Mothers Day Run

I signed up for the Mothers Day Run at the last minute. Heather had told me ages ago about signing up, and that had got me thinking about it, too. So Wednesday night I signed up.

Weather-wise, it wasn't sounding good, but in this town you learn to not take Environment Canada too seriously. Slightly chilly, but clear and sunny. And the adrenalin took care of the chill.

I saw Heather briefly as I arrived, then went to wander a little and warm up. There soon was a small crowd with huge placards, looking a bit like a protest of some sort, except the placards said things like "6 min/km" and "Walkers". They spaced themselves along 9th Avenue and people immediately began to gather behind each one.

I wandered a little, trotted up and down the side of the street. Eventually I joined the group behind the 6 min/km sign. The trick at that point was to keep the chill off, and for that they had some kind of aerobics instructors up at the front leading the crowd. I couldn't see what they were doing where I was standing, but occasionally took the cue from the surrounding crowd.

Once we got started, it was a tight crowd going west on 9th. At 5th Street we went south, and I was passing a lot of people, wondering all the while if I was pushing too hard and when would I crash. But I kept it up.

Mostly it was good running. I felt really strong and probably not a little propped up by the adrenalin of a race, even a fun one. Down Elbow Drive,until going left at Lansdowne. After that, I have no idea where we went, as I don't know that part of town.

We did some out and back thing for a couple of blocks on one street, and then on to Mission Road and down to 4th Street. Coming off 25th Avenue were all the walkers, and suddenly the road got crowded. Us 10K runners had one lane, the 5K runners and the walkers had the other three. At times I took to the sidewalk, just to run on a reasonably flat surface. The cambre of the road in that one lane was pretty extreme and my ankles were feeling it.

At 10th Avenue they herded us eastward and I was wondering where the heck the finish was. We turned left at northbound Macleod, down the underpass toward city hall, and there it was. I sprinted the last block, and queued up for the food.

What a strong smooth run! Even a couple of hours later I feel great. But the GPS definitely got confused - it says I ran 12 km. I'll post my official time later.

Today's run
Distance: 10.0 km. Time: 53:10.
Average speed: 11.3 kph (5:35 min/km).

Shoes: New Balance 1061.

Weather: Partly cloudy and 8C.