Toronto Yonge Street 10K

I actually had a hard time sleeping because I was so worried that the answer to the question, "should I run this race?" would become a "no."

I had decided to prep as if I were racing, so I got my kit the day before, set up my numbers on my running belt, loaded the gels, laid out my racing clothes and the comfies to stuff into my run bag. At the race site, I gave myself a 1-mile warm-up jog, then proper ABCs and other dynamic warm-ups. I tried accelerating using my old gait and my new gait, but at speed, it didn't matter how I ran - I still felt a tight upper hamstring.

I didn't know what to do. The clock was ticking down to when I'd have to load my run bag onto the shuttle so that it would meet me at the finish. I suddenly realized that this was not an either-or situation. I could start the race, check my comfort zone, check the pace I was keeping on this leg, and drop out if need be. I'd never DNF'd before, but I thought I wouldn't mind. I tossed my bag on the bus and got into my corral.

Route Link

I had wanted to run 5:00 and then negative-split the race down to 4:45 or so. I told myself that if my pace pulled me too far over 50mins without causing myself pain, I'd quit. Lesson #1 - running on an injury takes all your focus away from time management!

This was a ridiculously downhill course - I knew that, but had never experienced such a course, so it felt weird! I found myself running faster through the hips despite not being able to open up the stride much. Lesson #2 - once you warm up a lot, light muscle injuries are not debilitating...

There were a few flats and a couple of short uphills. I refused to race the uphills; just let the crowd pass me. I always make it up downhill anyway. Aside from the one before the start, I took another Roctane gel ahead of the 4km water/Gatorade station. I think I got boosted quite a bit after that, but man was I all over the place with pacing. Started at 4:40s or so and kept that up for a while, then dropped to 5:05 at the water stns, then back down a bit. About 2/3 into the race, I had about 20secs/km in the bank to make <50mins. I started slowing down though. I kept running this thing in fits and starts, slower, faster, stronger, weaker. I think most of my energy was being put into monitoring how I felt and adjusting my gait.

All in all, it went by quickly, as it is a short distance for me. But I felt like I couldn't enjoy racing this event. I couldn't move the way I wanted to, so I wasn't in full control of my body. That sucked. I did enjoy the things I learned about my running gait for sure. I know I grew as a racer. But it was just no fun. I couldn't even sprint to the finish like I always do, especially since I was buoyed by the fact that I'd be waaaay under my goal of 50.

I finished at 48:42. That's slightly over 7mins from my previous best, set at a disastrous (crampy) run of the Women's 10K in August 2010. Most people would be wowed by such an awesome new PB. But I know I can run a lot harder, faster, and smoother on a healthy leg. I can squeeze a lot more out of myself than just a sub-50 - I already knew that after that sick tune-up run led by Reid Coolsaet in mid-March.

Gah, what more can I do to get rid of this muscle problem?

--Distance: 10km
--Duration: 48:42