Owning the past

I've finally got a little bit of housekeeping done on the blaaaahg that I've been meaning to do for quite a while now. Namely, I've created a page that shows all of my past events with dates, results and links to race reports.

My first ever race - a 5k in Hamilton, ON
Overdressed and completely naive but having a blast!

Well, at least those that still exist. I used to have a website that housed all of my race reports from my very first 5k in March of 2009 up until my first Olympic Triathlon in 2010. It met with an untimely fate when the hosting service decided to unilaterally delete the entire site.

RIP, TriathlonChaos. You are missed.

My very first tri - even the pissing rain couldn't stop me from having fun!

Three things have struck me in doing the necessary research and recording all of these past events:

1) Holy sweet merciful crap I've done a lot of racing. There are no less than 77 (seventy! seven!) events listed on that page, and I've only raced for 6 seasons. That works out to almost 13 events per year. I refuse to contemplate how much that represents in race fees. I just don't want to know.

First 10k

2) There are events I'd completely forgotten about. Without my training logs and some other recordkeeping I've done throughout the years, compiling this list would have been impossible as my memory just can't contain it all. See point #1. Going through the list has reminded me of fun times racing with friends, pacing people through some of their first races, and some of my own personal triumphs and challenges.

Team SmackTalk at Horror Hill in 2010 - my first ultra!

3) While decidedly non-linear, it's incredible to look back at my past results and see my progression as I've developed as an endurance athlete. From absolutely zero prior running experience before November 2008 I've since improved almost every single one of my original race times - those that I haven't improved upon are generally odd distances I have only raced once. From not being totally sure I could manage a 5k or sprint triathlon at the start of 2009, I've since completed half a dozen ultramarathons and two half iron distance triathlons.

Finish line of my first Olympic tri in Wasaga Beach - 2010
I still feel like this at every finish line!

It's been one hell of a ride so far, and I've learned so much about both racing and myself along the way. I'm happy to have all of my photos and records to look back on - maybe one day when I'm too old and busted to race anymore, I'll still be able to wander through my race reports and remember all those moments when I felt like I was going to die...but at the same time had never felt more alive.

Kona Chocolate Run "Chocolate Double" - Sunday, November 16th, 2014

A tale of self-sabotage and rejoicing in others' achievements.

As I mentioned last week, this was my first international race, and I had high hopes of a 10k PR - I'd been running pretty well since Belwood and had put in a really speedy last hard push on Tuesday that seemed to indicate I was well on track. We hopped in the car Friday afternoon and jammed down to the Ambassador Bridge, got through the border and hit up PF Chang's for an absolutely amazing dinner, then it was down to our friend Mac's house for the weekend.

Such a neat sight after dark.

This, of course, is where things got away on me a bit. There were shenanigans. I may have put some rather unusual strain on my recently injured calf. While I might not have been drinking (I drink alcohol quite rarely), I also didn't manage to get to bed until just past 4am. In order to get ALL THE THINGS done on Saturday, I was up just after 9am.

That made 2 nights in a row with 5hrs of sleep or less. Sub-optimal.

Right after waking, I kicked my butt out the door into the chilly sunshine for an easy shake-out run. I'd mapped it all out before we left, so I knew I just had to run up Telegraph Road to the gas station and back.

Plodding along at just below the freezing mark

I kept looking up the road, and it seemed like the BP station was an awfully long way off. I was feeling pretty flat, but I seldom run first thing in the morning and was working against a headwind, so I attributed my sense that this was taking much longer than it should to being a stinkin' whiner. I sucked it up, threw in a couple of short pick ups to try to get my legs used to some speed, then made my turn-around and headed back.

Halfway back after another short stride or two, I couldn't ignore my sense this was taking too long anymore. I'd intended to run for about 20mins, and had plotted a route that was around 3.6km / 2.25mi long. Pulling out my phone, I gaped as I discovered I'd already been running for 35mins.

Bugger.

I sent a message to the house to let people know I was ok (as I'd already been gone 5mins longer than the max estimate I'd given) and was sweetly offered a pick up, but there was no place I could shelter from the freezing wind while I waited and I was only a kilometer or so away from being done. Final total: 7.5km in just under 43mins.

Crap.

Google Maps fails make K something something.

