So I hadn't intended to run the Citadel Hill MEC race this year. Not that I haven't enjoyed it in the past and not because I haven't done well at it, but just because I didn't feel drawn to it for some reason. But the fates dictated I would be back. A couple of weeks ago we Nuun Ambassadors in Canada got an email stating we could get a free MEC race entry. So here I was again.
I think part of the reason I wasn't really drawn to racing this event was that I felt like I had given it my best runs in the past. My goal is focused on other races as well, so I didn't really want to push my focus away from my training and in reality, my legs are toast from training and doing Park Runs, so I knew I couldn't give 100%. Still, with free entry and a bunch of my running club members going, I figured it would be a decent training run anyway. It is always easier to push harder in a race than when training solo.
The weather was decent this year, one of our few non rainy Spring days. The sun was sort of out, though the wind was cold and gusty. I did a small warm up to check out the route (it changes yearly due to construction issues) and then waited for the start.
The weather was decent this year, one of our few non rainy Spring days. The sun was sort of out, though the wind was cold and gusty. I did a small warm up to check out the route (it changes yearly due to construction issues) and then waited for the start.
I selected to race the 5km, as I also wanted to get a good solid training run in later that day and knew that I could recover from this one. Our race started 5 minutes after the 10km.
Soon we were off and I ran with the lead pack. I lead for the first kilometer or so before being over taken. I then regained the lead after about 2 kilometers and then lost to again around kilometer 3. We ran up and down the hill a lot. Almost 90 meters of climbing in 5k is tough on the legs.
By the end of the first lap it was just us in the top 2 running together. The crowd wasn't an issue, though running tangents was tough with various speeds of runners around coming and going and the bottle neck of running up a small uneven stair case through a tunnel (I loved that bit and managed to not get stuck behind a crowd both times through).
I fell back a few seconds from first and knew after 4 km in that the gap was likely to hold as I didn't not have any sort of kick in me that day. I pushed through hard and finished in 17:19, 5 seconds off the lead. Now I wish that was a legit 5km time for such a tough course, but it was 200m short give or take. So I will have to be just as happy with my 3:39 min/km average pace on those hills with beat up legs that didn't want to run. I think that with a little less crowd to deal with being able to run sub 18 on that course would be completely doable for me.
So the training is coming along great. I am well in sub 18 minute 5km territory now, I have been pushing the speed in training but trying my best to deal with any lingering aches and tired muscles. I am surely much more tired and worn out these days than in previous years of training, but I also know that my May will be busy outside of sports and will be used far more for maintenance and race prep than outright speed training.
Perhaps a few more Park Runs will be in order over the coming weeks (last weekend was cancelled due to a fierce storm).
I switched back to the Brooks Launch for this race and still haven't taken out my racing shoes yet this season either. The Launch are a bit heavy but quite supportive and I thought would be ideal for the hills.
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