XTerra Canmore Race Report 2013

This is the fourth time that I’ve participated in this event; I’ve done the Sport distance and the Full distance, I’ve raced it in Whistler and in Canmore.  When Furious Three canceled, I picked XTerra Canmore as the focus for my season.  Organizer Tony Smith of Grizzly Mountain Events hosts a world-class event, with great sponsors, amazing competitors, and a lot of fun.  Thanks for the great efforts Tony!

I had a couple of goals for this race:

-       FUN – I love my mountain bike!  And with 2 other Spin Sisters racing, I was in good company.

-       Demonstrate bike power – I worked hard at the technical and strength elements of cycling, I’d like to see them translate into action on race day.

-       Improve my trail running – be stronger, longer. 

My overall goal was to finish happy, strong, and feel like I’ve given my best effort for my “A” race of the season.  

Here’s how it all went down…

The dawn arrived early in Calgary: 5am wakeup call, time to get the kids out of bed and breakfast for me, I need to be in Canmore by 7 to set up my gear.  The weather looked good – clear skies, not too chilly (although the clear skies would soon disappear!).  I arrived with lots of time to spare, set up my gear, and began to wait.  Yes, I had some nerves, but I saw lots of familiar faces, so managed to distract myself with conversations. 

XTerra Canmore swim at Quarry Lake

Last week I participated in The Grizzly Ultra SwimChallenge, held at Quarry Lake.  I entered the event as a trial-run of the XTerra swim, to get some open water experience, and to work out any kinks.  The Swim Challenge highlighted a couple of things: I need to work on my sighting, because swimming back and forth across the lake (instead of straight forward) is a waste of energy and time; and, stripping my wetsuit takes too much time, it gets stuck on my wrists.  I didn’t “race” the Swim Challenge, I was satisfied with the 35 minutes it took to swim 1500m.  The day before XTerra I dunked into Quarry Lake again, one lap instead of three, and felt like I swam smoother and stronger – and straighter!

Spin Sisters Cindy & Laura at swim start - this girl knows how to have fun while racing!

On race day I was determined.  I lined up mid-way through the pack, gave Spin Sister Laura a hug, and dove into the water.  The first lap went fast – it felt fast, I stayed in touch with the pack, yet out of troubled water – and I managed to trot around the pylon to start the second lap.  The second lap was smooth, it felt like liquid, and I was starting to pass people who may have started too fast.  At the start of lap three I glanced at my Garmin, wow! I was making GOOD time, somewhere around the 20 min mark for 2 laps is a good pace for me.  My arm wasn’t a bother either; since breaking it in May 2012, swimming has been a balance between pain and speed, so I was pleased that my arm was rolling along nicely. Lap three was smooth, I was starting to get tired, but I was still passing people, still in the mix.  I could tell that my sighting was accurate, and my strokes were smooth. I exited the water with a smile, that swim felt good. 

Lap 1 - looking strong

In the mix, strong, smooth strokes, swimming straight

Swim Time:  31:42 – nice improvement, smooth swimming!

(previous swim time:  35:22)

T1

My wetsuit has become a nightmare.  I cannot get my hands free of this black body condom and it’s frustrating as hell.  Perhaps it doesn’t fit very well (since it also feels like I carry half the lake with me when I swim, I suspect this is the case)? Perhaps I had some adrenalin pumping (I was fresh out of the lake after a fast swim)? Whatever the reason, it felt like I was wearing a straight jacket.  As I trotted towards the bike racks, Laura passed me and tried to give it a tug – no luck.  I kept on struggling, finally wrenched one hand free one hand, pulled loose the other.  The legs came off clean, no struggles.  Helmet, glasses, socks, shoes, hydration – GO!

Wetsuit FINALLY off, exit T1

T1 time:  6:11 – no improvement, looking at past comments, I had the same issues (yes, I double checked, it's exactly the same time. Bizarre.).

(previous T1 time: 6:11)

The Bike

Finishing Bike Lap 1.  Here comes the rain. 

