JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

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JoaniB
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JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby JoaniB » Sun May 27, 2012 11:47 pm

Copied from my blog because it's late and I'm tired:
Last month, my sweetie was told, "Thou shalt run a marathon!"
So he signed up for the Calgary marathon and said to me, "Hey, why not run the 10k?"
What a brilliant idea, I said, and signed up. However (side-story), due to uncertain lodging details, I invited my friend Allison to join us, and got a hotel room.

Fast forward to race-day. We all wake up at 5 a.m. Thankfully, we had laid our race kits out the night before, because I swear if we'd had to think this through the morning of, we would have ended up wearing each other's clothes.

By 6 a.m., we are fed (granola bars) and already heading to the C-train. It is cold outside, at 2C, and it feels colder than we expected (meanwhile, Ottawa's race weekend is enjoying at least 15C). After figuring out the fare payment method, we get the train and arrive, along with the many other racers. How exciting, we're wandering around our first non-hometown race! It's getting close to race-time for Ragnar, and he has to find his regiment buddies. With a send-off and final kiss, Ragnar goes one way and Allison and I head in to check our bags.What marvelous bag-check, there is no line-up for us!

The only thing I might mention at this point is that signs above ankle-reading height would have been nice.

So we wait a bit before braving the cold to get to the start-line. Somehow, Allison and I get in right behind the 50 minute pace-bunny. No matter, though, we'll figure ourselves out. Neither of us are really going for best time.

The gun goes off, and Allison and I move quickly over the starting line. The first two kilometers is pretty hard - the scenery is not very pretty, there are cars trying to make their way through, and I'm really not sure I'll be able to keep this pace up. Into the third kilometer, I'm getting used to the feeling of it. This area is looking a bit nicer, I'm warming up, and my legs are loosening up. By the end of that third kilometer, I've gotten rid of my throw-away sweater, and suddenly, there's a hill. Okay, it's not a huge hill, but it's more hill than I expected! I repeat to myself, "I love hills. I love hills. I love hills. Oh, who am I kidding?" I do actually love hills, but it depends on whether they're thinking kindly of me.

By the fifth kilometer, we're moving into some really nice, trendy areas. A little combination of Bank St. in Ottawa and Whyte Ave. in Edmonton. Allison asks if we want to stop for sushi. For a second, I consider it, but everyone's behind me, so let's keep going. At this point, I have had a stitch which passed, a shin ache that passed, and my knees haven't started yet, so why stop now?

Six and seven pass well, but by eight, my knees have suddenly realized that I wasn't joking, and start to ache a little. This time, the hill starts down, then up, back into the Olympic park. The end must be near, right? Oh no, there's two more kilometers to go. By then, I've seen the Saddledome, and it promises and beckons. The end has got to be around here somewhere.

Back and forth, we go, winding our way to the finish line. Allison and I are saving our breath, but hey, I think to myself, I'm feeling strong, I'm upright, and I can't believe we're already nearly there! The ninth kilometer is through the parking lot, and while I'm amusing myself with mentioning I'm passing the 41st marker in one hour, the joke is kinda getting old. Suddenly, there's a turn, with a big floating arch, so that's the end, right? Oh, I am to laugh!

With 500 meters to go, Allison jets off. I figure I'll get there when I get there by now, and give my knees, who haven't stopped complaining, a little break. As I pass over the timing strip that keeps you honest, I pick it up again. The end is so close! I really can see it! Then I see the time. 1:06:21, and there is no way I'm not beating my first 10k time. I pick up some speed, and make it over as the clock reads something like 1:06:33, and I'm done! Allison and I catch up with each other, congratulations are given on jobs very well done (her, the pacer; me, the amusing but sometimes irreverent side-kick), get our packs, and then go regroup, change, and wait for Ragnar. Pancakes are also devoured.

Three hours later, Ragnar came across the marathon finish line at 4:19:16 (according to my camera). A dash back to the hotel, shower, Starbucks, and leave for lunch. Ragnar was safely ensconced in the back seat with all the room he could get in the back of a four-door Honda Civic.