Off to Plymouth to pick up race kit and scope out locations, everything went relatively smoothly for the rest of the day. We did, however, go for about an hour's hike in the woods out back of the house. It was incredibly serene and beautiful, but walking over fallen branches hidden under the leaves wasn't terribly easy on the ankles.

Brothers from different mothers.

One hell of a backyard.

I did manage not to eat anything that would aggravate my laundry list of food allergies (which is always a concern when we travel), while still having a lovely dinner out with a wonderful group of Mac's family and friends. However, sleep once more took a back seat to spending time with people we love - it was after 11pm this time before I racked out, and I had to be up at 4am.

D'oh. Make that 3 nights in a row with 5hrs of sleep or less.

Race morning came - I can't say dawned, as it was still pitch black out when I left Mac's place at 5.25am. I reached the Tim Hortons in Plymouth looking for a pre-race coffee at 5:55am, only to discover they didn't open until 6am. Somewhat less 24 hour than I'd been led to believe.

It's like a Canadian embassy with doughnuts.

I did get my coffee, though, and then headed to the race site. In another first, I'd let Tanker the Wonder Sherpa sleep in while I made my way through the sub-freezing pre-dawn - the 5k didn't start until 9:30am (or so I thought), so Mac & his wife Marci would be driving up later and could bring Tank along with them.

Arriving at the start/finish area in Kellogg Park, I found the two warming tents completely sealed up. Umm, I'd rather been hoping to stash my race gear in one of them - guess not. I also completely failed to spot any sanitary conveniences, so tossed my running shoes on at a park bench then headed across the intersection to the Starbucks.

I stood in line there for a solid 15mins waiting to use the single women's bathroom, pulling off my wool pants and down jacket and pinning my race bib onto my skirt. Yes, the high temperature for the day was only supposed to be 2c/35f, but damn it if I could survive having ice build up on my bare thighs at Horror Hill in 2013 I was pretty sure I could handle a bit of chilly wind for under an hour.

I eventually got to use the facilities (wordlessly expressing my opinion of Starbucks' coffee), stuffed everything except a sweater I'd brought because I wouldn't mind horribly if I ended up losing it into my race bag, then wandered back to my car to ditch it all. I grabbed my phone, the car key and a gel flask full of EFS sport drink and did some dynamic warm-up stretching before heading out for a 15min run to try to get my legs moving.

There was mixed success. I wasn't really feeling it. Nothing specifically bad - my right ankle felt a bit sore from the hike the day before as I did some toe circles, but it was fine while I was running - I just didn't have any zip in my legs.

Back to the start line with 5mins to go, I found a spot to ditch my sweater and headed for the corral, which was already full of runners. I tried to make my way into a group of people so I'd be shielded from the bitter wind, and ended up just ahead of the 50min pacer. Not a bad place to be, as I was kind of hoping I'd be able to keep him within earshot at least.

I didn't like my odds.

The gun went off, and I started to run, but I could tell from the get-go that it just wasn't going to be my day. Again, nothing I could really put my finger on - no GI issues, not feeling overly tired or sluggish, just no punch. I wove my way through the crowds and passed a large number of people, but something was just a little off.

10k start video

I come bopping through around 2:15

The course literally has more corners than any other route I've seen in my entire life. It seemed almost designed to remove any sense of progress, just leaving me confused as to how far I'd come and had left to go. It also meant your speed was constantly varying as you leaned through the turns and accelerated again, plus gave near-infinite possibilities for running further than 10km unless you apexed everything perfectly.

WHERE THE HELL AM I?

Unable to access my watch (and not really knowing what time we'd started anyway), I had been running a fair while without seeing any distance markers. I was chugging along fairly well and the terrain was pretty flat other than a few short rises, but the pace was starting to tell on me already. I could hear a couple of people talking behind me, one of them saying "we can ease up a bit", and figured it was the 50min pacer. I knew I'd got across the line before him, so if he was on my heels I'd have to stick pretty close in order to make my stretch goal of sub-51mins.

Unfortunately, it wasn't going to work out. I finally spotted the 2 mile marker (was there even a 1 mile mark?) just as the 50min pacer came past me with a few runners in tow. I tried to kick it up to hang with them, tucking in behind to take advantage of any draft I could, but they just floated away as I failed to respond. Less than a third of the way through and already tasting bitter disappointment, I tried to keep focused on my stride and just ride it out as best I could. I attempted a surge to see if I could trick myself into holding a faster pace afterward, but to no avail. I tried a sip of EFS drink from my flask to wet my mouth and see if the carbohydrate content might allow me to push a little more, but it tasted too strong and seemed to have no effect.

