November 21, 2009
10k - 5th/197 - 38:20
On Saturday for the 2nd year in a row I ran the Santa Cruz Track Club Turkey Trot 10k. They have a 5k at 8AM and a 10k at 8:45AM. I considered running both races but given the long drive (and therefore earlier wake-up time) and double race day Sunday I decided not to run the 5k. Race Day entry fee was $25 and instead of a shirt they give out socks with turkeys on them. Last year’s socks were black and red and this year’s were bright yellow.
The weather was clear, sunny, and cold. I ran in my purple Firetrails shirt hoping I would be warm enough. The course is an out and back with the first kilometer going from the start to the ocean and the next 4km along the ocean on the cliff just north of the boardwalk. The turnaround is close to the Santa Cruz wharf.
I started in 5th place and made my way up to 3rd by the first mile. The section along the ocean had a headwind and I wasn’t feeling great. First mile was 5:59 but the next 2 were well over 6 (around 6:20) and I got passed by several runners. I hit mile 2 in 7th place at 18:48 (projects to a 19:26 split). At that point I was thinking I’d be happy finishing under 39 minutes. I could tell first woman was right on my shoulder from miles 2 to 3 as her cheering squad indicated as they drove the course and parked every half mile.
At the turnaround it didn’t appear 6th place was within striking distance and other than the 1st woman no one was close in back of me. I thought about hanging on to the place I was in but at mile 4 it appeared I had closed on 5th and 6th place who were running close to each other. I thought I might have a chance to catch them. It didn’t make me happy that the guys in 5th and 6th cut through a small parking lot instead of staying on the bike trail which gave me more reason to try to pass them.
I passed both guys with a little more than a mile to go. I tried to do it quickly so neither would be inclined to stay with me. One of them tried to stay with me (I think) because I heard footsteps for a while but eventually they went away. I ran hard until the end hoping I wouldn’t have to end in a sprint out (it was too cold for that). My finishing time was 38:20 meant 18:54 for the way back and a negative split by 32 seconds.
The post race spread was decent. Whole Foods was a sponsor so there were tons of bananas and they also had some packaged granola snacks and some big cookies. I entered a random draw raffle and guess how many skittles are in this jar competition – I guessed 1196 but not word yet if I won either. They gave turkeys to the overall winners and medals to top 3 in 5 year age groups. I was 2nd out of 11 in my age group.
10k - 5th/197 - 38:20
On Saturday for the 2nd year in a row I ran the Santa Cruz Track Club Turkey Trot 10k. They have a 5k at 8AM and a 10k at 8:45AM. I considered running both races but given the long drive (and therefore earlier wake-up time) and double race day Sunday I decided not to run the 5k. Race Day entry fee was $25 and instead of a shirt they give out socks with turkeys on them. Last year’s socks were black and red and this year’s were bright yellow.
The weather was clear, sunny, and cold. I ran in my purple Firetrails shirt hoping I would be warm enough. The course is an out and back with the first kilometer going from the start to the ocean and the next 4km along the ocean on the cliff just north of the boardwalk. The turnaround is close to the Santa Cruz wharf.
I started in 5th place and made my way up to 3rd by the first mile. The section along the ocean had a headwind and I wasn’t feeling great. First mile was 5:59 but the next 2 were well over 6 (around 6:20) and I got passed by several runners. I hit mile 2 in 7th place at 18:48 (projects to a 19:26 split). At that point I was thinking I’d be happy finishing under 39 minutes. I could tell first woman was right on my shoulder from miles 2 to 3 as her cheering squad indicated as they drove the course and parked every half mile.
At the turnaround it didn’t appear 6th place was within striking distance and other than the 1st woman no one was close in back of me. I thought about hanging on to the place I was in but at mile 4 it appeared I had closed on 5th and 6th place who were running close to each other. I thought I might have a chance to catch them. It didn’t make me happy that the guys in 5th and 6th cut through a small parking lot instead of staying on the bike trail which gave me more reason to try to pass them.
I passed both guys with a little more than a mile to go. I tried to do it quickly so neither would be inclined to stay with me. One of them tried to stay with me (I think) because I heard footsteps for a while but eventually they went away. I ran hard until the end hoping I wouldn’t have to end in a sprint out (it was too cold for that). My finishing time was 38:20 meant 18:54 for the way back and a negative split by 32 seconds.
The post race spread was decent. Whole Foods was a sponsor so there were tons of bananas and they also had some packaged granola snacks and some big cookies. I entered a random draw raffle and guess how many skittles are in this jar competition – I guessed 1196 but not word yet if I won either. They gave turkeys to the overall winners and medals to top 3 in 5 year age groups. I was 2nd out of 11 in my age group.
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