Run
Comments: With the long downhill from just beyond the start, everyone started out way too fast. Garmin says my first km only took 3:55. Even at that, lots of people were passing me going down the hill. Once the route leveled out down in the river valley though, I settled into a solid run and from there on I was only passed by 3 or 4 others the whole race. I was just running what felt right but I kept reeling in one runner after another. About half way through, I caught up to one lady who stayed ahead. Maybe she was running faster when she heard me heaving for air behind her. I'm sure I was making more noise breathing than anyone else. Whatever the reason, she was the only one I saw that I didn't catch. We both kept slowly moving up through the field. I almost passed her a few times but she stayed ahead and I followed. The 6km race starts 15 minutes after the 10k and the routes come together a little before we started back up the hill. There was a lot of slower traffic then, and going up the hill my rabbit and I ran past literally hundreds and hundreds of walkers. Just beyond the top of the hill, she found another gear and I had to let her go but there were only seconds left to run. Again, I forgot to stop my Garmin right away but it was only an extra minute before I got it. My time was 5 minutes faster than last year, and that was a big PR. :) Post race
Warm down: My legs were cramping up a little after the race, calves and lower quads, so I walked and jogged around a bit. I stopped to talk with several people I knew but tried to get moving again quickly. I even spotted my rabbit and we had a laugh as I thanked her for the pacing. Then I went inside to warm up, had lots of food and pop, and stayed through the awards to collect my hardware. :) Event comments: With an overall participation of 2500, the venue can get a bit crowded. I think a lot of people left earlier though because it didn't seem too bad this time. Last updated: 2008-12-09 12:00 AM
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Canada
Runners Soul
1C / 34F
Overcast
Overall Rank = 88/566
Age Group = M50-54
Age Group Rank = 3/25
We ate a light dinner, take-out salads with chicken in them, about 5pm. My wife stayed home and I got to the venue about an hour early. The post race activities are held in an otherwise closed mall. It's open before the race too for a coat check and shelter. It was cool out and a bit breezy. I only wore shorts and a couple of tech t-shirts, a short sleeve over a long sleeve, so after a quick reconnaissance tour I stayed inside until close to race time.
I went out about 20 minutes before the 8pm start, did a few short sprints, and used the porta-potties. About 15 to I had a double-caffeinated gel and some water, and then headed over to the start line. We had chips for our finish time but everyone got the same start so I stayed only about 10 feet back from the line. There was music and an aerobic instructor so I bounced around a bit with the others to stay warm. They had singers for the U.S. and Canadian anthems, a count down, and a cannon.