Recent Races - Cobble Hill 10km

So - an update from me has been way overdue.  Life got very busy early this year, and in addition to the usual business, Shane and I also started looking for a house, ended up purchasing a house and have been dealing with all that comes out of that (mortgages, packing, meetings with lawyers, figuring out finances etc).  Also, I've been doing a nutrition course, which tends to eat up any other spare time I have.  However, before I completely forget, I thought I'd do a few quick write-ups about my races earlier this season.

Cobble Hill 10km
January 23, 2011

I was nervous going into this race, as I was somewhat fatigued, from not getting sufficient sleep.  But, as long as the body is not too fatigued, I've learned that it has the capacity to pull off amazing feats, when pushed.  Race-day started off a bit drizzly, but once it was ready to go, it had turned into absolutely perfect conditions.  The rain had stopped and the temperature was just perfect for racing.  After a very quick warm-up I headed to the start-line and soon the race was off (in fact I believe it started a bit early - which is unusual for a race).  I didn't see Shane at the start line and I had thought that he had missed the start (he had actually just barely made it in time and was off to the side).

The first kilometer went blazing fast, and how I wished I could hold on to that pace for the entire race.  I did the first km in around 3:45.  In the first 1.5 km of this race is a turn-around, as we do a short out and back on a side-road to make up the distance.  Then, there's a slight rise back up to the main road.  The 3 km comes shortly after turning back on to the main road.  While the first kilometer went by relatively easily, from the second kilometer to the end of the race, I had to really focus on my pace and try and push myself to keep from slowing down.  In contrast to the Pioneer 8km, where my running felt relatively effortless for the first 5 km, I was pushing myself hard from the get-go on this one.  There was nothing effortless about this race, and I was pushing hard to make my goal of under 41 minutes. 

I lost my splits, so I don't know what they were exactly, but most were around 4:00-4:10.  All I could think was to keep pushing as much as I could because I feared that if I let myself think about anything else, my body would slow down and I'd end up losing time.  Out to the turnaround the race continued to feel hard, although I'd found my place in the pack, and wasn't being passed.  The part after the turnaround and towards kilometer 7 , which is just as we make a turn into a wooded section, is my favorite part of the race.  There's a slight downhill, and in many of my previous races at Cobble Hill, I've regained some energy at this point in the race.  True to form, this little downhill helped me pick it up a bit, and I felt my body lightening somewhat. 

Next came about 2 kilometers on a smaller side-road that is surrounded by trees.  It offers a nice surrounding to the usual drab of a road race, while the road lobs us up small hills, then down again and around slight curves both left and right.  While the scenary offers beauty in this section, mentally and physically it was a tough section.  My body was tiring and each small rise required me to dig deep to push through.  The end was near, but there was still room to falter, if I let myself slow. 

Finally, came the 9 km mark, as we headed back up to the main road and towards the finish line.  I could feel the tensions rise, as everyone around me dug in and the pace started to quicken.  I tried to stay alongside those who were running near me and push through the pain I was feeling.  It often seems in a race of any distance, I want to give up in the last kilometer and barely have enough to keep myself going to the finish line.  I'm not sure whether it's more of a mental or physical thing - is it because I know the end is near, so I'm ready for the race to be over, or do I manage to push myself so hard that I only have it within me to make it to the finish in form?   As I saw the finish line come into sight, a couple of guys passed me, as I saw the clock tick towards 40:48.  My official finishing time was 40:49 -- good enough to meet my goal - but deep down I had hoped for a little faster. 

It was a tough race, and I was happy that I had been able to keep pushing myself.  While my tiredness may have played a small role in how I felt during this race, it didn't overburden my race, and I was still satisfied with my time. 

The overall race win went to Sean Chester, who won the first race in the Island Race Series -- his final time was: 32:24.  Shane came in third overall in 33:30, and while not an overall PB, still a PB for the course.