Monday 4 February 2013

Fraser Valley Trail Run Series- Aldergrove Mud Run


Aldergrove Mud Run (8km)- February 3rd, 2013.

Just yesterday, I competed in the 3rd run of the series- the Aldergrove Mud Run! Somehow we lucked out again and it wasn't raining! In fact, it was actually quite toasty compared to the other runs, which were around freezing temperature. It was to the point where after joining Joshua for a warm-up run of half of the course we both debated shorts.. he decided to wear them.. I had none, so fortunately for everyone else I wore my tights and spared the full moon. Hahaha! It's not the Underwear Affair! I did, however, start off in my short sleeve Kintec shirt, instead of my longsleeve. It was wonderful warming up with Joshua Weiss and have that amazing support. We both wanted to kill this race and strategized as we were warming up. This trail was a lot more undulating and hilly that they previous ones- much more to my liking! My mom came out to support me again, which was wonderful! It means so much to have people behind you. The race started and I knew that Olivia had changed her game plan immediately to just stick with me. I wondered about how I should deal with this and decided just to run my own race and let her do what she was going to do. I had been able to burn past her the last few races by running my own race, so why change anything? Besides, that's the beauty of running. It's all about your own race and not what others are doing. We started off with a speedy pace and gradually worked into a nice fast pace. Joshua was on fire today! He set a cracking pace and I just tried to keep him in my sights for the first half of the run. It was a challenging run and I really pushed myself. It was great to not have the frozen ground though and the volunteers seemed much happier as I exchanged thank you's with them. I lost Olivia about 3km into the run and began to run with a few guys that kept a crackin' pace. The trail was really nice- I love being surrounded by trees! There were some uphills and downhills that I was able to fly down that made up some fast time. I was really running this one hard and it felt more challenging that the previous race, but I kept listening to my body and slowin it down a little when I felt too tired, then cranking it back up whenever possible. Receiving the positive encouragement from volunteers, fellow runners and dog-walkers, kept my spirits high and speed fast! They would let me know that I was the first female and, "great job!" The last two km were long, but great as I could feel my calves burning and the final sprint to the end couldn't come sooner! I finished with a time of 32:09, faster than my goal so I was super excited! I was top female and age category winner! This time I learnt my lesson and quickly joined Joshua for a cool down run of the first half of the course again- stopping right away last time without a proper cool down had left me with some TIGHT muscles the next few days. It was so wonderful learning more about him and hearing about his incredible run as he crushed his PB! After returning, I was given such a sweet surprise! Some of the runners I had been talking to before the race were wearing Canada singlets and so I was asking what they were from. The mom came up to me after the race and gave me another one of the singlets!! It was the nicest thing ever! I can't believe it!! I'm going to have to bake her and her boys up some yummy treats for the next race because that was just too generous! The running community is just full of the most wonderful people and I feel so lucky to be able to be a part of it!!

So far I'm 3/3 on wins of these series, which is absolutely incredible! I never thought I would be competing like this. Heck, this time last year I didn't even know there was such thing as trail races. I have to give a giant thanks to the Kintec crew for introducing me into this world and encouraging me to try it. I am beyond thankful for all the wonderful support I have been receiving. It's so great to see all of my nutrition and training showing up in my results! Big thank you's to Ryne Melcher, Eddie Li and Kathryn Gaudet!

Next up: The last run of the Fraser Valley Trail Run Series on February 24th, 2013- the Fort-to-Fort 30km!

Shanny

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