I signed up for this race a month or so ago. I had talked to my friend Nichole and she was also interested so I was glad she signed up so that we could support each other. This was Nichole's fourth race so she knew a little more of what to expect than I did. We drove down to Stampede on Friday to get our race packages and got a little wet walking in the rain to the wrong building. It was quite humourous since we had prime parking to the building that the event was set up in - if only we would have paid closer attention to our e-mail info. After getting our race package complete with our race bibs and t-shirts, we walked the venues. Signed up to receive Canadian Running magazine to which I commented to Nichole that getting this in the mail every month will totally qualify us as runners. We also got some info on upcoming races which will definitely have to be checked out; such as the Canmore Rocky Mountain Run in September and the Okanagan Half in October.
Saturday night I was a little nervous and wanted to get to bed early. That didn't happen quite as I would have liked. We had church that night and then had coupons for Dairy Queen that needed to be used before the end of the month and since DQ is right by the church...is it wrong to have a blizzard the night before a race? Once we got home and got the kids into bed, I had a few things I needed to have set out and ready for the morning. It was just before 10 o'clock that evening when Kirra still wasn't asleep and she wandered into the room where I had just laid down to try to go to sleep. She cuddled in next to me and I enjoyed some snuggles but told her she wouldn't be able to sleep with me or I wouldn't sleep well and be ready for my morning race. After a few more minutes of snuggles she told me she loved me and asked if tomorrow afternoon we could snuggle more during a nap. Of course I replied yes because two things I can't say no to are more sleep, especially when I know I will need it after an early morning, and cuddles with my kiddos.
Sunday morning did come early as I got up around 5:40am so that I could get ready, have a quick breakfast, and then meet Nichole at her place for 6:30. I picked Nichole up right on time and she walked out the door as I drove up. We parked at SAIT and took the LRT from there to the Stampede grounds. It was difficult to know what to wear as it was a really cool morning. However, I opted for my jacket to go over my tank. While waiting for the race to start and during the first 2K, this was a good idea but after that I was regretting that I just hadn't sucked it up and handled the cold better and worn something lighter as I was quite warm during the run but had my bib attached to the front of my jacket and didn't want to stop to be dealing with changing things around.
Getting to the Stampede grounds was overwhelming with so many people. But it was awesome to be surrounded by so many people of different ages, abilities, and body builds who had been training with this goal in mind. Amazing to be part of a community of runners! Some where right at the front and Nichole was sharing some stats from last year of those that finished the 10K in 30 minutes and that some took 1 hour 30 minutes. My goal was around the 1 hour mark. My personal best when I had been out on the paths was 1:03:20 so I was hoping to beat that but also didn't want to set myself up for disappointment.
The energy of the race was fun to be a part of. From the time we were getting ready to start right to the beginning. It took awhile to get over the start line with so many people but then we were off and running. It was neat to hear the sound of so many feet hitting the ground running! Nichole and I ran the first mile together and then after that we separated to pace ourselves at what we were comfortable running. I was a little disappointed that I walked for short bits in places when I should have pushed myself to run the race. But, I think having done this once now, I will be better prepared for next time.
It was encouraging to see so many people along the route cheering everyone on. To the volunteers to family and friends of the runners. I loved some of the signs that were encouraging us to run like, "Run faster, someone is chasing you." Loved seeing the little kids out who were holding up signs for their mom or dad. So cute. And the humour in some of the signs made me laugh out loud, "Worst Parade EVER." That sounded like something my friend Mark would say and totally cracked me up! We ran through Inglewood, Bridgeland, and East Village. Running through East Village was so motivating with the number of people, the costumes some people wore, and the loud music that was playing. At this point, we had a mile left and I was at about the 50 minute mark so was pleased as I knew with only 1 minute left that I would finish in under 1 hour. Felt like I my energy was drained and was regretting not getting the last bit of water but then reminded myself that when I run my 10K along the river, I never have water breaks. It was a good race and my official time was 59:11. I placed 1050 out of 2506. Not bad for my first race. I am pleased and see it as a challenge to beat for my next race! I AM A RUNNER! I was a little emotional driving home from the race just realizing that I had accomplished this goal and with the excitement of thinking about what could be next...
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