Fifty Seven Minutes Later

I had an absolute blast at yesterday's Vancouver Sun Run. My initial intention was to complete the run together with my friends (Larry & Jonathan) within 75-90 minutes. I quickly learned that it would be nearly impossible to stay together when surrounded by approximately 50,000 other participants.

In my previous experiences, I've always started out of the gates too quickly in an attempt to get into the front of the main crowd. Like a stupid donkey, I would never learn from my mistakes. This year, I was able to quickly set a comfortable pace of 5:43 min/km or 9:12 min/mile.

Between the second and third kilometer, I had already pulled away from my friends. By the 6 kilometer, I was surprised that neither fatigue or cramping had set in. Despite passing runners, I continued chugging along at my own pace.

I glanced at my watch as I passed the 8 kilometer mark. I had been able to keep my split time to within 1-2 minutes of my initial pace, while 42:00 minutes had passed since leaving the start line. I pressed on as I became determined to cross the finish line within 60 minutes.

Despite having had no spring training, I surprisingly finished the run within 57 minutes and 5 seconds. If I had trained this year, I felt that I could have been able to finish the run under 50 minutes.

My previous Sun Run times:

2004: 56:57 finish 5:41/km 9:10/mile
2005: 61:11 finish 6:07/km 9:51/mile