Back into the swing of things (Brazen Dirty Dozen Race Recap)

I suffered a minor setback in the middle of June when I strained my calf. The injury cost me my first week of marathon training, but I wanted to play it safe and took some extra time off to make sure everything was fine. I definitely don't want to deal with any type of long-term or nagging injury. I finally shook off the injury and started up running and swimming at the beginning of July. It was nice to be back to working out!

On the July 4th holiday weekend, I escaped the heat wave we were having here in Northern CA and ran a couple of races along the coast at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline. I ran the Dirty Double, back to back races at the Brazen Racing Dirty Dozen. This event was pretty cool because there were already a number of runners out on the course who were participating in 6 hour and 12 hour endurance races. Two of my MHRC friends Matt and Sunny teamed up for the 6 hr race, while another friend Josh ran the 12 hr race. CRAZY!

I ran a 10K race at 11am and a 5K race at 12:10pm. This essentially fulfilled my long run requirement of 9 miles for the week. Going into the races, I was a little worried since my endurance wasn't exactly up to par. A 10K run earlier in the week had me run/walking the last 2 miles. It was also in the mid-80's and sunny. I was hoping that the cooler weather and the overall race atmosphere would push me through with minimal issues.

During the 10K race

The 10K race consisted of ~ two loops of the course and measured out to be a total of 6.45 miles. It was mostly on dirt trails with a couple of hills mixed in. A good portion of the trail was along the coastline which was great! I tried pacing myself so that I would have some energy left for my 5K afterwards, but I tried keeping up with my friend Jason who was out in front of me. Jason was actually participating in the Dirty All Day which included the 10K and 5K races in the morning and another set of 10K and 5K races in the late afternoon. Another crazy runner! In the end, I couldn't catch him and I was pretty gassed. In the 20 minutes between races, I tried my best to get hydrated with some electrolyte sports drinks and some coconut water.

Along with Jason, my wife Winnie and my buddy James would be joining me in the 5K race. This was James' first ever race! He had been running around his neighborhood for a couple of months now and wanted to check out a timed race. I had recommended this particular race to him because of my love for Brazen races, the cool climate, and the infamous BBQ spread afterwards! :)

The 5K was available as a gun start only. I'm assuming it was because the 10K race was still finishing up and the timing mats weren't available for the start. The 5K was a single loop and was a total of 3.37 miles. I could tell I didn't have much left in my tank and ran slower than my 10K pace. Jason was way out ahead of me from the start, so I had no chance in trying to catch up to him. The race was pretty uneventful, but the light hills, especially the last hill before the finish, were a bit harder to climb this time around.

Jason in the front on the left and me in the back on the right after the start of the 5K race.

Winnie and James after the start of the 5K race.

All in all, this was a good day of running. Although I could tell my conditioning wasn't where I wanted it to be, it felt good to finish without walking, without injury, and with a decent result.

10K race stats:  Distance: 6.45 miles  Time: 49:02  Pace: 7:37 min/mile

Overall: 9th/102  Age Group: 2nd/8th in Men's 35-39

5K race stats:  Distance: 3.37 miles  Time: 26:52  Pace: 7:59 min/mile
Overall: 14th/122  Age Group: 2nd/7th in Men's 35-39

Jason won our age group in both races! He also placed in our age group later on and finished 2nd and 3rd in the afternoon 10K and 5K races! I have to step up my game if I want to have any chance in keeping pace with him the next time out.

Me and Jason with our respective age group medals.

My wife finished 2nd in her age group in the 5K! This marks her second ever age-group medal!!

Family photo after the races

My friend James finished 4th in our age group in the 5K and an excellent 28th overall!! Great first race James!! Time to find you another race! :)

Me and James afterwards

In the endurance races, Josh ran 40.44 miles in the 12 hr race (solo!!) and in the 6 hr race, Matt and Sunny combined for 40.42 miles total and 2nd place in the 2-person team competition!! Way to go MHRC!!!

Next up: My first triathlon of the season at the Tri For Fun #2 in nearby Pleasanton. It's a beginner-friendly triathlon and I can't wait for it!