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Bay to Breakers - RunOther


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San Francisco, California
United States
Zazzle Bay to Breakers
50F / 10C
Overcast
Total Time = 55m 42s
Overall Rank = 908/43911
Age Group = 40-49
Age Group Rank = 206/4673
Pre-race routine:

Got up at 4:30. Got dressed, ate some cantelope, egg whites, cup of coffee, and a little water.
Event warmup:

Jog around for about 10 minutes and did 2 strides at 90% max.
Run
  • 55m 42s
  • 7.46 miles
  • 07m 28s  min/mile
Comments:

I started up front in corral A which is right behind the seeded and sub-seeded runners. I was probably 50 feet behind the front line of the corral. I pretty much crossed the start line about 20 seconds or so after the start gun so I wasn't that far behind. It was crowded during the first 1/2 mile and needed to be very careful of those that were weaving in and out. There was also one guy that dropped something ahead of me and decided to stop and go against the stream of traffic. I ALMOST took him out. We were both very lucky to not smash into each other.

As far as a plan for this race, I went in with a minimum and a maximum goal. The minimum pace goal was 7:45 min/mi average and max was 7:30 min/mi avg. I knew exactly what pacing I needed to hit for each mile to reach the minimum goal. I wrote it on my hand with a sharpie the night before. As I was running I glanced at my hand and at my Garmin to make sure I was on track. The first 2 miles leading up to the Hayes St hill were right on target, averaging 7:45 pace. When I got to the hill, I looked at it and wondered if that was it. I hadn't seen it since the year before and it didn't look as menancing to me. I knew I needed to average 8:40 for this mile so I tried to keep up a quick pace. As I was going up I was really passing a lot of people and as I got passed the middle of the hill I really thought that there must be more to this hill. However, when I crested the top, I was pretty fired up that it seemed so easy. I really credit all my run training over the last year to this. I've done B2B many times before and never did Hayes hill seem so short and easy. Anyway, I got over the hill and picked it up down the other side and as it flattened out again. I knew it was about a 1 to 2% grades rolling from here for the next mile or two where it would then decend to the finish. I just kept on running at a comfortable pace. I used RPE more than min/mi pacing to determine my effort and although my goal was to go 7:45 for this mile, I was managing more like 7:30. Then as I reached the part where it decends to the finish, I felt REALLY good and during the decent, I was hitting 7:15 pace and faster. I was able to hold this pace and even faster in the last 2 miles. As I reached the beach and the final stretch 1/4 mile along the coastline I knew I had a good race because I tried to give a final kick, and I couldn't get any more juice out of my legs. It was right at this final stretch that I knew my tank was empty. I felt like I had given the right amount of effort. I still managed to bring it in at around a 7 min/mi pace and I was pretty excited to see the clock at 55 min and change as I got close enough to see the numbers. I beat my my minimum AND my maximum goal! I was FIRED up.

Finished 300th of 10,362 Masters Men.
What would you do differently?:

The only thing that I would try to do is to hang out a little bit longer outside the corral where the porta pottys are... maybe do my warmup out there. I felt the need to urinate about 10 min before the start and it was much to late to exit the corral, find a porta-potty, and go... not with the thousands of people around. I ran with that feeling the whole race.
Post race
Warm down:

Grabbed 2 waters at the finish line and walked the 1 or 2 miles to the footstock area.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing. I exceeded my expectations.

Event comments:

Awesome event. Amazing that 55K person event can be managed so well.




Last updated: 2010-12-24 12:00 AM
Running
00:55:42 | 07.46 miles | 07m 28s  min/mile
Age Group: 206/4673
Overall: 908/43911
Performance: Good
Average Paces Mile 1: 7:47 Mile 2: 7:38 Mile 3: 7:56 Mile 4: 7:41 Mile 5: 7:23 Mile 6: 6:54 Mile 7: 6:56 Mile 8: 6:41
Course: Street course in San Francisco that starts on the East side (the Bay) and ends up on the West side where the Pacific shore is (the Breakers). The course is relatively flat until around mile 2.5 where Hayes hill begins. From there it's about 3/4 of a mile to the top of Hayes hill. Then it descends to a relatively flat part (1 or 2 % grade) for a couple of miles. Then after mile 4.5 it is pretty much downhill through the Panhandle and GG Park to the beach.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2011-05-16 9:59 PM

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Extreme Veteran
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5001002525
Sacramento, California
Subject: Bay to Breakers


2011-05-16 10:51 PM
in reply to: #3503002

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Champion
5781
5000500100100252525
Northridge, California
Subject: RE: Bay to Breakers
Sounds like we were lined up not too far apart...I started pretty much dead in the middle of the sub-seeded corral (and my wife was somewhere behind you in 'A').  Great job getting under 7:30/mile...congrats!
2011-05-22 2:21 PM
in reply to: #3503002

Member
92
252525
Subject: RE: Bay to Breakers
Great job, Nothing better than having a plan and executing it with even better results. See ya at VineMan
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