Race Re-Cap - Cobble Hill 10k

The Cobble Hill 10k is one of my favorite races. It's the first (for me) of the 2017 season and it's a part of the Vancouver Island Race Series. Its a very competitive race series and I usually run 4 of the 8 races. The first race is fun because you get to see who is going to be racing this year that is around your pace, who is in your age division, whether any speed demons have aged in (or out!). The only downside is its 3 weeks after Christmas. So January is always a mad scramble to bust my butt and lose any holiday weight, get back into racing shape and get my speed up again.

Luckily this year I didnt gain too much holiday weight and so by the time raceday came around I was 134-5ish. Down about 4lbs from last years race. The bummer part was that I jumped back into running 50 mile weeks too quickly after running less in December and ended up with a sore hamstring. It made my knee feel tight, locked and sore during speed drills. So I wasnt sure how this race was going to go. I had a few goals...1st one was to PR and my previous 10k best was 44:29. Next was to run sub-7mins miles and finally I wanted to come in under 43mins.

I also was trying a new taper schedule. Instead of dropping runs to decrease my mileage in the 2 weeks before the race I tried running almost as frequent as usual but shorter distances and with lots of quick speed bursts. I think that helped keep my legs primed and I'll keep that up.

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I kept checking the race day weather and the week leading up it was all over the map. It was calling for -3, snow, rain, +6, sun. The day before the race it was calling for possible rain in the afternoon and +6. So I packed shorts and longsleeve t-shirt. I woke up race morning and had a bowl of oatmeal at 6am. Then at about 9 I had a Cliff Bar and headed down to the race. Its about an hour away and the race started at 11. 

We got down to the race and it was raining pretty steady. I realized I was probably a little underdressed in my shorts, but its all I had with me. I was wishing I had brought some capris! I did some stretching inside the gym as we waited for the race to start. 

The start line was about 600m away from the gym so we headed there around 10:40. By then it had started to pour. Every one was huddled under the school awning together. I should have gone for a few short runs to warm up but it was hard to be motivated to do so with the rain like that. I also realized that I was a bit hungry which isnt a good sign. Not a great feeling to be starting a race hungry, cold, wet, underdressed...lol. 

The starting gun went and we started off. I was wearing my headphones even though they had sent out an email saying they werent allowing them on the course this year. I need my music and pace tracker! The first mile is downhill which is nice and I focused on not starting out too fast. I averaged 6:49 which was right on target. Mile 2 and 3 are mostly uphill and that was tough. For mile 2 I held on to 7:00min/mile and mile 3 I struggled coming in at 7:16. I remembered that from last year though and just kept telling myself I could make it up on the second half. 

The course has 2 out and back sections so its nice because I got a chance to see my running buddy and my uncle who were both racing as well. I could definitely feel my sore knee but I'm not sure if it was enough to hold me back at all. My uncle said he saw me running at mile 4 and thought I looked like I was running injured that my form was really off. 

Here we are rounding the corner just finishing the 4th mile. There was an aid station here but I didnt bother. I finished mile 4 at 6:59 and started into the section of gently rolling hills. I kept trying to remind myself to push it on the down hills to make up for any loss of speed on the uphill sections. Its so easy to forget and let yourself relax a bit on those. I finished mile 5 at right on 7:00. I knew mile 6 was a lot of downhill and I wanted to finish strong. 

Last year I finished mile 6 and totally fell apart the last 300m to the finish. It is uphill and I got passed by my running nemesis and ended up with a 7:48 for that small section cause I just had nothing left. I was really hoping by not going out too fast this year that wouldnt happen again! I finished mile 6 at 6:52 and felt pretty good. As we turned the last corner and headed up those last few blocks I noticed a woman pull up beside me and get a couple feet ahead of me. I kinda looked her up and down and thought she might be in my age group. 

When we got within 100m of the finish line I just booked it. I didnt know if she had anything left in her tank so I just put my head down and gave it every last bit of energy I had. I remember thinking as I ran up the finish ramp that these are going to be some rough looking finish line photos because I am giving it all I have! 

I ended up averaging a 6:20 on the last little bit and beating the next person in my age group by just a couple seconds! So I am pleased with that. I finished strong, I came in 5th and beat the few people I had identified as close to me in pace. The next person in my age group was a full 3 mins faster.  

I did manage to PR by taking 49 seconds of my previous 10k time. If you go by my app I managed sub-7 min miles because I actually ran 6.25miles putting me at a 6:58 average for the race. But you can see by the standings above they have me at a 7:02 because they average your time over only the exact 6.2miles. So I havent decided whether I have made my sub 7min/mile goal or not. Is it only legit if its the posted time? 

