Bazan Bay 5-k

Having to turn the bloody clock forward to account for daily light savings time on a race evening was bad enough; the fact that I did so as I hopped into bed at 1:30 a.m. was repulsive (damn Tony, Trevor, Seamus and his papa).

There was a reversal of roles in our household this morning. Ally had entered to run the Bazan Bay 5-k and as she followed her yet-to-be-established pre-race routine, I found myself on the outside looking in. I was the one left standing in the rain, an umbrella in one hand and her warm-up kit in the other, searching among the 1,146 athletes and cheering as she looped through Sidney. The fact that she hadn’t run since joining me at the Run Through Time on December 31st wasn’t going to deter her and she finished with a respectable 29:40, 29 of 96 in her age group. Congratulations to everyone who participated including Ally, Carter, Kirstie, Donald, Chris, & Lawrence… nice showing.

Once home and up from a greatly needed nap, I timed my run with medical precision, heading out late this afternoon into a torrential monsoon. The saving grace among the gusts of wind was the temperature, a balmy 14 C (57 F); who would’ve guessed that less then two weeks ago I was running in a snow storm?

Despite the rain, or perhaps because of it, my run felt incredible. I clipped along the barren waterfront feeling smooth and light on my feet. Whether a) raising my game to meet the inclement conditions, b) my new adistar control 4, or c) the body adapting to the volume I’ve been putting in, I felt good! The sensation reminded me of something Jim mentioned yesterday. I felt as if I’d overcome a plateau, moving up to the next level, my reward being an efficiency and freedom I’d never before experienced. I absolutely loved it, the fact that I’d been given the new pass card at the end of a two week build peaked my curiosity but I wasn’t looking back.

Training: an extremely wet but thoroughly enjoyable 44:22, 6:26 mi/pace