The VIRA Island Race Series 2018 Hatley Castle 8k race took place on Sunday, February 18th. Going into the race, I knew that it was going to be hilly and challenging to runners of all levels. In my course preview , I emphasized some of the things that runners need to be aware of for this race.
It was a very cold Sunday morning. In fact, I was a bit concerned that it could be icy on the roads. Furthermore, I was worried it might snow. Luckily, it did not snow.
I decided to take this one easy because I was racing the Mesa-Phoenix Half Marathon the following weekend in Arizona. I didn’t want to risk pushing myself too hard and being too burned out for my trip and race.
Since I wasn’t racing this one, my strategy was simple: slow down on the downhills and try to be strong on the uphills. The reason why I wanted to slow down on the downhills is because I didn’t want to wipe out by accident. We were forewarned there could be ice on the course, so that gave me an even better reason to take it slow.
Before the race:
Typically, I race in a sports bra. However, that day, the weather forced me to wear a long sleeve shirt for the first time in a very long time. One of the regular racers even said: “Wow, Yana! I’ve never seen you wear a long-sleeve shirt to a race before!”.
Despite wearing a toque and a long sleeve shirt, as well as long pants, I could not get warm. I was freezing at the start line and I was wishing I brought gloves too. My hands and feet in particular were very cold.
I decided to wear the Wounded Warriors Canada toque in order to honour my friends who were running from Port Hardy to Victoria that week. They were participating in what’s called the Wounded Warrior Run BC, which is an event that supports injured and ill military veterans and their families.
Above: Trying to warm up. Photo by the Goldstream Gazette Photographer.
At the start, I was anxious to get moving because my toes and fingers were getting cold.
During the race:
The first km was relatively easy as far as elevation goes, same with the second and third km. In fact, the third km had a bit of a nice gradual downhill, yielding a 14m descent.
On the other hand, the fourth km featured a steep, challenging hill. When I approached the hill, I decided to see how many people I could catch on the way up. I sped up going up the hill, but then slowed right down again as I got to the top. I was feeling good at the top.
When we got to km 5, it featured a slightly slippery trail surface. If the weather had been good, it would be no problem. However, I slowed down there too because I didn’t want to wipe out.
After that, we were running through a beautiful trail. I was careful and watched my footing. Then, there was a nice and short but steep hill going up the trail. I sped up again to go up the hill. This one was not as long nor as steep as the hill at km 4.
I felt good there too. At that point, I knew it was the last climb. After that, it was all downhill through the trail.
The downhill finish was nice, but I slowed down again. Perhaps, I’m just not good at running downhill on a trail. It takes a special kind of skill to be able to descend fast. Maybe, I was just being overly cautious because I had a half marathon the following weekend. Either way, I had fun and at the end of the day, that’s what truly matters. These races are always a joy to take part in.
The last 400m was awesome. I felt like I could speed up a bit and finish strong.
Below is me and a couple of gentlemen approaching the finish. I was trying to catch them, but they stayed ahead of me.
Above: Photo by Brian Domney.
After the race:
After finishing the race, I ran another 2 slow km. Then, I went inside to get warm.
The free hot dogs post-race were awesome, same as the coffee and snacks.
Overall, I placed 2nd in my age group, and 10th out of 163 women. My time was 36:31, which is a lot slower than my usual 8k time, but that’s ok too. I’m happy with my finish and I am grateful that there are more races to look forward to.
Next up for the VIRA Island Race Series is the Port Alberni Paper Chase 15k.
Many people are thrilled to see the 15k distance is back and part of the series. That will be a completely new location for me, so I will be posting a course preview as well as some tips on how to race on an unfamiliar environment. 🙂