PFTW, and Corona del Mar Scenic 5K Recap

Last week....
Wednesday: 5.6 crappy blah miles at Back Bay
Thursday: Magic Yasso 800's, 10 miles
Saturday: CDM5k
Sunday: 22 miles, easy pace*

This week...
Tuesday: 10 miles, 8 at MGP (weirdly, that's roughly my easy run pace...)
Thursday: 9 miles easy
Saturday: 16-20 miles, easy
Sunday: 3-5 easy recovery

*This run was tough. I should not have pushed my Yasso's so late in the week. Oh well. 22 miles got done, and I didn't die. I DID almost puke afterwards - got home, sat around for a few minutes, and stood up to shower, and it got a little sketchy, but I managed to not puke. Karma, I guess (foreshadowing). **********************************************************
CDM5k. I love that this is a smaller race, down the street. The men's and women's races are run separately - men's at 7:55, women's at 8:25. The H wasn't running this year, so we left our house just after 7, and - for the first time in 3 years - had trouble finding parking. Note: if you get there before 7, you can park on the beach, down the hill from the start line. If it's after 7, you'll probably have to park across PCH. Still, not too bad - maybe half a mile away.

Going in, I had a sub-30 goal - I toyed with trying to race this one, but the course is super hilly (there's one part labeled "Killer Hill"). Snork wanted a sub-30, and sub-30 would be a PR for me, too, so we decided I would pace her to sub-30, and kill two PR's at once.

There was also a little bit of competition with Snork's husband, who really, really wanted to beat me (he beat me the first year, and I beat him the second). But because we run at separate times, it's super tricky - I had no idea what time to beat! (Spoiler, he killed it and beat me a TON).

But secretly, I kind of wanted to hit 28:xx. I threw that number around a little bit, and Snork was adamant about not hitting it. But she's faster than she thinks ;). I told her not to look at her garmin, just to follow me.

#1 was running, and said she wanted to take it easy - she didn't feel like racing it. She was just there for the food. Obviously, she's my child.

So, race started on time. I lined us up towards the front, and ran the first mile pretty conservatively - which is easy, because the first .5 is a slight uphill. Snork asked what I would do if I got tired, and couldn't hold the pace. Um. I guess I'd tell her? lol

All of the miles have giant mile markers, and the race has volunteers standing at each one announcing times. Our goal pace was 9:38, for sub-30, and we came in mile 1 at 9:12.

Mile 2 has some small uphills, but also plenty of downhills - plan was slow and steady up the hills, and kill it on the downhills. Success, mile 2 8:57.

Mile 3 starts with Killer Hill. I told Snork shortly after we passed the 2 mile mark, we could walk a portion of Killer Hill, as long as she held our current pace until we get there. She was obviously working hard, and didn't have much to say, except, "You do whatever. I'll follow". Ha.

We walked about 30 seconds in the middle of the hill, and Snork asked for another few seconds after that. Maybe 40 seconds of walking, then we ran the rest of it, and destroyed the downhill on the back of it.

There's another steep but short hill around mile 2.5, that we walked for about 15 seconds, but then ran in the rest, and sprinted in the last .1

.1, 7:34. HA.

Official time, 28:11.

Snork did so great. I'm so glad she listened to me and didn't check her Garmin, because I don't think she would have run that race if she knew what pace she was at. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

She immediately started almost-puking, which means, I think, I did my job. I also mentioned something about how if I ever puked after running, I might just STOP running, forever. Karma.

Mr. Snork, that dude finished in 26:47, I think. I felt pretty good at 28:11, but I don't know that I could have pulled out 26:47. He beat me, this time.

#1.... she started near us, and was just ahead of us at mile 1. And then she decided it was, in fact, a race, and finished in 25:19. Blah blah natural talent blah.

Just after Mile 1, downhill!

The one and only time I've seen this girl with a heel strike. Apparently running slow is hard for her.

Oh, look. Freakish natural talent. 

Finish line.

Another race, another AG award.... 3rd in her NEW age group.

This is why we run this race every year. Yeah, the course is nice, the race is well run, it's a fun race overall.... but, breakfast burritos, scones with lemon curd, pizza, pita and avocado smash, parfaits, chicken tacos, and creme brulee?! Win.