Action 267 - Stay With My Buddy.

My friend, Jerry, has been with me at nearly all of my significant running events. Most importantly, he was with me when I ran my first half marathon and when I ran my first full marathon. During both of those races, and so many others, he has always stuck with me no matter how slow I was running.

And Sunday was no exception. I was doing all that I could to keep up with Jerry, and his steady pace kept me going. But with five races, I suppose it was inevitable that the unthinkable happened at least once. And it did. In one of the 5Ks, I finally felt like I was pulling Jerry along with me instead of dragging him down. In that race, Jerry suggested I take off and get the best time possible. Really? Are you kidding me?

Action 267 - Stay With My Buddy. During the other four races, Jerry didn't leave me. And in all of the countless events we have done together, when I was struggling, he has stayed with me to make sure that I kept going.

Thank you, Jerry, for being the example I needed. When my one chance finally came, and I was moving just a pace or so ahead of you, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I needed to stay with you, to set a strong pace and trust that you would be right behind me. And that's why we finished together... again... just like I hoped we would.

Thanks for another amazing day, my friend.

Action 266 - Get Five The Hard Way.

After the fourth race, we had nearly an hour and a half to sit around and wait before we could run our last 5K. And the waiting was nice, but having to run afterwards was tough. The body starts to cramp up and cool down. But we were running the Carlsbad All Day 25K, so there was only one option.

Action 266 - Get Five The Hard Way. We were off and running, and I did not have high expectations. I thought as long as we finished, we were fine. No way we were going to be able to come in under 30 minutes.

Then, at mile marker 1, I saw that we were under 10 minutes. At mile marker 2, we were at 18 minutes. And that's when I knew we could do it.



All five races under 30 minutes. Because we're cool like that!

Action 265 - Go "Fourth" And Conquer.

We had already run over nine miles, but there was more to come. We were both struggling a little, and we knew that our pace was going to be slower. But we were determined to have a good run.

Action 265 - Go "Fourth" And Conquer. And we did.



As slow as we were running, we still managed to come in under 30 minutes. And that was a total win, given how tired we were.

Action 264 - Enjoy A Threesome.

Two races down and we were still feeling pretty good. The weather was shifting a bit and the wind had picked up, but we were ready for anything.

Action 264 - Enjoy A Threesome. A third 5K, that is. It kicked off at 9:23, so again we were really pressed for time to get back to the starting line, ready to run.

This time it was the men 30-39, and the field was fast. Fortunately, runners started where they should in the corral and it was easy to navigate through the crowd.



28 minutes, 32 seconds. Not sure how we were faster on the third race than we were on the second, but we'll take it!

Action 263 - Get Some, Go Again!

I was pretty wiped out after running the first 5K. Jerry and I really did give it all we had. But it was the Carlsbad All Day 25K, and a single 5K was just the beginning of our day.

Action 263 - Get Some, Go Again! And we did. Our second 5K stepped off at 8:42, so we didn't have much time to get ourselves back up to the Start Line. And once we did and took off with the pack, we had to maneuver our way through a sea of walkers and slower runners that had started at the front of the corral. Dumb.

But we felt good running, and the three miles felt good. We deliberately slowed our pace a bit. We had already run a great race, and the rest were all endurance events to finish at an easier pace.



28 minutes, 37 seconds. Yeah, I'll take that.

Action 262 - Break A Record.

Apparently, doing the right things pays off. For the last 50+ days, I've been eating healthier and working out much more consistently. And at the Carlsbad 5000, it showed.

Action 262 - Break A Record. Yep, I did. My first 5K of the day was also my fastest... ever. Jerry and I crossed the line in 26 minutes, 33 seconds.



I'll be honest. Setting a personal record was a great way to start my day of running!

Action 258 - Be A Running VIP.

I knew that running was good for me, but I didn't know about all of the specific, tangible benefits of choosing to run farther than most other people. Check-in today at the Carlsbad 5000 showed me just how beneficial the extra effort can be.

Action 258 - Be A Running VIP. The line today at check-in was crazy long. And after that, there was another equally long line to pick up race t-shirts. But, that line was for people running the 5K. Those of us who had signed up to do the All Day 25K were directed to the far right of the crowd, where a lonely volunteer was waiting for someone, anyone, to come and check in. And at the t-shirt booth, another single volunteer was assigned to the All Day runners.

This is what it felt like. The crowd was on one side and I was on the other.



So, because I chose to run farther than the majority of the other runners, I was treated to a VIP experience today. I was in and out of the expo in just a few minutes, and I walked away with a sweet new long-sleeve tech t-shirt. Being a VIP Runner has its perks!