This year’s Cedar 12k 2018 took an unexpected turn for all participants (no pun intended). With that being said, the course preview that I wrote a week before the race was no longer 100% valid, although people still said that I made some good points.
Why was my preview no longer valid?
Unfortunately, due to a vehicle accident and road closure, the organizers had to quickly change the course. Kudos to The Bastion Run Club for acting quickly and changing the course. The volunteers and the organizers did a great job to ensure that our running experience is not tainted by the accident.
The good news for some people was that the big hill I told everyone about in my preview was not part of this new course. Many runners were rejoicing as they learned that the big hill at the 9km mark was no longer there.
I had mixed feelings about the hill. On one hand, I wanted to see if my hill training would pay off. On the other hand, I was not feeling my best that day so I was happy to see that the hill was gone. 😀
Since didn’t know the new course, I decided to take it 1km at a time.
Above: Chatting with some Ceevacs members about running…what’s new? Wearing: JP Activewear.
How it all went:
Overall, I believe that I had a good run given that I wasn’t feeling my best that day. The course consisted of small, rolling hills and beautiful views.
The beginning:
At the start, I took off a little bit faster than I anticipated, running the first km in 4:23. However, I consciously slowed down to 4:55 for the next km to really think about what I was doing. Since I didn’t know the new route, I thought it was better to go out conservatively and then make up for it later if I can. Therefore, I’m glad that I didn’t push too hard at the start. Those first 2km set the tone for the remainder of the race.
Once I reached the 3km mark, I felt confident that I could pick it up a little bit and ran the next km in 4:20. The 4th km also went well and I did it in 4:29, which I was happy with. There was a small incline during the 4th km.
The middle:
I stayed very consistent between kms 5-8. My splits were 4:26, 4:28, 4:29 and 4:25 respectively. I also want to take a moment to thank the cyclist in the reddish shirt who passed me just after the turnaround point. The cyclist kept a great pace. I was trying keep pace with the cyclist for a bit and it really worked for me.
By the time I completed the 8th km, I was feeling totally relaxed. The weather was beautiful and it was a great day to be running. There were some people cheering for the runners, which was great.
The end:
Between km 9-11, I also kept a consistent pace. I was very happy with how it was going. I stopped looking at my watch and paced myself entirely on how I felt. Luckily, it worked in my favor, as my splits were 4:26, 4:29 and 4:26. Since I knew that the new course was slightly shorter, I decided to pick it up for the last km. Once again, the last km was my fastest and would have been significantly under 4:20 if it was a full km.
However, the new course is about 200m short, give or take a few m depending on whether or not you ran the tangents.
To Sum it up:
Although I didn’t run a personal best, I feel like I had a solid run and put in a good effort. It was fantastic to see all my running friends again and the social aspect of these races is definitely a good reason for me to keep showing up.
Once again, I ran a negative split. The funny thing is that it only took me nearly a decade of racing to learn not to bust out of the gate from the start.
My time was 52:48. My average pace was 4:24 min per km and 7:05 per mile. I was extremely happy to learn that I won my age group. Not only that, but I also placed 7th overall out of 141 women. I’m always happy with a Top 10 finish, even though I’m generally competing against myself.
Every race is a test for me to see where I’m at and what I need to work on. The place I get is irrelevant, but I always celebrate the small victories. 🙂
Every time that I get to race, I’m grateful for the circumstances that have led me to be able to race again. #notdoneyet
Above: This medal will look awesome on my wall, I’m wearing JP Activewear. 🙂 Shortly after arriving home, I was stuffing my face with pizza, nachos and chips while watching the Superbowl. The Eagles and Patriots played a good game and it was entertaining to watch.
What’s next?
The next race is the Hatley Castle 8k at Royal Roads.
Stay tuned for a course preview coming soon!