Last weekend was Rock ‘n’ Roll Los Angeles, which meant it was the 2nd Annual “sprint a 5K and then run back to the start line for the Half Marathon.” It’s a working title. Here was the plan in case you have no idea what I’m talking about. Since the 5K and the Half Marathon start at the same location/time and the finish line (for both) is a block away, you can run the 5K, then (in theory) make it back to the start line for the half while corrals are still being released. @pointonemiles and I did it last year, so we decided to do it again.

#WeRunSocial Meet Up

On Saturday, we hosted a #WeRunSocial meet up outside the Staples Center. It was great to see some familiar faces and some new ones. We were supposed to head over to the Mixing Room afterwards, but they weren’t open. OOPS. So instead we walked over to Yard House, put some tables together and continued the fun.

 

The 5K

@pointonemiles and myself made it as close to the front as possible. We were in the second row, right behind all the fasties. Since both the half and the 5K start at the same time, it was tough to tell how many people were gunning it for the 5K. Last year, I took 8th overall and 3rd in my age group, I was aiming for better than that, but it would largely depend on who showed up.

I had done some speedwork recently, but wasn’t sure how much gas I would have in the tank considering I’m currently training for a marathon, not a speedy 5K. BAM. Time to start.

The 1.5 mile out has a slight decline. I decided to take advantage and run by feel and try to hang on. I didn’t look at my watch for the first 2 miles — which is a good thing because I would have FREAKED out if I saw the first mile split. Here is how it felt:

Mile 1: ok, that’s a good strong pace, feels fast, but it’s supposed to.
Mile 2: I’m tired. Only one mile to go. Hang on.
Mile 3: Terrible idea. Why am I running this?

On the “back” portion of the out-and-back I was encouraged by shout outs from people I knew running the half. I may have looked like “someone about to pass out” but it helped me keep my legs moving. I tried to give nods, or shout outs back, I even asked @carleemcdot (check out her costume!) if I could stop — she shook her head no. So kept at it.

Mile 1: 5:59
Mile 2: 6:36
Mile 3: 7:11

5K: 20:31 (PR)
Overall: 16/1516
Age Group: 3/94

It’s a 20 second PR (last year, same course) and a very similar split pattern (6:05, 6:45, 7:15). There are some turns on the last mile, but I basically go out super fast and fade away. I never really learned to pace myself in a short race. With a 6:36 avg., I don’t think I could have run three consecutive 6:30 miles. If I had looked at my watch after mile 1, I would have slowed way down knowing it was too fast. Better not to know? Maybe. I looked at my watch after Mile 2 and saw that I was around 13 minutes. I thought “sub 7 would put me in line for a sub 20,” but I wasn’t sure if I had that in me.

Overall, happy. If I had run this same race in July, I think I could have broken 20 minutes. I was doing a lot more speed work and had a stronger kick. But no time for that. I have a half marathon to run.

 

 

FYI: The Nike shirt and the Lulu shirt shown above were from Design Like Whoa in San Francisco. We are hoping to have some #WeRunSocial tech gear available in 2016, we just needed to give it a test run, so to speak.

The Half

Tired. I had severe cotton mouth, my legs were shot from running what might be my fastest mile in years, and now it was a fun run through downtown LA. @andreabarber and @fitfam6 were waiting for us. @fitfam6 would also be running the half (dressed as Mario). @pointonemiles finished the 5K under 24 minutes. We put on our new timing chips, switched our bibs, got some water and we were on our way, starting with the last corral release.

 

 

@pointonemiles was running on very little sleep and had a long night out the night before. We could tell that he was spent from the 5K and tired from being on his feet the previous day and most of the night. He had pretty much done all the “things not to do before a race.” We joked about it, gave him a had time, but this was going to be a fun run with friends and very easy-paced half with some walking.

 

 

We stopped for a photo at USC stadium, as we had done the previous year. We enjoyed all the costumes, saw some people in the out-and-back sections of the course, and just chatted it up.

Wifey, The First Lady, Mrs. @fitfam6 and kids, and @AndreaBarber were out along the course showing some love and it was very much-needed. Check out @fitfam6 instagram page for some fun shots.

 

 

Coffee anyone?

The revised course — due to some road closures — added some more hills (up and down), but it was very similar to previous year’s route. One thing that we saw on one of the “out” sections was a Starbucks. We joked that we should stop on the way back, then developed a strategy over the next few miles on how we were going to make it happen. We each pulled out our phones, tried to see who had the “order ahead” feature ready to go, placed our orders (after being disappointed that this location didn’t have the all-new Toasted Graham Latte” and we were in and out in a matter of seconds. We also stopped for a selfie with a statue, because, well, we do what we do.

 

 

We crossed the finish line just shy of 3 hours. It had unexpectedly taken us longer than we had initially expected, but we all had a pretty good experience. We stopped for lots of pictures, walked most of the hills and just enjoyed a run with the crew.

 

 

Have you ever run without any concern for finish time?