Johnny Miles Race 2011

Wow where did this race come from? It was barely on my radar LOL but in the end I could not resist.

Johnny Miles was the first race I did when I restarted running 3 (yes now 3) years ago.  I had been running almost 2 months when we went to our first and things have changed since then!

The startand finish is no longer at the park but is instead on a downtown street across the bridge.  Its crowded and more congested....but it doenst make a lot of difference. 

I have done the 5 K (above) and the half marathon twice;

And now I figured it was time to do the 10 K run there. I have no intentions of ever doing the marathon there; 4 10 km loops does not interest me very much. 2 was enough.

So I went over the the Expo (?) the night before and registered last minute.  Really last minute lol. I worried about being able to get a shirt; they are limited but I did get one. LOVE the red colour, the fit for women; Im not loving the fit very much but better than some wide, big shouldered shirt I wont wear; and the hats were WHITE!  Who wears white hats?  Ok I have worn it already. I like the hats, super great quality.

The race expo was super disappointing...there wasn't really one. There were about 4 booths and none of them were anything worth going to.  Wasted very little time there; the people in the booths were kinda bored!

Race morning the entire family got up and went over to New Glasgow; we had a family thing afterwards and being Father's Day we spent time with family around town.

The start was a little congested until the 5 k runners left; with staggered starts that no one bothered to adhere to; half the 10 k runners that started with me were half marathon and full marathon runners who were supposed to start behind us.

I feel like I started this race with every single thing wrong. LOL I kind of only entered for tradition; I ran this one first and I have done it each year now.  But I didnt prepare properly thanks to the tailbone injury and being crazy busy and burned out at work last few months.  I didnt do any intervals; no tempo runs; I ate poorly the day before; I did not rest; I slept badly; I drank a lot of coffee LOL. I went for a nice long bike ride the day before in a lot of humidity lol.  Is there anything else I could have done wrong?

So I started a little too fast, and felt pretty tired right from the beginning.

Half the run is on road and the rest is on trail. The trail part was nice although a little muddy (surprise, with this weather).  It was VERY congested the first 5 km or so; I got elbowed in the head, stepped on, pushed, and had more people run right in front of me....it was annoying as hell.  At the first water where I grabbed a cup as I went because I started out pasty mouthed; this woman lept in front of me and then stopped...dead. Grr. I spilled most of my water on her; good thing I only wanted enough to wet my mouth.  This continued until the road cleared a little. and then there was the bottle neck at the start to the trail where it narrowed and there were porta potties with people jumping in and out randomly ;) The trail was crowded with requests to keep right and pass on the left (or other way around?) being completely ignored.  I KNOW with these small town races you get a lot of people out for the fun who may not be aware of etiquette but most of these were 10 K or more runners who are not just out for a walk; you would think they could mind their manners. And I was tired which made me a little cranky.  SIGH.

Anyway, at about 6.5 km I just wanted the run to end; I was tired, had another very tall man elbow me in the head, and the sun was kind of out which made it hot and muggy which is NOT the weather we had been experiencing lately.  Through the park and onto the road I could not believe the run wasnt over yet.  The first 5 k was done in about 28 minutes which was a decent time compared to what I expected for my lack of preparation.  The second 5 K (+) took 30 minutes.  Most of my kms were under 6 minutes which was my goal, to just hang onto that sub 6 minute pace.  I had to walk twice thanks to crowds and an ache in my hip; but soon enough the corner came and I was heading back across the bridge to the finish.

My family was waiting at the finish line for me :) In 58:01 I came trotting in. 

You cross the bridge and come around the corner to the finish line with bleachers and some crowds still there...I saw friends and my aunt and uncle waiting for us, and of course Scott and the kids. 

Laps:

1- 5:36

2- 5:21

3- 5:45

4- 5:48

5- 5:29-28:01 for 5 km

6- 5:52

7- 6:04 (feeling pretty crappy)

8- 6:05

9- 5:52

10- 5:42

0.1- 4:35 sprint to the end :) 58:01 / 5:44 avg pace

My Garmin measured a little long with 10.1 km at the end. 

Place 190/514

17/87 in age group

Gun time 59:04/ 5:49 pace.

So Johnny Miles is over for another year :) Maybe next year I will feel an urge to run the full there.