Saturday, October 23, 2010

October 17, 2010 Cape to Cabot Race

Well, it was a rather nice day for running last Sunday morning. I had a good sleep and felt good heading down to get the 6.45 am shuttle bus to Cape Spear. After struggling through the Provincial Marathon 3 weeks prior, and having picked my training up a notch, i came into this run with more confidence. I knew the hills would be tough, so i took things slow at the start. I was near the back of the pack, but running strong.

There was no pressure this year as all i wanted to do was finish in good health. It took me a while to get warmed up. The early hills really made me breath hard. I ended up running a very strong 11-15th k, which were mostly downhill. i ended up straining both of my calf muscles though, as i had not done very much downhill training, but to run those 4 k in 22 minutes gave me a strong boost of confidence. the run through downtown st. john's was fun, and the signal hill climb was mostly a walk, but filled with supporting fans. I crossed the finish line in a time of 2 hr 25 minutes, which was actually better than i had expected; with splits of 76 and 69 minutes. it would have been better had i not had to take 2 diarrhea breaks! I was pushing the body so hard that the stomach got a bit upset. Anyway, i am now one of only 32 people who have run and finished all 4 cape to cabot races. It will be my hopes to run a 5th next year, and put an end to the streak of consecutive slower times!

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