Not I! I had decided that this race would be a PB attempt and
The race pick up was easy and the shirts were very nice. Black with bright yellow strips down the side. The headlamp was great and I put it together on the Subway back to work.
On Saturday, I did my best to take it easy during the day and to eat a higher number of carbs than I normally would. I was okay on both fronts. My husband was away camping, so I was solo parenting and where I would have normally attempted to take a nap in the afternoon, I couldn't do it because someone had to actually parent the kids! :-p
When Fergus woke up from his nap, the kids and I headed to my parents where I had an original Coke in lieu of sleep! HA. We had dinner with them (steak, potatoes, beans) and I ate about half of what I normally would have because I didn't want stomach issues during the race. This turned out to be a mistake as I was starving by 3k.
I left Mississauga with plenty of time to get to Sunnybrook which was good because the 401 was a mess (seriously, is it EVER any other way?) and I ended up parking in lot 8 at Sunnybrook (aka a long, long, long, long, long way from the Start/Finish). I hopped on a shuttle bus to the start line (Brilliant idea!) and we started rolling when I realized that I was still clutching my sunglasses and I hadn't taken any gum with me (yes, I like to start runs with gum). No problem, the shuttle guy stopped and let me off and I sorted myself out and got the next shuttle.
I got to the start and used the port-o-potties, joined the warm up and watched the 10k race go. Then it was time for the 5k race to line up and I seeded myself accordingly behind the 25-35 minute sign. We all ensured our headlamps were on and that our earbuds were out of view (they were prohibited) and the race began.
I started really strong and concentrated on keeping my pace at 5:20/5:25. I had put my ear buds in and had the music going very low as I don't like running without music unless I have someone to talk to. It got dark super fast and the head lamps were awesome! It was fun to run with everyone and their lights and I found that I had no problem passing people or letting them pass me. I just kept repeating that I'd get my sub 26:45 (a goal I had in mind) if I just kept it at 5:20ish and ran strong in the last kilometre.
The race really just flew by. My only complaint was that I was ALWAYS checking my watch to check my pace. I just didn't find anyone that I could pace off of so I really was all on my own. It is good practice for Hamilton as I will be running alone, but it was annoying to look at the watch every 300-500 metres.
Before I knew it, I was in the final KM and I kept myself running at the 5:20ish pace, telling myself that I'd ramp up in the last 500m. I heard a man behind me talking to himself saying, "You got it! You got it!" and then a 70 year old passed me trucking along on his way to a great finish. It was great to see.
I crossed the finish line and was looking at the 10k time clock so had no idea what I passed in. I looked at my watch and it said: 5.07km, 26:53. WOOT! I had totally done it! I had gotten my 26:45 FOR SURE. I did some quick math and determined that my time was 26:35!!! WOO-HOO! I posted on Twitter and on Facebook claiming my unofficial 5k time.
Then I got home and looked up Sports Stats. Hmm.
27:00 time
26:50 chip
WHAT?!?!
I guess the race was long or my Garmin was off. I was mad for a bit, but after a few days I'm happy. I met my A+ goal and beat my April time by 1:54. That's nothing to be upset about.
Then I looked at Sports Stats a bit harder.
74 out of 574. I was on the FIRST page for the first time ever!
21 out of 396 females.
10 out 130 in my age group.
I'm happy. It turns out, the race was great for me and my stats!
Splits:
5:13-5:20-5:18-5:26-5:17-4:42 (last 70m), Average pace: 5:18
(according to McMillan, I can run a 2:04:02 half marathon - now that is something to think about...)
Zoo Run next Saturday, I can't wait!
Sounds like you did really well, no matter what the numbers say!
ReplyDeleteI did a 5k at Sunnybrook a few weeks ago and it was also 5.07km. I'm guessing it was the same route? Bummer that a long route messed up your A+ goal.
I will be at the Zoo Run next week as well, doing my first 10k. Looking forward to it!
That's an awesome result, congratulations. A great confidence booster I'm sure! WTG
ReplyDeleteI run in Sunnybrook all the time and find that Garmin has issues with the park terrain. Depending on the route it could be out by 1 min. I have heard that even the chip times down there can get messed up as well but cannot confirm that.
ReplyDeleteA great run and it would have been cool to see all the headlamps down there bobbing up and down.
Frustrating when the Garmin doesn't match the course, although it rarely does. You still ran a SOLID race and totally smoked your PB. Sounds like a run race to keep in mine for next year! CONGRATS!!!
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