Surf City, Here We Come: Ten Miler RR

"Two girls for every boy..."


For you youngsters, that's the opening line of the 1963 classic song Surf City. So I showed up with two girls. Three actually, if you count DW (and I guess I'd better!)

When Fivestarks said she was coming out to Cali for this race with her friend C, I figured I may as well run it, as well as covering my usual Cali Loop hosting duties. Never mind the two pikermis coming up in two and five weeks. So I figured it would be a good test of race pace since I hadn't raced longer than 10K since February.

I wanted to run 7:14 pace, to match my AGPR from last year's Cherry Blossom. But I thought that would be tough, and considered a B goal of under 1:14 or 7:24 pace. Plan was to go out close to 7:30 and work it down.

We had to get up before 5 to get down there, pick up the girls, park and pick up my bib. It all went smoothly until I turned my ankle on a curb 15 minutes before the start. Then my weak adductor failed to correct for it and I fell to the road. Nothing badly hurt but my pride, but the adductor flared up. Luckily I don't really need that muscle to run. And as I did my 3/4 mile warmup it seemed fine. This pic is during warmup. I can tell because I'm dry. Yes that's the ocean. The whole course was up and down Pacific Coast Highway with ocean views and palm trees.

I got back to the start and the national anthem had already started. i stood there looking annoyed. And then slipped into the front of the pack.

The race was much smaller than the February Surf City races. About 1,200 people. Pretty light up front though (I finished 53rd). I got out smooth and settled into about 7:40 pace. I saw the 7:30 pace group just ahead and slowly moved up on them.

There were maybe 12 people with the 7:30 pacer. Once I caught them, my momentum told me to pass, but I stopped myself, saying, No, this feels plenty hard for now. Long way to go. Let's just ride with them for a while. So I eased a bit and ran with the group. Felt comfortably hard.


Mile 1: 7:27
During mile two I was feeling frisky so I moved ahead of the group and tried to open up a gap. Because my goal was 7:20 or better, so I better get a move on, right? Well, the friskiness passed. Suddenly 7:30 felt plenty fast, and I couldn't gap the group. I heard them catching me. And passing me. Damn. So of course I decided to stick with them a little longer. Mile 2: 7:30

The next three miles were similar. I stayed with the group mostly, but occasionally got ahead, but not for long. 7:22 downhill, 7:29, 7:32. By now my race goal had changed to trying to stay under 7:30 and then hope for a strong finish. I found a few people to run with who were with the 7:30 group or moving ahead. This really helped me maintain momentum. We helped push each other. One woman had to be under 4 feet tall, but cruising right along with her mini strides. She eventually beat me by ten seconds but I chased her all the way back.

After the turn around the steady wind in my face disappeared, so I realized we must have a little tailwind now. It was overcast and damp - perfect weather. As we headed back, it became easier to keep the pace down and I finally ditched the pace group. 726, 722, 728 up the small hills of mile 8. I was working but not dying and started to pick up the pace for the finish.


The last two were flat to a little downhill, but it seemed like the pier at the finish seemed too far away. The mile markers were perfect on the way out, but on the way back they were way off or missing. I worked mile 9 hard at 7:19.

Now I was giving that last push in mile ten but I still couldn't see the finish. Where is it?


My watch said 9.9 before I saw it off in the distance. Oh hell.


Finished mile ten in 7:12 with a long way to go. Peeved, I just kept pushing and passed one more geezer who may have been in my AG. Finally the finish arrived at 10.26 miles. My last 1/4 was 6:41 pace, but my official finish was 1:15:51. I'm going with my Garmin which had me through 10 in 1:14:07 and at 7:24 pace for 10.26.



Sweet relief!

That was good for 5th AG, but only 3 got awards. Oh well. The finisher medal was awesome, with built in bottle opener. And the shirt is nice. And I got to hang out with these ladies.



A little disappointed with the time, but it was pretty close. Now I want to run the same pace for 13.1 in two weeks. Gotta have goals.