By the 3 mile marker I was puffing and blowing pretty hard, but was coming to realise that I was really lacking any ability to push hard. By the halfway point of all my previous 10k races I've been death whistling and ruing having gone out too fast, but I couldn't seem to find my way to true threshold pace - it was like someone had locked the entrance to the pain cave, leaving me banging ineffectually on the door. I've felt the same sensation while recovering from long races; in the days after an ultra I can't manage anything more than easy pace swimming, cycling or running, as my body just rebels against any higher effort, shutting down any attempt to hit a higher gear. I generally take a week per hour of racing to recover fully from a hard push, but I had been feeling really good earlier in the week, so I have trouble believing it was due to running the Horror Hill 6-hour 3 weeks beforehand. No, I'm pretty sure it was just plain old sleep deprivation and too much time on my feet Saturday.

Dangit.

Way to shoot yourself in the foot, K.

The cold air may have been part of the problem, too. While rich in oxygen, it felt very thick as I tried to pull in lungfuls to power my aerobic systems - like slurping down syrup. I did my best to control my breathing with long exhales to keep from gasping, but it didn't seem to help much. The density of air molecules at lower temperatures also requires more energy to push through, but at my glacial running speed I don't think I can pin too much of my lousy performance on CdA.

By the 4 mile mark I was ready to be done, and had to resort to cajoling myself. "It's only 3.5 more kilometers" I scolded; "any asshole can run 3.5km". I continued to be confused by the many turns of the route - I knew I was on the 5k route now (as I was seeing mile markers for the 5k as well), but I'd see runners up ahead moving perpendicular to the way I was running at a cross street and had no clue if they were ahead of or behind me on the course.

I did get a giggle out of the fellow serving up dixie cups of Budweiser from the tailgate of his truck parked in a driveway, but was rather puzzled by the number of spectators who just stood there silently as the hundreds of competitors passed by. I'm used to onlookers cheering for everyone, and while there were some wonderfully encouraging folks there were many more who clearly thought this was the worst parade they'd ever seen. I got some weird looks from other runners as I gave them a "good job" as either I passed them or they passed me, so maybe the whole encouraging strangers thing isn't as common at Michigan races. I thanked the police and volunteers as I ran, too, and got some mixed reactions from them as well. Don't be alarmed, folks - I'm Canadian.

They may just have been put off by the t-rex arms.

Speaking of passing, I hadn't been doing much for awhile, and as I came through the 5 mile mark I was chagrined to see some of the folks I'd got by earlier in the race overtake me again. I could tell my pace was decaying but felt powerless to do anything about it. Best I could manage was damage control - just try to keep it together.

I finally spotted the 6 mile marker as a volunteer yelled that we only had a quarter mile left - just around the right-hand turn then into the finish! I tried to pick it up a bit, having no idea what sort of time I was looking at, but the legs weren't any more responsive than they'd been all morning. I was just happy I hadn't seen the 55min pacer come past.

I made the right at the corner then ran up around the East side of Kellogg Park, overjoyed to see Mac & Marci cheering for me as I headed for the chute. Making the final turn I could see 53-ish minutes on the clock (and thought I heard Tank shouting encouragement), but had zero idea how long it had taken me to get across the start line and even less energy for a finishing kick.

I can stop now? Whee!

Official chip time: 52:40 @ 5:16/km (8:28/mi)

35/319 W35-39 - 148/1,667 Women - 409/2,478 O/A
Official results here

So on the bright side I was around the top 10% in both my age group and gender (top 20% overall), plus I was only 28sec slower than my 10k PR, making it my 2nd fastest attempt at this distance. It does burn that it only would have taken another 3sec per kilometer to improve my best time, though - I'm sure I could have found 30 seconds out there.

Internationally ill advised!

