Carmel Valley 5K Race Report

The official name of this race is actually the 3rd Annual Kaiser Permanente Carmel Valley 5K & Fun Run 2015. As the name states, this race actually benefits quite a few schools in the community, see the full list here. Most people start off the new year running more than other months, trying to meet some type of New Year’s Resolution goal. But since I was running a lot the last few months, training for a few half marathons, I went back to just working out at the gym. So I didn’t get to train as much for this race as I would have liked, but did well considering the circumstances. Results: 20:48 (6:43 min/mile), 4/15 age group, 32/937 overall. I actually looked at the past few year’s results and for some reason, there were never too many finishers in my age group. A part of me was thinking I could place in my age group, but there were a lot more people that ran in my age group this year (which is a good thing), and the runner who placed 3rd ran much faster, so at least it wasn’t like I just got edged out of placing. Overall, it was a fun race, well organized, but definitely challenging (totally didn’t expect those hills!)

The course was a mix of road, trail and (concrete) hills, so even though it was just a 5K, it was fun transitioning from one terrain to another. As I got to the starting line and saw all the younger runners, I got nervous. They always run really fast and for some reason, I always try and run with them (even though I know I can’t and shouldn’t). I seem to forget how fast high school runners are, 5-6 minute pace miles are not possible for someone like me anymore! But that’s what happened for the first mile, I ran a blazing 6:02. Compare this to the 9 minute miles I’ve been training at, of course my body wouldn’t be able to sustain! Mile 2 slowed down to 7:10, followed by the hilly 7:22 mile 3. I was pretty exhausted by then and other runners were passing me and I didn’t even bother trying to keep up. I really hate it when I run positive splits, it hurts so much more and I don’t have as much fun during the run. But that is my fault and hopefully I’ll learn from it (sometimes I do, other times I don’t). I do have another 5K this weekend (in San Francisco, another potentially hilly race), so I’ll be able to redeem myself then.

I almost forgot to mention the Bay Club Bash! It was basically a post-race festival with bouncers, face painting and vendor booths with cool samples. There was a kid band playing music and it was nice to just relax here after running the race.

Check out some photos from the race!