Re-Fridgee-Eighter 8 mile Feb 21, 2010

Just completed my first race this year, the Re-Fridgee-Eighter 8 Mile. Last year I did it in 1:00:46, my goal this year get it under 1 hour by running an avg 4:30 pace!



The weather forecast was favourable, Sun 3C not much wind. When I left home at 7:30am I was dressed in shorts. Only one problem ...it was -15 C!!!!!!! What was I thinking , the whole 80 minute drive was spent watching the temp that was ever so slowly creeping up. It was Sunny with no wind all the way but when I pulled into Conestoga the fog was so thick the Sun disappeared and it was -6C. My cutoff for shorts is Zero so I grabbed my gear and changed into my tights. As I was dressing I asked another runner if he thought tights slowed him down. He said that he did Around Bay with and without tights and yes they do slow you down. That's kinda what I thought! I dressed light up top , long sleeve light tech T with my Saugeen Tri Shell topped off with a Ball Cap and Gloves.



The race has grown quiet a bit over the last few years, more then 650 this year. The 8K and 8Mile start at the same time . If they get any bigger they are going to need to split the starts. I tried to get up front with the first 50 or so but ended up with a hundred or more in front of me. Ended up walking across the start matt due to congestion. First few hundred meters were slow , when things opened up I gunned it trying to make up some time. By the end of the first K I felt like a fish out of water gasping for air and was surprised to see a 4:19 on the clock. The next 12K were just out and out right tough, I never did get into it and was fighting to keep pace the rest of the way. Sometime between 2K and 3K I noticed I was getting too hot. Removed the ball cap and stuck it in my coat. 3K in there was beads of sweet running down my forehead into to my eyes creating a rather uncomfortable burn. The first 4K was with the wind at our backs and the Sun in our face . The coat was undone to the belly and I was beginning to wish I was in shorts! 4K in we changed direction , there was a breeze from the right and the Sun on the left , that and the undone coat really helped get temps under control. 5K in we turned into the wind with the sun at out back ... it was chilly. I had to do the coat up because I was staring to get cold. My avg pace was constantly ticking up each K , 4:20 , 4:24 , 4:30 by 5K .... I was slowing down. I really thought I could hold a 4:20-4:30 pace but it wasn't working , every K was hard! 6K in I started to cramp, had vision of walking it off but I kept pushing and before I hit 7K it subsided and shortly after it went away. I really fell off pace due to the cramp and did the 7th K in 4:46. I really thought I wasn't going to be able to bring it in in under and hour at this point ...avg pace was still going in the wrong direction...4:34 now. At the 7K mark we had the sun in our face and wind at our back ... once again it was hot , down went the zipper to the Belly until we changed direction at 9K. With 4K to go I knew I still had a shot at my goal but it wasn't getting any easier. I was closing on a couple of Women and was falling into that tuck in and follow trap , they were starting to fade a bit and so was I. This is when I decided to push harder and start passing. Went by a couple of others in the next 2Ks , they were good targets to keep me pushing. With few Ks to go I caught up with a fellow who really helped me along. When I tried to pass he went faster . I ended up running on his heels for a couple of Ks , I was so close that I was casting a shadow across his path, I think this helped both of us push to the end. With 2K to go the is a decent hill , climbing around 20 meters in the first third of the 12th K. With 1K 1K to go looked at my watch , the elapsed time had just past the 55 minute mark. For the first time since the race began I knew I was going to break 1 hour ... just had to hold on! With 0.5K to go I opened it up , past the fellow that I had been shadowing and set my sights on another. I held a 4 min pace until the last 70 meters , I back off because I felt like I was going to throw up and I knew I had my Sub 60. Cleared the crowd as I crossed the finish line with a couple of dry heaves! When I stopped my Garmin it said 59:23 , 12.94K for and average pace of 4:35 min/K.



So , I am pleased with the results but I feel like I could have done a little bit better. Its kinda crazy to feel that way when the entire run was a struggle but I'll be back for another crack at it next year.




Garmin Data ...







2009 compared to 2010 ...



And the official results...placed 60th out of 200 participants, 55th out of 125 men, 17th out of 25 in the age group 45-49. My gun time was 59:40 and a chip time of 59:24.