No time to mope, though. I found Tanker (and my sweater, untouched where I'd stashed it - win!), who told me Mac & Marci had gone back to their car parked a couple of blocks away. I suggested we follow, as we had to get a bag from their trunk and could drop it at our own vehicle, which I needed to visit to change out of my wet clothing. We met up with Mac, grabbed the gear, then the 3 of us headed to our car while Marci went to find her aunt, with whom she'd be walking the 5k. After a bit of international inappropriate parking lot nudity, it was back to Kellogg Park in time to see the first wave of the 5k go off at 9am.

Not 9:30. Mmmkay.

Quick pre-race shot.

We found Marci and headed for the corral to line up for the second wave, which would leave 10mins after the first. We were all set to go, walking up after the horn went up behind the press of people ahead, when suddenly we were halted - it seems they were only letting a certain number through, and the rest would have to wait for the 3rd wave.

Right to left: Marci, Mac, some dork and Marci's aunt.

I was dressed a little more warmly for the 5k than I had been for the 10k, but the sun had disappeared again and the wind had picked up, so I was still freezing to death.

Marci is apparently entertained by my hypothermia.

Eventually the horn sounded for the final wave, and off we trotted. Mac has made really impressive strides this year to improve his health and fitness (YOU'RE A ROCKSTAR!), and had done a 5k through an apple orchard at the end of September that he finished in about 42mins. The mission for today was to beat that time, and I promised we'd make it happen!

We ran through the crowds of people filling the streets ahead of us, both rather frustrated that people who obviously had no intention of running refused to move aside to let faster competitors through. Mac had told me that he'd probably "jog slowly for a bit, then walk", but he was keeping up minutes-long intervals of really solid running. We chatted along the way, dropping to a walk for a minute or so here and there, but always passing people ahead. We dropped the 12min/mi pacer near the 1 mile marker, and Mac let me know he wanted to keep him in the rearview as long as possible.

Rolling through quaint downtown Plymouth.

Without really intending to, I think I cut a couple of his walk intervals short. You see, Mac's a tall guy with long legs, and when he walks at a fast pace I can barely keep up. So, as he recovered his breath and started walking more quickly, I'd have to break into a light jog in order not to be left behind. Then he'd see me running and start running himself. By the time we passed the 2 mile marker he told me he didn't even care about his finish time anymore, since he'd run a hundred times more than he ever had before and was doing better than he ever imagined. I knew we were on pace to bag him a huge PR for the day, but there was still some work to do.

Coming in hard!

We took one last walk interval, then ran through some of the final turns as the 3 mile marker hove into view. I told Mac he just had one more right turn then it was into the chute - less than a quarter mile left! He said he'd run what he could, walk a bit more, then try to run it in to the line. No way - I know how powerful finish lines are, and I told him he could make it all the way to the end without walking. He told me he couldn't, but I knew he had it in him!

You're damn right he did!
ROCK. STAR.

Official chip time: 36:45 @ 7:21/km (11:50/mi)

5+min PR for Mac!

Chocolate Double total: 1:29:26 - 187/434 O/A

(Official results here)

We proceeded through the finish chute to the now-open warming tents, and I was positively beaming with joy - this was some of the most fun I've ever had racing! As we lined up for the post-race "chocolate buffet" I gave Mac a huge hug and told him he'd done an amazing job and that I'm incredibly proud of him. I was delighted to be able to be a part of this race and to see him blow his goals out of the water! Even better, after getting our food we were able to head back out to the edge of the park in time to see Marci and her aunt come in, Marci bagging herself a 3min PR as well!

Marci and Aunt Brenda on course

PR finish!

In the end, my failure to PR the 10k doesn't matter. There will be other races, and if we're going to spend the weekend visiting with friends first, I'm not going to stress about trying to maximize performance. There's always value in just going out and running as hard as you can on the day no matter what the clock ends up saying in the end, and time spent with people I truly love will always be more important than any of my mediocre athletic endeavours.

It's all about him.
I'm just along for the ride!

I just hope we'll get to do it all again sometime!

Taking this show on the road

For the first time ever, race season got extended past Horror Hill.

I heard a friend was going to be racing in November, and was trying to set a 5k PR. Because this friend is like family and has made incredible efforts this year to improve his health and fitness (over 30lbs lost and counting - YOU RAWK!), I thought I'd offer to come down and pace him through the race since I've had some fun doing that in the past.

Then it turned out that the race in question also has a 10k which is run before the 5k, and there is the option to run both.

Hmm..

