Liberty 10K

Race: Liberty 10K
Watch Time: 53:21
Official Time: 53:19
Pace: 8:35 min/mi

Comments: The goal of this race was to get a gauge of where I am at to better set my pacing as I go into marathon training. My personal goal was to go sub 50:00 but that turned out to be a bit unrealistic given the conditions.

Weather could have been worse. Temperatures dropped a bit overnight from the ridiculous recent highs. Still, it was plenty hot. And since the race started a good hour after I have been wrapping up my daily runs, I had to contend with sun. This took it's toll on the second half of the race when the shade wasn't available.

I started out hard. Usually this is inadvisable but I was deliberately pushing things. I didn't let my breathing get labored so I was hoping I had it under control. And, for the most part I did... through the 5K. I'm guessing my 5K time was right around 24:00 which would have been 7:45 pace. That's what I was hoping for the full 10K.

After three miles I began slowing considerably. I lost about 30 seconds each mile after that point. There was no break from sun and things were pretty miserable. I struggled with the impulse to walk at several points over the last two miles. And it was not easy to keep from giving in.

The 53:19 official time is still almost four minutes better than the 10K I did back in February with only a month of running under my belt. Temperatures were better for racing but the hills were an ugly complication I didn't have today. I think the bottom line is I have a lot of work to build stamina over the next few months if I am serious about this marathon effort.

Dash for the Beads 10K

Race: Dash for the Beads 10K
Watch Time: 58:17
Official Time: 57:02
Pace: 9:08 min/mi

Comments: "Hey! Why don't I do a 10K?" I said to myself one day while out running.

"There's one coming up right in the neighborhood and I can just walk over to it," I said passing a sign for said event.

"It will be a nice casual tune up and a lot of fun," I said as the warm winter sun dappled my face.

I should never listen to me.

I'm certain the Dash for the Beads is a charming neighborhood event on most years. This was not most years. As I expected going in, it suffers from the chaos of smaller events. But this iteration of the event featured one really rough complication; the weather.

The temperature at 6 a.m. was right at 60 degrees. Almost ideal. By 8 a.m. it had plummeted more than 20 degrees. By race time it was hovering in the mid 30s and still falling. And there was a nice torturous breeze to go with it.

I walked over to the race and by the time I got there my face felt frozen solid. I knew I had to dress for the run but the throwaway sweatshirt wasn't blunting the breeze. Thankfully they had a warm event tent. I waited inside until about 10 minutes before the race start and headed to the starting line. It was just as cold as before.

Then the race start was delayed. We waited. And waited. And waited. I was not the only runner who started going into pretty violent chills. Finally, a full 15 minutes later we got to go. Of course I went out too fast in a desperate effort to warm up.

The first half of the race was a mess. A lot of hills (that I expected) which kept me from finding a comfortable groove. I did focus on keeping a constant pace on the hills and not letting the early ones burn me out. And I was still running too fast which didn't bode well for the second half of the thing.

Then, just before mile 4, I started to feel in control. It kinda came out of nowhere and surprised me. I found my pace was strong and I started reeling in a few of the folks who had passed me early. Then I ran into the hoards of 5K walkers complete with strollers, dogs and little regard for anyone trying to pass them. Dodging these morons took a good minute off my time.

I finished under an hour which was my unspoken goal. My average pace was in striking distance of 9 minutes per mile which I would be overjoyed over if it holds going forward. All in all, a strong effort for my return to racing.

NABI 'Chasing the Sun' 10K

Race: NABI 'Chasing the Sun' 10K
Official Time: 46:15
Gun Time:

Comments:

Sam Lapidus Montclair Run 10K

Race: 0 Sam Lapidus Montclair Run 10K
Official Time: 45:04
Gun Time:

Comments:

Nike Human Race 10K

Race: Nike Human Race 10K
Official Time: 44:38
Gun Time:

Comments:

London's Run 10K

Race: London's Run 10K
Official Time: 42:55
Gun Time:

Comments:

2006 Phoenix New Times 10K

Race: Phoenix New Times 10K
Official Time: 41:52
Actual time: 41:57

My first race here in Arizona and it went quite well, in retrospect. I didn't hit my goal of breaking 40 minutes but I was well under the minimum limit of 45 minutes I set for myself.

