Cobble Hill 10km

January 24, 2010

This is the second race in the Island Series - a somewhat undulating course with a few climbs and descents, but nothing too steep. Originally, I had not even planned on running this race.  After Pioneer, I thought that the next time I would race on the road would not be until March.... but, Shane decided to race it, and I have a very hard time sitting out of a race, if he's running it. So, sign up I did. And, it turned out to be a very good decision.

Going into 2010, I, like many runners, had made a few racing goals for the new year and new season.  I hoped to better my time on distances I had already run.  My ultimate goal time for a 10km for this year was to get under 42 minutes, which would be over a minute and half improvement over my personal best from last year --- I hadn't realized, how quickly I would reach my goal...

Going into this race, I still didn't quite know where I was at in terms of fitness.  I had an indication from Pioneer, that my speed was improving, but it was still too early to tell exactly how much.  Based  on my Pioneer time, the race calculator indicated that I should be capable of running a 42:30 10km.  This seemed fantastic in itself, as my previous best time had been 43:33.  However, my realistic goal was to get under 43 minutes at Cobble. Since I don't like feeling disappointed, I usually try to go into races with modest goals - which I believe I can meet (although the more challenging goals do dance around in my head). 


The morning of the race, I woke up feeling very lethargic and sleepy.  I wasn't yet in the mood for racing.  But, the jitters would wake me up soon enough.  Shane and I arrived an hour before the start, but due to the bathroom lines, I barely had time for a warm up run -- I ran to the start line (about 300 meters away) and then got a few extra minutes in before it was time to line up for the start.

With barely a countdown 3-2-1-- we were off before I knew it.  There was a bit of positioning at the outset, but after a couple hundred meters, things got more or less sorted out, and I was able to establish my rhythm for the race.  The first kilometer flew by pretty quickly and easily.  The course then made a sharp left turn as we headed towards the 2 kilometer mark, as a course marshal was madly yelling 'Don't cut the corner! Do NOT cut the corner!', as racers ran by, some cutting the corner (running on the dirt path beside the road), others making the turn on the road.  The difference in time probably would only amount to less than a second, but the marshal certainly was trying to ensure that everyone ran the course as measured.

After the turn, the road headed somewhat downhill, before we turned around and came back along the same road.  As I neared the 2 km marker, I was thinking to myself - 'OK, just 8 km to go, just pretend that you are starting the Pioneer race...'  I felt pretty good, and was happy that I was keeping up with Julie - but it was still early, and there was still enough time for anything to happen.  We turned back onto the main road, and then hit the 3 km marker -- the past km had been somewhat uphill.  The road continued slightly uphill all the way until the turnaround.  The grade was slight though, and the going felt harder, but I didn't really realize that the road was slanted somewhat up until we were running back down later in the race. I passed Julie, which surprised me, but I was sure that she'd be right there passing me back soon enough (unfortunately, she was forced to stop and walk for part of the race, as she wasn't feeling well).

Around this point, Buddy Bandhar and Kevin Spahn passed me -- both stronger runners than me.  I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with Buddy, but I tried to stay somewhat close to Kevin.  We ran towards the turnaround (I had completely missed the 5 km marker).  Soon after the turnaround (around a loop in the road, rather than simply around a cone), we hit the 6 km marker.  I remember the next km being pretty downhill- which gave me a bit of time to let my legs go, but give my lungs a bit of a break.

The course then made another left turn onto another side-road, and wound around, with slight uphills and downhills along a well-treed road.  We hit the 8 km marker on this loopy road, and hit the 9km marker as we headed back to the main road.  Although I felt pretty good throughout the race, the last three kilometers started to wear me down.  I tried to keep myself focused and to stay with those running around me.  I was pleased that up until that point, I hadn't had many people pass me, and I'd stayed pretty close to the same people throughout the entire race.

Then it was the last kilometer.  From kilometer 8 or so, I'd been duking it out with one guy - as we passed each other back and forth.  Heading into the final km, I was in the lead -- but really had to keep myself going, to stay ahead.  As we rounded the final corner, I saw the finish line and tried to give it one final push towards the end.  However, just 100 meters from the end, the guy who I'd been duking it out with passed me with a final surge. Then, just as I was about to cross the finish line, one other guy stepped right in front of me.  I was happy that it wasn't someone in my age category, but I did feel that it was somewhat rude to step in front of someone right at the last moment.  But maybe that's what the competition is all about...

However, I was absolutely elated at my time.  Heading up to the finish line I saw 41:52 -- wow, I was about to get under 42 minutes!  I couldn't believe it.  My final official time was 41:58 - just getting under 42 minutes!  Wow, I'd already met my 'A' goal for the year --- I guess I would need to take another look, and make some revisions to my goals.   I certainly hope that this is an indication for how the rest of the year was going to go -- it had certainly started spectacularly. My splits were: 4:00; 4:04, 4:14; 4:19; 8:43 (kms 4-6), 4:02; 4:15; 4:16; 4:04.  Final results are here.

Many other Harriers had great races at Cobble as well- and Shane had a 10 second PB, also winning his age category.  (I actually got my first medal from an Island Series event -- silver!).  It was great to see so many familiar faces, and to see so many others have fantastic times.  The post-race was also laudable - the food was plentiful and diverse, and I had lots of options to choose from!  Overall a great morning -- and even the rain held off for us.  Next weekend, I'm off to do a trail race on Orcas Island -- a bit of a different beast, but it should be a blast!