Coldest winter a summer in San Francisco?

Not today.

Mrs Notthat, Weird Haired Mom, and I did the Zombie Runner/Coastal Trail Runs San Francisco race today.

Honestly, I didn't want to do this. We just got back on Tuesday from a trip to Colorado where I did a Full Marathon, and I felt like a weekend off would be good. Also, this race was in San Francisco, which is always cold and infested with bad drivers and no parking. And lastly, it had a bit more pavement than I like in my trail races.

But Mrs Notthat and WHM both REALLY wanted to do it, and I like doing Zombie Runner/Coastal events, and it was in an area that could be interesting - the clincher was that the longest distance was a Half Marathon, which I should be able to easily do (even with the 1000' of elevation). And it was at sea level.

I told you - I really didn't want to do this race! You can't make me! (Actually, I think I was warming up.) A couple of things:

• The weather was STUNNING - I did not see that coming at all.
• Traffic and parking were little to no trouble.
• The views were fantastic - way better than I had thought they would be.

The three of us before the race started. The Bridge sneaking into the picture as well.

The Half started first and headed away from The Bridge for a short out and back.

Once we turned around, this was the view we got to run towards.

A fun thing was that most of us Half runners were able to run past the 10K runners before they started their race (we had gone 1.9 miles at this point).

The one blemish on an otherwise great race (and for me, not much of a blemish, and for WHM, no blemish at all since she actually paid attention to the course ribbons, and not the mass of people heading the wrong way) - there was a turn fairly early that a LOT of people missed. You didn't go very far though before you knew something was wrong. I knew we had to go under The Bridge, and this looked like a good way to do it, except this road doesn't go under the bridge at all.

After making the turn, se headed up the steps. A LOT of steps. This course had a lot of this sort of thing, and weirdly, I handled them well (for me, anyway).

Getting ready to go under The Bridge.

The view under The Bridge.

There was a wide variety of trail types on this race. The single-track, like this, was easily my favorite.

Enirehtak (not her real name) smiling because: A) She has already hit the 10K turnaround and is headed back to the finish line, and B) She REALLY loves running in sand (HA!).

Mrs Notthat has also just turned around and is heading to the finish line and loving the sand.

Once we passed the 10K turnaround aid station (picture to come later, I promise), we had to spend a bit of time on residential streets. Not as good as a trail, but not as bad as I had thought it would be, and it was fairly short.

Back on the trails and looking over my shoulder. I can't believe how small The Bridge looks now - can I have really gone that far?

The Cliff House, which means the Half turnaround is coming up! Yay!

The aid station at the Half turnaround - I've gone 7.7 miles and only have 5.4 miles to go. I still have a mild chance at a PR, but my legs are feeling a bit heavy after last week's fun. But I should easily beat 3 hours and the 3.5 hours time limit.

The 10K turnaround aid station/beach play area. At this point, I only have 3.1 miles (a 5K and 5Ks are easy, right?) left. Unfortunately, a heel blister that I had forgotten about from last weekend started to raise its voice a bit. But I was still fairly strong, so I took off and still managed to run the places I should have.

The finish line! I was pooped by this point. I had pushed a bit harder than maybe I should have, but I did it in about 2:50 or so, and felt happy to have done it.

Mrs Notthat also did very well, and by all indications, had a great time.

The shirt, goodie bag contents (nice!), bib, and medal from today's event.

So in the end, I'm REALLY glad I was talked into doing this race. It was WAY more fun and cool than I had expected. Everyone - the Zombies, Coastal people, fantastic volunteers, and all the runners - was great and made this an amazing event.

Next weekend I really don't have a race to do - instead, I will be at the Last Chance aid station (about mile 43) for the Western States 100 mile trail race. If you are running this, stop by and say "hello!"

That's it - move along...

PS: You can see a LOT more pictures from today here. It's worth it - there are a lot of really nice pictures of The Bridge and other runners.

