The Cobble Hill 10k race took place on January 23.
It was the first live race in what felt like a very long time, so it was absolutely wonderful to see everyone at the event. On race morning, I carpooled with my friend, whom I convinced to do the whole VIRA Island Race Series this year (for the first time ever).
My friend and I unfortunately got stuck in traffic on the way to the race. We left with plenty of time to get there but traffic was moving much slower than usual where we were coming from. I knew that we would still get there in time to start the race so I wasn’t worried.
By the time we got there, we had about 15 minutes to grab our race bibs and ditch the upper layers before the race started. We wanted to arrive a bit earlier but the good thing about arriving later is that I didn’t have time to get nervous before the first live race we’ve had in a while.
Since I have some wild ideas for later in 2022, I had to take this one a bit easier (and will probably have to do that for the remainder of the VIRA Island Race Series) so I set a target of 45 minutes for the race.
I wanted to run the Cobble Hill 10k at around the same pace as I did for the Royal Victoria Half Marathon in October of 2021. Honestly though, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to break 45 minutes this past weekend because I haven’t run a single km faster than 5:30 since completing the Royal Victoria Half Marathon in October in 1:33:33. I also haven’t done any speedwork since before mid-2016. I’ve been doing a lot of longer and slower running recently.
Once the race got started, I made sure not to start too fast. My goal was to maintain an even pace so that I don’t slow down too much in the middle of the race.
Somewhere along the Cobble Hill 10k route. Photo by Lois DeEll
At the 5km mark, my watch said “22:25”, therefore I knew that I was on pace to finish in around 45 minutes. At the 6km mark, I wanted to pick it up a bit but my legs seemed to be liking the pace I was doing so I didn’t push it.
By the time I got to the 8km mark, I was looking forward to finishing the race, eating the snacks and chatting with a few of my friends. I remember the last 2km felt fairly smooth and I felt like I might have picked up the pace by a few seconds.
The final stretch. Photo by John Berger.
When I took the final turn from Nightingale Road onto Cobble Hill Road, I knew that the finish line was very close. With that in mind, I picked up the pace a bit more in an attempt to make my last km the fastest.
Approaching the finish. Photo by Joseph Camilleri
As I approached the finish line, there were a couple of guys that were picking up the pace to pass me. With that in mind, I also picked up the pace because I got a small glimpse of the race clock. I saw that the clock said “44:xx” as I crossed the finish line but I wasn’t too sure how many seconds under 45 minutes it was.
Thinking about some good things (probably post-race food). Photo by John Berger.
Once the results were up on Race Day Timing, I saw that my finish time was 44:28 with an average pace of 4:27 per km, which was good enough for 6th place in my age group and 27th (out of 217) women overall. It was exactly the same pace I did for the Victoria Half Marathon in October of 2021. I’m happy with this result considering that I haven’t been in a position to run much faster over the past several years.
Overall, the race was very well organized in spite of the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. The organizers did a fantastic job, as always. The post-race snacks were really great and something that I looked forward to. I really enjoyed connecting with a few of my fellow runners and it was fantastic to see so many participants come out.
Cobble Hill 10k (post race) with some friends and members of the Capital City Run Crew (lead by my friend Carlos). Photo by Joseph Camilleri
Regardless of what your time was, you should be proud of yourself for participating and for continuing your running journey.
If you missed the Cobble Hill 10k but would like to join us for some fun, the next race in the series is the Hatley Castle 8k. The Hatley Castle 8k is scheduled for February 13 and I recommend following the VIRA Island Race Series Facebook page to stay up-to-date on all the events. Stay tuned for my race preview of the Hatley Castle 8k, where I will let you know where all the hills are as well as provide you with a few tips on how to run that race.
I hope to see you at the next event. 🙂