I've been running really well this year. A 10k PR attempt followed by pacing a friend? It would let me get the "racing" out of my system so there's no temptation to take off during the 5k.

Let's do it!

In another first to finish off my 6th season of endurance dorkery, this will also be my international racing debut. The car's all loaded and we're off to the grand old U.S. of A. as soon as we're off work!

I suspect the change of nation won't help with the dorkness.

So, with my calf feeling recovered from its recent tomfoolery, I'll be up at stupid o'clock on Sunday morning to drive from our friend's place up to Plymouth, MI to see if I can't take down my current best 10k time of 52:12. I honestly have no idea what my odds are: I've tapered and tried (with mixed success) to get some rest, and I was running damn quickly (for me, folks - don't get too excited) on Tuesday when I did my last hard push before the race, but there are so many variables it's hard to tell what will actually happen.

I just hope I don't freeze to death.

Yikes.
This is why I have a small running store's worth of clothing with me.

Umm, did we pack the camera? Crap..

Mudpuppy Chase 10k - May 6th, 2012

After a last, short run on Saturday with a few little pickups and a 30min swim, Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny for the race. I'd been watching the forecast change daily for the prior week, hoping it wouldn't be too warm, but at only 8c it was certainly making a chilly start of things!

Over 1,500 runners taking over Kitchener City Hall

Pre-race prep went pretty much exactly to plan; I'd had my chicken fried rice for dinner and got about 7.5hrs of sleep, chugged my first meal replacement shake about 3 hours before gun time, had a second 2 hours before the start, and got my Tim Hortons cafe mocha for the ride up to Kitchener. We arrived just before 8:30am and the 10k didn't start until 10am - lots of time to hit the washroom, get in a warmup, and be ready to go.

And lots of time for dorkery

I was actually pretty surprised when I went inside to relieve myself - I was able to stroll right in with no lineup! Definitely a pleasant change from the usual race morning experience.

"Dorkamania's running wild"

We watched the 3k run go off at 9am as I sipped on a bottle with a scoop of eLoad, and the first finishers cross the line just over 10mins later. Gawd DAMN there are some fast kids in the area! I did some dynamic stretches to start getting things moving, opening up my hips and trying to ignore the tightness in a psoas muscle on the right side. I'd managed not to damage myself by being an idiot and going to a punk show on Thursday night, but it seems that getting a bit chilly riding my motorcycle on Saturday afternoon (which makes me unconsciously start pulling my legs up, trying to get into the fetal position while in the saddle to conserve warmth) had tweaked my lower back and abs. I hoped it would go away as I warmed up..

Battle ready!

I ran into local speedster Paul, coach for the KW Track & Field Association and stud duathlete, and exchanged some friendly words - he was there running the 5k and pacing in some of his young athletes. At about 9:30, I finally took off for a couple of kilometers through nearby Victoria Park, reveling in the gorgeous sunshine and beauty of the space. I did some accelerations over the bridges, watched Canada geese squabbling in the water, saw 3 male Mallard ducks all sleeping in a row on the rocks at the water's edge, and then headed back toward city hall with one final push up a hill before dropping to an easy jog, then a walk. Had to get the junk miles out of the system before I hit the line!

Meanwhile, Tanker was hanging out with Kitchener Rangers mascot Tex.

One more washroom stop before heading to the start corral, and of course now there was a lineup, when it was just 15mins to gun time. Fortunately, the line moved quite quickly, and I was found by a friendly face - latestarter (Anne) from the BeginnerTriathlete forums! We chatted a bit about the race, Anne telling me she'd switched from the 10k to the 5k as she'd had a hard time recovering from her Around the Bay experience. I made it out of the bathroom with less than 10mins before the start, and wandered out to find Tanker.

Start line dorkery.

I gave my wonderful crew one last kiss, tossed him my near-empty bottle, then did some skips on the way down to the corral to try to keep some bounce in my legs. Standing around, I did a few standing high knees and butt kicks to try to keep muscles loose. The sun had already heated things up quite a bit - it was 16 degrees or so at the start, which was going to be a tad on the warm side for me with virtually no shade on course. There was a bit of a wind blowing from the East, which should provide some cooling on the trip down Weber and (hopefully) a push coming uphill toward the finish on King.

Final 2012 route.

