Well, a pretty good race, all things considered. It is my PB for that distance, so hooray... but still I had hoped to go a little faster.
My plan was to run 10:1s for the 1st half, then reassess once I got to Assiniboine Park and see if I could just boot it from there. I hoped to run in at 1:45. Perhaps a stretch, since my PB at this distance was 1:51 and change, but I hoped I could do it.

Went out at the gun, feeling pretty good. Ran my first mile at the perfect pace and felt pretty good. Took my first walk break after 10 just because I wanted to keep in mind that this was a practice for my full marathon in 5 weeks.
Mile 2, still feeling good. Heart rate is coming down after spiking right off the hop, as always happens. Good! This leg of the course is usually the most boring part, but it was kind of neat this time, since there was some crazy person flying a helocoptor up and back along the course just over the trees. Not sure what buddy was doing, but it sure was fun to watch from the road.
Miles 3 and 4 were out the Saskatchewan, around the military loop and back out. Nothing interesting happening to me or the race here, really. They hired a music man this year who BLASTED music down the street, so that was nice. Got a good little rythym going when they broke out the Elvis!
Miles 5 thru 6 were good and bad. Good, I got to chat with some nice triathlonner from Edmonton who fell in step with me. Bad: the exact same thing. It was nice to chat and keep my mind off the course, but I definitely was not running my race while I was yapping. He ran back with his friends after about a mile or so, and I was happy/sad to see him go. I just really wanted to try running this race on my own, since I'm usually so busy talking to everyone around me, I lose sight of what I'm trying to accomplish.
Miles 7 and 8, thru the relay station and into and out of the park. The crowd here gave me a good rush, and I got to hear a couple of "Go Grant"s, which is always nice. :)
At this point, my race plan called for me to evaluate whether I wanted to continue on with 10:1s, or to just go into a straight run. I decided to keep going 10:1s because my legs were a little fatigued already. Forgot to gel here too. Oops again.
The next couple of miles down Wellington Crescent were actually really tough. The little "hills" on the road (more like speedbumps) felt like mountains to me. Dang, shoulda taken that gel at my last walk break.
Gelled up, got to the turn-around that marked the final 5k jaunt back to the finish.
Another decision to make. Flat out, or keep the last couple of walk breaks in. Again, walk breaks it is. My legs just did not have any finish in them.
Saw Sann & Joey at about this point, and that gave me a little more bounce in my step, but that didn't last long. Basically just went into survival mode for the last couple of miles. The fubuki drummers in the park were an awesome way to come in. I tried to pick up the pace for the last 2 miles, but my legs just really didn't hace it in them. I was also picking up a pretty good blister on my right heel. No legs for the final surge. Oh well.
Came across the bridge and there's the finish line. My old cop-friend Anna's there directing traffic, and she gives me the old Yay Grant that helps with that last push (sounds like giving birth, doesn't it?)
Anyways, there was some gal near the finish that I was pulling abreast of and easing ahead of who saw me coming and started booting it. I called her a witch and pounded after her, caught and passed her a few yards before the finish line. Look, I found my competive spirit 50 yards from the end. Maybe I should have been a sprinter? ;)
Picked up my medal, got my chip cut off and collect my finisher's cap. Nice!

Only run the prescribed 2 miles the day before, not 4 and 1/4. Also, run it on the trails, instead of the grass. I turned my ankle a bit on Saturday, and it applied quite a bit of pressure on my right calf. I managed to work most of it out Saturday night, but the massage therapist after the race still said my right calf was WAY tighter than my left. Oops!
Also, maybe not run the 18 miler on the preceding Sunday. I'm not sure my legs were fully recovered from that one, despite the mini-taper I did this week.

Got my medal and finisher's cap. Found my family. Had a pancake breakfast and a leg massage.


Dead legs after mile 9. Just couldn't pick up the pace. Aside from that, really good run.