Double infinity is not how long it took...

...but it sure felt that way.

On Saturday, Mrs Notthat and I took part in the Brazen Summit Rock trail race outside of Saratoga in the Santa Cruz mountains. Brazen doesn't do that many trail races in this part of the Bay Area, so it's a real treat when one shows up.

But wow, this is a tough course that has a way of sneaking up on you.

There are three races (5K, 10K, and Half Marathon); all out-and-backs on the same trails, with each longer distance going out a bit farther. The trails are amazing - mostly single-track through a thick forest.

The catch is that the 5K and 10K runners spend the first half of the race going steadily uphill until they reach the turnaround, where they get to head back down that switchback-infested hill.

After struggling to get up the hill, it's very tempting to take off and try to make up for lost time going back down it, however the trail has a lot of roots and rocks that can trip you up - there were a number of mildly to moderately twisted and sprained ankles and such by the time the runners hit the finish line. Almost everyone either got tripped up or stumbled several times.

The Half Marathon also headed up that hill, then turned right, and headed through a valley just to add a bit more of an elevation challenge.

Mrs Notthat and I signed up for the Half Marathon, however, Mrs Notthat was in no condition to be doing a race at all, let alone a challenging Half, since she was in the middle of a fierce battle with a raging cold. So she grudgingly downgraded to the 5K and promised to take it easy. (Spoiler alert: HA!)

She says she only stuck herself once while putting this bib on.

Mrs and I gave each other a hug just before I took off with the other Half runners. (The 5K didn't start for another 30 minutes, so she headed over to the coffee pot and got a bit more hydrated.)

One nice surprise was seeing Probably Not a Canadian out on the course cheering us runners on (she was running the 5K and so had some time to kill). She helpfully yelled at me to start running. I responded by not making a rude gesture.

Weird Haired Mom came out and took pictures at the 5K turnaround. This is about 1.5 miles and nearly 700 feet of climbing into the race. This is not a 5K for the faint of heart.

Picture by Alameda Ted

Here I am reaching the 10K turnaround point, a bit over three miles and 1500 feet of climbing into the race. 10K runners are rejoicing since it's all downhill for them from here. Half runners still have about 1400 feet of climbing to go, although the long, relentless climb is pretty much over.

The trail along the top of the ridge really showed the effects of last week's wind storm. It was covered in small spruce (fir? redwood? palm?) tree branches, giving a festive feel while making the rocks and roots just a bit harder to see. Ahead of me is my arch nemesis - Yram (not her real name), keeping up a strong pace. Would she beat me yet again?

Sometimes the branches on the trail were actually whole trees - talking with the Brazen Rabbit (who marked the trail the day before), she had to do a fair amount of work just to clear enough space for us to get through. Even at that, it felt like we were in one of those made-for-TVobstacle races at times.

I would walk up to one of these obstructions and carefully step over, around, or through it. Others just took a flying leap, so to speak.

Finally, after nearly two hours (!) and to the comforting (?) sound of gunfire, I reached the Half turnaround at about 6.6 miles. (There is a shooting range across the road, and it was filled with enthusiastic customers.) Unlike the 5K and 10K races, hitting the turnaround for the Half did not mean it was all downhill from here - we still had that valley to go through, and about 500 more feet of climbing.

One thing about this kind of race, there are a LOT of negative splits (where runners cover the second half of the race faster than the first half). And I was no different, taking a little less than one and a half hours to get back to the finish line.

Picture by Jonathan

I was quite happy to be finished. (Note my sideways "88" bib. Double infinity! And you math guys can save your flames; I know you can't really double infinity, but if the timing company could figure out how to enter that into their computer, that's the time I should have gotten.)

I finished in 3:29:44, and really don't know how I managed to do this same race in 3:04:11 last year. But enough about me - what about the "clinging to her deathbed so she's going to take it easy" Mrs Notthat?

Picture by Jonathan

There she is (in teal, or whatever that color is in the center) "taking it easy" on her way out.

Picture by Jonathan

And here she is "taking it easy" on her way back to the finish line. She ended up second in her age group at 42:34!

