It seems like ages since my last race! I guess 7 months is ages (in dog years maybe.) Today was my first race back since Boston Marathon… and as a California resident. I ran the Dinosaur 5K in Tustin, CA, along with several elementary school students, parents, local track teams, newbie runners, elite runners, and a TON of other local folks. Before I get on with the brief race cap, I will admit, I got my arse handed to me by an 8 year old… no joke. I am not sure if it is a California thing or what, but these young kids were serious runners. I actually heard there was a 12 year old training for their first marathon. I think it is great… is it a west coast thing, or have times really changed since I started in the race scene? Anyway…

I woke up excited to get out there an actually race. With 5 weeks of training behind me, it was time for a quick check to see how the training was coming along. The weather forecast was rain, but the sun was out. I was psyched, but not for long. As race time neared, the clouds started to roll in, along with the rain. I figured it would be quite crazy if it rained given the amount of people. Just to give you an idea, there was a 2K, 5K, 10K, and two bike races… CRAZY times.

At the start line there was a 6 year old and her mom to my right and a 9 year old boy to my left. I checked; I was in the right race. The announcer did the 3-2-1 countdown and we were off. I stayed at a pace I thought I could hold for the short time. I was doing OK until I was getting passed by kids! I checked my Garmin to be sure it was working… all good. Just totally getting rocked by kids. Mile one down… 2 down… legs feeling fine, but pace slipping, heart may pounding out of my chest, 3 down, time to really sprint to the end… done! Still alive?….check!

I was able to pull of a 6:54 pace… yeah it takes some time to get back up to speed I am telling ya, they need to bring recess to the corporate world so I can get my anaerobic training in… those kids were insane out there today.

Next 5K in a 4 weeks. Feeling great and looking forward to gaining some more fitness over the next few weeks!

Filed under: Quick Notes, Race Reports