Most importantly, I bested my last 10K time by almost five minutes.

Progress. There you have it.

I took my dad to the airport this morning and then went to the location of the race right after. I was almost two hours early so I took my time getting my gear in order and put down two energy bars while waiting.

I picked up a $3 long sleeve shirt at Albertsons during the week and it was perfect for the slightly chilly morning. I walked the mile-and-a-half to the race site - a distance I planned on as a way to get my warm-up started.

During the week, I had sucessfully kept the nervousness at bay but it kept popping up right before the race. I even had a moment of fear I was there on the wrong day before I saw someone else with a race number on.

I wandered around the event site and finally found the booth with the timing chips. I was a bit concerned about these since I've never used one but it was really no problem. I put it on my right ankle and completely forgot about it until the end of the race.

To stay warmed up I just slowly walked around while sipping on my bottle of Gatorade. At about the one-hour mark I started slowly jogging, little more than a walk. After ten minutes I turned it up to a 'real' warm up pace for five minutes.

I took a route near Sun Devil Stadium and, as I expected, there were random porta-potties scattered about the parking lot. I got my two cups of coffee drained from my bladder and zero waiting in line.

With about 40 minutes left I headed back to the race site and stretched out in the grassy area of the park. I left my long sleeve shirt on a bench. Hopefully a homeless guy found it. I did a few exaggerated strides for form and then wandered over to the starting area.

There were a good number of folks for the race - about 3,000 people ran the 10K - but there was really a nice vibe. Not a lot of heavy tension you get when top-heavy with running snobs but really laid-back.

About a half-dozen panjandrums had to talk before they let us start. We were all ready and they decided to do the national anthem as well. Nice touch but... um, how about having a flag there next time, guys.

I got in the mix about where I thought I should be starting. Turned out the timed areas were pretty useless. They hit the horn to get us going and I spent the first minute and a half wading through folks just-better-than-walkers.

As a result, I wasn't really happy hitting the first mile marker at something over 7:30. Worse, it was right in the middle of the biggest hill on the course so stepping up the pace had to wait.

I upped the pace a bit on the downhill and then started trying to find the groove. That was tough since the running situation was so different from what I am used to. Basically, I kept reeling in runners and trying not to get passed.

Since I wasn't going to be out there an hour I skipped all the water stations. But I took the tangent on every curve to save as much distance as possible. I don't know if these things will matter in the marathon, but it's good to practice decent running strategy anyway.

(At one point a guy in front of me dropped a $20 bill. I stopped, picked it up and sprinted back forward and handed it to him. He gave me this weird surprised look and then said "Oh!" when he realized what had happened.)

By mile four, I was around a group going my pace and I was focusing on one or two of them a bit faster than me to keep going. I wanted to start running on my toes at the four mile mark but held off since I knew it would take too much out of me.

The organizers put bands at most the corners to keep the energy up. I had to say, this is a better motivator than I expected. You hear them ahead of you and it gives you something to aim for. If, by chance, any of you guys that played read this - thanks a ton. It really mattered.

I pushed the tempo up on the last mile and, as I neared the finish area, I started exaggerating my stride in order to pick up a few seconds. I felt strong enough over that last stretch that it made me wonder if I shouldn't have started the kick even earlier.

My watch read 41:57 but my chip time came out half a minute faster. I'm not sure if that indicates innacuracy on my part or on the part of the timing device. Either way, I know the ballpark I am playing in now.

Conditions:

Start: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: concrete/asphalt
Weather: sunny
Temperature: 63 degrees
Humidity: 32 percent
Wind: 8 mph
Location: Tempe, Arizona
Shoes: Adrenaline GTS 6

Carrera RbK 10 Kilometros

Race: Carrera RbK 10 Kilometros
Start: 9:00 a.m.
Location: Miraflores, Lima, Peru
Weather: clear, sunny, cool, 60s
Official Time: 46:52
Actual Time: 46:15

Well, it was every bit as tough and grueling and nasty as I expected. It was awesome. This was a great race for me; I had everything I needed in the tank, the blisters didn't act up and I came in with a slightly better time than I was shooting for.

