The best 10k

OK, we did a small 10k running race down in Oliver, BC this weekend.  There were a couple hundred people in it.  It started on time.  The course headed straight out of town along a irrigation canal or creek depending how nice you thought it was.  The race started at 10am so the temperature was nice and cool but not cold.  Definetly T-shirt and short weather.  But, by 10am the wind picked up so we had a steady wind and some gusts to battle for the first 4.5km.  The last 3k were on gravel and grass so that slowed us down a bit on the return trip home.

The race went well for me.  I had a solid training week going into the race (including a 2hr hill climb on Wed, track workout on Thursday and a group roadie ride on Saturday) so I was pretty sure I would race well but was not sure how I would hold up this early in the season.

I ended up 38 and change (38:13 I think) which translates into a 6:09 per mile.  I am pretty happy with that in April.  A good benchmark for me is to do 5 x 1mile repeats on the track at 6:00 min pace without digging deep.  With a 6:09 in a 10k, I feel I am very close to being able to do that (perhaps in 3-4 weeks).

Sarah and Jenny had really good run’s as well and we will be using that data to set up their intervals for the next 8 weeks.

I don’t think I mentioned anything about Ironman CA 70.3 which happened on April 5th.  Both Christain and Aleck gave it a go.  They suffered through a miserable winter in Oregon this year and ended up with that nasty flu as a result.  However, they both got back on track and were looking good for this race. 

Sometimes as early races go, things can get messy.  Aleck ran into some nasty GI issues because he ran out of his usual fuel that had worked for him so well in the past.  Christian got a flat that was not repairable and had to wait for support (45minutes).  I felt bad for both of them since they both got in so much work and suffered through many cold and wet training days.  But, I know their time will come.  They are actually both further ahead than I had thought based on their performances. 

IM Australia was this past weekend.  Looks like Chrissie Wellington is definetly the girl to beat this year.  She out duelled Kate Major to win and set a new course record.  She was only 30ish minutes behind the male winner, who is no slouch himself.  So, an impressive performance for both Chrissie and Kate.  Kona is already looking like a great race this year.

In the men’s race, I was pulling for Mitch Anderson to come from behind on the bike.  However, it was Vernay to run a 2:51+ marathon that took the win.  Mitch ended up 2nd.

The best 10?  Sarah and I came home with two bottles of wine (every participant gets a bottle from the local wineries) and I also won a door prize (pair of shoes).  Plus, we finished the race, did a cool down jog, snacked a bit, chatted for a little while and then the awards were done.  It all happened so fast.  I was thoroughly impressed how well organized it was.