National Capital Run 2011 - 10km

What I was chasing for 10 km

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 …. 8:35 am – the 40 runners taking part in the National Capital Run 2011, 10km distance were off.  We ran the 5km course so therefore we had to complete 2 loops.  I had never ran this course before so I was unfamiliar with what I was to encounter.   The only words of advice came from Matt Despatie, a veteran to the event, “I hate this course… there is this hill after the bridge which isn’t long, but steep.” – Real words of encouragement.

I started out quite well, actually leading the pack for about 3km.  I loved the route, it was scenic and downhill.  But one thing I truly forgot… I will have to come back uphill.  We started at Mooney’s Bay and ran towards the parkway, with gorgeous scenery everywhere.  Trees all around, the water alongside, I even recall a squirrel running across my path.

Initially I had looked back at around the 1km mark to really see my position and what kind of lead I truly had.  The pack was a fair distance away but I told myself to not try and over exert myself.  I have learnt from the past that I cannot do sprints as I deplete my immediate energy reserves too quickly which causes me to decrease my pace considerably.

At around the 3km mark, I heard footsteps behind me.  He was considerably faster than me as he made the quick dash ahead.  I attempted to maintain pace with him… but he was a fairly well conditioned athlete, and I had gone into this race with two mindsets – 1. Finish under 40 minutes, 2. Do not concern myself with other competitors.  I reminded myself of these two things and maintained my pace.

I hated the return route.  After that steady decline I had to fight through uphill battle after uphill battle.  I constantly pushed myself each step.  Once I got up these never ending hills I would take a second to slow my pace down so that I could recuperate and then continue.  These precious seconds I was wasting to slow down seemed costly but effective since I would have to do this hilly part for the final 25% of the race.

I made it to the 5km turnaround and thought to myself… I have to do this again? What made this even worse, the man in 3^rd place was inches behind me.  I knew my strengths were in the downhill of this course so I made sure to increase my cadence with short strides while running downhill.  This would spare my energy for the flat parts and the worst part of all… the uphill struggle to the finish.  I could hear the feet of 3^rd place bashing the ground the whole way.  I think the last time I looked back was with 3km remaining and he was 4 strides behind me.

As I made it to the 7.5 km marker, which was the return portion of the 5km, I thought I had made a considerable gap between myself and 3^rd place.  He was literally one stride away from me.  I kept pushing and never looked back, the only thing I knew was that if I could hear his footsteps, he wasn’t far.  Hill after hill I climbed, pushing myself harder and harder because every second counts at this point.  I managed to make decent gains during the uphill struggles, but I was finding myself burnt out when reaching the top which allowed him to catch up.

I remember looking down at the ground with 1 km left in the race.  His shadow was covering mine and I could hear his breaths becoming heavier; he too was just as tired as I was.  He attempted to pass me at one instance, but I pushed even harder.  My goals quickly changed at this very instance because I love competition.  I couldn’t let him pass me, especially this late in the race.

We were neck and neck as we made the final turn.   I looked up and saw my girlfriend standing there with a face of panic - I knew I couldn’t let him pass.  I couldn’t.  With approximately 150 meters left, I heard his breathing become labored and his foot strikes becoming harder.  I myself went into an all out sprint.  My breathing was getting harder and harder, my legs were sore, my calves were stiff, but I couldn’t let him get in front of me.  He was behind me since the 5km marker and I was not going to let him do anything else but chase me.  My mind shut off, my eyes fully focused on the task at hand, finish before him.  The pain in my legs had taken over my body, my mind was telling my body no more, no more.  I let out a scream of agony and dug even deeper with the last few strides to go.

I couldn’t believe how close our times were. I never thought I would have such a close race.  Here are the exact times which are posted on http://sportstats.ca/ :

PLACE	TIME	PACE	NAME	BIB NUMBER
1	37:43	3:47	Lavoie,Teddy	946
2	39:56	4:00	Ravanelli, Nicholas	1000
3	39:57	4:00	Georgieff, David	916

How much closer can it get?

Not only did I make my goal of finishing under 40 minutes, I also came second overall.  Initially I did not realize it since the timing clock was 5 minutes ahead because the 5km and Duathlon had started before at 8:30am.  My girlfriend had to tell me 4 times to convince me, especially while I was panting and wheezing after my all out battle.  It was an amazing day and I have to give credit to the support I had today from my girlfriend, she gave me that look of panic, but she knew I had it in me.   Seeing her at the final turnaround gave me that extra push I really needed.

Me after finding out I actually finished under
40 minutes.

I also want to send a shout out to Matt Despatie, who unfortunately had to back out of his Olympic Duathlon after the bike portion.  His lower back was enormous discomfort and he made the smart decision of not continuing on.  He came first place at the 2011 Smith Fallls Classic Sprint Duathlon.  Hopefully you can recover soon!

I also want to thank Somersault Events for hosting yet another successful event.  You guys sure know what you are doing and I will definitely sign up for future events with you.  Thank you.