Mixed Up

This afternoon I'm watching "Marmaduke" Maylee and Mandy. I cherish the chance to go to the theater with Maylee, who loves the whole movie and popcorn experience, but this is a typical kid movie. It has two dog fart jokes and acting that would shame most community theater companies. Being a little disinterested, I hit the indiglo button on my watch to check the time. The watch doesn't work, however, as it's clogged with mud from this morning's Muddy Buddy race in San Jose.

I picked up my teammate Melissa Bloom and her partner Marc Ellyn at 4:30 AM this morning. Melissa is a triathlete whom I befriended at the gym while recuperating from my running injuries on a stationary bike last year. She's the perfect teammate--in great shape, competitive and meticulous.

We are told to arrive very early at the race. We did as instructed, unlike the other competitors. After a long ride up a curvy road we enter the park, where we are told to drive into a cow pasture. There are no cows, but we have a sizable drive to the far corner of the bumpy field. I'm glad my Honda CRV has a little bit of clearance. This is the most off-roading I've done in this car since we bought it nine years ago.

Melissa and I sign some waivers, get our bibs, and decorate our bike to distinguish it from the hundreds that will share the course. She takes the bike to the start of the race to set the gears for the initial big climb. While there Marc Ellyn and I meet Ralph Gowan, whom I knew would be competing with Dave Luczynski from the Forward Motion race team. Melissa joins us after calibrating the bike. We're primed for a high performance race, but Ralph deflates my tires by saying the race is not competitive. I look around and see people in costumes while Melissa and I look like we're doing the Tour de France. I want to win, but I don't want this to be a joke.

At the start the announcer asks how many participants have done this before, and hardly any hands go up. This seems to be a one-time dalliance. The race is about 6.5 miles long, broken into five sections. Each participant runs and bikes, switching each leg. I'm the better runner, so I'll run the first, third and fifth leg, and Melissa is the stronger rider, so she'll ride when I run and then run the second and fourth legs.

Melissa goes to the very front with the rest of the bikers, while I stand behind with the runners. Not far from me is a woman wearing a lime green net outfit over black workout clothes. Ms. Lime Green Net looks ready to party. The bikes take off and a bit later the runners follow. Soon the runners start overtaking the riders. I'm in second place among the runners, and the bikes are having a tough time with the steep climb on the trail. A lot of riders are on foot, slowed down as they push their bikes up the hill. We pass Melissa, who's made a lot of progress, but I feel bad that she's walking. This isn't the kind of race she was expecting. Eventually the course levels off and the riders catch up with us. Melissa blows by me and I look forward to getting on the bike.

At each transition point we have to overcome an obstacle. The first one is a climbing wall about eight feet high. This is something that Maylee polishes off at the playground, so I have no problem with it and climb down the other side on a cargo net. Now it's time for me to ride. Melissa has left the bike on the left side of a mass of bikes. I guess you could call it a critical mass. Ralph advised us to determine where to leave the bike before the race to avoid losing time at the exchanges. I'm able to pick out the bike easily and I'm on my way.

Fear quickly overwhelms my excitement. Melissa is the primary rider, so the bike that we share is set for her proportions. We are exactly the same height, but she has longer legs so the seat is higher than I would prefer. We can't reset the seat every exchange, so when I ride I can barely reach the pedals. This isn't going to be easy and I wish I had my feet on something solid, like a pedal or the ground. The trail is bumpy and I have to avoid running over runners on the right while avoiding riders passing me on the left. I pass Melissa, who's now running, and I get to the second exchange area, a balance beam.

After about two and a half miles of running and biking, my legs are unprepared for the delicate movement on a balance beam. I fall off twice as I begin. On the third attempt I go extra slow. Reaching the halfway point, I turn sideways and slide my feet toward the end. I make slow progress, but get near the end and leap off.

I have another problem at this exchange. The race staff tells everyone to put their bikes on the left at this station, which conflicts with our planned bike drop position of always going to the right. I lean the bike against a sign so that it's the only upright bike, hoping that Melissa can find it. Back on the run, I continue to navigate past runners to my right while looking behind me to avoid getting run over by a cyclist. Melissa passes me and yells, "Keep the bike on the right!" Apparently she had a difficult time finding the bike.

The next obstacle is a climb up a cargo net followed by a trip down an inflatable slide. Just as I get off the slide Melissa shows up with the bike, so we have a seamless exchange. Approaching the last obstacle I gain on Ms. Lime Green Net. We crawl under a cargo net, which I discover I'm really good at. If someone ever invents a sport that emphasizes slithering through low spaces, I'd dominate it. Coming out of the net obstacle, I run past Ms. Lime Green Net, who tells me to go for it.

It's hot and I'm looking forward to finishing the race. I expect Melissa to pass me on the bike, but she never appears. I arrive at the last obstacle, the eponymous mud pit. Teams must go through together, so I find Marc Ellyn who's videotaping the event. Marc Ellyn asks me where Melissa is, but all I can say is that I'm surprised she didn't pass me on the last leg. A few minutes pass, and then Melissa shows up, drops off the bike and we go head first on hands and knees into the mud. It's a new experience. The mud feels pretty good but there are pebbles that scrape my knees. The pit has three deep sections that ensure that your entire body will get caked. After three drenchings we emerge brown.