Another Race - Hometown 10K for the 16th Time

If it's October, it must be time for the Hometown 10K. This would be my 16th time for this race over the last 27 years. It's always fun, because of the friendly neighborhood vibe. All the locals run it, fast and slow. About 4,000 people. Lots of cheering spectators. Most of my club runs it in uniform, so it's fun to see us all over the course, and dominating the awards. And the course is beautiful, finishing with a mile along the coast after winding around the shops and neighborhoods.

My A goal was to beat my old man course record from 3 years ago of 43:14, or just under 7:00 pace. But I figured that was a stretch, and was hoping to get under 44. Plan was to go out around 7:15, try to get under 7:00 pace by mile 3 while still staying in control because of the nasty hill in mile 5. Survive that and kick it in.
Here is the elevation. The big hill dominates, but the little rollers through the first 4 miles are rough too.



I started out with a new teammate, Kathy, that I just met a few weeks ago. She used me as a pacer, although she used to be super fast (2:50 marathon). But she is now just getting back into running and racing after a long break (at 51). First mile went right to plan in 7:09. Solid effort, but not too fast. Mile two, we were passing all the people who go out too fast. That always helps with the momentum. It was really feeling like work now though. But it was nice to have each other to work off of.

Some hot long-legged blonde with long pigtails went by me. I didn't get a good look at her face, but the running form looked familiar. Darned if it wasn't Suzy Favor Hamilton! Funny that I recognized her by her running form after seeing her race so many times. And the legs looked like Olympian legs, even after 20 years. (If you don't know her, google her. Former world class miler. And an interesting history lately!)
I ran very close to her for a few miles, passing back and forth, but she pulled ahead and beat me by about 30 seconds. She lives right here in Manhattan Beach now.

Anyway, mile 2 was 7:06, but mile 3 was 7:12, and I was starting to suffer. That was as fast as I could go over the rolling hills, and I was already just trying to hang on. It helped to have a few teammates around. Kathy dropped back in mile 4, but I was going back and forth with Chuck (61) and that helped me keep pushing. (Coach Ed, 65, was well ahead and would beat me by a minute)

Mile 4 was 7:07, and I know I would give back 30 seconds on the mile 5 hill, so some quick math told me sub-44 was not likely, but if I kept working I could at least keep it under 45.

The hill was just as brutal as I remembered. I slowed way down and just tried to keep moving. Could not get enough air, and the legs were HEAVY! I run over the damn thing a lot in training, but at mile 5 of a 10K when you are already spent, it is a whole different nightmare. But eventually it was over and there was an even more steep downhill straight to the beach to recover my wind and release the brakes and fly! Mile 5 was 7:31.

Then it was a hard left at full speed, trying not to blow a tire or hit the retaining wall. And then I had a full 1.1 miles straight and mostly flat to the finish at the pier. You can see it, but it doesn't get closer very fast!
I had a little left to give and pushed. Chuck was still there near me, but I eventually pulled ahead of him. I wasn't quite dry-heaving, but I was working deep in the pain cave. Because I could. And then there's the point where you hit the 6-mile marker (6:54) and ask yourself, "Can I go faster?" Well, I guess I can! Might as well. I went ahead and stepped harder on the floored gas pedal and passed as many people as I could.



Final bit was 6:01 pace which got me in at 44:28. 7:10 average. Good for only 15th in my AG (four club members ahead of me, in my AG!) 182nd overall. But next year I age up to 55-59 in which I would have got 8th. And they do medals ten deep here.

Kathy won her AG in 45:10. Chuck got 3rd behind Ed's 1st. I hung around for over an hour in the sunshine at the beach with a bunch of runners. Fun times.

Next up; 10 miler at Surf City in two weeks, with a Loopster meetup! Hoping to go nearly as fast, without all the hills.

Life is good.

"That's as Good as I Am" - 5K RR

After her Olympic Marathon, where she finished 7th in 2:26:08, Desi Linden was asked about her race. She finished with:

“I thought I ran really well, she said, later adding, “I put everything out there. I’m not upset at all. I wish I were a little bit better. I wish I would have been closer. But we went all in. And that’s as good as I am.”

I loved that. She is such a good racer, and has a great attitude. She does her best, and doesn't let the lack of a medal get her down. It reminded me of how I felt after my 20:10 5K in Anaheim in May. I wanted sub-20. I worked really hard for it, but I came up short. But I still felt good. because I gave 100% effort, and at the end of the day, "that's as good as I am". Afterward I didn't have the burning need to get those eleven extra seconds. I just felt good.

