Rattle me bones race report

At the end of October there was the Rattle me bones race (AKA “the skeleton race” in French), which is becoming somewhat of a tradition for us - it was the 3^rd year in a row Anais participated, well done!  This is a fun race where a lot of people dress up Halloween-style and race. Although there is a certain satisfaction in beating Santa and the grim reaper, next time, can someone please dress up as Josain Bolt so I get to race him? Not only is this a fun race, it is in support of the hospital and this year was particularly special as the race was in honor of our friend Meagan, who was hit by a vehicle and badly injured a year ago. Amazingly, she has recovered through hard work, determination and the help of the hospital and rehabilitation centre to run in this year’s 10k race –wow! The race is also one of the most competitive in the area - this year’s winner of the 10k ran sub 30 min! And, this year’s winner was not me… of course only because I had decided to run the 5k instead..;)

The race was three weeks after the Fall colours half and after that I had a pretty good 5-day running week in unseasonably cold weather (but only for a lowly total of 32 miles), which I followed with a 29-mile week (although mostly due to a 15-mile run from Kanata), and then we went on vacation to Cape cod. The last day by the sea was sunny and about 20^oC and I went for a run, after which I just had to jump in the ocean for a dip..it was lovely! Unfortunately, I became sick the next day, but I attribute that to travelling and eating at McDonald’s rather than the ice-cold swim-session. 

So I entered the race with a cold, having run only once in a week, and thus without any expectations other than simply cruising along and, even if I wasn’t 100%, surely still beating my PB of 18:35 for the 5k from May 2011. Once on site, my competitive spirit got the better of me..it was go-time, time to kick ass, at least try, even if it was cold, near zero and I was freezing because my only clean running shirt was sleeve-less… Unfortunately, I’m still shy about lining up right at the front of races, even though I ought to, but I got reasonably close to the front of the pack at the start. Everyone runs fast at the start, but most falter within half a mile; yet, it was difficult to believe how far ahead the leaders were already, and how did I get so caught up in the masses? It really underlined the importance of a fast start at the shorter distances, or perhaps the people in the lead pack were really that much faster than me? Time would tell; I was determined to run my own race and ready to try and catch up with those ahead. 

There were still a few people around me and I allowed myself to get a feel for the course by speeding up, slowing down and speeding up once again, leading to me racing and shaking off a number of runners and then catching and passing a small number of runners around the 1 mile mark. The first mile clocked at 5:36, I was pleased and getting into the race. The next half-a-mile was somewhat downhill, which seemed to make me run faster at the same intensity. During a stretch here I got a good look at the lead group of about 5 people, maybe more, which were about 200-300 m ahead. I thought I better conserve some energy for the last mile or so. I remember coming into a corner fast and almost slipping because of wet leafs, staying on my feet and turning the corner heading back towards the finish and the final mile. The 2^nd mile had been 5:37, even pacing again. 

Watch out! Warning for everyone's wearing arm warmers: Someone's about to getcha..

Following the corner it was somewhat up-hill and I lost a bit of pace. I recall seeing so many runners were heading down the road in the opposite direction.  I tried to look for Anais but didn’t see her.  Then I passed a runner and set my sights on a couple of stragglers from the lead group. I turned the corner onto Ring road and sped up to about 5:20 in an attempt to catch the others two ahead. I knew the finish was nearby but I don’t think Ring road ever seemed longer. The other runners were still about 4-5 meters ahead of me, my legs were burning, but I told myself I could do this, just push that little bit harder or you’ll regret it. Not that it would matter for time, but for finishing positions, so just push push push I told myself as we passed the Ottawa hospital and its delivery room. Then something strange happened. A van pulled up next to the three of us and someone appeared to be coaching one of the others, then this guy jumped out of the moving van and proceeded to run along with almost like a hare I suppose. I passed the other runner and then the next and really thought I had got the better of both, but I also could hear the “coach’s” encouragements and the next thing I knew the other guy had sprinted passed me. At this point my pace was just below 4 min/mile and I couldn’t go any faster and settled or 6^th place, finishing with a chip time of 17:25.4, a PR by over a minute.

The sprint (with coach in middle). I was actually just dancing by looks of it.

 I was delighted with my time, pleased I had pushed hard in the end despite of the pain, and the sprint to the finish was simply awesome. Of course, I would have liked to have clocked a time somewhat closer towards sub 17, but all things considered this was a good performance in my book. To top it off, although I had been outsprinted in the end,  because he had started ahead of me, the chip time of the 5^th placed finisher was 17:25.8, so technically I finished 5^th and out-sprinted him, ha!  I won 1^st place in my age-group and was awarded with 6 pairs of Mizuno winter running socks, exactly what I wanted! Of course, I couldn’t help but thinking that if I had run just a bit faster, well 15 s to be precise, I could have been part of the official awards ceremony for the top 3 finishers.

After watching the ceremony, we headed to Meagan’s place for a delightful post-race brunch, including sparkling wine. Although I was quite tired, it sure makes a large difference in tiredness running a 5k from a half-marathon, or even a 10 k, after which I’m like a wreck. I felt ok, and brunch was great, many thanks!

1. K. Day 16:21
2. C. Vervloet 17:09
3. A. Walia 17:11
4. D. Woods 17:20
5. B.R. Bonisteel 17:25
6. O. de Bruin 17:25
7. S. Andjelic 17:30
8. A. Dupuis 17:38

Arrrrrgh!