I’ll Race Ya!

Yesterday was my first race of the year, the Kilometres For Care hosted by the Peterborough area branch of Community Care.  I competed in this race last year too and came 4/10 in my age group and 12th overall.  I was of course determined to do better this year.  how could I not?  I have been running consistently all winter, and have even done a sub 20 minute 5k on the treadmill.

It was a pretty cool day on race day, barely 5C (40F) and so where I wore shorts and a t-shirt last year I was in sweat pants (actually they are pj pants, but they look close enough) and the under armour cool gear shirt I usually wear playing hockey!  Oh and a Flash t-shirt on top of that!

Lining up at the start one guy said to me ‘Well, I’m not using you as my pace runner!  Look,’ he said to his buddy, ‘It’s the Flash!’.  He might not have been that serious, but I knew he was right.  I was ready to win this event!

It was the same course as last year, which actually makes this the only repeat race I have run where it is actually the same.  I knew my mistakes from last year, and I knew where to speed up and where to reserve.  I kept an even pace coming out of the gate and up the first hill which happens right away, on the downside of the hill going past the daycare where I work I opened up and passed a few people.  i resumed my regular pace again once the hill was over and kept my place for the next few kilometres.  I did pass one of the young guys that burst out of the beginning however along this stretch.  Seems like every race there is a few teenagers that burn out about half way through from going too fast at the start.

During the 3rrd kilometre I got passed by one older guy and reeled in another. I kept just ahead of the second guy for quite a while and also kept the guy that passed me in my sights.  I was going to catch him, he was going to be what really pushed me in the final stretch. we came back to the first hill, about 800 metres to go.  I wasn’t waiting this year like I did last time.  I opened up on the way up the hill.

I caught up to and passed the guy I was trying for by the peak of the hill and opened a small lead on the downside of the hill, maybe only a few feet.  He started to charge hard, and I turned it on!   I could not be wearing a Flash shirt and coast into the finish even if this guy was not in my age group!  It was a full out sprint, neck and neck for probably about 100 metres!  I would hope there at pictures, but I doubt it.  I edged him out by 1/10th of a second!  Fantastic finish.  My time was 21:47.7, good enough for…

1st In My Age Group!

To me that is as good as first overall!  I was actually 7th overall, pretty spiffy!

Gold!

One of my friends who works at daycare with me ran the race too and she finished her first 5K race ever!  I’m proud of her, and she did awesome!  A few of our moms from daycare ran too, and did very well!  It’s exciting to have people I actually know in the same race.  There was also a 1K fun run a bit later on and a couple of the kids from daycare were in that!  Very cool!  I’m proud of them for being a part of it, we’ll have lots to talk about during our group time this week!