2010 GP Fall Classic 10k

I decided the New York Marathon is not really feasible with all the things happening with Amber's business so we'll save that for another year, but the GP Fall Classic 10k was a great way to finish off the racing season. This is a fantastic race put on by two really great people, Robert Carroll and Lorna McNeil. I can't say enough about how much I appreciate having Robert and Lorna in our community, Robert is in charge of keeping the GP streets and pathways maintained and I love the fact that he makes the pathways a priority in the winter. It helps that he's a runner and he knows that while most people are staying indoors in -20'c others out there are battling the elements and running on the pathways. Thanks so much for having your guys keep those pathways clear and keeping us crazy runners fit during those cold winter days. Lorna is a fantastic race director and official and she knows all of the ins and outs of triathlon and race organization. It's so nice to have someone like her who is an Ironman veteran organizing our local races, thanks you both. This year I was a little concerned how I would perform, I have been having health issues all year and running 6 days a week over the last three weeks has not helped. Last year I set a PR in the 10k in this race, 34:24; I wasn't expecting to get anywhere close to that result this year but I surprised myself and only ran 18 seconds slower, 34:42. I tried to start off conservatively I knew the climb out of the park would kill you if you started off too fast but my competitive nature took over and I was red-lined from the first km. The first lap (5kms) I was hurting but I kept a good pace and got to the turn around in 17 minutes, really, really fast considering I hadn't trained for a 10k leading up to this event. The second half I knew I was not going to be able to hold the same pace and when I reached the turn on to the pathway and into a strong headwind, I knew I was going to REALLY suffer. I remember thinking "it's only 3kms you can't stop and walk now!" but that was all I wanted to do. Just stop and walk, just for a few seconds.

Thanks to Ross for being the lead biker because if he wasn't there I would have stopped. I was incredibly inspired by Ross during one of the last long rides he did with Robert S. and myself. He was struggling to stay on our wheel for hours but he was so tough, he told us to just go our own pace and he would catch up with us at the turn around. True to his word when we saw him at the turn around, he had a big smile on his face and was happy as hell to be out there riding his bike with us. We were happy to have him out there with us and when I heard that he had a fantastic time at IMC I was inspired to keep pushing as hard as I possibly could. This wasn't nearly as difficult as IMC and if he could get through that, I could get through the next 5kms.

The final 4kms I knew I was slowing down but I was absolutely giving everything I had in me to keep my legs turning over at a resonable pace. I hit the final stretch and I remember Duncan (another fantastic GP athlete) telling me that I had a great pace and I just gave it everything I had down the final stretch back into the park. I looked like I was going to collapse at the finish line and the picture Amber took is very indicative of how I felt, I actually had my arms raised but she caught them on the way down and that is probably a more true picture of how I felt. A big thanks to my biggest fan Amber, I love you more than you'll ever know. This win and every win is for you and H-dog thanks for being there.