Fitness Swellness: Adidas #RunMore 10K race report

November 1, 2015

484 runners and I ran back in time last night in the Adidas #RunMore 10k race in Toronto. The race kicked off at 1 a.m. and ended at 1 a.m.! What a cool way to take advantage of turning the clocks back.

I usually use that extra hour to sleep more so I feel pretty darn productive having fit in a race. But a 1 a.m. race poses some interesting concerns: getting enough rest, when to eat, etc. The weather turned out to be unexpected, too. The day was warmer than it has been the past week, and it was of course colder at night but still warmer than I expected it to be, plus as luck would have it, it also rained pretty steadily from about 11 p.m. onward. I stuck to my original planned outfit, though (Adidas Energy Boost on my feet, Adidas leggings, tank, thin water-resistant shell and cap to keep the rain out of my eyes), and didn’t do my usual stressed-out change-my-mind-a-million times thing.

My goal for this race was to try to have fun. Does that sound odd? Maybe some runners can enjoy their races but I become a total basketcase all would up about doing well. PB or die, haha. I know I’m still weary though from the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon two weeks ago, and I’m sore from an intense Nike workout I did on Thursday with Master Trainer Eva Redpath. Plus, I also have two more half-marathons to run in the next five weeks and I can’t afford to injure myself and risk not being able to run those races. So I didn’t plan very carefully for this race: Friday night I went out and drank a lot of wine (oopsie) and Saturday,  I went out and had a big dim sum lunch; both are things I wouldn’t normally do with a race in 24 hours. Last but not least with regards to what how I set a goal for this race? I know I’m not nearly in as good shape as I was for my 10k PB time of 47 minutes. I think I was at about 53 minutes at the 10k mark of the marathon two weeks ago so I decided 54 minutes would be a comfortable, safe time to aim for. If I was feeling strong, I thought I could try to aim for 52 minutes.

With it raining lightly, the race kicked off at 1 a.m., and I started off fast. The first few k I ran at a pace of 5:03, then it slowed to 5:06, then 5:13 and eventually to 5:26, which I wasn’t happy about since that is slower than the pace I have to  maintain for a marathon to qualify for Boston. In the spring, I was easily running 10k in training at a 5:10 pace in warm weather without it even feeling hard, so I’m not as fit and/or really worn down from the marathon. At about 7k, I ran into a huge puddle so my feet got soaked, and at 8k my stomach started bothering me. I’d also taken off my jacket a few k into the race so I was a bit cold (but I knew with it on, I’d be too hot), so I was dealing with feeling chilled as well. A good thing about the race is that it was out and back on a section of the Martin Goodman Trail that I run frequently, so I was really familiar with the route, which is mostly flat, except for one moderate hill.

I ended up finishing in 53:52 so I did a pretty good job of judging what my body is capable of.  That time places me 7th out of 25 women in my category, the 66th woman out of 266 and 154th out of 485 runners.

After the race, there was plenty of food (not only bananas and starchy carbs, but also juices from The Good Press (yum!) and some food trucks, and beer, hello! There was also a DJ and everyone hung out and celebrated; it’s too bad it was rainy and chilly, though, or else the party would’ve really been great. As it was, I was really cold and didn’t even go outside to the food trucks (that’s how cold I felt — it takes a lot for me to turn down some food truck eats!).

All in all, Adidas Canada put on a fun race with a unique concept and I’d definitely run it if it’s held again. Be sure to register early if it is, though, because it sold out quickly this year. Thanks to Adidas for the chance to use today to #runmore.

Next race: Rock n Rock Las Vegas Half-marathon, Nov. 14, 2015.

 

 

Filed under: Fitness Swellness

Tags: 10k, Adidas, daylight saving time, fun, half-marathon, marathon, personal best, race, runmore, runner, running