Prairie Inn Pioneer 8 km

January 10, 2010

So, I've just finished another race, although I have yet to post an entry for this one.  Now, I'm two races behind! 

The Pioneer 8km was the first race of the season for me and for many others.  It's organized by the club I belong to: the Prairie Inn Harriers.  It's a nice wake-up call following the holiday season, which involved much relaxing and eating.  This is an exciting race, as it has brought out some big talent in the last few years, and a huge turnout for a local race.  It's fun to watch, even as a participant because since it's a loop course, you get to see the frontrunners on their way back to the finish.  This year was no different, as Steve Osaduik and Richard Mosley, the previous year's winner, were contending for first place.

Going into this race, I was totally unsure of how I would do.  I'd changed up some things in my training plan since September, and I was excited, but also nervous to see if it had made a difference.  I'd added 2 more days of running to my schedule, started doing a few speed sessions on the track and started going to a hard spinning class once a week. I was hoping that I could get a PB, and ultimately I wanted to get under 35 minutes (my previous PB was 35:12).  

I arrived early for the race, as I was helping out with registration.  It was fun to see the runners arrive and the hall get busy, and witness the excitement of the race begin to fill the air.  About half an hour before the beginning of the race, I nipped out for a quick warm-up, did my last bathroom break, and quickly stripped down to my racing attire - just barely making it to hear the countdown.  Then we were off.

The first kilometer was super fast, as it's all downhill.  I ran the fastest kilometer ever for me in a race, clocking in under 4 mins.  The second kilometer continued along Wallace drive, as we made a right turn, and began a slight climb up to Stelly's X-Road, the road where we'd started the race.  The climb is definitely noticeable, but not too steep.  I was surprised at my placing in the race, as I was near two of my colleagues from the Prairie Inn Harriers, who are usually much faster than me, Camie Bentham and Julie Van Veelan.  I hoped that I wasn't going too fast, and would end up tiring out on the last kilometers.  I missed the 3rd kilometer marking, but knew that as we turned the corner onto Stelly's X-Road, that we were nearing the 4 km marking.  We approached the 4 km marking, and there was a large clock showing the time.  I read 16:22 and thought to myself - oh no, I'll have to work really hard to get under 35 minutes.  I did the math wrong in  my head, which is easy to do when you are working hard and focusing on running.  In fact, if I could keep up my speed, I was on my way to a personal best.

I was surprised that I was still holding onto Camie and Julie, but I decided to run with it for as long as I could.  Another Harrier woman, Sandra Mullen, went blazing by-- I was impressed by her speed, and thought to myself that she would be hard to catch.

The 4-5 kilometer is mostly downhill, and provides a nice little rest for the legs. Just as we were about to make a left turn onto Wallace road, Steve and Richard were heading into their last kilometer, neck and neck.  We were soon past the 5 kilometer marker - only three to go.  I did a bit of going back and forth with Julie, as we had slight undulations in the road, up and down.  We were nearing the 6 km marker, and the last turnaround before heading back.  Here, the race was getting hard for me, and it took all I had to keep charging ahead.  At this point, a young guy, probably 20 or so, passed me, running strong and calling to his friends - obviously out more for a fun run than a true race.   

Then, we were on our final stretch.  After the turnaround most of the rest of the race was uphill. The last kilometer is entirely uphill, and I was really working it hard at this point.  A woman who I thought was in my age category passed me at this point - but she had the strength to climb the hill and out-run me - I just didn't have it in my to catch her.  About 500 meters to go, I heard 'GO Sonja, pump those arms' and it was the extra boost I needed to keep pushing.  Then, I made the last turn towards the finish line, which was still about 300 meters away - all uphill, slightly steeper. Julie and Camie had pulled away from me slightly by this point and were about 10 seconds ahead of me.  As I ran towards the finish, someone else called out 'GO Sonja, catch Julie, she's just ahead of you'.  Again, this extra motivation was great to keep me going and not let go before the finish.  I crossed the finish line, gasping for breath -- with the time reading 33:40.  A huge PB for me!  I was ecstatic, this was much better than I'd even expected. It was 1 minute and 32 seconds faster than my previous best time at this time, a year ago.  Fantastic! My splits were: 3:52; 4:05;8:27 (kms 3 and 4); 4:10; 4:18; 4:21; 4:25. 

Steve Osaduik ended up outkicking Richard Mosley, winning in the time of: 23:35.  A lot of other Harriers had great races and there were many PBs to be had.  Overall it was a fantastic day.  The weather was nice and cool, the atmosphere was great - as there were quite a few spectators and cheers along the way (including from my parents who came out to watch the race!), and the course was challenging, but fun (as much fun as can be had when you are working hard, and gasping for air.  I was very proud to be part of such an awesome club, for organizing such an outstanding event.