We got really lucky with the weather for the TC10K this year. May 1st was a gorgeous day, perfect weather for running, and hopefully for spectators too.
Overall I enjoyed the new course, it didn't seem to be any more difficult or any easier than the previous course, and I definitely preferred not having a turnaround. But as I said in my previous post it is not as fun when you don't get to see the lead runners and the mob of runners going the other way.
Anyway, I tried really hard to not going into this race with a specific goal. I find that if I set an easy goal for myself, then I don't always feel satisfied when I achieve it. And worse is when I set an unrealistic goal and fall short, then I really don't feel happy about it. So with that in mind I didn't have much of a goal for this race. My previous best 10K was Cobble Hill in January 09, in a time of 37:07. And my best TC time was 37:41 back in 2008. I thought with my current level of training that I was capable of a 37 minute 10km...
The first few kms went by very smoothly. I started near the front of the pack with many Harriers just in front of me - including Garth, Gary, Mike, Ian, and Jeremy. I knew my family would be cheering me on near the turn off onto Vancouver, so after the long gradual climb up Johnson I put an extra push as I went by them, high fives of course! The next few km are undulating, but more downhill than up. So with that in mind I picked up the pace down Vancouver, Richardson and especially on Moss Street. The first 4 kms were really solidly paced in 3:36, 3:31, 3:37, 3:30.
After that was the hilliest part of the course - it is mostly uphill from 4km until 6.5km. I let up a little bit, and climbed up through Beacon Hill Park. My half way split was 18:03, which is actually only a few seconds slower than my Bazan Bay time this year.
Over the next 3km my pace was expectedly slower in 3:49, 3:44, and 3:43. But it's always great once you reach mile zero and a nice downhill awaits heading towards Ogden Point. Once again pushing the downhills I got my pace back down to 3:30 and 3:36 from 7km - 9km. Amusingly my 8km time was 29:00, which would be a new PB.
During the last kilometer I was urged on by Bob Reid and Scott Simpson, and by the fact that Garth was just in front of me, maybe 50m ahead. Down the straight away I did my usual sprint and caught up to Garth and then spotted Ian just ahead of him, so I kept going, pipping him at the line in a time of 36:09.
It's been ages since I've posted, oops. Anyways, I'm excited about the TC10K this coming weekend. I jogged the course today after work with my new Garmin 410 (another blog post hopefully) to check out the course, the elevation, etc. Obviously the last 5km are the same as previous years, but the first 5km are different.
Here's a screenshot I made from the garmin workout:
I also superimposed the old route elevation profile on top of the new one for comparison:
The route is pretty good. The first 1.5km is a gradual uphill, but nothing noticeable, especially with all that adrenaline pumping. Then there is a nice downhill along Vancouver, and again on Moss. Then the usual uphill through Beacon Hill Park and then down to Ogden point.
I'll definitely miss the out and back course though. It was probably better for the fans too. I always enjoyed it because I could see where other runners were ahead and behind me, and to see the leaders. It was always great to have the cheering for/from runners ahead and behind as we passed on Dallas Road. Oh well.
Anyway, time to make a realistic goal for Sunday. I haven't had a good TC10K probably ever... maybe 3 years ago (37:42) is the only decent one. So I definitely want to beat that. Otherwise I just want to have fun, and not over do it since my real goal race is only 5 weeks away (the North Olympic Discovery Marathon).
I was reading this interesting website called powerrunning.com and it talked about how the most accurate way to predict your race time is by using your results from other races at different (but similar) distances.
This got me thinking - what distance race have I performed best at? Because many people say that we each have a specific distance range that we excel at - e.g. short races (3-5K), middle distance (10K - Half Marathon) or long races (marathons and ultras).
So anyway, I made up this table which allows you to enter in your fastest times at each distance (or leave blank if you haven't done a distance). Then it will predict what you are theoretically capable of running those distances at. Keep in mind that this is all in theory, you still have to put in the appropriate training!
The calculations are done using a simple formula that I copied from this website: runningtimes.com. It only allowed you to see the predicted time for one distance.
I've filled in the 10 km time as an example.
Run Time Predictor
Enter in you best times for the various distances in the form [h:]mm:ss.
You can edit the distance textboxes as well and the column(s) will be updated. The fastest times will be in bold.
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!
(another blog post hopefully) to check out the course, the elevation, etc. Obviously the last 5km are the same as previous years, but the first 5km are different.
