My very first running race (Sun 22 July ) in Lindsay, ON. The Lindsay Milk Run was a 10k that I easily trained for locally as my family is close by. During visits I trained on most of the routes and was prepared for the small hills.
I was up at 5am and had my usual oatmeal with raisins and a bit of dark chocolate chips including my favorite cranberry + pumpkin seed toast topped with peanut butter.
I arrived in plenty of time, and then went for a 5 minute warm-up run along Albert Street. The race started just after 8am which dawned a humid (90% humidity) and promised to be a scorching 30 degrees by the end of the race. Acclimatizing to the heat paid off by going for lunch time walks in the extreme heat and leaving the air conditioning off in the car.
As I lined up at the start, trying to figure out where I should place myself based on my pace as this was my first race. I was impressed with the number of teams from places like Peterborough and Toronto. It was a briny of singlets in the street off the Community Center,
I would have to pace myself and not burn myself out in the first few kilometers then the gun went off and I was on my way. A kilometer in, I found myself checking my Garmin for my pace to make sure I was not running too fast, I was so I backed off a bit as John from Running Free told me to stick to my best pace, 5:35. I would later realize it should have been 4:35 and I was ok.
I broke away as soon as possible to lead my self some space, I ran almost entirely alone as crowds make me feel uncomfortable and anxious up until the 4km mark where I trailed a girl much younger and matched her pace. She tried to loose me a few times but I think it tuckered her out on the hills and she fell behind.
I struggled slightly between 7 and 8k it was my slowest km of the morning heat where the course followed an old rail path which was ever so slightly uphill. It wasn’t my best as I heard a fast runner pushing a stroller, I fought with my self (How could this be happening) I dug deep around 8k to push harder to loose the stroller at which point the route goes continuously and gradually downhill toward the finish and put together a final push and All in all, it was a great day.
Lindsay put together a well-organized race with some excellent runners toeing the line. From race kit pick up to the awesome cooling tents, music and the highlight of the race? The ice cream! Kawartha Dairy set up a self serve table of fabulous ice cream.
It was certainly not the time I was looking for but I know it was my very first race. The winner, Jamie Switzer, is a bona-fide elite runner from Peterborough. The top male in my age group John Ingram finished in 36 Minutes ranking at number 8
23/33 50-59 Age Group 90/122 Male overall
