Here’s the race write up:

BLACK PRESS 5000 – Victoria, BC

Friday, August 14, 2009

I did an easy 15′ run this morning around the neighborhood as soon as I got up. Eddie and Jennie were taking the kids to Durance Lake so it killed me that I had to head to work and miss out on the fun!

Juice and I got to the track a good hour before he had to run his heat. We hung out in the sun on the in-field, trying to stay warm. We had a some rain storm last night and the winds still hadn’t died down making it tricky for Chris to get the advertising plackards to stay up and sign-up sheets to remain on the tables! Jon had a bunch of us laughing at the sign-up table. When asked his name he replied, “Bugs Bunny.” Good one!

Juice ran in the first heat and ran a steady-paced race, looking smooth from beginning to end. He was disappointed with his time as he was about 20″ off his goal but I think with the windy conditions and the fact that it was his first track race, he ran very well.

Joey!

Jon and I did a warm-up in the field next to the track. We went over the plan for the race which was simply to aim for 80″ laps. I was excited to race and actually looking forward to seeing how I would do. We had a pretty decent field with myself, a girl named Natasha and some guys who were all hoping to run under 17 for the first time. Lucy  was going to run under 17 without a thought so I knew we wouldn’t be strung out too much! After a few words from Bob Reid, we lined up and off we went. We were all in a bunch for almost a lap before we found our places in a line with Jon leading like the Pied Piper!

(the photographs above were taken by Glenn Bartley)

The first mile went by very easily. Lucy led a few of the runners past Jon and me at one point. Jon let them go holding 80″ pace. I could see that although the small group had gapped us a little bit, they were not pulling away. I sensed Jon was wanting to catch back up to them so I just said “yep!” and we slowly moved back up behind them and then took the lead again. We hit 3km right on pace and still I felt ok (normally at 3km I am starting to really hurt). I actually didn’t feel any extreme discomfort until the final two laps. It was here that  things started to wind up. Jon started to pick it up just a smidgen and Lucy responded. With one lap to go, Lucy took the lead, Jon ran aside to let me respond directly behind Lucy. That last lap was a brute as I tried with all my might to hold on to her but she pulled away. I didn’t have it in my legs tonight to meet the challenge of her final sprint. As I approached the line my eye caught the time on the clock, I almost didn’t believe what I saw! I was so focused on the final laps, I didn’t notice the splits. Not only had I run my first sub-17 minute 5km, I ran well under 17 minutes! Well, if you didn’t see me last night, you missed  me acting like a ten-year old who had just won their first race. I was very close to doing a cart-wheel! haha! Eddie and Jennie came with the kids who were I am sure, wondering what their crazy Auntie was up to!

Congrats to everyone! Natasha also ran under 17 minutes so a great night for her  and Lucy unofficially broke the Canadian Master’s record. Results are here. The men’s elite race was pretty good too. The young Cam Levins ran an impressive 14:09 with Richard Mosley in second place in 14:19.

The Fast Old Farts Embracing!

Needless to say, I owe a huge thank you to Bugs! Not just for pacing so well in the race but for preparing me physically and mentally to run a 42″ PB!  His hard work has paid off – now he doesn’t have to hear my insistant whining about wanting to run under 17 minutes for the 5km…now I’ll move on to wanting to run under 16:20! haha! Let the whining begin!!

Mar & Jon

Also, everyone who ran in or watched the events last night owe Chris Kelsall an enormous thank you! If you see him in person this week, give him a big hug! He (along with his volunteers) worked his butt off to put this race on and I don’t think anyone can deny what a first-class event he organized once again. The need for a track series here in Victoria in the summer was evident both in the quality of the races and the huge spectator turn-out. Thanks Slaw! 

Then there is Sylvan who aced the timing gig, as usual! Results were up before we finished the race!

We spent the rest of the night at the Sticky Wicket. We didn’t eat until after 9pm. It was the worst post-race recovery I have ever done, drinking two beer on an empty stomach. Jennie took the kids home so Eddie could join me and Joey at the pub with about 15 other runners. It was a good night!

Mar Syl and Kev

Jo and Slaw!

Mar & Syl!

Juice and Eddie!

Schester!

My Big Bro!

