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:

Tonight I had a big salad with dandelions, spinach, red onions, avocados, black olives, butter lettuce, arrugula and champagne pear vinegarette dressing. I also had oven baked breadded chiecken tenders which I tried to resist but couldn’t. Tomorrow morning I’m planning on some eggs with greek yogurt and honey on the side - along with plenty of water.

After the race we’re celebrating with Dim Sum!

4 Days till race day.

Today I ran a 5k at my favorite park - but this time I ran the course the opposite direction I usually run. I think there are more up-hill sections going in this direction - at least that’s the excuse I’m using for my 31.53min time. I actually had to stop and walk about .01 or .02 km but I was able to push myself to “sprint” the last .10km. I don’t think I’m going to be winning any awards on Sat - not even for my age category - but whatever. It’s all about showing up and giving it all you got.

Today was our typical Sunday - sleep in late, get-up and go to XFlowsion, eat at M Cafe for lunch then go home and take a bath with 20lbs of ice. Ok, that last part isn’t typical, it’s a new thing I’ve started to try in order to prevent soreness in my legs the next day. Today was the second time I’ve bathed with ice. You can’t help to let out a scream, yelp, shout, whatever when you lower yourself into the ice water. I sat there with the melting ice for about 20min. I actually don’t think it was cold enough and what I should’ve done was fill the tub with cold water, then dump the ice in. By keeping the water running with the ice already in the tub I think I lost some of the freeziness of the ice. (yeah I know that’s not a real word but whatever.)

For the 1st mile I kept a pretty good pace and was able to pass the 1 mile mark within 7min even though this part of the run was completely up hill. But I was out of breath so I walked for a block then sprinted a block then walked again and continued this cycle until I reached my office. My Nike+ iPod reported the exact results

1km - 6.08min avg pace.

2km - 6.22min avg pace

3km - 10.52min avg pace.

4km - 4.49min avg pace

5km - 5.15min avg pace.

At this point I am absolutely exhausted and I’m having problems keeping my eyes open long enough to write this blog post.  - so goodnight.

Sunday Heather and I did XFlowsion which is a pretty killer cardio/yoga workout with stretching. Afterwards we had a healthy macrobiotic lunch at M Chaya. I knew that I would probably be sore the next day so I decided to try an ice bath so I could run a 5k on Monday. The ice bath made me scream when I first got in since it was literally freezing cold but I was hoping it would prevent soreness in my legs so I could run the next day. I soaked for 15min then took a hot shower. It’s crazy ’cause my legs were cold to the touch for about an hour afterwards.

Monday I felt pretty good. No muscle soreness except in my shoulders from all the “down-dogs”. I guess the ice-bath really works. For breakfast I made a sourdough avocado and egg sandwich. At noon I attempted a 5k run at my favorite park. I forgot my Nike+ iPod so I just tracked my time using my watch. My pace was pretty good - in-line for a 30min run, but I gave up on the last kilometer and walked the rest of the way. FAIL.

Tuesday I ran stairs in my office building and did sprints in the parking garage a few times. At night I stretched for an hour. Nothing crazy.

Wendsday I went back to the park and attempted to sprint 1 mile, walk 1 mile and sprint 1 mile. The first mile I sprinted actually ended up only being 1.02km because I was retarded and forgot my iPod measures in kilometers instead of miles. The last mile I sprinted ended up being only 1.2km because I just ran out of energy. FAIL

Tonight I plan to do a bunch of squat-jumps then stretch for an hour - that is, after I eat my avocado-cheddar burger on wheat bread with sweet potato fries. It’s semi-healthy right?

Tomorrow I’m going to attempt another 5k.

At this point I’m going to be lucky to be able to finish the 5k without walking.

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!

Strides: Do a set of strides before and after each run. If possible, do them on dirt or grass. Run for 20 seconds as fast as you can while maintaining smooth form, and then rest 30 seconds. Do a total of four strides.

Skipping: Once a week, find some grass or a dirt trail and start skipping. If it’s been two decades since you last skipped, start with 2 x (3 x 30 seconds) with an easy one-minute jog after each of the three reps and three-minute jog between the two sets. As you progress, work up to two sets of six repetitions and cut the recovery time in half.

Brick: Because of the importance of the neuromuscular transition from the bike to the run, I like to see people do—at a minimum—one brick a week throughout their training for a sprint event. Two bricks a week is even better. Your run shouldn’t last longer than 20 minutes and should follow this format: Take two minutes to find your legs and then do six 30-second fartleks at 5K race pace with one minute of jogging recovery after each. Use the remaining time to run easy and cool down.

Core: Start in a modified push-up position where you’re resting on your forearms. Keeping your legs, torso and head in a straight line, push your body up off the ground and hold the pose for 30 seconds. Repeat four times. Work up to holding the pose for one minute. Do the plank exercise every other day, year round.

I’m definitely going to start doing planks and side-planks every other day - starting tonight.

There are also nutrition/supplement strategies for optimum muscle recovery. I found a pretty thorough article on Washington Running Report that outlines nutrition for optimum muscle recovery. At the end of the article they endorse a product called Endurox R4 which is a combination of electrolytes, protein, glutamine and other vitaimins - nothing too exotic. I might have to check it out.