MEC Race 5, 2016 - Shubie Park 5 km

My final race of the year as far as running goes, and truthfully had I not paid for this in advance I probably would have stopped at my last race. I have the end of a cold and I am still rehabbing my IT Band issues. Luckily the cold is mostly gone and the IT Band has been behaving well. I have even managed a few pain free runs over the last week and a half, though still some tightness. But the physio and work I am doing is making things progress really well and I knew I wouldn't hurt myself by dropping down and doing the 5 km race today.

Yesterday was windy, warm and really wet, and I opted not to run the annual BLT 5K fun run to save my knee. Instead I was the bike marshal and had a blast cheering others on. This day was a bit drier but so much cooler and very windy. I knew the cooler temps were going to be great during the run, but they always suck at the start.

Eventually the half marathon was off and we lined up for the 5 and 10 km race. Having not run hard or fast for any distance in awhile I didn't know how well my lungs would be able to survive this race, but hey, what better way to find out, ha ha.

Soon we were off and I quickly tucked in behind Drew, knowing he was probably going to take the lead. I didn't think I would be able to hang with him too long, but getting dragged to a bit of a lead over the rest of the runners in the first kilometer would be handy.

At about 1 kilometer in a new player passed us both and I fell to third. My breathing was getting worse, but I was able to manage it. Looking back into my Garmin data I see that my average heart rate was 173, which explains the breathing. That is mid Zone 4 for me.  Regardless of the breathing my hip and knee were feeling just fine at this point, though I knew the big downhill was coming.

Kilometer 2 through the turn around turned out to be a crazy mess. An entire area was flooded out so that meant running uphill through a nice little river. Nothing feels better than soaked feet. 

I hit the turn around still in third, right behind Drew and had a hint of a lead over 4th place. No time to rest now!

I managed to keep on Drew until about the last 500 m of the race. He had a little kick left and started to pick up speed.  I managed to hold my pace as we approached the finish line.

I crossed the line a few seconds behind Drew for third place in a time of 18:47. It was a tough run, but I made it through. No pain in the knee or hip either. And as I type this many hours later, all is good. So I am definitely on the mend.  It was nice to finish the season with another medal, even if I wasn't at my best I still had a little oomph in the engine.

It was also a privilege as well to cheer on my fellow run club members, a few of whom we got to snap some finish line shots with.  And that banana was great. Thanks also to Christine from MEC for putting on a great race series.

Riverport Duathlon 2016

Another week and another trip down the south shore of Nova Scotia. This time to Riverport for the season ending duathlon. I do love this race, rain or shine, though shine is so much nicer. This day was, rain though. And a cold rain it was.

I arrived early and got myself setup. I knew that my knee was feeling much better from the weekend before, but I doubted it was up to a full on challenge this day. I figured I could get a decent first run and probably get through the bike ride no problem but it would be the second run that would likely get me.

Due to the weather I opted to dress warmly, and due to the knee I thought I might as well wear the heavier shoes with a little more support in them. I doubted this would make a huge difference, but still, any little extra bit might help.

After the race briefing we were lined up and then we were off on the first 4 km run. 

This run is really flat, which would help my knee. I quickly secured myself a spot in the top 3, though the top 2 runners went out much faster than I would be able to sustain. Still I was happy when I cross the first kilometer at 3:21 minutes. My knee felt fine and I was able to hold the pace. But as the first stint wore on, my overall lack of fitness was obvious. Not having done any real training in the last 5 weeks was starting to take it toll. With 1 kilometer to go I was passed and fell to fourth. Still I was happy to finish in 14 minutes heading into transition 1. Then it was a quick change of shoes, don the helmet and off on the bike. 

Again, no biking except for some easy rides in 5 weeks and I knew I would be sunk here. I pushed hard but was soon passed by a few riders. This is a 28 kilometer course with loads of hills, and the deep puddles were hiding some mean pot holes. So it was a bit of  a fun ride. The rain was cold and my feet were feeling it, I should have covered the vents in my shoes.  By the end of the ride I had fallen to 12th, then to add insult to injury (ha ha) I got stuck behind a slow moving car coming into town. I dismounted and headed to transition 2. The bike took me 49 minutes.

This was it make or break time. Normally I could count on at least a burst of run speed to help me claw back a few positions at this point. My feet were frozen and soaked, but that usually isn't an issue on such a short run. But then at the 200m mark, my knee seized up. I started slowing down. My normally nice gait became a hobble and I was passed by a few more runners. I didn't give up as I knew this was not a permanent type issue that was being made worse. 

I made it to the finish line still holding onto 16th place overall, and still managed an 18:20 final run for 1:23 time overall. As I finished and stopped my leg decided it didn't want to hold me up any longer, but I managed to get inside to get it rested before the drive home. Luckily I brought warm dry clothes, and the Riverport Duathlon committee did a great job of providing some hot food for us.

I hated to not be able to give this race my best as it is one of my favorites and it is the last of the year.  What has been a season of highs and lows continued and with one race left in two weeks, I am totally excited about having a rest and getting my full strength back.  For now, back to physio.