Week of Bonita Stampede 8k

First off if you get a chance check out the website The Hype Machine if you are into new and good music. Thank A-wok for that site.

This week was pretty low key as far as training was concerned. Monday (base) Tuesday(recovery) Wednesday(1k repeats) Thursday (base) Friday (base / course preview) Saturday (Race) Sunday (LSD). Really relaxed runs, but with great views!

The only really notable things happen to be the workout and race, and that's good since I don't want a long entry.

Wednesday's Workout
Description 6 x 1k w/ 2@( tempo, 10s faster, 20s faster) w/90s rest.
Time Goal 3:15-3:15-3:05-3:05-2:55-2:55
Actual Times: 3:15-3:13-3:04-3:04-2:50-2:54

\int_{0}^{1}\frac{x^{4}\left(1-x\right)^{4}}{1+x^{2}}dx
=\frac{22}{7}-\pi

Compared to this exact workout in 2007 (SR year) I ran much faster and more consistent. Exact details are at this link go there because I have some cool conversions on times, e.g. my final km's workout to be 4:32 and 4:38 pace for a mile!

The Race
I ran the course for the 8k on Friday and pretty much shit my pants when I saw the hill from mile 2 to mile 3. The course itself was a little hilly in so far as few meters here and there of elevation gain, however mile 2-3 is a ~350ft gain which puts it at a 5% grade average, however its much steeper than that at times. The footing was everything from loose rocks to loose dirt and one had to work to find sure footing. The course http://tiny.cc/UioIX

The race went out fast with a pack of 5 + me tearing out of the gates. However I realized early the pace was too fast for the climb to come at mile 2 so I backed off and let them go. I chilled in no-man's land for the next 2 miles and then made a huge effort to catch the group on the hill. I made up tons of ground and caught 4th place at the turn for the downhill. Together we hammered playing cat and mouse over the next mile till together we caught 3rd place, and shot past that guy. With 1200m left to go Hector (Adidas MovinShoes runner) kept throwing in surges that I couldn't cover, but then would make up when he left off. Finally with 200m he took off again and then eased up at the line beating me out by a few tenths of a second. I wish I was stronger to have crushed the surges early, but this back and forth made the race fun, and pulled me to a 26:23 finish (5:17 average). The winner of the race was non USATF and thus moved me to 3rd over all and gave me 81pts towards the individual title. Our team BSK won the men's race moving us to 1st in the team race, and I moved up to 9th over all in the standings. Interesting note on the race, I came through the 3 mile mark at 16:47 and with a finish in 26:23 that makes the final 1.97 miles of the race covered in 9:36. That's an average of 4:52 per mile and thus equates to an estimated final 2 miles in 9:44! Given that my 2 mile PR just recently (last spring) became 9:33 this is an amazing feat. I feel so elite right now...

Next weeks race is the Ursula Rains Balboa Boogie 5k at Morley Field in Balboa Park. Map seen below. Last year the top ten broke 16 minutes with the range being 15:15-15:58. I think low 15's maybe out of the question by this weekend however 15:30-15:50 would be a good time goal however I rather place high then run a fast time top 10 seems do able and top 5 will require a great race.