The Very Windy 2015 Fall Classic
October 13, 02015
I optimistically remarked to Jenn as we rounded the corner and began our second five mile lap, half way through the ten mile race, that the promise of severe winds and unseasonable cold weather didn’t seem to be panning out.
Jinx!
Five minutes later we were fighting gusts that (as forecast) were probably in the neighborhood of one hundred klicks per hour and oh right… also, the rain was pelting our faces from virtually every direction, seeming to be coming at us horizontally most of the time.
I rarely run with my eyes closed, but I found myself dodging fallen tree bits through squinting eyes and the shield of my gloved fingers. In the end, not having done anything which I would say resembled adequate training, we slogged through the elemental barrage on a pre-Thanksgiving morning, and gave thanks that we were able to cross the finish line after sixteen cold klicks and hang a deserved participation medal around our necks.
The turkeys cooking in the ovens back home never seemed so awesome.
As an aside, I will say that my experience with this particular race route has done little to endear me to the location. I’ve raced multiple times on this street and each time I seem to get slogged with a bit of runners regret. After all, Ada Boulevard was the home stretch of my first marathon and we all know how well that went. This lovely street overlooking the river was also where I ran my second half marathon of 2015, the Edmonton Hypothermic Half which greeted us with road conditions more appropriate to Canada’s second favorite winter sport, curling. Some day, Beverly, I will have a race through you that is memorable for reasons that are not associated with pain!
In the end it was a cute little race, despite the cold greeting. Well organized (read: a shelter from the brutal wind) and a distance just long enough to feel like you earned your Thanksgiving dinners. And another big shiny medal to hang on my wall back home.
Now, about that half marathon in two weeks…