Race #7- 10k Jungle Run, July 15

 

We scheduled this local foot race, held in Los Gatos, as a benchmark to gauge our fitness for the upcoming Olympic distance triathlon next month. We have not competed in this distance (1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run) in three years and while the race would be much shorter than what we are used to, the effort and intensity would be much higher. Most triathlons shorter than a half-ironman are contested at close to red-line (read: hard!).

 

The weather was perfect and the course had only a few undulations. After an extensive warm-up of easy running, drills, and accelerations, Team JaS was ready to race. Here’s how each of races unfolded.

 

  Jami    42:20, 2nd age-group, 2nd overall

 

“I started the race without expectations for a quick time. I simply wanted to gauge my fitness level, particularly for faster races. It would be my first foot race with my Newton shoes and, to date, they had already helped boost my speed in training as indicated by our benchmark comparisons.

 

They sent us off in IAAF Track & Field fashion, which was ‘at the gun’, regardless of when you crossed the start line. Therefore, it was wise to line up at the front. As always, runners took off fast. I dismissed the chaos and focused on my cadence, wanting to set a rhythm that would get me to the finish line fastest. I did my share of passing within the first mile and got passed as well. One memorable pass was by these two girls- scantily clad, perfectly tanned and noticeably endowed (well, by the hands of a plastic surgeon!). Instantly, they became my target. Everybody else in the race may as well not have been there because I didn’t notice anyone except these girls who, if I had my day, were not going to beat me. One of the girls- Barbie #1- fell off the pace (although, I later learned that she was running the half-marathon distance. Good for her!), but the other one- Barbie #2- was pulling away.

 

Throughout the first half of the race, my focus was on closing the gap (Newtons, don’t fail me now!). I managed to close that gap down to a few seconds and just as we were heading back towards race central where the finish line was, I sensed her slowing so I was all set to make THE pass. It was at that moment a spectator yelled out, “way to go girls”! As soon as she heard that, her head spun around- almost in a Linda Blair, Exorcist type fashion- and as soon as she saw how close I was, she sped up.

 

I matched her pace and again closed the gap down to within a few seconds, but there were no mile markers after mile 3 when the course turned off the streets and onto the foot trails so I had no idea when it would be wise to kick it in. I’d have to time it just right so that when I made the pass, I wouldn’t get caught. However, that was very difficult not knowing where the finish line was!

 

Suddenly we only had 300m left! The course finished on the Los Gatos High School track. That was where she kicked it in and I did the same, but my stomach started to protest. I got the feeling I get in training when I’m pushing too hard. It’s the feeling you get right before you are about to hurl and in training, I’ve gotten myself to the point of dry heaving as a result of the intensity. It’s a terrible feeling and I didn’t want to go there so I backed off- a decision I would later regret when she hit the line only 7 seconds ahead of me!” said Jami.

 

Jami just seconds away from a win!

 

  Sherwick    40:06, 2nd age-group, 9thoverall

 

“I wanted to do this race just to get back into competition again. I had to cancel the last triathlon due to a shoulder/knee injury from Rich Oliver’s Pro Camp and I didn’t want to have to record another DNS (Did Not Start). So I approached this race with even fewer expectations than Jami.

 

The warm-up was good- a little pain in the knee but definitely manageable and my shoulder flexibility improved as we finished up our pick-ups. Then the gun went off! I stuck with the lead pack of about 15 runners expecting to be dropped within the first mile. The top three disappeared ahead but I was able to pass a handful of runners in the first couple of miles. When the race turned onto the foot trails, our group was down to six all within a minute of each other. At that point I was in seventh overall but eventually I gave up two spots including one to another in my age-group (unlike triathlon, athletes are not marked with their age-group categories)! Like Jami, I was a bit lost without mile markers on the trails. Here were my mile splits:

  Mile 1 = 6:17

  Mile 2 = 5:31!!

  Mile 3 = 7:00??

Assuming the course markers were off, I averaged miles 2 and 3 to come up with 6:16 which showed some consistency. Nevertheless, the pace slowed down to 6:39 for the remaining 3.2 miles which is not how you want to run a 10k. My new max heart rate of 189 set in the last couple of miles shows that the effort was there but unfortunately not the speed. There is still work to be done and we now have a month to do it! Not a fast time by any means, but I was happy to not have to hobble across the finish line! Afterwards, we immediately went to the med tent to get some ice packs!” said Sherwick.

 

 

Sherwick being chased by the eventual age-group winner

 

 

 

Enjoy the ride!

–- Team JaS

Special thanks to:

 

Fiber Wise Pasta

 

Panolin America Lubricants

 

Vortex Racing Components

 

Oxtar Boots

 

Stomp Design Stompgrips

 

Suomy Helmets

 

LeoVince Exhaust Systems

 

Motowheels Performance Parts

 

Michelin Tires