Emilie's Run 2012

Emilie's Run 2012 Start Video

2012

2011

Holy deja vu Batman! Looking at my race photos and having that deja vu moment I had to ask myself why I keep running the same races year after year? It does seem kind of boring after all. Is it because,

a) it's a good way to compare fitness from one year to the next

b) it's a good way to master the particular nuances of that race

c) it's a good way to learn that even if the event is the same, no two races are and you learn something different every time.

d) it's a good way to compare race photos and plan for next year's outfit

e) it's a good way to get a new pic for your avatar

d) all of the above

To expand a bit on a few of the above points, although running the same race year after year is a good way to compare to the previous year's performance it is not a 100% full proof way of comparing ones fitness. For example this year I am a bit delayed in my speed training and having raced less my head is just getting into "racing mode" now so although I ran the race a little slower this time around I still have the potential to run a faster 5km in a few weeks time.

Having the chance to get familiar with the same race year after year means there is less to digest on race day. Travelling was easier as I knew where I was going, when I got there I also knew where the bathrooms, the registration, the best place to warm-up and where the start and finish lines were. None of that was a concern although having that knowledge also made it all a bit less, "eventful" and the excitement of being part of Canada's largest women's only 5km which was a big deal to me last year was kinda lost in the familiarity of it all. Running the race itself was like getting a, "do over" and I definitely had last year's mistakes in mind and hoped to not repeat them as the sound of the horn sent me on my way.

Though I was a bit disappointed in the overall time I was happy with the way I kept believing even when I was losing hope and I know that having gotten through that tough patch in the race will help me tons come next Saturday when I defend my course record at the Sydenham 5km. Not that my time of 21:45ish has any chance of holding up this year due in part to the fact that I mentioned the race to Joanne Armstrong in the grocery store yesterday. She told me she has been racing 800's lately while training with her phenomenally fast daughter Nicole(who is busy training for the Junior Nationals) and is scared of 5kms again so thinks she will jump in the race to get one under her belt again. Now if I could only, "do over" that conversation;-)