The paved road from Quarry Lake to the Canmore Nordic Centre was a great place to start taking a few sips of Ultima, spin the legs and get the breathing under control.  In spite of my wetsuit nightmare, I managed to stay in touch with a number of riders as we went up the road – and Laura came spinning past in a blue and green blur, way to rock the bike lady!  The course was held in tandem with the Canmore Road Triathlon, some of those cyclists were also making their way through to their run course – so the staging area near T2 was a bit congested.  I kept on spinning, up the hills, up the double track, up and up.  A quick trip down the Laundry Chutes – still need to figure out the first drop/turn combo, I played it safe and walked this small section. I could see some other ladies ahead of me on the climbs, I wasn’t making up any time on them, but they weren’t leaving me behind either.  I pressed on with an even effort, the trail was tacky, a bit slick on some roots, not too bad.  It was fun towards the Meadow, the descent and flow of the course along this section is one of my favourite parts of CNC.  I was starting to pass a few people who were getting hung up on roots, I felt grateful that I had ridden the course so many times in training, I had already picked out the lines that I could ride, I felt confident on my Santa Cruz.  I played leap frog with a CSR rider from Prince George, down the Coal Chutes, I heard Laura whoop it up on the Coal Chutes, good boost of energy for me, then up the dreaded Georgetown Climb.  I didn’t want to burn out my legs on the first lap, so kept the effort in check – and the women ahead of me were getting closer.  As a point of personal pride, the lead women and pro women didn’t lap me on the bike course – always a confidence booster in my book!

Lap 2 started with a drizzle – uh-oh – and it continued to rain harder and harder as I pushed forward.  I passed the women that I had been dogging all day on some of the climbing out of the CNC, and managed to keep the rain out of my eyes.  By now it was raining HARD, the trails were becoming muck, the roots were greasy.  I trusted my bike, slowed a bit on some downhill sections, and pressed forward.  By the time I hit the Coal Chutes the second time around, I was a muddy, yucky, oozing mess.  And I bailed.  Totally wiped out.  The gunk from the coal chute was all over my bike, my legs, clumped in my shoes – yuck.  After a quick systems check, I determined that I was whole, and biked up the Georgetown Climb.  Overall, my bike felt confident, maybe not as fast as I would have liked, but I didn’t need to push the bike uphill, I had a solid technical ride, and I could tell that the interval training and on-course training paid off. My lap times were almost dead even (not counting the ride on the road), so even with the rain, my effort was well-paced, the training paid off. 

Bike time: 2:11:39.  Nice improvement!

(previous bike time: 2:21:34)

T2

Where did everyone go? Transition was quiet – no announcer, no racers, no crowd… just my family and a few other on-lookers.  Kinda spooky. 

Rack bike, change shoes, grab hat and gel – run.

T2 time:  1:30 – can’t explain the extra minute, maybe user error or inconsistency pressing the lap button in transition.

(previous T2 time: :35)

The Run

As it turns out, it was raining so hard that race organizer Tony Smith moved the crowd inside for the awards and prizes.  As the person outside in the rain, I must have been acclimated, because it wasn’t until the wind picked up that I noticed the weather was downright unpleasant. 

Lap 1 on run course

At the beginning of the run, I was able to see 4 or 5 people on the course in front of me, perhaps on their second lap, maybe on their first.  I was determined to slowly reel them in.  I focused on keeping my effort as even as possible, maintain a steady forward motion.  There was really only one hill that needed to be walked (on both laps), and I’m happy to report that I passed a couple of people.  The lead women in my age category passed me at the end of my first lap, congrats to the great competitors in the field today.  For the balance of my run I focused on steady running, up and down the undulating course.  I could feel the steady state aerobic hill training kick in, could feel the burn in my legs but knew that I had the training to keep rolling.  

Running strong to the finish

I emerged from the trees, ran solid up the last 500m to the finish area, where I could see my family waiting.  The girls were excited to run across the line with me, Kate was so thrilled to be running beside me, she was giggling the whole way.  It was a thrill to run across with them – finished with a smile! 

