I last ran Bay to Breakers four years ago. I remember specifically, because it was the race before the upcoming Democratic presidential primary, and I got hit in the head with a "Dean for President" tortilla during the traditional tortilla toss at the start. I was really curious which candidate was going to hit me in the head this time... But it turned out that most of the tortillas thrown were generic. However, points do go to the Barack Obama camp for being the candidate with a sizeable grassroots presence at the event generally.
But enough about presidential races; this post is about the road race. I walked the first half of it with some friends, which is an experience itself. Walking you can really notice the party around you, with all the costumes, music, naked people, etc. But once at the top of the Hayes Street Hill, I had the need for speed, or at least an interest in actually running, so I took off.
My goal was to run at least 5k, or 3 miles and change, without stopping. I've never done that much before. Even the last time I think I only did two miles, and I was with people. This time I did all 3 miles, and I did them on my own. And I did them fast. Well, not blazingly fast, but I did them in 37.5 minutes, which means I was doing at least 11 minute miles. While no land speed record, I didn't know I could go faster than 13 minute miles. And I did all this after having already walked four miles. So I'm pleased. And somewhat surprised. Over the winter I'd been working on my running and have gotten up to doing about a mile and a half comfortably, but this was a yet-unattained stretch for me. Plus I hadn't really gotten any significant exercise within the last month or so. But it's good to know I can do it, because 5k is usually what you need to run in a sprint triathlon, and I've been always walking the distance when I do them, which makes my overall time terrible and gets me to the finish line too late to get a t-shirt in my size... So now I'll have to go sign up for a few and finally see what I can do.