Apr 09
27
The 20th Annual Times Colonist 10K
With a record number of participants the Times Colonist 10K solidified its status as the second-largest 10K in Canada behind Vancouver’s 40,000+ participant Sun Run.
I started my Sunday morning with an easy jog down to the Moka House in Cook Street village to meet up with team Mountain Equipment AWESOME, bumped into Finn just outside of the coffee shop so chatted a bit with him before heading in to grab a coffee. Joe and Adrian showed up briefly after me and we all waited on the deck for the rest of the team to arrive.
Once every one got there we made our way to the start line and we kind of lost each other on the way but I did run into Diva and Matty.
After giving Diva a good pinch I found a spot in the line up and waited for the start. It was a tight start and there was a lot of traffic, it didn’t really start to open up until we got close to the Petting Zoo in Beacon Hill Park, near the 1K marker and then I was able to weave my way through some bodies.
I went into the race knowing that I was not going to run a PR or post anything near a PB so kept the mind set on running hard but not racing and was mostly successful.
The frontrunner passed me just as I was going down the hill towards Ross Bay Cemetary, he was looking strong, then after him there were a few smaller chase packs and after those there was a constant stream of runners. While watching that stream of runners and as I neared the turn around I started recognizing people that I used to be racing with in the past and I inadvertently picked up the pace. I just kind of fell into the race mindset and started picking people to get past. I did this for just over a kilometre before I realized what I was doing and then rolled it back down a notch.
I kept the pace steady through to the end but it was a struggle. With the Elk/Beaver 2009 ACU 50 Mile National Championship less than a week away I didn’t want to thrash the legs too much and over the last couple of K’s, as people were passing me, I kept having to tell myself “Run hard, don’t race!”.
I had predicted a 43′-45′ finish time and finished in 43’57″ still feeling strong and fresh. A good sign heading into next weekend, hopefully the mileage base I’ve built off TCC will carry me through 50 miles.
