I haven't run the Bushtukah race before as I usually do the Canada Day race that is held downtown, but the appearance of a certain Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meant that the race was cancelled for this year, so instead I headed to Kanata to unfamiliar territory.
The kids wanted to do a 1km race, so we all headed for Kanata on what was already a very hot day. With the 5km due to start at 8:45am it was 27˚C and cloudless as the racers packed into the starting area. As usual, Canada Day brings out all kinds of runners, experienced, first-timers, old, young, and those who just want to walk and get Canada Day off to a great start.
I seeded myself as far forward as I could, I wanted to get a good start but the corral was a bit of a mish-mash and when the gun went off I had to do a little weaving to get some fresh pavement under me.
Five km races are hard, often when I have told someone I am doing a 5km they respond with, "after a marathon, 5km should be a walk in the park for you". Unfortunately that is not the case, you pretty much take yourself to "the red line" and hold it there all race until you hit the line in a heap. It is rare for me to train at my 5km pace so the whole race feels really hard.
I wanted to hit and hold a pace 4:20/km, but after the 1st km, with the heat and rolling terrain I just couldn't get to that level, so I hovered around 4:28/km and just tried to hang on for dear life. The first 2kms went smoothly, but I really started to feel it after that, I was regretting the decision to run without water and my mistake was not to opt for a small hand-held bottle to quench my throat as my lungs seemed like they were on fire.
After about 1km of internal struggle I started to feel a little bit better and was able to will my legs to just keep going and count off the remaining distance. By being totally unfamiliar with the course it made it quite tough, but when I finally saw the finish line (and my wife and kids cheering me on) I was able to pick it up as much as I could and I was able to beat out one runner who responded to my surge finishing in a new personal best of 22:21, bettering my previous time by 14 seconds.
Kilometer splits:
1km - 4:22
2km - 4:29
3km - 4:26
4km - 4:34
5km - 4:26
A very pleasing race and result, in tough conditions. I was able to keep pushing myself and keep the negative thoughts at bay. I think I definitely have a sub-22 in me, and perhaps on a cooler day on a more familiar course I will break through.