I obviously did not meet my sub-43mins goal, but there was a lot of factors that could have played into the that, the biggest two being the pouring rain and sore knee! So overall I had a good race, there was some ups and downs, but a good solid start to the race season! I'm excited to take on the Comox half-marathon next March 22nd...8 week break...hopefully I can get my knee issues figured out by then!

New Years Run & Polar Bear Swim

New Years Eve I decided I was going to do a New Years Day run and polar bear swim. The polar bear swim has been on my bucket list for years and this one seemed perfect. It was put on by the Nanaimo running club and it was a combined 6k run around the lake, community event and polar bear swim. It worked out well because we had a low-key, one drink type of new years and the run/dip was at 10am so it was a good time for my family to come out. 

If you are going to do the polar bear swim you might as well do it on a year its -5C and they have to break the ice of the lake right...?

I got there and there was a great sense of camaraderie. The running club had chili, hot chocolate, lots of treats and a bottle of fireball :) They gave a quick spiel about the club and what they are about and then we started our run. 

It was interesting doing a run with an actual running club because a decent number of people were actually passing me lol. I'm used to being one of the faster runners when I'm out and about, but these people were all serious runners! It was kinda cool :)

My daughter watching the guys clear the ice as we ran around the lake. 

The run around the lake was fun, not a competitive one at all. It ends on a nice big hill so you are totally warmed up by the time you get back to the beach. I had my bathing suit shorts and a tanktop under my running gear so I stripped down to that. I went barefoot as I didnt have water socks. I was worried it would be sharp on my feet but they were numb and I didnt feel a thing :)

I ran into the water quickly and dunked right under :) It honestly wasnt nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be! 

The worst part was the 5 second run out before I could get to my towel :)

After that I was so pumped that I had done it. I felt so alive and good. It was crazy. I immediately signed up to be a member of the running club and knew that this was something I would do every year! Not only that my daughter and dad have said they will do it with me next year! 

First Week Back To Training....

My first run back I did an easy 10 miles along the water. It was a hilly route and I was more just interested in getting out and getting moving again. It was very windy and snowing and I didnt dress appropriately. I was fine when I was running but when I got back home and undressed I had these red, stinging patches all down my body from just under my neck to my ankles. It was so strange! I think they were wind burn from the cold. Anyways, they last a few hours and then went away, but I've never had that happen before! 10 miles felt long, and I could feel the lack of running for sure.  

The next day I couldnt get out for a run but did some hiking and skating with my kids so I still got a decent amount of exercise in. 

On the Wednesday I had to take my youngest to a playdate for 2hrs. I dropped her off and set my Runmeter App for me to run an hour and 50 minutes. It has a half way turn around announcement which makes it easy to run by time. I decided to run most of the same hilly route I had run the 2 days prior and this time try and keep my pace down below 9 mins/miles. This run felt much better and less sluggish! I was dressed appropriately this time which helped and I actually had to stop at a park and ditch some layers behind a tree to pick up on the way back!

Thursday I did my first speed drill in a month. I was expecting just to do a short run but then my husband took the kids to a movie so I had more time than expected. The speed drill was long intervals which meant 5 3 minutes intervals of 6:45. I warmed up for a mile and then got going. My legs were not happy doing speed. It was pretty humbling actually. I made it through all 5 averaging 6:43 but it was tough and I did not feel good. In October I could pull off sub 6 mins intervals...I have some serious work to do :) I did all the speed portions heading out which was about 4.5miles and then I turned around and ran home at an easy pace so I actually got a decent run in. 

Saturday was my rest day which after 31 miles in 4 days my legs needed. I got out to the running store and got a new running jacket and pants which was exciting :) Everything was crazy on sale so there was some good deals. 

Yesterday I got up ready to take my new gear out for a spin! I was in a total running mood and the weather was brisk but sunny. I brought a couple running gels and headed out with the idea of doing 15miles. It was a great run, I was totally able to zone out, let my mind wander. One of those runs where just everything feels right. I came back feeling so good :) My training plan calls for long runs to be done at between 8:30-9:10 so I set my app to yell at me if I went slower than 9:10. I think it only squawked at me once or twice on a hill....that's a nice easy pace to maintain. 

Burned a decent amount of calories as well which was good as we ordered pizza for New Years Eve and I finished off some of my Christmas chocolates :)