Yonge St 10k

I ran a 10k PB this morning in cool, overcast weather finishing in 38:42. That's an average of 3:53 per km. It put me 13th in my age group.

I chose this race in order to have a fast time. It worked.


*This is how the race bills itself:

Canada's EASIEST and one of the fastest downhill 10k's, the course runs right down the middle of Canada's most famous street—Yonge Street!


http://www.canadarunningseries.com/toronto10k/index.htm

Athletes who inspire me

Here in Squamish we are fortunate to have many top elite and age group athletes wandering around. You divide lanes with them at the pool, dodge each other on the trails or nod your head, wave your hand from opposite sides of the highway.

No doubt it's similar to what happens in other small cities or towns where being healthy means being active.

What really inspires me as an athlete is seeing pros and peers choosing tough races to challenge themselves.

And so yesterday's half marathon was inspiring for me. There was no chance that any of us were going to win or even come close to winning. Yet each of us was determined to go fast. It was personal; it wasn't about trying to smash each other or anyone else.

The BMO Sunshine Coast April Fool's half marathon draws some of the best runners in the Lower Mainland. The top male went 1:10:57; top woman went 1:21:56. Ten guys finished faster than 1:20. Five women finished faster than 1:25. This was no walk in the park, though the finish line this year was in a park!

Still, two of the four of us set Personal Bests. The two women as it happened. The other two of us - the men - went faster than we had for some years. That's what competition - real competition - offers. The opportunity to push yourself. It's also the value that comes from having friends in races too. Rivalry is at its most positive when it brings out the best in everyone.

Often I think competition is seen as a four-letter word, especially among novice or intermediate athletes. The lesson instead should be about how to tap the energy of the others on race day to lift you faster and higher than ever. To motivate you to eat better, train better and take better overall care of your health.

Speed takes time, a lot of time and effort to achieve. It's learned from consistent, hard work. There is no short cut. If some coach says he/she can make you fast in a short period of time, run away!

For me, as the numbers beneath this post show, I ran my second fastest half marathon ever in 90:10. While I love to run my numbers, I spent some time searching for this list. I don't have it taped to my desk. I didn't review it on Saturday night. I keep the list because I like numbers. I like to remind myself of the positives that come from being consistent.

My immediate reaction in seeing the clock as I turned into the finishing chute was disappointment. Ten seconds. That's less than half a second per kilometre. Crikey mate!

That said I'm perfectly happy with the result. It's a 2 minute improvement from the previous month and more than 3 minutes faster than in mid February. It's not a measure of how good a person I am or how fast I can be. It's simply a measure of my current level of fitness. And I like the direction in which it is headed.

As I was recently reminded in reading a training article, there's no need to peak too early in the season. My 'A' races are in early June and early July - at least the ones for the first half of this year.

Having the three others with whom I traveled to the race yesterday finish ahead of me was OK. I'm stoked to see them running so fast. That inspires me as much as my own performance.

***

This is the quote of the day that was in my mail box this morning:

"When you affirm big, believe big, and pray big, big things happen."

Norman Vincent Peale
1898-1993, Minister and Author

Half marathon stats

2002 Lake Macquarie 1:31:21 4:21/km

2003 Sydney (Homebush) 1:31:17 4:20.9/km

2005 Sydney ½ marathon 1:32:48 4:25.2/km

2005 Sydney (Opera House) 1:32:57 4:25.7/km

2006 Sydney (Sept) 1:30:15 4:17.9/km

2006 Sydney 1:33:19 4:26.7/km

2006 Lake Mac 1:30.25 4:18.4/km

2007 Sydney (May) 1:31:39 4:21.9/km

2008 Gibsons (April) 1.31.06

2008 Vancouver (June) 1.30.17

2009 Vancouver First Half 1.29.06

2012 First Half half (Feb) 1:33:30

Everson, WA half (Mar) 1:32:09

Gibsons half (Apr) 1:30:10