I did  a warm-up on the trails around the track and then headed into the in-field to do some strides. The announcer started announcing the runners in the race and when he said my name, I heard this huge cheer coming from the stands. The cast from show had come to watch and cheer me on!. It was then mentioned I was singing in the opera in town and I guess because a certain tenor was singing out loud, he guessed that the cast had come and mentioned that too. It was pretty funny!  The race had eight women lined up, a few of whom were hoping to run sub-17 minutes, myself included. I got myself a bit boxed in off the start of the race with two girls between me and the two leaders. I spent two laps trying to get myself tucked in there  but finally settled in. I was hitting 80″ laps and I felt pretty relaxed right up until the 2km mark. The girls got a small gap on me and as I moved into the third km I chickened out and let my pace drop a smidge…enough to open the gap a bit more. Now I was struggling trying to stay focused on my own. Maybe had I hung in there, it would have been painful but running on my own was just as painful. I went through 3km in 10:06 so still on pace to run sub-17. It was about here I got a side-stitch for about two laps…that provided me with some fun entertainment. I saw with the last km ahead of me that I wasn’t going to make it under 17 . I could hear there was another runner coming up from behind with two laps to go so I got my focus back and dug in to hold her off but just barely. Results are here: http://www.londonrunner.ca/page.php?content=RCLDS

It was a really good experience running this race. All eight women ran under 18 minutes which is a pretty good field for a low-key twilight meet. I was hoping to run under 17 minutes and was kicking myself afterwards because there were some women up there to pull me along. For where I am in my training right now though, it is a decent time.

I got to chat briefly with Hilary Stellingwerf, our top 1500m female who was as warm and friendly as ever. I also got to see her race the 800m. What  a lovely runner! I did a cool-down with Courtney and Rachel and had a great little chat before heading off to a pub with my entourage from the show. They had a pretty good time apparently. I heard them cheering like mad every time I went by them which helped out a lot. Thanks you guys!

Because there were only a few women running in the elite women’s field, a couple of us thought it would be best to just combine the men’s and women’s elite race . However, we found out that  Lucy Smith was aiming to beat the Canadian Master’s record and she asked if Nancy B and I would mind running the race separate from the men. That way, if she did beat the record, it would be legit. We agreed to run with just the five of us so she could have a shot at the record (16:41). The all-comers race was the first race, followed by the men’s elite. We were the last to go and In all honesty, I was in no mood to race let alone run around a track on my own for 5k which I knew was pretty well what was going to happen.  I knew Lucy would be aiming for 80′ per lap so I paced myself about 3″ behind her and her partner Lisa on the first lap. I thought the pace felt a bit brisk but figured it was because I hadn’t been on a track in a while and was just not used to a faster pace. Turned out Lucy went out a bit quick in 75″ so that meant I went through in 78″. I quickly pulled up and relaxed and let the girls go and they quickly gained  about 80m on me. From that point on I just focused on maintaining a steady pace. Brad gave me lap splits which gave me something to focus on. Thanks Brad Baxendale! Soon into the race I saw that Lucy dropped Lisa and I was slowly gaining on her so I focused on  bringing her in. She was a ways away from me so I took my time and tried to close in a bit at a time. I eventually pulled up beside her and then took the lead hoping we could help each other along but eventually I pulled away. Lucy by this time was too far ahead for me to even see her so I had a very long 5 laps. I finished in 17:29. I felt strong tonight from start to finish. Considering I haven’t done a lot of faster running in a while, I was ok with the time and the effort was good so I will get a lot out of that.

Lucy just missed the record. She ran the entire race solo so I am sure had she had someone helping her out she would have done it. 

Chris and all the volunteers obviously did a lot of work to make the event happen and the attention to detail was impressive. He even had bouquets of flowers to give out to the top finishers!

Stay tuned as Chris is planning on organizing more track meets and races!

Black Press 5000m – Oak Bay Track, Victoria, BC

 OFFICIAL RACE RESULTS

5,000 Metres – High Performance Women

Pos. Name Club Age Time Halfway Split

1 Lucy Smith Lifesport/PIH 42 16:57.2 8:31.1
2 Marilyn Arsenault UVic/IRR 41 17:29.8
3 Lisa Mensink Lifesport 32 17:54.8
4 Nancy Baxendale Prairie Inn Harriers 47 18:28.3
5 Chloe Hegland Peninsula Track 12 19:37.5

5,000 Metres – High Performance Men

1 Ryan McKenzie Pacific Athletics 30 14:02.8 7:10.2
2 Scott Simpson Prairie Inn Harriers 29 14:21.7
3 Kyle Jones Prairie Inn Harriers 24 14:37.3
4 Trevor O’Brien Pacific Athletics 30 15:22.8
5 Ian Hallam Prairie Inn Harriers 37 15:48.8
6 Paul O’Callaghan Prairie Inn Harriers 44 16:16.4
7 Walter Cantwell Prairie Inn Harriers 41 16:39.6
8 Simon Dejongh Pacific Athletics 30 16:52.9
9 Gord Christie Prairie Inn Harriers 47 16:58.0
10 Mike Lord Prairie Inn Harriers 37 17:27.7

