It didn't help that I didn't sleep much, and yesterday was stressful doing a gig in Stockton with Han and Sadie's band. In retrospect I shouldn't have agreed to do an out-of-town gig right before Bay to Breakers, just another of the famously fabulously bad decisions I tend to make.
Not sleeping well Friday night, Saturday saw a full day in Stockton for a poorly organized, podunk indie-fest. Instead of getting home around 6:00 or 7:00, we ended up getting back past midnight, much to all of our frustration, as we were all registered for the B2B. At least the company was good, and having done it, I don't regret it, but if I could do it again, I wouldn't, and feel that more conservative decision making is called for in the future.
In truth, the ordeal was probably better for me. I didn't get to rest and relax at home as planned, but it did keep me from being tempted to sneak a drink, with one leading to another. We also stopped off at "The Olive Garden" in Tracy to carbo-load, which was in the cards anyway.
As for rest, I used to never be able to sleep before races anyway, so no loss there. I had a shot of bourbon at 2:30 in the morning, which I thought was fine. I think the constant drinking is what would have been a problem, and having a single shot wouldn't have been bad because it's what my system is used to.
I woke up at 5:30 having gotten maybe two hours of sleep, and was at the starting line by 6:30. Bay to Breakers fetches up to 70,000 people, so getting there early is key to getting a good position if you're running it for serious. As the crowd grows, it amuses itself by bringing tortillas and beach balls and flinging and bouncing them through the air. Lots of tortillas, accurately described as a barrage. Everyone gets smacked by tortillas a dozen times, each time picking it up and flinging it back. Good times.
I was anxious up to the starting gun, but the weather was gorgeous, the vibe was alright, and I finished the first mile in 8:22. I was expecting not being able to do better than a 10 minute first mile because of the size of the crowd and the jostling and maneuvering required, but I guess I was close enough to the front that the crowd wasn't as dense as it is for people further back from the starting line.
I did the second mile in 7:38, which is surprisingly quick since the crowd still required maneuvering and included a water stop through which I tend to take my time. I wonder about the mile measurement. The third mile included the Hayes St. hill, a 200 ft. climb over five blocks and then a quick downhill that I did in another surprising 7:48. Hills are my forte, but I felt like I was struggling up it.
After the Hayes St. hill, mile four was flat. It was largely recovering from the hill and included a water stop, and I did it in 7:43 with no threat of bonking, although the sunlight was starting to make its presence felt. The water "stop" included dousing my feet, back and head with water.
Miles five, six, and seven are through Golden Gate Park and got progressively faster. By mile five, the crowd has dissipated, and although there are people around, there is no maneuvering or jostling, and I did it in 7:46.
Mile six starts the downhill to the ocean and the finish, and I did it in another surprising 7:00, but I can't explain mile seven, also a fast downhill, that I did in a startling 6:35. Finally, there was the .46 mile sprint to the finish line that I did in 2:53. Total time: 55:48.
I beat my goal of finishing within an hour. My other goal was to finish within the top 1000 runners and I just squeaked in under 500 *squeak*. Maybe it was endorphins, but I felt OK after finishing. My knees didn't hurt at all and I was . . . OK. But no more pushing myself running. I'm gonna start riding again this week, and running is just gonna be for fun from now on. I didn't have to prove anything, but no I really have nothing left to prove.
#499 - the discrepancy in my stopwatch time and the official time is the time it took me to get to the starting line, which is when I started my stopwatch.