What a difference a week and 1000 miles makes

Last week Mrs Notthat and I slogged through a cold, wet Half Marathon in the Bay Area. So this week we went for something completely different - the GECKO Turkey Track Trail Race just outside of my old hometown of Pagosa Springs Colorado (motto: "Yes, the hot springs are supposed to smell like that").

The buildup to this race started like this:

I did my elbow and both knees in while on a training run on Tuesday when I fell on a relatively smooth, flat, gravel road. I just wanted to heal enough that the Race Director, Mr GECKO, wouldn't be alarmed when he saw me on packet pickup day. Mrs Notthat was fighting a nasty heal blister and was concerned about whether she would be able to run at all.

In any case, we flew into Denver on Wednesday and drove down to Pagosa.

The day before the race, we headed over to pick up our packets, and all went well. Mrs Notthat even bought a pair of heel-blister friendly Go Lite sandals for after the race.

We really did not know what to expect on race day. We were told there were about 200 runners registered - I was amazed at how well they were able to squeeze that many cars into the two parking lots and still have room for runners to mill around, stretch, and wonder whether they had enough time to get in the porta-pottie line (there were only two) or pretend to be a bear and wander off into the woods.

The other thing that made us a bit nervous was that they had changed the course a bit about a week earlier (to move the starting line so that they could accommodate the large number of runners). Past experience has shown that, last minute course changes can lead to issues on the trail with marking and such. But we both had maps and Mr GECKO had promised all was well marked (spoiler alert: it was).

And then the race started and we were off in a cloud of dust! (This was a nice change from last week.) As you can see, it was very clear and perfect weather conditions. The smoke from the Arizona wildfire that had been in the area earlier in the week was mostly gone.

There was a short stretch of gravel road - the rest of the time was on some of the most fun trails I've ever been on.

This puddle made even the gravel road a bit of fun. (No, I didn't splash through it since I didn't want to spend the rest of the race with wet shoes. Granted, it is so dry in Colorado that they probably would have dried out in less than a mile.)

I stayed with Mrs Notthat (who did the Half - she is in white back there a bit) until we hit this single-track, where I said my goodbyes (I think the exact words were "The Blog wins!"), and took off.

The only other muddy bit. I did manage to stomp through this.

There were lots of aid stations set up evenly around the course. They had lots of good things to eat and drink and always tracked your bib number. This particular one we hit at 4.8 miles and 8.3 miles.

The course was pretty well marked (my only issue was a small bit of bonus trail late in the race when I was tired, and it really had nothing to do with the markings), however, this stretch was a bit unnerving since there really didn't appear to be a trail at all! The wet spring caused the grass to be extra perky and try to take over the trail. Fortunately, I am slow and had the benefit of being able to see where previous runners had gone (plus there were a LOT of ribbons on this stretch that really helped). I'm just glad I wasn't one of the first to have to work this out.

This was something I hadn't seen before - using ribbon to block a trail to indicate a turn, which worked well. (Sam, the frequent Brazen Racing sweeper, likes this idea since he wouldn't have to carry a broom to erase the flour marking that they normally use.)

This was the third aid station, at mile 13.3. I was still feeling good at this point, and based on my time, thought I had a shot at finishing in under 6 hours (my real goal was 7 hours once I accounted for the altitude).

This was the 4th and 5th aid station (miles 17.5 and 21.5). My first time here I was doing OK, but was resigned to mostly walking the rest. The dreams of sub-6 hours went away, but I was fine with that. (The woman in white said "You take pictures during the race?" "I'm more of a tourist than runner" I told her. I did a 5K without a camera once and I felt like I was crippled - the camera gives me lots of opportunities to stop and rest a bit while taking a picture of a flower, bug, or cow pie.)

The course had 1836 feet of elevation gain, but most of it was very gentle. This short stretch, however, was far from gentle. At this point, around 23 miles or so, I was struggling. The altitude and heat had caught up to me.

The race people wisely put up a bonus aid station at the 25 mile point. Only one more mile to go, but I was seriously dragging. These two angels were great at getting me back to thinking I could do this and still maybe even beat my original 7 hour goal.