I met Anne's husband Ken in the start corral, and it turns out we'd actually competed together in the Cambridge Criterium last June - small world! I had lost Anne when washroom stalls came open for us, but mentally wished her well as I bade good race to Ken. The national anthem was played, and just seconds later the horn sounded to start the race!

746 runners ready to go - 574 in the 5k, 172 in the 10k

Not having done a 10k for almost 3 years, I was at a bit of a loss for how to pace it. I wanted to run fairly hard as I hoped to come in around 54:00 (predicted by the McMillan Running Calculator based on a 26:00 5k time, which I figured was reasonable based on the hugely hilly 26:18 5k I ran at the indoor tri in February), but didn't want to torch myself too early. I freakin' hate 10k races!

Setting out, tossing the horns to Tanker.

Through the first couple of turns and on to the first long straightaway, I aimed to keep my breathing heavy but not laboured and looked for places to pass people. I had seen that there were a couple of mild climbs on Weber, but that it was mostly downhill - coming face-to-face with what looked like a fairly large hill immediately was a bit of a smack in the face. My mouth was already getting dry by the time I passed the first aid station near the 1 mile mark, but I'd told myself that I didn't need any fluids for a 10k - had even left my 10oz hand bottle at home. I did a mental inventory of my stride; it seemed fairly light and sound, so I focused on keeping my upper body relaxed and just flowed with it.

Around the 2k mark I had a silver-haired lady turn up at my elbow and tell me that I was going to be her pacer, since I was running at exactly the right speed. We chatted a bit and I found out her name was Marlene, and she'd originally signed up for the 10k but had switched to the 5k due to a stress fracture in her foot - she didn't want to give up racing entirely since she'd come in from Port Elgin with her daughter, who was also running. She asked me what time I had in mind, and I mentioned that 54 minutes was the goal - she took a look at her Garmin 305 and said that since we were at 11mins right then, I was probably well on pace for that!

And then the 10k runners do it again..

Conversation was getting more difficult as we made the turn onto Onward Ave, but I enjoyed the shade of the trees and the little downhill to the out-and-back section, which turned out to be around a little boulevard in the middle of a tiny street and marked 3km. There was another aid station there, but I bypassed it despite the horrible dryness of my throat - Marlene paused to grab some water, but was right back with me moments later! She said she had hoped to go under 56mins for the 10k, but would be very happy with a 27min 5k. I said I'd do my best to bring her in, and she told me that she'd cheer for me once she finished!

Turning back onto King Street, the wind at our backs meant we lost its cooling effect without any real perceptible push as we started to climb back toward City Hall. I was starting to death whistle as I pounded up the hill, trying to focus on my arm swing and ignore the growing burning sensation in my legs. I finally saw the 4k marker - gawd, this course is worse than Around the Bay for the illusion of being close to the finish - and still had another half of the hill to go! I hadn't heard anything from Marlene for a bit, so I glanced sideways at a windowed storefront as we got into the last few hundred metres and gasped out "come on Marlene, you've got this!", as I didn't see her behind me in the reflection. I hope she heard me!

Hoping my fast shoes would save my butt.

Coming at last to the top of the long climb, I could see that the road dipped a bit, then kicked back up again just before the finish. I had to do another loop of this? Was I stupid, or merely insane? Could I just drop out after 5k? That thought was silenced immediately: not only am I not a quitter, but I'd managed to raise $155 for KidsAbility by promising to run a 10k - anything less was unacceptable.

I came through the end of the first loop seeing 26:13 on the clock - what? I figured it had taken me about 15sec to get across the start line once the horn went off, so that put my 5k split at just under 26 minutes. My 5k PR is 25:41, set on a completely flat course. Oh momma, I was going to blow myself up! Gasping away, I made the turn onto Water and started furiously doing mental math: if I wanted to make 54mins, I could afford to lose 12sec per kilometer off my current pace through the second half. Of course, that was wrong (I could actually lose 24sec/km), but that's probably why I don't do accounting work at 90% of my max heart rate.

Heading out for the second loop, doing my best t-rex impression.

Back up the hill that starts the trip down Weber, I contemplated how nice it would be to drop to a walk, then quashed that with an angry internal yell - "There's no walking in a 10k! You just ran a bloody 30k race without walking! SUCK IT UP!". I tried just shortening my stride a bit to try to catch my breath, but it was oddly difficult to try to slow down, so I just concentrated on trying to stay light on my feet. One of the reasons I really hate 10k races is because it's hard to keep the intensity up for so long; both mind and body fatigue and lose focus. So much for breathing not being laboured!

