I had such high hopes for this race, especially with the very real possibility that it will be my final race of the season. It was such a bitter-sweet event.
We drove down to Bouctouche Friday afternoon so we could spend some extra time with the inlaws. Heading into this race, I was putting so much pressure on myself to PB just because I PB'd there last season. Unfortunately I didn't do the training necessary to actually achieve that goal. I only ran three times a week in the last two weeks, a longish Sunday run and two speed drills. Although my times have been good this year, I definitely have not logged the necessary kilometres since I finished training for NCM.
On Saturday morning I woke up praying for overcast and drizzly, instead I got overcast and humid. Drat. I made it to the Bouctouche Dune with out about 45 minutes until the gun, giving me enough time to find the washroom and have a leisurely warm-up. I knew early on it was going to be a tough race. Last year, it was cool and there was the favourable wind in running history. This year, um, well not so much.
As I've repeated over and again, I scored my 10K PB on this course last year and so I was hoping for a repeat performance this year. Not to diffuse any drama out of this race report, but it just didn't happen.
I thought I'd try for a PB, instead of running a smart race and just letting it happen. I started really quick, 3:45 if memory serves. It felt quick but not insane. I knew there was a problem when the lead back was insight until about 2.5K, that never happens. I slowed down to 3:55 for the second split. It was at this point, I was passed by a 12-year-old. I was stunned. We're talking, jaw-dropping, head-on-a-swivel, where-did-his-parents-go shocked. This kid was flying. For a second I thought he was a 5Ker but, no, this is a point-to-point race, so all the 5K racers are way ahead of us. I ended up passing him around 4K and by 5K he had started to fade, but it was funny when I passed him, I wished him a good race and I'm sure he didn't make it close to my shoulders.
I thought I'd try for a PB, instead of running a smart race and just letting it happen. I started really quick, 3:45 if memory serves. It felt quick but not insane. I knew there was a problem when the lead back was insight until about 2.5K, that never happens. I slowed down to 3:55 for the second split. It was at this point, I was passed by a 12-year-old. I was stunned. We're talking, jaw-dropping, head-on-a-swivel, where-did-his-parents-go shocked. This kid was flying. For a second I thought he was a 5Ker but, no, this is a point-to-point race, so all the 5K racers are way ahead of us. I ended up passing him around 4K and by 5K he had started to fade, but it was funny when I passed him, I wished him a good race and I'm sure he didn't make it close to my shoulders.
I felt like I had the "home course advantage" more in Bouctouche than in Fredericton. At 3K, I heard my wife's cousin cheer me on from his house, I saw my wife and daughter at 8K and just before that, I had a friend honk. It was great.
The Bouctouche 10K is perhaps the most scenic 10K I've ever raced on. The great part about the race is it is on the ocean. There are also two hills placed at 7.5K and 9.5K. The last hill sucked the life out of me. I was passed with about 300 metres to go, but I couldn't dig deep enough to gut out a challenge.
I must say the best part of the race was seeing my daughter on the side of the road at 8K. She was waving but I know she just wanted to eat rocks. I appreciated the fact that she humoured me for about 45 seconds. It was very kind of her.
I ended up disappointed with my time but it seemed like the conditions slowed everyone a bit. Ok, this post was longer than I expected.
Time: 41:09
Overall: 7
Age Group: 1
Post script: The 12-year-old finished around 42:10!
The Bouctouche 10K is perhaps the most scenic 10K I've ever raced on. The great part about the race is it is on the ocean. There are also two hills placed at 7.5K and 9.5K. The last hill sucked the life out of me. I was passed with about 300 metres to go, but I couldn't dig deep enough to gut out a challenge.
I must say the best part of the race was seeing my daughter on the side of the road at 8K. She was waving but I know she just wanted to eat rocks. I appreciated the fact that she humoured me for about 45 seconds. It was very kind of her.
I ended up disappointed with my time but it seemed like the conditions slowed everyone a bit. Ok, this post was longer than I expected.
Time: 41:09
Overall: 7
Age Group: 1
Post script: The 12-year-old finished around 42:10!
2 comments:
Good report Dan. Guess you can't expect a PB every time out, esp when the weather doesn't co-operate (and of course the training needs to be there ;-)
This is a good report and a good reference for fellow runners.
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