race report - 2016 CANIrunning Snowflake Series Race 3 (10k) ... and what's in store for the next 366 days

it was january 1, 2016 ... and my clock radio woke me up playing neil young's "long may you run".

now if that isn't a way to start a new year i don't know what is.

as in the previous two years i planned to kick-off another new calendar year with the CANIRunning Snowflake Series 10k.  by situating this race on the schedule it has done two important things for me: 

1. it's ensured that i don't stay up partying too late (ok, who's kidding whom ... i was in zonked out in bed by 10pm anyway).
2. it's given me a reading on just how slow i really am (regardless of what the course surface conditions might be on any given New Year's Day).

pre-race
this year a few of my friends from the RunNinjas also registered to run the 10k, so i was able to carpool up to orillia with lewis, mariana, sarah and cher.  it was great being able to share their energy and excitement about starting off their running year this way as well - and we had great conversation on the way up about how to layer effectively for racing in the colder conditions (as i'd heard many times before, 'dress for the finish line, not the start line'!).

RunNinja powers - activate!

one of the things that i did do that was new this time around was to stud a pair of trail shoes - my ever-lovin' Skechers GOBionic Trail - as there was enough overnight accumulation to make traction a concern.  

Options are ready to go for tomorrow's Snowflake Series 10k - studded SKECHERS GOBionic Trail if icy and snow-covered or SKECHERS GOMeb Speed 2 if dry and clear! #golikeneverbefore #happynewyear

A photo posted by patrick voo (@pbfvoo) on Dec 31, 2015 at 2:39pm PST

 here's how sage (and i) did it!

this year the registration process was managed through Eventbrite as it appears that a new organization (Rotoract) has stepped up to help present the Snowflake Series for this season.  this contributed to a heightened sense of professionalism and formality (not that the race lacked anything in previous years) but it was the still an easily navigable and relaxed-feeling event upon arrival. 

prior to the start our RunNinja crew split up with some of us nabbing a warm-up run, others choosing to stay warm inside the minivan until the megaphone cattle call, and most of us making sure that we'd gone to the washroom at least once (!).  i managed to connect with a few other friends during my warm-up, including dave and cait of Team Running Free.  though i was proudly sporting my Skechers Performance Division racing singlet, seeing them in their Team RF gear reminded me of the tribe that i (for the time being) can only claim to having once been a part of.

l-r:  cher, sarah, mariana, yours truly, half of lewis

the race
the first thing that i noticed was that our resident NCAA runner was in the mix (and man, is she fast!) which meant that the best that i could even remotely hope for was second place ... but i also knew that since the running community in orillia was so strong that i would need to pull out some good stuff just to appear somewhat competitive.

after having done some reading about effective 10k race strategies i decided that i would actually plan to run positive splits.  the first kilometre turned out to be my fastest on paper - likely fueled by the desire to get clear of many of the tweener 5k runners who started like they were shot out of a cannon.  knowing that i was only going to try to push it for 10000m it felt strangely freeing to not worry too much about going out faster than race pace ... but of course time would tell.

the first 5k had me following a pack of about seven runners (including NCAA amanda) and the best that i could do was to keep them in sight.  i managed to catch up to and pass two runners over kms 3 and 4, but was also passed by one older (than me) runner who was humming along effortlessly.  being a 5k loop course one of the young bucks that i had passed decided to sprint home past me in the final 200m of his 5k race while i hairpin-circled around the pylon to tackle the home half of my race.

i did my best to hold a 'comfortably hard effort' for km 6-8 with the intention of pushing hard for the final 2 km.  the dynamic of the race was almost completely different  now though - besides greeting and being encouraged by some of the other runners as i passed them coming in to wrap up their first loop (and having one woman holler out "go rainbow!"), it got awful quiet.  as i had no one in front of me (that i could see anymore) and no one breathing down my neck so it felt like a solo workout run.  of course the upside of that was that no one passed me in the second half of the race.