5,000 Metres – All-Comers Women

1 Sophie Hegland Peninsula Track 14 25:29.1 12:33.3
2 Christine Thate Prairie Inn Harriers 50 30:13.6

5,000 Metres – All-Comers Men

1 Darren Skuja Comox Valley RR 47 17:58.2 8:59.7
2 Mark Ritchie Prairie Inn Harriers 41 18:04.8
3 Pierre Ballester Island Road Racers 45 18:41.9
4 Rui Batista Prairie Inn Harriers 48 18:41.9
5 Ted Hill Unattached 38 21:09.9

BC Athletics Officials: David Hopkins (Referee), Keith Newell (Starter), Doreen Newell, Ann Juteau, Evan Fagan (Lap Scorers), Lin Hopkins, Anne Lansdell, Bob Reid (Timers)

Race Director: Christopher Kelsall

Results produced by: Bob Reid, 2009-05-15

I apologize for the lack of posts these past few weeks but there really hasn’t been much to report in the land of running. I took a week completely off after coming back from Worlds and after that it has been a gradual build up of running time over the past three weeks…no workouts, just aerobic runs, some core and strengthwork but nothing intense. This has been good in many ways, especially with the opera in full-swing. I don’t have a big role but still, with rehearsals often going late into the night (10:00pm is late in my books!) I also needed some time to re-charge and that’s exactly what the time away from racing and intense running has done. I put on a bit of weight which is good…I remember Ron Bowker saying it doesn’t hurt to put on a good 5lbs or so during running breaks to make sure you get your stores back up. I have done this every time I take a break and it does help get you back re-fueled and ready for some harder training again. The weight sure comes off quickly once you start doing some faster running so it’s good to have a little extra weight there (for me anyway) as a reserve. Last week I logged in just over 8 hours of running (about 115km) and I am definitely feeling much better than the first week I got back at it. It was rough. I felt pretty unfit and rusty. We had cut back the volume a lot in March so add a week off and you feel you are back to square one! It came back quickly though and with just three weeks of running, I am feeling strong again. I planned on running the Sun Run on the weekend but Jon and I agreed that I would be in no shape to perform well. It was tough saying no to that race as it is such a great one. It was too bad I couldn’t do it because the women’s results were deep this year so it may have been a good opportunity to have been pulled along to a sub-35 (8 women finished under 35 minutes with just 40″ between the first place and 8th).

So this next week we ad some light tempo running (30′ at 3:45 -3:50 pace) to one run in the week, otherwise I am still in an aerobic phase. I will try and be a bit more consistent blogging now that I am back into a program.

Here are some shots from the opera that I am in with Victoria’ opera company, Pacific Opera Victoria. The show is called The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) by Mozart. If you are in town and feel the urge to hear some great singing and watch a beautifully conceived show, check it out! We also do a run of it in London Ontario so if you live out east and want to go, have a look at Orchestra London’s web site for dates!

I don't run in the show...but I cycle!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

I was NOT ready to get back on a plane again Sunday afternoon. It was a very long trip but I survived! I slept a couple of hours from Calgary to London and another hour from London to Amman. I didn’t want to sleep too much on that leg  since we would arriving close to bed-time (1pm Pacific time) and wanted to be sure I would be knocked out. We were greeted by a team of representatives who managed to get us through security very quickly and had our luggage put aside for us near  the baggage pick-up. We went straight up to our rooms when we got to the hotel and then had a quick meeting down in the buffet area after we ate to got over the next days’ plan.

Chantelle and I laughed when we saw our room…Let’s just say that it’s not exactly the Hilton! It’s clean though so that’s good. I slept really well last night getting over 10 hours. Breakfast was interesting. Pita is served at every meal (the hummus here is truly delicious!) and his morning’s “meat dish” looked like cooked greens with cut up hot dog wieners in it. There were boiled eggs though and corn flakes. Lunch and dinner meals are much closer to what we’re used to and are quite tasty!

EVERY man here smokes…and they smoke everywhere. My eyes have been burning and all the pure Canadians are complaining.

We were bused to the track this morning but the stadium was closed so we ran on the muddy path that zig-zagged back and forth between rows of trees. We think it was a park of some kind. There were military walking by on the road that ran parallel to the path carrying machine guns…yikes! My run started out feeling not bad. I took my time and just kept the pace easy. I felt a bit ragged after 15 minutes but eventually I warmed up (and woke up!) and didn’t feel as bad. I loved Jon’s note about today’s runs:

