Repost... I realized that writing a post after midnight may not be the best idea. Here is the same report with a little less grammatical errors
Here is my race report from Saturday's win:
Iroquois Trail Test, 34K Crawford Lake Conservation Area
My day started early! The alarm went off at 4:30 am. After 1, perhaps 2 snooze buttons, I rolled off the couch. (I gave my mom - my beloved babysitter - my bed. I stumbled around in the kitchen, realizing I didn't give myself enough time. Luckily I prepared my coffee maker the night before. After a quick bit to eat, and travel mug in hand, I was off to the race.
About 3 minutes later, I came up to a road closure. The police had the road closed. I hope everything was ok as I U-Turned and made my way on an alternate route.
I had no issues cruising on the highway at this early morning. Getting through Toronto was no issue. But then, I found myself heading into the airport. Stressed at 'arrivals', constantly looking at the time, I circled back to the 401. I'm still not sure how I ended up detouring to the airport.
I arrived at the race site at 7am, 30 minutes later than I planned. If you're anything like me, you'll agree with me that 'pre-race rituals' are important before toeing the start line. I am grateful that the race kit pick up line up and the bathroom line up was minimal. By 7:10, I attempted to eat my oatmeal. Unfortunately, the water in my thermos was not warm enough and my oatmeal was disgusting and bland. I suffered through a few bites and left it. I moved on to my banana and my blueberry cliff bar. It would have to do. It's now 7:15 and I was really starting to get anxious and excited to start the race.
I headed out for my shortest warm up ever. 8 minutes later, I was back at the start/finish line awaiting race instructions. The announcer was quite funny and I chuckled a bit. I was glad, as that loosened me up for the morning ahead. About 45 seconds before the 'gun' went off, I saw a friend waving at me. One last smile and wave and I was off!
The 34k was the first race of the day. It consisted of 3 big loops. There was to be 2 shorter races (18k & 7k, I think) starting after us, at different start times.
My goal was to start comfortably and work my pace every lap. I knew my 'race plan' as I confirmed it the night before with my coach via text. I later found out he was on his bike in the middle of nowhere when he responded. Thanks Mike (Discomfort Zone), Much appreciated.
As I saw the lead men impressively stride off, I settled in my pace. I took the women's lead from the start. I re-familiarized myself with the course on the first loop. It had multiple different aspects such as technical uphills and downhills; a wooden bridge; fast and flat upper loop; grassy sections; rocky sections; and quite of bit of singletrack. I loved the technical part of the race and reminded myself to recover a bit on the double track.
I came through the first lap (11.3km) at 1:02. As I circled around, I saw the 2nd place women about a minute back and the 3rd place women just behind her. That got my adrenaline juices flowing.
I build my pace a bit, knowing I wanted to step it up again come the third lap. I ran comfortably strong. All was going well. The course volunteers were fantastic. They were all very encouraging. They each told me I was the 1st female. I just wished they could of told me how far back the 2nd place female was. I'd have to wait an hour to find out when I circled the start/finish line. I drank, and ate according to my needs and stayed focused on the lap. I came through the second lap at a split time of 1:00:46. Perfect. I dropped my time and still feel strong enough to give it a push. I noticed the 2nd place girl in the distance before I turned off, calculating she was about 5 minutes back from me. I took a mental note of it.
I immediately pushed the pace. By this time, the course was loaded with runners from the other 2 races. This made the technical downhill section a little hectic. I was able to squeeze between many runners (I apologize for the many shoulders I touched) on the way down. Over the wooden bridge and up the other side...ah... alone again. I kept my pace strong. My legs felt great; my energy was high; the volunteers were motivating and encouraging; and then I superman'd across the dirt path to a, what I believe was very graceful, shoulder roll. Ouch! Quick body check as I got up. Nothing seemed to be hurt, just the evidence of a fall all over me. No harm done, I continued.
I finish the second half of the loop in a strong effort to come across the finish line at a split of 58:34, to give me a finish time of 3:01. Yay, victory. My 5th straight win for my 2013 season. I felt grateful and mentally thanked everyone who continually helps me achieve my goals. I enjoyed a freezie, superb idea ITT, with a friend and chatted about our shared passion.
As a bonus, I got a MEC gift card for winning. It's my favourite store, so I'm excited to get there and shop.
I look forward to my next race, September 7th Haliburton 50k. Loving life, loving running!!
Thank you Coach Mike at Discomfort Zone and Cindy at runningskirts.com and of course all my husband, kids, family and friends.
