San Francisco 50 Mile (by Coastal Trail Runs) 2015 Race Report

Having recently picked up my first DNF at the Canyons 100K (ugh) and with my focus on the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 mile (woohoo!) I wanted to run the San Francisco 50 miler pretty hard but still conservatively. I have never broken 10 hrs in a 50M before and I was thinking it may be possible here.

Going into the race, I was feeling strong and knew I was getting into pretty good shape. The DNF at the Canyons woke me up. I took hard look at my life, training and what I wanted to do running-wise this year vs fitting it into my life. I knew I was taking the TRT100 too lightly up until that point. I ultimately decided to bear down, work more vert into my training and get after that "hundo"! 

The San Francisco 50 Miler is in my backyard so I was able to get a good night sleep in my own bed and make my way to the race casually in the morning. Although, i might have been a bit too casual as I missed the start by about 1:30! Ha! Coastal Trail Runs are pretty relaxed so it wasn't a big deal and it actually was a nice feeling to start the race in last place and just focus on running based on effort. 

I settled into a comfortable pace for the first 7-10ish miles. I know this course very well so I had a pretty clear picture of where/when I wanted to crank down or let up on the pace. I caught up with a bunch of people pretty quickly and settled into the middle of the pack by mile 7. I started to push a little harder running down Marincello into Tennessee Valley but kept in mind the long way we still had to go. I was hoping to hang around this pace until the turn around at Stinson Beach.

From Tennessee Valley to Stinson Beach I caught quite a few people and felt great on the downhills. I was running based on effort which was still a comfortable push. I was a little discouraged at a few points just before descending Steep Ravine to Stinson Beach because I seemed to be on 10hr pace and I didn't think I would be able to speed up and remain comfortable.

My plan for the second half was to remain in control but push consistently harder than the first half. I noticed that my downhill running has greatly improved this year and I was able to push the pace a bit on all the downhills all the way into the finish. After the first big descent of the second half I was on sub 10 hour pace and feeling strong. I cruised into Muir Beach aid station ready for the steep climb and the awesome single track of Coastal! The climb up the stairs just past Pirate's Cove is always a grind but I was sure to keep pressing forward while conserving energy for the last very-runnable 8 or 9 miles. I was steadily picking people off until the finish and ended up in 12th in 9:37 (*interesting to see in the Strava deets below that I wasted 20 min+ in aid stations and 1 bathroom stop, i'll have to work on that!). A 50 mile PR!! I was running in Altra Lone Peak which are my favorite shoes (especially the 2.5's). I fueled mainly on GU Roctane Lemonade flavor, some Thermolyte MetaSalt tabs and a steadily-half-full hydration pack w h2o only. I also used a few bottles of Skratch in the bottle I carried along.

me at the finish...

SLS3 Allrounder Compression Sock Review

I was recently contacted by SLS3 Compression gear to review some compression socks. I try to only review items that I actually use and like and this was definitely the case with these socks. The ALLROUNDER COMPRESSION SOCKS are awesome!

I love compression socks not really for running in (unless I have a minor injury) but for recovery, travel and when I know i'll be sitting or standing for long periods of time. These socks are very basic which makes them comfortable and functional. The price seems right too at $45. Give 'em a try! 

Airia Running Shoes

Greetings runners! I was recently contacted by Airia to check out their shoes and write a review... These shoes are clearly different BUT don't let that scare you away! I am a big fan of consistently running in a variety of running shoe styles. Check these out!

When you first put these shoes on they feel strange and even when you start running in them they feel a bit odd at first. Keep running!! They start to feel pretty cool! They're definitely made to run fast. So the faster you go the more normal they feel. Notice in the photo above they look like track spikes.

Airia would be a great addition to anyones arsenal of running shoes (not a trail running shoes tho). 

Catching Up with Myself

….i fell off posting on Undefeated Running but at least my running didn't fall off :)

I completed Western States 100 (2013) in 26:52. What an amazing experience. I can't wait to do it again and no I did not get in this year. I need to give a huge thanks to my crew (Mom, Dad, Auntie Sue and Chrissy) and my pacer (Klas). After much research, training and building familiarity with the course (and it being my first 100) I went out with the goal simply to finish BUT if I felt good far enough into the race I would push for sub-24.

I took about a month off from running after the race. Next, I ran the Coastal 50K (headlands) in september and felt great. It was supposed to be a training run for Firetrails 50 which I ended up not running because  I wanted to feel great for my "A" race which was the NYC Marathon. I went to NY feeling ready and strong. The tricky thing about the NYC marathon is getting to the start. You end up standing around for quite a while in pretty cold weather. This did not help my pacing strategy. The original plan was to just plug 8 min miles pretty much the whole way (a very comfortable pace for me on the road). Well after standing around getting cold and bitter :) I did what any runner worth their salt would do… took off at 7 min miles. After a few of those the nerves calmed and I settled into my 8min/mile pace. Well, the last 6-8 miles were a bit tougher than expected. I finished in 3:41 which is a marathon PR for me and was pretty happy with since I hadn't ran a road marathon since 2011.

I had a pretty mellow winter and slowly built my training back up in January. So far in 2014 I ran Way Too Cool 50K (5:13) and American River 50 Miler (9:44) and now my "A" race Miwok 100K is this coming weekend May 3rd. I'm great aside from the calf being a bit tweaked. Unfortunately, on my last run I saw someone I knew and as I was passing them and saying hello something pulled in my calf. Ah! Anyway, I've been resting it for the last 2 weeks so hopefully it will be all good for the start. Either way it should be a great weekend at Stinson Beach :)

Peace!

Adam