5K Highland Yard Charity Race: July 29th.

The race was an event held in Minden Ontario, on July 29th at 6:00pm. We arrived at the race about an hour early. I found out just after I arrived that this is the last year they will be running this race. This is unfortunate because I was really happy when I found out there was a race up in Haliburton because it meant that I could also visit my mom at the same time. The charity run is an AMICI group organized race to raise money to allow underprivedged kids to go to summer camp. The event was started in 1971, and has been running with much success since that time. Although this year is supposedly the last year it will be running, I am hopeful that another charity will take over this excellent event.

We arrived at my mom's just before we had to leave. It was great because we had enough time to unpack our stuff for our two weeks holidays and still had time to get a quick snack before we had to leave for the race. My husband came with me which was great, because he was able to get a shot of me running as well as some shots of the race site.

I started at the front of the pack when the horn went off, only because it was a walk/run and I wasn't sure where to place myself based on the experience of the other runners in the group. Although several people passed me early in the race, my starting place was fine because after the first 300m noone passed me. If your starting position is good, this is exactly what should happen.

I started out a bit fast in the beginning, and even though I felt fine, I had to force myself to slow down. I ended up getting a bad cramp which may have been a result of going out to fast. I also wondered if maybe I had too many snacks and/or drank too much water before the start of the race. I tried really hard to run out the cramp using good breathing but it remained with me for the whole 5K. It wasn't good because it interferred with my ability to run. I did the best I could though and tried to keep up with the pack.

The first three kilometers were fairly straight forward but the last two were fairly grueling. There were some tough hills that were a bit relentless. I am not a big fan of racing when there are hills, but nevertheless I perservered. When I rounded the corner and saw the last 400m stretch before the finish I was feeling a bit tired but I was able to maintain a reasonable strong pace to the finish. I tripped over the finishing mat and managed to cross the line with a time of 26 min and 3 sec.

My time was a bit faster than I expected considering that I had a bad cramp and that I don't run 5K that fast in training. I ended up winning 3rd place in my age group (W40-49). My finish was 3/16 for my age group and 16/63 for my gender place. I was absolutely thrilled with the results because it was my first medal in a road race. This is an excellent accomplishment for me because I consider running to be a weakness. The prize for winning 3rd place was a water bottle, which was great because I needed a new one which would fit in my bike holder, so I was also very happy about that.

What a great race! I hope to do this one again in the future so I am hoping that another charity organization will pick this race up again for next year. Because it is a great purpose for a charity race and I was glad to be a part of it.

Summer 2011 Training: Working in the city and mountain biking?!

     I was hired to work on a writing project for the ministry of education and it required me to stay in York Region for two weeks.  Training down there was quite a challenge.  Where I was staying and working had limited options for places to do some serious biking/swimming/running.  I also had a challenge training around my working hours.  The first week was the most difficult because I was on a heavy training schedule that consisted of 20 hours of training.  I ended up having to get up every morning at 5:15am and going to the Markham YMCA where I either swam or participated in a spin class from 6-7am.  Then after work I went to a local high school track and ran 9km.  I wasn't able to get all my weekly biking mileage done this way and it forced me to try to get it all in on the weekend, between my two working weeks.  I was really exhaused after the weekend because I had to swim 2K, run 12K and bike 95K all in two days.  When I went back to the city for the second week, I could barely keep my eyes open driving back on the Sunday night.  The nice thing about the second week was that it was my rest week.  I timed it well, except for the fact that our work was cut short two days and I ended up heading back up North two days early.  I didn't entirely rest though, I will admit to cheating a little on my rest week, as my friend Richard introduced me to my first mountain biking experience.  Who knew there was a beginner mountain biking trail located in the heart of Newmarket! 

     We started our journey by leaving Richard's house and connecting with the local walking trail in his residential area, located behind the upper Canada mall between Yonge and Bathurst.

When we started out it was a bit busy, there were a lot of cars and people in the neighbourhood.  This was a bit of a challenge for me because I had clipless road bike pedals and shoes.  And as anyone knows who uses them, the reaction time is slower because you have to clip out of your pedals before stepping down.  It can be a recipe for disaster if you are hit by someone who isn't paying attention to where they are going.  For this reason I spent the first 30 minutes of our trip feeling extremely anxious as I was riding.  Luckily Richard lead the way, giving me hand signals and making me aware of possible danger.  This helped me extend my reaction time if necessary.  Once we reached the main trail which was near the Tannery, I felt much more relaxed.  This was because all we encountered from then on were other bikers and a few pedestrians, who were very respectful of our presence on the trail. 

     We choose to head north on the trail which ended up to be a really great idea.  The scenery was beautiful.  For example part of the trail followed the Holland River, in fact, this section was where I enjoyed my first mountain biking experience, as the trail gradually went from being paved to crushed gravel, to hard packed dirt and eventually a narrow dirt track.  Even though it was rough and a bit technical in spots, it was well worth the effort.

     Richard and I set out quite late on our biking adventure because we both had to work that day.  So we were a bit concerned about making it back before sunset.  We did stop to take a few pictures however, and as a result Richard was able to get some great shots with interesting lighting.

     On the way back, it seemed to be less busy.  There were less cars driving on the back streets and fewer pedestrians.  We stopped to take one last photo on a bridge that crossed the Holland River before we got back on the gravel trail which would take us back to the Tannery.

     I am really glad that Richard talked me into going biking after work on the Wednesday because it left me with a sense of hope.  I couldn't imagine living in York Region and not having access to a good biking trail.  I guess I am spoiled with where I live because there are all these interconnecting bike trails for serious bikers.  And a serious biker can go a couple hundred km on these trails with almost no interruption caused by traffic.  I will admit that I am not used to being a nervous biker, and until this experience I never saw a need to upgrade my comfort bike to a more sturdy trail bike with something other than road bike shoes to wear on my feet.  A couple of days later I found myself in a bike store wondering if I should upgrade my bike to a more appropriate training bike.  I am not sure yet if it is the right decision for me, but it did put the thought in my mind.  I guess I have my friend Richard to thank for opening my eyes to a new bike experience!  Thanks so much for sharing one of the best features of York Region to me, I look forward to biking again with you in the future.