The Race: Eaton Downtown Dash 10K
Mrs. Tortoise and I drove down mid afternoon and ate supper in the food court at Mapleview Mall. We then drove the short distance to downtown Burlington and were able to find a free parking spot near the Start/Finish area. Despite my right instep problems that I have experienced recently, I had three possible goals in mind.
Goal # 1: - finally run a 10K race under 50 minutes ( pie in the sky type goal!
)Goal # 2: - get a new PB ( On June 15 at the Waterloo Classic 10K I had run a 51:13 time, eclipsing my previous PB of 2004 by 2 1/2 minutes. )
Goal # 3: - under 55 minutes.
The course is two loops of the 5K course which runs along the Burlington Streets. Lots of twists and turns. The first 1 1/2 km are a slight decline and the nest 1 1/2 km are a slight incline. The remained of the course is flat. I was a bit concerned regarding my right foot. But, although irritating, it did not affect my running at all. I quickly settled into a pace of around 5 min/km. Starting on a slight downhill was beneficial. I slowed slightly on the uphill segment but overall felt good. I finished the first loop in 25:12. Again the slight downhill starting the second loop allowed me to pick up the pace a bit. Near the end of the incline part of the second loop, my heart rate had crept into the 170 bpm area and I took a 20 second walk to get it back into the 160's. I have a hard and fast rule regarding my heart rate. I walk if it climbs into the 170's. I was okay for the rest of the race. While I was walking, I was passed by a lovely young lady wearing a pink top. I kept her within 100 metres as we continued over the last 2 1/2 km. I slowly gained on her and passed her about 9 1/2 km in. I didn't get a chance to thank her for being the impetus for a good finish. I really worked on the last couple km and ended up with a second loop time of 24:33. Chip time for the 10K was 49:45 , good for first in my age group. ( I think that I was the only one! )
This is, as was the Canada Day 5K, an excellently organized run and I would enter either of them again. Their finisher medals are the best 5K and 10K medals I have seen. Both have great spinning centres.
So I finally cracked the 50 minute 10K barrier just 2 1/2 weeks after getting under 25 minute for the 5K and a month after getting my previous 10K PB. As I have been entering 5 and 10K races this summer to help me with my speed, that plan appears to be working!!