We came back, had lunch, another meeting and then I did another run. Chantell Widney joined me and we ran from the hotel into the neighborhood…well, it was a really odd looking neighborhood and we got honked at every 5 seconds with no exaggeration! We decided to get off the main drag and run on the quieter streets…you could not avoid running up and down steep hills. It was like San Fran! We tried to make our way back to the hotel and realized we were were lost…really lost. We couldn’t hear or see the main street the hotel was on. Luckily a taxi driver turned on to the street we were on and I waved him down. We showed him our hotel ketwhich had the address on it and he motioned us to hop into the back of the car. In we got and he kindly drove us to the hotel for free…turns out we were just minutes away. Pretty embarassing driving up to the hotel in a cab! hahaha!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Today we woke up to sunny skies. It looks like the weather is clearing and we may get lucky this weekend. This is such a different place with different sounds and smells. One example are the delivery trucks that go by every couple of hours delivering gas to residents. The trucks play strange music on loud speakers. The music is a cross between something you hear from a  music box…it’s kind of eerie.  Then there are announcements in Arabic  on loud speakers five time a day reminding the residents to pray. You should have seen Chantelle’s face the first night. We heard this loud, aggressive sounding voice barking out what sounded like an order. I was brushing my teeth and she comes tearing into the bathroom, eyes as big as saucers, asking me “What was that??? What was THAT?!!!” hahaha! You had to be there!

OK, on with the day. I had a dreadful sleep last night. I slept from about midnight to 3am…then just lay there. With the time zone change, we are sleeping during the afternoon, so apparently when we go to bed, our body thinks it’s having a little afternoon nap so after a few hours, we wake up. Nice. I was a wreck the rest of the day, dragging my butt. I got the wo done in the morning. Jon wanted me to run it as close to race time as possible (which is 3:40pm for the senior women) but it was decided by the coaching staff to run in the morning so I had no choice. We loaded on to a bus at 11am. I looked over across from me and there was New Zealand’s Kim Smith sitting on the bus!  She and her team mate were tagging along with us so they could get a run in around the track. We warmed up on the same switch-back trail as the day before. I was running along when Kim came up from behind and we started chatting. I couldn’t believe I was running with Kim Smith (if you don’t know her, she has run 14:39 for the 5km).

Mar, Kim, Nicki and Chantell

The coaches were set to have everyone run the same wo this morning. I already had a wo given to me by Jon and didn’t want to stray from my normal routine so I asked if I could go ahead and do my own thing. I didn’t want to seem like I wasn’t into doing a “team” thing but I needed to run the session on my own (i.e. not race my team mates or do something I wasn’t accustomed to) and focus on what my body could do for that day. It wasn’t clear what the group wo was and in the end, most people just did their own thing. My session was just for some turn-over and nothing that would be too taxing: 2 sets of 3 x 400m (75″/3′) at 3-5km pace. Jon said this session wouldn’t feel great as I would still be recovering from jet-lag. He was right. I was breathing too hard for what I was doing but I got it done and Jon assured me later in the day in an email that what I was feeling was normal. I just have to trust that with a couple nights of better sleep and rest that I will feel a lot better on Saturday.

 

I was pretty bagged after the run and was tempted to stay back at the hotel while the team went on an excursion to the Dead Sea but I thought this was really my only chance to see this natural wonder. I grabbed my ear plugs and settled in on the bus, keeping my eyes closed, resting as much as I could and not getting excited.  I think people thought I was ill…not like me to be unsocial! haha! Was I ever glad I went! It was just an incredible experience! Everyone got into suits and swam, or rather floated. It was warm and sunny and we all had a blast.

Thelma!!

Rachelle, Chantell and Mar

Nyial and Mar post-float!

 The washrooms there though were how shall I say…a bit primitive.

I think I’ll hold it, thanks.

Friday, March 27, 2009

 

 We were up early this morning to go and view the course. The hotel is now hopping with athletes so it’s getting very busy (and noisy) so updating the blog in the lobby was impossibility!! We had a gorgeous day today. Sunny skies, warm…so we thought we would get lucky and have great weather for tomorrow’s race. We walked the course before doing our warm-up. The women have to do one 1.5k loop and then 3 x 2km loops. The start has a good 200m incline before we make a sharp left to head downhill for about 400m.

 

 

Looking at the 200m stretch from the start

The course then takes a left on to a flat 300m, another left up a short, sharp hill then a nasty, nasty slow climb of a good 800m. The longer loop just goes out a bit further on the flat and then joins up again on the way back to the climb that takes you back to the start for the loop where you start the decent again.

 

 

Downhill section

 

Flat section

 

Short loop start of hill to the left, long loop straight ahead

After the final loop , the course splits right and this time instead of heading downhill, you continue uphill with a much steeper incline.

 

 

The Climb

…and it continues

Bloody hell….

 

Looking at the finish…notice the grass…the only grass on the course…looks good for the photo finishes!!

Can’t believe I’m here!!

The next 200m is horrendous then you get a whole 50m of flat before you cross the finish line. The course looked tough to me. I didn’t see much time for recovery after that long, consistent climb.

 

 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and trying not to fall asleep. I was finding it hard not to crawl into bed at about 2pm. I forced myself though to stay up and after a couple of hours the urge to sleep would pass. Jon called that night to wish me luck and to go over how to run the race. How nice of him to call from so far away! I was feeling very calm for some reason and slept pretty well that night.

