Sporting Life 10 K Race Report

Left the house slightly after 7 AM after giving the dog his washroom break and breakfast. The 90% showers/rain/thunderstorms forcasted for the morning didn't happen :-) Cloudy and a bit humid. Made the trek to the start line on Yonge north of Eglinton by slowly running (part of my LSD for the weekend). Should have left the house a bit earlier as I didn't reach the start line for the first wave. The good news is I got to see the elite runners. The second wave started 3 minutes after the first wave, and that gave me time to put on the bib. Fortunately, I put on the time-chip at home (using a plastic fastener I bought in a package of 60 from the dollar star). Close to the start line on Yonge Street, I saw 2 time-chips on the sidewalk -- not good.

Once the second wave went, it was running mainly downhill Yonge Street from Eglinton all the way to Richmond. The roads weren't the greatest and in need of repair. A bit crowded but scenic route. Eglington, then St. Clair, then Davenport, then Bloor,... 2 gatorade/water stations -- at the 4 K and 6.7 K marks. Had 2 servings of Gatorade at each stop, which also served as my brief walk break. I looked at my Garmin frequently to ensure the pacing wasn't too slow or too fast. Most of the time, we were going downhill, with 2 uphills. Initially, I was at 5:30 and then strived to keep it around 5:00. It was indeed humid and that didn't help. Headed west on Richmond Street with about 3 K to go. Opted to run on the side of the road (i.e., not on the streetcars pavement as it was hard). South on Peter Street, west on Front Street, south on Bathurst, and then to the finish line. The downhill on Bathurst welcomed as it gave me renewed energy to finish the race strong. Did the best I could -- opted to race it since the calf has not been giving me any issue :-)


Chip Time = 51:45.6 [PB]
#3372 out of 11 913 (top 28.3%)
Pace = 5:11
Age Category = 353/752
Gender Category = 2442/5214

Overall, a well-organized race in all regards. I like the results being ranked by chip time (due to the corral waves). The finish line was great this year -- not congested and lots of room to walk. Although this race is a bit pricey, I guess you pay what you get. Just glad the weather behaved.

Ate a couple of bananas and took a couple of juice boxes. Then continued with an LSD 25:1 (x3). In total, 27.42 K, for YTD = 599.73 K (so close to 600 K).

2 weeks today will have run my 3rd marathon :-)