Albion Hills 5 Peaks

Date: Saturday May 28, 2007
Description: 5km Trail Running Race
Location: Albion Hills Conservation Area
Race Name: Albion Hills 5 Peaks Trail Race
Sport: Trail Running
Race Website: www.5peaks.com

My First Race
Goal setting/ Preparation
This was a very difficult race for me, because it was my first out of school race. I wasn’t quite sure how I’d do or how to set my goals. All I really knew was it was going to be more challenging and much different from school races. My goal setting was tricky, so I decided to just set goals to see if I was underestimating or overestimating my finish and time. I set a 20-minute goal time, and hoped to finish first for my age category. The day before the race I helped set up the course. This gave me a sense of the difficulty of the race. I decided then that I just had to run and see how I feel. The day of the race I was very nervous. I knew it was only my first race and I was using it to know to expect in future races. But, still it was a race and I wanted to do well. At the start line right before the race my coach came over to me and said I could do it. That was all the encouragement I needed to succeed.

During the race
I started in the second wave knowing that I would not be able to keep up with the front runners. I began running at a good pace, keeping up with all of the other racers. At almost 1 km into the race I was 2nd in my wave and gradually getting ahead of the other racers. I felt okay but my body wasn’t doing as well as I had hoped. I felt I was tired and a bit weak. I then looked down at my watch and saw that I had set an unrealistic goal time. I was a bit disappointed about that. I did not let this slow me down and I continued my pace behind the man in front of me. Another kilometer into the race I started to feel better and had no problems of feeling tired. I used my coach’s words to keep me pushing myself. A bit later into the race I stated to see people from the first wave. This made me feel much better and more confident that I could do it. I used the racers from the first wave to push myself. I’d pass one and then find another and gradually pass the next. When I got to the fork point where the 10km runners went one way and the 5km runners the other I knew I was almost there. I picked up my pace a bit for the finish. On my way down the last hill I saw another runner ahead. I picked it up even more now into a sprint. Just before the finish I caught and passed him.
After the race
I walked over to my mom and she looked at me surprised and said, “You’re done, but there were only 6 other racers ahead of you.” I was overjoyed and extremely proud of my finish. I thought I had finished 7th. Shortly after my coach came over to me and told me I came 5th because all the runners ahead of me were in the first wave therefore they had started before me. I began to laugh in happiness and disbelief. I finished 5th to 4 young adults and I beat out all of the other runners. A finished in just over 22 min only 2 minutes behind the lead runner. My first race went very well and I was amazed by how well I did.