Looking back with about 150m left to finish

We had a long time to wait before our 3:40pm start time. I was still feeling very calm and didn’t get the butterflies in my tummy until be we drove into the driveway leading us into the course area. Tents were set up just up from the start so we could stay warm and out of the wind…sigh…another windy race day.

The race director from the race I did in earlier this year in Seville dropped by to wish me and Derek good luck which was a nice surprise. The senior women walked down to the start to watch the Junior girls do their strides and start the race and then headed off on our warm-up.

We were not allowed on the course so the only flat section to run on was a 100m strip of field…so there we were running back and forth with all the other women for 20 minutes. It was hilarious! We had to be checked in to the start area 30 minutes before the start of the race and our tags were checked and checked again. No one was allowed in the warm-up tent except the athletes. As we headed down the hill to the check-in, we found out from some senior guys that a couple of juniors had DNFd including our top junior, Genevieve Lalonde. We then met JJ walking up and was in a state because she dropped out of the race. We wondered now just how tough was this course?!

When we got into the changing tent, we picked up our front bib numbers that had the timing chip inserted into it and put on our spikes. We had loads of time to kill so we took our time and stayed in the tent to keep warm. Eventually I made my way outside. It was really windy and the sun was trying to shine between large clouds. It was far from warm but a good racing temperature. My strides felt fine and I was surprisingly relaxed. I have to thank Thelma and Jon again for getting me into those International races in Europe. The set-up and feel were so similar to this race that the stress was almost non-existent. I felt like I had been here before! We finally lined up in our chute and as soon as the gun went off it was chaos!

Even with that uphill start, the front runners bolted up that 200m stretch and within seconds it seemed they were already 50m in front of the rest of us! CRAZY! There was a lot of pushing and shoving especially once we hit the first left-hand turn. I just tried to stay upright and on my feet. Chantell Widney was up ahead so I tried to stay in the mix on the downhill and keep her in my sight. When we hit the next left turn bringing on to flat bit at the bottom we were faced with a wall of wind. Nice…so the one spot you could recover on or maybe even find a decent rhythm and you had to fight against a brutal wind. We cut left early on this the first shorter loop.

We hung another left to start the climb and about a minute in, I knew I was in trouble. I was having troubles with my breathing the past two weeks on hills where I found myself breathing much too hard and here again, I was struggling with my breath. I told myself not to panic, that the downhill stretch was just around the corner and that I could use that for some recovery. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for me. The flat section with the wind felt worse than the first go at it and the next run up the hill worse still. Now I had really slowed up and was wondering if I could keep my legs going for 4 more kms…not a good feeling at all. It was on this  loop that Chantel Wilder came up from behind, tapped my on my back for encouragement and where I willed myself to hold on to her for dear life. I managed to do it but paid dearly for the effort and with one loop left to go had to slow up again. Rachelle then passed me and at this point I knew my goal was not to come in last.  How brutal is that!? Next thing I know, I see Rachelle lying on the ground right across the course! I had to hop over her….nothing like hurdling over your team mate. She had actually collapsed. What the heck was going on?? Nothing seemed to be going right! OK, so now I can’t stop otherwise we won’t have enough women to score. I cannot tell you how hard that last loop was! I swear I was running 4 minute kms at the fastest and even had to walk a few steps…in a race!!! Haha! It wasn’t at all funny at the time and I thought man Mar, do you ever pick the best race to walk in…worlds…way to go! That last loop was a blur and the final 300m hill was ridiculous…just ridiculous! I might as well have walked the entire hill, I was going so slowly. Well, I finished with very little dignity left.  I walked the chute wondering what just happened and saw the rest of the team hanging about talking near the tent. I think they forgot I was still out there I had come in so far back haha! We walked back to the team tent and got our gear on while chatting about our experiences on the course. Catherine had a phenomenal race placing in the top 40!! Chantell had a very solid run and of course Chantelle also nailed her race and tried to drag us along. My heart went out to Rachelle who couldn’t finish today. Luckily she was ok. The consensus by everyone was that it was the toughest race they had ever experienced. Kim Smith swore that this would be the last xc race she ever did. We were laughing about it and to be honest, even though I was truly disappointed I didn’t run at my potential, I was not ashamed of my performance today. I have been going at it hard since September, have run 14 races, travelled substantially for 7 of those events on top of school, singing  and everything else. It’s been an incredible year full of new and exciting experiences and this is just another to add to the pile which will only make me a better and tougher runner.

Your coach is one of the few people who can make you truly believe that you don’t suck.  Jon wrote: “…Today’s result wasn’t a true reflection of your ability but the race is over and we have to put it behind us; the world cross is a savage animal and often it can reduce the best runners to also-rans. You know what the event is all about now and it’s not like anything else out there…You should be proud of yourself- you might not feel so right now, but  viewed as a whole you have had a great first international cross year!”

