Jogging? No, I'm shuffling at a 10 minute mile pace, half stumbling around in the pre-dawn in the pretty San Francisco Bay town of Tiburon, CA at 6:41 a.m. I remind myself: Have a positive attitude! The Tiburon Half Marathon starts in 19 minutes as I line up for the porta-potty. The early start time, and uncharacteristic butterflies in the gut have me a bit hyped-up! Let's R-e-l-a-x.
So I reflect. It's been a very good buildup for this run. I've enjoyed killer workouts! Some great negative split 13 and 15 mile runs, and an eye-popping 1:50 workout PR over my 7-mile tempo run course. Clearly I'm ready to bust open my half-marathon PR of 1:40:32! But (and it's a BIG BUT!) that half marathon best was set on a pancake-flat course at nearby Quarry Lake in Fremont. This Tiburon half marathon course starts and ends on the flat, but in between it's a hilly roller coaster ride.
At the start line, I'm looking for the 1:40 pace group, but today the fastest group leader holds a sign for 1:45 pace. A brief chat with the pacer works out great, he advises “I'm going to run 7:30s for the first few miles to make up for the hills”. Perfect! The starting horn blares and I relax into it. But I think the pacer is too slow, like 8:30 pace! Chill, I tell myself. We hit the mile in 7:35 and I'm appreciative of his pace judgement skills.
Locked in with the 1:45 group, I am relaxed and conserving energy. We cruise the first 4 miles just above 7:40 pace. Right on. The first medium-sized hill comes along, the group strings out a bit on the way up. Drifting ahead of the group on the next flat stretch, I've moved out front of the pacer without giving it much thought. OK, just stay relaxed.
The undulating hills start coming at us, as we run through neighborhoods approaching Mt. Tam, the 2000-foot hill at the center of Marin County. Nothing too drastic pace-wise, I keep rhythm, stay relaxed, but it ain't lost on me that I am steadily passing other runners, including some who were striding out quickly in the first couple miles.
The elevation map of the course showed a steep climb about halfway on the course, and BOOM, here it is! I keep rhythm as before, feeling jaunty. Don't push too hard, cowboy! Truth is, I'm really pleased with how I'm feeling on these hills. The flow is there. Not so sure I'm going to get under 1:40 due to these inclines, but the run is going swell.
Indeed, I'm well prepared for a hilly run. Four weeks back, I had a fine race at the Annadel Loop 7-mile trail race up in Santa Rosa, nailing down 4th out of about 100 runners. OK, so it's a handicap run, but heck I'm 61 years young, I'll take it! Did I mention the first mile is straight up? Basically, up a mountain, down a mountain, and finish, that's the Annadel Loop.
My real secret weapon, two months back I spent a couple weeks in the mountain town of Oaxaca Mexico, running from the 5000-foot city floor to the 6000-foot mountain ridge just to the north, and back. Ready for hills !
This pitched Tiburon hill is a quarter mile at a steep incline, very Oaxaca. Only Tiburon is not at altitude! Done. Sliding down the other side, I press a bit. Why not? It's been all relaxation up to now, but the competitive former miler in me wants to race. We get on the flat and I open it up a bit.
Then some kid (I mean a 40-year old, of course) slips by, really the only person who has passed me since mile 4. Go ahead young man, I'm in my own pace. I'm feeling good, six miles to go, maybe I'll dip under 1:40 today after all! Rolling!
But wait-a-minit. There are more hills coming at me! Long hills. I was ready for maybe one more, but nope, the course continues to be a roller coaster. I'm still doing OK up the inclines, but at this stage of the race I can only go so fast without depleting the tank. At least I'm still passing people.
The course finally flattens out with a little over 3 miles to run. I find a bit of pace in my legs, even if I'm starting to feel ragged. Then, inside three to go, I think, let's throw it down. Go for broke! Does this really hurt so much? Nah.
...and done. Whew!
Now I'm rolling, but maybe a bit too much too soon. With a mile and a quarter to go, I'm struggling to maintain pace. Trying to work the rhythm and relaxation as well as I can, but fact is I'm hungry for the finish! There's suddenly a lot of slow stragglers from the concurrent 5k and 10k runs, and I'm obliged to make the effort to run around them.
I hear the race announcer's voice floating from the finish line, and see the finish gate as I round a bend in the path. Maybe 300 to go I really pick it up, and manage a near sprint over the last 150 or so, let's milk it for an extra few seconds if I can! I come under the finish line gate in 1:41:08, very pleased with my effort on the day.
I missed my PR by 36 seconds, but in truth I consider this my best half marathon, given those pesky and persistent rolling hills!
The Tiburon Half was well organized. I had a very positive on course experience, and collected the usual medal and t-shirt. There was plenty of convivial good cheer to go around. I note that the registration fee was a bit higher than the going rate. Although it was a fantastic experience, I'd probably try another local half before returning here, as I could find a flatter course at a better price. I'll save my hill racing for other distances than the half, where I'm rather keen to work on the PR.
