Wednesday, November 17, 2010

WeSpark 10K - A new course in Balboa Park

I agreed to run the WeSpark 10K so I could test-run the course - As a volunteer for the Center for Assault and Treatment Services, we have our Victory for Victims race in Balboa Park too and wanted to see what our course options are. I am amazed at how big this park is, all the hidden hills and valleys (figuratively speaking) -- beautiful wilderness, bridges, soccer fields, wildlife. We are truly fortunate to have such an oasis in the middle of the San Fernando Valley.

I was at the WeSpark inaugural event last year - I passed out Victory 4 Victims postcards to people and slipped them under car windshield wipers. That was a small race. Really small. Neighborhood small. Sunday's race easily had 3 times the amount of people from last year. Also, there were Students Run LA (SRLA) everywhere. Turns out that they had their own 15K race.

We considered cooperating with SRLA for Victims 4 Victims, but the truth is that they don't pay for registration, and don't raise money for the charity. It would be nice for these kids to do some fundraising for these races - fundraising/sales is a pretty good life skill, I think.

The weather was dry Sunday. Running through parts of Balboa Park is like running through a desert - it's dusty and vacant, then the landscape changes and I'm surrounded by cut grass and gurgling river beds. It would have been nice to have a water station after mile 1, but there wasn't anything until mile 2. That sure tasted good.

I was very happy with my time, 1:06. Turns out I placed 9 in my division! Going to these relatively small races boosts my runner's ego- the less people in my division, the higher up I place.

16 miles this weekend.

Happy running!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Congrats NYC runners!

My alter self completed the ING New York City Marathon today. I, however, did not. I did get "in", but opted to cancel and go next year instead. Good thing - I can't imagine doing a full marathon right now. Thankfully, training has been going well. I had to miss yesterday's 14 miles because of seasonal sickness, but had a pretty good 12 miler a couple of weeks ago.

Also happy to say that my new KSWISS running shoes feel pretty good. After all of the advertising they did this past year (not least of which was sponsoring the LA Marathon and opening up a glossy store on Main Street in Santa Monica), I decided to give them a try. I have the Konejo model which is good for correcting pronation - similar to the ASICS Gel Kayanos (which I previously wore). Interesting note, the good folks at Phidippides (who are now the good folks at Fleet Feet Encino), told me that I should always go half a size larger in a running shoe. Maybe that was my problem before?

So I'll be signing up for NYC Marathon sometime this week for next year. Since I got "in" this year and cancelled, I have guaranteed entry - just have to pay again. Small price to pay I think!