The morning started out early, as we had to have our Subarus at the event by 7am. Thanks to my positions both professionally, and personally, two of my passions have been able to intertwine, from time to time.

Subaru of Las Vegas is the sole automotive sponsor of a few running events through Las Vegas. I try to find events that support a worthy cause, and have good organization to work with. In this case, it was the Trick or Trot 5k/10k/Family Fun Fest, first ran, and sponsored by SLV in 2014.

So, we arrived early, set the cars up by the start/finish line, organized the tables, and started talking to the early arriving runners. A chill was in the air before the sun came up, warming us as it took to the sky.

Once Chet Buchanan got the mic, he was announcing a steadily approaching start time. Unfortunately, due to setting up the Subaru area, I missed out on getting to the front of the start crowd.

Missing out on lining up at the front was compounded this morning by the fact the 5k and 10k participants all started at one time, in the same location. This would not be an issue if there was some sort of wave start, or if everybody had a sense of race etiquette. Parents brought their toddler kids, which is awesome, but lining them up within the first 10% of the race start is just unwise, impolite, and dangerous.

Fortunately, I did not see any kids get trampled, however, within the first 100 yards, there were kids running and falling in front of others. It could have been a very bad situation for everybody involved.

Back to the running!

Right about where the kid tripped, we transitioned from the cement path, to a coned off dirt parking lot path, and finally onto the crushed gravel, groomed trail. There were a lot of runners, for a very narrow section of course leading up to the first wash bridge.  I overheard some other participants commenting on how narrow the path was there, as well. Once on the bridge though, it widened up some, and the field spread out a bit.

My legs felt great, so I tried to cruise as comfortably as I could.

The 10k consisted of two laps of the 5k course. This meant two things. First of all, that there would be no unknowns for the second half of the race, as everybody already covered the miles. Secondly, that as we continued on for our second lap, the 5k walkers would become moving obstacles.

A second portion of race etiquette is if you are going slower, move to the right. Do not walk side by side by side by side, blocking the entire path. Additionally, if you have kids running along with you, do your best to keep them from darting in front of runners who are overtaking your group.

Despite their best efforts, and my internal pacing meter saying I was way slower the second lap. Turns out, this was not the case at all. I kept my sights on some runners in front of me that had good pacing, and tried to slowly reel them in. This seems to be an ongoing strategy with me, which appears to work for me.

Overtaking a few other runners, I kept pushing it, watching the familiar sights of Floyd Lamb Park tick by. As there was a little over a mile left, a slight worry came over me. My asthma seemed to be kicking in some, making breathing a bit of a challenge. It didn’t cause too many problems, very thankful for that.

Kicking it up for the last stretch, I managed to avoid an oblivious runner that was in front of me, to cross the finish strong. The race clock was at 49:xx – my watch was just under 49:xx. Awaiting official results to see where I finished. Whatever the time, it will be another 10k personal record. My second in two weeks! May have only been 12, or so seconds this time. Just like in sports though, a win is a win; by a point, or by a dozen, it doesn’t matter.

I debated running this event, as there are different schools of thought on the taper. Some people would recommend against racing a 10k eight days before tackling a PR attempt in the marathon distance. Others, say it is beneficial, to get an idea of one’s fitness level. The inclusion of rest days have done the trick on my calf issue, so I went for a strong, but not overly aggressive 10k today.

That all having been said, eight days to the TCS New York City Marathon!!! Green Wave 2, Corral A for me. I start at the bottom level of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, at 10am on November 1, 2015. Legs, and lungs willing – by 2pm EST, I will be across the finish line in Central Park.