Wow I can't belive this the seventh time doing this race. Tradition is good. I knew this was going to be an adventure as I was rolling off a night shift so I was scared I might fall asleep and miss the race like I did for the heritage oly in 2005.
I got to the race venue and there was no line for the washroom so I thought that was a very nice sign untill I got in line for chip pickup. I guess they had a snafu because that was a terribly long line!
Got outside as the market was packed and I didn't feel like being crouded. I didn't recognize too many faces but I did run for a bit with a guy I knew from run club.
I barely heard the horn to start this adventure but we all started our shuffle to the mats as it was very crowded. There was alot of groups that probably did fundraising together but I don't know if they practiced running a whole lot. Just before the first km marker a bunch that went out hard were walking and complaining of stitches. I giggled as I remember doing the same myself in previous races.
I got to the race venue and there was no line for the washroom so I thought that was a very nice sign untill I got in line for chip pickup. I guess they had a snafu because that was a terribly long line!
Got outside as the market was packed and I didn't feel like being crouded. I didn't recognize too many faces but I did run for a bit with a guy I knew from run club.
I barely heard the horn to start this adventure but we all started our shuffle to the mats as it was very crowded. There was alot of groups that probably did fundraising together but I don't know if they practiced running a whole lot. Just before the first km marker a bunch that went out hard were walking and complaining of stitches. I giggled as I remember doing the same myself in previous races.
Things were thinning out nicely by 2km but I was still getting stalled by people that were doing a walk breaks. It was kinda annoying as people were spread across the whole pathway and the fast guys were starting to come towards us and they kept yelling make a hole. You would think that people would clue in. I gave up when I heard one lady tell her friend to move over to the left because there was more room and then she ran into someone and almost took all 3 of them out.
They had a water station on course which I didn't really expect and didn't use. I don't know why but when ever a race goes over the 14th street bridge I power my way up the hill but then my heart feels like it's going to explode so I walk half way across the bridge. Guess I have to practice on short steep hills. This is where the 10 & 5 km split off and I was pleased to see that I was probably in the front half of the group.
The 3 km stretch I had lots of room and I kept my pace and passed a few people. I started to notice that my calves were starting to tighten up. By the 4th km my feet were doing the good old slap step. I tried to decide when to start the finishing sprint. Last time I did a race that took the path through princess island park I started sprinting way too early. So I held off till I got over the bridge and could see the finish line. According to the Garmin I sprinted for 300m and it seamed to work out well. Not too bad considering I spent most of the race in zone 3 and 4 :)
After the finish I heard one of the ladies I was following at one point complain about some guy behind her that was making a lot of noise and she was annoyed... oops that foot slap sound that haunted her was me LOL!! It was a good race as I had fun.
111/276 overall 5154 bib# Randy MILLER Calgary AB 18/27 Division 38/60 Males M3039 35:16.4 7:04
2004 5k 0:27:05 42/??? overall 5/30 age group
2005 5k 0:32:52 70/449 l
2006 5k 0:34:22 100/219
2007 10 1:07:45 204/254
2008 5k 0:35:09 84/164
2009 10 1:05:25 149/232
2010 5k 0:35:16 111/276
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