Notes
So the goals going were:
1) If I don't make this I am a loser goal: 50:46 (new PR)
2) There is no way I'm not going to beat this: 49:59
3) I won't be shocked but would be happy with: 47:30
4) I think I can, I think I can, I think I can: 45:47 (knock 5 mins off my PR in 2 months)
5) Not gonna happen: 44:59
So here's how it all went down....
Nice easy warm-up before hand, felt great, nice and loose.
We're called to the start line and they say the usual fast people to the front etc...except nobody goes to the front. So i'm in the 2nd row which seems a bit far up for me.
Anyways the horn goes and were off. As usual everyone barrels out of the start gate way too fast, and when I say fast I mean way too fast. My .5km split was 1:45...ridiculous. However there were about 40 people in front of me at that point. I get my pace under control and just start bombing along the street and enjoying the course, already starting to pick off some people who went out too fast.
1km time 4:15 (too fast but I wasn't worried)
Fairly steep downhill then the course goes onto a nice paved parkway type path, very scenic, lots of space to pass, and pass I do. There seemed to be a lot of people fading here. Things are going along smoothly and I'm in the groove (such a good feeling).
2km time: 4:27 (8:42 total)
Now here I get to see the actual field I am up against as the 5k runners turn around at the 2.5k point. I was surprised to see how many people were doing the 5km. The field thinned dramatically and at this point I'm thinking I'm in the top 30. Just past the 5k turnaround point the course heads onto a trail through a forest. I knew about this and was expecting it what I did not expect was for the entire trail to be covered in fresh 4 inch deep cedar mulch. Soon after getting on the trail I start to feel my legs tire a bit. So I back off a bit knowing that really we are just getting started here people.
3km time 4:38 ( total)
As I continue on the trail my legs start to grumble. I check out my Garmin just to take a what my current pace is...and I am shocked to see 4:49. What the...?? I'm working just as hard as earlier but my pace has dropped considerably. I start to wonder if that fast first km was coming back to haunt me already?? Wait a minute I did a 6km tempo run last week at a 4:34/km pace and didn't feel spent, I know i'm faster than this, what is going on? At this point I realize it must be the mulch that's killing my speed here. The more I pay attention to it the more I realize that's exactly what's going on. Every step my feet sink into the mulch, not having that firm surface to bounce off of is a lot more work. Then just as I figure this out I round a corner and realize the hill that was mentioned in the course description is not the garden variety but more of the straight up type. This coupled with the precarious footing on the mulch results in a very energy consuming minute or 2.
4km time 4:55 ( total)
Phew at the top of hill the hard work is over. I begin to bound down the hill and soon realize (learning as we go here people...) running downhill on loose mulch is about as easy as grocery shopping with 2 hungry children. Not exactly the chance I was hoping for to get some time back. And naturally as soon as I finish my descent I round a corner and BAM another hill almost identical to the first one. This is the hill that really killed me, thinking there was only 1 significant hill and getting met with another...deflating to say the least.
5km time 5:13 (total)
The 6th km was probably the worst, at this point I have no idea what kind of a time I'm looking at but know a lot of my goals are out of reach. I round a corner and yep you guessed it the biggest hill of them all. As I attempt to ascend this hill my legs are beggining to question my sanity. I'm relieved to know that at the top of this descending escalotor is the turnaround and thus the beginning of the long way home.
6km time 5:23 (total)
Ok time to bring it on home, so my brain say to my legs GO! and my my legs respond with a big ole NO! Good times indeed as I begin to calculate what exactly my finish time is going to be and my guess is it's probably going to be about 52:00 (a chorus of boos reigns down).
7km time 5:26 (total)
Only 1/2 a kilometre until we're back on the pavement. The longest 1/2 km of my life to be sure. Wait whats that I see, yep pavement almost done with the quicksand..i mean mulch. Boing!, Boing! thats the sound I hear in my head as my feet start to rebound off the cement. life is good again....soo good.
8km time 5:04 (total)
Wait a minute remember that hill you went down on the way out, as luck would have it you have to go up it on the way back. This is where i felt the wear and tear of the previous 5km on my legs, they just didn't have there normal bounce to get up the hill, but hey we made it. I do a quick check to make sure all limbs are attached and continue on...
9km time 5:11 (total)
Ok now it's show time, a little late I realize but I dig deep and somehow find a 4:33/km in me and bring it on home. Passed a few people as well. As i'm finishing the thoughts in my head are along the lines of I can do better, I will do better. Never do I want a course to get the best of me like this. Never again do I want to say my time and then ramble off a list of excuses why I didn't do as well as I thought I would. I can do better, I will do better.
10km time: 4:33 (49:08 total)
So after having a few minutes to collect myself and hearing some faster runners saying that they normally run 4-5 mins faster, I look on the bright side of things a new PR by 1:39 on a challenging course, I finished 22nd overall, adn 3rd in my age group as well. Nothing to be ashamed of at all, i'm clearly making strides as a runner. I'm also thinking about the 8km race (road course) i'm in on Sunday, the one thing that keeps rolling around in my head...I can do better, I will do better.