AFC 5K - A New PR

This past weekend I ran my 2nd 5K this year, and only my 3rd 5K in several years! After "moving up" from shorter races like 5Ks and 10Ks to half and full marathons, it became hard to justify paying for and fitting in short races. I run 5K (3.1 mile) distances only daily, don't try to run fast very often, and usually have longer runs scheduled on the weekends which conflict with these shorter races.

I started the year out wanting to complete the San Diego Triple Crown race series which consisted of the Carlsbad Half/Full Marathon, the La Jolla Half Marathon, and the AFC Half Marathon. After having a bad race in Carlsbad and procrastinating and missing the registration cutoff for La Jolla, I had little motivation to register for the AFC half marathon in time. I had run the race in 2005 and 2006 and really didn't like the event (early wake-up, bus to the start, big hill in the last 1/4 mile), but would totally do the race again. After missing the cutoff for registration (it was full) I was going to write off the race, but at the last minute signed up for the 5K. I've done very few 5Ks in the past few years, but figured what the heck, its in my backyard!

AFC Expo

The AFC race happens to be the biggest local event which occurs soon before the start of the Fall Girls on the Run season, which makes it a prime event for attracting new coaches (most of whom are runners themselves). GOTR was planning on having a booth at the race expo on Friday and Saturday, and I committed my Saturday to hustling at the booth. Hey, I do it for a living, why not for my favorite non-profit? :)

I had recruited a number of volunteers to help with the both on Friday and Saturday, and was planning on being at the booth for most of Saturday after completing my long run with David.Working the booth was a lot of fun. I work tradeshow booths for my day job and while I love my job, that in comparison is totally different experience. Working a race expo is a lot of fun for me because everyone attending has something in common with you and most people have some interest in what you are exhibiting. (Stark contrast to the medical tradeshows I exhibit at.)

I met a lot of fun runners who were interested in GOTR for their kids, for volunteer coach opportunities, or who were interested in buying a Glam Runner tutu to race in. I also met two other bloggers, one of whom I was twitter friends with. Its funny how small this digital world is! (Their blogs here and here.)

Race Day

On race day I woke up around 5am and as I lay in bed I scrolled through my facebook and twitter feed on my blackberry. I was horrified to see tweets and updates from HOURS prior from my friends running the half marathon. I was so SO glad that I was only running the 5K! I got up and made breakfast and around 6:15am David and I headed over to the start line. We found parking right away near the start (One of the things I rate races on) and walked over to the starting area. I was excited to see a few other Glam Runners in their tutus and wished I had worn a tutu as well. 

As we walked over I took out my inhaler to get a few quick puffs in and instantly freaked out when nothing came out. OMG it was empty! I hate the design of inhalers.. there is so little warning when they are about to run out! :( I have exercise induced asthma and always use my inhaler before I run. If I don't use it I dont' have a full on asthma attack (I haven't had one of those in six years), but I can feel my breathing becoming restricted which makes me panic which makes it even harder to breath. Sometimes if I jog around and warm-up my lungs I seem to be okay. I tried this out before the race and crossed my fingers that i would be okay.

Race Start

Before the race started I looked around to see if I could spot any of the other Team Sony women I knew would be racing. I didn't see them and thought maybe I'd see them along the course since there were a couple out and backs. Suddenly it was time for the race to start ... and we were off! I had positioned myself towards the front of the pack a few rows deep. I was pleased to see that as we started running that I had picked a good location for myself since no one was passing me and I wasn't passing anyone either. 

My goal was to stick close to a 7:00pace throughout the whole race. My goal finish time was 22 minutes, which comes out to a 7:05 pace. I kept and eye on my Garmin to make sure I didn't get going too quickly, and whenever I saw 6:30 I would ease up a bit. The first mile whizzed by and soon I approached the first out and back. 

I was pretty close to the front of the pack of runners and started counting women that I saw coming towards me to see how many were in front of me. I counted 12 before I made the first turn and thought OMG, I'm the 13th woman! I head that place for another mile but towards the end one woman slipped by me. Darn! Oh well, that meant that I was probably still at least 10th in my age group. Of the 13 women in front of me some had to be older or younger. 

The race went by so quickly and before I knew it I was approaching the finish line. I looked down at my watch as I came down the final stretch and saw that my watch had stopped. ACK!! Crap, I had set my virtual trainer to 3.1 miles and 22 minutes. I had run a bit further than 3.1 miles by then and my watch had stopped short of the finish line. I started my watch again and glanced at the clock right as I crossed. My watch said 22:37 and the clock said 22:55 so I figured I was somewhere in between the two. 

Team Sony Walkman

After the race David and I walked around in the finish area to look at the different booths and I bumped into two of my fellow teammates from Team Sony. They were both really friendly and we chatted for a while about this race, other races, being on Team Sony, etc. One of the ladies is doing the She Rox Triathlon which I'm doing in October and the other is doing the Santa Barbara Marathon (I'm doing the half) in November.

After the race David and I headed off for breakfast (number two for me - oink), ran some errands, and then at lunch time we met up with Tara and Ben (who had run the half marathon) at the Blind Lady Ale House.  

I was looking forward to that afternoon when the official race results would be posted and when they finally came online I was excited beyond belief when I saw how well I had placed. This was my best ranking road race ever!! EVER!

Official Finish Time:   22:55

Age Group Ranking:   4/130

Gender Ranking:   15/746

Overall Ranking:   80/1209

Maybe I should run shorter races more often! I usually finish in the top 10-20% in half and full marathons, to finish in the top 2-6% was a huge ego boost! Wow!

Next Up

My main focus over the next two months now is to train for the Marine Corps Marathon October 30th, but in between I have a few shorter races.

Sept 10th - Heartbreak Ride Half Marathon

Sept 25th - Los Angeles Triathlon (Doing the relay with my cousin & her husband)

Oct 16th - She Rox Triathlon

Oct 30th - Marine Corps Marathon

Nov 12th - Santa Barbara Half Marathon

Its been a busy race year! Fifteen races down, five more to go!