Sunday, April 10, 2011

RUN FOR RETINA 10K RACE - Running Room London Event


First and foremost, how cool is it that I just ran my first 10K race of 2011?!?! In April?!?!

In 2009, it took me all summer and autumn to gradually build up to my first and only 10K race of the year - Oct. 30th @1:12.22

In 2010, it was July 1st before I attempted to run my first 10K race of the year. It was a tough race; I was second last with 1:14:00 - LOL! Regardless, I was pleased to be running this distance four months earlier than in the previous year. Four more 10K races followed this one, ending with my PR on Oct. 31st @1:09:45.

Now it is early April 2011 and I have my first 10K race already under my belt. Wow! :) :) :) I just want to appreciate this race regardless for this reason alone. :)

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Secondly, I want to address another historical milestone. I went for a run exactly one year ago. I walked/ran a 4.5K @36:21, a pace of 8:04/km with Kim. Again, this emphasizes the improvement I have made in one year. Today I more than doubled that distance and my pace was more than a minute faster. Keeping things in perspective!

And it is apropos that it was Kim who ran with me on this run, one year ago, because today, I attached his dog tags inside my water belt pocket to honour his life and running partnership.

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So finally, what this post is supposed to be about ... my race today! :)

Garmin time 10:06K @ 1:08:25
Chip time 10K @1:09:04
Pace 6:58/km

A new PR ... by 41 seconds !! LOL !! I have a new PR ... not by as much as I had hoped for, but a new PR nevertheless! :)

For me, it was an okay race. This is has nothing to do with the organizers or the race itself; it has everything to do with how I felt while running for over 1 hour. Unfortunately, I had an "off" week (late nights, upset routine, grieving Kim) so in keeping with it, today was an "off" running day, too. :( I do not think I was too far off the mark when I predicted a 6:30/km pace ... it just wasn't my day to prove it. Oh well! I still accomplished my goal by being in a 10K so early in the year (I am already establishing a new goal for next year - to run in the Really Chilly Road Race in the 10K), and I'll take my new PR with a shaved 41 seconds. :) :) I have a 10K race on May 1st, the Forest City Road Race, so we'll see what happens between today and the next 10K. :)

Race Notes:

- Best moment of the day - as a half marathoner ran into the last stretch, he was surrounded by three little boys who excitedly starting to pace him to the finish line. It was his body language in response to his cheerleading team that made me get all verklempt! :) Very touching, wonderful moment!

- I live within walking distance of Harris Park so it was great to be able to walk out the door as if I was going out for a regular run. I jogged slowly to warm up all along Riverside Drive. Instead of the 29 degree Celsius with humidity weather predicted earlier in the week, it was cloudy and cool 7 degrees Celsius. Last night, thunderstorms were predicted! We were very very lucky. With the cloud cover and coolish breeze, it was perfect for a run. No crazy heat, no rainstorm.

- I wore an old sweatshirt to keep warm and then tossed it beside a tent just before the race started. It was still there when I finished the race, but I purposely chose an old, worn one in case it went missing. I dressed properly for this race - a tech t-shirt and capris. There were a lot of runners wearing the new jackets, and sure enough, for the next hour while I ran, I watched as virtually all them had to stop to take off their jackets and tie them around their waists!

- I have never been "shouldered" so much in a race, as in a runner bumping me with his/her shoulder trying to pass. The start of the 10K was narrow (see the pictures in this post - this under-bridge pathway funnelled runners and this where the jostling started), and this particular event was sold out so it's understandable given these circumstances. However, I also noticed that it was most often done by women who were running with someone else ... as in, the runner refused to go in front of/go behind her partner, but just had to stay right beside her partner, even if it meant bumping me and other runners. Weird.

- I did not eat my breakfast early enough before the race. I am not blaming my sluggish run entirely on this, but I still think it had a significant, negative impact. I feel a little stupid about it, too, because I know better and I did wake up earlier this morning so I could eat in good time, but I still ended up puttering around, only eating 1 hour before start time. I am shaking my head at myself about this, but clearly it is a lesson I needed to re-learn before the rest of my planned runs this season. :)

- My new water belt spins around my waist! I did not want to put it on tighter because I was feeling the breakfast (ugh!), but I constantly had to adjust it. And guess how many times I used it for water? ZERO !! I drank water at one station and had e-load near the end. Learning!

So! Tomorrow I re-start Week #6 Road Work, and in 12 days, I have a 5K race, the second in the London Honda Series.

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