid LR workout about a month out from MTB, and I finished with an (exhausted) smile on my face.

it takes a village, ya know? (PC: girl gang)

While I (of course) would have liked to run faster or feel fresher going into the race (if memory serves, my allergies had also kicked into high-gear earlier that week), a 1:37 and change and ultimately, 19+ miles for the day was satisfying. I mean, I have nothing to complain about. I didn’t perfectly execute the plan that Coach Lisa had laid out before me, but when she said these paces shouldn’t feel hard, and if they do, dial it back, I quickly went into Plan B mode and turned the distance into an attempt to race strictly by effort. Not self-sabotaging when the race began to veer south early in and of itself is a victory to me because it is so, so easy to catastrophize when racing.

10985_4363627_enm2134986438ram — doing what I can on the day — and being happy with it — is a supremely satisfying way to run and race. (RR and Amazon, thanks for the free pics)

teammates! so fun to see Eric post-race (PC: Meg)

The SVHM helped stoke my excitement for running Mountains to Beach in late May, and I was also grateful to be in a racing environment for the first time all training cycle. Like I mentioned before, my winter and spring schedule was extremely prohibitive (in the best way possible, fortunately), so my running and racing exploits have taken a bit more of a backseat than usual, and the SVHM was the only race I could fit in this spring. I’m glad I did it, as (per yoosh, for RR races), it was well-organized, featured lovely amenities, and offered a fast and competitive field, and this time around, even Meb was there, pacing the 1:30 pace group (or the 40 minute 10k group)! It’s yet another local race — much like the 408k — that I wouldn’t mind doing year after year simply because of its vibe and amenities.

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