2013 The 103rd Annual Dipsea

The 103rd Annual Dipsea 7.4M – June 9th 2013 

Mill Valley, CA
Run: 1:04:37 ( 9:23 per mile avg)

First run in 1905, the Dipsea is the oldest trail race in America. The 7.4 mile course from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach is considered to be one of the most beautiful courses in the world, but this beauty comes at a price. The trail includes uneven footing, single-track footpaths, and almost invariably steep terrain, featuring about 4,000-foot (1219 m) elevation gain and loss over the course. The uniqueness of the Dipsea Race course owes largely to the opportunity for competitors to choose from any of several alternate routes on diverging and converging trails, adding a competitive premium for strategy, experience, and familiarity with the course.

After a great race last year in the heat I was able to earn a spot as an invitational runner. No more lotteries, no late start, just racing. My goal this year was to try and finish sub 60 minutes, which should earn me a spot in the top 100.

I started the race strong. Last year year it took me 42:58 to complete the first 4.2 miles of the race (Depot to Cardiac), but this year was able to reduce that to 41:50. A full minute + faster.  After reaching cardiac it all went downhill though.  Not sure if the mud was just too sketchy for me but I was pretty hesitant / nervous passing people on the slippery steps and steep descents.  This led to me being a full minute and a half slower on the final 2.8 miles to the finish. ( Cardiac to Stinson Beach ). 

Looking on the bright side of things I was able to cross the finish line 241st and get invited back to do it all again next year. Congrats to Lucas Agricola and Jessie Smith for crushing it, Gordy Reid for qualifying for next year, and Erin Wager, Stephen Schneider, Mike Truong, Mike Voors for finishing

No dice this year with my goals. Last year I had the advantage of running a full fledged practice race two week prior to help with my pacing, but this year  was too caught up with Team bike challenge to fit in proper run training.  I thought biking 200 miles a week, and throwing in 2 runs a week would be enough. I was wrong. 

Click here see this race in Strava.

2013 Wildflower Olympic Triathlon

Wildflower Olympic Triathlon – May 5th 2013 

Bradley, CA

Swim: 28:34 ( 1:54 )

Bike: 1:16:31 ( 19.4 mph )

Run: 40:02 ( 6:27 per mile avg)

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Total: 2:29:11

Pre-Race:

This weekend was a little crazy in the weather department. After a blistering hot Saturday, the winds picked up while we were sleeping bringing cooler temperatures and chaos to the campsite as the wind started blowing around all the non-staked down tents. Thankfully we staked our down, but it was almost comical all the sounds coming from outside the tent.

Per the usual routine, I try to eat at least 3 hours before race time. At Wildflower I am always worried about what I will be eating pre race, since I usually perform best on Eggs, Bacon, Toast, and lots of Coffee. This year SF Tri Club catered an AMAZING breakfast with mostly organic tasty eggs, coffee cake, coffee etc. Great start to the day.

Swim ( 1500 km ) - 23:53 ( 350th OA ) - 1:35 pace

My swim was horrible this year. It was almost embarrassing. I would like to blame it on the winds, and the rough "surf" but I had only been swimming 2 days a week coming into this event and it showed. 

T1 - 2:44

Bike ( 40 km ) - 1:16:31 ( 62th OA ) - 19.4 mph / 235 watts / 91 rpm

Not much to say on the bike except it was really windy. Half the time i was going what felt like 10 mph and the other half I felt like superman biking at 30mph. It was pretty sketchy to be honest. Lots of college kids on disc wheel being blown all over the road.  I had to have my hands on the brakes for a lot of the race rather than the aero bars. sigh. I had been biking a lot going into this so I thought I would have done better.

T2 - 1:20

Run ( 10 km ) - 40:02 ( 69th OA ) - 6:27 pace

Opposite of last year, this was the only part of the race I felt good about. I hadn't been running as much as I would have liked leading up to this event, but it seemed that all the biking + cool weather equaled Wildflower run course PR. 

Total 2:29:11 (41st OA )

I finished 41st out of ~2000 athletes, and 11th place in my AG. As an added bonus my time in conjunction with my kick ass fello SF Tri Club members was able to earn first place overall in the Olympic distance club competition.  Sweet. Also congrats to Mark Tripp who was 1st OA for the second year in a row.

Click here & here see this race in Strava.