Wow, where to begin.......what a wild week that ended with probably the most memorable Cape to Cabot to date. Let me start off with my weekly training summary.
My goal for the week leading up to the C2C was just to be able to run pain free and not get injured before the race. So I took it pretty easy and did not do any long distances or any fast pace, I just kept my runs short, sweet and slow!
Training Week Summary:
Monday: 4.17 km, 30:00, 7:12/km pace (had lingering effects of knee pain at the end, so I walked the final 500 m or so).
Tuesday: 5.41 km, 33:12, 6:08/km pace
Wednesday: off
Thursday: 5.40 km, 32:39, 6:03/km pace
Friday: off
Saturday: off
Sunday (C2C): 20 km, 1:42:29, 5:07/km pace
Cape to Cabot
The 2014 edition of the Cape to Cabot will be one that nobody will soon forget. Earlier that week, the weather reports were warning of Gonzalo, a post tropical storm or even worse, a category 1 hurricane that was projected to pass by our area on Sunday morning. Of course, this put everyone on edge. Will the race go ahead? If it does what kind of conditions will we be running in?
But as the week progressed, the weather reports became more and more positive for the race. As each day passed, the projected path of Gonzalo was trending more east. We would be spared the hurricane force winds (though the winds would still be quite strong, in the 60-90 km range) but we would experience a heavy amount of rain. An email was sent by the race director that week indicating that the final decision regarding the status of the race would be made at 5:00 am on Sunday.
The C2C is dubbed as the "Toughest Race in Eastern North America" and this year it lived to that billing and more. The race itself is a challenge in perfect conditions, throw in a hurricane and now you have an entirely different challenge.
I woke up on Sunday around 4:00 am (not sure if it was from excitement or fear....lol). But to my surprise it was not raining, I thought to myself , maybe we dodged a bullet and the storm could be even more east and miss our region completely. But after checking the weather reports, the storm had not yet arrived. At 5:00 am, I got the email, the race is going ahead and along with that the rain and I mean heavy rain had started. It was coming down like cats and dogs as the old saying goes. So with that I got ready and headed to the buses which would take us to the start, Cape Spear.
When I arrived at Cape Spear the rain seemed to be even more intense and it was very, very windy. As one runner stated, this is probably the first race that most people did not do a warm up, they just stayed on the buses and waited for the start of the race. I managed to get a short warm up run with Ryan G but we both quickly headed back to one the buses to take some shelter from the wind and rain along with to get a few stretches in. About 2 minutes before the start we jumped out of the bus, lined up and after the Ode to Newfoundland was sung, we were off. The 8th Annual Cape to Cabot 20 km Road Race had begun.
As we all progressed through Blackhead and Shea Heights, the wind was intense. It was either behind you (only for a short time), at the side of you or as we ran through kilometers 7-10, right in your face. There was no relief. One positive was the rain. Yes, it was coming down at the begining, but as each kilometer passed, the rain let up and by the time we were coming out of Shea Heights it was practically over. But as with any heavy rain storm, there was a lot of water buildup and even part of the road in Shea Heights was flooded.
By the time I reached the Southside Road/Water Street area the rain had stopped and now it was just one last stretch before reaching the final mile, the MUNN Mile. As me and Keith B reached the first timing mat at the bottom of Temperance Street, I could hear the cheering crowd at the top. I knew many of our fellow PRC members would be at the top of Temperance Street encouraging every runner so that gave me a little bit more motivation to get over the hill.
My opinion is that the first part of the MUNN Mile is the toughest, Temperance and the begining of Signal Hill Road is steep and quite long and it usually kills my legs. With the help of Keith B, I managed to run up the first section, I had to stop and walk just before the first turn just to catch my breath but as soon as we entered the first "flat" section I began to run again right until the very last hill just before the turn to the finish line, again I just had to catch my breath. Keith ran ahead of me, but to my surprise he waited for me just pass the turn, about a hundred meters from the finish line. During our run together we agreed to finish the race together, but as he started to pull away on the MUNN Mile I told him to go on ahead of me but he didn't. True to his word he waited and we finished together.
I had a couple of goals entering this year's race, to have an overall PB time and to have my MUNN Mile time in the 10-11 minute range, in past races it was always around 12-13 minutes. But with the hurricane, I put aside these goals and just wanted to finish. To my surprise though, I achieved both goals! My overall time was 1:42:29 (2:30 better than my previous PB) and my MUNN Mile time was 10:51. So to say that I am pleased is an understatement. I survived a very tough race in very tough conditions. My 5th consecutive C2C!
Before I go, I just want to acknowledge a few people. First, I want to thank ANE and the Cape to Cabot organizing comittee for putting off just one hell of an event, it keeps getting better and better every year. With Gonzalo just offshore, this year's race was put off in conditions that nobody has ever experienced. I also want to thank the many volunteers who braved the wind and rain, as well as the RNC and St. John Ambulance so all the runners would be safe and have an enjoyable event.
Next, I want to give a HUGE shout out to all the PRC members, 20 I believe, who ran this year, many for the first time. A lot of training went into this and with Gonzalo thrown into the mix, it makes this year's race an even more memorable one. To Keith B, Kiley D, Tanya J, Brian C, Rod H, Ryan G, Shawn G, Roseanne L, Lisa S, Colleen R, Carol Ann P, Diane C, Tara P, Sandie C, Jennifer C, Keith G, Connie C, Andrew H, Andrew T and Erin M (hopefully I did not forget anyone), be very proud of your achievement and bask in the glory of completing the "Toughest Race in Eastern North America".
Lastly, I want to thank all those PRC members who came out just to support us. For those waiting for us at the top of Temperance Street, not sure who was there exactly but I will mention a few, Janice H, Ron E, Madeline W, Sue R and anybody else I may of missed. To those at the top of Signal Hill, Renee A (my wonderful and very supportive wife), Susan B, Jackie D, Jack D, Tanya G, Joyce S and of course Gina B, who was one of the many volunteers that day.
I think it is safe to say that the support that each member receives from the Paradise Running Club is second to none and everyone who runs with PRC is very grateful not only of the support but of the friendships that have developed for being part of such an awesome group.
As well, good luck to all those PRC members traveling to Niagara Falls this weekend to complete either the marathon or half-marathon. I have joined in many of the training runs and not only are you guys ready, but you are going to rock it this Sunday!
I hope everybody enjoyed reading the blog over the last few weeks, not sure when I will be back but I am sure you will hear from me again.
And I thought Sunday was just going to be another typical race day!
Take care,
MA
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