I’ve signed up for my second 5k - the PlayadelRun Malibu 5k. The event is actually an aquathon with a 1000m ocean swim and 5k run, but I’ve opted for the 5k run only. The event is on Sept 21st so I have over a month to train. My goal for this race is sub-20min which is 8min faster than my fastest time.

Official results reported by RunnersImage:

Today I turned out my fastest time ever in a 5k - 27.43min. I should feel good about this but I don’t because all I can think about is the lady with the baby stroller, the 81 year old man and the high-school girls who all finished way ahead of me.

I knew I had started off too fast, around a 5.33/km pace but I was caught up in the crowd and that pace felt comfortable. I was fine until the 3.50km mark. Then I felt like I had to walk. Some high school boys yelled “KEEP GOING” as they passed me from behind so I started running to pass them but a half minute after I passed them I couldn’t sustain that pace so I had to stop and walk again. Two policemen on bikes slowly rode past us stragglers yelling words of encouragement around the 4km mark “DON’T GIVE UP - YOU’RE ALMOST THERE” so I picked up the pace once more trying to catch up to the 81 year old ahead of me. My lungs felt like they were going to explode as I crossed the finish line a few moments after the sprightly old man. I looked down at my iPod to see how close it matched the race timer. This is results it displayed:

Results from Nike+ iPod:

So it appears my Nike+ iPod is off by .6km. That’s fine though because now I know if I can record a 20min 5k on my Nike+ iPod I should be able to run a 17min 5k in a race.

Gear used:

It’s official. I’ve registered for my first 5k - the Baldwin Park Pride of the Valley 5k Run. I was going to wait till I was hitting the 20min mark before entering an actual race, but I needed some motivation in my training.  The race description says it’s a fast flat track and the race is sanctioned and monitored by USAT&F so we’ll see how well I do on my very first officially timed 5k!

The Camp Pendleton Mud Run happened to be mentioned on a show we were watching tonight so I went to the website to see when the next event would be. It turns out that there are 3 Mud Runs planned in July, but all 3 have been sold out since January. What I didn’t realize is that the Marines host a series of events including bike races, duathlons, 10k, half marathons, sprint triathlons and triathlons. There’s even a high-altitude 10k event held at the Mountain Warfare Training Center in the Toiyabe National Forest.

I’d love to compete in every event of the entire series but I’m not ready yet. But I will be.