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I was out of shape and it showed! I started out too fast (well, slow but too fast by heart rate) and eventually it caught up to me. I started a fair way back in the pack near the last of the runners and quickly caught up to the 2:15 pace bunny, I stayed with them for awhile but when they stopped to do the 10 and 1 walk I kept going. I caught up to Rich and ran with him for a bit but this whole time my heart had been quite high and I knew I had to get it down or I would face problems. I slowed down and let Rich go but still couldn't get the heart rate down that much. I sat on a bench for a second to stretch out my foot and Mike passed me too. Ran until the half way point and was then really hurting so I walked for a bit. Eventually the 2:15 group passed me and I settled into an 8 and 2 type pattern. Took a 5 minute break to go to the bathroom at the Y and felt way better, rejuvenated and ran it in with 8 and 2s, and felt like I finished strong. Final time on my watch was 2:23, 1/2 hour slower than Vancouver, but for limited training I wasn't TOO disappointed.
Post Race Party/Race Venue
Last time around I wasn't that impressed with the venue but this time I was really impressed. The start at the race track at Northlands is good because there is plenty of parking (only slightly painful getting into the lot) and being able to use nice bathrooms in the Expo Centre before is a huge benefit. For some reason there was an employee stopping people from getting in and using the bathrooms at the one entrance, but all the other entrances were unwatched and runners were walking freely throughout the Expo Centre. Post race is where this venue really shined though. The end of the race was alongside the horse track and after grabbing a drink or muffin you could walk straight into air conditioned Northlands for the buffet. Food included scrambled eggs, ham, pancakes, various pastries, orange/apple/fruit punch/cranberry juice and water. Once you had your food there were tons of comfortable tables overlooking the track where the runners were finishing. Top marks for the buffet this year, one of the best post race experiences of any race I have been to, I think.
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