Check out Jon’s article on the ups and downs of racing. I got this link just days before the race…good timing!

Finally convinced that I didn’t suck, I let it all go and had a great time at the banquet! This was a HUGE party and the food was incredible. It was unbelievably fun!

Chantell and I dragged as many people up on the dance floor as possible including shy little Chelsea and Connie our team physio, who said she hadn’t danced like that in 12 years!

Food!

There was a small group of us this weekend from the Vikes team travelling to Windsor for the Canadian Inter-University Indoor Track Championships. We flew in on Wednesday to help get accustomed to the 3 hour time change. The team sonsisted of the men who qualified for the 4 x 800 event and our sole 60m sprinter. The men on the 4 x 8 also qualified individually in the 1500m. I was the only gal from the team this year. Athletes have to make a standard in order to qualify to race this championship. The guys were good at including me in their lunch and dinner plans…thanks you guys! I felt like part of the team despite not having the gitls there for company. I slept long and hard both nights befor ethe race. I woke up on Friday mroning, the day of the race after a good nine hours which is unusual for me. I don’t usually sleep too well the night before a race but I had no problems this time. I woke up feeling groggy and out of it though and spent the rest of the day in a fog. I got in a good hour of singing which made me feel good. I practiced in the bathroom since the hotel room was carpeted making for lousy acoustics. I really have to make sure I stay in good singing shape these next few weeks which means I will be driving my room mate a bit nuts in Jordan. At least I only practice for a maximum of 90 minutes a day.

I decided to go for a walk in the afternoon after lunch just to wake up and move around in the fresh air. MC, our team physio agreed to come with me so went walked along the river across the street from the hotel. I didn’t feel any more awake when I got back so I made a small coffee to see if I could drug myself into a perky state. It helped somewhat. I would just have to wait for the warm-up to wake up!

There was a great atmosphere at the track when we got there. Races and field events were going on and I could feel my senses coming alive the second we walked into the stadium. The Vikes team found a section of stands to camp out on while we waited for our races. Brent had a little pre-race chat with me. The goal was to medal. Period. I told him I would give it my all. With one of the top runners, Megan Brown out of the race due to sickness, I knew third  place was up for grabs and there was a group all of whom capable of nabbing the spot. Darren was the first to race and won a gold for the 1000m. This was  a great start to the night. My race was up next. It took me going to two wrong tables before I found where to pick up my position number…typical. I did a few strides. Everything felt fine. I felt fairly relaxed.  I think I was still feeling groggy! haha! The race began with a girl taking out the first 200m in  about 33″ leaving the rest of us in the dust. By 400m she was a good 25m in front. There was no way I was going to be running after her and everyone else had the same idea. I figured she would come back eventually and just focused on our group. Paula led the chase pack for about 3 laps with me on her outside shoulder. I heard Brent tell me to run on the inside. I didn’t want to clip the  girl behind me so I moved up ahead and took the lead. For the next km, I held a steady pace. Everyone was happy to let me lead and no one made a move until Linsday Carson and her team mate started to cruise by us making their move with about 1200m to go. I hesitated as they passed wondering if I could pick it up and hold a faster pace at this point or if I should wait one more lap. With Brent’s prompting to stay with them, I surged ahead and caught up to them figuring I better give it a try and not be left behind. This was a very good move. I wasn’t sure what the others girls were doing behind me but I was told later that they waited a bit too long and couldn’t make up the gap. I just knew I had to keep going and not slow down. I was able to hang in behind the two Guelph girls until the last 600m. Linsday pulled away from her team mate who now had a good 5″ gap in front of me. I was starting to hurt but I managed to hold the pace. I knew I could still get caught in the last 50m so I flailed my way down the last stretch. It wasn’t pretty but it got me across the line for the bronze. I was thrashed….but very happy. It wasn’t the fastest race of my life (9:50) but I think I ran as fast as I could have that day and ran a smart race.

Parched!

Next up was the men’s 4 x 800m. Our men’s team was favored to win. I guess the Vikes are infamous for their 4 x 8 team. I haven’t watched a relay live. It sure was exciting and I loved every minute of it! The guys ran superbly and won the race so it was a very good night for the Vikes team!

I ran the same route for my cool-down as I did for my warm-up outside. It wasn’t very cold in Windsor this weekend thank goodness and it was nice being out in the fresh air. MC gave my calves and feet a good massage. I wore spikes and sacrificed my calves for this race…I knew I would pay for it and I did!

MC and Mar

We all went out afterwards for something to eat. Unfortunately, the place we went to had closed their kitchen and were only serving sushi. I wanted steak. I was disappointed but at least the sushi was decent.

