Vijay Vadali ran the San Jose Shamrock 5k Run and finished with a time of 22:44. This was a PR by 23 seconds!
I started the race very slowly and conservatively, weaving around folks. I couldn’t pick up the pace in the first half mile easily anyway – I was sluggish and really feeling the effect of the lack of a full warm-up. Half a mile in, I checked-in with myself to see if I really wanted to go hard or not. However, by then I felt that I had passed enough people to create some artificial pressure on myself to take this seriously and that’s when I really started my race. I was able to increase and hold a good pace for the next two miles and in fact was surprised that I got some nice negative splits.
The end result is pleasing. Overall, by my watch, I ran the 3.1 mile split in 22:44 which is a 23 minute PR (There’s a big discrepancy between the chip time and my watch time. I just followed my watch and all pacing was based on what I was seeing on it in the race and it’s a pretty good watch. So going with the watch time). Considering that I am in a marathon block and I haven’t done many 5k-specific runs, this is not such a bad result – hopefully it’s indicative of some improved aerobic fitness.
Tom Fanslow ran the Asheville Half Marathon with a finishing time of 1:57:18.
The race went okay, and given the numerous hills I was happy with my time, especially given only about three hours sleep due to a noisy neighbor. I am relieved that I ran the half marathon instead of the full. The left thigh adductor is sore, but I was expecting that.
Logistical mistakes: I forgot my electrolyte tabs, but I made sure to grab Gatorade plus water at the three water stations, which were a tad far apart for a relatively warm day with lots of climbs.
Weaknesses: 1) as noted the thigh adductor, also 2) I could feel the last two steep pitches in my calves. 3) Lack of sleep two nights in a row.
Strengths: the left peroneal tendon held up like a champ. Given how little hill work I do, I was pleased with my time. On the flats I was consistently hitting sub 8:45 and had to focus on slowing down. Also, I was pleased with my focus. Looking back at the course map, I don’t remember passing numerous landmarks because I was focused on monitoring my pacing and performance. The hills didn’t psyche me out, and I didn’t let them wear me out. This last bit may be due to age as well.
Kathryn Ward ran the Shamrock Half Marathon and finished this race in the time of 1:58:52.
I think I had a really solid effort given not great training on my end and being conservative with my Achilles. Started with pace 2:00. Hung around with them the first few miles then pulled away and tried to sit around 8:55. I tried to practice settling into the pace and getting comfortable there. Pretty flat course so that seemed doable. Miles like 3-6 I tried to maintain that sub 9 pace and sit in it, trying to relax. Felt right hip area on the same leg as Achilles, didn’t feel too bad. 6-9 land park with more crowds was helpful- friends and husband were there too which was great and I had times where I looked at my watch and was going 8:30 and reeled it back! I told myself I would sit with 8:55ish until mile 11 then get faster (I was worried about my Achilles). Hit mile 11 and was feeling pretty good and motivated, it was challenging but I wasn’t fighting the pace. Last miles I was able to negative split and even crossing the bridge with hill I was able to explode for a sprint to finish. Overall, very happy with my effort given my less than stellar training. Wanting to fix this Achilles to see how fast I can really go
Larry Shaw-salazar ran the Lucky 13 10k and finished this distance in the time of 45:02.
First 10k of the year, it was meant as a low key tune up race, I just wanted to try and see where I was at. I ended up running my goal time for my Goal Race in June and was also 3 minutes faster than when I last ran this race. Also fun to finish 4th overall and 1st in my age group.
Robin Whitley ran the NYC Half Marathon and completed this race event in the time of 3:17:04.
With the elevation change, this race is a non-stop “give that keeps on giving” especially in the first 10k and the last 5k. My fastest half since NYC Half 2019. I deliberately tested being a bit underfueled – not a catastrophe but a useful way to test my limits.
