North Face Endurance Challenge - 5K

North Face Endurance Challenge - 5K - September 14, 2014

time = 23:19
pace = 7:31
(there is no age group placing because i placed overall)
placed 2 in women out of 64
placed 6 overall out of 107

finished with my finisher medal

i entered this race at a lower distance because i was going to be coming off of the lapham race and (originally) was supposed to be running a 10K next weekend.  i thought it would be in bad form to run 2 big races in a row and then follow that up with a 10K.  now, the 10K is really no big deal, but running 2 halfs or a half and then longer 2 weekends in a row?  yeah... not such a good idea so i didn't do it.

i really wanted to run this race tho' so i opted for the 5K.  5Ks are no joke tho'... it seems like they should be easy peasy lemon squeezy since they're ONLY 3.1 miles, but DAMN... 3.1 miles of balls to the walls running is a damn challenge!

today was cold!  woke up to about 39 degrees so i wasn't sure how to dress as the weather said it would be up to 50 by the time i ran.  50's i can deal with and i know how to dress for but what to do about the pre-race dressing?  ugh... i hate being cold!  so i first opted for shorts and a tank.  i figured i could throw a fleece over it and be done.  yeah... not so much.  SO.COLD!  so i threw a long sleeve on and then the fleece and took off for ottawa.  when i arrived i saw so many LPTR friends.  it was great!  chatted for awhile and watched the other runners mill around then it was time for the 10K runners to take off.  thankfully, the race had provided nice little fire pits to keep warm around.  without those i would have been totally frozen!

stood around for another 15 minutes and sized up the competition... then it was time.

i decided to start at the front because this race goes along the shoulder of the road and i didn't want to get stuck behind anyone so i figured starting too fast would be ok since i'd rather get passed than get frustrated trying to pass.  proved to be good and bad as usual.

the front of the pack was 4 men and i pulled up on the 4th almost immediately and had to try to get around him.  it took maybe a quarter of a mile and then i got around.  i was right on the heels of the 3rd guy, feeling pretty good, and then i glanced at my watch.

i was running a SIX MINUTE MILE!  WHAT?!?  after i glanced at my garmin i didn't feel so good anymore.  what's that they say about ignorance being bliss?  so, i slowed my roll as there's absolutely no way on this earth that i could maintain that pace and come out alive.  mile one turned out to be 3/4 on the road and i'm a bit disappointed about that.  i sort of think that this can't actually be called a "trail race" because so much of it was on the road.  sort of 1/2 and 1/2 actually.  *sigh*

me and angelena - 2nd and 1st place respectively

my first mile i was the lead woman, and then at about a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half i glanced behind me... that was mistake number 2.  i saw who would be the eventual winner right behind me.  right after i caught her in my rearview she started gaining on me, and then passed me just before the turn around.  i stayed on her heels for the next half mile or so, but she hit a downhill at a great time and got away from me.  at that point i must have slowed down with all the little hills because she just kept getting further and further away from me.  after the turn around i got the opportunity to see everyone who was behind me and just how much leeway i had between me and the 3rd place woman.  it seemed like a 30 second lead is what i had but the finish put her at around a minute slower which is awesome.

all the goodies

i'd like to also add that the 3rd place finisher was 33 years old... this is notable because i'm freaking old compared to these 2 women!  yay!  i blew away everyone in my age group with a time gap of almost 7 minutes between me and the 1st place finisher in the 40-44 age group!  that's crazy!  the first place winner overall who beat me is 32 and she gapped me with just over a minute!  such a bummer, but it couldn't be helped.  i was running my hardest and doing my best.  my best wasn't enough to catch her or stay ahead of her... she did amazing!  competitive much? yeah... sorry.

back to the race... that's about it.  the course was not notable.

the blue is the first mile and as you can see where it veers off of 67
that's where it begins on the trail

it was an out and back with half of it being on the road.  the trail was what looked like a mowed down section of grassy trail with huge tire divots the whole way through.  sort of rocky in spots and i really had to watch my footing the whole way because the footing was very uneven and a rolled ankle was totally possible.  there was nothing all that exciting about the trail part of the race and i won't be doing this distance for this race again.  especially if they have it at the same place.  i suppose for someone who's never run a trail race before this would be a good way to get your feet wet because it wasn't totally trail.  however, i run trails all the time so this was pretty disappointing.  i expected a better trail (and total trail) experience.

next year i'm running a longer distance to make sure i get an actual trail run.

everything else was awesome.  i got a chiropractic adjustment and a (sort of) massage.  the food looked good (although i didn't have any).  the awards were awesome and the support was fantastic!  the volunteers were amazing and probably the best part.  the vendors were cool but i don't really care about that stuff so i didn't really spend a lot of time on that.  getting the results was really easy and they had a PODIUM!  that was really cool.  this is the first race i've been in that had one... i'm easy to impress... obviously.  i came in 6th overall and honestly i have no idea where the 4th man came from since after i passed the initial 4th man so there were only 3 in front of me i'm pretty sure that no one else passed me... i'm guessing that maybe one passed me  on the way back out of the woods or maybe there was a man in front that i never saw because he was so damn fast.  the lead winner finished in 19:36!  so very fast!  impressive to say the least.

i'm not sure i enjoy 5Ks anymore.  i like them to measure my speed but they're so hard and not very fun.  i feel like i'm going to die the whole time i'm running this distance.  i wonder how i'll feel at the marathon distance?  now that'll be interesting...

top 10 finishers overall

pre-race lookin' fresh

  

on my tail and so close!

crossing the finish with a smile