Since then I've been pointing toward one more 5K on a fast course, and another chance for sub-20. Training has gone pretty well, but I didn't feel like I had gotten significantly faster. I knew it would take another supreme effort to run that fast again, and part of me feared the pain. Because it really hurt. I just went in planning to do my best, aim for 6:25 pace, and hope I had it in me.

It was a bit warm. 60's, but the sun was out on this shade-free course. I felt pretty sluggish on the 1.5 mile warmup. The crowd was sparse, so I figured to medal in my AG. There was a 10K as well which drew some of the better runners. Only a handful of my running group friends were there. I started with my RB Eva, who I often run with in training. She normally beats me in speed work, but I managed to beat her in a 5K earlier, and also beat her in the 1-mile. She tends to go out too fast and fade.

As we started, Eva was good and stayed with me at about 6:30 pace.


After about 1/2 a mile she started to pull away and I told her "Good job. Now go get it". I was feeling it was fast enough for me, so I let her go. There were two women ahead of her at the time. But she ate them up in the next 1/2 mile and went on to be first woman finisher. I never caught her.

I was settling in at 6:35ish pace and before mile 1, I had already mentally given up on sub-20. This was as hard as I thought I could maintain. Actually I wasn't sure I could maintain this. But I was working. Hard. I passed several people and was about tenth place at mile 1 in 6:36.

Mile two was dead straight and mostly flat. I just had to hammer as fast as I could. But I couldn't get the pace to drop. 2nd woman passed me here, and I tried to hang on to her for a while.

But the pain was showing.

This shows the course. It is next to LAX. The area on the left used to be a neighborhood that got torn out when the airport expanded 40 years ago. On the right is the beach. We headed to that oasis you can see on the right, and then had a nice little downhill to get to the beach road, which was the last 3/4 mile back to the finish.

As I got to mile two a guy passed me. Looked like he might be in my age group, so I hung on to him too. Mile two was 6:38. Sub-20 was gone, but a nice fast last mile could still get me a good time. Of course I was dying by now, but you know, racing.

On the downhill, I went by both old guy and 2nd woman and tried to maintain the momentum into that last long straightaway. The lactic acid was piling up in my legs and my shoulders. I started to lose form. Mile 3 pace was under 6:30 after the hill, but I was starting to fade. Just needed to get to the finish. I saw Eva ahead of me starting to come back, but I didn't have enough time to catch her. My body just wanted to quit, but I could see the finish. I just told it we would be there soon and it would all be over. Just hang on! I still wanted a good time, and I wanted to stay in front of the guy I could still hear behind me! So I kept the hammer down.

I pulled away and felt safe, but then some other guy came by fast. And he looked to be my age too! I couldn't stay with him, but he helped me push the last 1/4 mile. Luckily he was a bandit and pulled off before the finish.

Finally the finish arrived and I kicked with what I had left and then I could commence the pain withdrawal. Mile 3 was 6:37, and I ended up with 20:27. Somehow I was 5th overall, 4th male and 1st AG. Turned out the guy behind me was in his 40's anyway. Once I could breathe normally again the world looked a lot rosier!

I was plenty happy with that race. I gave as much as I could, and left nothing on the table. That's as good as I am on this day. And that's a good place to be.

DW was there taking pics and we relaxed at the beach where there were surfers and dolphins.



Decided to do a little photo shoot. A BP for old-time's sake.

Life is good.

One Fast Mile

My track group has an annual event called the Silva Brothers' Mile. It is on or near the birthday of these twin brothers that have been racing each other in the mile for about 40 years. They are my age (54), and one brother has won every single year. But the tradition continues, and it is a festive atmosphere, with maybe 30 people coming to watch, and a second beer mile after the fast one. T-shirts are made and sold. No official results. Just a chance to run a hard mile.

Here's some of our good looking and speedy group.

We warmed up just like our weekly workout, with 4 easy laps and then 4 laps of short accelerations. Then one 200 at race pace and a little jog and it was race time!

