Onto race reports!
Trek or Treat: This run is set-up as a family friendly fun run with a "creepy mile" option available to all ages, mainly targeted at parents and kids to do together, then the 5k run. My best friend lives just outside of Collingwood and his girlfriend had just started running so I figured this would be a great run to do together...well, she forgot to register. That changed my whole weekend plan. I had planned on just keeping a nice slow pace with her and having an enjoyable run so I could keep my legs fresh for the race the next morning. However, since she bailed, I was left to my own devices. I decided to just give it a good try and see what happens. I decided against music because it was a run through the dark and I didn't want to miss someone giving me directions if I got lost. This ended-up not being needed whatsoever. I am used to running at night, but not with a headlamp on. I have a pretty nice one and the crew did an amazing job of setting-up the course. There were reflective bits everywhere, lots of people at turns to make sure we went the right way, the initial lead out which ended-up being the run-in to the finish on the way back was decorated with all kinds of fun inflatable things. I was extremely impressed with this race. It was kept fun, well organized and I will definitely come back. My friend, his girlfriend, their son, and another friend all came out to cheer me on even though nobody was running with me and we all had a blast. They were all very impressed with the event as well and decided to join me next year as well! Hey, if I couldn't get them pumped at first, then I am glad they can be there to enjoy it with me and see how awesome it was so they can do it in the future!
So onto the run itself. There were a surprisingly large amount of kids at this race and that kinda blew me away. There were a couple people I had my eye on there as well, but mostly kids, and all of them in really cool costumes. The horn went and we were off, all being led-out by a 12 year old girl dressed-up as a princess running all out at 4:30/km...which confused the hell out of me. I was just keeping on her tail trying to figure-out how to play this thing out. Do I blow by her near the end and take gold? After briefly considering this I decided I would stick with her the whole race, encouraging her along, then say "boy, I'm tired! Ack, I wish I could catch you" and let her "pass" me for the win. Hell, the thing is for kids! About 3 seconds after I made my decision, someone passed us both. Then another guy passed us chasing after him. So I said out loud mostly to myself....Okay, fine, I'll run faster! And I was off. About 3k in I was hurting. My heart rate was through the roof, I was feeling dehydrated, so I slowed down a bit...and was promptly passed. Doh! I pressed-on through the darkened corn field(my favorite part of the run) and headed for the last 2k feeling pretty good. I am used to racing in huge fields between 7k and 25k people I am never anywhere close to the front. Being in the front from the start, and knowing exactly who was ahead of me was a really cool feeling. Since it was dark, I could slowly see the light from their headlamp drift off into the distance, but it was a really neat feeling being at the front of the pack.
I came in 4th overall, and 3rd in my age group. Ha, apparently my age group was the serious runners, just my luck! But hey, still good for bronze. I heard my time as I passed the line; 20:38. No way I thought to myself, I know that my pace wasn't near that fast. I had been running near 4:30 for most of the race. I checked my Garmin to see that the race was only 4.6k. The fact that it was shorter than 5k does not bother me in the least. It's supposed to be fun, and it was. I learned a lot from it and if I am able, I would love to come back next year and win the thing. I crossed the line to see a pile of my friends all smiling and that is an amazing feeling. We went inside shortly afterwards for awards and I picked-up my first ever placement medal. I am acutely aware that this was not a super competitive race, but I am still proud of myself.
Oh yeah, and I did this thing dressed-up as a piece of bacon:
Run Blue Mountains 5K
So this race started approximately 12 hours after I got my first ever medal. This not only offered a 5,, but a 10k and half marathon. The Scotiabank waterfront Marathon, half and 5k was happening at the same time back at home, so this was the equivalent race of the area. Unlike the night before, this was a serious race. A sea of running tights and neon long sleeve shirts and determined looks. I of course was wearing bright long sleeves and running tights as well, because man it was cold! According to TheWeatherNetwork it was 4°C and felt like 1°C. Yep, that felt about right. I was very glad to have my gloves. I had painstakingly spend an hour(or more...ha) making the perfect 5k playlist. The music all had a great beat and the tempo went-up each song. It was going to be amazing. I put it on to get pumped before the race, and 5 minutes later the battery was dead. Doh! My buddy was there the whole time, so I gave it to him and prepared to run without music. There were also lots of kids in this one! So the start was a bit crowded, but I suppose I should have been more diligent about getting to the front of the start line, so I can't complain. Within thew first 200m, we all quickly divided-up and the faster runners started to pull away. The leaders were me and a lady slightly older than me, a mom from a track club who was PUSHING a running stroller, a 10ish year old kid who was wearing the same track team colours keeping pace with her, and 3 younger kids probably around the 16-17 year range. The 3 kids were all clearly part of cross country teams and were leading out the pack. I started out running 4:30/km and then started feeling pretty good around the 3k mark, so I picked-up the pace. I passed the lady near my age, and the kid passed who I guessed was his mother pushing the stroller. Yep, she was still ahead of me and I was bewildered. The 3 track kids were all in the lead and I could see them when I was at the 4k mark turning a corner, they had a pretty good gap on me. I took a cursory glance behind me and didn't see anyone. I was feeling pretty good! An amazing bonus from this course was that is starts and ends at a water tower. That gives you something to shoot for once you are getting close. When you make the last turn on the course, there is the water tower and the finish line, both about 500m out. That gives you one hell of a good goal to run for, to finish strong and make your final move to pass people. When I saw that, I smiled and dropped the hammer. I finished in 22:05 with a smile on my face. Once again, my friends were at the finish line waiting and cheering for me. I had a look of pure determination on my face, but as I passed them, meters from the finish, i shot them a huge smile and we all cracked-up laughing. After I caught my breath, I shook the hands of the people who beat me and told the mom who pushed the stroller that she was crazy. If she was just running full out unimpeded, she would have won for sure. I shook the hand of the young guy who ran right with her for most of the race and told him how impressed I was. If people did that to me when I was young, I would have really appreciated it! So I came in 6th overall, and first in my age group this time! My pace was faster than the race the night before, and my heart rate was lower...I still can't figure that out, but it may be due to the vast amount of beer I consumed the night before Trek or Treat. Either way, I was really happy! My first gold!
In addition to winning a medal, I also won an apple pie, which I promptly shared with my friends.
I had a ton of fun running these 2 events. I didn't run as fast as I was hoping that I would. I was wondering if I could run near 20 minutes, (which would have netted me 1st overall both races now that I look back on it) But I seemed to top-out around 4:19/km. I ran the Yonge st 10k in 44:30, so I knew I was capable of running 4:30/km...but then again, that was all downhill. Considering that I hadn't even planned on racing, I am content. I have been being good lately and just increasing my base. I'm focused on the long run.(ha, what a pun!) I have not done any intervals, or speed work at all, no track work, and nothing involving pushing myself at all in the last few months, so the fact that I couldn't run really fast shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was certainly eye opening. Also, being in the lead packs of both races was a really interesting experience. I could see the people in front of me and I caught a few. I also now have a few goals for next year. If I can come back next year and run faster, I can probably win both of them. I really want to be able to break 20 minutes next year.
And that was that!
I came home Sunday evening and promptly took a nap then started the studying that I should have done while out of town...but hey, I was out of town and visiting friends. The next day upon waking-up...I was SORE! Yep, I expected that, mall price to pay. I went for my run this morning and was back to my casual pace with a huge smile on my face.
I think it's going to be a great week.
The Inconsistent Triathlete
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