2011 OC Wahoo's 5k Run

This was my second race of 2011. After my disappointing race at Angels stadium I wanted to perform better this time around. I've done a better job of training since my last race so felt I was better prepared for this one.

I went down to the expo on Saturday afternoon to pick up my race packet. The set up was pretty good and I sped through the whole thing. The goodie bag was disappointing, not sure why they call it a goodie bag when all that was in it was flyers. Some of the sponsors really need to step it up for items they donate for goodie bags!

My bib for the race!

The nice t-shirt!

On Saturday evening I got all my stuff ready as I had to get up early. The good thing was I picked up pre-paid parking so I could avoid the wait in the morning. I got up at 5am and jumped in the shower and had a quick breakfast.

The freeways were quiet but I did hit an unexpected delay as part of the freeway was closed. After a wee detour I got down to the race venue about 6:45 am.

I walked around and did some warm ups to keep warm. It wasn't too cold so a slow walk around was able to keep me warm. My goal for this 5k was to run it all. My last one was horrible and I had to walk quite a bit of it.

There was a little bit of a wait in the coral to get started and I didn't even hear them start the race. I walked slowly toward the start line and then as soon as I crossed it I started running.

It was crowded at the start as the walkers had decided to bottleneck it by starting from the front so I spent the first quarter mile moving through the crowd. Once I got passed the first mile it opened up and I was able to enjoy the run.

The weather was perfect, nice and sunny and it wasn't too cold for that time in the morning. I kept a pretty steady pace up for the entire race. I really liked this course as it was nice and flat and only had a couple of bottle neck areas. The one downside to the route was a tight u-turn to head back towards the finish.

As I passed the third mile marker I picked up the pace. I like to finish strong so pushed myself all way the till i crossed the line. They gave me my medal and then a bottle of water and some much needed snacks!

The medal is really nice! I like the ribbon on them, it's a nice touch rather than the usual red or blue.

I checked out the finish line festival for a little while and checked out some potential future races.

I was pleased with my result. I ran the entire race and felt good the whole time. I didn't get a stich for a change as I have been focusing on my breathing while I run.

My official time was 28:05. I am happy with completing another 5k in under 30 minutes. Now I need to focus on getting a new PR. Next up will be the Downtown Anaheim 5k in June.