an unexpected PR- the Oka 10 K

So this trail race that I talked about last week? Turns out that it was mostly on bike paths. There were a couple of kilometres on trails but for the most part it was on paved paths. Which turned out to be not such a bad thing. But I'll start at the beginning.


All week I was a little concerned that I'd get lost on the way to the race. I'd never been to Oka and I still haven't mastered the highways around Montreal. So I google mapped it, checked the directions on the race website, made sure the highways were all open, and finally just decided to trust my GPS. It got me where I needed to go fairly well. Until I got into the park. Then it decided to tell me this:

thank goodness I was on the road

Luckily, at that point there were already signs pointing me toward the race and really, all I had to do was follow the car in front of me.

Package pick up was easy and I was also fantastically excited to see a bag check in the same place. It meant I didn't have to hoof it back to the car before the race...I just got to stay in the warm, warm building. And use a real bathroom. This made me happy. It was -4°C. 


Originally, I had planned on running in a short sleeved shirt and arm warmers. I was VERY glad that I packed a long sleeved shirt just in case...I needed it and ran in the short sleeved shirt plus the long sleeved shirt...and gloves, and a headband to keep my ears warm. 
As I headed to the start line, I laughed as I saw this guy:

Flashy

I had no idea how to pace myself. I didn't know what the course was like and it was hard to know how I'd feel. I didn't run as much in October as I had planned. My longest run was just under 9 miles right near the beginning of the month, I had run a few 5 milers, but mostly 3 and 4 milers throughout the month. So I was well rested for this race :)


So I just ran. I worked hard. I checked my pace if it felt to easy or hard- just to keep myself honest- but for the most part, I just ran. The course was gorgeous, the sun was out, and it was a beautiful day for a run.


As I reached the top of the biggest hill, I came up to a guy in BRIGHT orange and said something like "well that was fun" and passed him. A few minutes later, he came up behind me and I felt like he wanted to pass me. So I pushed the pace a little and we ended up running side by side for a long time. As I did some math, I didn't think I was on pace for a big finish, so as I powered up what turned out to be the last hill, my sunglasses completely fogged, and I got a little bit of a stitch, I stopped and walked for a few seconds to wipe my glasses and tame the stitch.  

Start and Finish line

It wasn't for long, but it did help a lot (seeing is a wonderful thing when the ground is full of potholes and other hazards). But then I hit the 8km mark, did some more math, and realized that my previous math had been terrible and that I was on pace for a PR. I just thought "ok, two sub-5 minute kilometres is nothing" but I kind of wanted to smack myself because had I done the math better BEFORE I stopped to wipe my glasses I probably would have just taken them off and kept running to save time, to stay with the guy in orange, and to stay on pace for a potential sub 52 finish. (my previous PR was 52:55). But of course, hindsight is 20/20.


At 51:38 I looked at my watch and looked at the distance I still had and thought that maybe...just maybe I could finish in the next 21 seconds...so I ran as hard as I could. How hard you ask? So hard that when I got to the finish line, I genuinely thought I was going to throw up. I leaned over to catch my breath and was 90% sure I was going to see the contents of my stomach on the ground soon. I did not. And I was happy about that. My Garmin tells me that at the end I was running a 6:08 mile. Which is kind of crazy.


Unfortunately, I didn't manage the sub 52 finish...but I did run a 52:11. A totally unexpected PR. But I'm shaking my head and thinking that Orange and I could have raced each other to a 51:59 finish if we had stuck together. He finished in 52 minutes on the dot...oh what could have been :)


Regardless though- I'm not disappointed at all (except for with my math skills) and really pleasantly surprised with how much fun I had and how I ran. My body seems to like these fall, cold weather, 10 km races. That run in Canmore last year was an unexpected PR as well. I think I just like the 10 km race distance. I should do more!


The race was well organized and I would definitely do it again. Thanks Oka!
Hope you all had a great weekend! I know some of you were racing- so tell me how it went!