Jingle Bell 5K 2009

December 12th, 2009 1 Comment

I chased the elusive sub-20 5k during my last race of 2009 in the Jingle Bell 5k held in Balboa Park downtown on December 12th. I placed 3rd in my age group with a time of 21:17. I guess I did not scope out the race enough because the course was definitely not a flat one. There were some rolling hills, which definitely impeded my efforts to finish the race in under 20 minutes. My next shot at sub-20 will have to wait until 2010.

I fully expected to run in pouring rain, but the skies withheld their moisture for the duration of the race. The rain didn’t start until about an hour before the awards ceremony. I’m glad I didn’t have to contend with wet roads while running although Coach Luke told me that running in the rain would be no problem.

I had some minor agitations before the race. My pre-registration was messed up because I was Paola De Ocampo, a 30-year old female. This mishap was pretty surprising especially since I had signed up for the race online. To correct the problem, I had to fill out a scantron registration form, and the race officials gave me a new bib number.

For whatever reason I didn’t have the same speed or energy as I did in my previous race. With the small rolling hills in the course, I knew by the second mile of the race that I would not be reaching my race goal. Despite the disappointment, I was happy to place 3rd and receive my last medal of 2009.

Nothing gong on but training during the holidays. Next race for me is a 5k on January 9th at Mission Bay. I’ve run the course before, and it is flat. I think it will be my best opportunity to beat this 20-minute barrier both in terms of flatness and availability. For other flat courses in the early months of 2010, I already have other race commitments. Wish me luck!

Run for the Hungry 2009

November 26th, 2009 1 Comment

I had signed up for this turkey trot event last Thanksgiving, but I skipped it due to rain. I know. Wimpy. But that was a year ago.

This year I followed through on the race, doing the 5K event. I’ve been chasing after breaking the sub-20 minute barrier for the 5K distance. To that end, I need to maintain a pace of 6:24 or better on average. On this Thanksgiving morning it was not to be. My official time was 20:44. However, it was good enough for 1st place in my AG (out of 44) and 18th overall (out of 1440). So for those results, I am extremely pleased!

My strategy for this race was to try to do a negative split as advised by my fellow Breakaway team member, Dave P. For the first mile, I planned to run 6:30, followed by 6:25 for the second mile, and 6:15 for the last mile.

After waiting around for almost two hours for the race to start, I was feeling pretty antsy. So when the gun finally went off, I felt relieved and energized. As the lead group of runners ran out ahead, I purposely held back and let several people pass me. It was difficult at first to see so many people driving forward past me. But after the first mile or mile and one-half, I had passed most of the people easily by sticking to my plan.

I executed the plan flawlessly for two miles. By mile 3 though I was feeling a little tired. I managed to speed up for a few seconds here and there with short bursts of speed, but my pace during that last mile would not be fast enough to guarantee me a sub-20 finish. As I approached the last half-mile, I thought about sprinting as hard as I could. But I hesitated, thinking that I would not be able to sustain the speed and slow down too much by the time I reached the finish line.

At the end, I was off by only 45 seconds, which is basically about 15 seconds/mile off pace. So close. My regret for this race was that I did not sprint all out for that last half-mile. And due to that small miscalculation, I missed my goal time.

After resting for a bit and snacking on some post-race grub (bagels, water, electrolyte drinks, and even some pizza!), I checked out the results board and learned that I had won my division. For the awards we were given these nice blue aluminum water bottles. You know already… I would prefer to have a cheap plastic medal for a prize. But I’m happy my name is in the record books as the first place finisher in my age group.

At first I was just going to let this sub-20 thing go for this year, and just try again in 2010. But my coach says I should go for it. So I’ve signed up for another 5K in a couple of weeks. I plan to use the same strategy, and hopefully, I’ll have more juice at the end for the sprint to break the 20-minute barrier.

First 5k

November 10th, 2008 No Comments

Yesterday’s Shelter Island 5k was most definitely a very cool event.

Big time amenities:

  • Flat course – thank you, I appreciate that!
  • Free champagne brunch for the participants
  • Cool t-shirt

Not so fun:
Only one downer — the weather was a little on the cool side, not so cold that it was uncomfortable while running, but mainly after the run when my sweat was drying really fast and cooling my body temperature.

Kathy Loper typically hosts some great events, and this was no exception. With adaptive therapies for injured soldiers as the cause, my wife, son and I were pleased to participate in this event with our entry fees benefiting such a worthy cause.

Results: (Also, check out my runningahead.com results summary.)

  • Official time = 21:56
  • Unofficial time = 21:54
  • Age Group (40-44): 12/46
  • Overall: 73/920

I’m pleased with my results considering it’s my first race ever, and after only four weeks of running. I entered the race with three goals:

  1. Beat Trainer Murray
  2. Finish in under 22 minutes
  3. Beat my fastest time

I accomplished two of the three, but did not beat my previous fastest 5K practice time of 21:42.

Running my first 5k

Running my first 5k

I am amazed at how fast people can run, even in their old age. There were some 50+ year olds who had faster times than me and faster than people much younger. The winner was 36 years old with a time of 16:02. The first three finishers in my age group finished around 19 minutes. My son was saying that running speed at this level is almost independent of age, and with people in their 30s through 50s running at these times, I have to agree with him.

What I learned:

  1. Save some gas for the end.
    I definitely came out of the gates way too fast. My one-mile time was around 6:40. Strangely, it didn’t feel like I was running that fast. By 1.5 miles, I met my milestone marker of being under 9 minutes, but by the last half-mile of the race, I was tired. I tried sprinting for the last half-mile, but my legs and lungs rebelled. I did, however, sprint the last quarter-mile, but by then it was too late to beat my previous best time.
  2. Stick with a routine with eating.
    I really liked how I did not drastically alter my pre-race breakfast: cereal with non-fat milk, fruit, and coffee (grande, iced skinny vanilla latte from Sbux). The only new item I added to my pre-race diet was a free drink mix sample I received called CytoMax (Cool Citrus flavor).
  3. Be sure to get to bed early the night before.
    I went to bed at 10 PM. I probably could have gone to bed at 9 instead. Because I was excited about the race, I didn’t sleep very well. I might consider taking some Melatonin next time to help me sleep.
  4. Enjoy the improvements and gains made while training.
    Hard work pays off. And while I may not have reached all my goals, I am content with my progress in learning this new sport.