Here is my race report from Saturday's win:
Iroquois Trail Test, 34K Crawford Lake Conservation Area
My day started early! The alarm went off at 4:30 am. After 1, perhaps 2 snooze buttons, I rolled off the couch. (I gave my mom - my beloved babysitter - my bed. I stumbled around in the kitchen, realizing I didn't give myself enough time. Luckily I prepared my coffee maker the night before. After a quick bit to eat, and travel mug in hand, I was off to the race.
About 3 minutes later, I came up to a road closure. The police had the road closed. I hope everything was ok as I U-Turned and made my way on an alternate route.
I had no issues cruising on the highway at this early morning. Getting through Toronto was no issue. But then, I found myself heading into the airport. Stressed at 'arrivals', constantly looking at the time, I circled back to the 401. I'm still not sure how I ended up detouring to the airport.
I arrived at the race site at 7am, 30 minutes later than I planned. If you're anything like me, you'll agree with me that 'pre-race rituals' are important before toeing the start line. I am grateful that the race kit pick up line up and the bathroom line up was minimal. By 7:10, I attempted to eat my oatmeal. Unfortunately, the water in my thermos was not warm enough and my oatmeal was disgusting and bland. I suffered through a few bites and left it. I moved on to my banana and my blueberry cliff bar. It would have to do. It's now 7:15 and I was really starting to get anxious and excited to start the race.
I headed out for my shortest warm up ever. 8 minutes later, I was back at the start/finish line awaiting race instructions. The announcer was quite funny and I chuckled a bit. I was glad, as that loosened me up for the morning ahead. About 45 seconds before the 'gun' went off, I saw a friend waving at me. One last smile and wave and I was off!
The 34k was the first race of the day. It consisted of 3 big loops. There was to be 2 shorter races (18k & 7k, I think) starting after us, at different start times.
My goal was to start comfortably and work my pace every lap. I knew my 'race plan' as I confirmed it the night before with my coach via text. I later found out he was on his bike in the middle of nowhere when he responded. Thanks Mike (Discomfort Zone), Much appreciated.
As I saw the lead men impressively stride off, I settled in my pace. I took the women's lead from the start. I re-familiarized myself with the course on the first loop. It had multiple different aspects such as technical uphills and downhills; a wooden bridge; fast and flat upper loop; grassy sections; rocky sections; and quite of bit of singletrack. I loved the technical part of the race and reminded myself to recover a bit on the double track.
I came through the first lap (11.3km) at 1:02. As I circled around, I saw the 2nd place women about a minute back and the 3rd place women just behind her. That got my adrenaline juices flowing.
I build my pace a bit, knowing I wanted to step it up again come the third lap. I ran comfortably strong. All was going well. The course volunteers were fantastic. They were all very encouraging. They each told me I was the 1st female. I just wished they could of told me how far back the 2nd place female was. I'd have to wait an hour to find out when I circled the start/finish line. I drank, and ate according to my needs and stayed focused on the lap. I came through the second lap at a split time of 1:00:46. Perfect. I dropped my time and still feel strong enough to give it a push. I noticed the 2nd place girl in the distance before I turned off, calculating she was about 5 minutes back from me. I took a mental note of it.
I immediately pushed the pace. By this time, the course was loaded with runners from the other 2 races. This made the technical downhill section a little hectic. I was able to squeeze between many runners (I apologize for the many shoulders I touched) on the way down. Over the wooden bridge and up the other side...ah... alone again. I kept my pace strong. My legs felt great; my energy was high; the volunteers were motivating and encouraging; and then I superman'd across the dirt path to a, what I believe was very graceful, shoulder roll. Ouch! Quick body check as I got up. Nothing seemed to be hurt, just the evidence of a fall all over me. No harm done, I continued.
I finish the second half of the loop in a strong effort to come across the finish line at a split of 58:34, to give me a finish time of 3:01. Yay, victory. My 5th straight win for my 2013 season. I felt grateful and mentally thanked everyone who continually helps me achieve my goals. I enjoyed a freezie, superb idea ITT, with a friend and chatted about our shared passion.
As a bonus, I got a MEC gift card for winning. It's my favourite store, so I'm excited to get there and shop.
I look forward to my next race, September 7th Haliburton 50k. Loving life, loving running!!
Thank you Coach Mike at Discomfort Zone and Cindy at runningskirts.com and of course all my husband, kids, family and friends.
