Saturday January 31, 2015
Like last year, I worked a 6 am shift in the emergency department, then drove through bad Friday afternoon traffic for hours to get close to the race. Other than that, there were many differences from the inaugural race the year before:
lodging:
2014
stayed in a cheap motel in Salinas-- Scary! I signed the credit card receipt for my room through one of those bullet proof windows. Some of the other hotel guests hanging out in the outside hallways seemed a little sketchy. Perhaps I look too law-abiding-- no propositions from prostitutes, pimps or drug dealers.
2015
stayed in a cheap motel in Monterrey-- less scary, the hotel clerk and I were in the same room when I checked in. This maybe made up for waking up Friday morning at 2 am and not getting back to sleep.
getting to the start:
2014
I had no idea where I was going and despite lots of signs leading to the start, second guessed myself several times. I barely made it to the start on time.
2015
I had a better idea where I was going and despite lots of signs leading to the start, still got a little off track.
Michael Jimenez:
2014
Michael Jimenez (local resident who designed the course) left me behind really early.
2015
Michael Jimenez left me behind a little later in the race. But only after a bunch of mostly female, appropriately minimally clad, local community college cross country team members cheered us on. No photo unfortunately. It was a course highlight.
social interactions during the race:
2014
I ran off and on with several people
2015
I ran almost the whole course with this guy.
It was his first shot at the distance, and his first 50 mile run last year didn't got too well at the end. So Yuch, as he calls himself was trying to pace himself intelligently. He is also very intelligent, being an polysci* prof.
*not to be confused with "scifi"
Daniel Kono's UC Davis web page
Lots of interesting stuff, but all my stiffened brain now can really understand is pee and poo and blood and snot and various orifices in the body, and the diferent ways people try to die in front of you, so won't try to describe any of the fascinating topics that went straight over my head. I'm sure my questions were boring and dumb. Daniel was very nice though. He told me something like, "Well at least what you do is practical-- like you are actually really helping them right there."
Anyway, in case you find yourself running hours with this guy, you might want to do you homework ahead of time. Links to some abstracts of his many articles. Don't sound clueless for the Kono!
Buying National: Preferential Trade Agreements and Public Procurement
Insuring Free Trade: Unemployment Insurance and Trade Policy
how I did:
2014
time: 12:46:45, 10th overall
2015
time: 10:48:06, 7th overall
weather during and after:
2014
Was warmer during the race, and cold and windy (and dark) afterward. Volunteers were huddling under blankets. I didn't want to hang out too long. No pics. Too dark anyway.
2015
Maybe less warm during the race, and not so cold afterward (and the sun still up), so I hung out and took some photos:
public photo album on Facebook
Race not done! I did have to figure out how to get out of the place when I found the gate closed:
GPS recordings:
on Strava
on Garmin Connect (has aid station splits)
results
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| awesome race schwag! |
race website
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