The next morning, I did an easy 45′ along the river with Keith. It was a another sunny day so it was a pleasant run. We spent the rest of the day at the track before heading to the airport. Geoff, Logan and Dan were running in the 1500m. Geoff defended his title and won a gold while Logan took the bronze. Dan did his best  and led for a few laps but his lack of training due to injury these past few weeks caught up to him and cost him a possible medal which was a shame.

Geoff

Dan Pacing the Race

Cheering Squad

Darren after the All You Can Eat Buffet at the Casino

Cliffy, Darren and Brad

A few of us flew back that night while the rest of the team stuck around for the party. It was a tiring weekend…I am very jet-lagged but it was a lot of fun! Here is a link where you can find  videos of all the races at CIs this past weekend. Just click on the site’s homepage to get in and then click up on the top right tab – Race Videos. The women’s 1000m is an exciting race to watch! ]]> http://www.irun.ca/blog/index.php/cis-indoor-track-championships/feed/ 0 http://www.irun.ca/blog/index.php/nacac-cross-country-championships/ http://www.irun.ca/blog/index.php/nacac-cross-country-championships/#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:42:36 +0000 MarilynArsenault http://www.irun.ca/blog/?p=1463

Saturday, March 7, 2009

I did an easy 30′ run along The Goose before catching my flight. I flew through Seattle to Orlando where we were greeted by an organizer who got us on a van to take us to the hotel which was about 50 minutes away in Cape Canaveral. We were 25 minutes into the trip when we had to turn around and go back to the airport to pick up two more runners who arrived late. By the time we got to our rooms it was 1:30 in the morning and I was beat. Luckily my roommate Chantelle was still up so I didn’t wake her. I didn’t get to sleep until sometime after 3am since I was still on west coast time and ended up sleeping in the next morning. There was a 9:30 meeting that morning but I was still sleeping until Chantelle came back to get me up so I arrived late and groggy! Most of the Canadian team were there. The majority had arrived from Ontario and Quebec the day before. We introduced ourselves and were introduced to the coaching and support staff. We voted on team captains and Joel and I were voted as the captains and I doubt that our more senior age had nothing to do with it! haha!

The hotel were stayed at was The Radisson and was basically a resort. Check it out!

We were bused over to the course in the early afternoon. It was pretty hot out and I loved it! We took some time before the course tour to take some team pics:

Junior Boys

Junior Girls

Senior Men

Senior Women

Yesterday the Vikes team flew into the coldest place in Canada, I swear! Regina had a high of -35C that day. Our team from the island in the Pacific ocean were in shock as we walked out on the frozen tundra  (which was the airport parking lot) to the rental vans.  I have decided I am not a true Canadian. Just 10 minutes of standing in the cold, shivering while waiting for the vans had me feeling grumpy and cursing like a truck-driver. I can’t believe I am the same person that lived for years in Northern-Ontario.

Marilyn and Kerry

We drove over to the indoor track shortly after we arrived to do an easy warm-up and some strides. I felt fine during the run but shortly afterwards felt tired so I told Brent I would have to skip the dinner with the girls team and needed to hang low in my room for a few hours. One of the Vikes’ parents live very close to the track and offered to make the girls team a pre-race dinner at their home which was incredibly sweet of them. Feelings of guilt overtook my  better judgement and  I sucked it up and went over and enjoyed an wonderful home-cooked meal of roast beef, mashed potatoes, spaghetti squash and Saskatoon Berry crumble with ice cream.

I had a decent sleep last night although my nose was  stuffed and yet really dr when I woke up. Nothing like a hot and stuffy hotel room to make you feel like you have swallowed a cupful of saw dust and shoved cotton balls as far as you can up your nose. After a lazy morning listening (an humming along) to music I need to learn (sorry to my roomies!!) we got to the track in time to watch some of the middle-distance girls run before we had to do our warm-up.

My warm-up felt normal, strides felt good…nothing out of the ordinary. I was feeling confident that I could hold a good pace today and was looking forward to having Paula to gage a clippy pace off of since I knew she would be up for a good battle. I decided to wear flats again today since I have to run NACAC next weekend and didn’t want to be dealing with sore calves. The race started exactly as I predicted with Paula pulling up a lead right off the top with me about 3″ behind. The track was 200m so I got my 400m split and was pretty well on pace in 75″…problem was it felt like I had just run 68…uh, oh. I told myself not to change anything, that maybe I would find that relaxed feeling in another lap or so. I kept my focus on Paula just a few seconds ahead and was still feeling confident that I would be able to close in at the right time further into the race. Unfortunately, 1km into it  and I was feeling very flat. I came so very close to pulling off several times but still had a glimmer of hope that I would feel better if I just hung in there. So, I hung in there…out of sheer will-power. I was running slower on every lap but my stubborn personality willed every step and I finished. I came in 5th in 10:13…that would be 34″ slower than in Seattle! haha! It wasn’t funny when I finished to be honest since I couldn’t believe I had run so poorly but once I caught my breath (it felt like I had run 9:05!) and got a few hugs from the girls on the team who had also run I just laughed and shrugged my shoulders….what can you do?! One of my team mates Deirdre who caught me at the line ran a PB today which was exciting…yay D!!!!

