Tour du Lac Brome 10k

On Sunday June 17^th, I ran the Tour du Lac Brome 10km race. It was my first race in this year and I figured a 10k would be just the right thing to go through the logistics of a race. I spent the previous night at a friends cottage to avoid the morning of the race chaos and stress of getting there on time. As it was, arriving at 7:50 was pretty late, as everyone else seemed to arrive at the same time. After parking in the farmers’ field, we hurried to get our race kits (one line) and then our goody bag (another line). And this is how I lost my gang. I decided to slowly line up for the buses taking us out to the finish in hopes of meeting up with everyone again, or at least spotting them in the line. Eventually my bus drove off and I still hadn’t spotted anyone familiar. I was wearing a very bright pink top, and so would have been very easy to spot in a sea of black tops. The bus ride seemed a lot farther than 10km, and the course was a lot hillier than I imagined. A bit disconcerting. Whatever nerves I wasn’t having, were now waking up from their slumber…

At the start, 5 busloads after mine, I found my running gang. Made up of my neighbor, who talked me into this race, her sister in law who sprinted the Ottawa half marathon in 1:45, her husband, another gazelle and another of her friends who was a race newbie, I was somewhat intimidated and fully nervous now. Maybe I hadn’t properly trained. In fact, I hadn’t really trained for a 10k, I have just put in mileage to date. I hadn’t thought about what I should have eaten, because for a normal 10k run workout, I don’t eat anything unusual. No gels, no energy drink, no bars. And that seemed to be all that anyone around me was talking about. I felt less and less confident and decided to pretend like it was no big deal and that I would finish when I finished and run my own race. The race started somewhat anti-climatically as we suddenly found ourselves moving forward and across the start line. Ooops – go! So we started out. I ran with my neighbor for a few kilometers, but then she pulled away from me. After the fiddlers at around kilometer 3, I was running alone. It was hot and there were lots of runners – 4000 or so, I think I heard. I wasn’t wearing my iPod, and at first I regretted it, but as I ran, I liked being really aware of my surroundings. Listening to all the footsteps, all the breathing, the thumping coming out of others iPods, and there was a harpist at around kilometer 2. 

The course is really quite hilly. I don’t really mind hills, I just need to know when they end and which is the last one. I hadn’t done my research and so was running blind in a way. I did know, though, that kilometer 5 was at the top of the longest hill. And sure enough after kilometer 4, we started up a slow, seemingly endless climb. Then I heard drummers. They held a nice fast beat, rhythmic and energetic with encouragement too. Getting louder and louder as we all trudged up that ridiculous hill. I swear they absolutely pulled me up that hill. At the top, there they were, the two of them, in a tent banging and beating away with great big grins on their faces, cheering us on. And just beyond, was the 5km marker. Such a welcome sight! I let the downhill work to my advantage – this is new for me, I have usually tried to slow down going downhill. So I accelerated as much as my legs let me and was steadily catching up and passing targets ahead of me. And the hills just kept coming and the flats weren’t all that flat. It’s a beautiful run, though, hugging Lake Brome on the right and the inns, estates and golf courses on the left. The trees gave much needed shade and there were lots of people cheering along the road. 

Between kilometer 7 and 8, I was in need of something to help me out. I wasn’t fading, but I needed something to keep me going. So I tried to figure out where I would be on my usual run in relation to the kilometer markers. It worked to a point, until my brain kicked in and told my delusional self that if I keep thinking "that" was only 1 kilometer, it would come over and slap some sense into it. So I tried doing math –dividing the kilometers into quarters, how many quarters had I run and how many were left. That didn’t even take up a whole kilometer, real or delusional. So I picked up some water, ran through some of the hoses and targeted more people ahead of me. I kept looking at my watch for help. But it just gave me how much time I had been running, not how much was left. I’m really good at getting to a known finish line, but if I can’t see the finish line, I figure I should slow down to be extra sure that I make it there. But I kept running. And running. There certainly is a whole variety of running shoes out there – the regular ones, ones that looked more suited to sprinting and the five-toed ones. They can’t be all that comfortable to run in can they? Are running skirts better than spandex shorts or running shorts? There was a lady that I passed who was wearing a thong under her spandex shorts. I spent several hundred meters contemplating how comfortable that could possibly be to run in. I was coming into town now, and could spot the tower near the finish line, so I picked it up. And then I past the 8km marker. Better slow down – there is no way I can sprint 2 kilometres in this heat. Who am I kidding? I can't sprint 2 kilometres ever. A few more sprinklers to run through and then at 9km, I tried as best I could to pick it up. A right hand turn and I saw the farmer’s field finish line. Crap – the finish isn’t on the road but a few hundred meters off the road. The thought of throwing up started entering my head. I crossed the line absolutely exhausted and in desperate need of water and shade. Happily they were handing water out just past the finish line.

I looked at my watch 59:09. Stunned. I can barely run a 5 kilometer treadmill set in under 30 minutes and I have never broken 1 hour for a 10k. I’m by no means a gazelle, I like to think of my self much more as an efficient lumbering rhino – I may not be fast, but I will finish. And I just did two back to back 5ks in under 30 minutes. I was ecstatic. I grabbed much needed nourishment from the food tent (and beer!) and happily ate, despite my grin.

I'm sticking to "chip" vs "time", if that's ok with you.

On the drive home, I listened to my usual running music, found some new ones that I had forgotten about, windows open, shoes and socks off, munching on my snack, drinking my water and thoroughly pleased with myself.

The drive home

Of course, the next day I had a 40 minute bike ride/20 minute run brick. And I hadn’t stretched after the race. It will be a few days before my legs and I are on speaking terms.