Base 10k Recap (44:44)

I’m always excited when the base has races. They are similar to Parkruns in that they are free, and you get no medal, t-shirt, and usually don’t get a bib either. They are basic, and I can jog the two miles from my house to the race.

This one happened just three days after the La Jolla Half Marathon, so I wasn’t really sure how I would feel. But I wasn’t too concerned. I was just going to run hard for the day. We were lucky that we had about 50 turn up for this one! Plus, it was a beautiful weather day, with no wind (so rare) and it wasn’t terribly hot.

Before the Base 10k:

I arrived at the Base 10k about three minutes before it started and signed in. I had planned to arrive early, but I woke up late. Then I had to run faster than I wanted to get there in time. My usual warm-up is around 9-10 minute miles, and I ran low 8s. I signed in, they gave directions, and we were off.

Base 10k Race:

After we started, I found there was a main pack, followed by me, followed by a few friends. My goal was to stay comfortable. A 10k is a long way to go if you take the race out too fast, and I knew that I wasn’t feeling fresh after the La Jolla Half. I ran the first mile of the Base 10k in 7:20.

We were jogging on a running path, a path I’ve run hundreds of miles on. From there, we turned and headed onto the sidewalk up a small path and through one of the neighborhoods. I ran a 7:13 and 7:12 for the second and third miles.

The course was two loops of the same course. I think originally it was supposed to be a little bit different, but they opted for that for safety from cars. And to be honest, it was fairly flat, and there aren’t many other ways you can keep it flat or off desert trails here.

I passed one male around mile three of the Base 10k. For the most part, I ran the race alone. During the second loop, I noticed I was slowly catching up to one of the males ahead. There were two, and it became clear they had separated, and one was fading quickly. I was actually feeling pretty good and tried to push it as hard as I could. My last three miles were 7:17, 7:23, and 7:04. I never caught him, but if I had another mile or two, I probably could have.

I crossed the Base 10k in 44:44 at a 7:12 pace.

Base 10k Thoughts:

I’m honestly surprised and happy with the results. I wasn’t really expecting anything super fast after running a half marathon a few days before. It’s always a lot of fun to see people gathered and running here. We have a few more 5ks this summer, so I’m looking forward to doing more races on Edwards.

You can see Strava here and more race recaps here.

Looking to learn more about running shoes? In my ebook, I talk about why you need a good running shoe, a shoe’s anatomy, neutral vs. stable, and even myths of running shoes.

Questions for you:

Have you ever done a free race?

What is your favorite local race?