Mermaid Sirena 10 Miler Recap
In my current style of very late race reports, I have a recap of the Mermaid Sirena 10 Miler that I ran on November 1. The Mermaid races are fun women-focused events that have cute shirts and necklaces as finisher prizes. I'd enjoyed the Mermaid 10K in Fremont and wanted to do another race in the series, so SF was it!
The worst thing about this race was the start time and drive from San Jose. I had to get up at 4:15 am for the 7 am start! Luckily Lynda, who I know via blogging and Oiselle, was up for carpooling which made it so much better. The other bonus is that the race fell on the 'fall back' Sunday, meaning the 4:15 am wake up time was more like 5:15 am. The drive was fast because it was so early and we had no trouble finding free parking near Little Marina Green. All in all, the wake up wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.
The Sirena 10 Miler started first, then the 5K and 10K each started at separate times after that. Only about 500 people ran the 10 mile, so it was easy and not crowded at all. The course took us through Crissy Field, uphill and back downhill, then up the steeper bridge approach near the water. As always, I loved running across the Golden Gate Bridge and back.
The race is small; we used the bike side to go across and the pedestrian side to come back, all without any congestion issues. From there we went back down the same hill we'd come up and merged into the 10K runners on their first of two loops around Crissy Field. We ran a little out and back in the flat area near the water, then headed to the finish at Little Marina Green.
As I've been in the 'run for fun' and not the 'race' mindset since the 50K, I ran this one at a comfortable pace to enjoy the course and the city. I finished in 1:38:55; that was my first double digit run post-50K, and I'm pleased with how great I felt. The goal was to enjoy the SF course, and that I did.
The race swag was ok, although admittedly not as good as I had hoped based on previous Mermaid events. They used a Peace & Love theme for SF, and they gave us a colorful flower necklace that I'm unlikely to wear. (I really do wear the one from Fremont, and I'd hoped to get something equally as cute!) We received medals in addition to the necklaces, which was different than the Fremont race.
After the race Lynda and I enjoyed coffee from the Philz truck, which pretty much made my day. I love Philz! Lynda has moved here recently so it was her first Philz experience, and I'd say it was a success.
One last thing to note. For packet pick up, you could either do it race morning or do an early pick up at Sports Basement Sunnyvale or Presidio. I picked mine up in Sunnyvale on Friday night, which made life much easier on Sunday morning. There was a pretty long packet pick up line when we arrived, so early pick up let me sleep in more.
I enjoyed this event because the logistics were easy and I love running the bridge. I'd recommend it!
The worst thing about this race was the start time and drive from San Jose. I had to get up at 4:15 am for the 7 am start! Luckily Lynda, who I know via blogging and Oiselle, was up for carpooling which made it so much better. The other bonus is that the race fell on the 'fall back' Sunday, meaning the 4:15 am wake up time was more like 5:15 am. The drive was fast because it was so early and we had no trouble finding free parking near Little Marina Green. All in all, the wake up wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.
With Lynda at the start area.
The Sirena 10 Miler started first, then the 5K and 10K each started at separate times after that. Only about 500 people ran the 10 mile, so it was easy and not crowded at all. The course took us through Crissy Field, uphill and back downhill, then up the steeper bridge approach near the water. As always, I loved running across the Golden Gate Bridge and back.
Coming back across the bridge.
The race is small; we used the bike side to go across and the pedestrian side to come back, all without any congestion issues. From there we went back down the same hill we'd come up and merged into the 10K runners on their first of two loops around Crissy Field. We ran a little out and back in the flat area near the water, then headed to the finish at Little Marina Green.
I love the fog!
Finishing. (Photo from Erin)
Looking very happy at the finish.
As I've been in the 'run for fun' and not the 'race' mindset since the 50K, I ran this one at a comfortable pace to enjoy the course and the city. I finished in 1:38:55; that was my first double digit run post-50K, and I'm pleased with how great I felt. The goal was to enjoy the SF course, and that I did.
The race swag was ok, although admittedly not as good as I had hoped based on previous Mermaid events. They used a Peace & Love theme for SF, and they gave us a colorful flower necklace that I'm unlikely to wear. (I really do wear the one from Fremont, and I'd hoped to get something equally as cute!) We received medals in addition to the necklaces, which was different than the Fremont race.
The medal.
One last thing to note. For packet pick up, you could either do it race morning or do an early pick up at Sports Basement Sunnyvale or Presidio. I picked mine up in Sunnyvale on Friday night, which made life much easier on Sunday morning. There was a pretty long packet pick up line when we arrived, so early pick up let me sleep in more.
I enjoyed this event because the logistics were easy and I love running the bridge. I'd recommend it!
Great race photos! If those are from the offcial race photog--they more than make up for the less than stellar race swag. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the swag. In fact, I remember reading your RR from the Mermaid event in Fremont and looked forward to getting some nice-ish swag at this event. Let's just say that the necklace and medal were a big hit to the 4 year-old :) really nice seeing you though! Glad we got to chat for a bit. :)
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