The tree that James Dean hit that resulted in his death.
We finished up our lunch and continued our trip to Cayucos. We stay in a little motel near the beach and the finish line. We got ourselves checked into room 5(Robin correctly guessed the room number before we got it) and headed out to take some pictures of the town, flowers, and beach. It wasn't long before our friends arrived, and we all headed to the Cayucos Saloon.
The Cayucos Saloon and Dining Hall has been around for awhile.
The saloon is another place with pool, shuffleboard, jukebox, drinks, and signed dollar bills all over the ceiling. There seems to be a pattern of me frequenting these kinds of establishments. We all had a few beers, listened to Spike and Clint play, bought their shirts and koozies, before heading to dinner. Well, maybe we had more than a few beers, anyway, a good time was had by all. First, we hit the Italian restaurant in town, they were full. Next, we tried Duckies chowder house, they were closing. We ended up at Schooners, where our waiter Isaac took good care of us, especially Mark. Now one of the reasons we drank a little more than we should have was the weather. There was a steady 20 mph headwind blowing along the beach and it was supposed to continue through race day on Saturday. We finished off our dinner and were blown back towards our motel. We all agreed to meet around 7 AM in front of the motels to head to the race no later than 7:10 for the 8:00 AM start. The drive would take no more than 10-15 minutes.
Race day morning, the sky was clear and blue, and the wind had completely stopped for the moment. Robin and I ate our Picky Bars, and I laced up mu Nike Zoom Streak Cross Country racing flats. I knew we were going to cross rivers, rocks, and run through some surf so I chose a light shoe that would drain easily.
The Nike Zoom Streak Cross Country shoe that I wore in the Miracle Miles for Kids 10k race.
Apparently, some of the other 2000 runners had the same idea about arriving at the race at the same time because traffic was horrible. Lucky for us, Joan volunteered to drive us instead of running the race, so we just had to get close to the start line to be dropped off. Unlike most races, we only got our bib numbers prior to the start. The t-shirts and swag would be handed out after going to the finish chute. I like this, the crowds would be much thinner at the finish, than at the start. We all got our bibs, the timing chip for our shoes, and headed to the start area on the beach. Some of the runners participated in the jazzercize warm up, I chose to run to the bathroom, change my custom Depends Pad, and then do a short run on the beach. I opted not to take any chances with the pad, but it was dry when I ripped it out. I did a short run to warm up, still no wind, but the tide was pretty high so we all knew we would get wet.
The five of us that ran before the start of the Miracle Miles for Kids Rock to Pier
The start line with the runners being dwarfed by Morro Rock.
The view heading to get our bib numbers.
The race started promptly at 8, and I took off trailing Trevor. There was still no wind. I quickly settled into my 7:30 goal pace and tried not to run too quickly at the start. I knew from past experience that if I went out to quickly I would suffer after running through the rocks. My first mile was a little quick at 7:18, but my feet were mostly dry still as someone had fabricated a bridge across the first river, and there was no backup as the runners navigated the homemade bridge. The race mile markers were way off as we continued along the course, One split seemed to be no more than a 1/2 mile, then the next was over a mile. My second mile was 7:07. I felt pretty good, still no wind, but I was a little bloated from the beer the day before. It wasn't long before we came upon the first rock crossing. There were volunteers stationed there to point us in the right directions as we tried not to lose too much time in the soft sand and wet rocks. I made it through without falling or losing too much ground on the people around me. A couple of younger runners passed me in the rocks, but I was able to pass them back after we got back out on the flat sand.
The view as we headed up the first rock crossing.
The traction wasn't very good through here, but at least it was flat.
Rocks and more rocks.
After we cleared the first rock crossing, I settled back into my 7:30 pace. By now my feet were very wet, but I was over half way done, and soon the pier would be in sight. There weren't very many runners around me, I could see two women ahead, and they were the first two women in the race. I tried to maintain my rhythm and form as we headed towards the finish at Cayucos Pier.
The views while running this race were spectacular.
There were one more set of rocks to cross, and they were with just under a mile to go, and not as bad as the first set. As soon as I came out of the second rock crossing, the winds hit. I guess I was lucky they held off as long as they did, but it was the dreaded headwind all the way to the finish. I finished in a time of 45:24. It was good enough for 21st overall, and 2nd in the 50-59 age group. I collected my t-shirt and swag and set about waiting for everyone else. A quick shout out to Cody Draa from Pine Mountain who came out and ran the race for the first time and finished 3rd overall. Way to go Cody. It wasn't long before Trevor finished in 59:14. and Robin, Andrea, and Mark somehow found each other on the course and finished together in 1:21.
Mark and Robin running together as Andrea snapped the quick photo.
The race had breakfast burritos for everyone that ran, along with fresh strawberries and bananas. We had our choice of veggie burritos, or sausage and egg. It was really well organized, as the lines for food moved quickly, and we hastily consumed our free breakfast before heading back for showers.
Trevor, myself, and Mark showing off our Happy Hour shorts and Running with Prostate Cancer shirts after the race.
For lunch after the showers, we all headed back to Duckies and got our fix of seafood that we were too late for the night before. the food was quick and delicious. Trevor and opted to spend a couple of more hours at the saloon as the others hit the local antique stores that are everywhere in Cayucos. Our dinner reservations were at 7, so after a few beers, we all headed back to our rooms for naps. For dinner, we were at Schooners again, and Isaac was our waiter again. We ate more than we should have, headed back to the saloon, but it wasn't near as much fun as the night before, there was no band, so we had a night cap, and headed off to our rooms again. We all said goodbye, as some were leaving early the next morning, and I wanted to sleep in.
Robin and I chose the free breakfast the motel provided in the morning, checked out, and headed home. We stopped in Bakersfield, had some Sushi, shopped at Winco, picked up a very excited Maggie, and headed home. The weekend was great. I'm lucky to have friends that are willing to travel and run with me as I recover from my prostate cancer.
Robin and I sitting on a rock off of Highway 46 with the beach that we ran on in the background.
I'm not sure what my next race will be, but I'm looking for a 5k to do to help me build some more speed. I plan on putting up results and schedule links soon. Hopefully, in 2 weeks my daughter Torri will give birth and I will be a grandpa for the first time. Also, I have my second post surgery blood test coming up to check my PSA levels. Anxiety time again.
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