Return to racing

 Well the races have been run and won and I'm happy to report I've come out the other side with a good understanding of what needs to be done now. My fitness is about where I thought it was. The base is still there holding strong, but the high-end fitness and endurance has dissipated considerably. That is to be expected!

 Saturday’s race was a great experience and a lot of fun. The weather however was a different story, freezing, wet and windy. Awesome! The fire of the gun quickly had us forgetting about the weather and more about the run ahead. I could not help but smile at the beginning of the run and found myself holding back laughter as I ran around the muddy course. I felt like a kid again! The two-lap course was great with a variety of surfaces and some sharp little hills to keep you honest. My brother in-law was also running and at the 500m mark was leading the race. It was great fun having him there and running part of the race with him. As the field spread out, I found myself in third position with first and second not far away. However, at the end of the first lap, they had put a good gap on me and I knew there was no way I was keeping pace with them. For once, it didn’t really bother me that I couldn’t keep up but instead I was happy just to be out running. Part way through the second lap the lead female caught me so I paced off her until the final hill where she had the better of me and sprinted away to take third place. (I got chicked)! Not a problem she was a great little runner. So the result was an average time, fourth place overall and a win in my age group. 

  Most important thing is that I had a great time.

Sunday’s race the Turkey Trot was held inside Bronte Creek Provincial Park. It was also a lot of fun but I really found myself struggling, as I was not feeling great this morning. I was considering not running but I did not want this to get the better of me so I was determined to get through the race. It was very windy again with a majority of the race running straight into it. I tried to pace myself today and try to hold some sort of form. As the end drew closer, I was just happy to get to the finish line. Funny to look back and think that on most of my training runs 5k was just a warm up! Anyway, I finished the race and from the data on my Garmin watch, I ran exactly the same time as the day before. At least I’m consistent!  At the end of the day, I finished in seventh overall and first in my age group. Both races were small fields but as the saying goes, you can only race the people that turn up.

  So all- in- all I had a great weekend and can take a lot away from the two races.

Kane.