Devil Mountain Run 10K

On Saturday, my son had his teeball game and we did fun family stuff.

Sunday was race day. Here are the details.

6:00am: I woke up and rolled out of bed. My son must've joined us at some point in the night so I grabbed his pillow from his bed and put it in my place so he would'nt roll off the bed. I slipped into my running gear and had the usual morning race ritual.

6:30am: I was out the door and off to the races. I had to make sure the last-minute registration of Matthew and Christina went through without any issues. I was pleasantly suprised when I got to the registration desk they had all three of our race bibs ready to go. I saw a few 2nd Wind team mates, Louis, Doug, and Fermin getting ready to do the pre-race warm-up at 7:15. I put my kids' bibs in the car, laced up my shoes and joined everyone on the team for a nice 1 mile jog.

Tara and Fermin were jogging next to me so I solicited them to pace me at sub-7 for the race. They agreed and we lined up at the start together. Sergio was also next to us but he always runs about 30 seconds to a minute faster pace than any of us. I also saw my R2 team mate John just before the race started. He was looking for a sub-9 run.

About 15 seconds after the horn signaled the start of the race, we finally crossed the startline. There were plenty of people in the wrong place at the wrong pace so I got to weave in an out of traffic like an ambulance driver for the first quarter mile. At this point I dropped Tara and Fermin but didn't realized it until Sergio came running up from behind me. I asked him, "What pace are we doing?" and he said "6:20". Too fast for me so I wished him good luck and slowed down to wait for Tara or Fermin to catch me.

They never did as I was feeling too good to pull off the pace completely. At the Mile 1 marker my Garmin and Timex stop watches were off by 13 seconds! I wasn't sure what to do. My Ironman read 7:17 but the Garmin came in at 7:04. Either way I needed to pick up the pace and it just so happened we were starting our gradual climb up San Ramon Valley Blvd. Since I love attacking hills, it didn't take much convincing to go faster. I weeded my way around other runners who took less joy in running uphill. The Garmin beeped to mark my next split at 6:53 and my Ironman read something lower so I knew I only needed to maintain the pace.

As I past Mile 3 in 6:24, my mind started to ponder the 10K no-man's land here at the halfway mark. I pulled off a good speed up until now but I began to doubt if my pace would hold for another 3. I quickly focused on the next nearest person. A tall older runner. I distracted myself by running multiples of 7 in my head. I caught three runners between Mile 3 and 4 and my clock read 27:11, 49 seconds ahead of the 7 pace. I felt I could go faster. So I did and ya know what? Negative splits kick ass!

Side note on negative splits: I use to run fast out the gate and "taper-off" later in the race. This will get you positive splits where you get slower and slower each mile. Now when the race is over, there's a great satisfaction from putting in a maximum effort consuming every ounce of your energy BUT it can also make for some terrible, emotional finishes as well. Almost a year ago I PR'd my last 10K at the Marin Memorial Day Race. I was desperately trying to make my sub-7 10K goal by May 31st. I had just completed a hilly Bay to Breakers 12K a week prior but the 7:19min/mile wasn't good enough. The morning of the race, I rubbed my sports cream to numb my aching calves and went out fast for a 42 minute 10K. My body wasn't yet recovered nor conditioned for the speed and within the first mile I felt the struggle begin. I pushed as hard as I could in that race but as the last miles came into view, I couldn't hold the pace. When I finally crossed the finish line the clock read 43:08. There was pain and anguish. I thought I had blown it. There was absolutely no way I could've gone any faster. Turns out that 43:08 is a 6:57 min/mile so I did get a sub-7 10K but it was a mess. These days I avoid adrenaline-fueled hot starts and positive splits.

Back to the race...

Between miles 4 and 6, I got my runner's high. The race became so enjoyable I started to wave and say "Good Morning" to spectators and fellow runners. I had passed a dozen runners up to that point and now with the view of Iron Horse Trail stretched out before me, I saw some more people I could catch.

First the old guy in the hat, then a tall clydesdale-type guy, a teenage girl and boy, a 40year old guy who I chatted with and finally at mile 5 I saw someone who looked like (and was) Jamie Basso. She's a top local female runner who I've seen win several races. I was suprised to be closing in on her and I had to consider whether to pass her. Obviously she knows something about winning a race and it would really ruin my perfect run if I pass her only to have her slingshot past me. After about 30 seconds of this B.S., I remembered I was in a freakin' race so I passed her and like so many other runners she swept up behind me (what are they doing? drafting?) and was my shadow for about 1100 meters. I really hate having a competitor right behind me so I pushed harder to drop her.. and I did, although she wasn't much further behind as we crossed the Mile 6 marker at 39:54.

I entered the dark freeway underpass and figured it wouldn't matter if I closed my eyes. It was dark, the road was wide and I needed a minute to escape somewhere else or nap. Once I came out from the underpass the finish line came into view and I pushed and kicked and made odd involuntary noises as the clock counted up from 41 to a 41:11 finish. From what I've seen from other people's times, we may have been robbed by about 5-10 seconds but I'll take the padding so the next PR will be easily achieved.

Joseph had mentioned he was going to be at the race but was late because #1 he got a flat tire on his bike and #2 took a while to figure out he was at the 5K not 10K finishline. We spoke briefly before I ran(literally) to my car and change my clothes, got my cellphone and the kids' bibs. Rosemary was on her way but the exit ramps were blocked due to the race so she was having problems getting downtown.

I walked back up the trail toward the finish and quickly ran into Joseph and John. John had crossed the finishline in his targeted 53 minutes.

My wife and kids showed up and we pinned their racing bibs onto their new race sponsored shirts. They were both sporting their new racing shoes too. Matthew had his Thomas the Train and Christina had princess running shoes.

I lined them up at the starting line but they didn't run until the 3rd heat. I had Matthew run with Christina since neither of them were very comfortable with the noise, announcer and circus-like surroundings.

The announcer had each child give their names and Matthew and Christina were right on cue. They counted down "3-2-1.. GO!" and they both took off toward Rosemary at the finishline.

They got cool ribbons and goody bags and felt like real champions. We all had a great time.

Business: Sunday, Workday Devil Mountain Run 10K 6.2 miles in 41:11 @ an average 6:37min/mile pace.
Splits are as follows:
Mile  1: 7:04 (0:07:04)
Mile  2: 6:53 (0:13:57)
Mile  3: 6:49 (0:20:47)
Mile  4: 6:24 (0:27:11)
Mile  5: 6:21 (0:33:32)
Mile  6: 6:21 (0:39:54)
Mile  6.2: 6:18 (0:41:11)

End-of-Week Summary:



Cycle Summary:



Gut-check
Saturday
Breakfast: 1 pancake, hot chocolate.
Lunch: 2 hotdogs, 6 oz. yogurt, water.
Dinner: Chicken cutlets, brownies, ice cream.

Sunday
Breakfast: 1 Gu, water, water, 2 chocolate milks.
Lunch: Pesto pasta, water.
Dinner: Pork chops, chicken salad w/ ranch, bowl of chocolate ice cream w/ brownies.

Run. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

=RUMBLE