About a 1/4 mile from the finish I was met by Mrs Notthat and nephew Blailand, who came out to get me to the finish line. I couldn't talk either of them into carrying me, so I wobbled my way in.

Here Blailand is amazed at how dorky I can be, even when I'm this close to keeling over.

This was so cool! I've never had this done before, and it was really fun - I got to break through a finishing ribbon!

While I sat on a cooler and tried to get some air in my lungs, my brother (in red) kept trying to get my spirits up ("You look like hell!" he said a couple of times). Blailand, in the meantime, was thinking, "If this old fat guy can do this race, I should be able to too." (The plan now is for him to do the Half next year with us.)

This family drove up from Texas and all did the Full Marathon. At the post-race party, the two kids, ages 8 and 11, both got extremely cool bonus trophies for just plain being amazing!

The one funny bit was that Mrs Notthat, who had never fallen in a race before (and she's done a lot of them in very fall-friendly conditions), fell TWICE! Her knees now look like mine.

One of my legs after I took my shoes and socks off. It was a tiny bit dusty out there - a massive change from last weekend.

The shirt, bib, and medal (which is made by the grade school kids who get all the proceeds from these events for outdoor programs).

This event was fantastic! It was well run and the people, especially all the volunteers, were great. The course was filled with great trails and had only a mild elevation gain, which made it perfect for a sea-level challenged person like me. The patience that the GECKO people had for even the slow people really made me feel good.

Mrs Notthat was a bit concerned about staying on the trail (a bad experience a few races ago is going to be hard to shake), but not only did she have no issues, she set a PR for a Half (3:06). I did not break 7 hours, winding up at 7:06 (and not even dead last!).

Our plan is to come back and do this again next year, and try to drag a few more people out from California with us, plus get Blailand and maybe a few other cousins/nephews/friends to join in.

You can see a lot more pictures from the day here.

That's it - move along...

Once summer finally does get here...

...we will likely look back on days like this with envy. For now though, sun and warmth sound awfully good.

Mrs Notthat, Weird Haired Mom, Needs Cool Name, and I all went to the Brazen Nitro Trail race on Saturday. All week long the weather professionals had been saying it was going to rain a LOT on Saturday, but having lived in this area for so many years, it was really hard to believe that was possible. It's June, and it never rains in June here. For once, the weather professionals were right.

Since NCN was volunteering, we had to show up pretty early, so all of us ended up helping with the Race Headquarters setup.

Mrs Notthat covering a table before cutting up a bunch of fruit. Note that it was raining pretty steady at this time.

WHM, living up to her name, helping to pass out shirts.

Mrs Notthat and Nivek (not his real name) heading out as the Hiker Half Division. I started with the other Half runners 30 minutes later. My goal was to catch up to these two as quick as possible, maybe before the halfway point.

The last time you saw the two on the left was at a sunny Hellyer aid station. Today Nosaj and Ydnic (not their real names; Anwahs was around somewhere, probably trying to get someone hydrated) were cashing in their free race (as was I) to be here. (They are actually standing in the bathroom line: sadly, being a former volunteer does not get you cuts in line.) Also, the trash bag look was very popular today (they are generally temporary and intended to keep you dry early on, and are easily discarded once you no longer need them - lots of people kept theirs for the whole race though).

Once we started, we were led by Brazen Hussy Eiram through the bonus loop the Half Marathoners had to do at the start. The course was about half in trees (mostly great smelling, but oddly creaky eucalyptus) and half on open ground. There was a fair amount of pavement, a lot of gravel roads, and some pretty good dirt trails.

Eiram (no bunny ears today) sending us on our way down the main trail.

The trail followed the bay at the start. You could look across to try to see the hills to the west; if you could see them (as you can here, sort of), that meant the rain was slowing down, and for the first half of the race, it wasn't too bad. On my second lap though, you couldn't see the hills at all, and sure enough, the rain shortly picked up a lot.