It's not easy to get this many Brazen people to stand still long enough for a picture (or to get a picture of Mr Brazen when he isn't thoughtfully stroking that impressive bushy thing on his face, trying to work out how to make the race more challenging next year).

For those keeping score, I ended up passing arch nemesis Yram just before the turnaround and beat her, but not by much. For those that need to know, from left to right, you have Yram, Mrs Notthat, Brazen Rabbit, Mrs Brazen, Mr Brazen, and Yrrek (not her real name and not a whiner, no matter what I said elsewhere).

I love this - Mas, who often is the sweeper, ran this race and finished an hour or so before me. He was rewarded by getting to push Brazen First and Second Born in the stroller. "Come on Mas! Daddy would push me much faster up that hill! Let's do it again!" explained First Born.

Note the deer off to the right. I was amazed at how unconcerned they were about all the people, the music, and the general mayhem going on. I suspect they were hoping for leftover It's-It ice cream bars.

I love this type of trail, but it is not without its issues. The faster runners coming back down the hill at a breakneck (fortunately, not literally) pace had to contend with getting past the slower runners still heading up the hill, and the trail was often too narrow for this to happen easily. (An advantage of being a slower Half runner was that I had none of these issues when I was coming down that hill. I could go as fast as I wanted. Which was usually just a bit above a slow jog.)

The other issue is that upon reaching the top of the hill you are not rewarded with sweeping views, as is the case in most of the East Bay races - instead, you are rewarded with views of more trees. Which is fine by me - I love running through forests like this and get just as much of a reward looking at trees the whole way.

A huge thanks to all the volunteers, the Brazen people, and all the runners that made this such a fine and fun event.

That's it - move along...

PS: You can see more of my pictures here, and a BUNCH more pictures from the prolific volunteer paparazzi here.

Turkey race take two

This was the day many had been waiting for. Ever since Brazen announced a second turkey-based race and a special medal to commemorate it, the excitement has been mounting.

The day started with another Kid's Fun Run against an inexplicably cocky Brazen Turkey. Not only has this turkey never won the race, it has never beaten anyone. (Yes, it occurs to me that if was able to enter, its chances would improve dramatically.)

These kids are very competitive and really push it. Grandkid Thing 2 is giving it his all.

Grandkid Thing 1 is also flying. Both finished strong and nicely warmed up for their upcoming 5K. The Brazen Turkey, sadly, just barely finished at all. (Click here to see a movie I took of the race. It's rated "F" for "Furious." Click here to see the Nitro kid's race.)

Weird Haired Mom and Thing 2 stayed together for the 5K race. And don't let this blinding exhibition of speed fool you - Thing 2 was determined to walk the whole course. But he understands that you have to run for the camera.

Thing 1, on the other hand, did a LOT of running. This was her first race where she was able to head out mostly on her own, and she loved it. She made friends with probably half the runners on the course and finished strong.

Meanwhile Mrs Notthat and I did the Half Marathon course. This is an easy course - flat, a lot of pavement, little chance of getting lost - which is another way of saying I would normally hate it. But I was nobly willing to overlook all that and focus on the medals.

Mrs Notthat was strong and fast, which was amazing considering she was having serious tummy trouble and probably should not have been out there at all.

These porta-potties at about miles 3.3/10 were lifesavers. (She asked me to apologize to anyone that tried to use these after her.)

For the first time in a couple of years, my right knee started acting up. Dr. Nahom (not his real name or profession) whipped out a bottle of that magic stuff used at all the World Cup matches and sprayed some on my balky knee. I don't know if it or the ibuprofen worked, but within 30 minutes or so the knee was significantly better.

While the course is flat and a lot of time is spent running along a "creek" next to a lot of backyards, there is also a lot of time spent running around Quarry Lakes, which were quite pretty today. Those with good eyes will note the Brazen arch - so close yet so far.

