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Summer Solstice Watermelon Run - Run5 Mile


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Long Beach, California
United States
Try-Us Events
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 35m 39s
Overall Rank = 68/314
Age Group = M25-29
Age Group Rank = 6/35
Pre-race routine:

Left LA at about 3:00pm and drove through terrible bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 405. But I expected it, so I still got to the park pretty early, just after registration started at 4:30. There was free parking because nobody was working at the booth. Picked up my registration and chatted with some other runners. Its a local event, with a pretty small field. The weather was very warm, even for a 6pm start time. The sun has been setting at around 8:15, so we'd be running with the sun in our eyes for much of the race when the course faced west. Stayed hydrated with some Gatorade and water.
Event warmup:

About 30 minutes before the race, started warm up jogs and stretching. Checked out where the starting and finish line would be. Chatted with other runners. Went pee a couple of times since I'd been drinking so much water.
Run
  • 35m 39s
  • 5 miles
  • 07m 08s  min/mile
Comments:

I didn't take any water at all throughout the run. There were a bunch of local running clubs competing in the race. Top finisher ran it in 25:00 flat. I was pretty happy with my split at mile 3 (21:00) but I couldn't keep up the pace for the rest of the way. Ran next to one guy who kept stopping to walk, and then he ran past me, then walked again, and then ran past me again. Haha... he ended up beating me at the end by a few seconds.

Overall, finished in 68th place out of 314 runners, and 6th in my age group out of 35.
What would you do differently?:

Pace myself a bit slower in the first three miles. I pretty much left it all out there on the course. The last half mile, you were running without shade into the sun, so it was hot and pretty tough, but I tried my best to give it a "kick" at the end.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked around a lot. Ate watermelon. Stretched. Picked up a free watermelon. Ate the BBQ dinner they had catered there. Chatted with some of the runners I'd met earlier.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I still don't think I've reached my potential yet in running. I can use more speed work and maybe start incorporating squats and leg strength exercises into my lifting routine.

Event comments:

Today was the last day of school for my students, so it was pretty cool to be able to run a race on a weeknight after work. Nice little local race. The winter race, you get a free Christmas tree at the end instead of a watermelon. I may just sign up!






Last updated: 2008-05-31 12:00 AM
Running
00:35:39 | 05 miles | 07m 08s  min/mile
Age Group: 6/35
Overall: 68/314
Performance: Good
I hit mile 3 at almost 21:00 on the dot, so my pace was good, but the heat kind of wore me out the last two miles, and this pace was a lot faster than I'd expected. Still ended up running a PR for this distance.
Course: Flat, winding course through the bike paths and roads that run through El Dorado Park, which is a huge park in Long Beach. We ran around a lake, over a creek, and underneath an underpass along the route. I tried to stay running in the shade, but there were some points along the course where you just had to run facing the sun, and it was HOT. Water station was at mile 1 (wtf?) and then we passed the same station again between mile 3-4, as the course looped back around.
Keeping cool Bad Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? No
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4

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2008-06-19 11:22 PM

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Subject: Summer Solstice Watermelon Run
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