Oakville Mercedes 10km - it has been awhile for this distance...

I must admit, I really don't go into a lot of races. I thought I did but looking back at the last two years I really don't. Case in point is the 10km race - I have only done one of them and that was over a year and a half ago. I remember it very well as I forgot to get a timing chip, was terrified that I would not finish the race, and it was my third race ever.

I have certainly changed in terms I know what to expect at race time, to ask if there are timing chips and knowing I will finish the 10km race. I was excited to run this race as I have heard many good things about it and you can win a Mercedes at the end of the race. I will end the suspense now and tell everyone I did not win it.

As usual, the world's greatest cheering section came with me, found parking easy, and headed to Appleby College for the start. Everything was well organized, easy to find, and for not a huge race they did an awesome job with starting corrals. The only other 10km I did was in just under 51 minutes (literally 50:59) but thought I could break the 50 minute barrier so I went to the 40 - 50 minute corral area.

The race did have a great tribute to Boston with the playing of Sweet Caroline. My running group had 19 runners running in Boston and thankfully everyone was safe. To hear their stories and to hear their determination to go back and run Boston again is a huge motivation for me. Amazing stuff.

As for the race, the gun goes off and out we go. I thought if I could pull a couple sub 5 minute km then it will make up for the slower kms' near the end. I hit the 4km mark and was around the 4:45km mark and felt okay. A pretty good uphill (unusual for a 10km) slowed me down a bit, but I kept going. There were a few water stations on the course but I didn't need them for this distance.

I was debating around the 6.5km mark if I should walk for 15 seconds to regroup, and that is when I saw our running coach on his bike. No chance of walking after seeing him so I kept going. It was at this point I realized I only had 3 km to go and I knew a sub 50 minute was going to happen. It was also around this point that the 5km racers and the 10km racers mix. This is the ONLY complaint I have about this race as there is not a ton of room on Lakeshore in Oakville so there was a ton of weaving in and out.

I turned into Appleby college just under 47 minutes and crossed the finish line at 47:01. I improved my previous 10km time by almost 4 minutes in just under a year and a half and I am thrilled with that. I also realized I probably can do better which again is the motivating factor for me to keep going.

Overall the race was great - the medals were super cool (then benz logo), lots of stuff for the kids with mascot races, kids races, face painting, etc. Tons of food and drinks after the race - overall a great experience. Well, well done.

Only two weeks until the Mississauga half...then rest up for the crazy training that will take me to Chicago...