Race Day

I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.
- Steve Prefontaine

My entire strategy for the race was to go out fast and not stop until I fell down. I did just that.

Luckily, I fell down after the finish line. This race was a guts race and came down to who had it on the final big climb. Luckily I gutted it out and managed to pull out a win.

It was my first trail race of the season and it was a pretty good one. I managed to take first place overall in the 10k event. Not bad for someone who is used to running 50k races and is nursing a calf strain. The race was a series of gravel trails, bridges, skipper rocks, stairs and a punishing climb at the end. Every a good trail race should be. It had been raining for the past week and the puddles were everywhere. We all got muddy and I had way to much fun jumping in as many puddles as I could find.

My race number today.

Right off the gun, I jumped to the front and for the first 200 metres got into a nice fast pace that I knew I could hold. Suddenly, this runner blows by me and set an unmanageable pace. I did not play into his game and I kept up my pace. I was soon joined by another runner and we both kept a steady pace while keeping the front runner in our sights. I knew that if I tried to join the front runner I would die very quickly. By the 3.5km mark we managed to overtake the front runner and at the same time the three of us separated from the rest of the pack. It was going to be a three man race for the finish.

At 4k we laboured up the hill rising from Lynn Valley and crossed the finish line in 20 minutes, not bad for the first 5km. I knew that the race would come down to whoever was going to be the strongest on the final climb of the day. I led for the majority of the second lap and my strategy was to continuously increase my speed on the flats and rolling hills to try and wear my opponents down. I felt great and knew I had lots in the gas tank to fly up that final hill. When we hit the final hill with 1k to go and there were two of us out front. I blew by my bearded opponent on the climb and managed to increase my speed in the final kilometre for the win.

I crossed the finish line and immediatley felt like passing out. Which is a good feeling. It was a guts race and the fastest trail race I have ever done. My right calf felt numb which was bothersome but other than that I felt much better than expected.

A massage and some food afterwords made my leg and mind feel much better. This race was a good way to start off the season and will help with my speed work during 50k events. I do not know if i will do many more 10k races. The speed is exhausting and I don't really get to enjoy the experience before it is finished.

Now I can take a week to recover before stepping up my training for my May 12 race in Oregon.