Race Report: Calgary Run for Water 10k

The day dawned clear and bright...really bright.  The sun was blinding!  On my way in - it felt like I was met by construction on every turn and, when my usual route to Eau Claire was closed - I ended up parking about half a kilometer away.   Twas all good, though.

I made my usual pit stop and then headed to the start line...I started taking pictures of the action!

Hung out with "Drip" the event mascot...look, we match!

The start line

 So much activity - bouncy castle for the kiddos, massages, breakfast...so much to see and do.

Goodlife Fitness was there to do the warmup...

I still had some time before the race start so I decided to make one last stop in the washroom.  As I was leaving to head tot he start again, I ran into Leigh, who was also running the 10k.

With minutes to go - I suddenly realized it seemed really bright out there.  I HAD FORGOTTEN MY SUNGLASS CLIP IN THE WASHROOM!  So, my warmup for the race consisted of a dash back into the mall with the hopes no one had taken it (it is the custom one I ordered for my glasses so not easily replaceable)

Luckily, it was still there (turned out, talking to Leigh later, she'd seen it in there)...and what a good thing it was!

Once I was back to the start line - I noticed they had volunteers seeding runners - THANK YOU RUN FOR WATER!  You could see runners realizing they were too far up and moving back to a more appropriate place in the crowd.

Suddenly, the race was underway.  I was bopping along at a pretty good pace.   When I passed the 1k mark - I was at 5:15!   I was also sun-blind from the bright bright day (thank you sunglasses - though you still only let me see silhouettes of those in front of me)

and it felt easy.  Thank you Kinvaras!  I took a chance in wearing the new shoes for this race and they felt so awesome!

The course itself was beautiful.  Usually races from Eau Claire consist of an out and back to the west.  This one was, thankfully, different.  It started out toward Fort Calgary, through East Village and out to the bridge behind the zoo and then back along the other side of the river to 10th street and back to Eau Claire - taking a brief detour through Princes Island.   Much different and much nicer! 

Around the 4k mark - I ran with Leigh for a little while and then I really needed water and a walk break.  JS was planning to meet me around 5k to run me in - so I started to keep an eye out for her.

and hit 5k in under 30 mins (why can't I do that in a 5k race?)

Just before the 6k mark - I saw JS running to meet me.   I was starting to lose steam around this time.  I probably should have brought a gel to take at the 30 min mark (I'll do that tomorrow and see if it makes a difference).  BUT - I was still going pretty strong and maintaining a decent little pace.

By this point, the 10k runners were surrounded by 5k walkers so it meant a great deal of weaving and watching for small children.  Not bad overall.  Once we were over the 10th Street Bridge, it was into the home stretch with 1.5k to go.  I was really feeling like I was deflating.  JS did a great job pep-talking me...and before long, we were out of Princes Island Park and the finish line was in sight.  JS left me at the corner and I blasted through the finish chute - picking people off as I saw the clock turn to the 1 hour mark.

When I stopped my garmin at the mat - it said this:

Official time: 1:00:48

I think the discrepancy in distance must be from when we went into the covered pedestrian bridge.   It is a satellite dead zone on the best of days.  Not my best time for the 10k...but darn close.  I'm really thrilled with it!

And I got my lovely finisher medal

Immediately after crossing the finish, I ran into Leigh again...

and then scoured the crowd for JS...

and then we went to grab the finish line grub.  No veg option so I gave her my burger and I chowed down on the chips and juice!

Garmin Geekery:

I loved this race!  It was so well organized and went really far toward pumping up my deflated mojo!  I will definitely be registering again in 2013!

An even better addition was finally having some one on one time with Coach Sheena after the race and getting the low-down on her Goofy experience.  That helped immensely as it put several things about training and race day into perspective for me.

After the race, I stopped at Gords to see what they had in my size in the clearance shoes...and found a pair of Kinvara 2s for $50!  Score!  They felt as good on as my 3s do so I think they will be just as great for me!  And a well deserved treat following an awesome race!