Today I ran the Laurier Loop 10k in Waterloo. The event was put on by 'Run Waterloo' and they did a great job. I've done a few of their events and have always been impressed with the organization of their races. They host a large number of successful events and I hope to run a couple more before the year is through.
A couple of years ago, I ran "The Pancake Mile" race that they organized and I had a blast.
Of all the race videos that I have on YouTube, "The Pancake Mile" is the one that I have probably watched the most and I laugh hysterically every time- especially at the opening scene. The guy in the blue shirt really struggles to keep his pancake down.
The last time I ran the Laurier Loop 10k, in 2016, I ran a little over 39 minutes, which was good for 3rd place overall. In the 4 weeks that followed, I ended up running a strong 10k, a respectable time at the "Around the Bay 30k", a 1/2 marathon personal best, and then a full marathon personal best (and my only sub 3 hour marathon). It was a great start to the year for me but I ended up totally burning out that year and my race results for the remainder of 2016 were quite poor. This year, I set my goal for the Laurier Loop at 40 minutes. Based on my recent race results, I actually thought that 41-42 minutes would be more realistic.
The 2.5k, 5k,10k, and 10k relay events all started together and, because of this, the pace was a bit much for me. Although I forgot to start my watch until I hit the 1km mark, I know I went out too hard. By 4k, my mantra that I repeated to myself had become, "don't throw up". I hit 5k at around 19:30 but was feeling rough. I ended up finishing in 40:39, which I was pleased with. I had a 5k race planned for yesterday in addition to this event but, unfortunately, was unable to make it since I was caring for my daughter who had been up all night with a stomach bug. She got the bug from me and I had spent all of Wednesday night violently ill. All things considered, running under 41 minutes is realistically the best I could hope for right now.
Today, at the race, somebody said to me, "You must have a separate closet for all your race shirts." The truth is, I hardly have any. 5 years ago I started a tradition in my classroom that has stuck ever since. On the Friday before race weekend, I tel my students about the race I am about to run. They are allowed and encouraged to ask questions about the race, such as "What is the elevation gain? Have you run it before? What is the terrain like?" Once they have all of the information that they need, they each make a guess in regards to what my race time will be. The student that ends up being the closest to my actually race time receives the swag bag for the race. I always order the shirt in an adults small, which seems to be the average size of my Grade 8 students. I like to think that it helps me connect with my students but also that it encourages physical activity. I'm usually happy to give it away but there have been a few occasions where the swag was really cool. The Haliburton Forest 100 miler hoodie was one that I wanted to keep but the student that won it loved it and wore it once a week for the rest of the school year.
Since I missed a race yesterday, I'm now one race behind schedule. However, a couple of my favourite running groups "Hustle and Flow" and "The Brant Death Racers" have events in the works that I am hoping to add to my schedule. I'm hoping to have a heavy training week, since I am currently off work for the March Break, followed by an average week that will finish with the Around the Bay 30k. The week after that will be a low-mileage week as I prepare for the Georgia Death Race on March 31, which is about 70 miles long with a ridiculous amount of elevation gain. Although I have a few races scheduled that are longer than this, I suspect that it will be the most difficult race of the year for me.
Happy Trails!
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