Race 10-110 LMJS 4th Sunday 10k

November 28, 2010
10k - 39:20 - 1st/35?
Garmin tracking here.

The biggest race in the Bay Area the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the Run Wild 5k and 10k in San Francisco. However, since I ran the Quad Dipsea Saturday I wasn't expecting a great performance Sunday so I made the cost conscious decison to run the smaller 4th Sunday Race which is put on by the Lake Merritt Joggers and Striders on the 4th Sunday of every month. The $5 price tag for non-members saved about $25, and the LMJS race had 5k, 10k, and 15k options - 1, 2, or 3 loops around Lake Merritt in Oakland.

I chose to run the 10k because I didn't feel I'd have fast enough turnover for the 5k and I thought if I ran the 15k I'd run out of steam before the end. I got there just in time yet again and finished entering as they were explaining course instructions. I guess I just count on it starting a little late for that at some of these races.

The start was a little different than anything I've ever seen. The loop is just shy of 5k so there's about 20 yards extra to run after completing a complete loop to make a 5k. This means 10k runners run an extra 40 yards and 15k runners run an extra 60 yards, more or less. Usually everyone starts together and they have multiple finish lines. This time they had multiple starting lines and a single finish line. It looked like a corral system at the start since there were 3 groups over people at 3 start lines with some open space between them.

When the gun went off I almost immediately caught up to most of the 5k runners. I also tried to keep track of where the 10k runners were in relation to me. It looked to me that 2 10k runners made it through the 5k crown in front of me. As we got to the first 90 degree turn I saw a fast guy in an almost glowing green shirt cruising along in the lead pack who was not one of the 2 people. I thought he must be in the 5k to be moving that fast.

I ran the first mile in 6:06 and caught the two guys around the mile mark. I ran 6:14 pace for the next mile as I pulled away. I was very conscious of the possibility they could catch me since I wasn't as fresh as usual. I glanced over my should at every turn and it appeared I was slowly pulling away. As I was completing the first loop I wondered if I was in first or if the bright green shirt was in the 10k. I thought it possible he could run the first 5k in low 17s which would explain the gap. I didn't see him at the finish as I passed through to start my second lap.

It seemed I opened some space on both guys in back of me on the slight uphill leading to the 3 mile mark. I decided that as long as I ran my own race I'd hold them off because if either was going to make a move they wouldn't have let me get so far ahead, maybe 30 seconds by now. I didn't spot green shirt guy on the opposite side of the lake and all but concluded he must have been in the 5k.

I finished my second lap a little slower than the first. Midway through the 2nd lap I was hoping for a time in the 38:s but when I hit the 6 mile mark in just over 38:00 I knew it wouldn't happen. I finished in 39:20 and was told at the finishing chute that I was the first 10k finisher. I asked about the green guy and they told me he was in the 15k! Sure enough, only 53 minutes after we had started! I was also told that the 5k winner ran 18:11 which normally I could do, but not likely with the long race the day before. So I appeared that I entered the easiest race to win.

They only award ribbons for age group place and overall places (what else do you expect for a $5 race?). Overall I was satisfied with my time and the fact that I had a solid road time only 1 day after the Quad Dipsea is making me consider setting an aggressive goal at next week's California International Marathon.