Bakersfield Track Club Summer Series Race #2; Race Report #7

     On Tuesday, June 20, we drove down to Bakersfield for the second race in the Bakersfield Track Club Summer Series. Since the weather forecast was for hot temperatures, I had hit Home Depot and bought both Robin and myself Enduracool hats and a new Enduracool neck wrap for Robin as well. The weather forecast turned out to be true as the temperature was 108 degrees at the start according to my Garmin app. We both made sure to hydrate extremely well all day long to prevent any medical issues from popping up, I know I did a good job as I had to use the toilet twice before the start of the race. I also froze our handheld water bottles we carry when we run about one-third full, laying on their side, so the cold bottle would be against our hands as we ran the race. When we arrived we found Trevor and Andrea already there, so I parked, changed my shoes, shirt, and shorts, and put on my bib number and custom Depends.
     I did manage about a mile and a half total warm-up before the race, and I felt pretty good despite the heat. As seven o'clock came up, we all gathered near the start line. Everyone was talking about running slower because of the heat, and the announcer kept reminding everyone to hydrate, carry water, and walk if you needed to. Robin was the first to take off, followed by Andrea, myself, then Trevor followed by all the fast runners. I felt that I had run the first race a little easy since I didn't know the course yet, so I went out faster on the downhill first mile this time. With the high temperatures, I was sipping and pouring water on myself starting at about a quarter mile into the race. It wasn't long before I passed Andrea, gave a wave, and was zeroing in on Robin. I went through the first mile in 6:48, and felt good. The heat didn't seem to be playing a factor, but I didn't want to push my luck, so I went to easy mode when I got to the hill. The water bottle was awesome. It felt great to be able to pour water onto my neck and head. The Enduracool products seemed to really help. My second mile, with the hill, was 7:15. The track club did an outstanding job placing five water stations along the course, one of which we ran by twice to make a total of six opportunities for water in a 3-mile race. this was in addition to the water and misters that were at the start-finish area. Most 5k runs provide one water station along the course if that. I continued along to the finish and got passed by a few of the faster runners that had started behind me. I finished the race in 22:05 which was about 35 seconds faster than the first race, and in 108-degree temperatures. I hung around and watched Shane, Joe, and Carl finish refilled my handheld water bottle and set off to find Robin and pace her back to the finish.

My Garmin screenshot from the Bakersfield Summer Series Race #2

     As I ran down the first hill, I stopped and chatted with some photographers and asked about using their pictures on this blog, which they said would be fine. Of course, I haven't been able to find them online yet. Soon enough I found Robin and Trevor running together, so I went back a little further to Andrea and paced her into the finish. 

Screenshot of the finish results showing our real times plus our handicap based on age.

     We all stood around and talked about the race, I was looking for someone from McFarland to ask about the upcoming Jim White Invitational. Naturally, I couldn't find him after the race. Everyone was talking about a runner that had a medical issue during the race. We changed into dry shirts and headed to Ethel's Old Corral Cafe for some food and cold adult beverages. 

My sandwich, salad, and beer at Ethel's after the race.

     Ethel's was a classic vintage roadhouse. I had never stopped in there in all my years of driving by. The food was great, service quick, and, most important when it's over 100, the beer was ice cold. It was definitely a welcome respite from the heat and sweat only an hour earlier.

     

     On a side note, I am sad to say that I found out the next morning that the runner who had the medical issue did not make it, and passed away at the hospital. My condolences go out to his family and friends in this tough time. I will touch more on this issue in a future blog post.

     

PSA Test

    I recently had my second PSA test since my surgery. I used the same lab, and again I passed. My number was .03. My doctor said that since it's the new ultrasensitive test, that it's basically a zero on the old test.

My second PSA test since my prostate surgery

   Back in February, I had my first PSA test, and it was .01. My doctor said not to worry about it being higher, but that's hard to do. I don't worry about the tests like I used to. Last year, when I was trying to figure out if I even had prostate cancer, I would awaken at night, start thinking about the PSA test, and not be able to go back to sleep. So much seems to ride on these simple numbers. I know the PSA test has become controversial because of the anxiety it causes, but it caught my cancer early, and hopefully, I continue to have low test results like this one. I don't worry that badly anymore, but when I do think about it, I still worry a little. I think it's human nature. My next test will be in November. I know that when I'm waiting for the results, I will get nervous. 

Bakersfield Track Club Summer Series Race #1; Race Report #6

     Since high school, I have raced a lot of different all-comer cross country meets held every summer. The first one that I ever ran in was at Pierce College on Tuesday nights back in the 70's.. We would run the 2-mile course, then stick around and run track events later in the evening. It was a blast, the track meet held every event from relays, walks, pole vault, to sprints, middle, and long distance. I also ran the High Desert Track Club cross country meets, which back in the day were held in Quartz Hill. Naturally, I have run many races and thoroughly enjoy the COC summer series.  

The start and finish line being set up before the start of the Bakersfield Track Club race #1

     One of the meets that I have never participated in is the Bakersfield Track Club Summer Cross Country Series. This year after my prostate cancer surgery, I decided to try to compete in both the Bakersfield races, as well as the COC races. The races in Bakersfield are different in that they use a handicap start system similar to the Dipsea Race in Northern California. The goal of the handicap start in Bakersfield is to have everyone finish as close to 7:30 PM as possible. I was at the course early, checked in and got the bibs for Robin, Trevor, Andrea, and myself. The race is chip timed, and we keep the same chip embedded bib for all of the races. The bib has our name and starts time on it. Next to the start line is a big clock with the time of day going so we knew when to approach the start line. I did a short warm up with Shane, a few strides, and felt ready to go.

The handicap table for the Bakersfield Track Club Summer Series

     My start time was 7:08, so I got a 3-minute head start on the high school kids. The P.A. announcer was on top of everything calling us to the start line for our race. This is the first year competitors have been allowed to wear watches, as this is a no electronics race. That means if you are caught listening to music on the course during the race you will be disqualified. I love that aspect of the race. The reason for no music is safety. I ran up on some slower competitors pretty fast so I was glad they could hear me coming.
     After the race started, I came upon slower people pretty quickly. There are lots of families that do the race as a walk and jog for fun. I carried water as I did not know how the warmer air temperature would affect me. It was 97 when the race started, and the race organizers were well prepared, as they had four water stations along the 5k course. The course itself wasn't that difficult. We ran on pavement and dirt, there was one small hill, and a good amount of single track dirt. The heat makes up for the lack of hills. I managed negative splits in the race, 7:21, 7:17, and 7:15 for the 3 miles. The handicap start kept everything spread out, so there was never any crowds of runners that went out too fast for me to try to pass on narrow sections. I really enjoyed the race, and am looking forward to the next one.

My Garmin screen shot after the race. Note the temperature on the bottom right

     I finished the race in 22:39, Trevor 30:00, Andrea 38:42, and Robin did not race since she's in South Carolina playing with our grandson Henry. By the way, Henry was in his first 5k yesterday at the age of 11 days. Since scoring for the races is different than most, I cannot post the finished results since they have yet to be posted. The way I understand things, the race organizers take our run times, add it to our start time, and that will be our finish time. They will take the best 3 times for each runner, add them together, and that will determine winners at the conclusion of the series. The races will be held on every other Tuesdays, with the finals being a fun run, barbecue, and handing out of awards. Trevor, Andrea, and I finished the night at Tony's Pizza with some delicious pizza and beer.