A year since I ran in my first race ever, I thought I would give the Sun Run a go again. I signed up early and began practicing some longer distances as spring came.
For this race, pacy bunny would not be running with me. I was somewhat sad about that but having gotten used to running on my own, I could handle the burden of running solo. :(
A key difference for this year's attempt was placing myself much closer to the start line. I registered in the second wave of runners behind the elite starters. This proved to be a very good idea.
The day of the race was quite chilly, just a few degrees above zero Celsius. Since I live only a few blocks from the start line, I didn't need to put on any additional outer layers to keep warm prior to race start. Instead, I warmed up by hoofing to the start line from my apartment. Once I found the group with my colour of bib, I kept warm because several thousand people packed into a very small space generate a lot of heat. In fact, some folks with jackets on complained that it was too hot!
As I waited for the race to begin, it was quite entertaining to watch people try to hop over or squeeze through the crowd control fencing that separated my wave from the one ahead. Obviously, these were very competitive people with poor forward planning skills! The security folks were busy chastizing these folks right up until race start.
The race started well and I was very happy to not have to dodge around people who stopped running 50 metres into the race or who wandered about the street seemingly at random. The downside to starting in this group is that I don't go quite as fast as them, so I had to work hard at not trying to keep up with everyone or else I would have burned out quite quickly. Unlike last year, the brief ascent into the neighbourhood adjacent to Stanley Park was not difficult. So far so good.
The first challenge I came across was the rise to the Burrard Street bridge. Most folks kept running up the sharp rise so I had to do only a little dodging and weaving, but it was still a relief to get to the crest of the bridge and start enjoying the descent into Kitsilano.
At this point, I was paying attention to the elapsed time and my pace. I was wearing my iPod and playing a set with specific songs that started at "key milestones" in the race, so I was happy to be listening to the correct song as I approached Granville Island. I was however, getting a bit tired!
As kilometre 8 approached, I was starting to feel the effects of running hard, but with just 2 kilometres to go, it seemed a shame to let up at this point.
As I cleared the bottleneck of the Cambie Street on ramp, I got to kilometre 9 in time to see a group of people assisting someone who was motionless on the ground. Fortunately I did not hear of anyone being seriously ill at the race in subsequent news reports, but I'm not sure if such a thing would be reported. A serious reminder of the need to be very careful and to listen to the inner voice that tells you to slow down.
As I crossed the finish line, I didn't have much left in reserve. Unlike last year, there seemed to be enough room at the "dechipping" area so that racers didn't have to come to a screeching halt just past the finish line.
To my surprise, I slightly exceeded my target time of 55 minutes. Not a bad improvement over last year's 1:06.
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