BMO 10KM Road Race

[GordM]

I got to come home for the weekend, and thought I would jump in on the 10km road race in ktown. I wasn't expecting much: I had done a strength workout two days earlier, and was still sore. I had also been out late the night before with some buddies, and probably shouldn't have...

Anyways, race morning woke up at 6:00 not feeling too hot, got some food and water in me, showered up, and was a new man - ready to rock! Got there with lots of time for a good warmup, and was good to go when I got to the start line. I did get stuck back near the 45:00 pacer in the starting crowd, so once the gun went, I made a good effort to get out near the front.

I really really really wanted a sub-35:00. I knew I was in shape, and I knew that it was definitely feasible.

I got off to a slow start, then worked my way up in the pack, picking guys off one at a time. I was trying my best to keep a consistent 3:30 pace...

at the 5km marker, I was at 16:45, with fairly even splits, so definitely on track. Everything up until now was consistent. This race, I never thought about my breathing or my cadence at all - I didn't intend it to be that way, but everything felt so smooth, I'm not sure it was necessary.

This is when I felt like an idiot. Because I had started further back, was sure that there was a lead group that I had to catch. So I kept my pace up and was determined to catch them even though they were out of sight...

I didn't realize until around 7km that the guy on the bike in front of me was in fact the course lead... I was already winning it. My splits stayed fairly consistent:

6- 3:30
7- 3:40
8- 3:31
9- 3:32
10- 4:56

I can't figure out what happened on the last km - there was lots of congestion with half marathoners on the last km, but I had definitely picked up my pace; my garmin says my pace was 3:26/km... maybe a marker was out of place? I can't figure it out.

Anyways, I crossed the line in 1st at 35:24 - so close! All things considered, I was very happy with the result. It was 3:00 off of the last 10km I did in February, and this time around, everything felt very consistent. I had enough left in me to finish strong, and I can't wait to pick it up in my next race!

[Andrew]

WOW...what a result.

The running with no thoughts of cadence or breathing, but feeling the smoothness and ease of it sounds a lot like something that has been described as being in a "Flow State". It is a state of perfection, when form and function meet to have a perfect synergy, and time seems to slip away, and the miles just pass beneath your feet, almost effortlessly. It is something we should all aspire to, and can be achieved as one accumulates enough miles so that the rigid and dysfunctional running patterns we have all learn form sitting at our desks are replaced by the efficiency gained from miles on our feet. It certainly sounds like the bigger volumes of running you have been doing at UBC are paying off.

Now, back to focus on your cadence, and you will DEFINITELY see that time drop with every race to come!

Congrats on a fantastic homecoming.

Mathematically, there is no way you can run 4:56 in the final km and still go 35:24...for the record. 3:56 possibly...if you were averaging exactly 3:30 to that point, but you said you were out in 16:45, which is well under the 17:30 that would give you and even split race of 35:00. A jaded coach might even suggest you went out a little hard, knowing that every single world record held form 5km to the marathon has been done with an even split or negative split pattern. Back off at the beginning, and RIP IT UP at the finish!

I can't wait to hear what happens next!

[GinnySellars]

Gord, I had a good laugh reading this report. You were winning the race and had no idea!

I know it's obvious now, but if you are going to run sub 35min...you gotta start at the front. Don't waste time dodging people.

3min off your 10km earlier in the year is MASSIVE improvement when you are going that fast already. Good for you! I also love that you got that feeling of FLOW during the race, where you knew your breathing and cadence were smooth.

I look forward to seeing what you can do on fresh legs, and no hangover...