Tag: WestVanRun 10K

2020 week ten

Books Read
5. Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club – Megan Gail Coles
6. The Houseguest – Amparo Dávila

Kilometres Ran
week ten – 69.7

2020 to date: 591 KM

“February in Newfoundland is the longest month of the year.” So opens Small Game Hunting‘s synopsis on its House of Anansi page. Thank gawd February is over. I wanted to like this book and it was such a slog and I spent so much time wondering just WTF was going on that I just could not. It reminded me of reading Faulkner in undergrad, the echo of people much smarter than me lamenting greatness like tinnitus all the while just wondering what the hell is happening. Sometimes I get the urge to pick him up again. This reminded me maybe nah. Moving on, below the flat we let in Mexico City was an English language bookstore that -of course- I stopped in to browse. Inside was a wide selection of children’s books, high school and university textbooks, and various exam prep, as well as a small selection of local authors in translation. I picked up a few but this Dávila collection of short stories had a blurb that included comparisons to Hitchcock and Kafka. I like Hitchcock and Kafka. This collections didn’t disappoint, and Dávila’s comparison to Kafka is apt. I liked it quite a bit and it was fun to recognize references I would have never understood before visiting Mexico City. In a city with so much to discover, this was a pleasant surprise.

WestVanRun race weekend, about a mile into the Sunday 10K. The smiling did not last much longer. Photo by Debra Kato.

Race weekend in West Vancouver for the WestVanRun 5K on Saturday and 10K Sunday (today). I set a goal to run a new personal best and aimed for an under 19:00 finish. I had a pretty good morning. I got into a slightly uncomfortable pace that I thought I could hold onto. The course starts at the top of a pretty steep hill and then runs pretty much flat out through the Park Royal mall parking lot and then back along the West Van Centennial Seawalk to the finish. My middle splits were pretty even and I managed a bit of a kick to the finish and crossed the finish line 19:03 with not a lot left to give. When I checked my finish online it said I placed fourth in my age group. A couple hours later friends messaged to say I missed claiming my third-place age group award. The runner who finished second overall was first in my age group and instead of double-dip, the organizers bumped everyone up a spot. So I was third in my age group even though I was fourth. It seems so strange to claim an award that I got but didn’t actually earn. I guess now I know how people who wear those fancy Nike shoes must feel all the time…. Anyway! I am now 3/3 not being on hand to accept my age group award.

WestVanRun Saturday 5K PB times three for John Hamilton (L), Walter Downey (R) and me. Photo by Lindsay Maciver.

This morning was the WestVanRun 10K and after a 9/10 effort to get to 19:03 in the 5K 23 hours earlier (thanks, Daylight Savings Time) I dialed back my expectations. I’d wanted to try to go under 38:00 but that was a pretty lofty goal at the best of time let alone the day after a hard race. I decided instead to go out at 3:55/km pace for the first 5K and then hang on for dear life and at least beat the 40 min pacer. I hit half way in 19:36 – one second behind pace – and the hang on began. I dipped a bit through 7 and 8 KM then traded lead back and forth with Michael Prince. I thought I had him beat but he had a better kick to the line; I crossed the finish a few seconds behind him for 39:30 chip time and my second fastest 10K and second time running sub 40:00.

Mike Prince out kicking me at the WestVanRun 10K finish this morning. Photo by Maddie Wiseman.

Later today over-analyzing the weekend (as I tend to do) I’m sure that I have it in my to run a sub 38:00 10K but I have a bit more work to do to get there. I was really happy with how well I recovered between races, all things considered, and I wonder how I could have done in the 10K today if I hadn’t raced the 5K yesterday. I felt like my Saturday was a better day, but when I looked at the stats I found that today’s 10K was actually a better performance, which I still find really (pleasantly) surprising. I certainly do not regret racing both. I’ve decided to pass on the St. Pat’s 5K next weekend, and the Vancouver Sun Run in April and just focus on the half marathons I have lined up between now and summer. Summertime will bring the Mile2Marathon Chase the Pace 5K on the track followed by the VFAC Summerfast 10K around Stanley Park so I won’t have to wait too long to take another shot at going faster than I have ever before. Next up though, is the gruelingly hilly April Fool’s half marathon on the Sunshine Coast. If I can set a new PB there I’ll be ecstatic.

2020 week nine

Book Read
4. Exquisite Mariposa – Fiona Alison Duncan

Kilometres Ran
week nine – 77.4

2020 to date: 517 KM

As you might have noticed if you read last week’s post on here (it’s not necessary, don’t worry) I was reading the current issue of The Believer and early in the issue there was an article called “Flight Risk” that’s a pretty great review of Fiona Alison Duncan’s debut novel Exquisite Mariposa so I picked up a copy. Better than anything I’m going to write here anyway, so go read it over there. A Canadian expat living in Los Angeles, Duncan’s novel tells the totally fictional story of Fiona, a Canadian expat living in Los Angeles, who sublets a room at La Mariposa. Fiona signs a deal to produce a reality TV show focusing on the cast of characters living at La Mariposa. The show never happens, and Fiona spends the rest of the book questioning everything about life, relationships, and how-did-I-end-up-here. Is it creative non-fiction? Who cares. It’s a pretty great insight into a creative millennial mind. I liked this book, in spite of not really caring much about the characters. It feels like an L.A. Sally Rooney. I think that’s a compliment.

Finish line shot from the First Half half marathon back on February 9. RunVan skipped the no-good-very-bad Marathon Photos cartel and hired local professionals (as you can see here) and then sold the photos for $5 each with all proceeds to Variety charity – a great move! I hope it’s the start of a trend.

One week out from WestVanRun 5K and 10K and I had a great Mile2Marathon workout on Wednesday that completely kicked my ass. The workout called the Virgin after some dude named Craig Virgin is 4x 400 with 200 breaks in between and then finishes with an 800, followed by a 400 break then do it all again. I did three. Strava was not impressed. For a 15.4 km workout Strava gave me an effort score of 125. For comparison, the 16 km hills workout that I wrote about here last week Strava scored 209. I felt way more beat up by Craig than by the Chapultepec hills. Anyway, with the suffer fest that I have lined up for next weekend in mind I opted to do more speed work this weekend. But no, instead I set out on a solo 30 KM death march with a bit of half marathon pace to get some lead into my legs and then finish with 10 KM at marathon pace because Berlin is just 30 short weeks away. Truth is, I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of today’s workout. I’ve mostly hung around 22 KM for my long runs, and only put in a 25 KM last week – my longest run since CIM back at the beginning of December. Today went very well and was a big confidence boost, and Strava agreed, giving me an effort score of Chapultepec hills +1 = 210. So, yeah, I do not understand some Strava stats at all. I am looking forward to throwing down at WestVanRun next weekend. I think I can go under 19:00 in the 5K (current PB is a 19:40 en route) and then I get to see how well I can recover in 24 hours and hammer the 10K. I believe a new PB is achievable (currently it’s 39:20) but I have a rather ridiculously lofty goal to run a Vancouver Sun Run seeded qualifying time, which is sub 38:00. I think on an exceptional day that’s just barely within reach, so I’m curious to find out what Sunday has in store for me. I feel ready to go hard.