Mission 10 Mile San Juan Bautista

I've decided to keep a log (a web log, or 'blog, in fact) of the races I've competed in this year. Though having grown too old and despondent to navel-gaze, I was nonetheless inspired by my daughter Elena's real-time journal. I noticed her taking breaks to write in a yellow spiral notebook. The journal is a continuous log of what she is doing

We are waiting and waiting and waiting for Grandma to get here. Now she is here. We are driving to the bowling alley

Et cetera.

I recall my high school cross country coach teaching us to keep a log to track miles, training, diet, sleep schedule and odds and ends. I think a couple of us listened to him and kept a log for a week or so. During one of my races this year, a guy who beat me asked my my PR in the 10K. I made up some number and he told me it was too slow--since I had just completed a 10 mile run at the pace I claimed for a race 4 miles shorter. So, it would be nice to at least keep track of the races, I figure.

First up, the Mission 10 Mile in San Juan Buatista.

San Juan Bautista Mission 10, walkjogrun.net

The Mission 10 is a 10 mile road race put on by the San Juan Bautista rotary club. It was the 30th running of the race, held Jan 13, 2013. I placed 49th out of 270 finishers. I ran it in 1:09. My goal was to break a 7 minute pace, which I barely managed to do. I probably ran the last couple miles in 15 or 16 minutes, so I finished significantly slower than I started.



San Juan Buatista is a small farming and commuter town about 10 miles south of Gilroy. It is known for its Spanish Mission and for an asshole who tried to kill the mission's ancient pear tree. We drove down with the girls. The little ones were to check out the mission while I ran. I picked up the race pack and dropped it off in the minivan. The girls were somewhat satisfied, frolicking in a little playground.
The week previous we had all had some winter cold, so I hadn't been running much.
I started the race a little too far back, and had to wend my way toward the front. I probably got up to 30th place somewhere between miles 2 and 3 before my speed started slacking.

The course mostly passes flat farmland, with a gradual uphill between miles 4 and 5. It is an out-and back with a slightly longer loop on the way out. My plan was to use the downhill from miles 5-6 and keep up that momentum for a couple miles then race home for the last mile. Didn't really work out that way, as I really started dragging after mile seven or so, and was passed by several people. I finished the last 1/2 mile at an OK clip, but wasn't able to catch the guy just ahead of me.

The girls had enjoyed the mission, such that it is, but enjoyed better their gigantic chocolate donuts. They semi-mockingly cajoled members of a running club called The WolfPack, to "dig deep" and run harder.

Next up, Chabot Trail Run 10K.