2009 Royal Victoria Marathon

2009 Royal Victoria Marathon
Jane, Me and Dee manning the shirt swap

Monday, January 18, 2010

Richmond Road Race - Sunday, January 17th at 10 am


Gear: Nike bra top in really bright green; base layer, mid layer and outer by New Balance; short tights by Elleswear with Sugoi firewall tights over top, Balega socks; Asics trail shoes; Hotfingers gloves and Running Room head band. Did I forget anything? Well, yes. No make-up (Why bother? Not even bad hair Lynn lipstick), legs--not shaved, toes--not polished (hey, it's winter), lips--Blistex.

Weather: -3 Celsius. With windchill feels like -9 Celsius. Apparently this was the second warmest day for this race since it began in 1983.

Road Conditions: Mostly bare with icy patches.

Race: 5K (out and back)

Finish time: 29:07

I drove the 20 minutes out to Richmond to take part in my first race this year. Given my training, or really the lack of it, I felt it prudent to register for the 5K rather than the 10K race. I knew I'd end up walking if I did the 10K. I wasn't sure what it might be like out in Richmond so wore my trail shoes which actually turned out to be fine. There were lots of people--I'd say at least 300. It was held at a school and there was a festive mood, this being the first race of the season. It reminded me of the Harrier's Pioneer 8K race held the first weekend in January back in Victoria. I ran from my van to the gym and went inside to tie my shoes, adjust all my layers and put my race number on my jacket. It was weird not to see one single familiar face--this isn't like a big city race--it's a small community race where you usually know a lot of people. I did some stretching and just watched the goings on--everyone layering up. When the 10K participants went out I did too and decided to do a bit of a warm up. I'm not a "warm-up" kinda person as most of you know, but as it was too cold to stand around I kept moving. We were just about to start the race when I realized I didn't have my my running watch at home. THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE FOR ME. Most people who've run with me know that I rarely do this and that I'm actually quite AR about my watch and timing (like if we plan to run 45 minutes, I don't stop at 44, unless of course we're trying to beat last week's time). So, NO WATCH. Well, it was too late now. Then the race director stood us down so we didn't run into some straggling 10K walkers. Another 3 minutes bouncing up and down on the spot. And then we were off. I won't bore you with all the details but have to say that I really had to work this race as the course was very flat. I ran hard, hard for me that is, the whole way. I ended up removing my headband and gloves because I got so warm but when I tried to take my jacket off, I was stuck--the race number was holding it closed. Now I know why some people wore their race number on their thigh. I was neck and neck with a couple of other ladies who pulled away from me at less than a KM to go. I couldn't stick with them--I had nothing left. I finished in 29:07 which is a bloody miracle given the amount of running I've been doing. After the race they served soup along with a paper plate containing a juice box, a banana, a muffin, 3 cubes of cheese and a package of crackers for either the cheese or the soup. Soup was yummy. I ended up chatting to a couple of old fellers, one who placed 2nd in the 70-79 age group. These two guys, drove from Montreal for this race and they try to fit a race in every other weekend. Certainly something to stive for whether you're in your 40's or 70's.

I went home for a hot shower and shaved my legs.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Momo! I was the finish line photographer...

    Send me an email and I'll send you your picture to post on your blog.

    bill@inmysights.ca

    ReplyDelete