10k Time Trial

2/19 - I took the day off from work to use up some of my vacation hours I've accrued and to attend the Pasadena Marathon expo. My lower back had been feeling better so I decided to run an impromptu 10k time trial at the Rose Bowl before going to the expo. I parked at my usually spot at the aquatic center (old TNT habit). I jogged over to the Rose Bowl loop. The first loop was a little faster than I'd expected. But it felt ok and I was not pushing it. Just to be safe, I walked for about 2 minutes and jogged the beginning of the second loop. The second loop was more of a fartlek run. There were portions where I was definitely running in the low 7's because the right hamstring was getting tight so I had to back off.

• 1st loop in 24:34, 7:55 pace.
• 2nd loop in 27:25, 8:50 pace.

After I cooled down, I sat in my car reading my Runner's World magazine. I had an hour to kill before heading over to the expo. I finished my magazine and still had time, so I headed over to Petsmart to buy a new filter for my poor fish at work. Then I headed back to park at the Paseo. I got my ticket validated at Macy's and headed across the street to the convention center.

I bumped into a bunch of Marathon Maniacs at this expo... Howard, Silver, James, Charles, Mitch, Dane, and Yolanda. I might be missing some people. While leaving the expo, I bump into Louis. We picked up our bib and race packet, but they did not have any shirts! They kept promising that they're on their way, but the ETA kept getting later and later. Finally they started taking down names and bib numbers for those that cannot wait. We can then pick them up on race day or they'll mail them. As a frequent marathoner, this did not bother me because I have more shirts than I know what to do with them. I've donated so many of them to GoodWill and I still have enough to outfit a small village! Anyways, whether due to being a young race or circumstances out of their control, this race really cannot catch a break!

I ended up signing up for the Carlsbad all day 25k again. They did not have a shirt in my size. Hmmm... that must be the theme of the day. The girl tried to give me a large. I said no thanks. So she was going to check back at the office and mail me a medium if she finds one.