Up for the challenge by FatFrank

I raced again last week-end and I can put a check next to my main objective of improving on last year’s time. I ran a tough 15:10 considering that we took it pretty easy up until the 4^th K in 12:20. I wasn’t expecting the other guy challenging me to respond to my every move but he did so it came down to a sprint finish with a 2:50 last km which was good enough to give me the win. It was a great race to run on a beautiful day in Montreal with only mild winds in the 3rd km. The half-marathon an hour later produced some very interesting racing with super fast results. In fact it got me totally psyched for my half in two weeks and it actually showed in my “easy run” later that day. I was suppose to go for an easy 60 min on Sunday afternoon but you know when you’ve just finished a good race and feel confident about your fitness you kinda have a tendency to get overexcited in your training; well that’s just what happened and I ran my 15k loop in just under 58 min… oops! Yesterday was also another good one with 7k easy + 5k at half-mara pace (around 16:40) + 6 km easy. I’m starting to really get comfortable at that 3:20 pace and it comes in a good time. Tomorrow will be the real test as I’m running a 40min at half-mara pace with some hills and strides afterwards.

On a side note, I got good news last night as I checked my emails. The elite coordinator of the Ottawa Race Weekend granted me the elite status even if I was a tiny 2 sec over the official standard. That’s nice because it’s honestly a great privilege that they give us and they really make us feel like a million bucks with everything that’s attached to that “Elite” badge. Of course, they give you complimentary entry but you also gain access to the private warm-up area and have front line starting position. Moreover, they allow you in the VIP tent at the finish line where there’s free food (and it’s that kind of fancy food that you slap on a weird shaped cracker) and free drinks. Oddly enough, I was not the only one of the “elite” having a drink after the race last year. I was actually quite surprised to see top athletes drinking beer only a couple hours after the race, and I’m talking about real top athletes, like those running sub 29 on 10K. Other than that, the week has been quite crazy at work because of the big presentation on Thursday. Also, it’s hard to take an easy night with the playoffs and everything that surrounds it.

Well that’s it for now, good running to all!