Run for Education 5k, San Ramon, CA

2013-Run-for-Education-Logo.jpg
Run for Education 5k, San Ramon, CA
ElChistoso


Yesterday I ran my fifth 5k, the San Ramon Valley Education Foundation Run for Education 5k, formerly Primo's Run. I had a great race at this well-organized, surprisingly large (1396 people) local race, cutting 1:44 off of my PR to finish with a time of 20:50. That time was somehow good enough for third place in my division. I'll call that a statistical fluke, but I'll take it.

Leading up to the race I was taking an intermediate track class with my local Oakland club, the Lake Merrit Joggers and Striders. The class met once a week and was organized around the Jack Daniels VDOT-based training philosophy, focusing on running intervals. (Sadly, it doesn't involve bourbon.) This was a big departure from the Maffetone-based training program I was using previously to build a base, and I was a little nervous about my soles holding up to the fast running. Luckily, I had no problems with them aside from one class off of the tracks of fartleks around the very steep Piedmont hills, where I scraped my little toes up pretty good sprinting down the rough streets. Taking the class turned out to pay off - I got faster, breaking 6 minutes in the mile for the first time since college, and the peer pressure helped me push my limits.

I arrived at the race location 10 minutes late and got one of the last parking spots in the close lot, so, perfect. I got my bib and timing chip, which was supposed to go around my shoelaces!? I told the nice volunteer at the booth that I didn't have shoelaces, or shoes, which was met by a stunned "Really?" and then a shrug. I decided to put it around my phone armband and hope that I would still be detected. It turned out everything was fine although I did dip my arm down towards the ground when I passed though the start and finish gates.

I ditched my Vibrams in a bush and did some track style warmups near the start, then made my way to the front to meet my running partner from the class, Alisa, who was seeded. This was nice for me because I got to bypass the large crowd that had built up behind the seeded runners area. As I made my way through the crowd many children made their usual remarks about the strange barefoot man. I kept my stone race face on but was laughing inside. Near the start gate I found Alisa standing next to a stranger who gave me a hearty pat on the back for running barefoot. It always restores my faith in humanity to get these encouraging remarks from the the runners and watchers at the races. I hoped that this time I could impress them with not just my barefoot "toughness", but also some speed.

Alisa and I paced each other for the first mile, which we ran in 6:45. I thought I could run a little faster than that so I pushed my pace and she dropped back. (She ended up finishing with a great PR as well.) I guess I didn't really get faster but maintained that same pace throughout, but it felt like I was running faster. Rather than focusing on pace, I ran the rest of the race trying to pass the people ahead of me one by one. This worked well, although I think some of them didn't want to get passed by "the barefoot guy" and would speed up anytime I wanted to pass and then try to move in front of me and slow back down. I had none of that though and they soon gave up and were left in the dust. Well, except for the kids. There were some amazingly fast kids there. Some passed me and some I never caught up with. According to the race results some of the fastest were as young as 11-13. How can these kids be running 5000m under 20 minutes at that age!? Back then, I was lucky to complete a mile in 10 minutes. The future is bright.

I attempted my best at a finishing kick and was rewarded with my new PR. The race felt short and fast, a new development for me. I may have to try my feet at a half marathon soon. The aforementioned feet feel pretty good today, with only two blister-like hot spots and a what feels like a heel bruise on my left foot, which is a re-injury from the last couple of weeks of track. The rest of my body feels pretty good, my right hamstring is a little tight and sore. It actually developed a tight spot during the race but didn't seem to affect me, so I don't think it counts as an injury.

I met up with Alisa, and then we browsed the surprisingly large expo. We were supposedly top 50 finishers so we got some awesome new shirts proclaiming this. I found out I wasn't actually top 50 but I'm still going to wear the shirt. Alisa left, and then I grabbed my preregistered breakfast, french toast, sausage, and eggs. It was the best, they should do that at every race.

As you can probably tell I had a great time and a great race. I finally feel like I've added speed, and I'll be taking that track class again next year. My other key to my good race was plenty of rest and rehab - my left heel had that bruise from the track class so I hadn't run since last Tuesday. I did some stationary bike and strength exercises instead, and then rested completely Friday and Saturday, with the race on Sunday. Well, if you made it this far through my overly lengthy 5k report, thanks! This feels like a real self-indulgence, but hopefully there are a couple of pieces of entertainment or valuable information tucked in here somewhere.
 
Thanks, murls and Duplo. 20:50 was fast for me, but I am always reading that anyone can run under 20 if they train consistently (30 mpw for a year or so), so there's plenty of room for improvement I think.