always the poser!

i did manage a half-decent final push to cross in 42:22 by my watch - not the kind of result that i was hoping for but i knew that the road conditions would really dictate what sort of day i would have.  i also admit to still feeling like my legs were a little beat up from the hill repeat workout that jim led the RunNinjas through two nights before.

post-race
immediately after crossing the finish line i turned around to scoot back out onto the course in search of my RunNinja compatriots.  in turn i found lewis, then cher, then mariana and then sarah and had the privilege of helping shoo each one of them down the homestretch.  afterwards it was time for a cup of hot chocolate and a timbit (courteously provided by Rotoract Orillia) and then a warm car ride home.

all in all it was another great event organized as part of the CANIrunning Snowflake Series, and an enjoyable start to the racing season of 2016.  at this point the plan for this year's competition schedule will include a bunch of 5k and 10k races in the hope of upping my baseline speed, but i do have a few notable destinations on the radar:

• the 120th boston marathon - my first time!
• the scotiabank ottawa marathon - joining the RunNinjas in celebrating the conclusion of jim's planned ultra-journey from running the scotiabank fredericton marathon and continuing on foot across to ottawa to finish with the marathon there
• the ENDURrun stage race - where i'll tackle all seven stages in an effort to raise support for the Transcend Running Academy (please support me if you can!)
• the Run Woodstock Hallucination 100 miler - my first belt-buckle attempt, and hopefully a Western States qualifier!

plenty of fun times to pack into the next twelve months!  here's hoping that you are setting some faith- and fitness-stretching goals for yourselves as well ... lookout 2016, here we come!  #GOlikeneverbefore

race gear for the 2016 Snowflake Series 10k:

• Skechers Performance Division racerback singlet
• under armour heatgear reversible l/s
• injinji compression calf sleeves
• Skechers GOBionic Trail
• hind compression capri pant
• rr-x compression no-show socks
• saucony run mitt

race report - 2016 CANIrunning Snowflake Series Race 3 (10k) ... and what's in store for the next 366 days

race report - 2015 CANIrunning Snowflake Series Race 3 (10k)

day one of 2015, and first resolution broken.

alright, 'broken' might be a bit of a harsh description - but i certainly deviated from my goal, which was to not repeat any races that i'd run last year.  however, given that this is the only new year's day race around here and that it's organized for a good cause (The Sharing Place food bank) i dotted this event on my calendar as the right way to kick off a new year.  a $15 registration fee also doesn't hurt any.

to be honest, there's nothing like a race to get the juices flowing for another turn of the calendar.  and even though i'm only into week two of the hansons marathon method training plan in preparation for the waterloo marathon, i was able to use this event as a tempo run more than a time trial.  the conditions certainly didn't lend themselves to a time trial situation, as we had snow-packed and icy road conditions underfoot and -13°C windchill temps (felt even colder than that) thanks to 40kmh+ wind gusts.  in reality, this day felt very similar to the conditions that met us on jan. 1, 2014.

for a small, homegrown race this event pulls out a decent crowd - usually in and around 150 or more of the most sober post-new year's eve celebrants - ranging in age from under 10 to over 80 years of age.  as i'd noted last year, orillia has a very strong and supportive running community, and this kick-off to the new year may be as popular as it is in part because one of the lead organizers of the CANIrunning team is lisa avery, the top canadian female finisher at the 2012 ottawa marathon.  as a native orillian, she is not only giving back to her home community but finding that they are loving her and her efforts in return.

as for the race itself, let's keep this short and simple ...

pre-race
i showed up about an hour ahead of the start time and decided to drive the course route to determine what kind of footwear to don (i'd brought pairs of both my skechers gobionic and gorun 3) and reacquaint myself with the elevation changes and number of turns.  i'm glad that i did, as it was a bit hillier than i'd remembered, and the traction was far from optimal.

 learning from last year - wearing trail shoes this time!

