Marin Memorial Day 10k Quick version: Time: 38:35 Pace: 6:12.5 Age Grade: 88.07 Division Place: 2nd 60-64 Long version: This was one of those rare mornings where everything that could have a positive influence on the outcome of a race came up favorable. My legs felt fresh—I had enough recovery but not so much that I’d sacrificed any fitness. After 7 consecutive days of slow-easy running on soft grass I felt strong during warm up and was eager to go. On the weekend just prior to the first easy day I had run a hard 5k followed by a tough 16-miler on hills. The weather was about as perfect as anyone could ask for with temperature of ~50f and cloudy skies with almost no wind. The course was a flat, fast, certified loop that finished on the Marin College track. The race was the 5th leg of the 2008 PAUSATF Grand Prix series which insured a fast field to help pull me along. After arriving at the College about 75 minutes before the start and taking care of the usual business I started a warm up of about 3 miles. Instead of including my usual 4 x 30 second pickups I did a couple quick reps from the 6-mile marker to the finish banner. Sometimes the mile marker can be slightly misplaced, even on a certified course. For some reason it happens more often at the last mile than any other—at least from my experience it does. I wanted to make sure that there would be no surprises this time so I clocked the reps. The start was on the street about a block from the finish. I lined up about 3 or rows back for the crowded start. After the gun sounded I literally had to throw some elbows--more to protect myself rather than as an act of aggression. What a bunch of barracudas some of these people were, and this included the women! After a couple hundred yards I finally had enough breathing room to run comfortably. All the congestion had not really cost me any time as indicated by my first mile split of 6:02. Although this was almost surely faster than what I could hope to keep up for the entire race I tried not to make a conscious effort not to put on the breaks. Instead I focused on finding that fast-relaxed feeling I could maintain. In the mean time I had pulled up behind the eventual 3rd place male finisher in my division and a lady masters runner who finished just ahead me in one my best races a couple months ago. I knew that if I could stay close to those two I would most likely run a fast time. I had a 2-second win over the man in our last meeting. The 2nd mile passed in a more sensible 6:14, still well ahead of PR pace. Despite the slower split my age group rival had dropped back a few seconds but the lady was still there. After the 3rd mile went by in 6:08 I knew that I was sitting on a breakthrough PR if I didn’t fall apart over the final 5k. By then I had opened a small gap on the lady, but she was far from finished and eventually caught up and began to pull away at mile 4. Splits for last 3.2 miles were 6:13, 6:17, 6:21 and 1:20 for final .21. I had no kick left for the stretch drive but was overwhelmed with joy when I realized how fast I had run. It was truly beyond anything I could have expected. Ironically my time of 38:35 was only good for 2nd age 60-64 age group and snapped a 15-race win streak for me in this division. However, the winner had won national 10k championships on road and XC within past 18 months (60-64 AG), so I was hardly disappointed. He ran 36:57 this morning. I have never been so happy to finish 2nd and wouldn’t trade this one for any of those wins! Thanks for reading—even if you skipped the long part!

Jim, Yes indeed, wasn't it only awhile ago when you were striving to go sub-40? Wow, that time is fantastic! Your steady training and racing continue to bring forth outstanding results. There is much that we can learn from your experience. Congratulations and enjoy! huskydon

Way to go Jim. You had a lot going well, feeling good, good weather, and good course and you took advantage of it. I am not only impressed by what you did but by the fast competition you faced. Congratulations. TomS

What a wonderful break through! Congratulations. I watch your running and racing with great interest. While I will never be anywhere as fast as you, your threshold breaking is impressive. You train with dedication and wisdom and race with fleet feet. I hope the thrill of this achievement propels you to exactly where you want to go. Awesome! CNYrunner/Karin

Jim, I find your achievements to be very inspirational. Thanks for posting, and continued success to you.

Wow... An awesome run. - As always you give hope to us younger competitors. Its amazing that this time would ony take 2nd AG - but the PR must mean a lot more to you. Good to see the training pay off... I would expect there are a few other PRS left out there for you. Congrats. Ray

“hope will encourage many people to see that steady and improved training over a LONG period of time is the best method to achieve continuously better results and remain injury-free” Well said, Spareribs. When I started this big push more than 3 years ago I never dreamed I could improve this much at such a late age. More than anything it has taken consistency and running good, but unspectacular workouts. I believe that doing workouts based on current fitness level rather than “pie in the sky” goals will ultimately lead to the best results. Of course a little luck always helps. I’ve been very fortunate to have avoided injury for more than 2 years after a rough beginning. “Wow... An awesome run. - As always you give hope to us younger competitors. Its amazing that this time would only take 2nd AG” Thanks, Ray. This had to be one of the toughest 60-64 fields to run in the U.S this year. The winner was Chuck MacDonald who has never been beaten since turning 60 more than a year ago. He also has 2 national titles and a sub-3 marathon at this age. When he shows up we are all running for 2nd. The next 3 guys had had all beaten me at one time or another, with first 5 running sub-40 on Monday. It just depends on who is hot at the time. “Congratulations on a very well-run race, your AG award, and your fabulous PR! What's next?” Hi Jay, and thank you. The next big one will be an 8k on June 21st, which will be the next leg of the PAUSATF Grand Prix series. This will mean a field similar to the one I faced on Monday. After that I will begin marathon-specific training to prepare for an October marathon. My thanks to everyone who responded. This forum is a great source of inspiration and motivation for me.

Very nice job Jim! So exciting to read this report and see how much you have improved. 2nd place is nothing to sneeze at. good Job! ~Mary