Notes
Not a good result at all. Based on last Sunday's workout I thought I should definietely be able to challenge 38 flat. Conditions were pretty good. There was supposed to be a strong wind from the west but along lakeshore it seemed to be more a constant breeze with some crosswind. Although times were a bit slower than last year due to the wind. It seems like the course is worth 40 seconds to 1 minute slower than the Sporting Life course this year. It definitely isn't completely flat with the long drag at the end of the second km and the uphill at the end of the 8th km.
I felt I went out ok on the first km downhill but was having a bit of trouble keeping up the pace in the second km. Right hip still not the best and left knee started bothering me just before the race start. I could feel my knee throughout but it seemed like hip held up ok. I picked up the pace a bit in the 3rd km but by the beginning of the 4th I was now running into the wind and runners were starting to get spread out. Nevertheless I felt like I should have been able to give a stronger effort during this stretch but I was letting gaps form in front of me and just couldn't generate enough power to maintain pace. By the 5th km I was really considering giving up as I had developed a pretty bad side stitch and just couldn't maintain pace at all. Everything just felt so hard. I decided to ease up in the 6th km and recover from the cramp. This seemed to work as it did end up being my slowest km. Despite recovering from the cramp and then finally turning away from the wind by the middle of the 8th km I just couldn't pick up the pace. I don't know if it was the knee or the hip or the cramp that ruined me but I just didn't have it. I was still in tempo breathing until climbing the hill at the end of the 8th km. After creating the hill I set my sight on another runner and just gave it everything to the end. Finished pretty strong aided by some downhill and tailwind (last 500m in about 3:30 pace). Although my upper back started cramping up quite a bit and again I felt like this hindered me from going completely all out.
I feel like.I need a bit of a break as this was just a really weak performance considering how good the workout was on Sunday. Maybe my mind just isn't into racing at this point. At least I didn't quit despite really wanting to. I think if I didn't cramp up before halfway and my pace didn't slip as bad as it did I would have been more motivated to push before the final km.