This weekend didn’t start off badly actually, it was only as we finished our race that I heard the terrible news of my friends family.
Photo courtesy of the Ceevacs. I swear I am running…
I have coverered that though, so this post will be about the race this weekend. Race #3 on the VIRA race schedule, of #7 total. This one took place in Cedar, a few hours away from Victoria. It was a 12k on ‘rolling hills’ and I had never run this one before, as last year we were in Hawaii that weekend (I would kill to do that again, actually…).
More photos- courtesy of Bastion Running Club photographers. And that guy, totally eyeing the camera…
It is a smaller race, under 400 runners I believe. The organizers are super, clean up and bib pickup was SO fast. The race itself was…a challenge. The start was good, busy though and it led up a small hill. It was a fast field, and I was hoping to maintain at 4:45/km but secretly wanted to go a bit faster, so started off fast (4:33/km) and was trying to keep it under 4:45/km if I could.
Turns out I can, except on the way back where the big hill we trotted down suddenly became Mt. Everest on the way up…
The turnaround, rear-view.
My breathing kind of sucked. I felt like I was struggling a bit (well at that pace, I am struggling in general) and then the hills…oh, the hills…just killed my pace. I went from a fairly reasonable and fluctuating 4:38-4:40 to a dead 5:15/km. Yeeeeesh.
And I didn’t really improve at the top, either! I just kind of ‘blahhhhed’ my way through the last 3kms.
A really unflattering finishing. Oh well! Photo courtesy of Bastion Running Club’s Neil Gaudet.
We finished by running through the field of the elementary school, and yeah running on grass felt like I was running through Jell-o. Punishing. I was not sprinting, I can tell you that and I did get passed by a bunch of people then too. I felt like I was going to puke at the end and had to walk it off for a bit, hahaa.
Photo courtesy of Bastion Running Club’s Neil Gaudet.
Food was good, sadly there was a glitch and no Milk 2 Go protein drinks (that I love!!) but they said next year they will have some.
Triumphant striding to the finish!
And my time? A very respectable 56:06 (net) and 56:14 (gun). I really do have to get smarter about being near the front, I know, I know…
The shortest, yet again…
And that placed me in 7th in my AG, and my husband placed 5th in his. Wow, so speedy!!!!
7th! Hard earned AG.
The adventures of Mr. Oats 