Run time:  1:16:36. All the hills work paid off – nice improvement!

(previous run time: 1:24:33)

Overall, I’m pleased with the PB on this course.  I took approx. 20 minutes off of last year’s time, but more importantly, I’m happy with the way I executed the race: strong segments, good technical ability, solid training, good nutrition plan. 

Thanks to my family for the support along the way. 

Thanks to Coach Jack for creating a path to make me stronger. 

Total time: 4:09:38. Almost 20 min improvement – nice!

(previous total time:  4:28:05)

Next up? fun ride with friends at Rossland's Seven Summits and Banff GranFondo - stay tuned!

Race Report: Wasa Lake Olympic Distance Triathlon, June 9, 2013

Before I get to Wasa, let me point out that I ALSO participated on a 4-woman team at the Giver8er Mountain Bike Enduro on June 2, 2013.  It didn't simply RAIN that day, it rained almost all week prior, AND poured down like a monsoon most of the day.  That morning was a bit drier - in fact, I managed to squeak out the second team lap with only a couple of raindrops.  But the trails were beyond muddy.  Quagmire.  There was a log across the trail, I attempted and got bucked off, my front tire simply slid sideways.  Then, at one point, I decided that riding the narrow bridge would be reckless, so, to avoid injury, I hopped off the bike and proceeded to walk across the bridge.  Bad decision: I must have looked like a cartoon character who stepped on the banana peel. I came crashing down on my tailbone on the edge of the plank.  I sat and cried, it hurt so much.  Eventually (my Garmin says 2:30 later), I got up and back on the bike - no problem spinning, but the minute I put torque on the pedals, excruciating pain spread across my back and down my legs.  Ouch.  The rest of the lap was uneventful, but much slower than I'd have liked.  All week long, I hobbled around, flinched at changing direction, used heat and ice, tried to keep my tailbone from sending massive waves of pain across my back and control the dull ache that settled into every waking minute.  (postscript note: it hurt for more than a week, so I eventually went for x-rays; turns out, I broke the bottom bone in my vertebrae - ouch!)

So that left me feeling uneasy about Wasa.  Would I be able to pull off the race goals that I set?  

Wasa race goals:

- execute my race plan

- finish with a smile - exhausted and spent, but smiling

- negative split my run, stretch goal: aim for sub 55 min

- rock-solid bike

- smooth swim

- nutrition dialed back in for racing (no more overheating and weird electrolyte imbalances - see Vegas for more gruesome details) 

- stretch goal: PB this course (I've race here before!)

Swim

Wetsuit felt pretty good today!  I struggled into it with few hiccups, it even felt okay around my neck.  I saw my girls on the beach, them gave Mum a big set of hugs, always a good luck charm.  I tried to stay with the pack but out of troubled water.  Mission accomplished, but I just didn't feel as smooth as I wanted, maybe there was a chop heading out, maybe there was a bit of a wind, but the swim across the back side and then return to shore felt smoother and faster - and it was.  It just took me a while to get settled.  It think the course is also a bit long, by approx. 75m, maybe it's just my poor sighting? 

Swim time: 35:55 (which includes a run up from the beach to T1, although I wasn't running!).  I pressed Lap on my Garmin when I exited the water, it reads 33:48. 

T1

What a disaster!  I couldn't sit properly to remove my wetsuit, pain pain pain.  It took time for the wetsuit strippers to help me, and changing from swim to walk, sit to walk was terrible.  Bending to put on bike shoes was painful. This transition zone ate up a lot of time.  

T1 time: 3:26.  My Garmin gave me 5:50 for T1, as it included the long run up from the beach. Small differences, same result: too much time in T1.

