Game of Life 10k Race Recap

I'm a little behind here.  I ran the inaugural Game of Life 10k in The Beaches on March 20 with Phil and Tim.  It was small -- not sure how many people, maybe 500.  I'd never run over on the other end of the Waterfront Trail before, so it was nice to try it out and get a medal for doing so.  The race kit included a red tech tee and samples of Dextro Energy tablets, which I have since used on a couple of long runs and think they should be renamed "instant-kick-in-the-pants" because they work like a dream.

The race ran out and back along the boardwalk, then out and back on some roads, then back to the boardwalk.  Being a west-end girl all my life, I get all disoriented when I'm east of Yonge Street, so that's as specific as I can be.  The first turn-around proved to be a bit of a problem, seing as it was half a kilometre early, thereby creating the inaugural Game of Life 9k.  I could smell a PR coming since I'd never run a 9k before.

Oh well.  Stuff happens.  It was fun but I didn't do so well -- went out a bit too quick and bonked later.  As I was coming in to the home stretch, I gave it everything I had to sprint to the finish, then a lady pushing a stroller crossed the course right in front of me.  She had been talking to a bunch of spectators, so was clearly aware there was a race happening and that she was AT THE FINISH LINE. I did manage not to trip over her baby or swear at her, but wish a photographer had been there to capture that fail.

Phil ran an amazing time and came in 4th in his age group -- so close!  You'll get 'em next time, Tiger!  Tim did really well too, even though he should really have been on the injured list as his back is giving him trouble.

We stayed for the awards and festivities at the end -- who knew we were again going to be dazzled by celebrity?  You may remember my most favourite race last year, the Audi Best Buddies 10k resulting in these relationships:

Me and my boyfriend Reid Coolsaet and my new friends the Olympians



Me and my BFF Joannie Rochette and Phil's thumb



Well at this race, there was none other than Heather Moyse!  Don't recall?  Can't quite place the name?  You'll all recognize her instantly when you see her doing her thing in the picture on the right.  She's tucked down behind the person wearing the black helmet.  I knew you'd remember!

Seriously, she and her teammate won Gold in 2010 and she gave an eloquent speech promoting the charity they were raising money for (again, that's about as specific as I can be).

And I won an award!  Not for running fast, but for remembering Heather's name in the random trivia prize handout.  It was an extra large men's Adidas running jacket.  Excellent!  So I managed to get my picture taken with Heather and the President of Mizuno (never mind the prize was from Adidas). 

 

Fun day over all.