Tannenbaum 10K race recap

This has been one killer Sunday.

It started off with a festive race – the Tannenbaum 10K. This was followed by brunch and mimosas at Caren’s Wine Bar. After that, a massage at Aroma (so proud of myself for booking such a timely appointment). And finally, a healthy and fabulous homemade dinner accompanied by some blogging action and Home Alone 2. Could life get any better?

Back to this morning’s race. The weather outside was frightful… wet, cold, muddy and very, very windy. There was no snow, but I think I would have preferred it over the freezing rain. We had one thing on our side though – a flat course!

Jo and I arrived at the start with lots of time to spare. This was my smallest race to date – only 230 runners. I quite enjoyed the relaxed and friendly vibe.

Ready to run!

As we lined up at the start, we ran into Isabelle, our running coach from last year’s 10K clinic. She was there with her runners from this fall, completing their goal race. This got me thinking about how a year ago today, I was finishing my first ever race in Georgetown! It was a much hillier, snowier run, but man was I excited to be there.

We ran through Kew Gardens, taking several trails along the beach. There were a lot of double-back scenarios and zigzags, and if it hadn’t been for all of the fantastic volunteers showing us where to go, I’m sure I would have messed it up.

Speaking of the volunteers, they were amazing! I’m sure they felt like icicles, but their cheers and smiles sure didn’t show it.  Some of them were even dressed up in Santa costumes.

The runners were also very supportive of each other on the course. At one point, I was walking against a terrible wind and probably looking a bit like death. Some lovely man who had passed the turnaround started clapping and shouting encouraging words at me as he ran by. I smiled, waved at him and picked up my pace. Thank you, kind sir; you are probably the reason I PR’ed today.

Jo and I started the race together and ran strong and steady for the first 3 km. At that point, we were getting into a lot of curves and turns, and the road was narrow so we were running single-file. I was slightly ahead and Jo yelled up at me “You go ahead if you want – run your best race!” I shouted back to her “You too! And I will!” And after the next walk break, I lost sight of her.

Turned the tunes on, but I could barely hear them above the crashing waves that seemed to surround me. I was passing people, but also a bit nervous about running out of gas too early.

Got into a pretty good rhythm around 5k. Just around the time we emerged from the protection of the trees and started running head on into the bitter wind, with the lake just steps away. It. Was. Torture. Over 3 km of pure torture. I was gasping for breath with every step but felt like I was barely moving. The rain was coming in sideways and it felt like ice pellets on my face.

I was desperate for the turnaround. Finally I made it, well past the 7k marker. The wind resistance was instantly gone and I can’t remember the last time I felt such relief. The rest of the race was relatively smooth sailing. My only concern was that Jo was nowhere to be found in the groups of runners I passed on the way back.

We didn’t have chip timing and gun time results still haven’t been posted online so I’m not completely sure of my finish time yet. But as I ran to the finish, the clock was showing 59:00…. so I’m confident I made my goal of a sub-1 hour time: a new personal record for me!! A total surprise on a day like today…

Around the 40-minute mark, I renegotiated a time goal of 1:05 due to the ridiculous wind. But perhaps the fact I was soaked through my clothes, losing feeling in my toes and just sick of it all made me run faster?

I crossed the finish, took a breath, and there was Jo, waiting for me under her purple umbrella. I was a bit surprised to see she had already finished, until I learned she actually hadn’t. The poor thing was getting an earache from the wind (it was seriously vicious) and called it quits around 7k. I’m sure she wasn’t the only one.

We grabbed coffee and bananas and headed straight to the streetcar. We were wet, frozen and visibly shaking – next stop, a hot shower.

Post-race: two chilly girls!

After I thawed out and felt like a human being again, I met Jo for a celebratory brunch at Caren’s Wine Bar. We had two milestones to celebrate today – my PR and Jo’s first-ever DNF! As I said to her earlier, it takes strength to know your limits, and courage to accept them, and I’m absolutely proud of her for listening to her body.

We celebrated over omelettes, salad and mimosas. Mmmm…

Afterward, I headed to my massage appointment where I proceeded to bliss out for 60 minutes. Ahhhh…

I arrived home ravenous and threw a spaghetti squash into the oven without even thinking about it. I was fully content to just slather some butter on it and enjoy, but I thought my body might need a little more oomph. So I prepared the sauce from my Saucy Rice, boiled a few Brussels sprouts, and voila: a new twist on an old fave. Saucy Spaghetti Squash.

Now I’m off to tackle the dishes and call it a night. Thank you Tannenbaum 10K, Beaches Running Room, and most importantly, Joanna, for yet another amazing race.