Keep it Coming 2012
Good news, I’m still getting faster!
Last weekend I ran the unofficial Quebec 10,000m Provincial Championships, my Coach John Lofranco re-caps the weekend and the race here. It was a one helluva race. It was one of those races where I stayed positive and went without suffering the entire time. Thanks to our pacers Bernard and Monette, who took us through about 4k, we got into a solid rhythm. When they dropped off, I still felt peppy and fresh, and so I helped out with the lead quite abit. My objective going into the race was to feel as comfortable as possible and be as patient as possible for as long as possible. But I also knew that the race was set up to be run fast, so I wasn’t going to wait around for people to fade. At around 3k I remember feeling great and looking over at John and some buds and smiling, it was almost as if my body reset from the start, and now I was running a 7k race, like the 3k I had just run didn’t even happen. So along we went, clipping off the laps, switching off the lead, so no one runner was doing too much work. With a mile to go I was starting to grind, and John did his classic whisper as I came around the finish. People were starting to hollar and scream for their friends and team-mates. But I could still hear John quietly say “Break it up”. So I tried. With a mile to go I squeezed the throttle abit to shake Manny and Colle. But they hung on. Thinking back, I probably could have tried alot harder, even earlier too. But at those points in the race, I didn’t have the confidence to race alone, running a solid 10,000m was new to me, something I hadn’t done yet, so it was almost like I had never raced a 10,000m before, and wasn’t sure what was going to happen. When we came up to 1k to go, the decision making turned to Colle as he made a strong move to the front and began to push the pace. Even after my own surges I still felt well within myself and in control. I saw him move so I responded aggressively and went right behind his shoulder. Manny hung onto mine. When we came to 800m to go, the people watching were going nuts, the three of us were tightly packed and I think we all thought we had it. Colle made another surge at 600m to go, which thinned us out to 1-2-3 along the rail, he started to really roll then, and we both had to make another decision. I knew that if I didn’t make the effort to hold onto Colle I was going to lose momentum, so rather than worry about how far away the finish was (a little over a lap at this point) I worked hard to stay with him and hung on. Manny began to fade abit at this point. At the bell, with a lap to go, people were jumping up and down and screaming at us as close as lane two, I was right on Colle’s behind (later he told me he couldn’t believe I was hanging on and was shaking in his boots) and getting ready for the final kick. Just after the bell Colle surged hard again and I did everything I could to stay there breathing down his neck, I was hoping that holding on to him this early might drain him, and he might miscalculate, then I could surge past him if he fell apart. But at 150m to go, this didn’t happen. Instead his 3:45 legs kicked in, and he pulled away from me, to finish 2sec ahead of me in 30:57 compared to my 30:59. Just under 31! Full results are here.
Good races can do wonders to motivation. Before this 10,000m I was really second guessing racing, my plan, and I felt pretty tired and run down after Canadian Championships and I wanted a break. But I knew running the 10,000m was a good idea, I needed a good race, John knew I was fit (even though I was doubting it), and my expectations were low. I’ve had good races when my expectations have been low. I’ve also had good races with high expectations too, but those tend to come together when everything is clicking. This race has helped me put my mind back into training.
I’m prepping for a 5000m at provincials in two weekends. It’ll basically be a re-match between the three of us, with maybe a couple more Laval Boys. They are like rabbits. Of the French sort. There’s just so many! It should be a good race too, more guys make it tougher to walk away winning. I actually like the depth, I say it a lot, but I’m excited about being a part of this improving wave of Quebec runners. Gets me all pumped and bubbly inside. This doesn’t mean I’m going to let them beat me though.
My goals are starting to acquire form for this fall. That, with experience and knowledge about how my body responds to different training, and seasons, may put me on more than one podium this year. And, I’m still improving.
This year I’ve posted PB’s in every distance.
1500m- 3:56
3000m- 8:25
5000m- 14:33
10,000m-30:59
10k- 30:46
Keep in mind that the 3000m, 1500m and the 10,000m were all PBs run within the span of about a month. I think that may have been a factor in me feeling tired.
FYI Montreal Endurance is raising money, we’re selling sweet t-shirt we screened ourselves, with the ME logo on the front, and our twitter handle on the back. Contact me, or buy/order them online at www.montrealendurance.com/store . Help support our club, our athletes and our coaches!
Already this has been an incredible year. A lot of good things have happened and I continue to be pleasantly surprised. I’ve accomplished a lot, and the new experiences keep coming.
So,
keep it coming 2012,
The Dragon