This year's Gunner Shaw race at Thetis Lake was very different from previous years. Not only did we skip both puddles, but there was also quite a lot of snow on the ground. The decision to not go through the puddles was an obvious one - a thick layer of ice that would have cut up the lead runners' shins. But it was still a bit of a disappointment to me. For some weird reason running through that smelly swamp is something I look forward too every year when I sign up for Gunner.
The snow made it a much more technical race than the usual muddy conditions. Quite a few runners ran with YakTrax the whole way, and probably enjoyed the extra traction. I forgot to bring mine, so I didn't have to make that choice. I think it would have been awesome to race in them, if it wasn't for the first 500m being on pavement. I would estimate that over half of the race was on slippery snowy ground. There were some stretches with no snow, but many of the flat and up hill sections were very slippery in my Cascadias. Some people said the downhills would be the worst part, but I actually didn't find them bad at all.
Anyway, enough about the conditions. It was a very enjoyable race for me, which really just means I didn't push it hard enough! I purposefully didn't go out too hard, and tried to keep up a steady fast pace without getting into the "red zone" too much. As a result I was able to really enjoy the race and feel great during and afterwards. My time was 40:04, which was good enough for 35th place, out of the ~400 runners (full results here). Thanks to Bob and all the organizers, it is always such an awesome race to be part of.
Here is one more video, this one is taken by fellow Harrier Gerry:
At the start of the summer I decided to take running more seriously, and actually start training more than 20k a week. Well that didn't happen right away, it took a back injury and a few painful track races to force myself back to training properly. I had set a goal at the start of the summer to get PBs this year at the 5K (this race), 8K (RVM), and 10K (Land's End) distances. I had previously run 5K in 17:59 twice, 18:01, 18:06, 18:08, and 18:17. Time to change that!
My first mistake was setting my goal too high. If I had simply said "I want to get under 17:59" then I would have reached my goal, gotten a PB, and probably been happy with my race. But instead I foolishly aimed for low 17's, definitely under 17:30.
Anyway, with my parents and older brother coming to watch me I was really hoping for a great performance to end the highly successful inaugural Victoria Track Series. And my friends Cam and Michelle from my gym came out to cheer me on too, so I knew I couldn't let them down! Little did they know that I would be wearing my super skimpy racing shorts... sorry guys.
To run a 17:30 5K the required pace per lap (400m) is 1:25. I knew there would be a few runners aiming to get under or around 17 minutes like Lucy Smith and Mike Lord, and many other who were aiming for the same time as me. As the race started, we quickly separated into packs. Mike and Lucy were leading, with Jeremy Watts keeping pace with Melissa and Jessica. Then there was a pack of 4 or 5 runners including myself, Jim Barwise, Darren Skudja, Brett McCullough, Mark Ritchie, and maybe one other guy.
My first lap was a little too fast at 1:22, but I expected that. For the next 5-6 laps the pace was perfect, 1:24-1:26 each time. I took the lead of the small pack after about 4 laps, and held that lead until about lap 8. It was windy and difficult running conditions, the home straightaway section was really tough as the wind was seriously blowing every time we rounded the corner. Around lap 8 I was feeling really rough and decided to slow up a tiny bit and let someone else lead for a while. Probably not a good idea in hind sight. Anyway, Jim and Darren passed me I couldn't stay with them. Each lap after that I lost another second, 1:27, 1:28, 1:29, by now with one lap to go I had slipped to the back of the mini-pack. No worries, my finishing sprint will catch them all! Hahahah. I pushed it as hard as I could around the final lap, catching up to Brett and coming along side him with 100m to go, but I had nothing left. He pulled ahead with 50m to go and then it was all over. My final time was 17:43, good enough for 9th place out of 15 in our heat. It is a PB, so I am very happy for that. Definitely not nearly the kind of race I hoped for. That being said every lap (except the first and last) was between 1:24-1:29, so that is pretty steady pacing. But fading at the end of a race never feels great and to have 3 runners (yet again) finish 1-2 seconds in front of me hurts.