after checking in with lisa avery at the registration table i nabbed my bib and affixed it to my skechers singlet which i'd wear overtop of my winter running jacket.  suited up, off i went for a 2k warm-up run, which included a bathroom pit-stop at the local mr. sub.  it may have been that the employee had just opened the store for the day, or my race bib, or my frozen visage - but walking into the restaurant she stopped her mopping, stood up tall and stared at me with a dumbfounded look on her face.  i might as well have been green with bulging eyes telling her to take me to her leader ... but instead i asked politely to use the restroom, and she obliged.

did i look that weird?

gathering at the starting 'chute' area with a couple of minutes to go, lisa bullhorned out a few announcements which were completely lost in the gusting wind and general crowd noise.  i managed to spot a few familiar faces and exchange pleasant "happy new year" greetings.  as the countdown ensued, i had one regret as i assumed the forward lean position: the copious amounts of food i'd eaten yesterday at the chinese food buffet as part of our 'christmas dinner' with my parents.

the race
it was again a combo of 5k and 10k racers, so you couldn't quite tell which pack to pace with - i'd already determined that my goals were to make this a tempo-ish negative split run, so i found a couple of ladies to latch onto.  one of them was wearing a running free vest, and it turned out to be fellow team running free barrie athlete caitlin foisy (who would end up finishing just behind me at the end of the day).  the front half of the 5k was well within the mid-high aerobic HR zone (my first race wearing a heartrate monitor), though i wasn't watching my garmin so much as i was trying to go by feel.

just prior to the turnaround i noted what i thought to be five runners coming back at me for the back half of the 10k, which meant that the pack was thinning out quite a bit as i would have said that there were a good 25-30 runners ahead of me coming out of the gate.  

navigating the hairpin at the start/finish line i mentally shifted into 'run harder' mode and focused on trying to keep within sight of the lanky, loping runner who was about 75m ahead.  for the second half of the race i managed to do just that, although i failed to close the distance on him ... it may have been that i didn't want to shift into top gear or that i simply didn't have it in my legs to catch him as he picked up pace.  or it could have been the extra plate of sushi rolls and deep-friend shrimp from yesterday.

with a final burst into the nasty headwind i crossed the line in 43:19 (21:53 and 21:26 for a negative split)  - decent enough to claim 5th overall, 2nd in my age group and a 50 second improvement over last year's finish at the same race.

post-race
i kept on chugging for another 2 easy kilometres as a cool down, and then nabbed the chocolate milk out of my car as my recovery drink to go along with the timbits which were provided as post-race snack.  there was a bit of milling around the food table and chats with some of the runners that i knew, but nobody seemed super keen on hanging out in the frigid lakeside environs so i didn't linger either.

so even though i violated one of my own racing objectives for 2015 it was a fantastic way to kick off the new year.  kudos once again to CANIrunning and the town of orillia for hosting a wonderful community fitness event.  even though i may declare that i will change up my schedule again for 2016, it's more than likely that you'll find me freezing my buns off with the other nutty competitors at couchiching beach park in 365 days' time.

how did you spend your new year's day?  what are your running resolutions for 2015?  as always, i'd love to be part of the conversation!

race report - 2015 CANIrunning Snowflake Series Race 3 (10k)

race report - snowflake series race 3 (10k)

on a rather last minute suggestion from my friend rhonda-marie i made my way north into orillia for the third race in the CANIrunning snowflake series - a 5/10k competition.  it seemed like a good way to start off 2014, and who knows ... maybe i'll become more like my running idol yuki kawauchi and race my brains out this year.

pre-race
it was a slick drive on snow-packed/icy highway 11 from barrie to orillia, so i was worried that i hadn't given myself enough time to get to the start line to register.  maybe the motto for my commute there would be my mantra for the day:  slow and steady.