We are home now, and apart from my previous recounting of the tale, my impressions of Calgary and its running event are:

Calgary's downtown is beautiful. Seriously, Edmonton, WTF.
Starbucks apparently close at 6 p.m. on weekends in DT Calgary. WTF.
Calgary marathon is a fun event, but you go for the run and the Running Maniacs, not for the Expo.

Here ends my tale.
Ottawa Race Weekend 10k (2009): 1h07m; Army Half-marathon (2009): 2h38m; St. Patrick's Day 5k (2010): 33m; Ottawa Race Weekend Half-marathon (2010): 2h28m (getting better!); St. Patrick's Day 10k (2011): 1h13m (or not); Calgary 10k (2012): 1h06m (new PB!); Canadian Derby Half-marathon (2012): 2h17m (PB!)
~~~~~~~//~~~~~~~
"And now for my next impression, Jesse Owens!" - Bart the Sheriff in Blazing Saddles
~~~~~~~//~~~~~~~
http://runjellyrun.blogspot.com

Tisha
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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby Tisha » Sun May 27, 2012 11:54 pm

Way to go! Great read! Sounds like having a run with a friend today was a good experience for you! :D

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Tori
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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby Tori » Mon May 28, 2012 6:10 am

Congrats! Sounds like a great little adventure.

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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby HCcD » Mon May 28, 2012 6:31 am

Nicely done, congrats ... :P
Race Results: http://itsmyrun.com/index.php?display=p ... unner=HCiD

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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby Hammie » Mon May 28, 2012 7:36 am

JoaniB wrote:Calgary's downtown is beautiful. Seriously, Edmonton, WTF.
Starbucks apparently close at 6 p.m. on weekends in DT Calgary. WTF.
Calgary marathon is a fun event, but you go for the run and the Running Maniacs, not for the Expo.

:lol: :lol: :lol:
So true!

Congrats on your run, and it was great to meet you!

Come back again... we always have extra pancakes.
2014: the year of new awesomeness!
Rogers Insurance Run for L'Arche Half March 22 - done
Calgary Marathon Wild Rose 50k June 1 - done
Stampede Road Race 5k July 6 - done
Magrath sprint tri July 12 - done!!
Jog for the Bog 10k July 27 - done
Seawheeze Half Marathon August 23 - done
Subaru Banff Sprint Triathlon September 6 - done
Blitz Duathlon September 21 - registered
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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby Habs4ever » Mon May 28, 2012 8:09 am

Great race, very entertaining report.
Congratulations.
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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby Size5 » Mon May 28, 2012 8:12 am

Sounds like a great weekend adventure!! How can you go wrong with pancakes??
Vancouver 2012 Done!
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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby IronColl » Mon May 28, 2012 8:17 am

Great job!

I don't have anything witty to add. Did ya have Bacon?
If all that you read is everything you believe then let go, then let go, then let go.

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2018 goals: May half marathon, September half marathon

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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby oobinsnaffa » Mon May 28, 2012 9:45 am

Congrats! I really wish I had signed up for this race... everything Stampede-related comes with pancakes! I'm sorry I missed the Maniac fun... next time!
PBs: 5K: 32:52 - 8K: 55:08 - 10K: 1:05:57

2013 Races
Mar 24: Vancouver Spring Run-Off (8K): Finished, 55:08 (PB)
Aug 17: Spartan Sprint Calgary (3 miles): Finished
Sep 7: Spartan Super Red Deer (8 miles): Finished
Sep 28: Spartan Beast Sun Peaks (13 miles)
Nov 2: Banff Winterstart (5 miles)
Dec 31: Resolution Run Calgary (5K)

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Robinandamelia
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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby Robinandamelia » Mon May 28, 2012 9:49 am

Well done, congratulations!

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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby CinC » Mon May 28, 2012 1:38 pm

glad to hear you were happy with bag check! I was working it y'day morning and we tried to keep it moving quickly! success!

Sorry I didn't get to meet you on Saturday - but glad you enjoyed YYC. Yes. we have pancakes, our downtown is pretty nice, but on the weekend (and really most days after about 6pm), it's pretty dead. So not surprised Starbucks was closed after 6pm.

congrats on your race!
Race Hard. Race Happy.

