Light the Night 5K
Posted on Nov 04, 2012 under Race | No Comment
The Light the Night 5K was the 3rd race in 3 weeks and was actually the hardest of the 3 races that I ran. Initially, I thought I’d do really well since it was a night race. Results: 21:21 (6:52 min/mile), 19/71 AG, overall 76/1353. The time and placing isn’t bad, per se, I just didn’t feel good throughout the entire race and almost puked at the very end. But it was definitely all my fault. I had a late lunch (Thai noodles, around 4PM, race at 7PM) and I didn’t have much water prior to the race. I actually like running at night, when I used to train after work, I would always run a lot faster than when I ran before work. I’m pretty sure it was because my body was not fully awake in the morning, so it took a while to really get into the run. For night runs, on the other hand, I’ve been awake all day; I’ve had food and may even have stored up energy/stress to release.
Like the color run, the Light the Night 5K was for a good cause (SD Crime Stoppers). It was a night time run, which I’ve never done before and they handed out glow sticks to wear during the race! It was the weekend before Halloween too, so quite a few people dressed up on costumes. In terms of pace, I started off way too fast which really hurt me the rest of the way: 6:36, 7:05, 7:01. I had a little bit of energy left at the end and was hoping to finish strong, but my late lunch was felt like it was coming back out and I was doing my best just to hold it in.
I think this is one of the first ‘fun’ runs that I’ve ever done and I have to say, it did live up to its name. My cousin had run one of these before and she really enjoyed it. The race is pretty straight forward: you wear white colored clothes (that you don’t mind getting dirty) and you pass through color stations where volunteers throw colored powder on you. And that’s it! It wasn’t even timed, so we didn’t have to worry about pacing either. It really is just a way to get people together for a good cause (Alzheimer’s Association) and have fun walking or jogging for 3.1 miles.
Whenever I tell people I ran a race in New York, their first response is always “oh you ran the New York City Marathon?!” unfortunately, no. And since I’m late with this report, I can actually say that everyone who had planned to run it in 2012 will have the same answer (too soon?). It’s quite unfortunate what has happened in New York with Hurricane Sandy. Outside of all of that destruction and death it has already caused, I really doubt many people in New York are in the mood to run (if it’s even possible in their area…) I am definitely lucky to have made this trip just a few weeks before all of this madness took place. When I came home, I had actually said to myself that it would be my last trip to New York (had already gone 3 years in a row), but I’m optimistic that the city will get rebuilt and be even better than before!
This race report should be pretty brief. This was my 4th year in a row running this race, I’m hoping to continue with that tradition for many years to come. It’s a well-organized, local race that helps support local organizations within the community. Although I had a trend of running faster than previous years (
Well, I’ve completed my quota of one marathon per year, see you all next time! The main reason I decided to run this race was that my coworker said he was going to sign up for this race. Initially, I had planned to just run the half, but when I found out he was going to do the full, I couldn’t let him one up me. I was also hoping that if we both signed up, we could do a few long runs together, which never happened. And to make things worse, he actually changed his mind a few weeks before and only ran the half! But he’s planning to run the SF half in July, so hopefully he’ll have more time to prepare. Here are my official results: 4:07:19 (9:26 min/mile), 209/554 AG, 1986/7087 Overall. The time includes my porta-potty break at mile 5-6, a 30-second walk just before mile 16 and spending way too much time at the water stations (to drink more and to walk/recover). It’s the slowest of my 3 marathons, but (I’m tired of saying this over and over again) considering my lack of training, it’s better than I expected. 
The Foxy Run Trail Half Marathon is a race I ran last year, but under a different name: the 
The Hollywood Half Marathon was my 5th half marathon for the year and third (I believe) inaugural race. I actually wasn’t going to run this race but my cousin, who I ran with on his first full marathon, wanted to run this half. The course was pretty straightforward, basically an out and back with a pretty tough final two miles uphill. Results: 1:40:54, 13.16 mi (7:40 min/mile), 1st 5K: 22:38, 2nd 5K: 23:25, last 6.9K: 54:39. Placing: AG: 49/319, 247/6103 overall. I think I ran once the week of the race so I should be pretty happy about the results. And those last 2 miles were one of the toughest finishes to a race in quite some time. 
The Xterra Trail Run is a series of races across LA and San Diego (possibly other Socal locations) with the Black Mountain 15K race #6 of 7. According to the website, “The athlete with the most points- by gender and age group- after the last race in the Series earns the title of XTERRA Trail Run Series Champion and earns free entry into the XTERRA National Championship Xduro in 2012!” Unfortunately, this was my first and only race of the series, so I don’t expect to win said championship. I can’t speak for the other races of the series, but the Black Mountain 15K was a tough one (especially with one particular hill in the middle as well as the final climb to the finish. Results: 1:20:03 (9.73 miles, 8:13 min/mile), 9/21 AG, 40/245 Overall. Even as the race had just gotten under way, I thought to myself, “why do I keep signing up for these (trail) races, they’re so tough”. But I got over that initial doubt, survived the race and felt great afterwards. 
