This is my shortest outing this year so short that I almost decided to skip the race but I didnt and I am really happy I ran it. I was working until midnight Friday , tried to get away at 10:00 pm but left at 11:15. I was up early , 6am for an hour in the hot tub with coffee. Had some toast with PB then drove my youngest to a Hunting course on Hanover for 07:40 am. The morning was bright , sunny and warm but that changed between Mount Forest and Shelburn .... foggy , overcast and a bit cooler , better for running. I arrived 45 min before the 10 am start. There were tons of people at the Mono Cliffs Park . I suspected I would be lined up to pick up my race kit but I breezed through the line. Wore my Adidas Super Nova Trail Shoes ... good solid rock plate and as it turns out they were a good choice.
I started slow , back of pack but I figured the pace would be reasonable and it was logging a 7:10 pace for the first K which was a long gentle climb. I was really feeling good and started to open up and started passing folks in the next K logging an avg 5:19 pace ....that kind of surprised me, didn't think I had any "trail speed" in me! Between 2 and 3 K it was a really big climb .... not too steep just really long. Because it was such a short race I decided to run all the hills except for the extremely steep ones. Logged and avg 7:27 pace in the 3rd K. Now what goes up comes down and the next 2Ks were a long gentle downhill logging an avg 5:33 and 5:23 pace. At around the 5.5K mark we had out biggest climb of the day ... there was a set of stairs followed by a small but gentle uphill. The 6th K with the biggest climb was done at an avg 7:02 pace. I knew I was closing in on the half way mark and was feeling good and really enjoying the feeling of flying through the forest. I was breathing heavy all the time and was probably somewhere around 95% of my maximum heart rate and I was Loving it! The next couple of Ks were somewhat technical , root s rocks and a bit of up and down. 7th and 8th K were done at an avg 5:29 and 6:10 pace. The final 6 K were a blast, fairly easy trails , some rocks and roots thrown in for good measure. I saw lots of folks going down or who had evidence of going down. Every now and again I would spot someone out in front of me and I would chase them down and pass. I always enjoy passing vs being passed especially in the closing Ks of the race. Going out easy like I did I did all the passing and wasn't passed by anyone. 9K through 12K I logged 5:45, 5:43, 5:22 and 5:12 Ks. The last couple of Ks were slightly downhill or flat and a tractor trail. Put the hammer down trying to catch a guy wearing a CVC shirt... he was picking it up too. the 13th and 14th K were done at a avg 4:50 and 4:54 pace. Finished the last half K or so at an avg 4:23 pace reaching a speed of 17 kmh as I passed the CVC shirt at the start/finish line.
So I had a blast , running fast was fun especially fun through the technical downhills. I wasn't trying to beat anyone and I really didn't care where I placed I was just out there being a kid having a blast wondering why I don't do more of these sorts of races! Grabbed a glass of water and a quick slice of Pizza then left for home. Sept 28 , Sun and temps in the mid 20s gave way to an afternoon of drinking Beer and Floating around the pool!
Unabashed Selfie....
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