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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby BJH » Mon May 28, 2012 1:50 pm

I had to go back and search for the bit about the pancakes. :)

Well done!
The road to hell is paved. Run trails.

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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby Kelodie » Mon May 28, 2012 3:13 pm

Sounds like you had a fun time! Congrats. :D
"Keep Going. Never Give Up" - Spencer
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Plans for 2014:
Run for Women 5K, May 11
Ottawa Race Weekend 10K, May 24

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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby IronGoddess » Mon May 28, 2012 3:41 pm

Yeah for a great race!! Your race report was fun to read.
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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby LilyRun » Mon May 28, 2012 8:11 pm

Great race report. Congrats on your PB!

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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby scrumhalfgirl » Mon May 28, 2012 8:17 pm

congrats! glad you had fun! (but i feel like there was a lot of hype about pancakes in the title and very few details in the report...disappointing!)
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April - Boston Marathon
May - Sporting Life Ottawa 10K
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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby carm » Mon May 28, 2012 9:02 pm

Congrats on your 10K! Yum, pancakes.
Carm

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JoaniB
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Re: JoaniB's First Calgary 10K! With Pancakes!

Postby JoaniB » Tue May 29, 2012 1:09 pm

scrumhalfgirl wrote:congrats! glad you had fun! (but i feel like there was a lot of hype about pancakes in the title and very few details in the report...disappointing!)


My clever lure worked! However, since you were disappointed, I will fill in:
A free pancake is always a good pancake, in my philosophy. If they add the syrup for you, it is even better.

After the 10k race, the aforementioned Allison and I were on the fence whether to eat pancakes before Ragnar finished his marathon, or to wait for him. However, hunger and craving sweet hot free things cast our vote for us, and we warmed up long enough to head outside again.

The set up was a bit awkward - we had to leave the grand-stand, walk across and then turn around again to get in line for pancakes. Free pancakes. So a few extra steps were not going to put us out of sorts.

Some young gentleman was handing out plates (on which Allison and I discussed the 'Calgary Stampede' brand: does it say 'US'? Is it a horseshoe? If it is a horseshoe, is it on its side to represent the C in Calgary? We were obviously trying to distract ourselves from the temptation to storm the pancake stand) and the line moved quite smoothly. I noticed the funky doohickey that gave perfectly round circles of pancakes. Neat! It's like they do this a lot!

Pancakes were soon obtained (two each, and a sausage patty if you like 'em), and then we promenaded to the Syrup Girl, where I wondered in my head if she was the Rodeo Queen or something - on the other hand, I'm sure it takes more than cowboy boots and hat to be Rodeo Queen. She was, however, Queen of Dispensing Syrup in Just Enough Amounts. I also thought of the syrup-chugging scene from SuperTroopers.

With pancakes, syrup, fork, knife, and napkin in hand, Allison and I headed back to the Grandstand and managed to swipe a seat, and by seat, I mean a place to sit on the ground where people won't trip on you. That is one area for improvement: seating and tabling. However, runners are a hardy, hungry lot, and we can eat just about anywhere. At that point, I would have rolled up the pancake and eaten it li... okay, no Austin Powers jokes, please.

ANYHOW, my critique of the pancakes were: good, filling, hot, but mine taste better. On the other hand, on any regular Sunday morning, I don't have to feed a running event's worth of hungry runners. I also noted that my bottom pancake was slightly too cooked on the bottom and was unable to efficiently absorb enough syrup.

All in all, I was grateful for the hot post-run breakfast and will definitely eat it again next year.
Ottawa Race Weekend 10k (2009): 1h07m; Army Half-marathon (2009): 2h38m; St. Patrick's Day 5k (2010): 33m; Ottawa Race Weekend Half-marathon (2010): 2h28m (getting better!); St. Patrick's Day 10k (2011): 1h13m (or not); Calgary 10k (2012): 1h06m (new PB!); Canadian Derby Half-marathon (2012): 2h17m (PB!)
~~~~~~~//~~~~~~~
"And now for my next impression, Jesse Owens!" - Bart the Sheriff in Blazing Saddles
~~~~~~~//~~~~~~~
http://runjellyrun.blogspot.com


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