Race Report: Carlsbad 5000
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The Carlsbad 5000 (San Diego County) bills itself as the fastest 5K in the world. I suppose this is
because they set quite a few road race world records in the past 10 years. They even give out medals
to the top 250 in each heat.
The course starts in downtown Carlsbad, about 1/4 mile from the Pacific Ocean and finishes a short
distance away on the next street to the south. The race heads west to the ocean, makes a left turn
when it reaches the old coastal highway (101), goes south for about a mile, makes a U turn and goes
north for about 1.25 miles, makes another U turn to go back south until it turns left to finish back
in downtown Carlsbad. A good portion of the course has a great view of the Pacific Ocean from atop
the bluff.
There are 9 different heats starting at 7:05 and ending shortly after noon. I was in the 7:05 heat,
all old guys, 40 and over. But I've got to tell you, some of these old guys can run it in under 15
minutes, and that's fast.
The weather is uncharacteristic for this time of year. It was 60 degrees, cloudy, and ready to rain.
In fact it rained twice on the drive up from downtown San Diego. We in the first heat lucked out and
escaped the rain.
There was probably about 2000 old guys lined up ready for the starting gun to fire. I took my usual
starting place about 10% behind the line. The start was clean and off we went. It was about 1/2 mile
before things streched out enought to be able to run comfortably. A little after the 1 mile mark I
saw the leaders coming the opposite direction, with three guys in the lead pack. Heading south it
felt like there was a slight headwind. After turning back north, I didn't notice any tailwind at
all. Funny how it always seems to happen that way. A couple minutes after passing the two mile mark
I spot the leading about to make the final turn for home, but now it was a two man race. After
making the last U turn, there was a slight uphill for a couple hundred yards. That's when I noticed
that I was slowing down and people were passing
me. After making the last turn, the finish line is in sight, about 200 yards away. This is about
when I start to hear the announcer calling out finishing times, encouraging the runners to
finish in under 20 minutes. I crossed the finish line just at 20:00 appeared on the clock.
Since it took me probably 7 or 8 seconds to cross the starting line, I'm timing chip time
should be under 20:00.
According to my watch, my splits were First mile 6:10 Second miles 6:26 Last 1.1 miles 7:15 Total
19:52 Since I had not been training very much the last 4 months with no speed workouts at all, I was
pretty satisfied with my time. I ran about 30 seconds faster than I had expected. Had I gave it a
full effort, I could have cut another 15 seconds off my time, but I don't have the motivation for
that any more.
One the drive back home, I passed by Ozzie and his Sunday morning workout group at Mission Bay. I
waved from the freeway, as they were streching in the rain. Such hardy souls. My wife suggests that
I stop and run with them, but being a wimp, I said it's too wet.
Good course. Great race. If you get a chance to run it, I recommend that you do it. (Oh,yeah, I got
one of those top 250 finisher medals.)
"xenman" <xenman@sprynet.nospaam.com> wrote in message
news:tmgj9v01fnt1tf1q93mes5qn5es1442v48@4ax.com...
> Heading south it felt like there was a slight headwind. After turning back north, I didn't notice
> any tailwind at all. Funny how it always seems to happen that way
Funny? No. It's the first law of running - 'Whichever way the wind is blowing, and in whichever
direction you choose to run, the wind will NEVER be at your back'.
Roger.
On 13 Apr 2003, xenman <xenman@sprynet.nospaam.com> wrote:
> I crossed the finish line just at 20:00 appeared on the clock. Since it took me probably 7 or 8
> seconds to cross the starting line, I'm timing chip time should be under 20:00.
>
Nice time - nice report - I read about this race in RW a couple of times. Seems to be the premiere
5k festival. Have you noticed how much faster you run after the turnaround when you are looking at
people who are trailing you (as opposed to before, watching everyone who was ahead of you...)?
--
Lorne Sundby
Woo hoo! Nice job - and congrats on the medal. Nice job, and I'm sure you'll soon be one of those
'old guys' who does it in 15.
:)
Victoria
"xenman" <xenman@sprynet.nospaam.com> wrote in message
news:tmgj9v01fnt1tf1q93mes5qn5es1442v48@4ax.com...
> The Carlsbad 5000 (San Diego County) bills itself as the fastest 5K in the world. I suppose this
> is because they set quite a few road race world records in the past 10 years. They even give out
> medals to the top 250 in each heat.
