This is a real nice 8 km road race in Red Deer. I have done this race a few times in the past, but this time, the course was a bit different than last time I ran it. This time, I managed to win the race with the time of 27:21.
I drove down to Red Deer by myself, since I couldn’t find anyone around here interesting in going there. It was a cold but nice morning. Sometimes I enjoy a drive all by myself. I think it’s good for the mind to go for a drive now and then.
The race started as they always do for me these days – I’m at the back of the pack after 500 meters. I saw women, children and old guys ahead of me for a good while. By about 4-500 meters into the race, a quick count revealed I was in about 23rd spot. That’s the norm these days for me. I do pass a lot of people later on in the race though.
Same thing today – I was chasing and chasing. By about a mile into the race, I settled in at 3rd place. I was getting closer to the two in front of me, but it took until about 5 km before I passed the 2nd place runner, and by about 6 km, I was with the leader. He made a couple of moves, trying to get rid of me, but I felt confident.
I knew there was a hill about 0.5 km from the finish, so I figured I’d pick up the pace after the hill to see what happened. I immediately got away and just maintained the pace all the way to the finish. I was about 10 seconds ahead.
It was a fun day, and I even won $150 for this effort. Even after the race entry fee, the fuel cost for driving and the lunch after, I was (slightly) in the plus. A good day! 🙂
