The Sooke River 10k took place on April 13, 2014. It was the last race of the Vancouver Island Race Series.
I couldn’t believe how fast time flies. I remember that it wasn’t too long ago that I was very excited about the first race of the series, Harriers Pioneer 8k.
My friends who have done the race before told me that it’s a hilly course and that the biggest uphill is towards the end. Some people predicted that I would be finishing it in just a little over 42 minutes. Challenge accepted.
I was thrilled to see one of my clients will be participating in the race (this requires a whole separate blog post, so look for it in the future). I knew he would do really well.
I picked up my race package and had about 30 minutes to spare before the start of the race. So, I found my friends and hung out with them until the start.
At the start line, I made my way as close to the front as possible. I knew that going around people when I’m racing increases the total distance traveled, so I started right behind the people I knew would be faster than me. Yes, it’s an actual trick I use to run a good race.
At 2km into the race, I got a side stitch. I haven’t had a side stitch during a race since high school. Knowing that I had 8km to go, I changed my breathing pattern a little bit while maintaining my pace. My breathing got deeper and slower, while the stitch became less and less painful.
By the time I got to the 4km mark, the stitch went away (thank goodness!!). Then, I realized that I was still making good time because my 5k split was 20:40.
As I was nearing the 7km mark, I caught up to a couple of ladies and passed them.
Then, I got to the big hill around the 8k mark and all I could think about was how the finish line is only 2km away. I lengthened my stride and couldn’t wait to complete my ascent up the hill…
With only 1km to go, I suddenly felt very relieved. When I looked at my Garmin and saw that I would have to run a 5 minute km for me to finish in 42+ minutes, I knew that I would be faster than that.
I ended up finishing the race in 41:35, which yields an average pace of 4:10 per km or 6:42 per mile. I also won 1st place in my age category. (Finished 55/360 overall). I’m very pleased with my time and placing in this race because I felt like it was a challenging (but still fun) course.
Above: Island Series Awards. Photo by Chris Kelsall.
I was absolutely ecstatic to find out that I am also the Vancouver Island Race Series champion for my age category. I was so thrilled that I got a gift certificate for a free pair of awesome Saucony shoes from Frontrunners for winning the entire series for my age category.
I’ve been needing a new pair of shoes for quite some time now and Saucony is my favorite brand.
I had a blast doing all the races that I’ve done so far this year. There is only one word to describe the Vancouver Island Race Series: AWESOME. I’m extremely happy that I did it because frequent racing helped me stay on track with my training.
I highly recommend for runners of all levels to race in some of the Vancouver Island Race Series Races, especially if you live in this area.