Blog Post

This was the 46^th running of the Double Dipsea, and the second time for me.  I ran it last year when Brazen Racing co-hosted the event with founding organization, the Dolphin South End Runners.  The actual course is 14.2 miles / 23 km and involves a climb of 4500ft / 1372m.   It’s an age handicapped race, so the 80 year olds start at 8am and the rest of the runners go out in waves, with men age 39 and under taking off at 9:01am.  I’m not a fast runner, so my time last year was 4hr 17min.

The race started at Stinson Beach...

I missed my start time by 15 seconds because I was so busy volunteering my time as a photographer that I completely forgot about my running hat, so I ran back to the car to retrieve it.

Almost immediately, we started climbing up Insult Hill to the first aid station, also appropriately called Insult, which is only one mile into the race, but an approximate climb of 600 ft.  Already I was thinking, “13 more miles…?” Along the way the fog was pretty thick, so many runners would be swallowed up by it in the distance.

Once out of Insult Aid Station, you meander long a trail for another two miles and climb about 700 ft up Cardiac Hill to Cardiac Aid Station. 

After Cardiac Hill, you fly nearly straight down for two miles, mostly on root-infested trails and single track, descending about 1150 ft.

Crossing a small stream where salmon are spawning, you finally reach the Muir Woods Aid Station, which is also mile 5 of the race.

Pulling out of Muir Woods Aid Station … another uphill climb!

This time up Suicide Hill to a spot called Windy Gap.  Not sure who gave it the name Suicide Hill, but with steps and single track, the name fits.  You’ve got steep drop-offs and the faster runners coming back at you.  Gotta find a spot to stop and let them pass, or zip from spot to spot when there’s a break.  Thankfully, most of the faster runners were courteous to slow folks like me as they flew by.

At the top of Suicide Hill is Windy Gap, so it was a 600 ft climb up from the Muir Woods Aid Station, and then it’s down the infamous Dipsea Stairs.  Three different sections of stairs leading down into Old Mill Park Aid Station in the western portion of Mill Valley, CA.  This is mile 6.9-ish and the turnaround.  This is also near the traditional starting location of the single Dipsea.

I stopped in at this aid station to top off my two soft flasks.  It took a bit longer than expected.  I think going down the stairs beat me up.  This was probably my longest stop, maybe three to four minutes.  Once done … it was back towards the stairs.  All 671 of them!!!

I slogged up the stairs and made the climb back up to Windy Gap, and then back down into Muir Woods.  Fatigue really started to set in – it had been six months since my last half marathon – and every step back up Cardiac Hill was pure agony.  To make matters worse, the humidity started to climb while under the tree canopy and things started to get more uncomfortable. 

But I stuck with two people, both probably in their early 60s, trying to figure when we’d eventually emerge out of the tree cover and reach Cardiac Aid Station.  Once we did, the heat really hit us, and my Suunto Ambit was recording a temperature of about 83 degrees!

I spent about 30 seconds at Cardiac Aid Station, just to gulp down some water, and off I went…  The view for the next two miles was spectacular!  But the fog was taunting us by holding itself back as the heat of midday beat down on us.

As I descended some more stairs towards the final aid station, my knees were starting to rebel against me.  Several of us had to take the steps very gingerly, because falling would have meant disaster.

Pulling into the final aid station, I almost didn’t remember lining up for a hug and a photo with a friend, and then I was on my way…

One final mile left.  And finally we descended back into the fog.  The sounds of the finish line were beckoning to us…

My final finish time was 4hr 43min.  Almost 30 minutes slower than last year, but I still finished about 30 minutes before the official cutoff, and that’s really all that matters to me.  I had some friends finish well in front of me who were also slowed down by the heat.  The Double Dipsea is a difficult race, but surprisingly not the hardest race I’ve ever done.  Will I do it again?  After I crossed the finish line, I vowed to volunteer only next year, but as I type this, I can feel the Dipsea fires welling up in me again…

(Photos were taken by Brazen Racing's volunteer photographers.  More photos can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/107801830681230323136?noredirect=0)

It's been six days since finishing my first trail marathon and I'm starting to come out of the fog of recovery.

I ran the Free State Trail marathon in Lawrence, Kansas. It rained from the moment the RD shouted "Go!". The trail was slop by halfway through.

But that's not the point of this little post. I'll have a race write up sometime soon and post the link to it.

What I wanted to share is that I finally completed Eric's marathon plan. I purchased it about 2 years ago and started it twice, shelving it both times until this year. One of the times I stopped was because race timing didn't work out. The other was because I was taking on something new- expanding my trail running and couldn't piece together enough information from this website, which was before the book came out, to make sense of everything. 

After spending a year with a coach who took me through my first longest distances races (17 mile, 25k and 50k), I opened up the marathon plan with more knowledge of how to approach the heart rate zones, and the long runs, and everything in between. And what I found is that I LOVED the variety of the plan. I spent a year, and rightly so, running fairly monotonous training plans- everything low, unless specific hill training. I learned a lot. But I knew I couldn't go into another training season with the same long and slow. Eric's plan gave me the variety and forced me to keep my edge mentally and of course, physically. I got the the end of my last long run of 20 miles and sort of shrugged my shoulders and said "Well, I guess I'm ready." Yes, I had lots of trying, dark, fatiguing moments and one particular bad morning, with the dog peeing on a brand new rug, left me threatening to quit the training because I just couldn't anymore, but I got through (and we still have the dog and the rug washed out). I toed the starting line feeling equipped and prepared.

I would say the marathon plan is a heck of a plan and you need to be prepared to put in the effort but it will make a better runner. 

Eric is training me for Marathon des Sables #mds running accross the Sahara Desert in Morocco in April 2011. You can see my video of a test Eric had me do in Sept 2010 time frame a month or so after I complete Ironman Lousiville with Eric's Coaching Support. Hit this link on my Beyond Limits Magazine to see the WHAT NOT TO DO VIDEO.  

Compare this to Eric's drills here on his latest vid blog post. I have been working a bunch on improving form since this test. It is taking enormous patience to get my body to respond to the athleticism needed to do it, but I just know it is best for me to master it for long term body health. See Eric's Forefoot Run Drills and Technique Video here.

Check out his email interaction with me after this run. It is interesting to see how he tore my technique down just from observing this test. His email to me:

"It was good to see your form.  You are a little bit on your heels.  Watch your video again and pay attention to when you are running the back stretch on the track, running towards the camera.  Notice how you can see the bottoms on your shoes…this means you are heel striking.  You can also see it from the distance shot.  We will work on this."

 

I hope this helps everyone. I was a college runner and thought i knew everything about running. I can assure you after working with Eric, I definately do not. :)