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Verdugo Mountains 10K - Run10k


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Glendale, California
United States
Glendale Community Services & Parks
50F / 10C
Overcast
Total Time = 51m 57s
Overall Rank = 38/768
Age Group = M 55-59
Age Group Rank = 1/42
Pre-race routine:

Been working--slowly--through upper leg and hip issues since the beginning of the year. Finally felt good enough to sign up for this race, one I'd been wanting to do for a couple years, but was too concerned about the health of my back to go for it. Managed to strain my left hamstring on a run Thursday night before the race, but it was holding up on a warmup jog, so nothing to do but go for it.

This is a fairly unique (and large) trail 10K. It starts near the bottom of a mountain and runs straight up a fire road to the summit, 3.3 miles and 1735' above. Until mile 3, it is basically a relentless grind...which plays to my strengths (mental discipline...and climbing). After turning around at the summit, it is a screaming descent for 2.9 miles, right back down the same fire road, to the finish, which is above the start.
Event warmup:

Jogged the 0.5K from the expo up the mountain to the start. Did some relatively easy striders and stretches at the start. Injured hammie was tight, but not bad enough to DNS.
Run
  • 51m 57s
  • 10 kms
  • 05m 12s  min/km
Comments:

As I suspected would play out, I was passing people most of the way up the mountain. I was 32nd fastest to the top of 768 finishers. I put enough into runners behind me that, even though I was only 58th for the 2.9 mile descent split, only 6 people passed me on the way down, while I passed 3.

Hamstring felt like it was on the verge of blowing up the whole race, but I was careful with my form and it held up.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing. I did a preview run on the course a week ahead with my club and was looking for a finish around 54 minutes or a bit less. This result blew that out of the water. I did better than I anticipated both up and down.
Post race
Warm down:

Left hamstring was yapping at me so I did a short jog in the finish area. After hanging with my fellow running club members, I jogged...carefully...the 1/2 mile down from the finish to the expo.

Finished 1st in my age group (M 55-59) by over 6 minutes. Almost was the top finisher over 50 overall. Got a certificate for a free pair of Skechers Performance running shoes for the age group win (one reason the race attracts a lot of runners and not just joggers/hikers).

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Both hamstrings are still injured, just not enough to shut down. Issues with my left ankle last week subsided enough to not be a major factor, but I was conscious of that.

Event comments:

Not sure I need to do this race again, but I've been wanting to do it for awhile. This is somewhat unusual, not just for the up-the-mountain-and-back-down course, but also for being sponsored by a municipality, the City of Glendale. That provides for a lot of support.


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Last updated: 2017-04-25 12:00 AM
Running
00:51:57 | 10 kms | 05m 12s  min/km
Age Group: 1/42
Overall: 38/768
Performance: Good
Chip time for ascent = 34:07 (32nd fastest); descent = 17:50 (58th fastest)
Course: Fire road up a mountain for 3.3 miles (gaining 1735' of elevation), then right back down for 2.9 miles.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2017-05-07 5:17 PM

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Subject: Verdugo Mountains 10K
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