Today I ran the Chapman University/Toyota of Orange 5k race in Orange, Ca.  Chapman is my alma mater, having graduated from the law school in 1998.  Two years ago, this race was my Couch to 5K “graduation race”.  Last year, I went “sub-30” at this race with a time of 28:27.  Since this is the only 5k I’ll run this year, I am looking for a new PR here.

The Weather

Every region has bad weather.  Chicago has blizzards.  Boston has nor’easters.  Miami has hurricanes.  The LA basin has Santa Ana winds.  This is twenty to fifty knot winds blow from the north.  They are hot and dry.  Temperatures go up to the 90’s.  Relative humidity plunges down into the teens, and the danger of wild fires is extreme.  Raymond Chandler wrote about this weather in Red Wind.  Today the winds were blowing.  This race normally draws 3,000 runners, but because of the wind, only 1,743 showed up to race.

The Course

The race course was changed a bit from last year.  The starting line remains the same:  the Schmid Gate which is the main gate into the University.  The race course snakes its way through he residential neighborhood around the school. The change is the finish line.  It was moved from the Schmid gate to the center of the University.

Pre-Race

I arrived at the school with my wife and daughter at 6:30 am and picked up my packet.  At 7:15 am, my wife and daughter were tired of being blown around in the wind.  They left and went to the car. As they left, I told them I would see them at 8:00 am.

The First Mile

Promptly at 7:30 am, the gun goes off and we head south down Glassel Ave. The wind is at my back.  Shortly after starting, I find myself surrounded by a local gym’s ‘boot camp’ class.   By the time we hit the first mile marker, the boot campers are dropping like flies.

Mile 1 – 8:35

The Second Mile

After clearing the first mile marker, I turned east and north.  The wind became a huge problem.  It went from a tail wind to a head wind.  I hit the water stop just to wash some water in my cotton dry mouth.

Mile 2 – 8:42

The Third Mile

About half way through the second mile I find myself getting really tired.  So I pick a runner in front of me, and vow to pass him.  My target today was a guy who appeared to have the same amount of gray hair as I do, wearing last year’s race shirt (so we know this isn’t his first rodeo), rocking out to an iPod attached to his hat.  Ipod boy was about 10 yards in front of me, and I vowed to pass him.

Mile 3 – 8:31

The Last Tenth

After passing the third mile marker, I poured it on.  Ipod boy had not clue what hit him as I left him in my dust. I passed lots of other people too.

The last .1 – 0:28 (6:50 mm pace)

Final time – 26:17, a new Personal Record by two minutes.

OA –                                        257/1743

Age Group (M 45 – 49)         9 of 63

Gender -                                 185 of 691

After the race I went and found my family in the car.  They were confused as to the start time.  They though it started at 8:00 am and not that it would be ending at 8:00 am.  This means I do not have any photos for this race report.

My next race is the Holiday Half Marathon in Pomona, California.  I’m using it as a tune up race/fitness check for the Walt Disney World marathon in Florida in January 2014.

Congrats on the 2 minute PR!

Wow, a two minute PR is huge.   You've really gotten faster!  Nice work!

Well done, Lurch. Great pr. In my opinion, it is much more difficult running in the heat than the cold. Those winds even made it tougher. Great stuff and good luck in your HM.

This is clearly a result of you wanting to keep your word, so next time tell them you will see them at 7:55, and grab an even bigger PR!

Congratulations on the PR!  Good luck on your training & race at Walt Disney World!

Kudos man!  I have no idea how you managed to run in that wind!!  I hated not being able to go to the track here in Chino yesterday but I absolutely had to stay indoors as that wind was ridiculous!

I noticed the trees aren't blowing today.  THANK GOD!!!

nice job....those minutes are just falling away now...congrats!