Race reports - May to July 2010

I've been meaning to post some race reports for a long time now, and in fear of them never getting done, I am just going to post what I wrote in my training log. Maybe I'll add a few extra details. Here they are in chronological order.

Martin Charities 5k - Glendale, AZ - May 22
This race is put on by the former Arizona state treasurer, who just over a year ago lost his wife during childbirth, and his baby shortly thereafter. The race benefits water safety programs, which his wife was passionate about.

Man, there were so many turns in this race, it was unbelievable! I met a couple of my track kids and one of the other coaches and a friend. One of the kids, who also ran cross country and really wants to beat me, just ran a 4:59 mile and a 10:52 2 mile at Regionals a couple weeks ago, so I was finally ready to concede that he is faster than me now, and I was fully expecting him to beat me. He took off like lightning, and I held back. By mile 2, I had caught him though, and unfortunately, he didn't stick with me. I'm very pleased by the time of 18:42, 8 seconds off my PR from like 5 years ago. There's another 5k next Saturday that we might do. New PR is in my sight!

UPDATE: Official race results say 18:25, and put me in 4th place overall. I know that's not right. The 18:42 is more believable, and I'm pretty sure I finished about 10th overall (unless there were some speedy bandits).

Arizona Road Racers Summer Series 5k #1 - Phoenix, AZ - May 29
This 5k was a little different than your typical race. Everyone was handicapped based on their age. I started 14 minutes and 5 second after the first people. If you ask me, that was a terrible idea for this course. It basically puts the faster people at the back of the pack, and the course was very tight along the bike path parallel to a canal. It even goes through a very narrow tunnel, where I got stuck behind an old lady with a walker who was being passed by another lady with a jogging stroller. That caused a slight loss of momentum (sarcasm).

Overall, though, it wasn't a bad race. I certainly felt like I was working harder than last week's 5k. Unfortunately, my time (19:37) didn't show that. But, I still beat my track runner. (Dang it! I want him to beat me!)

Freedom Run 5k - Provo, Ut - July 5
This event has become a tradition for us. My bro-in-law also runs it with several members of his family. I really wanted to race the 10k, but I didn't want to do too much the week of my half marathon, so I just ran it with my wife. It actually felt really nice to take it easy after the intense training I've done for the half. We had a nice time together. Official time was 34:18.

Hobbler Half Marathon - Springville, Ut - July 10
This was the event I was training for. I really wanted to build up and get a new PR, and I really thought I'd do it, or at least come close. The course ran down the Left Fork of Hobble Creek Canyon, and down through town. I started out exactly where I wanted to be. My pace was almost perfect. I felt like I was just cruising down the hill. After a couple miles, I started running with another guy, and we helped pace each other for the next several miles until he disappeared at a water station. I sure could have used him later on in the race because about mile 10, I just died. I had gotten out of the canyon, and just couldn't hold my pace any longer. Luckily, my bro-in-law and his family were parked along the side of the road and cheered and rang their cowbells for my. They leap-frogged me a few times and then took off to meet me at the finish. This really gave me a boost, and kept me going. I really appreciated that, but I was still not getting back on pace. I ended up crossing the finish line in 1:29:23, relieved that I was still under 1:30. Definitely not a bad time, and good enough for 19th overall and 2nd in my age group. My bro-in-law wants to do it with me next year. That'll be really fun to run it with him.

After the race, my name was pulled out for the raffle. I won a set of Skullcandy ear buds. They are pretty cool. Too bad I never listen to music on the run.

So, there you have it. A quick and dirty, 4 in 1, race report. I've got a couple marathons planned for this fall/winter, and hopefully some more shorter races thrown in somewhere. I'll try to get those race reports done sooner than I got these ones done!

And don't forget about the giveaway on my wife's blog! She's looking for ideas for a title of a series of blog posts she plans to write about exercising through pregnancy, while she, herself, is pregnant(!). She's got some great books and baby wraps to give away, and $25 from BornFit. So if you know anyone who is prego or may become so, this is a great opportunity to score some cool stuff!