Met up with some of this group again to end the week with an 8 km run. It was looking a little wet, and the rain was pretty heavy when I pulled up to the meeting point on Parkdale Boulevard. The hail wasn't too thick, a little mushy even, since it disintigrated when it splatted against my windshield. And all this while the sun shone brightly.
About the time others pulled up, the rain stopped, and at 6:30 sharp, we started out. Lots of dodging puddles, and the wind was shaking the water out of the trees. Geese were lounging all over the place along the first part of the trail, and they had also left a lot of little "calling cards" all over the trail. Nice that the rain had made that mushy.
At Crowchild, one split off and kept going straight for a 5 km loop to 14th Street. I decided to tag along with the guys running the 8 km, and so followed them across the river. I managed to stay with them for another kilometre or so, but they had set an wicked (for me, anyway) pace. I started to slack off a little as we wound through the bush.
By the time I crossed the railroad tracks they were almost ten seconds ahead of me. A couple of huge puddles slowed them down, as we had to pick our way through the wet and mud around them, but I never really kept up.
After crossing the bridge at Edworthy, they were still well in sight. But another kilometre on, they were long gone ahead. By then, though, we were almost back where we started.
I managed to keep up a rather impressive pace compared to my usual outings. My breathing was even though heavy, and I was feeling my legs. This run was another push against my limits, and really, that's the way that I will be able to expand them.
I rounded the final bend to find everyone waiting. Then it was off to the coffee shop for a quick cuppa.
By the way, the official results of the Banff Jasper Relay have been published. The team I was on, the Extreme Bean Mountain Team, finished in 24:19:08. I finished my leg in an official time of 1:35:12 at a pace of 8:50/mile, or 5:30/km.
Distance: 7.57 km. Time: 38:19
Average speed: 11.9 kph (5:03 min/km).
Shoes: New Balance 1061.
Weather: Light rainshower and 12C.
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1 comment:
This group is helping you prove to yourself what you are capable off which is probabaly more than you thought! Sometimes we need things like this to push and motivate us. You could surprise yourself come Stampede Half Marathon time!
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