The VIRA Island Race Series Bazan Bay 5k took place on April 10th. The weather was a little bit on the cooler side in the morning, so I wasn’t sure if my tank top and shorts would cut it. However, I find that I always end up getting warm once I start the race.
Once again, I carpooled with my friend to get to the race. We got there just in time to pick up our bibs, socialize with a few people, use the restroom and make our way to the start line.
At the start line, I told my friend that I would like to finish under 22 minutes because I have not done any speed training for quite a few years. I’ve just been doing a lot of long and slow runs. Once again, I opted not to wear a GPS watch to see how close I would get to my predicted time given what I felt I was capable of.
On the way back at the Bazan Bay 5k. Photo by Lois DeEll.
Without a doubt, I started a little bit too fast because when I got to the 1km mark, someone said, “3:57”. At that point, I thought that if I could keep that pace going, I would break 20 minutes. However, I had to slow down for the next 3km to recover from starting too fast. At the same time, I was happy that I was still capable of running a sub-4-minute km (because I haven’t done that in a while). I have a lot of work to do before I can maintain that pace for more than 1 or 2km in a row.
With 1km left to go, I got quite excited to be nearing the finish line. I began to pick up the pace a little bit. I wasn’t sure where we were at for time and I didn’t want to slow down and miss my target of 22 minutes.
Approaching the finish line at the Bazan Bay 5k. Photo by Joseph Crazy Legs Camilleri
As I approached the finish line, I saw that the clock said 21:xx. I ended up finishing in 21:15 (chip time) which is almost 2 minutes slower than my best time for a 5k. I placed 8th in my age group and 44th (out of 220) women.
It was the last of the VIRA Island Race Series events for this year and series awards also took place. I ended up getting 6th place overall for my age category.
There was also a check presentation to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation. The VIRA Island Race Series community raised almost $4,000 to support our local hospitals. The Victoria Hospitals Foundation is one of my favorite local charities to support.
VIRA Island Race Series Check presentation to the Victoria Hospitals Foundation after the Bazan Bay 5k wrapped up. Photo by Joseph Crazy Legs Camilleri
I would like to take a moment to thank all the volunteers who worked very hard to make this series happen and keep us all safe.
If you missed out this year, stay tuned for next year’s VIRA Island Race Series. I hope to see you at the next running event. I look forward to continuing to share my love of running with the community and connecting with others who share my passion. If you would like to connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out 😊
Until next time.