Going back to Cali. To Cali. To Cali.

OK, I wrote that title and had a little comment prepared about how sad I am that people aren't as aware of this awesome LL Cool J song as they should be.  I was going to say, "Come on, it is only X years old".  Then I realized it was released right after Christmas... OVER 21 YEARS AGO.  Wow, I am getting old.

But the good thing is, as old as I am getting (33, thank you very much) the sport of running is still wide open to me.  And as such, I am able to continue to give back to it as much as possible.  One way to do tha is to offer my services as a pacer which I will do for the third straight year at the Carlsbad Marathon this upcoming weekend.

In 2008, I stumbled upon the Carlsbad Marathon by happenstance.  Just a few days after I even knew of its existence, I was fortunate enough to lead my charges shooting for a 3:10 time.  I ran a 3:09:50 and was able to help a small assortment of runners get their new PRs and BQs (personal records and Boston Qualifiers, for the uninitiated.)

 The gentleman to my immediate left was like my shadow.  Never said a word.  Cool chap.

In 2009, I found myself once in again in the greater Los Angeles area and once again leading the 3:10 group.  This time I crossed the line with 3:09:52 and even more runners in tote.

One of these days I am going to thank whomever photoshops my quad muscles in.

So here we are in 2010, and yep, I will be helping to lead the 3:10 group again.  As part of a very qualified group of runners, most of whom are based out of the greater Carlsbad area, we will be running as part of the Running Center Pace Team. As I learned in my disastrous Kentucky Derby Marathon, not every single pacing effort is guaranteed. But I am predicting that I will be even closer to that 3:10:00 mark this year.

In addition, I will be signing copies of See Dane Run out of the Pace Team booth at the expo.  I hope to see all of you chasing your own running dreams at the expo.  Stop by and chat to not just me but also the person who will do everything in their power (short of throwing you over their shoulder) to help you achieve those dreams!