and that they were out of reach!! So the last couple of years my running has finally improved, also lost a bit of weight(although am up a bit from last year). And with my half mary time being the "softest" I knew this would be the first to go... maybe? I've worked hard from January on, building up mileage and doing my weekly tempos/intervals. It certainly doesn't help that I usually only run a half in spring and it's on a tough course!! It also often has snow still on the course, if it isn't snowing the day of the race!
The day before Lisa and I had Keith and Linda over for dinner. We had a great time and it really helped to keep the race nerves away. The wine helped calm the nerves too, maybe not so much for the race. :P This is only a B type of race, did I mention that? I did get forced to taper more than I had planned because of some aches that I didn't want to turn into injuries. So I was pretty rested, although worried about my achilles acting up the week before
Ok so race morning I woke up around quarter to 6. I got a small breakfast of some oatmeal ready and made some coffee. Got my planned race clothes ready, checked the weather, yep seemed ok for shorts and a t-shirt. I had plenty of time and once I'd changed got all fed and coffee'd up I still had some time to pace the floor before heading out the door.
The drive to Mount Royal is super simple and parking is even easier. What an awesome venue as you can also warmup inside on the track and continue to stay warm up untill 5 minutes before the start. I lined up maybe 5 rows back on the left side, close to a couple friends, Melissa and Mike. I wanted to keep an eye on Mike as I thought I'd at least be able to keep up for some of the race. It ended up being great pacing! The gun went off and away we went. It was a bit chilly, but I didn't freeze too much, and with the increased effort kept warm enough. Mike pulled ahead, but I could see him the entire time, no need to panic I Like starting out slower and gradually picking up the pace later as I get into my race.
My first km was 3:46, hmmm a lil fast! My aim was 4:05, but the first km is slightly downhill plus I seemed to be quite within myself so I didn't worry too much about it. I slowed a touch after that, but not much. As we approached the first corner I noticed the front guys kept going?? I wondered where they were taking us, why did the course change? And as I came to the corner I saw they had made a mistake, doh! The race organizers either weren't there yet, or there was some confusion, so they had to direct about 20-30 runners to turn around and head back to the corner just in front of me. I clued in right away and was actually the first one brought correctly around the corner. I had to yell at one guy to turn. That must have been a bummer for the leaders, they soon came flying by me on their way back to the front. Oh well it was only about 2km into the race.
So the race progressed down onto the dam and I felt pretty good, despite the rolling hills through the 5km point and the first aid station. I took a sip of gaterade, but honestly most of it spilled out when the cup hit my hand. That's ok, don't need much for 21km. My splits so far made me happy, I was running just under 4min kms, with a few of them tipping over, but really only the hilly ones. I didn't expect to run under 4s, my pre-race aim was to run 4:05s. Good stuff!! I kept Mike within my sights up ahead, maybe 100m? He had lost a bit over shooting the corner(we compared garmins after the race and it looks like he did 100m extra) but he had pulled ahead again and remained as a carrot for me to chase.
As we got to the glenmore landing and about the 8km mark I saw Keith and think it was Linda who I heard. Thanks a lot guys, it really helped. Another aid station at around the 9km mark and more pushing to try to catch Mike. I pushed when I felt good, and tried to hold on when I didn't feel so good. 10k mark hit in exactly 40 minutes, right on target!! I pulled up to the second place girl right around 11km. She looked like she was seriously hurting. I tried to encourage her with a few words(more like grunts) trying to get her to run with me. She came along for a bit and we'd trade leads for a km or two. She would take the downhills and me the uphills. Then we finally hit the hill down into the valley and here is really the only flat part on the course. I felt ok, but starting to hurt. My female running partner also dropped off and I was running alone again... well other than Mike just ahead. I just need to hold on!! I usually try to relax a bit before the weaselhead hill, not today. I really paid for it on the hill and I felt really light headed near the top and extremely weak. I wanted to walk so bad, but I'd gained a bit on Mike and was closer.
Then just as I think I might have him, he turns around and looks directly back at me, uh oh. He immediately picked up his pace, not a lot, but it was def. noticeble. No chance of catching him now! I kept working, but he slowly inched ahead and remained at around 100m again for the rest of the race. He looked back a couple more times to see the gap and then I think he was satisfied that I wasn't getting any closer. Then the cross over glenmore trail and just before the last corner I saw Chris Hooper on the side, it was soo nice to get a cheer from a running buddy. It really spured me on through the final 2km, with a slight uphill and my legs screaming at me to stop the pain!! I knew my time would be good, just didn't know how good. I didn't have the energy to look at my watch anymore. I did look just before we hit the last round about turn. Ohhh a chance to go under 1:25 and a PB. I tried to pick it up, I didn't have a lot. At least I didn't loose any positions in the last bit and crossed the line in 1:25:14. Not too bad, and the course was long, came across 21.1 in 1:23:54. That sounds soo much better and I don't know which will be my new PB!!
Mike an I compared notes a bit right after. I thought I might throw up, and moved off somewhere by myself for a few minutes waiting for that to pass. Then I saw Melissa had finished in a new PB, and then John, Amy, Dave, Curtis, Claire. Lots of co-workers in the race this year, we have quite a good lunch time running club! Almost everyone either ran a PB or was close! We hung out together after the race, comparing stories and just chatting it up while the awards went on. I enjoyed myself so much that I wasn't even listening and it ended before I knew it. Now that's really rare!! If you've ever beeen to a post race you know they usually drag on and on. I think they only announced the winners, and the 2nd and 3rd place people just walked up to get their wards. Nice!! So I hobbled off to my car with a new PB!! This PB was probably 16 years old!! And this was a much tougher course with altitude. I placed 16th overall and 4th in the age grp. Not too bad, over an out,