Not only did I get my nifty finisher medals, but I also got a bottle of wine (for wearing that arrow through the head thing on Thursday) and, coolest of all, Marvin the Paranoid Android, made by the awesome Yrrek (not her real name). She's very clever and talented and I NOW HAVE A MARVIN! (While this had nothing to do with the race, I NOW HAVE A MARVIN!)

Momma Woof was also there and again won an age group medal. Ultra Woof did not win an age group medal, so Thing 2 picked her a yellow flower.

This is what the grandkids walked away with after these two turkey races: A medal from each Kid's Race, a medal from each 5K, and a bonus medal to tie the two together. They loved showing people how they went together like a puzzle. They also loved sounding like a herd of cows as they walked around with all of these on.

The somewhat frightening Brazen Rabbit and Not the Canadian - that is one of the greatest costumes ever seen in a trail race!

Who says trail runners aren't competitive?

Or athletic? I have no idea who the people in the above pictures are, but they are typical of what you will find at these races. And they, along with all the fun and enthusiastic volunteers, are what makes these races such a blast, which is why I can't resist doing them.

It was a great set of races and a great way to spend a couple of mornings.

AND I GOT A MARVIN!

That's it - move along...

PS: You can see more pictures I took here.

Don't these people know there's football on?

Turkey Day races have become very popular, and why not? On a day known for food (and football), what's not to like about getting in a bit of exercise to help offset what you are about to eat? (Granted, for what I was about to eat, I'd have to do at least a 50K to put any kind of a dent in it.)

We, along with about 600 others, did the Brazen Nitro Turkey race last year and had a blast. There was no way we were going to miss it this year. And then Brazen upped the ante by adding a second turkey-based race and AWESOME bling for those who ran both races - a medal that's a puzzle!

So today, nearly 800 runners came out, braving a threat of rain (it didn't rain on the race, but the early setup people got pretty wet) and skipping a football game so that they could grab the first of the medals.

The Boy has his game face on, as well as my arm sleeves from the Golden Hills Marathon. It was fairly cool so he wanted to try them out (I think he got warmed up and pulled them off around the first mile marker, which is what makes them so useful. The style aspect is just a bonus.)

One of the best things about this race is that there are a LOT of families that show up. I've seen Nivek (not his real name) at dozens of other races, but today I got to meet his family! It was a blast seeing so many kids and others that had probably never done this sort of thing before show up and do the race - lots of walkers (like I was, mostly) enjoying the trails and fun and great post-race food. Well, and the medal.

There were a lot of people with dogs as well, including us with Kaya. It was her first race - we had no doubt that she would handle the 10K fine, but were unsure how she would do around so many other people and dogs. (Spoiler alert: She did great!)

The grandkids, Thing 1 and Thing 2, did the Kid's 100 Yard Fun Run, which involved racing the Brazen Turkey (who really needs to get off the couch and hit the trails - the BT came in last for the third straight year). The race was free and the kids all got medals and goody bags.

The grandkids, along with their parents, then headed out to do the 5K race. Here, Thing 2 (wearing his headband - Thing 1 refused to wear hers due to it not being very aerodynamic) and his dad Needs Cool Name caught up to Kaya and I at about mile 2. Thing 2 was explaining the science of squeezing as much goody out of an aid station as possible.

The startlingly domestic looking Not a Canadian, who had finished her 5K much earlier, was helpfully (HA!) standing at about mile 3, waving a bottle of wine and box of chocolates at the runners, warning them of a slippery muddy stretch just ahead.

I caught up to Ultra Woof and Spammy at the 5K/10K split. We were competing for the coveted Dead Last Finish and by this point were pretty sure we had no other competition.

Kaya made sure I got a good shot at DLF by twice making me grab a bag and clean up her trail gifts.

Ultra Woof took this shot of me at this cute little porta-pottie. (BTW, in case you are curious, the arrow through the head thing worked out great. I mostly forgot it was there until I would see a kid staring at me with grave concern - I had to take it off to convince one boy that it wasn't real.)

Spammy is a born trail runner, making absolutely no effort to avoid puddles. Kaya, on the other hand, mostly avoided them, even though I showed her how it should be done.