>
> The course starts in downtown Carlsbad, about 1/4 mile from the Pacific Ocean and finishes a short
> distance away on the next street to the south. The race heads west to the ocean, makes a left turn
> when it reaches the old coastal highway (101), goes south for about a mile, makes a U turn and
> goes north for about 1.25 miles, makes another U turn to go back south until it turns left to
> finish back in downtown Carlsbad. A good portion of the course has a great view of the Pacific
> Ocean from atop the bluff.
>
> There are 9 different heats starting at 7:05 and ending shortly after noon. I was in the 7:05
> heat, all old guys, 40 and over. But I've got to tell you, some of these old guys can run it in
> under 15 minutes, and that's fast.
>
> The weather is uncharacteristic for this time of year. It was 60 degrees, cloudy, and ready to
> rain. In fact it rained twice on the drive up from downtown San Diego. We in the first heat lucked
> out and escaped the rain.
>
> There was probably about 2000 old guys lined up ready for the starting gun to fire. I took my
> usual starting place about 10% behind the line. The start was clean and off we went. It was about
> 1/2 mile before things streched out enought to be able to run comfortably. A little after the 1
> mile mark I saw the leaders coming the opposite direction, with three guys in the lead pack.
> Heading south it felt like there was a slight headwind. After turning back north, I didn't notice
> any tailwind at all. Funny how it always seems to happen that way. A couple minutes after passing
> the two mile mark I spot the leading about to make the final turn for home, but now it was a two
> man race. After making the last U turn, there was a slight uphill for a couple hundred yards.
> That's when I noticed that I was slowing down and people were passing
> me. After making the last turn, the finish line is in sight, about 200 yards away. This is about
> when I start to hear the announcer calling out finishing times, encouraging the runners to
> finish in under 20 minutes. I crossed the finish line just at 20:00 appeared on the clock.
> Since it took me probably 7 or 8 seconds to cross the starting line, I'm timing chip time
> should be under 20:00.
>
> According to my watch, my splits were First mile 6:10 Second miles 6:26 Last 1.1 miles 7:15 Total
> 19:52 Since I had not been training very much the last 4 months with no speed workouts at all, I
> was pretty satisfied with my time. I ran about 30 seconds faster than I had expected. Had I gave
> it a full effort, I could have cut another 15 seconds off my time, but I don't have the motivation
> for that any more.
>
> One the drive back home, I passed by Ozzie and his Sunday morning workout group at Mission Bay. I
> waved from the freeway, as they were streching in the rain. Such hardy souls. My wife suggests
> that I stop and run with them, but being a wimp, I said it's too wet.
>
> Good course. Great race. If you get a chance to run it, I recommend that you do it. (Oh,yeah, I
> got one of those top 250 finisher medals.)
On Sun, 13 Apr 2003 22:27:31 GMT, Lorne <lornesundby@REMOVEshaw.ca> wrote:
>On 13 Apr 2003, xenman <xenman@sprynet.nospaam.com> wrote:
>
>> I crossed the finish line just at 20:00 appeared on the clock. Since it took me probably 7 or 8
>> seconds to cross the starting line, I'm timing chip time should be under 20:00.
>>
>
>Nice time - nice report - I read about this race in RW a couple of times. Seems to be the premiere
>5k festival. Have you noticed how much faster you run after the turnaround when you are looking at
>people who are trailing you (as opposed to before, watching everyone who was ahead of you...)?
Actually, I almost always concentrate on my immediate surroundings, with an occasional look ahead so
that I can run the tangents. Even in todays race I don't recall seeing the ocean even though I know
it was just a short distance away. Maybe my wife is right, I am weird.
>The Carlsbad 5000 (San Diego County) bills itself as the fastest 5K in the world. I suppose this is
>because they set quite a few road race world records in the past 10 years. They even give out
>medals to the top 250 in each heat.
>
>The course starts in downtown Carlsbad, about 1/4 mile from the Pacific Ocean and finishes a short
>distance away on the next street to the south. The race heads west to the ocean, makes a left turn
>when it reaches the old coastal highway (101), goes south for about a mile, makes a U turn and goes
>north for about 1.25 miles, makes another U turn to go back south until it turns left to finish
>back in downtown Carlsbad. A good portion of the course has a great view of the Pacific Ocean from
>atop the bluff.
