So the next race in the “my dad wants to run a marathon” series was the 10K. He’d done his first 5K in May with me during Ottawa Race Weekend, and a 10K race was the very obvious next step up. We signed up for the Longboat Toronto Island 10K, making this my third 10K race to date. I was excited to do this run because Toronto Island is a beautiful venue for a race as the terrain is fairly interesting. You alternate between paved path running, occasional grass running (NOT my favourite, but my dad likes it) and then finish up running a kilometer or so down the boardwalk before hitting the finish line. Additionally, a good friend of mine decided to join us for the race (the same friend who had done the Sporting Life 10K with me back in April).

Once again, I was nervous. Will this never end?! I wanted to beat my previous 10K personal best (pb) which was 56:23 but I didn’t know if that was going to be possible. Reason being is that my previous 10K pb was done on a primarily downhill route! Downhill running conserves a LOT of energy and I always kind of figured it was pretty much a cheater personal best since that previous race had been so much downhill. This was an incredibly flat course – there was zero elevation gain or loss, so I didn’t know if that was going to mean I was less able to get a better time.

All that to say… I had no idea what to expect.

We took the ferry over to Toronto Island and made it there with plenty of time to spare. It was a beautiful day – sunny, cool(ish) and no wind. Absolutely beautiful conditions for running. The 10K didn’t start until 11:15, but I think that’s partially because getting out to Toronto Island on a Sunday isn’t the easiest of things to do in the early morning since the subway doesn’t even start running until 9 am.

So we set off at 11:15 and I broke away from my dad and friend right away. I started out with a good pace, but I could tell my breathing was a little too laboured which meant I would eventually have to slow down. In previous interval training I had done, I knew I could push a 5:00/k pace for roughly 3 kilometers before I’d have to tailor it back a bit. My first few kilometers were done around the 5:08/k mark, which was nice, but I wasn’t going to be able to keep that up.

I started significantly slowing up during my third kilometer right through to my seventh which turned out to be a 6:02 pace. When I saw that 6:02 lap pop up on my Garmin for that kilometer, I knew I had to speed up because that was way wayyyy too slow for my liking.

I stopped to walk a few paces at the last water station on the course (7k) because all I’d managed in doing at the previous water stations had been to slosh water all over my face and get maybe a teaspoon of water in my mouth. (Nothing like trying to drink from an open cup while bouncing up and down.) So I stopped to a walk for five meters and actually got a gulp of water down my throat before pressing on.

It wasn’t till I got around the 8th kilometer marker that I realized I could actually beat my previous time by a significant chunk if I just continued to push myself. I was surprised because I had wasted a lot of time in the middle of the race due to my ever-slowing pace. There wasn’t a lot of leeway for error though, so I really had to book it and monitor my pace closely (thank you Garmin 220!).

Unfortunately, it was right after I realized I needed to push a bit harder that I also started to feel really fucking weird. I started getting body chills mixed with a touch of nausea. I’m starting to wonder if that’s just how my body reacts to physically stressful situations when my heart rate remains elevated for too long. My average heart rate for this race was 183 bpm, peaking around 193. The last time I felt similar chills and nausea was during the 5K race I did in Ottawa when I also had a nasty heart rate average of 185, peaking at 196. Comparatively, my best 5K pb had a heart rate average of 177, with a max at 186 and I didn’t suffer the same odd side effects during that race.  That’s a very large jump in heart rate between races. Very interesting.

Anyway, the second to last kilometer was along the boardwalk and there was a beautiful breeze coming off the lake. Considering my nausea and intermittent chills, this was incredibly refreshing. My iPod also started playing a really energizing song (Cheryl Cole – Say My Name) so it gave me even more inspiration to press on.

I crossed the finish line somewhere around the 55 minute marker (good news!), headed straight for the water station and pounded down two full cups of water right away. That seemed to make me feel better, so I doubled back to the finish line to wait for my friend and father. My friend clocked in just before the 60 minute mark, and unbelievably, my 66 year old father finished his first 10K in 65 minutes! I can’t even tell you how unbelievable I find that. It also makes *ME* feel incredibly out of shape. I mean, I’m 31 so he’s more than double my age and he’s only finishing the race 10 minutes after me? Holy smokes, what have I been doing with my life?!?

In the end, we all achieved our goals. I wanted a new pb, and I got it (my official finish time was 55:14, which was 1:09 minutes shorter than my previous record), my friend finished a few seconds shy of 60 minutes which had been his goal, and my dad just wanted to finish somewhere under 75 minutes and he blew that completely out of the water!

It was an excellent race all around, and one I’d definitely consider doing again. We went for burgers and beer afterwards and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves as everyone was happy with their accomplishments!

Race Results

• Finish Time: 55:14
• Pace: 5:31 per kilometer
• Overall placement: 386/971
• Age group placement (25-34): 24/95
• Gender placement (F): 120/495