Race report - 2016 MEC Barrie Race Series FIVE (10k)

This is actually more of an 'event report' than a race report ...

... because I think that we had more energy and fun invested in dressing up than in running it!

For this final event in the 2016 MEC Barrie Race Series our team of RunNinjas thought that it would be fun to dress up in 80s prom style - not just because it was on the weekend adjacent to Hallowe'en, but because that's kind of the way that we roll.

80s formals - embodying the phrase "awkward"

With a theme in hand I went shopping for just the right race outfit - this entailed shopping at various second-hand stores and walking into fitting rooms with several tacky dresses slung over my arm.  It took a few trips but finally I was able to find the perfect evening gown - a slinky black number with a big bow on the front.  It was fitted up top like a singlet and had a short enough skirted bottom to allow for free movement of my legs ... and it was only $5!  How could anyone pass that up?

I'd signed up for the 10k option with the thought of incorporating it into my planned workout as I was looking ahead to my goal race at the Hamilton Marathon on Nov. 6.  So the idea was to tackle by alternating kilometres at marathon pace and 10k pace - a plan which I confirmed after consulting my friend and fellow ENDURrunner Dave Rutherford who just nailed a solid sub-3 hour race in Chicago.

This time around we all showed up early for the race not just to acquire our bibs and race chips but to check out each other's outfits and snap the appropriate number of group photos.  There were more than a few other runners who opted to run in some kind of costume for the day, but we clearly were the most coordinated ... and perhaps outrageous.

A pretty stunning class photo, don't you think? [ photo credit:  Lindsey Barnes ]

As for the race itself - well it kind-of ran according to plan.  I managed to alternate efforts, but the paces were all over the place.  One of the comments that my friend Dave had made when he heard about my strategy was how it would mess with people's heads when I would surge and then back off - and it was a strange thing to see that's for sure ... and that's totally aside from what a strange sight I was in my dress and makeup (yes, I rummaged through my daughters' eyeshadow and lipstick drawers to find just the right shades to compliment my outfit).  For at least the first half of the race I was in and amongst the first five competitors in the 10k event, switching between third and fifth spot.

That was until the halfway point.

As I was coming up on the 5k mark I knew that the course was plotted as an 'out and back' - and as the four runners ahead of me plodded on past a construction truck pulled over to the shoulder I could see an MEC staff person hustling toward me only to pull up a fallen sandwich-board sign that read "5k - 10k runners turn around".  It had obviously fallen at some point and so I turned around at the right location and immediately took over the lead as the others were now beyond earshot.  I spent most of the back half of the race alerting other 10k runners either to not miss the turnaround sign or that I wasn't legitimately in first place (especially as people cheered me on thinking that I was).

Approaching the finish line I knew that I couldn't cross it first and take the top prize so-to-speak ... that and this was just a workout for me so I didn't need to prove anything to myself or anyone else.  So with just steps to go before crossing the timing mats (and with a number of my RunNinja pals hollering at me to keep running all the way through the finishing arch) I stopped in my tracks to explain the situation to the small crowd at the end and wait for those first four runners to break the tape ahead of me and take their rightful spots on the results table.

What did I do then?  Why, what I always love to do when out racing with the RunNinjas - see if there's anyone still out there that I can help to pace home!  I wound up running in with Jenny, Frank, Marcy, and finally Rad (who was being paced by Mike through the half-marathon to a stellar PB of 1:31!) to round out my day.

As so many of the RunNinjas noted on social media this was one of the most fun racing days of the year, if not of all time!

Not the one who brung me to the dance, but if I play my cards right ...! :)

Race gear for the 2016 MEC Barrie Race Series FIVE:

• Le Chateau evening dress
• Skechers Performance split short
• Running Room no-show socks
• Skechers GOMeb Speed 2
• Epson Runsense SF-810 GPS watch

Race report - 2016 MEC Barrie Race Series FIVE (10k)

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