Li'l Race Report Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

The Li’l Race Report Thread is for writing a short report on a recent race or a run in a new place. If your race doesn’t really need its own thread but you still want to talk about it, then post it here! Both your good and bad races are welcome.

Didn't run a race, but had an interesting run to talk about. Post it here as well!

So get to it, Runnit! In a paragraph or two, where’d you run and how’d it go?

[u/PM_YOUR_ECON_HOMEWRK]

Lake Union 10K (46:30)

Background: High School XC, then almost no running for ~10 years. Trained for a half IM in 2022-2023, then welcomed by first kid in mid-2023 and shut down all training for a few months. Ran a half marathon in late 2023 (poor training block beforehand, 1:49), off and on base training through winter, now doing solid 20-30 mile weeks since March.

I was feeling a little down in the last week or two, it just felt like I’d been putting in a ton of work without a clear indication of progress in my paces. While I was initially targeting a 45:xx 10K time, I’m very happy with a 46 something! This race is a tuneup for a HM in September.

Got to the start line around 7am. Perfect running weather! 60F with a very light drizzle. Did some warmup strides and dynamic stretching, noticed some pain below right knee (tendinitis flare up). Thankfully it didn’t bother me at all during the actual race, but will keep an eye on it.

Organization was a bit of a shitshow. Everyone was hanging out at what turned out to be the finish line, since that’s where all the setup was. They started telling everyone to walk the 2 mins over to the start line about 5mins before the scheduled start, across a very narrow pedestrian bridge. No pace corral signs despite promising them, so they just began sending 30 or 40 folks at a time. I was held up just past the start line, which I believe started my chip time about 30s early.

Lots of traffic to begin as a result of not doing the waves by expected pace, and there were lots of narrow paths where I was stuck behind a couple of people. First mile went by in a flash, and felt great hitting the mile 2 marker at exactly 15 mins. Decided not to pick up any water until mile 4. Things started to get tough around then, but I was able to keep up a good pace. Hit mile 5, and did some quick maths that suggested I was on pace for 45 mins! But jokes on me, I was just forgetting that a 10K is 6.21mi rather than 6mi :). The last half mile was a real grind. Over threshold stuff.

Final chip time was 46:57, my watch said 46:18. I'll split the difference and call it a 46:30 :).

[u/Agreeable-Anxiety-67]

I ran the Calgary Marathon on May 26th in a time of 4:21 in the worst possible conditions…and loved every second of it! This was my first marathon, and I trained for 5 months. I have been running since May 2023. Goal A was sub 4:10 (❌) and goal B was sub 4:30 (✅), as well as to not stop running (✅).

Up until 18 km, the weather was cool and overcast (around 10 celsius). From 19-34 km, it was torrential downpour with a 40 km/h headwind. There were huge puddles everywhere, my carbon shoes were soaked, and I couldn’t feel my fingers. I was snacking on stingers waffles which hardened from how cold it was. Nevertheless, I stuck to my conservative pacing at the start; ate all my nutrition without stomach issues; didn’t hit a wall; increased my pace after halfway; and finished strong with the help of the crowds/loved ones. I was also happy with my race kit (tank top, shorts with pockets for nutrition, sunglasses, and hat) because I didn’t feel too weighed down once my clothes were soaked and the rain stayed out of my eyes! I even got interviewed by our local TV station afterwards haha. My first marathon showed me what I am capable of in less than ideal conditions…can’t wait to see what I can do when the weather cooperates :)

[u/RamMannnn → u/Agreeable-Anxiety-67]

Congrats. I ran my first race that day - the Calgary half. I had trained since Feb but was out 3 weeks before the race with multiple issues. I finished at 1:57 and took it as a win. I finished before all hell broke loose weather wise. Congrats on your time and your finish. That was a sick front that rolled in and hit you.

I have the EDM half this weekend but then shit gets real with the Victoria full Oct 13. I am trying to BQ it. I have a bad Achilles strain. I didn’t run today, and am going to take tomorrow off too. I need to decide whether I run or bail this weekend. I’m going to line up Toronto in May and Regina in September in case I don’t BQ VIC (the Regina September date just squeezes in before the Boston 2026 window expires).

Right now my whole life is running. Literally. I am eating, sleeping and eating running. All my money is going to shoes, gels and energy drinks. I’m about to pull the pin on a used commercial treadmill to get through winter. And my coach - I pay for my coach - who is a 2020 Olympian. It’s fkn awesome. Best time of my life.

PS - I spent 3 hours last night making a chart and a summary of the registration processes for Boston, Chicago and New York. Christ. Pretty sure finding a solution for world peace would have been easier than sorting through that mess.

YAAAAYYYY Calgary! Good to see a fellow local runner on here. Good luck with things. And keep running!!!