The Merville 15k is the 7th race of the Vancouver Island Race Series. To be honest, I was a bit hesitant racing 15k a week before the Boston Marathon, but my addiction to racing is evident.
I would race every week if I could.
With the Merville 15k on April 12 and the Boston Marathon on April 20th, I had a much different plan for the 15k than what I had thought of originally. Had the Merville 15k been a week earlier, this story would have been much different.
Some people even suggested that I don’t race the 15k at all, but I really wanted to see my friends who would be racing it. Also, I enjoy the drive and I thought it was good to get out.
My plan for the race was this: run the first 5k at marathon pace, run the next 5k at half marathon pace and the last 5k at 10k pace. Then, cooldown for 2k.
So, I did exactly that. The hardest part of this whole experience was starting a 15k race at marathon pace. I’m usually starting a bit too fast, so this was an exercise in discipline.
Running the first 5k at marathon pace felt pretty awesome because it wasn’t that hard. What was hard, however, was seeing people blast past me through the first 5k. It was hard for me to control myself and not follow them.
Then, I dropped my pace to half marathon pace for the next 5k. It also felt pretty good. At that point, I knew that it was going to be one of those races where I didn’t feel fully spent when I crossed the finish line.
The first 10k of this race reminded me why I love running so much because I was out there, enjoying myself, knowing that I was going to have a once in a lifetime experience in Boston, running the marathon a week later.
Finally, came the last 5k. Once again, I dropped my pace. This time, I was aiming to run the rest of the way at 10k pace. At this point, it also didn’t really matter how many other people were passing me. I was doing my own workout.
When I went around the last corner before the finish line, I had quite a bit of energy left. However, I had to stick to my plan.
With only 100m left to go, I started my sprint to the finish line. It was the only time that I wanted to go fast this entire race.
As I crossed the finish line, I realized that I wasn’t spent.
My time was 1:03:26, which is about a minute slower than last year. It was also a slower average pace than my half marathon a few weeks earlier.
Above: Holding my 3rd place age group medal. Another one for my collection 🙂
I was 3rd in my age group and 4th/150 women.
However, I’m not at all disappointed that I was a minute slower.
How could I possibly be disappointed when I knew that about a week later I would be running the Boston Marathon?
I also knew that I am capable of running Merville 15k in about 1:01:xx.
When given the choice between running fast at Merville or running well in Boston, this year, I had to choose Boston. Boston is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.