The New Normal

The one thing my wife and I kept finding ourselves saying throughout her pregnancy and for baby's first year was "WOW! Well this is weird..." Little did we know that life was going to get even stranger this year. The pandemic obviously has changed every part of normal life in some way or another, but then again so has being a parent. So learning to be nimble and flexible has been a big theme lately. 

Three and a half years of preparation for the California bar exam left me in pretty terrible shape, at least by my unnaturally inflated standards. It has been a bit of a haul getting back into shape with the the bustle of a new career and new baby, but this year I was hoping to get fit and do some events for fun. Unfortunately, there are no events this year...but when I came up with some alternatives that I really enjoyed. I got a Finish Line Productions email about some Santa Cruz events going virtual I thought that would be a fun goal to shoot for.

The Santa Cruz Firecracker 5k & 10k  also seemed like a good place to start back because the distances are relatively familiar and manageable to go it alone. So I signed up and set about planning routes and prepping with targeted workouts. Since the Carlsbad 5000 was canceled, and that was going to be my first event for a while, I used its course as a template for a nice flat course.  The Firecracker set up a 14 day window to complete your event so I planned on doing the 5k on July 4 and then the 10k as a double loop on July 11 — back to back Saturdays. 

The 5 K

Training had been pretty consistent for a couple of months, and my heart rate data indicated I could rely pretty well on a targeted threshold for these distances. So despite not having anyone to run with I had my watch and a couple of BPM bookends to keep me honest. I got a very early start and it was nice and overcast but very humid. It was strange getting warmed up for a race where there is no race going on, and the strange looks from people out trying to get the good spots on the beach for the Fourth while I ran by full speed made me feel a bit awkward. But it was worth it to put some decent work to the test.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with the effort and the outcome. My lungs were having a bit of trouble keeping up with my legs, but that is a good sign and afterward I was definitely looking forward to trying to stretch the effort to a longer distance. 

The 10 K

I was pretty pleased with my 5k numbers and felt confident about taking a little off the top and being able to repeat a similar strong effort the following weekend at the longer distance.  I took it pretty easy during the week and just tried to keep the my legs and lungs stimulated and fresh.  Our daughter was not feeling well this week and things were just not flowing generally, so by the time Saturday rolled around I was feeling pretty flat.  But I went out under my normal routine and just id my best to stay up in the target zones I was looking for and ignore the feeling that my body was made of refried beans.  

Despite not feeling great, it was a decent output for running alone.  I definitely think that on a good day with the fitness I have now I could probably run around a minute faster, so I am definitely pleased with it. 

It has been nice to have some goals to work toward, especially without having the ability to train with others.  This is such a strange time, but I feel luckier than ever to have the support of family and everything that makes our lives manageable despite the present state of things.  We are certainly privileged to have the life we do and it is hard to be disappointed with things that don't work out perfectly when you know how hard many of your fellows have it. 

Onward. 

USATF-SD Cross Country Champs 8K

This week was the finals of the Dirt Dog Cross Country Series! The race was at Mission Bay on a grassy, rolling four-loop course and field was fired up. A lot of the guys I have been running with turned it up a notch for the finals so I quickly found myself picking along at my own pace. I went a little outside my limit at the last race, so this time I forced myself to stay within the heart rate zone I set out before hand. The last couple of months I have not been getting in much real training, and the race definitely felt more sluggish than even a couple of weeks ago. Nonetheless, the overall time was not bad, and I am really happy just to have completed the series while school has been going on. Time for a bit of a break from racing while I focus on finals. There is a spring road series that we are looking at, so hopefully there will be more to come in the new year!

Cuyamaca College 6k

Balboa Boogie 5k

Another fun classic this weekend! Apparently my dad ran this course when he was in high school! Thankfully the fog stayed in until the race was over, so the conditions were nice. It was a fast field and I stayed on my toes the whole way. Nothing major to report, but I am happy with the effort and to put up a decent, consistent time.

A tale of two 8ks...

The last month has been pretty hectic getting back into the swing of school, and getting organized for all the projects that I have going on this semester. I have been getting out for a couple of short runs each week though so I am not feeling as awful as I did last year. The cross country series has been great motivation to keep up some workouts, and maintain some decent fitness. The last pair of races were three weeks apart, and each one was an 8k. Both had comparable profiles, and the main difference in terms of conditions was the weather.

This weekend Santa Ana conditions settled in and the air dried out severely, the temperature jumped 10-15 degrees, and the later start in the second race meant heat was a substantial element to contest with. On balance, the numbers did not slip off too much this month and my performance at the Cougar challenge mirrored that from the Bonita 8k several weeks ago, so I am very happy with that. Somehow the semester is flying by and it feels good to know that I am not letting my body deteriorate into an equal composition of coffee and cookies like last year. There are only two more events in the series and I am proud of myself for sticking to it.