Monday, May 10, 2010

The Sun Run

I was originally on the start list to race in Seoul this past weekend, but was told that it would be better to stay home and get some training in before the summer instead of going away for another exhausting trip. I was disappointed at first, but was given the opportunity to race the Sun Run instead, which is a big 10 km road race in Vancouver. About 55 000 people sign up for the race every year and it’s a pretty fast and accurate course so I was really looking forward to it.

The race starts with a big downhill section, so the first few kilometers were way speedier than 10k pace. I went through 5km in 16:48, which is around my PB, and was expecting to have a major positive split, as the second half has some up hills and is quite a bit more difficult. I wasn’t worried about my placing since I was just racing to get a good time, but people started telling me that I was the second woman and I got excited and picked up the pace a bit. Malindi Elmore was waaaayy ahead of me so I had no hope of catching her but I really didn’t want the girls behind me to go by! The last 2 km were painful as always but I tried to stay focused and not slow down too much. I could see the clock at 33:4.. as I came to the finish and I tried REALLY hard to get in before the 34, but ran out of time. Oh well. So my official time was 34 flat, with a chip time of 33:55 since I started a bit back from the mat. I’ve never done a race with both men and women before and really enjoyed it- there were always guys around me or in front of me so I always had people to run with. Overall- very happy with my time and a totally unexpected 2nd place.

Just waiting for the ferry to get home... got here at 1:45 for the 3:00 ferry, which was full, so now I have to wait for the 5- which is delayed until 5:45. Booo I hate traveling. Lesson learned, don’t be cheap and always make a reservation.

Congrats to everyone else that raced this weekend, and Happy Mothers Day :)