The plan:

My plan was to try and run this as consistent as possible. It was a tune-up race so for me it was more seeing how I can do with pacing, consistency (execution) and a general idea of my fitness. I hadn't run on the road in a LONG time so projecting a pace would be silly. I did this exclusively by feel.

Loop 1:

I ran into a friend who I hadn't seen in a long time! She was doing the 10K. She ran at UC Davis in college and was a 5K runner, got burnt out and took a long break and was starting to dabble in longer events. I took mental note to use her as my visual through loop 1. Certainly not to pass her but also not to let her get too far out. Of course using my own RPE as the final say.I lined up a couple rows back since there was a 5 and 10 k combined as well. I certainly didn't want to get caught up in the 5K pace start. I started out and kept to the inside of the loop. I was trying to really focus on the small things like tangents so as to be as efficient as possible. Especially because this course has A LOT of turns. This is one of those things I know, but sometimes slips on my radar. I also wanted to be sure to increase my cadence and relax on the up hills and really capitalize on the downs. I felt slightly uncomfortable until about halfway through the first loop but for me that is pretty typical. I made sure to keep relaxed in my face and hands. I kept LuLu in my sights but not too close. As we closed lap one I found myself gaining on her. We came through in 21:06. I took no food/water

Loop 2:

Lulu took off like a bat out of hell. I was sure not to follow. I felt very relaxed and controlled coming into lap two and really comfortable. I made the same moves on the course in terms of tangents and hills. I could see Lulu really cranking, and in fact maybe too much. I was hoping shed dial it back a bit so that she had something in the tank for the finish. I tried not to think too much about her race though. Right about halfway through my stomach pain came in full force. It felt like someone was pulling on two ends of rope to tighten a knot. I tried to compartmentalize the pain and keep only running on my mind. It was pretty hot out and I was regretting not wearing a hat, squinting into the sun. I decided that if I was within a minute of my first loop I would reward myself with some water at the station. I came through in 21: 20 and took water as I came through, no food.

Loop 3:

I was pleased with my pacing thus far but wanted to stay conservative at least through the next 2/3 of the loop. I put all my mental strength into my plan. It's interesting, I feel that there is about a 5-10 second per mile that I can lose or gain depending on my mental engagement, with the same perceived physical effort. I tried to channel everything and not let my mind wander (which I think is a little harder during longer/slower events vs say a 5K) I had a little trouble in this lap with other people on the course including a whole family in the single track portion. I had to remain calm and patient as this was just part of sharing a course. My stomach pain had passed and I was feeling pretty good with my pace. Finally I hit the last third of the course or so and started to put the hammer down, hoping I could make up for the family slow down. I rounded the last corner into the straightaway and put the pedal to the metal. I ran through the finish, my loop right about 20:44. No water/fuel.

It was a small race, especially as the 15K distance is a little a-typical but I beat all the men and got the overall win. I particularly loved this event because of its environmental focus. Instead of finisher medals everyone got a tree to plant and even the starting horn was co2 free :)



Obviously I could have done without the stomach issues. I'd wear a little sun protection and maybe run just a touch faster in the second half of loop two and all of 3? Hard to say, I think I could run this a touch faster but not much. It's pretty representative of my curent fitness and I've got about 8 weeks until the marathon.

Ran a little then headed up to the mountains


Sick, still building fitness, weather/attire a bit