>
>There are 9 different heats starting at 7:05 and ending shortly after noon. I was in the 7:05 heat,
>all old guys, 40 and over. But I've got to tell you, some of these old guys can run it in under 15
>minutes, and that's fast.
>
>The weather is uncharacteristic for this time of year. It was 60 degrees, cloudy, and ready to
>rain. In fact it rained twice on the drive up from downtown San Diego. We in the first heat lucked
>out and escaped the rain.
>
>There was probably about 2000 old guys lined up ready for the starting gun to fire. I took my usual
>starting place about 10% behind the line. The start was clean and off we went. It was about 1/2
>mile before things streched out enought to be able to run comfortably. A little after the 1 mile
>mark I saw the leaders coming the opposite direction, with three guys in the lead pack. Heading
>south it felt like there was a slight headwind. After turning back north, I didn't notice any
>tailwind at all. Funny how it always seems to happen that way. A couple minutes after passing the
>two mile mark I spot the leading about to make the final turn for home, but now it was a two man
>race. After making the last U turn, there was a slight uphill for a couple hundred yards. That's
>when I noticed that I was slowing down and people were passing
>me. After making the last turn, the finish line is in sight, about 200 yards away. This is about
> when I start to hear the announcer calling out finishing times, encouraging the runners to
> finish in under 20 minutes. I crossed the finish line just at 20:00 appeared on the clock.
> Since it took me probably 7 or 8 seconds to cross the starting line, I'm timing chip time
> should be under 20:00.
>
>According to my watch, my splits were First mile 6:10 Second miles 6:26 Last 1.1 miles 7:15 Total
>19:52 Since I had not been training very much the last 4 months with no speed workouts at all, I
>was pretty satisfied with my time. I ran about 30 seconds faster than I had expected. Had I gave it
>a full effort, I could have cut another 15 seconds off my time, but I don't have the motivation for
>that any more.
>
>One the drive back home, I passed by Ozzie and his Sunday morning workout group at Mission Bay. I
>waved from the freeway, as they were streching in the rain. Such hardy souls. My wife suggests that
>I stop and run with them, but being a wimp, I said it's too wet.
>
>Good course. Great race. If you get a chance to run it, I recommend that you do it. (Oh,yeah, I got
>one of those top 250 finisher medals.)
>
Nice race, nice report, and better luck than I had. I had planned to race in the 20-29 race, but it
was raining quite a bit when I got there, so I turned around and left. I noticed that the elite
men's race (13:19) was pretty slow by Carlsbad standards.
Lyndon "Speed Kills...It kills those that don't have it!" --US Olympic Track Coach Brooks Johnson
Lyndon wrote:
> Nice race, nice report, and better luck than I had. I had planned to race in the 20-29 race, but
> it was raining quite a bit when I got there, so I turned around and left.
Why?
--
Caveat Lector "the further you go outside, the further you go inside" - B. McKibben Doug Freese
dfreese@hvc.rr.com
On Sun, 13 Apr 2003 17:21:49 -0700, xenman <xenman@sprynet.nospaam.com> wrote:
>Actually, I almost always concentrate on my immediate surroundings, with an occasional look ahead
>so that I can run the tangents. Even in todays race I don't recall seeing the ocean even though I
>know it was just a short distance away. Maybe my wife is right, I am weird.
Nice race & report. I'm like you in that I don't see much of what is around me. After a big race,
it's interesting to hear people talk about everything they saw along the course. I usually don't
remember any of it.
In article <tmgj9v01fnt1tf1q93mes5qn5es1442v48@4ax.com> xenman <xenman@sprynet.nospaam.com> writes:
>Since I had not been training very much the last 4 months with no speed workouts at all, I was
>pretty satisfied with my time. I ran about 30 seconds faster than I had expected. Had I gave it a
>full effort, I could have cut another 15 seconds off my time, but I don't have the motivation for
>that any more.
>
>Good course. Great race. If you get a chance to run it, I recommend that you do it. (Oh,yeah, I got
>one of those top 250 finisher medals.)
Good job, xenman! I've heard alot about the race but never before a full description. See the elites
run it? Congrats on nabbing one of those medals, and for running it faster than you expected despite
the lack of training.
Teresa in AZ
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