Racing Journal (June 2009)

Week 26 (6/22-6/28)
Week 26 miles: 28.33
Week 26 race miles: 28.33
2009 miles: 709.76
2009 race miles: 509
2009 races: 46

On pace for over a thousand race miles in '09! Races this week included a track meet, the thursday night DSE race, the Double Dipsea and the Fourth Sunday LMJS race, which I can't usually do because most DSE races are on Sunday. The track meet was ridiculously hard as usual and my first time on the track for months, but I love the Tamalpa track meets because they are so low key and okay for non-track runners like me, as well as some speedsters. And, of course, I did every event right in a row so that doesn't make it feel easier! Thank god the Double Dipsea went better than last year or else it would have ruined my birthday! It was hot and sunny, but nothing like last year. I went about 6 minutes faster than last year and was happy to outkick a dude at the end. I think I should do some dipsea training runs in the fall because I want to have that course completely memorized. I think I can take some time off of both my Dipsea and Double Dipsea, and I'd like to go under 6 hours in the Quad this year if possible. As for LMJS's race, well, I think there is room for improvement (ie, don't make us wear those weird wristbands and for g's sake have some fruit, water or something at the finish!), but at least it was only $5... Really looking forward to Florida vacay this week and the 6 short 5Ks I plan to run in the heat :)

Race Stats:
Tamalpa Track Meet - 1 mile: 6:35?; 400: [___]; 800: [___]; 200: [___]; 100: [___]; 2 mile: [14:10?]
Lake Merced Thusday Night #3 - 32:47: 7:14/M; 11/45 overall; 1st F
Double Dipsea - 2:51:11 [actual time]; Place 153 [handicapped], 254 [actual]
LMJS 10K - 48:13; 14/41; 6th F; 4th Age

Week 25 (6/15-6/21)
Week 25 miles: 23.03
Week 25 race miles: 23.03
2009 miles: 681.43
2009 race miles: 480.62
2009 races: 47

I'd like to note that compared to last year, this same week, I've only run a little less than 20 miles more (including racing and training miles); however, at this time last year, I had raced only 19 races for a total of ~165 miles, averaging 8.7M/race. As you can see, I've raced now 42 races and ~480 race miles, with an average of 11.4M/race currently. So, I'd say I've got a lot more quality miles in this year so far! I'm on pace for over 1100 race miles, but we'll see how the year plays out. I almost got a 5K PR on Sunday so I'm looking forward to hitting the track and trying to get a little more speed goin'. Next weekend: double dipsea - my Bday race!

Race Stats:
DSE Lake Merced #2 4.5M: 32:49; 7:17/M; 17/45; 1st F
PCTR Angel Island 25K: 2:29:45: 31/131; 8th F; 2nd Age
DSE Conservatory 5K: 21:53; 50/171; 3rd F; 2nd Age

Week 24 (6/8-6/14)
Week 24 miles: 32.2
Week 24 race miles: 16.6
2009 miles: 658.4
2009 race miles: 457.64
2009 races: 39

It's funny how some Mondays I'm on such a high after an amazing weekend and then others are just, well, super low. The races all went fine last week. I had a fun first Thursday evening race in SF (I was just glad I managed to make it there considering I work in Palo Alto and I usually work past when the race starts!) and kept pace with Mark Mooney until the end - we'll both try to go a little faster each week. Saturday's race was a bit silly, but I liked the local feel of it even though it had an unexpectedly competitive field racing... It was on a dairy farm in Hilmar, CA (where is that, you ask - well, half way to Yosemite in the middle of nowhere really - the cows were the highlight and they are famous for cheese there). Jason even won a pound of free cheese for being first in his age gruop. I was only second in my age group but I did get a nice medal with a running cow on it for that :) hah. Of course, the good ole Dipsea was Sunday. It was a very different experience for me this year since I ran in the invitational. I went only a minute faster than last year, though I thought being in the invitational would have allowed me to take more time off than that! Part of it was the fact that I ran horribly on the downhills as my left leg is bothering me in multiple places - it was not like Diablo where I felt confident and strong on the downs, on the Dipsea downhills I was tottering and fearful of falling...I actually had a lot more fun last year in the open trying to pass lots of people and the adrenaline that comes from that - in the invitational, it felt more like a normal race and I'm pretty sure I was passed much more than I passed others...no way did I make the top 450 to lock in an invitational race again (prelim results say I was 511th and I would've had to run 8 minutes faster to be #450), though I can't say I'm sorry for it as I have much more fun in the runners section. I just hope I get into the runners section for the centennial next year! Think I'll try to hit the hot tub to soak this left leg if I can. Strangely, I'm actually looking forward to the Angel Island 25K, which I usually don't like - I want to see if I can beat my last time there.

Race Stats:
DSE Thursday Evening #1 4.5M - 33:12: 7:22/M; 18/52; 2nd F
Udder Run 5M - 37:44.72; 27/93 overall; 6/45 (F); 2nd Age
Dipsea - 1:19:11 -511/1416 (across finish); 700/1416 (actual time based); [other stats to come]


Week 23 (6/1-6/7)
Week 23 miles: 22.3
Week 23 race miles: 18.8
2009 miles: 626.2
2009 race miles: 441.04
2009 races: 36

Note I've changed the name of my journal entries from "Running Journal" to "Racing Journal" since I realized I don't usually write about training runs... This weekend was totally fun and the races went well. Saturday was the Mt. Diablo 25K and after three 50Ks, I was more than happy to be doing a nice short race. It was one of those days where everything goes well and my mood was good - the weather was cool for Diablo and I was just loving the course the whole way, even on the steep up. The real high point for me was being able to run fast on the downs, which isn't usually the case as it's usually jarring on my body when I'm tired. I didn't feel tired at all really, at least until about a mile from the end when I couldn't quite catch the girl ahead of me. Nevertheless, I was really happy with how I did - under 3 hours when I was expecting around 3:15-3:25. On top of that, Sunday's Muddy Buddy race ended up working out great and I had a lot of fun with it. My biking legs were easy and generally downhill so that part wasn't bad, and between me and my teammate (also named Erika), we kept up a decent clip on the runs. For a relatively non-competitive race, I think we did well. I'd like to do that race again next year...

Race Stats:
PCTR Mt. Diablo 25K - 2:57:56: 48/181; 11th F; 4th Age
Muddy Buddy (Run 3.3M) - 52:31; 124/~1100 overall; 5/66 Age (also included 3M bike)