arriving at the waterfront in orillia, there were two small card tables set up in a snowy parking lot - that was registration HQ.  the snowflake series is marketed as a no-frills race:  $15 per race (or $50 for the four-race series), no shirt, no medal, with all proceeds going toward The Sharing Place, a local food bank.  the process was no muss-no fuss:  fill in your vitals (race bib number, age, name, home city) with a golf pencil, pay the entry fee, try to manipulate your now frostbitten fingers to pin the bib to your outer shell.

i prepped with a 2k warmup jog with strides, including a quick trip to the one port-a-potty seemingly stranded out in the snow-covered park.

the underfoot conditions that we would be running on were similar to what i encountered on the highway - packed down snow and icy, tire-track worn patches in -21°C windchill.  i can honestly say that i was worried when my 'warm-up' only managed to notify me that the entire front half of each foot was frozen numb ... being a forefoot striker i really rely on my ability to push off from my toes and this was not a good start.

by the time that the group that had gathered (i eyeballed about 150-200 of us) were herded to the start line, i'd managed to recover feeling in my feet.  the race organizer/announcer did a solid job of announcing the route, the hazards (e.g. traffic - these were not closed courses), and the fact that there was no awards ceremony afterwards ... only hot chocolate and timbits (enough incentive for me!).

the race
with simple verbal countdown we were off.  i started about 15 feet from the front runners (who were off in a flash - what did they have on their shoes, tire chains?) and worked my way through the pack easily enough into what looked to be about 12th spot.  i tried to find a group to run with, but i didn't want to blow up so the pace that i found manageable kept me lagging about 5 seconds behind a pack of three.

the course itself was easy enough to follow - turns were marked with small orange pylons and signs, and one major turn/intersection had a course marshal to help encourage/manage traffic.  for a no frills race, this was one of the best controlled courses i'd seen.

i was pleased (given the greasiness/lack of traction) with the pace for the first 5k.  at points i wondered whether or not i'd made the right choice to wear my skechers gorun 2s when i'd also packed my brand new merrell mix master 2s, but the tread seemed to perform just as well as anybody else's footwear.  today's road surface was a great equalizer.

the 5k turnaround (it was a loop course) was treacherous at best - a hairpin turn on a single lane of road marked by those little pylons.  there was simply no running through that, and a shuffle pace meant risking a turned or busted ankle.  what was impressive, however, was that in the midst of the turn my watch beeped 5k - they must have measured this course using a garmin. :)

setting out on the second loop i quickly recognized that several of the front runners had wrapped up their morning, and that i was now in about 6th or 7th place.  this was a similar experience to the MEC burlington race five back in november, only i didn't have the benefit of my pal trevor to push the pace on me here.  but before the 6th km was up i managed to catch up to one of the guys (now the lone guy, having lost two of his pack compatriots after 5k) whom i was chasing during the first half.  his name was jason, a half-marathon specialist ten years my younger - and we managed to link up and finish the race together.  even though he'd not run in about three months before today, it was evident how quick he was as i gave another full-out sprint effort over the last 150m and could only manage to stay on his heels crossing the finish line.  

post-race
checking my watch, i managed to complete the race in 44:09 (about 4:24/km) - which according to the unofficial results is decent enough for a 2nd place age-group finish.  far from even my personal training time best for the same distance, i was pleased with the result as i was really treating this as a tempo run for the week, and it served as just that.

following a 2k cool-down jog (part of which involved helping to push a mini-van spinning its tires over the crest of a hill), i took full advantage of the aforementioned timbits and hot chocolate.  at this popular spot i chatted it up with several people that i'd recognized from the running room/barrie roadrunners group - all of whom commented that the running community in orillia is very much underestimated and very strong.  for sure there were a number of jackrabbits out there today, and i think that i'll be looking out for more CANIrunning races in orillia to help sharpen me in 2014.

kudos to all of the snowflake series organizers and participants - i will definitely make a point of seeing you again!

race report - snowflake series race 3 (10k)