Warmup strides.

Since this was a true mile and not 1600, coach marked a line 9.34 meters back from the finish line. I didn't have much time to get nervous as we gathered up at the start and got ready to roll.

My B goal was to go sub-6. My only other mile race in the last 20 years was when I ran this race two years ago and surprised myself with a 5:52. I felt I had a good shot to break that time too. My A goal splits were 90, 89, 88, 84, which would be 5:51. I felt pretty confident of sub-6 and would be disappointed if I missed it, but 5:50 seemed scary for some reason.

Anyway, off we went.

I stayed in lane one and settled in to my spot behind the people I'm normally behind, and ahead of the people I normally beat. Checked my watch twice during lap one to be sure I was near 6:00 pace. Yep.


At the end of lap one I had space around me. A gap of 5-8 meters ahead of me and no one too close behind me. I would stay in that position for two more laps. The guy just ahead of me was a guy that normally beats me, but not by too much, so I was focusing on staying close to  him.

Lap one was 90. Right on track and feeling good.

Lap two was about maintaining the pace. Starting to feel like work now. But I felt like a well-tuned machine - locked into my pace. Just keep pounding. A little more strain showing here as I hit 1/2 mile in 3:00.


Still, focused and steady.


As I entered lap three I knew I needed to push a little harder. I had just run a 3:00 half, but I wasn't dying, and there really wasn't that far to go...This is a race, after all!  It hurt, but it was more like workout pain than race pain. Yet I was on track for sub-6 since I knew I would finish strong, so I didn't feel the need to jump into the pain cave.

But the breathing started to get much harder in lap three. I was working hard now. As I closed on lap 3 I noticed the guy ahead of me was getting closer. Yet I wasn't dying. No lactic acid yet. Went through in 4:30. Dang. Time to shift gears and push it.


I rolled strongly past the guy on the first curve and drank his tears. Then I could see a few more people ahead. I was able to accelerate and it felt good! I blew past some people that were a lap behind and saw my friend Eva up ahead. She should be beating me easily like she does in practice, but she was fading bad and I could tell I could catch her. That helped me push hard down the back-straight and around the last curve. I flew by her and another guy and pounded down the home stretch. The legs still felt strong. No dying. No lactic. No wanting to quit.


Hit the finish in 5:52. An 82 second last lap to tie my AGPR. Yet this was definitely easier than the last one. Once I got my wind back I felt fine. I really wanted to do another one. Only faster. A little disappointed because I knew I could have pushed harder in those middle laps. I felt I could have run at least 5 seconds faster. But mainly I was happy for a great race. Another sub-6 at my age - I'll take it. Just wish there was another mile race I could find...

Another tradition is the second race - a beer mile. I skipped it because I can't chug beer. But it was fun to watch.



The winner ran 6:31. The same guy had just done a 5:05 in the regular mile, and got 4th. Amazing. The winner was 4:55 in the regular mile. Then we all went off to a local pizza place for pizza and more beer. Fun times.

4th of July 5K RR

So I came into this race pretty relaxed. I knew I wasn't going to shoot for sub-20, and knowing that took away some of the pressure and fear of pain.  My goal was to beat my AG course record of 20:48 from two years ago. I figured I was in good enough shape to take that down, although it wouldn't be easy. The course has little rolling hills that are enough to hurt. The first mile has a long gradual uphill, and mile 2 has a few rollers before mile 3 (on the out and back) has a nice long downhill. So it makes sense to start conservatively and not burn out on the hills.

So my goal was 6:40 pace or under. Weather was the usual perfect - marine layer overcast, about 60. Kind of humid though. Had a good sweat going on my 1.5 mile warmup. The course runs along the ocean much of the way. My track club was out in force, with maybe 25 people in uniform. It was fun to have so many friends there. The course goes along my Tuesday group run route too, so many of them were there also. Big crowd. Over 2,000 runners and walkers.

The race invited Kayla Montgomery to get some award. Not sure why the connection, but she was here from North Carolina and was briefly introduced before she ran the race. If you don't know her story, you should make time to watch this 12 minute video. Warning: you will probably cry. Basically, she has MS and when she runs her legs go numb, but she has become a state champion anyway. At the end of her races she collapses into her coach's arms. So I was kind of hoping to see that live. However she runs like 18 minutes, so not likely...

