Amelia Runs: Blame it on the A-A-A-Alcohol

Or the Calgary Stampede. Either one. (Just because I am in Vancouver doesn't mean I can't dress up like a cowgirl and drink.)

Honesty time. Today's Summerfast 10km race was my punishment for a heavy night out. Why do I do this to myself?!

I woke up Saturday morning (thank you, Carolyn!) with about 10 minutes to get ready before the taxi came to take Care, Ally and I to the race. I was feeling OK but totally not in race- mode. We did a little warm-up run (aka 1 km) and then got ready to roll. I knew the race was flat the whole way through so my goal was to beat my PB (42:26). To make a 10km story short I ended up getting a PB. Yea! Sort of. I really didn't push it too hard during the race and know I could do better. I was scared I would be sick if I ran too hard... and between kilometers 6 and 7 I was definitely not feeling hot. I also didn't finish strong (people were yelling "hard to the finish" to me, thanks people- do you want me to puke on you? )

Final Stats:

Time- 41:33

Average Pace- 4:11/km

Female Division- 5/65

Overall- 56/311

When I saw the results I was annoyed with myself because I think I could have run a lot faster and moved up a place. However, the race organizers combined the female age groups from 20-35 and gave medals to the top 5! Hollla! Thank you VFAC for taking pity on the poor hungover girl.

Lessons Learned: Umm... don't drink the night before a race? I finished feeling pretty comfortable and it wasn't an all out effort. It kind of went by in a blur. I hate not pushing myself during races, it feels like a waste. I think it's harder to do with shorter distances because I am so used too trying to conserve energy for longer races. Overall, I think that I kept a pretty good pace throughout the run but wish I had finished stronger.

I really liked the course, it was pretty and flat. Def wanted to be one of the people I saw on a boat instead of running...