Road Race

The best road race I've run in a while - the Canada Day Hbc 10K. Yes, I achieved a personal best, without much training, I might add, but perhaps even better, I felt strong and able throughout the race. My last minute strategy, dreamed up some time after I'd crossed the start mats, was to stay behind Peter. I was just behind him right up to almost the 4k mark before he noticed me there. At about 5k, I decided to pull ahead. Not much ahead as it turned out. Just past the 6k water station was the turnabout. As I ran back in the opposite direction along the parkway, I looked to see how far Peter was behind me, but couldn't see him at all. Eventually I realized he must be close behind me - so close that I didn't see him after I made the turn. At 7k, I decided not to check my watch anymore and just hope for the best. I tried not to speed up or slow down - just keep a consistent pace. Maybe I'd pull something out for the last kilometer. I did speed up for the last stretch, buoyed on by the runners around me and the spectators. Just as I was approaching the finish, I saw Peter come up past me on the left. With only seconds to spare - one second, in fact - Peter passed me and crossed the mat just ahead of me. When I realized he was there, I tried not to let him beat me, but I was too late. I couldn't believe it! Peter's race time was 49:01.5 and mine was 49:02.4. Less than one second's difference. It was pretty funny. We laughed about it all day. This is the first 10K in a very long time that we've run together. I knew that Peter has getting been faster then me and that my days of beating his time, especially in a short race, were likely over. Still, I think it's great that he didn't beat me by much. Incidentally, I came 3rd in my gender/age category, out of 88 women. I'm proud of what I did and wondering if perhaps I couldn't be faster.
Maybe it was our race success, maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the festivities downtown, or some combination of all of these, but Peter and I had a wonderful Canada Day. We wandered around downtown, doing a bit of everything, and really feeling part of the massive Canada Day party. We even caught the end of the Blue Rodeo show and stayed for the fireworks on Parliament Hill. Dinner, by the way, was the great bistro burgers at Luxe and a bottle of Bonnie Doon syrah. Life is short. Celebrate your victories big and small, and be happy to be a Canadian.