Hey everyone! Thank you, once again, for stopping by. I thought I’d give you a race recap and results summary from my Hatley Castle 8k on February 24, 2013.
About 2 weeks after the Cedar 12k, I did the Hatley Castle 8k, which is another race that’s part of the Frontrunners Island Race Series. I admit that because I am also training for a fitness competition, I did not run as much as I would have liked between the Cedar 12k and Hatley Castle 8k. The Hatley Castle 8k took place at Royal Roads University in Colwood. It’s a beautiful area.
I’ve never raced an 8k before, so it was a totally new distance for me. I knew I had to go faster than my 10k pace but slower than the 5k pace.
The morning of the race, I got up 2 hours before I the start time of the race after about 8 hours of sleep. As soon as I got up, I drank a glass of water. Then, I put on a pot of coffee and had a cup. About 1 hour prior to the race, I ate my energy bar and drank a can of energy drink.
Again, I wore my Public Myth gear. More specifically, I was wearing the Cross V Halter Bra and B Belt Shorts.
Above: I’m at the starting line. I’m #227. 🙂 Photo by IMS FotoGrafix
Yes, I’m the girl that’s not wearing a lot of clothes at the race. I think that it’s very important to wear clothes that are easy to run in. After all, I don’t want to be stuck wearing a bulky jacket that creates too much wind resistance or getting too warm running in long pants. Long pants and jackets are good for running in sub zero temperatures (Celsius), but other than that, I don’t see a reason for dressing too warm at races.
Above: The take-off. Shot by Dean Robertson.
When I got to the race, I had about 20 minutes to pick up my race package and get ready for the start. I didn’t warm up as much as I would have liked though. I did a few stretches before the race at the starting line. I also made sure that I reset my Garmin Forerunner 
I like to keep track of my pace throughout the entire race because I find that it allows me to focus on myself as opposed to all the other runners out there, who may be starting out too fast only to run out of energy later. However, if you’re Geoff Martinson, you start out fast and keep on going really fast and not only win the entire race, but also cross the finish line about 2 minutes faster than the guy in second. I am amazed and inspired by the people who can do a 5-ish minute mile consistently and maintain that pace. I’m still working on that. 🙂
Several years ago, I used to think that a consistent 7 minute mile was not attainable to me, but I am thrilled to have proven myself wrong. I mean, guess what my very first 1500m (less than a mile) race time was? 8:30 min, which is a 9:07 min mile. I’ve definitely come a long way since that time. So, I’m not going to make any assumptions about the 5 minute mile. It will always be in the back of my mind, for sure. It’s something to strive for regardless if I get there. All I can do is train hard, run well and never stop learning.
Back to the race. Yes, I started out too fast. I did my first km in 3:30. So, I decided to take it easy and slow down to a manageable pace of 4:20/km for the next few km. At about the half way point, there was this huge hill. I managed to speed up a little and passed some people on the hill. Hills excite me. I use them as an opportunity to pass those who may be slowing down.
There were quite a few other hills throughout the race, but they weren’t as big as the one mentioned above. I still need to work on perfecting my stride going downhill because I think I sometimes heel strike a bit too hard on my descent. Otherwise, I’m very good at not landing on my heels. I think form is very important and I try to stay conscious of it as much as I can.
In races, I admit that I sometimes tend to get too caught up with “gotta catch that person in front of me” rather than being aware of my form. I am working on that too. As much as it’s important to catch the person in front of me, I think that proper form is critical in ensuring that I have a genuinely better race experience and avoid injuries.
Above: Approaching the finish line. Shot by Dean Robertson.
Above: Crossing the line. Photo by Dean Robertson.
With about 600m left to go, I decided to speed up a lot. With 100m left and the finish line in sight, I sprinted. I honestly feel like this was the first race where I actually felt some lactic acid at the end of my sprint. I finished the 8k race in 33:48 min (4:15 min/km or 6:48min/mile), which is honestly not as fast as I would have liked.
However, I won 1st place in my age group and finished 77nd out of 455 finishers, according to the race results posted on Race Day Timing. Sure, my time could have been a little bit better, but overall I am pleased with the race results.
Above: Receiving my 1st place medal. Photo by IMS FotoGrafix.
Next stop: St. Patrick’s 5k in Vancouver. I haven’t done a 5k in a really long time. Will I PR? We will see. That race is 1 week away from my fitness competition though.