Bike

I got rolling, and once situated on my bike, pain disappeared.  My legs felt strong, full of energy.  I decided to use my Garmin Edge 500 to track watts and consistency in my post-race analysis.  I haven't raced with a power meter before, so wasn't using it to pre-determine my output, just a curiosity for me. As it turns out, I had a superb ride!  Best time for me on this course in several years, solid, consistent pacing, hit E4 and sustained it nicely.  I even started to pass people!  This is a new phenomenon for me, I usually hold my own pace and stay steady; but today, today I was passing all kinds of racers!  Maybe my slow T1 put these other racers in front of me and I was simply catching up, but man, it felt good to see my fellow age-group competitors fall behind.  And I still felt strong on the bike, so I kept on pedalling.  In Coach Jack's words, "you didn't burn any matches here."

Bike time: 1:20:14 (this is a 6 min. improvement over my bike time on this same course, same weather conditions!)

T2

Once off the bike, even while walking through T2, the transition from seated to upright caused more pain, making my total time in T2 long.  I moved as smoothly as possible, no wasted movement, but I was in slow motion. 

T2 time: 2:53

Run

Here is the cool part: I've been trying to work on my running.  I know it's my weakest of the three disciplines, and I tend to lose a lot of ground on the run.  I've done hills and speedwork, long distance, increased frequency, tried to be a good athlete and do the prescribed running.  You know what? It paid off!  The first kilometre wasn't pretty: adjusting to a run was painful, I really, really had to pee so pulled over into a portatoilet, and then had to adjust to a run again.  But after that, I just kept on running!  In fact, I held a solid pace all the way thru!  AND! I was passing more people!  At one point I remember my Garmin showed me a split for the previous kilometer and I had to do a mental check on whether I could sustain the pace or keep pushing.  I was nervous about my back, so I didn't fully exhaust myself until the final kilometer. I had been playing leap frog with another racer all day, and I knew that she was in my age group. I pulled out all the stops in the final kilometer, passed her, and kept on going.  The Finish Line was sweet!

How did the race stack against my goals?
-  race plan execution - check!
- I promise I finished with a smile, and the catcher at the Finish Line had to hold me up for a few seconds, and my eldest daughter kept asking if I was okay - check!
- YES! I negative split my run!!! Came slightly shy of stretch goal, I think the pitstop ate up 30sec, and adjusting from walk to run cost me time too - it would have put me very close to stretch goal today.  Check!
- rock-solid bike - check!
- smooth swim - almost....
- nutrition dialed in for racing - check!
- PB this course - check!
My race was strong, in spite of the injury.  I'm back on track for racing again, it feels great!

Next stop: XTerra Canmore August 4, 2013

(sorry, no pics this post, v boring, couldn't find any in race-day stack)

Racing on the Moon: XTerra Lake Las Vegas, April 13, 2013

Viva Las Vegas!

Wow, I was super excited to test out my skills and fitness at the XTerra US West Championship in Lake Las Vegas on April 13, 2013.  I trained hard all year (and the year before) and wanted to see what I could achieve.

Here's how it all went down....

.... 9 awesome women (Carmen, Kristal, Tara, Melinda, Diana, Brenda, Dee, Sandy and me!) headed for Las Vegas on Thursday.  These girls are "Vegas-Veterans" - they know which casinos to play, where to eat, what to do.  They all scoffed at my regimented schedule (eat, workout, eat, sleep, repeat), lack of alcohol, and general ants-in-my-pants nervousness.  They were a great way to relax and laugh with when I started having doubts.  And if not, Kristal was willing to slap me.

Carmen & Kristal: these ladies know how to make the most of an airplane ride to Vegas!

We arrived on Thursday, I promptly headed for Lake Las Vegas.  I rebuilt my bike without any issues (yay me!) and headed out on the bike course.  Wow, it was hot.  At 2pm the temperature read 28C.  And the course was surprising: lots of gravel roads, some exposed single track, and lots of washed out sections.  I heard that the rains had really turned this course into a technical ride.  Outside of the wicked steep uphills (yes, I pushed my bike uphill a LOT), I was comfortable riding most of the course.  I learned how to ride soft soft gravel (just keep pedalling), descended large boulder fields, and soaked up a bit of sun.  I wore my camel back full of water and sucked it dry in one lap.  The only section of the course that made me pause was the cement-hard creekbed, I just couldn't find the line.  Other than that, the first day was a success.  I saw some lizards, geckos, and one snake.  Kristal said they were lucky omens.

