Sporting Life 10k 2013

SPORTING LIFE 10k TORONTO

Supporting Camp Oochigeas

Pre-Race: What you need to know is that 2 of my best friends that I grew up with from Chatham (Lindsay and Delynn) decided to run their first ever 10k THIS RACE. Let me also tell you that neither one of them had ever done a race prior to this and to be quite frank they did not share the same passion or enthusiasm for running as me before this point. They both had to start from scratch and I mean bare bones! 

The training they did prior to this was a combination of programs they found online that involved treadmill walk/run schedules that didn't truly set them up. For example one had my friend going at such a fast pace during her run she couldn't maintain it for more than 10mins. I was fortunate enough to see Delynns training schedule about a month prior to the race when her and her husband joined Kev and I in Cabo. This gave me a chance to help her adjust to the road from the treadmill and lengthen her time running vs. walking. The strides she made in our week vacation were huge and I knew if she continued on she would be set.  She learned during this vacation how to pace herself.

Lindsay was a bit different case because years ago she used to come with me on jogs and I knew she wouldn't have a problem with the distance. The problem (no problem at the end of the day) was in her head and believing in herself and her ability. She would have to tackle that gremlin on the day of and I knew her nerves would be high.

Katie had cut down her distance with her training at this point because she was only a mere 3.5-4 weeks away from giving birth. She was doing little runs through the week with her dog and son Hudson.

My pre race training included doing 5 runs a week with a minimum of one of my runs at a distance of 10k or more. My goal was to support my friends in their race and to finish together so time didn't matter...We were in it together through thick and thin.

Race: Sporting Life 10K Run for Kids with Cancer

Website: http://www.sportinglife10k.ca/

When: Sunday May 12, 2013

Cost: $45.00

Field Size: 27,000 runners

10k course: Canada's easiest and one of the fastest 10k courses anywhere since it goes right down Yonge street, Canada's most famous street.

Aid Stations: Water and Gatorade were available at the start, 4k, 7k and at the finish area

Start Time: 7:45am (you need to be in your running corral), 8:00am 1st wave starts, 8:10am approx the second wave goes all the way to the 6th wave at around 9:10am. 

Course Restrictions: Baby joggers, strollers, and animals are not allowed to participate. Must be 12 years old and above to participate on race day.

Race Kit: Nike technical t-shirt  (my tip is to pick up your kit as early as you can so you get the size you had originally put down when registering). If you wait to the last day you will more than likely find your size isn't there anymore. Coupon for Sporting Life. 

Race Awards: Every participant receives a medal and the following places receive money gift cards:

Open Male/Female	Sporting Life Gift Card
1st Place	$1000 Gift Card
2nd Place	$750 Gift Card
3rd Place	$500 Gift Card
4th Place	$300 Gift Card
5th Place	$175 Gift Card

Masters Male/Female	Sporting Life Gift Card
1st Place	$500 Gift Card
2nd Place	$300 Gift Card
3rd Place	$175 Gift Card

Post Race Food: Bagels and bananas

Winning Womens Time: Sasha Gollish in 35:58

Winning Men's Time: Johana Kariankei in 30:19

Our time: just under 1hr and 10mins

Our placement: 16636-Katie, 16644-Kev, 16626-Dee, 16623-Linds, 16622-me

Night Before the Race: 

The night before the race Kevin made a pasta dinner for all of us ladies and their men and Linds and Dee had a wee bit of wine. Most the night was a great reminder to me of my first race and the curiosity that surrounds that. Both Dee and Linds were wondering what to wear, eat in the morning, stategy etc.  The best part I think was Dee asking for wine and if that's okay the night before. My ladies do love their wine. I did explain that alcohol does dehydrate and isn't something I typically have but if their bodies are used to it and they want a bit it's totally personal. 

Race Play by Play:

Oh what a freezing cold day it was on this race/mothers day in Toronto. You never know what your going to get with Canadian weather...We got the coldest day that we had seen in weeks with the temperature in single digits and high winds.

Dave and Eric (Dee and Lindsay's men) dropped us off on yonge and us girls plus Kev made our way to our starting coral. Once there we couldn't find an opening in the fence so we devilishly chose to hop over it. What humour this brought to all those around because with the baby belly drawimg attention I had the girls help lift my ass over while Kevin caught me on the other side. A few minutes before the gun went off Katie found us and the two pregos, two newbies and best support husband ever were on our way.

Katie and Dee close to Davisville

Due to the crowd we broke off into little groups...Dee ran with Katie up ahead and Kev and I ran with Lindsay just behind. I noticed right away that both ladies were quite different in their running strategies...Dee was a talker and this kept her distracted and made running more enjoyable for her while Lindsay was the  focused silent type who would respond to our talking with a smile or quick gesture. This made it difficult to know how she was really doing and what might be going on in her head. 

Dee chatting away and Lindsay on the right focused straight ahead!

The kms went by quickly with lots of gratitude from all of us when the sun made an appearance. One of my favourite bits was seeing my coworker Chellz killing it on the drums with her band, 'Samba Squad'. I didn't recognize her till right as we were passing and really wish I could get a photo. My amazing husband graciously ran back to get one since he's so speedy.

Chellz is in the top middle with the purple hair! 

Another special moment was Katie's husband, son and parent in laws cheering at yonge and bloor. Seeing how excited Hudson her son was to see her made me think about how our baby will be in those moments when Kev and I race. Can't wait for that.

Katie and I

                     

Seeing the race from a different perspective

Kevin running ahead to snap a photo of us nearing the end

Near the end of the race...Around 8k both Katie and I had to find a place to pee. The pressure from the babies was getting intense! We saw some port-a-loos in the distance and sped ahead of the girls to go, letting them know we will join them soon. The only problem here was we didn't sort out if they would stop or where they would be. Because Kev had his cell on him we found out they were almost at the 9k mark which meant katie and I had to pick up our pace to catch them. We raced ahead at almost a sprint pace and got to them thankfully with time to spare before the finish.

When we hit the final km of the race Lindsay's energy picked up more than any of us anticipated and she was off...The problem here was Delynn who was steady the full race didn't believe she had any gas left to increase that much without burning out before the finish. That was Dee's gremlin coming up this time and both Kev and I motivated her to increase like we did at the end of our Cabo runs, we would find a spot ahead and pick up a bit and than pick up a bit more as we went on. She managed just fine and surprised herself. After catching up with Lindsay we all saw the finish line ahead and grabbed onto one another ready to go full blast when we were STOPPED TO A HALT due to congestion. The actual reason was due to a new layout beyond the finish that had all participants cross lakeshore by traffic light to the park beyond for post race medals and food. Lakeshore was open to traffic, meaning pedestrians had to wait to cross. With higher numbers crossing later in the run this led to a significant back up. It got worse before it got better and we basically stood in front of the finish for several minutes before walking over the line. A brand new experience and mighty glad this wasn't for a PB. This also explains why up above our finishing places varied greatly despite crossing the line together.

End of the day I was sooooo HAPPY for Delynn, and Lindsay who completed their first 10k!! I was even happier for them when I heard them asking and talking to one another about what race they would do next. There confidence was high and I was happy to be part of getting them into the run scene which I believe they are now bigger fans of and will continue to be.

Can't wait to hear about their next races and results.