A a few other runners had similar races on that day, I'm guessing the windy conditions probably affected us all. Both Shane and Mike tell a similar story to mine where they aimed for a certain time and fell about 10-20 seconds short.
Anyway, next up is the Lands End 10K in 2 weeks. I will have a much harder time getting a PB for that one (under 37), but it is a pretty flat and fast course... In fact I should just aim for sub-38! Following Lands End I have already signed up for the RVM 8K on Thanksgiving Sunday.
After a somewhat disappointing Mile at the previous race I was hoping for a better performance at the Open 800m on July 31st. The main reason I signed up for these track races is because I was so inspired watching the elite 800m at the 3rd Victoria Track Series event, where Cam Levins narrowly won in 1:51, with 5 guys coming in under 1:53. Back when I was in elementary school the 800m was my distance of choice, for some reason. So it had been about 17 years since I last raced that distance. I think my best time back then was around 3 minutes.
A big reason why the Mile race two weeks before wasn't so great was due to my pre-race preparation. I showed up late to the track and didn't get in enough warmup, and I had also eaten some food a few hours before the race that was a little suspect. Anyways, I made sure to take this race more seriously, eat properly, and show up with lots of time to warmup.
I actually still didn't get in enough warmup, but I blame the race organizers for being on time for once :)
As the gun went off I quickly took off, leading the pack around the first bend. There was one runner (Brett) that was staying right on my heels. At the 200m mark I checked my watch and was very pleased to see 31 seconds, and I felt good. At the half way point, 400m, the clock was reading 64 or 65 seconds as I passed, with Brett 1-2 seconds behind. On the back stretch I tried to get my legs moving a little faster to put some distance between us. By the final corner I couldn't hear him anymore, I'm not sure if I actually did pull away, or my breathing was louder so I couldn't hear him. Anyways, I pushed the final straightaway with a pretty weak final sprint, crossing the line in 2:11.5.
In the previous week I had done a 4x800m track workout where I really struggled to get under 2:30, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I figured with some adrenalin and the competition on race day I would be under 2:20, and secretly aimed for 2:15. So I was pretty ecstatic to run that well, and to win the race to boot. It was also interesting to see that the elite men did the 800m between 2:00 and 2:06, so I wasn't far behind.
Next up is the 5000m track race to finish up the series. I haven't raced a 5K on the track in a few years, so I'm looking forward to it. It has been a lot of fun racing on the track this summer, and a lot of the credit goes to Chris Kelsall for organizing these races. Hopefully they will continue next year!
On Saturday evening I competed in my first track race of the year at the Victoria Track Series Race #4. I chose to do the 1500m since it was the shortest distance available (well there was an elite 800m too, but I didn't feel like coming in last!).
I hadn't done a 1500m since probably grade 7, so I didn't really have many expectations. I wanted to go under 5 minutes, which means each lap should be 1:20 or 1:00 for the first 300m, nice round numbers. Since there weren't a huge number of racers in this distance we were combined together - women, men, open and elites. So naturally I went out a little too quickly with my first 300m in 55s. My second lap was a littler slower, with the clock at 2:20 (1:25 for the lap), and my third lap was at 3:41 (1:21 for the lap). On the final lap I picked it up as there was only one guy anywhere near me, and he was only about 20 meters in front of me. On the back straightaway I passed him, and continued to pick up speed and sprinted the final stretch coming across the line in 4:50. Pretty much exactly what I was aiming for, and I think I was first in my age category for open men too.
In two weeks I'm competing in the Mile race, then the 800m two weeks after that.