Started well, not too fast. First look at G showed 6:45. Good. Got around the kids and maniacs in the front. Cruised to the coast and started to push up the slope. Waved to the wife.


I started catching some people and felt strong. Coach Ed (who I beat by 2 seconds last time) was well ahead of me this time, but I had him in sight and hoped maybe I could reel him in later. Mile 1 was 6:41. Fine, but now it's time to push harder.

The 5K pain had come on board by now. But I saw Ed at the turnaround maybe 12 seconds ahead, and that gave me a reason to keep the hammer down. The little hills in mile two were pretty rough and had me huffing and puffing, but I got over them and finished two with a 6:37. OK, good, now mile 3 should be faster and I am on track to get my goal.

But as mile 3 started I could feel the lactic acid coming on again. I was in survival mode, just hanging on and trying not to slow down. I was still catching people, and the downhill certainly helped. But Ed was not getting much closer. A little though. I just kept pushing.


With 0.3 to go there is a little hill before the finish, just enough to break your spirit if you are at the tipping point. But I powered up it and found I had some left to go a little further into oxygen debt. Mile 3 was 6:35.


And right here I passed Kayla! I wasn't sure it was her, but as I approached the finish, the announcer said her name. My last bit was 5:56 pace and I finished in 20:40. Bam! Goal achieved.

Coach Ed was 6 seconds ahead of me. Another friend, Eva, was 8 seconds ahead of me. (You may remember I beat her in a May 5K) As I regained my breath I stayed near the finish to watch Kayla come in about ten seconds behind me. She didn't collapse, but she had a friend there to hold her up. She just stumbled a little (like many of us!). I guess she wasn't racing too hard at near 21 minutes. Later I read that she had pulled an abdominal muscle earlier and wasn't pushing too hard.

So I'm happy with that effort. Tough field - I got 13th AG, 122nd overall. Now I have no more races until 8/28, when I will run my 8th and final 5K of the year. That one is a fast course and I plan to pull a Pre, and go out at suicide pace and get that sub-20! For now I am taking a few days off and then it will be back to speed training!

Life is good.

Takin' It To The Limit (One More Time) - 5K RR

From 6/10

I got up at 5:20 and was headed toward Anaheim (with my faithful DW by my side) before 6. Time for another 5K. It was cloudy and misting with no wind. Perfect conditions. I took a leisurely 1.5 mile warmup. Felt OK. Not great and energized, but not feeling sluggish and awful like it seems like I often do before a race.

Here is the course map. We start at the green dot, head South for a mile, and make 3 right turns to go around the rectangle, finishing with two lefts and a sprint to the checkered flag. Perfectly flat.

I ran this race 4 years ago and set my over-35 PR of 20:06. Today's goal was to beat that, and get under 20:00 for the first time in 20 years. My goal strategy was to get out about 6:30 or under, stay under 6:30 for mile 2, and then try to hang on and finish strong. 19:59 is 6:26 pace.

I had 6-7 friends there from my track group, Club Ed, including coach Ed himself. He is a little faster than me, but I beat him once (when he was out of shape) and it is always a goal to try and catch him.
At the start, Ed was just ahead of me with some of the other speedier guys from my group. As we took off I found myself right on his butt, and had to tell myself not to pass him. To use him as a pacer. To relax and stay in control. First Garmin check after 100 yards showed 6:11 pace. Yep, ease up. Don't go crazy. I was running hard but stayed in check and the pace dropped.

After 1/4 mile or so, Ed started to pull away a little. I maintained effort, as I was still seeing a lap pace of 6:20 and it was too early to push. He got about ten yards ahead, but I was focused on him and stayed about ten yards back through the first mile. I saw pace was in the high 6:20's. I felt pretty good. It was fast, but I felt comfortable that I could hold it.

After the first corner I checked G and it showed 1.13 miles! Somehow I missed the first mile marker (not marked) and didn't feel the buzz on my wrist. So I didn't know my split. I assumed it was about 6:28 because that's what I saw last time I checked. And that's what I had for mile 2 lap pace. That gave me a little boost of confidence. Hey, maybe I actually can run sub 6:30 the whole way! Never mind the sandbagging excuses. It looked like I would have a good shot today so I better go get it!

