Melissa's Road Race - 10km 2011
Having lived in the Bow Valley for a good five years now Melissa's Road Race has always been one of my favourite events of the year. As you run the course there are always smiling faces from the local volunteers cheering you on, as well as lots of familiar faces running the course itself.
I had learnt a few years ago that the hills of Melissa's 10km can play mind games with you, just as you reach the top of St Julien Road your heart sinks as you turn left onto Tunnel Mountain Road for some further hill bashing. However, the route was changed this year and as I looked at the route map I realised the hills were longer and steeper. I have trained on the hills of Tunnel Mountain many a time but they can be gruelling when racing in a fast paced 10km. This year I was racing Melissa's as a training run and to gage my fitness level for a run later in the year. The result of this race would let me know just how much work I had to do before my next one.
Race Day came and like most years the sun was shinning and everyone was in great spirits. I am always amazed at how the recreation ground is transformed overnight into a slick race operation with bands, food, pick up stations etc, and am always so grateful for the time and hard work from the race organisers and volunteers. I found the Lululemon run club group warming up, and having run with them on many a Wednesday night run knew they would be a great crowd to pace me and keep me going up those hills. With thirty minutes to go I made sure I was fuelling up, going to the washroom, stripping surplus clothing and hydrating. Nerves always kick in around this time as the desire to push yourself and get a new PB starts to focus you for the race.
10:25am came and everyone started to line up ready for the gun, bang here we go. We started off at a nice steady pace sticking to the left of the pack and taking it in turns to set a pace. At this stage in a race I am always repeating the same two things, "focus on yur breathing and do not go out too quickly" I have always been someone who races a negative split time and usually take about 20 minutes to really get my pace and stride right, so I have to remind myself not to get caught up in the excitement of everyone whizzing off at 5-7min mile pace and stick to my planned start pace.
It took us about five minutes to reach the first climb, it is a gradual climb and not too steep so a good warm up for the hills to come. As we reached the top you could feel the fatigue of the crowd as the legs began to burn. Everyone pushed on and I could hear people encouraging struggling friends and family as the hills got steeper. As we turned the corner at Buffalo Mountain Lodge and started the climb towards The Banff Centre my legs felt good but I was struggling to maintain a steady heart rate. It was definitely a mental battle reaching the top of the climb to The Banff Centre, you could hear the puffs and grunts from the large pack of runners that I was surrounded by and there was definitely nobody having a chat to a fellow runner at this point. At one point I looked to my right as I knew one of my favourite lookouts was just ahead, and there it was a beautiful view of town that gave me a second wind. It's always good to have a reminder of why we do these mountain runs to appreciate where you are and what you are achieving. And then I saw it the top of the hill and the donward path to Surprise Corner. Now it was time to let go on the downhill which was not so easily done as I was struggling with a crazy stitch. Half way down I managed to find my stride again and pick up some speed. It was all down hill and flat along the river form this point forward and I coud really stretch out those legs and go for it.
I really enjoyed the last three km of the race, having ran continuous hills for so much of it the flats were like heaven and took away any previous leg burning. As a sprinter throughout school I always looked forward to the last 1km of the race as this is where I can give my all and make sure I have nothing left when I finish. As I turned the corner into the recreation grounds I could see the finish line and kicked again for an all out sprint with my running partner 300m, 200m 100m and we are across the line. A few minutes to recover and then it's time to stretch the legs and refuel.
What another great race, not my fastest 10km but hey for a run at altitude with a climb I was happy. I know I have some work to do before my half marathon in Vegas but I have the time to really focus on my weak areas. Time to sit down and write my next training plan which will take me through to the next race.
Check back after Dec 4th to see if I managed to conquer the glits and glam of the Rock N Roll Las Vegas half marathon.
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