This race takes place about an hour from my house, so I have to factor the drive into planning. The race started at 10am, though, so it felt like I had lots of time before leaving the house at 8am to pick up my friend M (setting the clocks back by an hour also made it seem like I had loads of time that morning!). True to form, my children did not care about the time change, and woke up early. What could have been a quite manageable 6:30am wake up time turned into a painful 5:30am wake up. Boo! I remember the good ol' days when setting the clocks back by an hour actually amounted to extra sleep. Not now. Ah, well. I had the chance to fold some laundry and get things settled for Grandma, who would watch the kids while I was at the race.
Grandma even made oatmeal that morning. Why is it that no matter how old we get, nothing really beats our mom's cooking?
When M and I arrived at the race, we got out of the car to some lovely sunshine. I opted for a short-sleeved shirt, capris, and a very lightweight jacket for the run. The weather man promised lots of wind, so I thought the jacket would be smart on this course that was basically a run down country roads (oh, so little shelter!). The only hat I had brought was a fleece-lined toque, which I thought would be way to warm, so I decided to leave it in the car, and just wear my sunglasses.
*with the wind, my hair was all over the place (yes, ponytails really do nothing) so that was quite annoying. Also, when I was running directly into the wind (which felt like the entire time) it was a bit cold on my head. Lesson learned. Bring emergency back-up hat in the car to all races.
M registered for the race waaaaay in advanced, so she got a locker in the swanky golf course locker room. She was generous enough to let me stash my
We waited around the clubhouse (nice and warm) for the race to start. There were lots of runners milling about. We had lots of time to fasten our chips (this race always uses those ankle bracelet ones--which I hate as I always end up with some sort of blister from it) and drink some water. We headed to the lovely clean washrooms one last time, then headed to the starting line.
Before long, the gun went off, and we started out, chatting a bit. Nice and relaxed. After a bit, I started to feel antsy, and M and I separated. We were in a nice sheltered neighbourhood at that point, and I passed a bunch of people and felt generally like a rock star that was going to win the race (ha!).
After about the 3rd mile, we were out on the country roads of Markham, where we would stay for the remainder of the race. That is when the wind and hills started. boo!
I felt great, and my pace was about 8:00/mile (give or take). I settled in around the same small crowd, and was quite happy there.
By mile 8, I was feeling those hills! The wind wasn't giving us any breaks, and the hills just felt longer and longer. They weren't any worse than the beginning, I was just feeling all whiny and sad that my time wasn't going to be special!
I plugged on, and hoped for a miracle. No miracles, just hard work involved in running, I have learned. There was a nice big downhill (yes, followed by an immediate up-hill, but whatever) that I used to relax a bit in the last 2 miles. I had forgotten to bring along any gummies, gels, etc. which I was missing. The water/gatorade stations were well-set up and not too far apart, so I managed. I have to give kudos to the people at the water stations. They didn't fill the cups too full, which was awesome! Especially on a day that wasn't too hot. I hate spilling so much down my face and arms due to a cup full to the brim!
The race ends back at the club house, where there were lots of spectators, and bananas/water waiting. I didn't have anything left for a 'power-surge' at the end, but I am assuming I had left it all out on one of those rolling country hills.
The medals were lovely, and the goody-bags were great. Nice long-sleeved tech shirt too.
I met up with M and we headed in to the yummy buffet lunch. All kinds of fresh sandwiches, salads, drinks. mmmmm. We sat out on the patio to eat. How often can you sit on a patio at a golf course in November?! That's right, it was great!
We trekked back to the car, and I secretly hoped my leg muscles wouldn't cease up. My legs were fine and so was Grandma after watching my boys for the major part of the day! Fun times all around!
Here are the numbers...
Time: 147:56
Overall Place: 129/546
Gender: 24/260
Age Group: 3/26
Tonight is the first night of Tempo Tuesdays in Guelph, so I am excited to get out there again!
Happy Running
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