Not a Flat Inch - Bermuda Race Weekend 10k Race Report

I just spent the last week running in shorts every day. The temperatures at home have been well below freezing, with lots of snow, but I'm not there. We've been visiting family in Bermuda, which has a much nicer climate than Canada in January. With the great weather and a fun off-road trail to run on, any plans for a taper this week went right out the window. I've tried to rein myself in, but it's just too much fun letting the legs go when you have this kind of opportunity. And so today's race is done on legs with the batteries partially drained. Not optimal, but definitely worth it.

The race begins and ends at Bermuda's National Sports Centre, with a nice eight-lane track. I skipped warming up on the track to head out and run the last couple of kilometers and see how the finish would be. Since we drove the course on Thursday, I knew that the roads were relentlessly up and down, but it's different seeing it on foot. I got a good appreciation of the false flats and finishing rises. With some blood in my legs, I took a position near the start line. There wasn't a mat at the start line, so everyone is based on gun time, so I probably should have moved up closer. I knew I'd be weaving for a bit, but hoped that might also keep me from heading out too quick. After a barely audible countdown, the horn sounded and the shuffle began.

Let me describe the course briefly: Down, then up, then down a bit, then up a bit more, then down, and down, and down (this means there will be lots of up soon), and down, then WAY up, and WAY down, then rolling but trending up (and exposed to the headwind), and WAY up, then a false flat up, and two more leg biters, then down and turn onto 50m of the running track (this is the only flat part). Don't bother trying to run even splits, it'll never happen. That said, what a fun course. I picked my way through the people who were lined up in front of me, and by the time we were on the long (almost 2km) downhill stretch I was moving nicely through the group. I was never passed, which was a nice measure of my effort on the day. Unfortunately, due to being a bit behind, I missed being part of a good pace group. They were about 100m ahead of me for much of the outstretch, and I figured I could move up to them as people trailed off, but I didn't get the chance. I could have dropped the hammer for a bit to catch up, but I didn't want to burn those matches too early. Strategically, this was a mistake. Still, up that first big hill, my heart was in my throat as I crested. There's really nothing you can do about that.

Just past 5k, I caught one of Bermuda's top female runners, who I hoped would be able to work with me to catch this group in front of us. These next 3km were on the rolling false flat in the headwind, so some help would be great. She quickly fell in behind me (I watched the shadow), but with every rise fell back a little, so I knew this would be all me. To have been among the pack just ahead of us would have eased the burden of thinking about pace, as well as provided some shelter from the wind. Not this time, but I'll know better for next time.

Around this point, the cheering sections got a lot louder. Why? Because we were headed up the second big hill. This was the better part of a kilometer, and steep. There was no point in looking at the Garmin for pace, since it would only be bad news. I just focused on the person in front of me, and opening more of a gap on anyone around me. Once on the false flat, I tried to get some speed back, and was happy that this late in the race I could find sub-4 pace. With 1k to go, I thought "Daddy's coming home", and used my daughter for a little bit of inspiration. As well, someone was finally coming off the group ahead so I had someone to chase. I wasn't quite able to catch up, and as I made the turn into the stadium, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a blue shirt on my shoulder. I didn't remember passing anyone recently, especially not in that kit, so this guy had moved up on me recently. With that, I opened up what little kick I have and sprinted to the finish, staying ahead by a few seconds.

Results:
40:54, 38/700 OA, 16/100 AG

So, not the time I wanted (39:low), but definitely the effort. I paced the day well, and finished strong. Given that haven't run "fast" in months, and didn't taper, the edge on the knife wasn't that sharp. I can live with that for now. As spring progresses, I'll add in some more hard running before tackling my season of 5k's, and with luck we'll see some low numbers then. I know, somewhere deep down, the fitness is in my legs, I just need to dig it out.