The Dreaded Creekbed: hard as cement, and a tough line to follow

I returned to the bike course on Friday morning, keen to ride one more lap so that I could pick better lines and be race-ready. Again, it was around 27C and the day was hardly getting started.  There were more people on the course today, I managed to ride a couple of wheels but still couldn't figure out that creekbed.  And then I started to do some math: at my current pace on the bike I worried that I wouldn't hit the bike cut-off.  It was going to be really, really tight.

All night I was nervous, the girls were ready to ditch me.  I texted Coach Jack (he thought I was crazy and underestimating my ability).  I texted some girlfriends back home (they thought I was crazy and underestimating my ability).  I chatted with Ryan while he was skiing fresh pow at Sunshine (he thought I was crazy and underestimating my ability but said he loved me and to go do my best).  I worried and fretted about the bike cutoff.  After a wonderful meal at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, and I went to bed early.

Race day dawned hot.  I arrived early to see the Sprint race start at 8:30am.  The race announcer kept describing the cold water (57F) and referred to the bike/run portions as "racing on the moon" - an accurate description of the terrain.

Racing on the Moon

The Championship course had a late start: 10:30am.  That meant riding through the hottest part of the day.  By 9:30 the wind kicked up, and not just any breeze, a virtual convection oven windstorm. Some of the pro's commented post-race that they had a tough time staying on-course, it was very, very windy on some of those ridges.  And the wind would get worse as the day progressed.

Let's go do this!  Race day ready.

The cannon sounded at 10:41 for the women's start.  The water was delicious.  I grew up swimming in Lake Superior withOUT a wetsuit, so while some competitors found the water cold on the face, it felt wonderful to me.  This was quite possibly the best triathlon race-day swim I have experienced.  I swam smooth and strong, good sight-lines, found some feet to draft, stayed out of troubled water, and enjoyed the course.  The swim back towards transition was into the wind, a bit of chop (nowhere close to the training I did in Lake Winnipeg with 18" waves a couple summers ago!), but still smooth swimming.  What a great way to start my race! 1500m went by quickly and smoothly.

Sprint Swim start at Lake Las Vegas

T1 went okay - it was crowded on the exit ramp so I lost some time, and my wetsuit is always a challenge to strip off (my feet get stuck).  Otherwise, I was still in good company with other racers, operating on the "smooth is fast, fast is smooth" principal.

The bike course was busy!  I had managed to stay with a good cohort and was able to ride some wheels up the road and first couple of hills.  No real bottlenecks as the wide gravel roads accommodated lots of riders.  And then the wind hit me.  Despite keeping a cold camel back on my back and sipping water, and consuming nutrition, I could feel the energy drain out of me.  I kept consuming water and nutrition, hoping to stave off bonking - I had more nutrition in T2, ready and waiting.  Lap 2 seemed lonely and empty - I couldn't find other riders, I don't remember when they left me, but suddenly I was riding alone.  And it was so windy.  The  crosswind was dangerous, and the downhills needed pedal power.  I was spending energy that I just didn't have.  Keep pedalling.  The ride down the road to T2 was wobbly, but I made it.  I made the bike cutoff - all my worrying was for naught!

T2 was weird, I knew that I needed to put on my running shoes and get moving but couldn't get myself in gear.  Somewhere along the way, I realized that someone named Troy was talking to me, assuring me that he was going to take care of me.  And then I realized I was in the medical tent and strangers were looking very concerned in my general direction.  Apparently I kept falling down in T2, and was wandering around looking lost.  They diagnosed heat stroke and pulled me from the race.

I tried to make light of it on Facebook: Canadian girl with alabaster skin and ginger hair + 34C desert heat plus convection oven winds = heat stroke.  Heat stroke sucks.

