Life's A Lot Faster At Sea Level

Myself, Judy and Blake before the 5K.

Had the fortunate luck of getting to go to San Diego a couple weeks ago. If you need an escape from your wintertime blues, I highly recommend going to San Diego in January.

The weather was perfect. Highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s with clear blue skies.

While I was there, I was able to get in some running. 20-plus miles to be exact. And it was wonderful getting to run along the marinas and take in the beauty of a new area.

In addition, there was a 5K as part of convention I was at, so naturally I had to take part.

Since the race was on a Thursday, I really wasn't sure how I do. I am in the middle of a marathon training cycle, and trying to switch gears midweek to race does not compute to me mentally.

I am used to races on the week, so the midweek thing throws me off a bit mentally. I've ran midweek races before but never in the middle of a training season.

The marina we ran beside

Oh well. First time for everything right?

This race wasn't a big deal. There were only prizes to the top male and female finishers. It was mainly for fun, and that how I approached it since I was getting to run with two my good friends in the sports information profession - Blake and Judy.

Also, I didn't know how my body would react running at sea level. But let's just say, my body really took to it.

After PR'ing back in December, taking 20 seconds off my 5K time, I blew past that and posted a time of 25:01 - a 1:13 improvement.

(FYI - Blake was 8th overall with a sub-20 time he was shooting for, and Judy - who is getting back into running, finished in under 38 minutes. So, it was a great day for the running SIDs.)

The course was simple as it ran along the marina through an area behind some shops before turning back and taking a small detour through a park on the way back to start/finish line. The entire run felt nice and easy while I was clicking off an 8:06 pace.

Tribute to Bob Hope and the Military

It's a goal of mine to run a sub-25 minute 5K. Had I known I was this |---][---| close getting it, I would've cranked it up just a bit at the end.

Just gives me something to shoot for next time.

I don't know all the science into why it was easier for me to run at sea level as opposed to the 1,100-1,200 feet in elevation I normally run at, but I sure did enjoy it while I was there. All of my runs felt easy and never once did I feel like I was pushing it.

Really enjoyed my short time in San Diego, yet I wished I could've gotten to run in some other parts of the area. But beggars can't be choosers. (I've included some other photos from my runs in this post to make you jealous for your enjoyment.)

Happy running!

Petco Park