Joe's Run - Run

I went out faster than my plan called for, but I think it was worth it. Between miles 4 and 5 might have been my undoing, as it was a long uphill that intersected with the 5k course. Between miles 5 and 6, I suffered, felt pretty tired. Lots of weaving around 5k runners, and the previous mile caught up to me. I just wanted the race to be over.

My GPS had the course long, and I talked to 3 or 4 of the folks who beat me. They also had it long by anywhere from .1 to .2 miles.

This was my first real effort since my last race, which was April 30. Originally, I thought I might break 40, but in hindsight, with a month of easy workouts and a vacation, that was probably unrealistic. My splits were pretty even, and I think with some good speed work (my next phase of training), I could break 40. This race turned out to be a time trial of sorts for my next phase of training. Not a bad thing at all.

Have a better sense of the purpose of the race. Initially, I was disappointed about the time, but a time goal was not what I should have pursued.

Also, I might have taken the first two miles a bit slower, maybe closer to 6:50 pace. That might have helped with the slog between miles 4 and 6.

Who does these?


Not doing any quality sessions since April. General fitness level. Lack of knowledge, particularly about elevation, of the course.


If the weather had been better, this race would have had a totally different feel. The whole schtick is that it's a summer party, with margaritas and sliders at the end. The rain kept almost 100 registered runners away. Despite that, it was still a good race.

The course is hard, and had a few more turns than I would have liked. Lots of police were out to manage intersections. My only real complaint is that the 10k and 5k courses merged at about the 4 mile mark. I can't stand when this happens, as it means I will inevitably be weaving in and out of the 5k folks. A few times, I had to get outside the coned-off running lane because of the congestion.

After the race, I didn't show up in the results. I brought it to someone's attention, and it was addressed (good!). The awards presentation was a bit of a clown show. There were several other problems with the results, and it was not very organized. The awards themselves are fun (parrot trophy).

Margaritas and sliders were on hand at the finish. The margarita was excellent, surprisingly so. The slider was pretty mediocre. If it had been nice outside, I suspect the thing would have evolved into a big picnic and fiesta. So, there's lots of potential that was thwarted by the weather.

If I were looking for a fun race, where I wasn't concerned about my time, this would be a great event.