Bay 2 Breakers Weekend

The big challenge over the B2B weekend was taking it easy! That's the simplest way to put it. Here's the run down.

After Forest and Sandi's arrival on Thursday, we were all too tired to do any running so it was all put off until Friday. This meant the beer could flow like wine from a Jesus Jug on Thursday. I don't think one family has ever before single handedly filled the blue recycle bin, but we certainly gave it the ole collige try.
Friday morning Forest and I went out for a 5 mile run. From the hotel to Golden Gate Park and a little bit in, then turning around and coming back. Their hotel was 2 miles from the finish line, so it was a great location. We got to run the last 1/2 mile or more of the course before the actual day of the race. It was cool and foggy out and made for a great run.
Friday night we all had dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company. Wayne, Dad and I sat at the bar for a few hours before dinner having a few beers. We had a long dinner of fried fishes and various other fried foods. I so wished P.P. had been able to join us. At 6:15 it was time to head for the 6:40 boat to Alcatraz. We got out of the restaurant and off the wharf at about 6:30. We quickly learned that the boats no longer depart from Pier 39, but from Pier 33 - over a 1/4 mile away. Thus began the true Drunkrunner 400m Dash! We had 10 minutes to at least claim the tickets and we had no time to waste. Wheezing under the strain of 2 liters of beer and 1 pound of fried fish, we pulled up to the will-call booth with minutes to spare. As the rest of the family arrived Wayne and I were sober as preachers and wishing we were back at Bubba's!
Sunday morning we were at the starting line at 7 a.m. and enjoyed the sights and chatting while we waited for the whole race to begin. I was giddy like a school girl waiting with Tequila and Forest at the starting line! We had all put so much work into getting ready that it was great that it was finally here! We don't see many costumes up front, but there were a few.
At 8 a.m. the horn rang out and they were off. We did very well the first mile, clocking 9:01 together. Mile two was clocked at 9:25, but by the time I reached that mile marker I had had to leave the two of them behind. I felt bad, but I was seriously in danger of hurting my race by running it too slow -- you know how you tighten up if you run too far at a pace slower than your body is used to -- so I broke out ahead of them.
You can tell by my pace that the Hayes St. Hill was the worst part of the race (I played the Powersong twice to make it to the top). That's the dip in the pace there, ending at the top of the hill. The rest of the race went great. I ran an 8:00 mile 6 and I was totally psyched. I was even happier that my pace was picking up all the way through the last half of the race. Not bad.



You can also tell by the distance on the Nike+ that it's not so well calibrated. It was a little rough to have it telling me the race was over almost a 1/4 mile before the finish line, but I pushed through it. Finishing the race in 1:06:31 (official chip time).

That gave me an average pace of 8:55. I was aiming for 9:00, so I was more than happy with that. This was the longest distance I have run since January 21. Not bad. Not bad.

Sandi Patti sent me an SMS at 12:00 stating: Where are we? After some negotitations, I convinced her that naked men in San Francisco were not landmarks. She hung up and called back when she found something that was neither tree, nor lamppost, nor capable of moving from it's present position. We picked her and my niece and her girlfriend up at mile 5.25. Thus rescuing them. Sandi's inability to finish the race due to intoxication certainly earned her entrance into the Drunkrunner's Hall of Fame.

Summary:

Official Results: 1:06:31, Place: 2309, Gender Place: 1890, Age Grade: 50%

Distance: 7.46 miles

Naked People: 5 (I must have run faster this year)

Paris Hilton costumes: 30+

Beers Consumed at the Beer Tent: Personally: 4, insgesamt: 12 or more.

Dead People: 1 (sadly a 53 year old man collapsed at the finish line)

Overall Impression: Sandi Patti, The First To Verge On Passing Out, Won The Drunkrunner Award!