Next stop are the showers, which are really a tangle of hoses. I take off my shoes, which are of no further use, and get a coupon for Columbia gear for donating them. Ralph Gowan yells to me from the road. He and Dave finished five minutes ahead of us, so he's already clean. He's wearing a towel around his waist. A shower cap and long scrub brush would complete the look. Melissa and I get as clean as we can without soap and with our clothes. We spray each other's backs and run the water down our own shorts.

After drying off and changing we head back to the race in search of the results. I ask Melissa if she was okay in the last leg, and she says she lost time looking for the bike. Our time of 50:42 is about eight minutes better than last year's winner in our age group, coed teams combined 96 years and older. Unfortunately, another team finishes two minutes ahead of us.

The event is extremely well organized, but the awards ceremony lasts longer than the race. The winning men are announced first, and the awards go five deep in seven age categories. Each age group gets on the podium for a group shot. The routine--name the team, wait for the team to show up, call the people in the Red Hook beer tent if the team doesn't show up, and take a group photo--repeats 20 times, that's five teams of two people for a total of 200 names--before our age group has its turn. By then pretty much everyone has left.

Melissa and I don't care who's there, we just want our medals. The winners, Kym Sterner and Jack Hollerman, are representing the downtown Oakland YMCA. They're really nice. Kym is Ms. Lime Green Net and Jack gives me a high five. Melissa and I are happy with our result, but we think we could take Ms. Lime Green Net and Jack in a competition that doesn't involve finding a bike lying on the ground. After all, they may be from the YMCA, but we're from the Harbor Bay Club.
Even though it takes longer than I'd like, this is a fun event. I can definitely see myself doing it again. Ralph is right. It's different, but it was challenging. And maybe next time we'll find our bike faster.

Outclassed

I run the Marin Memorial Day 10K for no other reason than it is an opportunity to run fast. There's no chance for a medal and the course is not scenic. But the flat course attracts dozens of runners from Northern California capable of national-class performances. The race is the so-called 10K championships for the Pacific Association of the US Track and Field Association. My goals are pretty modest: finish in the top 100 and break 37 minutes.

My goal time is ambitious. I've only run 36 and change once before, but I've had some encouraging results at the Across the Bay 12K, Oakland Running Festival Half Marathon, and the Tilden Tough Ten. The first and third races were my second best times on those courses, and the half marathon time was my best since 2008. Last year I ran Marin in 37:17, so I think my goal is attainable.

Debra Cramer drives Suzette Smith and me to the race. They are making their debuts for the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders (LMJS) race team. LMJS entered a women's team at the Zippy 5K in April, and now is conducting weekly track workouts. LMJS was a race team waiting to be born from among its club membership.

As we go to the registration tables we find what seems to be a multiplying flock of LMJS racers. All women, it seems like everywhere I look someone is wearing red with a duck logo in front. I'm stunned. West Valley can't put together one master's team in four years, and within two months of registration, LMJS has enough for three squads in one race.

I do a quick warmup with Suzette, which causes her to miss the LMJS group photo, and then find a spot amid the herd. As the race starts I dart among dozens of runners, mostly passing them. My first mile is on pace for a 37 minute finish, but I've got to keep running under 6 minute miles.

The weather isn't cooperating, and the second mile is a little slower. There's little cloud cover and the air is warm. I key on Lisbet Sunshine, who's always recognizable from the cheers from the spectators. I pass her on the third mile but can't shake her. My pace slows the rest of the way and I know I'll not break 37 minutes. Lisbet catches me in the sixth mile and finishes in 37:51, first in her division (F45-50). Just ahead of her is Peter Hsia (M49) whom I finished ahead of at the Tilden Tough Ten. My time of 37:55 places me 14th in my age group and initially 97th overall. I'm happy with the placement and figure the heat cost me some time, around 30 seconds according to a blogger for the San Francisco Examiner. But when I get home the official results place me 115, so 18 runners inexplicably passed me after the race.

Another runner I try to pace with is Maggie Visser, whom I finished ahead of in this race last year by a few seconds. Maggie had a great year in 2009, and I only beat her because she had just returned from South Africa. This year she didn't contend with jet lag and finished second in her age group (F40-44) in 37:11.

I'm outclassed here. I didn't manage to meet any of my goals, but the race is not a total loss. I congratulate Lisbet after the race. She's exhausted, but manages to respond. I also reintroduce myself to Maggie, who's more relaxed, having finished ahead of us and being in better shape. Later Peter Hsia introduces himself to me, so I am lucky to have met my three main competitors.

The race shirt is great. It's a technical shirt, light blue with an egret on the front and yellow Adidas stripes on the shoulders, giving it a retro look. This is a big improvement from last year's giveaway, a towel with a design that wasn't waterproof.

I meet up with Suzette and Debra, who joined Karen Andrews in placing fourth in their age group for the LMJS team. These are the three women who will run with me at the Tahoe Relay in two weeks.

Debra multitasks today. In addition to driving and running, she baked a batch of the homemade muffins she brought to the Across the Bay 12K in April. She knows how to make friends.