12th Annual Northgate Market 5k

Today was my third 5k race of the year. After feeling good about my last race I wanted to improve on that. This race was the 12th Annual Northgate Market Gonzalez Downtown Anaheim 5k.

The race packet pick up was early in the morning before the race. I headed down there about 6am to be sure I had plenty of time. The pickup was quick and easy and the parking was really close so I was able to keep everything in the trunk of the car.

My Bib

I put my garmin, road id and fitness belt on then headed out of the parking lot. I did some stretching and light jogging. Had to warm up the thighs a bit cos they were feeling a little stiff from my bike ride on Thursday.

About 7:45 I made my way over to the start line and killed time chatting with an elderly man about various local races. At 8am on the button they started the race. I wished the man good luck and off he went, he was fast! I started running at a decent pace to start getting past the walkers who'd started at the front and once I was free of the crowds just focused on my breathing and keeping a steady pace.

The T-Shirt

I make a rule of not checking my garmin while I race so I was keeping an eye out for the mile markers but didn't see any. I just kept plugging away at it. The course was really flat and smooth, I felt good so picked up the pace. Before I knew it I had looped back towards the start/finish area so I picked up the pace some more.

The Finish Line

When I crossed the line I stopped my garmin and then checked my time. 26:40, a new PR for a 5k race for me! Really happy with that, another 5k below 30 mins plus chopping a minute of my 5k PR. Hopefully with work I can get below 25 minutes!!

AMGEN Tour of California Stage 7 - Start

Today was stage 7 of the Amgen tour of California. The start kicked off in Claremont, a city not too far away from me. I've never been to a pro race before so I decided to check out the start festivities.

I got into town early so I could get a nice spot to park then heading toward the start festival to check it out. They had various booths around but nothing too special. I picked up a t-shirt from the merchandise store. I was hoping to get a cycling cap but all they had were baseball caps. They did not have many t-shirts left and didn't have the one I really wanted.

About 10am the team cars and trailers started filling in. I took plenty of pictures of them. Below are just a select few.

It was cool to see all the bikes close up and see the top of the line gear on them and the difference between all the bikes. As a brit I had to go check out Team Sky as the British team. It was cool to hear some familiar accents! I was lucky enough to get a picture with Ben Swift.

I checked out Team Radioshack too and got a really nice free t-shirt! I love their bikes. There are some awesome details on them. I like the bears on the frame.

I also spotted them filming a quick little ad for the awesome Road ID!

After all that I went to pick out a spot on the road. I decided to watch on College Ave as I would be able to see them come by twice and then just a short walk up to see them head north towards Foothill Blvd. Apologies for these pics, I forgot to change the camera speed but I did catch some video too!

After that I head back to the car to pick up the wife so we could head over to Glendora to watch the sprint up Glendora Ave.

2011 Angels Baseball 5k Run

This was my first race of 2011. On Saturday morning I headed down to Angels stadium to pick up my bib, chip & shirt. I was one of the first 3000 so I got nice tech shirt.

My bib for the race! Hate that they put a frigging x on it for picking up my shirt! You're supposed to do that on the back!

This is the timing chip for my shoe. This is the first time I've seen one like this, usually it's a tape one that you loop through your laces.

While there I went into the store to pick up some 50th Anniversary items.

This is the tech shirt i got, it fit pretty good and will come in handy for running in the CA sun this summer!

The back of the shirt.

In addition to the shirt I also got a coupon for two free tickets to an Angels game and also free access to Fan Fest after the race.

I got all my stuff ready the night before so I could sleep a little longer in the morning. When I got up it was raining, so much for it being cold and dry.  I got down to the stadium about 6:15, there was barely any traffic and I was able to find a spot really quick. The rain had stopped by the time I got there and it wasn't too cold out.

I did a little jog to get warmed up and did some stretching. I made my way other to the start and tried to keep warm. The did their usual starting festivities, though i dont think they wanted to be out there in the cold!

Once we got started I started running at a 9 minute pace, I was feeling pretty good and soon warmed up. I got passed the first mile marker at just over 9 minutes and then my legs started feeling really heavy. I think it was the lack of training I had done. I then started getting a bad stitch in my side. I tried to do some stomach breathing to get rid of the stitch but it wasnt working, I decided to walk it off for a bit. Once i'd shaken the stitch I started up running again but my calves we really tight, I started walking again up to the 2nd mile marker.

Once I passed the 2nd mile I started running again and forced myself to not stop so i could enjoy the last mile. As we headed into the stadium I picked up the pace again. I was worried that the stadium would be mobbed, last year everyone was stopping to take pictures inside. This year they changed it so instead of coming out the same way you come in we came out the opposite side. Once we got out i started to sprint towards the finish.

I past the finish line and was glad i had ran the last part of the race. After the finish line they passed out water, fruit and a free Angels hat.

They had a small finish line festival so I checked out some other races they were offering. I then picked up my free tickets to an Angels game.

I hunted down a results tent but couldn't find one so I had to wait until I got home to find the results. I headed over to the car to get changed so I could go to the Angels Fan Festival for some autographs!

When I got home I looked up the results, they were not posted! Took them several hours to finally get them online. I finished 30:50, disappointed to not finish under 30 mins, but know that i'll do better next time!