Bret

Fun experience this morning.  Richie and I were seeded and subseeded (respectively) runners in this 100th annivesary of the Bay to Breakers.  Over 50,000 participants this year.  Course is a bit challenging with a gradual incline in the first mile which then moves into a significant climb which is purportedly an 11.5% grade from about 2.5 miles to just past the 3 mile mark - with a few rolling hills thereafter until 5.5 miles where the course heads to a gradual downhill to the finish.

Richie was well trained and really had his mind set on running very well - whereas I was not really looking for a time goal, but wanted to enjoy the experience and get a good workout in.  So, I agreed to pace him through the first couple of miles to keep his pace controlled and then let him go after that. 

We came through the first mile at 6:11 and as we got to about the 2 mile mark I told him, I needed to back off but that he was really breathing well and seemed very comfortable at that pace. 

I timed my release and slowed pace pretty well as we hit the hill on Hayes street I relaxed and eased my way up the hill, careful not to go too hard.  Mile splits for 3 and 4 were slow - 7:45 and then 6:57 and as the race began to head downhill I had some fun with it - running 6:10s through to the finish - last half mile was at 5:45 pace.

The race is a quite an event with lots of costumes and the absence of clothing for a number of folks.  Where we were running it was mostly just normal competitive runners, but the photos of the race behind us are crazy.

AM - in San Francisco this morning.  Richie and I went out for an easy recovery run, and though we had only intended to run a few miles, we both felt good and the weather was nice, so we ended up running 8 miles along the Embarcadero and along the Bay.  As we were nearing the end of the run, we saw this guy running toward us, and Richie remarked,  "look at this guy, I bet he ran the race yesterday, he looks fast."  At that very moment we both realized it was Meb Kefelzghi and said to each other, "hey that's Meb!"  So, he had just passed us and saw that we had recognized him, and we both hollered to him and he acknowledged and waved back.  So then Richie decided we should go run with him.  We turned around and started to try to catch him.  We were running hard and were not making up any ground on him.  He must have been doing his recovery run at like 6 min pace.  So we gave up the chase and headed back to the hotel.   Funny story though.

PM - lunchtime run 7.5 miles with Richie around Feathersound.  My flight back from San Francisco was delayed yesterday afternoon and as a result I did not arrive home until 3 am.  Up at 6:15 to start the day.  Felt fine though - and we had a good run in some very unseasonably pleasant weather for Florida. 

PM - lunchtime run - 5 miles easy to moderate followed by 6 striders.  I did a core/plyo workout this morning before work.  Got 8 hours of sleep. Feeling good.

PM - lunchtime run - workout.  5 miles tempo run - at 6:30 pace.  Richie asked me to do this workout with him today.  It was supposed to be 6 miles but the 86 degree temps seemed to sap our strength pretty well - so it became 5.  Tough workout all things considered, but we pretty much hit the splits - 6:36, 6:30, 6:24, 6:31 and 6:41.  One mile warm up and one mile cool down.

Taking my bride of 21 years to the SandPearl Resort on Clearwater Beach for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary today.  Gonna be a nice weekend.  

PM - 4 miles easy to moderate on Clearwater Beach.  Enjoying a relaxing weekend with Tracy at the SandPearl.  Used the Vibrams for the run.  Legs felt a little heavy from yesterday, but loosened up after about a mile.

PM - easy 6.0 miles after a day at the beach.  Pretty dehydrated to start on a hot afternoon made for a rather unpleasant run - but I should have expected that.  My quads are quite heavy, not sure if that is from the beach running, plyos or massage yesterday or from 9 days of running without a rest day.  Either way, I am going to take tomorrow off.