11 for 2011: Beat My Old 10k Official Best

I've run in four official 10k races in the last two years.  Jerry is a pretty avid runner and has participated in many 10ks.  In fact, today he just ran the Firecracker 10k in Chinatown for the 6th year!  As for myself, the Redondo Beach Superbowl 10k is the most consistent race that I participate in.  It's a festive event with a decent course (decent = less hills...I'm talking to you, Firecracker 10k!).  I've done Redondo 3 times now, and the Manhattan Beach 10k once.  I would have liked to run the MB 10k more in the past, but in 2008, we were at the Miramar Air Show, and in 2010, we were on our honeymoon.

One of the things that we promised to each other that we'd do after tying up loose wedding ends was to get back to "workin' on our fitness."  Jerry decided that he would train for the Pasadena Triathlon in March, and I wanted to beat my previous 10k times and achieve a personal best.  

My times in the past were: 
RB 2009- Finish 1:16:12.5 Pace 12:17
MB 2009- Finish: 1:22:32 Pace 13:17
RB 2010- Finish 1:17:11.4 Pace 12:27

And here's how I did for the RB 2011-
Finish 1:13:57 Pace 11:56

Yay!  I was so proud of myself.  They also had mile markers with a digital timer along the course, so I was super stoked to see that my pace from mile 3 to mile 4 was 10.5 minutes!  (I should have been tired and slow halfway...but I guess I caught my second wind!)  Of course I lost all the ground I gained earlier on the last mile (mile 5 includes that hill you see Jerry coming up on, which was full of SUCK), but it was a good mental boost to know that I'm very capable of running faster than what I think I can.  Jerry told me that running is mostly mental, and I definitely have to agree.  With a better attitude about running, and as long as I stay consistent when it comes to working out and eating healthy, I surely have plenty of room for improvement.

Our next race is the Mud Run, but I think our goal for that one is to just finish.  I really want to run the MB 10k this year, and maybe even try my hand at Firecracker next year, so here's to achieving more personal bests! 

2 down, 9 to go!