11th Wild Duck 5K August 20, 2016

My training has been going fairly well considering it has been over 90 degrees, every day, all summer long. To make matters worse, I hopped on the scale Friday night and saw that I was 4+ pounds heavier than the day before the Boston Marathon!

Waking early on Saturday JoAnne and I took the 40 minute drive to Oceanside. (it may be Vista I haven't figured out all the town lines yet)

Guajome County Park is located near nurseries, farms, and farm stand's that offer Citrus, Avocados, and other tasty foodstuff. It is a popular place that offers camping as well as hiking. It has become the location of the 1st race of the San Diego Imperial association's Dirt Dog XC Series.

We parked and strolled over to the start line and bib pickup. This was to be my first race as a member of the San Diego Track Club 50+ Team. Three races were scheduled, the Masters 5k, the Open 5k and a Junior 2 mile. There were some local High School XC Teams working out and it appeared that at least one team was running the open race.

I headed out to warmup and preview the course. The first 3/4 mile was slightly graded uphill which quickly turned into a rather harsh uphill. After the first mile the course was flatish, one hill at 2.5 miles followed by a downhill to the finish.

Returning to the start area, the temp was rising and it felt marine layer humid. I stood around chatting for about 15 minutes until the starter arrived.

After a few announcements we were off!

Amanda had given me advice on the running the first mile that I either had forgotten or ignored. I reached the first big hill and worked it a bit too hard. Anyway, I passed Mile 1 in 6:11 and knew that the heat, and that hill, were going to chip away at my pace. I tried to hold the pace as the course, a mix of sand and packed dirt, flattened. Mile 2 was 6:18. Mile 3 was a loop near the lake and through the picnic. At 2.5 miles there was one final hill that quickly deposited everyone onto a downhill straight dirt road toward the finish. I was hot and covered with sweaty dust (or dusty sweat).  Either way, I tried to press down and make a decent run for the finish chute.

Crossing the finish line I was instructed to hand over the tear off portion of my bib.

Official time 19:36
2nd in the 55-59 Age Group
7th in the 50-59 Age Group
27th Overall

I haven't figure out how to find online results...no Coolrunning. But I believe I do pick up some points for the Dirt Dog XC Series Individual competition. And I am not sure how we placed as a team.

The awards ceremony was short with the biggest giveaway of shirts, hats, and swag as I've never seen. I snagged a nice SDTC sweatshirt and Dirt Dog Dogbone medal for my effort.

Afterward we took a short drive to Carlsbad for pizza and refreshments followed by a lazy walk on the beach.

Next stop, the 42nd Balboa 4 Miler in San Diego, September 3, 2016