First Race of the Year

T'was a cold, and wet morning morning for a race. Did the 10k distance of the Chilly Chase. (Ok, the rhyming will stop here.) Despite the rain, it was warm and of course, I wore too many clothes and overheated within the first 10 minutes. Regardless, I managed to run a PB (by a whopping 13 seconds) with a 58:09 time. I'm certainly no Speedy Gonzales as of yet, but after all the set-backs I had last year, it's a definite improvement.

The course was the same as last year. Starting by the Creekside Community Centre and went out and back along False Creek (seawall). I'm not used to running on pavement so I was extra diligent with my warm-up and stretching and hooray, I had no pain. 

 

Muscle Milk is one of their sponsors which I absolutely LOVE. A recovery drink that I can both stomach and enjoy drinking after a run is rare for me. My favourite is vanilla but banana ain't bad either. . 

Majority of the runners and volunteers were in relatively good moods. Lots of smiles and cheering which was nice to see. There were a couple of ladies at the end that were annoying me, though. I'm a relatively steady runner; I don't generally change my pace throughout and very rarely do I stop unless I'm in pain or at an aid station. Sort of a pet peeve of mine when in the last 2-3k I have someone running past me for a minute then they stop to walk. Then as I finally make it past them, they go be-lining in front of me again. If this continues over and over again, I now make sure that I sprint my a** of in the final 4-500 meters of the race past them. By that point they are too pooped to do the same and I laugh hysterically in my head (or just mildly chuckle). 

I also typically stay to the right of the course so if someone wants to pass, they have plenty of room on my left to fly by me. So when I get someone squishing their way past me on my right it is... well... weird... and again, annoying. Stay to the right. Pass on the left. I thought this was common knowledge. Hmmm. Unless of course, there's a group of them jogging 4 abreast ...then yes, by all means, do a shoulder check and knock 'em over like Dominoes! Muwahaha! LOL. (I'm kidding. Sort of.)

All in all, this is a good race and with the late start time (11am) which is even more appealing (to me). They have also a 5k and a 15k distance. The finisher medals were pretty cute. I'll most likely be doing this one every year. The registration price is decent as well. It's great for beginners and also a great warm-up race for that future 1/2 marathon you plan to do. ;-) 

Thanks for reading!