America's Finest 5k Run

today is the day of the America's Finest 5k Run... i had my cell phone alarm set at 4:10 but i snoozed it a couple times to get in a few more minutes of rest. we (jarv, sherilyn, lawrence, harold, justin and i) all gathered at the house at around 5 so we can all head out to balboa park with the van. as we got to balboa park we encountered some traffic. the traffic was flowing okay so we didn't have any issues. we parked at the back of the reuben h fleet science center. as we walked to the venue i noticed that my ipod kept on resetting for some weird reason. i looked at the top right hard corner and it looked like the battery was drained. i must've left it on all night after my evening bicycle ride. i was bummed that i wouldn't be able to record this run... but i guess that was a sign that i should just run without music and focus on the race. so i ran back to the van and dropped off my ipod and jogged back to catch up with everybody.

all the 5k runners congregated near the hall of champions. i noticed all types of runners... young runners, old runners, hot chicks, etc etc... everybody sporting there flashy running shoes and running gear. as the start time drew closer the crowd moved behind the start / finish line. jarv, sherilyn and lawrence went to the back where the slower runners were while justin, harold, and i went to the middle... when the race started i went for a medium pace but it sped up quick. i had to dodge and weave in and out of people. i surely didn't want to get stuck behind a slow runner. as i made the right on balboa avenue i noticed that the faster runs were already making there way down. they were going some crazy fast pace. i continued my pace and my breathing pattern. i had a few bursts of sprints to pass a few people but didn't sprint for too long... i had to conserve my energy for the end.

there a few times where my throat would feel dry due to my breathing but i was able to stick with it. i decided to pass on the water stop and keep going. there was this one hill that was a tad tricky but i was able to make it without walking. at the final stretch to the finish line i switched gears and went for the all out sprint. there was this one chick saying, "Finish Strong!" which helped my motivation. the final stretch was down hill so it was easy to sprint. as i crossed the finish line i looked at the clock and it say 28:33 but im not sure if thats my time... i guess i can possibly tack on a few seconds. another cool thing was the announcer called my name out... he said something and said joel gaspar from san diego... that was pretty cool.

after the race was done i grabbed some water and some orange looking energy drink. i met up with justin and asked about his time. his time was about 28 minutes. so i was close to him in a way. we waited on the side and waited for the rest of the group. harold came in next, then jarv, sherilyn and lawrence. vivian came by and gave us all healthy energy drinks.

we then went to get our pictures taken by marathonfotos and walked towards the post race festivities. there was music, free snacks, free vitamin water drinks, and other booths. we grabbed a few snacks and decided to head out to get breakfast at the Hash House in Hill Crest. the place was busy... i didn't want to eat too much so i just got the basic... which consists of 2 eggs, 2 sausages, potatoes, watermelon, and a muffin.

overall, it was a great morning... this race was fun and the best part of it was running with friends and family. all the running and training definitely paid off. i'm really satisfied with my time and set the bar really high for myself. i can't wait till the next one!