The Energizer bunnies run at night. Well maybe we aren't bunnies but we did run. The promise of a headlight and a fluorescent t-shirt and Jenn, Randy and I were keen to sign up to run Calgary's first Energizer Night race. August 13th, 2011, turned out to be a gorgeous, warm night. The perfect temperature for running, Along with 1500 other dedicated runners we met at Glenmore reservoir for a 5k or 10k run in the dark. There was excitement in the air as we waited for the race to begin.
So visualize running along the park path where the road in front of you is lite by the participants headlights and all you see is light after light moving along the path.It is so hard to describe. So so very cool. As you circle the path the route is lite by a thousand headlights and best yet the full moon above.
Some days you have a good run and others days not so good but this night we all had our best run ever. Jenn ran her first 5K run in a record time of 35 minutes. I am so proud of her. Only 2 months earlier running a kilometer was a challenge and today she conquered her first 5k race. All that training paid off.
Randy had challenged me to complete the 10k race in less than a hour and the thought panicked me. My quickest 10k to date was 1 hour 12 minutes. I never professed to be fast just to do my best and enjoy the run. Just before the race we agreed to target 1 hour 10 minutes. No problem I thought I Can do it and when the gun went off I was ready to go. My legs felt strong and heart rate was under control. At one point Randy actually coached me to slow down, afraid I would burn myself out in the first 5 k. He is a really good coach! The first loop felt great, although it is only a mean race director that makes you run past the finish line twice. The second loop I still felt good. As we approached the last kilometer heading towards the finish line we started to run full speed. For a fleeting moment I worried that I may have started the final push to soon. What if I couldn't keep this speed up for a full kilometer? As luck would have it i had the energy to charge the finish line, crossing in 1 hour 6 minutes and 38 seconds. A personal best. There is nothing better than crossing the line with your husband. Sweating and breathless we celebrated with a huge hug!
To add to the excitement of the evening, Nicole an account manager on my team had started running this year as a result of listening to all my stories and tales of my training runs and races. So she and her husband had decided to run in the Energizer run, but we missed each other at the start line. As Randy and I crossed the finish line there was Nicole. She finished 8 seconds ahead of us. Her personal 10k best.. Another person in my life I was proud of that evening.
Filled with excitement Randy and I headed off to find Jenn who had patiently waited for us after her 5k race. We were all energized, excited and full of pride as we all celebrated our success, reliving every moment of the race.
Eleven o'clock at night we headed for home knowing we would be back out in a few hours for our Sunday morning 14k training run..
What a night!!!
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