I was really suffering in the heat and sun, too, and my throat felt so parched I thought it might crack. I couldn't pass up the offer of water just after the 1 mile marker this time; I managed to grab a cup without incident and toss back a couple of small sips, just enough to wet my mouth. Feeling better but still hurting, I tried to let the legs loose as we wound downhill past the cemetery and finally spotted the turn onto Onward.

WRPS mounted officers on the course.

Dry again already and gasping for air, I grabbed another cup of water from the aid station at the 8k turnaround point, having another 2 sips and speeding away to the best of my ability. It was about this time that I finally figured out my error in math, but there was precious little I could do; I was undoubtedly fading, and facing the long climb up King.

Trying to will some lightness into my legs, I noticed a hotspot on the ball of my right foot - great, just one more thing to hurt! All the more reason to get it over with. The 9k mark was forever in appearing, as I wheezed and shuffled my way toward the distant finish line. Like a mirage it seemed to hover before me, ever receding into the distance as I pushed toward it. Where to start a kick? Would I have a kick? How badly had I faded?

Approaching the finish.

I could see the chute, but I couldn't see the clock. I heard Marlene cheering for me, and it was just the lift I needed - I tried to see if there was anything more in my legs, and lengthened out my stride just a tad. It wasn't much of a kick, but I was giving it all I had!

Almost there..

I saw Tanker off to my right, then suddenly I was upon the finish line, seeing 52:40 on the clock as I crossed. WHAT? By my reckoning, that put my chip time somewhere around 52:25 - over two and a half minutes faster than my PR, set the day before I turned 30!

Chip time: 52:12 @ 5:13/km - a 2'48" PR

I walked back along the route after collecting my finisher's prize (a neato LED flashlight) and a cup of water, found Tanker, and then found Marlene. She was delighted by having finished under 27 minutes, and congratulated me on my new PR - I found out later that she actually came in at 25:58 and took 2nd in her age group, so huge congrats to you Marlene! I met up with Anne again after the race as well, and congratulated her on a new 5k PR - turns out she actually took 3rd in her age group as well, so congrats on your podium! Was nice to finally meet you, too!

67/156 Overall - 28/79 Women - 6/16 in W30-34

The bad: looking at my chip time and the difference between chip and gun time, it appears I did the first 5k in about 25:45 - about a 5:09/km pace. That puts the second half at 26:27, or a 5:17/km pace, meaning I really did go out too fast and fade rather badly (however, the pace to which I faded would still have put me at 52:50 for the 10k). My intensity level varied through the second half; I'd like to see more focus when the going gets tough. I'm a bit disappointed that I needed water as well, though with as warm as it got and not having run much in the heat this year I suppose it's understandable. Hate that my Compressport Pro Racing socks gave me a hotspot/blister, too - they've never done that before!

The good: I always wonder, after racing long distance for a couple of years, if I still have the ability to push myself to redline - I'd say I answered that question pretty well out there, and I'm very happy with the effort I put in overall (even if there were a couple of spots where I slacked a bit from full throttle). I improved from 11th to 6th out of 16 in my age group, 54th to 27th of female competitors and from 142nd to 67th overall when compared to 2009.  The PR is obviously nice, too - 02:48 over my fastest prior 10k (which was flat), and 05:27 over my 2009 Mudpuppy Chase time (the course for which was, however, probably a bit more challenging). I'm also pleased that my running form seems to have improved - my rearward leg extension is much better than it was early last year.

Left: Re-fridgee-eighter 8 mile finish in Feb/11
Right: Mudpuppy Chase 10k finish in May/12
My butt isn't as fat, either.

We hung out for most of the post-race festivities and were delighted to hear that overall more than $51,000 had been raised for KidsAbility through both private and corporate sponsorship - a huge thank you to all of you who sponsored me for helping to make this happen! You've supported a great cause, as the many smiling faces of the special needs kids who ran the 3km mini-Mudpuppy can attest.

Gluten free whoopie pie the size of a dessert plate!