I never saw Mrs Notthat after the race started, but fortunately there were several volunteer paparazzi scattered around the course that caught her as she streaked by. She finished the 10K in great shape and had to be restrained to keep her from doing another lap.

Weird Haired Mom and Thing 1 finished together. Thing 1 ran almost the whole 5K, and has declared that her goal is to be able to do exactly that. She's caught the bug.

NCN and Thing 2 finished together. Thing 2's goal is to figure out how to clean out an aid station more effectively.

The Boy, who also did the 10K, just missed setting a PR and finished just under one hour (two seconds under).

And finally, Kaya and I finished. (I love how it looks like I was breaking a ribbon, but actually, I was DLF and the ribbon was from the finish line being taken down.)

We got a nice group picture of our family, the Woofs, the Htenajs (not their real name), and Eam (not her real name) posing with a very tired (but still photogenic) Brazen Turkey.

Momma Woof did the 5K and again scored an age group medal.

To everyone that worked this event, from the Brazen people to all the volunteers, a huge "THANKS!" I know you all must have had your doubts while setting up in the rain. This event was just plain too much fun - lots of runners, lots of cheering, lots of food - what more could anyone want?

Well, the other bits of that medal. See you all on Saturday!

That's it - move along...

PS: Click here for a lot more pictures.

Kaya(k) update: wonder dog or not?

We have finished two weeks with Kaya(k) and we know a few things we didn't know before:

When she's not going 100 miles per hour, she can do a passable impression of a pancake.

She has a strong aversion to dog doors. The first night she was at our house, I got her to come in twice through this door (I had to hold the flap open, but at least she would go through the hole). Since then - nothing.

She has learned to use the flaps as a doorbell, bumping them with her nose over and over again until we finally open the door and let her in (or out). We've tried treats, squeaky toys, promises of uncountable bones, but she will just stand there looking like this. Once in a while she will stick a leg through, only to quickly pull it back. She knows how it's  supposed to work, but she really does not trust that flappy door.

This morning was a 10K DSE race on the Embarcadero. (Riley and Darci are "helping" direct runners. Riley helped one runner so much he smacked him with the flag. [Not really - he was just holding it out and a runner ran into it. It's a lot more fun though to picture Riley trying to spur on some runner that was slowing down.])

Diane wanted to do the race, so I bravely offered to drive her and Kaya(k) up there, drop her off, park, and meet her at the finish line while Kaya(k) and I got in a nice walk. But the drive through the city did not go as planned, took way longer than was expected, and resulted in Kaya(k) giving back her breakfast on the floor of the van.

I think she likes driving in that city as much as I do.

But things were made all better by a belly rub from Darci.

After the race, we gave Ultra Woof and her dog Spammy a ride back to her car, which provided a test of Kaya(k)'s ability to tolerate another dog in tight quarters. Mostly, it went fine, although there were some tense moments when Spammy started showing off his mad surfing skills. (It's a long story.)

After dropping off UW and Spammy, we headed home, and Kaya(k) did her best impersonation of a GPS system. ("Ruh Roh" was her most helpful comment as I navigated tight traffic past Candlestick Park and masses of rabid 49er fans.)

Riley and Kaya(k) really like playing tug-o-war. Kaya(k) was actually pulling Riley across the room.

The one loser so far has been Jesse's cat, Shadow. The cat is amazingly skittish under the best of circumstances - toss in a hyper, overgrown puppy and that cat rarely makes an appearance anymore. Kaya(k) is very curious about the cat, but has not been hostile. The cat has hissed a few times, but hasn't actually tried to kill the dog. There is hope, but it might take a year or two.

So, is Kaya(k) a wonder dog? Hardly. Is she Idiot Dog Kaya(k)? Possibly. Mostly though, she's just Puppy Dog Kaya(k) on a crusade to squeeze as much goody as she can out of every day.

And she's a really good squeezer.

That's it - move along...

PS: Click here to see more pictures from the DSE thing this morning. Click here to see pictures from a dog walk we went on last weekend.