Although the race was at 9 a.m., registration started at 7:30 a.m. The starting line was only about 3 kilometers from my house so I walked over, got my number and race shirt and came back home to stretch here, go to the bathroom and bandage my injured toes. I used non-latex band aids and lots of neosporin, completely omitting the medical tape. I also relaced my left shoe to losen the fit along the part where the toe is.

I wandered back to the race area at about 8:30 a.m. I stretched some more, really concentrating on my ilitobial band and hamstrings. I drank water throughout the morning so I left off right prior to the race. When I originally walked over I ate a powerbar so I figured that would give me what I needed during the race itself.

Races in Peru are pretty much the same as in the US with your usual assortment of race rats, amateurs (like me) and excited teenagers. But there are some unusual differences. The weirdest is the shoeshine guys working the crowd before a race offering to clean up your running shoes before you head out. I was also a bit surprised by a number of older ladies with as much makeup on as they would wear to a state dinner. I guess a 10K is a social event here as well as an athletic endeavour.

One thing that really threw me were a few dozen really frightening old guys that had to be in their 70s but were running the thing in a flat out sprint. It was simply incredible to behold. My favorite guy in the whole race was the aging punk rocker whose mowhawk had noticiable bald spot. He seemed a little confused when I said "YOU TALKIN' TO ME?" when he passed me during the race.

Pretty much everyone was cool and the whole experince was really nice but there were a couple things things I didn't dig about Peruvian racers.

First, it is normal for everyone here to wear the race shirt during the race. Given, it's a nice breathable running shirt (and for an entry cost of about $5 US, a steal!) but, come on, earn the thing before you wear it. And, more irksome, there is a penchant for cutting corners like you wouldn't believe. I mean cutting out whole half blocks if they can get away with it. I'll hug corners and hop sidewalks as much as the next guy but, at a certain point, you gotta get in the full distance to have a realistic time.

The race got off on time with about 3,000 runners total. I was a bit back in the pack and it took me about a minute to get through the starting gate. That initial crowd was a bit of a pain for me since I really wanted to hit a steady pace to start. I had my iPod on and trusted the shuffle option.

The weather was cool with that morning mist/fog near the cliffs. It was clearer in the streets of Miraflores, particularly as the morning drew on. (Here are some photos of the event that give a good idea about the conditions.)

After about a kilometer and a half the pack thinned out and I was able to find a good spot to work in. The start of the race was almost entirely uphill, which was good given the initial adrenaline rush but bad after the first big turn where you got out on this street and the reality of the race hits you. Luckily, my iPod decided to play Love and Rocket's "Ball of Confusion" at that point and I slipped back into indestructible mode.

Over the course of the thing, I found my pace was changing with the music but thats OK cause the elevations - although none were extreme - were monkeying with it too. I just tried to keep a steady even rhythm and not overextend on my stride. I kept a running inventory of my danger spots - the toe, the knee, the stride - but things stayed humming along pretty well. I dropped my iPod at one point so there is probably an iShuffle in my near future.

I really started feeling the toll of the thing at about the 2/3 mark. Luckily, the Nine Inch Nails came on and gave me a God-like adrenaline boost I sorely needed but, on the downside, it probably arrived about five minutes too early. I didn't have as much in me for the finale as I was hoping. I stroked it home but not with anything truly special.

Afterward I had a bit of ache in my knees standing in line waiting to get my post-race goodies (everyone got a medal!) and I took a huge honking nap in the afternoon. But no knee pain, no blister issues and no suprise aches at all. But, oh yes, I am certainly creaky and moving slow. All in all a good effort. A solid time to base the rest of my training on and a good performace to measure what needs to be done in the future.

For now, I take a week off. I am heading to Ecuador on work and so running will be out of the question (the altitude different makes it inadvisable as well). I will get back to Lima at the beginning of June and re-start training then.

2003 Run for the Bay 10K

Race: LMU Run For The Bay 10K
Official Time: 52:59
Gun Time:

Comments:

Conditions:

Start: 

Surface: 

Weather: 

Temperature: 

Humidity: 

Wind: 

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Shoes: