Confidence Builder

Today I raced the St. Albert 10 Miler. I wasn't sure that I would perform very well because my training has been inconsistent and I have an injury as well. I haven't had much motivation lately; likely the weather and injuries speaking.

I woke up at 7:00 am and had my pre-race meal. It's always the same - rolled oats. It may be difficult to get out of bed early on a Sunday morning, but it's worth it because I was relaxed and didn't feel rushed at all. I hate feeling rushed. That's nothing compared to how early I'll have to get up on race morning when I do the Big Sur Marathon in two weeks. I have to be bussed out to Carmel at 3:45 am, which means I will have to get up at about 2:45 to give myself plenty of time to eat, dress and walk to the host hotel to get on the bus. Maaaan, that's earlier than getting up for Ironman!

I had a warm bath so I could warm up my leg muscles and stretch a bit. I watched a bit of Coronation Street - what a difference from American soaps - and started to get ready for the trek down the hill to the race start.

Minus 3 degrees - what!! I knew it wouldn't be spring weather, but I thought it would be at least -1 degree. Okay, mitts and hoodie it is! I generate a lot of heat when I run so I'll probably be overdressed, but no worries - I'll just wrap my hoodie around my waist and tuck my mitts into my race belt when I get too warm.

45 minutes to race start. I better get going. Just as I predicted... I was overdressed. I stopped at Father Jan School to ditch my hoodie and mitts under a spruce tree. No one would see them there. I'll just pick them up later.

The strategy was to run hard for the first seven miles and then back off a bit for the remaining three miles. The speed pod on my shoe wasn't very accurate because there was no way I was running at an 8:15 minute/mile pace, but when I arrived at the one mile marker, I knew I was right on the pace I was supposed to be at - a 9:15 minute/mile pace. I worked with gravity and took advantage of the down hills.

My Mom is a huge supporter of all my athletic endeavours and was up at the same corner that she's at every year, ringing her cow bell, supporting all the runners. They all really appreciate her being there and I've been told that they all remember her each year. One runner even gave her a high five. She's great!

When I got to the seven mile marker, I downed a GU Roctane gel. This is the point where I'm supposed to back off a bit. It was difficult because I wanted to beat my time from last year, but I followed my orders from my coach and backed off. He is preparing me for a marathon - 26.2 miles - in two weeks after all, and he knows what he's doing. So, I obeyed until the last quarter mile of the race; it was all down hill. I justified it by saying to myself "Self, gravity is your friend, and you feel good after all. What's it gonna hurt?"

I was very pleased with my time. I was about a minute and a half slower than last year, but considering I haven't been training as much as I should be, and I backed off for the last 3 miles, I was happy. This was a real confidence builder leading up to my marathon.