The Running Diva

Sunday, April 27, 2008

The weather was just about as perfect as it can get for race conditions today…cool, overcast with barely a breeze! Juice and I made it down to the start with plenty of time to warm up. My legs felt fresher than last week so I was very optimistic that I would have a better race as far as feeling friskier and in control. The plan was to aim for even splits (3:30/km) most of the way and then try and run the last couple of kms  as fast as I could go. Chops was up to running the race at this pace too so we decided to try to hang on to whomever had the power on the day.

We started off right on pace nailing 3:30s almost to the second from kms 1-4. I was feeling decent through here and was right behind Mike who had pulled in front of us shortly after the first km. I took the lead of our little group up the first hill after the out and back and Mike kindly moved in front motioning me to tuck in so he could lead and block the wind (thanks Mike). We went through 5km in 17:35..very close to where we wanted to be. This is where I kind of blew it. Mike started to pull away and instead of sucking it up to stay with him and pushing through the discomfort of the 1.5km where things get tough on this course (there’s a deceptive flat here) I caved and and lost a good 20-30 seconds in 2kms.  I should have pushed through some pain and hung on to him, knowing there was a long, gradual decline up ahead to 8km where I could have recovered a little bit. Chops was still with me at this point as we took turns pulling each other along. I got some great turn-over going from kms 8-9 on the down hill but by this time I had lost a lot of time. The last 2km were tough …a lot like the Sun Run the week before which is unusual for me since I tend to have a great last km or so in races. Chops continued to encourage me and even sprinted up to the finish to get my butt in gear (thanks!!!). This effort, combined with the chocolate milk he drank at breakfast had him barfing into a bucket about 10 seconds after we crossed the line. You can watch it all here…or at least Chops doing a nose-dive into the bucket! Also check out the close men’s finish and the ladies’ finish (35:14)…whoah!

I didn’t run what I wanted today but it was a PB for the course for me and I won a bit of money for top Master’s and 5th overall so I shouldn’t complain…and I’m not!! I think I am fitter than what I ran these past couple of races though so either I peaked too early (I was feeling great in March) or I faded a bit with the cold I had a couple of weeks ago. I am due for a break too…overdue, actually. Still, I had a good winter of running and racing. I logged in a bit more mileage did some hard sessions so I feel extremely strong right now. I have no niggles at all so I feel very fortunate…this is a good time to have a break…before I HAVE to take one due to an injury. We’re scheduling a 10 day rest in the next week or so and then we’ll start ramping things up again for some summer track events.

Juice had a STELLAR run today!  He took over a minute off his PB running a very convincing sub40 minute - his first ever- in 39:18. That’s amazing! He even conducted a concert this afternoon. I am so proud of him!

 So many people had great races today! Congrats to all!! 

Brunch followed the race with Lisa, Chops (who had TWO breakfasts!) and Syl at Ferris’.

IRR had a post-race BBQ at the Creerys’. All the regulars were there and there was a ton of food and booze so everyone had a great time! We ended up staying there until 9pm!