Race day weather was really lousy , my Wife and two Sons were going to participate but they backed out. I don't blame them one bit. If your not prepared to be out in these conditions it can be pretty miserable. This Mount Forest race was where it all began for me, this was my 6th consecutive Trillium 10K. The number of participants has really grown. The first year there was around 100 racing in the in line skate / 5K and 10K Road Races , this year there were nearly 500! In spite of the cold 5C temp, rain and high winds there were more then 100 Race Day registrations.
The 09:30 am start was delayed , registration and race kit pick up was slower then they expected. . I started warming up at 9:15 and kept warming up until the race started at 9:53. The upper part of the arena has a running track , I did laps there until about 9:35. I was starting to get hot so I headed outside. I continued to jog in preparation for the race start. It was great to acclimatize to the rain, wind and cold and it made for a comfortable start.
Headed out watching the Garmin , not running fast for awhile made getting into a 4:20-4:30 pace a bit awkward. First 2K were done in 4:24 then 4:22. I was beginning to feel comfortable with the pace , the third K was the same as the 1st , 4:24. I was starting to get hot with the wind at my back so the Sagoi Firewall Jacket was undone to the belly and the ball cap came off. This is also the time that I realized that the wind was really pushing me along. I tried to pick it up a bit to bank a little time knowing that the wind would be a factor coming back. The 4th and 5th K were done in 4:22, 4:36 ...so much for banking time! The next 5K were grueling , we were pretty exposed for the first 2.5K back and then things improved a bit but the wind was a factor all the way. 6th K was done in 4:21 ... wind in my face I pushed hard, really hard . The extra effort would definitely be a factor in the 7th and 8th K. These two Ks were the slowest of the day , 4:34 and then 4:41. I was running head down with my right shoulder angled towards the wind. It was hard to breath , the wind was ramming air down the wind pipe. The last 2K were done in town , there was a bit of relief from the wind and I was able to complete the 9th K in 4:30. The Garmins AVG pace had climbed from a 4:23 at the turnaround to 4:27 through 9K. I figured that I only had to do a 5:00 last K to break 45 min. The only person to pass me in the final 5K was a women at the 9K mark. She was moving very well so I decided to try to keep on her heals. I was close but never managed to close in on her and completed the last K in 4:10...I didn't think I had that in me!
Garmin said I ran 9.99km in 44min19sec for an avg pace of 4:26/km. The official results gave me a chip time of 44:16, finished 20th out of 124 participants, there were 17 in the 40-49 age group and I was 3rd and I was 17th out of 73 males. This finish was 34 seconds faster them my last 10K October 2009 and it was 45 seconds off my 10k PB set in May 2009 at the Trillium race. I suspect that if the weather was better I would have been able to better last years time...but then again maybe not!
Lots of great food afterwards. It was pizza and yogurt washed down with water. Tons of great prizes. A road bike valued at $1,000 and a ticket anywhere Porter Airlines flys were up for grabs. All participants were entered in the draw, tons of other great running an non running giveaways.
Next weekend its Mississauga Full, today was encouraging!
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