This month, I participated in my first running race. It was 5 miles (8 km) on a crisp Sunday morning. It is a local race, but it drew over 200 runners from around the province, and even some from neighbouring provinces and states. Along with the main race, there are other shorter ones for kids and teens. Proceeds raised from the race are used for school and community active living projects.
The fastest runners completed the loop well under 30 minutes, with those who were walking and pushing strollers finishing in under 90 minutes. I finished in the middle with an official time of 51:10, a personal best, but still well back at 170th position.
Lesson 1: Gun Time vs Chip Time
Each runner wears a numbered bib with a chip inside it. This chip interacts with a wireless system laid on the ground at the start and finish lines. Chip time is the amount of time it takes for an individual to cross the start and finish lines. However, this race used a mass start; everyone lines up at the start line and the clock begins when they blow a horn. Everyone has the same start time — aka gun time — whether you were right at the front of the group or further back.
Since it was my first race and I wasn’t sure where I should position myself inside the group, I stayed toward the back. When the horn blew to begin the gun time, it still took me 24 seconds to actually get to the line to activate my chip. Even after that, I was still limited by weaving my way between other runners who were slower than me. Now that I have a better feel for how I compare to others and how the mass group start works, the next time I race I’ll be moving forward in the group as we position behind the start line. This will reduce the time difference between the gun time and chip time, and there will be fewer people to navigate through in the first few hundred meters.
Lesson 2: Staying Hydrated
The race was well organized, with three water stops along the way. I sweat a lot when I run, so I make a point of staying well hydrated. It’s a bit hard to try to run and drink from a cup at the same time, so I ended up slowing down at the water stops in order to drink the full glass. Next time, I’ll take a small water flask I can carry in my hand. If I only drink half the glass, I can supplement from the flask and not lose any speed.
Lesson 3: Motivation!
This was my first time running in a group. I was surprised at how much more I was pushing myself when there were others to compete with. In the first few miles, there was someone ahead of me who would slow down to a short walk, then pick up the pace and start running again. Twice I caught up with her while she was walking and was just about to pass when she would start running again and pull away. I wasn’t going to let that happen a third time! I was able to pass her the third time, but when she started running behind me, it pushed me to run a bit harder to make sure I stayed ahead.
Lesson 4: Goals
I had a few goals for my first race. First, find out what the experience is like in an organized event. Second, I wanted to participate in an event that gives back to the community. Third, I had run the route a few times in the weeks beforehand, but I wanted to set a personal best time and see how I compare with others.
I know I’m not the fastest. When I say “run”, I’m really moving at a jogging pace. However, I enjoyed the day and I did beat my previous best time of 53:30.
Next year’s goal is to complete it in under 48 minutes. It’s not a big goal, only 3 minutes faster, but it is a target I should be able to achieve. It would also move me up about 30 places higher. The hard part will be to keep training over the winter and to lose some more weight. At least they’ll go together, since I should lose weight as I train.