Shauna, Deirdre and Marilyn Hamming it Up Post-race!

Kerry who also got sick last week had a very similar race finnished her last km in a stunning 3:47…haha! I didn’t dare ask what my last km was in.

Anyway, the other girls had good races and I was relieved to find out that our men’s 4 x 800m team broke the meet record and grabbed the top three spots as individuals in the 1500m as well. I should have gone to watch the other events later that night after dinner but I was exhausted afterwards and ignored the feeling of guilt this time and stayed in my room and rested.

Team Spirit!!

I woke up the next morning with no voice. Julia and Laura who I was sharing the room with thought it was pretty funny hearing me try to croak out a good morning! Thanksfully, my voice gradually came back…just needed to clear the gobs of flem that was sitting on my vocal chords…sorry for the graphic details!!

I had asked Brent to fly me home the day after I raced even though the team was staying on for one more day of racing and the banquet and he was able to get me on an earlier flight. I have a lot of travelling to do in the next few weeks so I thought an extra day home in my own bed would be a good thing. Kerry managed to get on the same flight, bailing on running the 1500m which was a wise move.

I spoke with Coach Jon the next day as our group was running on the trails at Thetis lake. He agreed that there was something wrong with me on Friday and it was likely from having been sick. He has revised my training schedule again to provide me with more recovery saying that it’s more important than training this week and I completely agreed. I haven’t had much experience with training while sick since I have been training hard. I have been very lucky. So I look at this as a valuable learning experience, although I suppose every flu-bug or cold one gets affects one differently. I felt good on the run today but was pretty tired in the afternoon so I gave myself some lie-down time in the afternoon. I am pretty sure I will perk up by the end of the week. We leave on Thursday for the NACAC Cross Country Championships in Orlando, Florida.

The Vikes Women

I ran my first indoor meet on the weekend at the beautiful facility at the University of Washington in Seattle. This was an invitational meet with a very competitive university field featuring varsity runners from the US most of whom were trying to make NCAA standard. The UVic Vikes had athletes competing in different events and heats and everyone PBd in their event which was fantastic! We all went out to dinner the night before and ate a great meal at The Keg.

Marilyn and Ashley

Waiting for my race the next day was tough. I ran in the second fastest heat of the 3000m which was in the late afternoon on the Saturday, (Valentine’s Day) which happened to be my 41st birthday! It was a long wait and I felt a sense of relief once I started doing my strides. My team-mates were so wonderful with assuring me that I would be fine and would have a blast racing on an indoor track. I stood at the start-line, feeling excited and scared hoping I would survive running such a short and fast race. The race ended up being great fun. I ran well but reflecting back I probably ran a bit too relaxed in the first 1200m and had to make up a lot of ground in the last km. I couldn’t hear any splits so relied on Brent’s advice as I ran by. I moved up from about 13th position to finish 4th in a time of 9:39. I was pleased with my effort and know I can run faster so I am looking forward to our next race which will be in two weeks in Regina for the Canada West Track & Field Championships.

When I came back from my cool-down, I was given a birthday pie in the face! The girls on the team planned it so that when I came back from my warm-up they asked me to pose for a picture and that’s when I got it right in the kisser! It was very funny!

Last week was my first track wo in a while but I felt good. The Vikes team had races on the weekend so it was just me and a young and super-talented high school student Justine at the wo. Brent and Keith had us run 2 sets of 5 x 400m off of 75″ with a 3-5′ set break. The wo felt very easy. We both were having to hold ourselves back from speeding up so a good introduction to being on the track.

My next wo was a grass session that Saturday. I tried out my new Saucony xc spikes and they’re sweet little things! My husband gets a kick out of how excited I get over new running shoes. I wear them around the house and dance around like an idiot. Whatever turns ya on! Anyway, today’s run was done on a section of Beacon Hill park, a hilly field that faces the ocean…so a pretty beautiful spot to run a wo. There is a XC loop we do that is a bout 2km around that has a good mix of fast, flat running, hills and turns all on grass…a challenging course. We did 3 sets of 5′ at 10K effort (90″) 2.5 at 5K effort (90″).  It was a great wo for me today. I felt strong and smooth.

I am singing at the University next week in recital that a guitarist is doing for his Master’s requirement. We’re performing a song cycle of Benjamin Britten songs so we rehearsed this afternoon and it went well. He will in turn, play for my recital this spring and we are planning on learning enough repertoire to make a cd…stay tuned!