Desert Racing

In the post-race analysis, Coach Jack wonders about hyponatremia: I consciously drank extra water in the days leading to the race, I ate more than my planned nutrition during the race and yet still felt hungry, I consumed more than my planned liquid intake during the race, I had a massive headache, I was vomiting, I was disoriented, my HR didn't have a big spike at the end (signalling over heating).  The symptoms could fit either heat stroke or hyponatremia; I'll never really know, but it gives me perspective for my next race.

DNF is a tough blow: physically the heat stroke left me flat and achey, bloated fingers and dry mouth from all the dehydration, but I will recover; mentally I'm pretty bummed out because that was my big race for the year, but I've already got 2 more races on the books, so I've got a come-back plan.

Watch this space for more exciting race reports over the spring and summer!

Where I have Been?

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted to my blog.  Here's the scoop:

May 22, 2012
While pre-riding the Coulee Cruiser Mountain Bike course in Lethbridge, I inexplicably rocketed off my bike and broke my left humerus.  I fell off so fast that I didn't have time to put out my hands to stop my fall (hence no broken wrists).  The whole ordeal required an evacuation from the coulee, hospital trip, lots of x-rays, a few prescription painkillers, and the end of my 2012 season.

Thankfully, most race organizers were kind enough to roll most of the events forward.

September 2012
I managed to complete the XTerra Canadian Championships in Canmore held in early September, and I had planned to race XTerra Kelowna in mid September (a rollover of my XTerra Vernon entry), but then I was in a nasty car accident that DESTROYED my Orbea Alma 29er and messed with my neck and back.  Sheesh, this girl could not catch a break!

My mantra for 2013 is to hit the RESET button.

My big race for the season is the XTerra West US Championship in Vegas on April 12, 2013.  Coach Jack has me working hard, I'm trying to run faster and smoother, my bike strength has improved, my swim is almost back to its former glory (natch: broken arm = overly tight everything in my shoulder).

Wish me luck - and lots of cheers at the finish line!

We're still skiing both with the kids at Sunshine and in the back-country - although E joined us for 3 days at the Elizabeth Parker Hut this year! Super trip, can't wait to bring K next year too!

Snowshoe up (Daddy carries the gear), Ski down!

AT Skiing at Lake O'Hara

At Elizabeth Parker Hut, Feb 2013

 Happy Trails!

Deluxe Chocolate Sauce

**E's school project this month is about explaining a process or providing instructions.  She decided to share her favourite Chocolate Sauce recipe with her classmates.  This blog is her project. Enjoy!

Instructions for How To Make Deluxe Chocolate Sauce:

1) Wash your hands.

2) Put on an apron - this could get messy.

3)  Collect and gather tools for baking:
metal saucepan (pot)
spatula for scraping
wooden spoon for stirring
measuring cups and measuring spoons
glass jars with lids (wash and dry them well before cooking)

4)  Collect and measure the ingredients:
semisweet chocolate chips      2 cups
butter                                       1/2 cup
instant coffee powder              1 Tbsp
salt                                           1/8 tsp
vanilla                                      1 Tbsp
icing sugar                               2 cups
light corn syrup                       1 cup
hot water                                  3/4 cup

5) Measure the first 5 ingredients into the saucepan using the measuring cups and measuring spoons.

6) Place saucepan on the stove, turn on the heat to medium heat.  Stir over medium heat with the wooden spoon until smooth.

7) Remove the saucepan from the stove and turn off the stove.

8) Use the wooden spoon to beat in the measured icing sugar, syrup, and water until the sauce looks smooth.

9) Pour the sauce into the clean jars using the spatula to scrape the saucepan clean.  Put the lids on the jars and screw them on tightly.

10) Store the full jars in the fridge until you are ready to use the sauce.

11) The sauce can be lightly re-heated when you want a tasty treat.  Pour the sauce over ice cream, cake, or brownies.

12) Enjoy! 

It's a Beautiful Day for a PB: Race Report for Glencoe Icebreaker 10km, April 1, 2012

I'll admit it: I was nervous going into the race today.