On Sunday I competed in my first ever CrossFit competition - the CrossFit Zone Games. I entered in the "open" category since I didn't meet quite a few of the requirements for the Advanced category. It was a blast. There were 3 workouts in the event - the first was short and sweet: 60 seconds to do as many reps of clean and jerk (floor to overhead) of 115 lbs. The second was slightly longer at 6 minutes of max reps of 6 burpee barhops (push-up then jumping laterally over a barbell), 6 pull-ups, and 6 sumo deadlift high pulls. It was called "6 Degrees of Hyperventilation", and it was a fitting name for sure. And the final workout (called "Victory Lap") involved a 1000m row, 40 backsquats @ 65 lbs, 30 double crunches (like sit-ups), 20 push-ups, 20 thrusters @ 65 lbs, and finally an 800m run.
Each workout proved to be very challenging in different ways, but at the end of the day it was a great competition. I ache all over and definitely need a few rest days!
This year's TC was awesome: the weather was perfect, there was well over 10,000 finishers, and I put in a performance that I'm happy with. I am usually disappointed with my results at the TC, but this year for the first time in a while I went in with very little expectations and just wanted to run it, and enjoy it. My training has been pretty inconsistent, so I knew that I wasn't going to run a 10K PB, but I secretly hoped that I could break 38 and maybe even get a new personal best time for the TC (having run 37:42 two years ago).
Going into the race my goal was to try and run the first 5K in 19 minutes, and then push the second half and see what happened. I almost ran according to that plan except for my first K which was too slow (4 mins). At 5K I was at 19:22, and on the uphill section from 4-6 I started picking it up, and much to my surprise I managed a few K's at 3:40 pace. My second 5K was 18:48, making for a decent negative split, something that is quite unusual for me! I finished in a time of 38:10, which is not quite what I hoped for but you can't expect great results if you don't put in the training!
It was nice to see some fellow Harriers and friends out there. I ran the first part of the race with Mike Janes, and then with Chris Moore from my gym. I saw Jeff Hunt cheering everyone along Dallas Road near Clover Point (get better soon Jeff!), and Sandi and Dee near the finish line. I also got some good encouragement from Nick Best at around the 8K marker when he yelled out to me "Don't forget to keep swinging your arms Chris!". Very helpful actually, it was nice to focus on that when I was running out of energy. And great to see Ming Kang back out running too!
The Bazan Bay 5K this last weekend was my first real race since the TC10K last April, it's been a long time! Leading into the race my training has been improving, but my weekly mileage is still very low (30K usually). I did a few track workouts (mostly 5x1K) in the last month and was feeling optimistic about the race, secretly hoping to get a PB (sub 18).
Overall I am pretty pleased with my time of 18:08, but naturally being only 9 seconds off my PB is frustrating. I've now run five 5K races all between 17:59 and 18:08! My goal was to keep my splits between 3:30 and 3:35 each kilometer, but after the first K I couldn't quite keep up the pace:
3:32
3:42
3:41
3:44
3:28
I can't complain - my splits are reasonably consistent and most importantly my knee felt fine during the race (expected) and after the race, even days later. So I think that's positive. I actually felt so good after the race that I went down to the CrossFit Zone gym a few hours after the race and set a new personal best dead lift of 275 lbs and also got my first muscle up! And no that is not me in the video, although I would love to sport a stache like that!
So, what's next? I think I'll continue to build up my mileage and try to peak for the TC10K at the end of April. Last year I was a few seconds over 38 minutes, so naturally I plan on being under 38 minutes this year! And who knows, maybe I'll also do a few of the new Victoria Track Series races too...
The elevation map tool no longer works as Yahoo has discontinued support for flash maps.
I've created a pretty useful Elevation Map (using Yahoo Maps) that lets you enter in a route and it will show you the elevation profile. I know that other websites can do the same thing, but since I'm a web developer I wanted to do it anyways.
Single left-click on the map to add a marker. Then left click again to add a second point. The elevation profile will show the elevation at the two points. You can also click on the little red markers on the map to show the distance from the start (along the route), from the previous point, and the elevation. You can also search for an address, and then add the search marker (orange) to your route.
It doesn't fit onto this small screen very well, so click here to open it in a new window.
