Dockweiler Beach 10K 7-15-07

DOCKWEILER BEACH 10K
SETTING A PERSONAL RECORD SUB-40 (39:55!), AND MY FIRST AGE GROUP MEDAL

I had the pleasure of running the Dockweiler Beach 10K this morning. It's right on the Pacific, although it's also adjacent to the LAX airport, so planes are constantly booming overhead, so it's not quite the "Malibu" serene beach that you see at the movies, although quite gorgeous nevertheless!

Flat, fast course on concrete and pavement with no car traffic to contend with. Lots of booths with free giveaways, and free parking at the beach, which is always a huge plus here in SoCal (normally up to $7 on the weekends.)

I was particularly excited about this race, as I haven't raced since March, and have been absolutely busting my butt doing my first Pfitzinger 18/70miles per week, which was draining, tiring, but ultimately fulfilling. I'm in a 3 week taper for the San Francisco Marathon, so I was curious to see how fast I could go.

Race started without a hitch. Joan Benoit Samuelson, the world record holder and Olympian, was the honored guest. Big group here, at least several hundred deep for the 10K (also a 5k which left earlier.) We were given the go, and about 100 people blasted right past me. I caught up fairly quickly, but was doing sub 6:00/mile, and even blew right past Joan Benoit, to my horror. After seeing her drop back, I re-adjusted, let the waves of people pass me again, and settled into an even 6:20/mile, which actually felt easy.

In true form, the experienced runners started to drift ahead, and lots of people fell back within 2 miles. Joan Benoit hit her race pace at around mile 1, and never looked back. I was glad to see that she's still got the great speed and endurance even at age 50! An inspiration for all, and she ended up easily winning the women's race outright in about 37 or so minutes. She also gave some gracious speeches at the end and posed for a ton of pics with the folks. A great role model - I'm a fan!

My previous best 10K was 42:30 last November, in what I thought was my peak shape, so I didn't know if I'd be able to do much better. Today, however, was my day, and I held the 6:20 pace. I hit the 5K in 19:59, which is pretty much my PR for a 5K race, so I knew it would be a good day, as I felt pretty fresh at that point. It didn't start to hurt at until mile 5. Mile 5-6 was definitely not fun, but I managed to accelerate a bit, and passed 8 runners. The last 200 meters were stressful, as I saw that I had a shot at sub-40:00, but it would be close. I went all-out in the last bit, and I think I just made it at 39:59! Needless to say, that was way faster than I ever imagined I could run, so I'm quite pleased with the result.

To top it off, I managed to win 3rd in my age group 31-35, which is the first race medal I've ever won, so that doubly made my day. It was especially satisfying, as I know it was the hard work over the past 3 months that made all the difference. (I'm a medical resident, and I've had to do some 20 milers after being up for 24 hours to get in the miles...no fun.)

Great free BBQ at the end of the race, making it a great day to be out on the beach. Met some other great folks for an all-around good time. A well organized, fast course with good post-race amenities, and I'd recommend it for those looking to make a good showing in a 10K in SoCal.

After blowing up completely in the OC Marathon and LA Marathon earlier this year, it was nice finally to have something to show for all the hard work. I think the Pfitzinger plan really is all that it claims to be, and despite being more of a butt kicker than I'd thought it would be, it definitely is taking me to levels I was only dreaming of. (Thought I was maxxed out over the past 3-4 years.) Hopefully I can keep it up and run a 3:30-40 for the upcoming San Francisco Marathon! (Give a shout out if you'll be there too - I haven't heard of anyone else planning to run this thing!)

Update: Results are in - 39:55 for my final time. Woohoo!

My Cheering Squad: Comments from RunningTimes

Official results and website