Carlsbad 5000 all day 25k

This was the 25th year of the Carlsbad 5000 and only the second year that they've offered an all day 25k event where the runner gets to run in 5 heats. As the race got closer, the more I began thinking that it was a very bad idea. After my disaster in Sycamore Canyon, I had nearly zero confidence in coming out of this race unscathed. But still I wanted to run hard and see what I could get out of my not-so-fresh legs. But I had to monitor the condition of my ailing body parts so that I don't cause any further damage.

I parked in my usual spot at the Carlsbad train station at around 5:15am. Took a little nap. Then I used the portapotties and picked up my bib at around 6am. I bumped into Charlie, a fantastic masters runner! We wished each other a good race and I headed back to my car. Along the way I stopped by the expo to pick up my race shirt and goodie-less bag. I got ready and jogged back to the starting area. In the starting area, I bumped into the same 70 year old triathlete as last year. I really hope I move like he does when I'm his age. Right before the start of the first heat, I came up with a goal to try and break 23 minutes. I don't run very many 5k's, so I don't really have a personal best at this distance.

Masters Men 40+
23:09 7:13, 7:22, 7:55, 0:39 - overall pace 7:27
I went out pretty well. The course was a bit congested with really large men trotting along in the front. I realized that I was pushing too hard as I got closer to the first mile marker. I was going to clock a sub 7 first mile, so I backed off. The second mile was pretty much a steady climb. When I saw that I had clocked a 7:22... I realized that I had to back off again or my other heats were going to suck really bad. I guess I backed off a little too much as I kicked down the final stretch and noticed that I was going to be about 10 seconds shy of my goal. If this were my only 5k, I'd definitely be in the 22s or lower.
31:49 break - I drank a bottle of Clif Shot Electrolyte drink and took 1 GU.

Masters Women 40+
24:59 8:02, 8:08, 8:08, 0:41 - overall pace 8:02
Running with the cougars! RAWR! This was my favorite heat. It's more of a happy fun run since most of the testosterone was not present. I started off a little bit slower in this one, but I developed a side stitch. So I kept it at an even pace the rest of the way. I tried taking deeper breaths to see if the pain would clear up. Eventually it did.
59:34 break - I drank a bottle of Clif Shot Electrolyte drink. I then went through the expo stopping by the RunRacing booth to say hi to Brian (at least I think that was his name, the band was loud). I then relaxed a little bit in my car. I jogged back to the start to loosen up the legs. I took 1 GU before the next heat.

Men 30-39
24:05 7:27, 7:52, 8:06, 0:40 - overall pace 7:45
Since this was my age group, I went out as hard as I could and tried to hang on. Seeing the same hill for the third time really drained me mentally. I just could not convince my legs to push after the first mile.
32:41 break - I drank a bottle of Clif Shot Electrolyte drink and took 1 GU. I carried a GU and some water into the next heat.

Women 30-39
25:37 8:13, 8:17, 8:26, 0:41 - overall pace 8:14
I started to feel really sluggish in this heat. I took a GU at around the first U-turn and finished off the water. In the final stretch as I was passing a guy also running the all day event, he turned on his kick. So instinct took over and I tried to match his kick. He beat me by a little. We congratulated each other, but it looked like I pulled or strained my right hammy.
51:22 break - I drank a bottle of Clif Shot Electrolyte drink and took 1 GU. Used the Clif Shot bottle to massage the hammy loose. I kept doing stretching exercises and it finally felt good to go a few minutes before the next heat. I was about to take a DNS on the final heat. Then took another GU.

Men and Women 29 & Under
26:13 8:18, 8:22, 8:43, 0:50 - overall pace 8:26
The heat that almost didn't happen. This was basically a fast jog. Good thing was that the right hammy was fine with it. I don't remember much about this heat as I was tired and spacing out. On the final stretch I tried to speed up, but my left hammy was cramping up. So, I ended up cruising in.

It took a bunch of us a while to find the Awards table in the village faire to pick up our 25k medal. There were signs pointing to it, but man it was a bit confusing and far! I picked up my medal and met up with my RWOL friends to watch the elites run the course. Man, those elites were flying! The winner for the men, Eliud Kipchoge, finished in 13:11, 4:15 per mile pace. The winner for the women, Meseret Defar, finished in 15:04, 4:51 per mile pace.

The breaks were kind of hard to endure. The faster you ran, the longer you had to wait in between heats. But if you run them slower than your capabilities then what's the point? I love this race, but 5k's are incredibly hard races to run. Most likely I'll be back, but man that was brutal to run five of them in succession. Carlsbad is a tad far of a drive to run only 1 heat. None of the usual niggles or ailments were bothering me during the race. But maybe I'm just more suited for shorter distances.

We then had lunch at Casa De Bandini. It was a Mexican restaurant in the Forum. I had an avocado omelette and 2 Stone IPA's. It was my attempt at eating less red meat. I'll probably go back to eating more seafood. It was a fun Sunday with running, food, and friends. Maybe next year I'll run 1 heat and just watch other people run.