Heading in to the first aid station. Despite the trees, there was a LOT of wind out here. Note the canopy - it did not have much longer to live.

The race was a 10K course with two physical aid stations, but was laid out such that you hit both of them twice. For the Half Marathon, you made two laps of the course, so we visited each aid station four times - eight aid station opportunities in all!

The Half runners also had many opportunities to see the start/finish area (and the nice dry tents and hot chocolate and, well, it really does not help to dwell on such things - so close but so far).

There was one section of trail that turned into a pond. (Once the rain started back up a bit later, this pond started bordering on lake status, and several trails became creeks.)

This is the second aid station - a lot less wind than the first one, but still a lot of rain and cold.

NCN taking pictures of the runners coming up to the second aid station.

For such a small area, there are a LOT of trails in Point Pinole Park. Normally, flour markings make it obvious what to do at each intersection, but all the rain erased a lot of the markings, although you could often still see them. (There were also lots of ribbons, which the rain could not ruin, although the wind took its best shot.) I heard later that some people missed turns, which you could do and end up not even knowing it had happened since shortly you would end up back on a ribbon-marked trail.

Finally, just before the 10 mile marker, I caught up to the Hiker Half Division.

There weren't many truly muddy areas of trail, so I had to make the best of those I found.

By the time I made my second lap through the first aid station, the canopy had become an ex-canopy; a twisted and broken pile of rubble. The volunteers at the aid station though were still perky and on top of things. (And for the record, I will give you guys cuts in the bathroom line at the next race - you were amazing!)

NCN took this great picture of Mrs Notthat, splashing (!) through a puddle. (Mrs is normally very careful to avoid unnecessary mud or puddles, but when someone points a camera at you, your strategy can change. This is an awesome picture!)

Not to be outdone, The Blog, who is not careful at all when it comes to mud and puddles, did some splashing oh his own.

And that's about it. My PR for a Half Marathon is on this course, and I had hopes to setting a new one today, but I could not get the proper mojo flowing for this to happen. As it was, my 2:46 finish was better than I had thought I would get back when I started my second lap. It was fun to get to hang with Mrs Notthat for the last three miles or so.

I can't say this was my most fun race ever - I am SO over running in the rain, plus I managed to drown my camera towards the end - but it wasn't the worst either. And a lot of that credit goes to the whole Brazen family and all the volunteers that really went all out for this race - the conditions were awful, but they made the best of it (the new heavy duty tents were very welcome).

Mrs Notthat and I have to miss next week's Brazen Trailquake race (which is really too bad since this is a great park and course, and likely will have great weather) as we will be in Colorado doing a trail race near my parents place.

A bit frighteningly, this storm is headed east - hopefully it will have passed through Colorado before Saturday. I'm not sure I'm up for another swim like that.

That's it - move along...

PS: You can see more pictures I took here.

How long did it take you to get back to sleep?

Last night The Boy headed out to a work-based celebration of their trouncing of another lube joint, this one from Alaska, in a competition to determine the lube joint you'd most likely survive if you had to eat off of the floor.

Or something like that.

"When will you be home?" asked The Blog. "Well, last time I got home about 2 AM" replied The Boy. "Heavy sigh" replied The Blog.

So when the phone rang at 12:30 AM, it could only mean bad things. The caller was from Kaiser Hospital, confirmed that she was talking to Mrs Notthat, then asked her to hold for the doctor.

VERY bad things indeed.

Mrs Notthat headed to the living room while I tried to get my heart rate back under four digits. When I finally managed to find my glasses, I headed out too - she was sitting in a chair, still waiting for the doctor.

With The Boy also standing there, also wondering what was going on.

"You're not dead" I observed.

"You're not who we meant to call" said the doctor once he got on the phone.

"I'm never getting back to sleep" I muttered.

Talking to Mrs Notthat this morning, she said that the person who made the phone call said that this was not an emergency, but who makes non-emergency calls at 12:30 AM?

Oh, right - Kaiser Hospital.

That's it - move along...