Pacifica Summit 30K -- 2nd place

Summary

It went well! I ran 18 miles, with 4170' of elevation gain, in 2 hours 44 minutes 18 seconds. That was good for 2nd place male.

Details

My friend Lauren found this race, Pacifica Summit put on by Urban Coyote, a month ago and shared it with my small group of regular running partners. It sounded fun! Three of us (me, Lauren, and Justin) quickly agreed to do the 30K (about 18 miles). This race would be like a good hard long training run on the way to our big goal of racing the California International Marathon in under 3 hours, this December.

It was nice to be able to sleep in a bit, until my alarm went off at 7am. I left the house a little after 8am and had plenty of time to get my bib and warm up and use the bathroom one last time. I met up with Justin, Lauren, and Jennifer K. (from Pacifica Runners).

Lauren, Nama, Justin, me

At 9am, the 30K and half-marathoners started! My goals were to run solidly on the uphills, perhaps literally running every step, and to cruise the downhills, but to focus more on the end of the race and to not fall apart and to treat this a bit more like a long hard training run.

Soon, Justin and I found ourselves running together with Lauren a short ways back. There were a few guys in front of me, but I didn't know which race they were in. We got to the Brooks Trail, which is single-track, and is a steep ascent to the peak of Montara Mountain. I passed "backpack guy" and Justin passed him, too. I thought there were still one or two runners ahead, but I wasn't completely sure and I didn't know which race they were in.

Justin soon pulled ahead, and he would stay far in front of me for the rest of the race. Lauren stuck with me on the ascent and we tagged the gate at the peak of Montara Mountain together. I suggested to her on the climb that she could use today's race as a way to gain more confidence and practice on the downhills. We are really well-matched but I tend to always pull ahead on steep rocky downhills because I'm more confident on downhill technical terrain. I pulled ahead on the first big downhill.

Justin

Myself

Lauren

I was carrying 20 oz of ice-cold sports drink from home, plus one energy gel. I ate the energy gel about halfway down the descent and I finished off my one handheld bottle as I neared the bottom of the mountain, close to where we started. 

Mile 7

Soon, I was at the first aid station (mile 7 or so), and I refilled with sports drink. A minute later, I was climbing again, going up the Valley View Trail in Pacifica's San Pedro Valley Park. I ran every step. Then, it was back down to the valley again. I felt like I was cruising along pretty well. Then it was time to go up the long long set of switchbacks of the Hazelnut Trail.

Nearing the end of the Hazelnut Trail, after a long descent, I saw a runner out of the corner of my eye behind me. Lauren! Wow! She was doing great! After the aid station (mile 13 approximately), I slowed down a bit to let her catch up to me, since we were so close. She said that she had finished the half-marathon just now faster than when she raced just the half-marathon earlier this year. Awesome! She has really gotten stronger and faster. She led the way up the Valley View trail, on our 2nd and last loop of the valley. On the descent, she motioned me ahead, and I cruised downhill, a bit faster than she was yet comfortable with, I assume. I wouldn't see her again until the finish.

At the bottom of Valley View, as we make a sharp left turn onto the main valley trail, I heard my name being shouted from across the valley. Justin! He was so far ahead! Way to go! I shouted back. I wasn't sure how far ahead of me he was, but it seemed like a long ways (half mile?).

On the Hazelnut Trail, I slowly caught up to another runner who was clearly in the 30K. (He was moving way too fast to be a back-of-the-pack half-marathoner or 10K runner.) I said "hi". I was feeling pretty good and I made a move to pass him, but he picked up the pace, too. So, we stuck together, with me on his heels, most of the way up Hazelnut. I started feeling stronger and stronger and I felt like I could really push harder for the remaining switchbacks, so I said "I'm going to try to push harder. You're doing great. I'll probably see you again very soon!" And I pushed quite a bit harder for the next 5 minutes or so. I didn't see that guy again until the finish line. I didn't realize it yet, but I was now in 2nd place.

I pushed the pace on the final downhill. I felt good! I flew by back-of-the-pack runners in the other racers. "On your left", I would call out. And I would cheer them on with a "good job" or "way to go" when I passed. I recognized the last couple of turns. Almost there! I poured on the speed to the finish. Woo hoo!

Justin was cheering for me at the finish. He had a great race, finishing over 3 minutes ahead of me. A friend in the Pacifica Runners, Kayla, was there, taking photos. Thank you, Kayla!

Soon, the 3rd place guy came through and then right behind him was Lauren! They finished only 3 minutes behind me. Way to go, Lauren!!!

A couple of other friends who happened to be doing a long run had stopped by to say "hi" -- Katie and Aaron. That was fun hanging out for a bit. I was given a to-go mug and a pint glass, as an age award. Lauren and Justin additionally received a nice blanket for their wins.

Fun!

Random Data

• Results
• Strava activity
• Morning weight: 164.8 lbs. I ate poorly this week and somehow managed to gain 5 lbs.
• Breakfast: 2 pieces of toast with peanut butter and honey, 1 large cup of herbal tea.