I focused a little harder and pushed. Passed a few people, and I noticed that Ed was starting to come back to me! Alright. New goal. Focus on Ed and try to catch him. Just get to mile two at 6:25 pace and let mile 3 take care of itself. I was definitely feeling the pain. I couldn't think that there was still more than 1.5 miles to go. I just stayed in the moment and treated it like a two mile race.

Pace dropped to 6:25, and then I saw a 6:23. Alright! This hurts, but I can keep it up for now. Saw the mile 2 marker this time on the road and G showed 1.99 miles. OK! Mile 2 was 6:24. And Ed was right in front of me. I went by strong and left him behind. Now I had no one personal to focus on ahead of me. But there were other runners to catch. I gradually reeled a few in. But the pain was getting to be intolerable.

About mile 2.2 my arms and legs both started to tie up. Lactic acid was building and I could feel my form faltering. I was hurting bad, but my lap pace still showed 6:23. Just need to hang on and get to the finish and the suffering would stop!

But damn, still a long way to go. Made the last right turn and just focused on getting to the next street. I could see my lap pace slipping to 6:27, 6:29...I was slowing but that was the best my body could do. In the last half mile I started to audibly groan or grunt every few breaths. The grimace was on, the head was bobbing. Why do I do this to myself! But I focused on the glory of a 19:59 and knew I had a shot if I could just hold on...

Left and left and there was the balloon arch, a tantalizing 300 or so yards away. I tried to go a little faster to see if there was anything left. Not much. Half way there I heard someone coming up on me, glanced left, and saw coach Ed! I dug deep and found a little bit more and kicked hard and held him off.


Did I mention that coach is 64?

With just a few seconds to go I spotted the finish clock. And it already showed a 20:0x. What?! Dang! I pushed through the finish anyway and checked my watch. 20:12. Official time was actually 20:10.


My new favorite race face.

It took a few minutes for the pain to stop. It was a bit disappointing, but I actually felt pretty good about the race. I gave it 100% and didn't leave anything on the course, and that's all you can ask, right? And I got a new season best and only 4 seconds off my AGPR from 4 years ago. So in 4 years I haven't got any slower, and at my age, that's good. And I beat Ed!

Plus I still think I could have run faster if I hadn't done that 16 miler last Saturday. Plenty of time left in the summer to try again.

Race rehash: I added trendlines to the pace chart below to show the different parts of the race.The spikes are just GPS glitches.

First 0.3 miles: A too fast start and easing off to get to race pace.
0.3 - 1.0: Steady but still slowing from 6:30-6:40. My lap pace showed faster due to the fast start, and I didn't get my 1 mile split which was 6:34, so I thought I was in better shape than I was.
1.0 - 1.2: Renewed competitiveness made me pick it up.
1.2 - 2.3: Steady hammering at about 6:25 pace
2.3 - 3.0: Body starts to run out of fuel and pace slows. Mile 3 was 6:31
3.0 - 3.1: Sprint! 6:09 pace for the last 0.12. That's actually slower than normal. I was dead.

In two weeks there is another race. You can bet I'll be coming back, running back, coming back for more....So put me on a highway and show me a (finish) sign, and I'll take it to the limit, one more time.

Another 5K Race Report

From May...

Let me set the table first with a little background.
You probably remember my goal for this year was to get sub-20. Started off with a nice 20:45 in March. But then the next two races were disappointing (20:51 and 21:32). The last month or so, it seems like my legs were always tired. I didn't feel the pep I needed for a good race.

Since this week promised a fast course and some good competition, I vowed to rest up a little more, and committed myself to going out at goal pace and sticking to it as long as I could. No wimping out and wondering what if. Suicide pace strategy. So my plan was to go out at 6:40, and then get into the 6:30's (at least) and keep it there. I didn't expect sub20 yet, but I really needed to break 20:45, and I wanted to get under 20:30 to feel like I was making progress.

