| Date/Location: | November 19, 2016 – Davis, CA |
| Distances: | 10km Run |
| Time: | 40:48 |
| Place: | 2nd of 19. 18th overall |
| Teammates: | 5K: Ariel Soares, Robin Soares |
Haven’t trained as I would have liked, but I always want to do my best. My main concern is not hurting something like my achilles, perenial tendon, glute or hamstring.
The exciting part is Anna running her 1st 10k! And that our friends, Susanne Hartley & Caryn Galekas, are here to run. We all pray together before our races.
After we see Robin & Ariel off on their 5k, Anna & I warm-up and stretch. It’s raining slightly and chilly (50 deg) but doing strides gets us breathing hard and loose enough to stretch. This all helps me to prevent injury and Anna to prevent side cramps.
Our goals are 6:50 pace & 9:20 pace and we line up at the start accordingly. We pray again. we both know that we will be watched by God and by others and we really want to show our apreciation and thankfulness for them.
Anna has a light long sleave under her jersey and I have arm warmers and gloves. Perfect. I’m alongside friend, Richard Kane, and we talk about the upcoming triathlon season.
Go! Something about a crowd running that makes it feel so easy. I’m focussed on good form, light feet, and not pushing the pace early. I see a young firl about 12 and I wonder if Anna will eventually run with her. It’s going well. Nothing is hurting. We’re on the streets. Rich and I are still together.
Mile 1. 6:37. More streets and then onto the park pathways which are great and scenic. Staying with a group. Some high school / college kids.
Mile 2. 6:45. Went slower. Feeling surprisingly good, though, so will try to pick it up. Great pathways.
Mile 3. 6:40. Great. Getting faster. Running tall. Near the first woman. Pull ahead. Thinking a lot about Anna back there somewhere. Praying it goes well. And thanking the Lord for letting my body feel much better than it should. I want to run well for Him.
Mile 4. 6:35. Even better! Heading back now. Tired. Looking forward to 5 miles.
Mile 5. 6:25. So great to see negative splits. Only a mile to go. Imagining a mile at our FCA Tuesday Track workouts. Very happy with this run. Hope to break 41. On the long finish stretch now. Can I catch the guy far ahead?
Mile 6. 6:13. Terrific. I hear Robin and Ariel cheering. I pass the runner and sprint with all I’ve got. 
Thank you, Lord, for this race and allowing me to run pain-free. Now I can’t wait to head back and see where Anna is…..
