Seal Beach 5K 2009 Race Report

I did really well this year! 33:29 - A PR for me!

I accidentally stayed up much later than I wanted to the night before, and thought "oh well, I'll just take this easy and not worry about it".

Every year some guys associated with the Orange County Sheriff's department run this 5K in formation, with someone calling out cadences. This year I decided to run behind them for several reasons: I know their pace will be consistent (even though I wouldn't be able to keep up), they call out cadences which make running easier, and they leave a big wake behind them so you have plenty of room to run without people getting in your way.

I was able to keep up with them through the first mile, and then started trailing during the second. By the time I got to the water station I stopped for water and pretty much lost them completely.

When I passed the mile 2 marker there was a volunteer calling out times, and I was shocked when I thought about what my possible time could be if I pushed myself. I always have a lot of self-doubt and it's hard for me to push through the end of races, and the thought of getting a PR when I hadn't trained and didn't get a lot of sleep was really motivating.

At the last K marker I thought I might have a chance at besting my PR I made at this race last year (35:33), but I had no idea I'd shave two whole minutes off. I guess I underestimated how long it took me to cross the starting line!

The crowd support at this race was awesome like it is every year. There are a lot of volunteers and they had lots of post-race orange slices and bananas for runners.

I really recommend this race for beginners. There is ample parking off of Marina and the course is relatively flat and easy. The crowd support is great too!