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.

SALVATION ARMY SANTA SHUFFLE 5K - And Concern About My Achille Tendon!

Not a training run - a fun run

5.36K @ 38:03

Avg. Pace 7:06 min /km

LOL! Where to begin with today's experience ...

Last night, I went to the local Running Room (we have one in London) to pick up my t-shirt and number. I made the mistake of heading downtown London on a Friday afternoon and paid the price by being stuck in traffic for a good hour ... but peanuts compared to Toronto and Vancouver, right? :) I was a little surprised when all I received was the l/s t-shirt that I paid an additional $15 for (it was not included in the entry fee) and my number - 5823. I was then told that when I crossed the finish line, I would be given a goodie bag, and that refreshments would be available after the run at Joe Kool's (a renowned local London restaurant/bar). Fair enough! This is when I learned that the run was also 5X around the park. I was caught off guard by this news. I had expected that the run would be similar to the Forest City Road Race 5K in which runners ran all the way around downtown. Running five times around Victoria Park did not seem too fun to me at this point. :( But hey, it's all about attitude and I signed up for a FUN RUN, not an organized race.

This morning, Wallace and I walked downtown together to Victoria Park to join the many festive people who had also signed up. This is when I have to make an observation about London runners. When I participated in the London Honda Series and the Runpiker Series (all supported by Runner's Choice), I became accustomed to seeing the same runners. There are always "new-to-me" runners, as in the locals who only come out for that particular race, but similar to me, there are a significant number of runners who are faithful and show up to virtually every race in the series. I am bringing this up because I didn't recognize a soul today! Nadda! I had to wonder if this was a reflection of the two major running stores in town - Runner's Choice and the Running Room. Or is this truly a reflection of the difference between fun runs and organized chip runs? Was it all Running Room people I was seeing today? I would have to say that by the number of people wearing the iconic Running Room jacket in a variety of colours, it was! :)

Anyway, Wallace and I enjoyed running together around the park. It was not easy because the sidewalks were covered with snow and in order to pass other people, runners had to run in the deeper snow on the side. I felt nervous about not having some spikes on the bottom of my shoes, but when I looked around, I noticed that most runners did not have them either. It was a true mix of people; some very serious runners, plenty of novice runners, and quite a few group runners (people who came together to participate in it). I applaud everyone who came out to support the Salvation Army!

However, at approximately the 3K mark, I really started to notice my achilles tendon again. It was feeling sore. And for the first time, I started to run "differently" so that I wasn't putting as much pressure on it. This has me concerned. I still finished the run because it wasn't "bad" enough for me to stop, but it was the worst it has been so far and this makes me very nervous. Apparently, this is an injury that takes a significant amount of time to heal from ... it is not one that a runner wants to mess with ... I am thinking that I need to R.I.C.E. my tendon and give myself a few days off from running. The current forecast for this week is that my area is expecting a winter storm so I may be forced off the roads for a few days anyway. This is probably a "good" thing. If there is bad winter weather heading this way, it probably is a blessing in disguise - TWO significant reasons (not excuses!) forcing me to stay put in order to rest my achilles so that it doesn't become worse. :(