Okay, my report ... the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The bad is I did not beat my PR. In fact, I was 106 seconds slower than my PR in Collingwood last October, and 47 seconds slower than my 10 km race in Hamilton last November. My time of 45:23 gave me an average pace of 7:19/mile, which was a lot slower than even my Half Marathon 5 weeks ago. So that sucks.
Now the ugly - which is my self evaluation of the whole event. Okay, maybe it's also my justification for my bad performance, but it's my blog so I'll write it anyway! It helps me to put it in perspective.
First off, I have to admit that I was not fully recovered from that "Mud Run" (Sudbury Miner's Mayhem) on Saturday. Even though I did not run on Sunday, I knew from my short Monday run that my legs were beat up. My calves were sore, as were my arms and my lower back. On Tuesday night, my calves were still sore (but I don't think they factored in to my slower pace).
Secondly, the 5 hour ride on my motorcycle did not do me any favours. It poured rain most of the time and I was tired going into the race. Now, I did nap for an hour ahead of time, and I tried to eat sensibly. But this was my first ever evening run (race started at 7:30pm) and so it was new territory for me.
Third, my back was sore! I think it was still due to the mud race, but I couldn't even touch my toes. Putting on my shoes was rough. It didn't seem to affect me while running, but ouch!
Fifth, the heat. It was hot (for me). More on that below.
Sixth, on top of all that, I paced myself like an inexperience runner. I know better than that! I was out way too fast, and I paid for it. My splits should have been an even 4:15/km or 6:50/mile (my goal was to finish in 42:30, or 67 seconds off my PR). This is what they ended up being:
4:03 (6:31), 4:06 (6:36), 4:02 (6:30), 4:27 (7:09) 4:52 (7:50) 4:50 (7:47) 4:46 (7:40) 4:52 (7:50) 4:33 (7:20) 4:34 (7:20).
Okay, the details.
After the 5 hour ride in the rain, I checked in, dried out, and then went next door to a Tim Horton's for a coffee and 2 bagels. It was 4pm, so more than 3 hours before race time. Then I returned to my hotel and napped for 1 hour (or tried to). Then up to change and off to the starting line. The 1 km kids run was starting when I got there. I picked up my kit, checked my bag, and did some light running around the area. The 5 km race started at 7pm, so I watched that. At 7:15pm, it started to rain hard.
The temperature was 28C or 82F. For me, that's hot! It did drop to 22C or 71F by the time I finished, but by then the humidity was close to 100%.
The race started right on time. I was out too fast, and I knew it. Tried to slow down, but didn't do a great job of it. The route seemed to be following much the same streets as the Half Marathon I ran in February. There are hills, and I'm hoping one particular hill is not a part of this course (there was no elevation profile provided).
Well, hills. I know we end the same place we started, so overall it's even. I have an advantage going downhill (due to my training), but not on the uphills. What goes down, must go up. And those hills wreaked havoc on my legs. In that heat, I could feel the energy draining quickly. By the fourth kilometer, I pretty much knew that I didn't have a PR in me for this race.
By the half way point, I was really hoping for rain. It didn't happen. I was sweating really heavily, and I was drinking at every water station. There was lightening, but no thunder - nothing close. There had been tornados earlier in the day a couple hours drive away, but the rain held off during this race.
Then, the big hill I remember from the Half. It was tough during the half, but at least then I was just going easy. Here, I was pushing, or trying too. It's only about 200 meters long, but pretty steep. Really does a number on the legs.
I decided then to just try to push a steady pace and not to give in. I knew, after one attempt at running faster, that I just did not have the legs for it. So, I finished the best I was able this day.
When I finished, I was really over heated. I was happy for a children's water park on site, as I stood beneath a shower to cool down. Took in a lot of water, and took me longer than usual to recover.
Had to ride back to my hotel (just 5 minutes away) in a light rain, wet, and now feeling cold. Took a hot shower and collapsed into bed. But I didn't sleep much, as my lower back was worse and it ached all night.
In terms of my performance, in hind sight, I could not PR this race. I was just too tired going into it, after my run on Saturday. I don't think my sore muscles played much of a factor. And I was never really winded at any point during the race. I just had jelly legs throughout and they would not respond to me no matter how much I tried.
So, the take away:
Pace yourself! I would have done a LOT better with a pace bunny.
Rest. Obvious, of course, and I will certainly follow the tapering guidelines leading up to my Fall marathon (in COOL weather!).
I'm glad I went, as it was a good experience, a well organized race, and lots of good vibes from all the runners. There were 328 running the 10k ... 150 men and 178 women. I placed 42nd overall, 6th out of 20 in my age division, and 38th out of the 150 men.
Oh, and the good is my report from the next day. On to that now.
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