Home we went for a bit of post-race gluttony (including my first ever whoopie pie, made special for me by Jen Gralec of Tiny Cakes), then out to enjoy the beautiful day with a nice, easy bike ride with my sweetheart, winding up on the patio of a local pub.

Tanker enjoying a pint of Argyle Dark.

Three years

It occurred to me the other day that the Mudpuppy Chase on Sunday will be my first 10k in almost three years - the last one was the Eaton Electrical Downtown Dash in July 2009, coincidentally the day before my 30th birthday. Since I'm nearing my 33rd year, it's strange to think that I wasn't even thirty yet when I last ran a 10k!

Prep has gone fairly well: I've consistently hit 5 runs per week since my recovery week after Around the Bay, and have run 6 times per week in the last 3 weeks with mileage peaking in the last two (prior to this week, which is a mild taper) at over 42km. I've done some good hill repeats, some zippy tempo, and a couple of runs over 10km. I'm probably more prepared for this race than any other road race I've ever done!

Until I go and do something dumb like to go a punk rawk show..

Of course, nothing can be perfect - I'm currently operating on about 3.5hrs of sleep as a result of going to see The Real McKenzies and the Reverend Horton Heat at the Starlight Social Club in Waterloo last night. Note to self: if a Thursday night show says "doors: 9pm", Friday is going to suck hard.

Punk rawk compression socks?

Can't feel too sorry for myself, though, since the show bloody well rawked! Openers The Brains from Montreal are a surprisingly talented psychobilly band of which I look forward to hearing more. The McKenzies have yet another new lineup, but the new album Westwinds sounds fantastic and Paul is always an incredibly energetic showman - nice to get together with him and shoot the shit, too, as he's an old friend to Tanker and myself.

Paul doing his Charlie Chaplin impersonation.

The Rev tore the roof off the place, setting right to work with Psychobilly Freakout off the hop and progressing with one track per album going in chronological order from albums one through nine. Having already played huge favourites, he even took some audience requests and let a little loose toward the end. Of course, the usual showmanship that we've come to expect - hopping up on Jimbo's bass, throwing down some insane improvisation on that gorgeous Grestch under the pretense of having forgotten how the song goes (as he says, he's written and performed over 120 different original tracks in the band's 25 year history), grinning all the while. Their encore - mixing up Folsom Prison Blues and Big Red Rocket of Love while including an absolutely bloody insane drum solo by on-again-off-again member Scott "Chernobyl" Churilla - was something I don't think I'll ever forget! Mikkey Dee, you officially have competition.

Show swag, including the McKenzies set list - thanks Pauli!

I was actually happy that the concert was starting later as it gave me a chance to get a short, easy run in before we had dinner and left, but I underestimated just how much energy I'd be using at the show itself. I danced and bounced and generally moved my butt in the pit area through the entire McKenzies set and about an hour and a quarter of the Reverend's incredible performance. Things got a bit ugly in there at some points when some exception was taken, and while everything came out friendly in the end, I did manage to get a bit tenderized in the process. A bit stiff getting out of bed this morning and I'm sore and weary, but I'm hoping that's nothing a good couple of nights' sleep, taking tonight off completely, and doing some easy movement tomorrow won't fix. Regardless, it was an amazing night with good friends!

All that's left now is for me to get fully rested up and back to 100% before Sunday. I've managed to drop another 2lbs, putting me about a pound and a half below the lowest weight I achieved last year, so that ought to help. I've also finally examined the website a bit closer and discovered that the route for the race has changed completely since 2009! It still uses mostly the same roads, but goes in the opposite direction and now includes a short out-and-back at the 3k mark of the five kilometer loop. In plotting it out, it doesn't actually appear to be quite as hilly as I'd been expecting, so there's another bit of assistance!

I'd like to make one last plea for donations for KidsAbility - special needs kids really do benefit from their programs, and you can help bring skills and confidence to the life of someone who needs a little extra hand in life. Please click here and pledge whatever you are able - both credit cards and PayPal are accepted, and you'll instantly receive a tax receipt. It only takes a minute, but it will mean so much to a child!

On Sunday morning we shall see what three additional years of running experience can do for my 10k time. I've done the work, so now all that remains is to make it hurt out on the course. The 2009 Mudpuppy Chase was only my second race ever, so I'm hoping that age and cunning can triumph over youth and enthusiasm!