It seems a little strange to see greenery in Calgary during December but the milder temperatures this past week or so has led to pretty much all of the recent snow melting. I'm so used to running indoors this time of year or trudging through deep snow in 5 layers of clothing that it was a refreshing change to be greeted by light rain at today's cross country race at Silver Springs.
The problem is that despite the warmer temperatures, things still hover around freezing point at night and so pavements and pathways turn into skating rinks by morning which makes it treacherous for running.
Today was no exception and even though it was raining, the course at Silver Springs was pretty much 80% solid ice - even the organisers recommended not doing the race without spikes or some other sort of traction aids - either that or walk around!
I always enjoy the race at Silver Springs - it usually feels festive with being so close to Christmas and the course is hilly enough to be challenging but not enough to throw you off your rhythm too much. It's also always nice to see friends and other familiar faces, and I have to say that with the long hours I've been working in the new job, I do feel that I have neglected my friends somewhat recently, so it really was a joy to see them :-)
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| Festive start of Silver Springs XC Race :-) |
The good news is that today, I feel as though I had a good race even though I only finished as 4th lady. Yes, the ice was problematic and required a certain degree of caution at times - especially when running along the "cliff edge" overlooking the river below - but it also seemed to suit me better than running in deep, soft snow, and I found that I was running pretty quick for a cross country race. I was also feeling much fitter and stronger than of late, and even the hills weren't causing me any problems today as I just put my head down and literally took them in my stride. I was overtaking people after the first couple of kilometers and I was feeling extremely good.
In all honesty, I was having a personal battle with one of the other ladies that had beaten me by a good minute at the previous two races. She was ahead of me at the start today, but as the race progressed, I eventually passed her and with every stride I started to pull away, growing in confidence as I went. She tried to keep pace with me and I was extremely aware of her just a few metres behind, conscious of her footsteps speeding up every time I attempted to pick up the pace, but I was determined not to let her pass unless she really was prepared to work for it.
We hit the first of several inclines and this would normally be where I would lose a few places, but I pushed hard, trying not to dwell on my breathlessness and the lactic acid building in my legs as I climbed. I was relieved that the other lady didn't pass me, and so I continued to push on and attempted to open the gap even further.
The icy conditions were making it difficult, especially on the downhills, but it was pretty obvious that everybody was being affected and it was a case of seeing who was the bravest to just go for it and trust in their balance.
I was so concentrated and focused on staying upright that I became oblivious of everything else for a short time, but then I suddenly became very aware of just my own heavy breathing as I tried to maintain the pace. Without looking behind, I sensed that I had dropped my competition, and when I passed a couple of marshalls before the next climb, it was a much longer gap before I heard them pass on their encouragement to those following. I had a feeling that I had perhaps 100m over the other lady by now, and as we climbed an extremely steep, long hill, I sneaked a glance behind and sure enough, the gap between us was widening. I just needed to get to the top of the hill where after, with less than 2km to go to the finish, I knew I could hold her off unless she started running close to 4 min km pace - not likely given the conditions.
The closer I got to the finish, the more confident I was feeling that this time, I would be at least a minute ahead of her, and yet I kept pushing, kept working hard, up the final hill to the finish line.
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| Final push to the finish line at Silver Springs XC |
I'd finished 4th lady and had ran one of my fastest paced cross country races this season so far. I couldn't breathe properly, but I had at least finished strong and felt as though I had given everything I could today. I was very happy and now feel that the consistent training I've been doing recently, along with all the strength work, is starting to pay off, and I'm looking forward to improving further over the next couple of months.
Of course I had to celebrate having what I considered to be a good race for once - any excuse for a pumpkin pancake breakfast at Dennys - nom nom nom!
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