Todd's Icebreaker 10 Km race report

IceBreaker 10 Km race report – Todd

Well the icebreaker 10 Km has come and gone. This is always a great test to see where your run fitness is at. We were lucky with the weather. No snow or ice. Good running surface. I arrived sort of early (by my standards) 30 mins and I immediately had to find the nearest washroom. One of those things. After I went for my warmup but ran into Rose, Madi and Mariano. They wished me luck and Mariano asked if I was nervous as he has never seen me look like this before a race. I thought about this and said yes I am a bit nervous. I guess because this was my 1st race since my DNF at IM Canada and there was a small part of me that was questioning myself. I find the beginning and end of race very interesting and I always note what others (including myself) say. Things like….What time do you hope to run….Oh I missed so and so run so therefore….well I won’t hit this time because…..This is all too normal for the racing crowd and I tried to minimize this sort of talk and stay positive as much as possible.

My target for the day: 38 – 39 mins.

In brief: I started the race (as I have recommended to most) at a controlled pace and not too fast. When I came to the 1st Km mark in ~3:40 I knew I had to slow down. No problem, refocus. My HR monitor strap slipped off. No problem, pull it down. Concentrate on good breathing, cadence, armswing, press the slip on my watch. Check the time at 5 Km = 19:30. Good time and pace. There are lots of runners ahead of me. No worries I feel OK…stay strong. Look at the leaders as they pace. #1 looks great huge lead. Jordan is looking strong in top 3. Franks looks very good and focused in 4th, Rose is running well. After the turnaround I start looking at the runners behind and I wave at those I know, sorry about missing others. Pace felt good and able to maintain focus. With 1 Km to go I decide to slightly increase my pace and try to catch the runner in front. It worked and I was able to run strong to the finish line in sub 39 min. Goal met! 26th overall and 5th in Age group.

Tim had a good race and went sub 44 in 43:59.
Kelly placed in her age group 3rd with a 45:55
Mike was very happy to run today and finish in 48:18
Naomi (BHC) finished in 43:29
Mariano (tri-it) showed that training is overrated with a 48:54
Richelle (tri-it) finished in 49:06
Rose (tri-it) finished in 51:27.

Fun day to race and so great to see the familiar smiles and faces of runners from the past. Until next Icebreaker!