The past week of workouts was encouraging. Sunday I did 8.2 miles on wood chips and felt some pep returning. Paces were good and I felt strong. Monday I had a chance to run with Meb, since he showed up at a Local Running Store (not my usual one). So I adjusted my schedule and did 3 miles with a legend (and 100 others). And got a photo.

So I took Tuesday off, and I also skipped the gym this week. The leg strength work always leaves my legs tired for a few days. So Wednesday I was feeling rested and did 8 miles of hills. Again, the mojo was on point! I was running faster than usual and feeling strong. So I then took Thursday and Friday off and came in to race day feeling confident and rested.

The event was the Armed Forces Day 5K. We have an Armed Forces Day Parade here (longest running in the US), and this year they brought back a 5K that they used to have years ago. It goes along the parade route, so it's kind of fun to see the stands set up for cheering fans. Sadly no butts in the seats for the 8AM race since the parade wasn't until 11:00. But still fun. It was sunny and about 60. Beautiful day. The course was nearly flat and lots of straight, but there were three u-turns.

Here is the long straightaway during the parade. Note the huge Eucalyptus trees that line the street the whole way. Pretty cool.


It starts and finishes at the bottom left. We start South and u-turn after 100 meters. Then turn right for a long straight run. U back and take a little detour before turning left to the finish.

In addition to my time goal, I also had some good competition to motivate me. Scott is a guy from Tuesday run group who always runs real hard on Tuesdays, usually ahead of me. And he talks a lot of smack. He's 58 and fast, but lacks race experience and confidence. So he bet me he would beat me, so we were racing for a beer.

Also, I have a new training buddy, Eva, in both my Tuesday and track groups. She's 30 and fast, usually beating me in intervals, but we run together a lot. I figured she would beat me, but I hoped to stay close.
OK, enough background! Let's race!

 At the gun I just tried to stay in control until we got through the u-turn, and then the next 1/4 mile had a little 10 foot rise. Enough hill to notice, so I planned to stay relaxed and not burn out early. Pace was about 6:45. Perfect. I moved by Scott already. Eva had bolted from the start, and already had 50 meters on me at the turn. Fine. Good for her. Instead, her friend D was running side by side with me, using me to pace off of. Which was great. Having a partner always makes it easier. The two of us started moving up the field, passing the people who went out too fast. Our shared energy as we passed people really helped. Because it was starting to hurt already. Pace was stubbornly staying around 6:43. But, even though I was feeling it, it was good pain, not soul-sucking, "why am I doing this" pain. Went through mile 1 in 6:45.

Before we ht the next turnaround, D had slipped back a little. Eva had got maybe 100 meters up on me. But I could tell she was starting to come back to me now. Slowly. But it definitely gave me something to focus on. My mile two lap pace was dipping under 6:40. I was working hard, but I felt like I could keep it up. Made the turn, and saw Scott was maybe 50 meters back. Figured I had him beat, because I was not going to be slowing down. I was passing people. No one was passing me.

On the way back I pushed a little more and slowly reeled Eva in. Went through two in 6:38, and then saw my lap pace for mile 3 was already at 6:30. Alright! I felt I could definitely hold on and make mile 3 my fastest. A 2016 PR looked  probable! On the little detour I blew by a struggling Eva and powered on. Now I had no one to chase but the clock. But I knew I had a good one and wanted to get every second. So I kept the hammer down and caught a few more guys. My form started to fall apart and I almost staggered a few times, but after the last turn, there was that nice 10 foot downhill to the finish. I pushed all the way in. Mile 3 was 6:28, and I managed 5:48 pace for the last bit.

Official time: 20:15! Negative splits. Solid time. Competition crushed. Yeah, I felt pretty good. Pretty damn good. The high lasted all day. Ended up 27th overall, and 3rd in my AG, which got me a $10 gift certificate at the LRS. Eva came in 2nd female and Scott was 20:57. I thanked Eva for the rabbiting, because chasing her butt really helped me focus during that mile 2 pain. That made all the difference.

So I'm happy, but I'm also planning the next one. My AGPR of 20:06 was 4 years ago at Anaheim. I'm planning to go back there in 3 weeks to run that fast course again and see if I can beat that. If not, there's still more chances down the road.

Life is good.