This race was re-scheduled from January, due to snowy conditions. At the time, I was elated, as I was feeling low and tired and quite happy to spend a day at home. The new date however was sandwiched between 2 other Island Race Series races, which would mean 3 races in a row for myself and many other racers. Despite coming off a strong race the week before, the long hours of racing and training got to me on the morning of Cobble, and I had a bit of a mental battle to get into race mode.
However, when the horn went off, the race juices got flowing, and all systems were go. Since last year, I've been chasing a goal of breaking 40 minutes on a 10 km race. I was hoping to reach that goal this year, but based on my earlier race performances this year, I wasn't sure I was quite there. However, I was hoping to be close, so that it would line me up for a good TC 10km.
Within the first kilometer, I felt that I was going to have a good race. My body felt good and my legs felt strong. Although I knew there was still a lot of race ahead of me - the early indications were good. I knew the course well, having raced it each year since 2008, and remembered where the up and down sections were and where I could push and where I needed to keep up the pace. The first kilometer was about getting into a good position, and establishing good rhythm. I noticed already that I was passing people and slowly inching my way forward.
The second kilometer involved a turn-around and a slight uphill. It required a bit more grit and determination to not let the uphill slow you down too much, and I continued to move my way up the line. There were quite a few spectators around this portion of the course, and from the calls of encouragement, I knew that Julie Van Veelan was just behind me. Knowing she was right there was good motivation for me to keep moving, and not let up. Yuki Otsubo was again just ahead of me, and my goal was to try and stay with him for as long as possible. He'd paced me well at Hatley, and I was hoping I'd be able to keep up with him again today.
As we turned the corner onto the main road, towards the 4 km marker, there was a bit of back and forth between a few racers, as we passed each other, one in front and then the other surging for a bit. Soon, we fell into a pretty static placing, with Yuki just ahead of me and Julie just behind me.
As the kilometers clicked by, I continued to feel strong and knew that I was holding a good pace. While I always take my splits during a race, I prefer not to look at my watch, as it can stress me out to think I'm either potentially going too fast, or too slow. So, I run by feel, and thus far, it's fared me well. I'm usually done by the time I cross the finish line and rarely do I have a ton in reserve, nor do I often fall apart before the finish line (although I do often wish the finish line was closer or sooner!)- so I feel that my pacing is pretty decent.
Photo Credit: Garth Campbell
There are a few slight inclines and descents in this race, although nothing major -however the rolling nature of the course does cause splits to not be completely even. One thing I noticed in this race was that rather than letting up on the uphills, I was able to push up them and keep my momentum strong - which felt good. My favorite part of the race is when we make a turn onto a road that is lined with beautiful, large, looming evergreens. This section of the race definitely has its share of small hills, which feel all the more large as it's towards the end of the race - but the winding nature of the road and the surrounding trees make it seem peaceful. It was during this section, around the 8km mark, that I came upon Larry Nylen. I had been slowly making my way closer to him throughout the race, seeing him just ahead of me. I wasn't sure what the outcome of the race would be - but once I passed him, he didn't pick up the pace to stay with me, so it seemed like I might have more left in the tank than he did.
Finally, I passed the last kilometer marker. At this point, I was running in a group of a few guys - a few just ahead and a couple just behind me. There was one younger guy who I was inching towards, but every time I would make my way up to him, he'd put on a bit of a surge to stay ahead. This resulted in a few hundred meters of cat and mouse, as I would surge and then he would surge, each of us putting on the extra gears to not get passed. However, after a bit, I realized that I may be taxing myself too much, and had to ease off, as otherwise it might result in the remaining 700 meters being disastrous. Now, it was simply push to the end time -- around a few corners and then finally the 100m sprint mat was in sight! I didn't have much for a sprint this time, but I'd heard cheers for Julie, so I knew she was close behind me. I was determined not to get passed on the line again, so I tried to push the pace as much as I could, as I heard Chris Callendar cheering me on. I was happy to cross the finish line and also to have been able to hold off Julie.
As I finished the race I actually had no idea of my time, as the timing clock was blocked by another object. So, it wasn't until I looked at my own watch that I saw that I'd come in under 40 minutes!! Hurrah, I was so elated. I turned around and gave Julie a huge hug - we'd both done it! I saw Larry come in soon after me, and while I wasn't certain of his time, I hoped that he had also completed the race in under 40 minutes. I later learned that he'd just inched under by a few seconds! So happy for him!
My official time: 39:45. This was definitely the best race of my life in terms of how I felt. I felt strong throughout the race - in body, mind, energy, legs -- everything was moving smoothly and together. If only all races could feel this good. My splits were: 3:54; 3:53; 4:05; 4:07; 4:09; 4:04; 3:51; 3:58; 3:54; 3:51.
Congrats to Shane Ruljancich as well for coming in under 33 minutes for only the second time- and on a hard, rolling course.
This running high helped me get through the ensuing long run. As Shane and I are training for the Boston Marathon in April, the best way to still get our long runs in with all the racing is to incorporate them into race day, and complete the remaining section after the run. So, after the race, we still had about 20-22 kilometers to do. The run thankfully felt pretty good - and the legs did not fall apart on me! We got some beautiful views of the ocean along our route, and got a good dump of snow falling on us as well. Luckily it didn't stick to the ground, so did not provide for slippery conditions. It was definitely good to get the 1hour 40 minutes done and the running for the day completed. Now it was time for some good eats, rest and relaxation!
No comments:
Post a Comment