Today, I learned trust.  Trust my training, trust my coach, trust my strength, trust my legs, trust my heart.  Sure, I've been fairly diligent about following my prescribed training (except when I depart from Coach Jack's plan and go AT skiing!), and, yes, I've been holding pace on the running portion of the program Coach Jack set for me, and, yes, I had a great result last week from my bike FTP test.  Despite all of these things, I still had a nervous feeling going into today's race.

First, I haven't raced since Ironman Canada in August 2011.  I had butterflies.

Next, I haven't raced FAST since at least two years ago; training for IMC required that I go longer, not faster.  I was worried about holding a fast pace and doing the shorter distance.  I had butterflies.

Finally, I really, really wanted to do well; in fact, based on some of the training runs that I had been doing, I estimated that I could break even or maybe even better my Personal Best (PB) that was set at this race, on this course, two years ago.  I had butterflies.

I met with Coach Jack earlier in the week to review an ideal race plan, get fashion advice for the race, and generally talk about how my training was progressing.  It was a good meeting: I like how he visualizes the course, sets a realistic goal based on our interactions to date, takes into account my goals, and gives me a bit of a push.  The plan was to start out slow, build, hold, and "see what happens."  He also told me this race would be a negative split.

Now I really had butterflies.

Today dawned beautiful - no frost, no icy roads, beautiful sun, even warm enough to wear capris and no jacket, just a wind vest over a long-sleeve shirt.  Nice.  I woke on time, ate my standard pre-race breakfast (quinoa and cranberries with cinnamon, made the night before, topped off with almond milk), got dressed, and found a prime parking spot.  I socialized a bit with former teammates (who have made me an honourary team member).  I did the recommended warm-up: 10 min. eazy running, A's, B's, C's.  I chatted some more en route to the start line.  Then the air horn sounded.

I had seeded myself close-ish to the front with other friends who are notably faster than me - and I let them run (as it turned out, I wasn't so far behind!).  Despite frequently glances at my Garmin 310XT to check on pace, I started out faster than planned, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't seem to slow down to get into the plan.  I was a bit worried, but decided to roll with it.  Around the 2km mark, friend Sarah GP and hubby caught up with me.  Now, Sarah is one of my favourite athletes.  She is dedicated, calm under pressure, incredibly fit.  And eight months pregnant.  There was NO WAY that an eight-month pregnant lady was going to outrun me today (note: Sarah finished in approx. 57min. Amazing.).  So I put it in gear.

Yep, each progressive kilometer got marginally faster, not a lot, just a smidgeon.  I trucked up the hill without breaking pace, found I still had juice in my legs at the top, and coasted down the other side.  I held pace, kept ramping up just a weeeeee bit with each turn.

At the half-way mark I checked my time and was pleased to see I was slightly ahead of pace, and if I ran a slower, warm-up-style pace I could still match my PB.  And then I found the "pain cave."

At approx. 5-7km there is an out-and-back portion of the run, which I find energizing and fun, because you get to see friends going in both directions.  It's a flat stretch of pavement through a residential area.  Very innocuous.  Except my faster pace was starting to catch up with me: my legs were still running on full energy, but they didn't have any zip left in them.  I needed to FOCUS, trust my training, trust my heart that said: go for it.  So I got good and comfortable being uncomfortable, and kept on running (guess what, no walk breaks today!).

The final 2km are through a beautiful park pathway that rolls along with the bank of the river.  Not exactly a hill, but not exactly flat either.  Just enough to eat into your legs.  I kept on running.

In fact, I kept on running, speeding up slightly on the final 2km, to hit the finish chute at 56:16.  Nice Personal Best!  I cleared my other record by over a minute!

56:16 was my official finish time.

Here are my splits for each kilometer:
5:44
5:42
5:48 (hill)
5:36
5:35
5:36
5:25
5:28
5:31 (dig in mentally)
5:19 (nice kick!)
Average: 5:34

It was a beautiful day for a PB.