course is near my apartment, it is a nice social opportunity, and it
seems like a good idea to do a tempo run. The Terry Fox organizers
don't provide awards, they don't use timing chips, they don't even
provide race numbers. They don't provide race numbers since it is not
supposed to be a "race" – rather it is a commemoration of Terry Fox, a
young Canadian battling Leukemia who ran every day for about 40 Km to
raise money for cancer research. So I envisioned the Terry Fox 10k as
a friendly casual charity event with none of the aggressive
competitiveness that my team is so notorious for.
But of course I had to stay with Gordon and Christian.
Then when Gordon dropped out at 5k I found myself right behind the
pace bike. The volunteer on the pace bike barrelled through the
crowded sidewalk around the Palace clearing a path and I felt
compelled to stay right behind him though his sub-4 pace was faster
than I wanted to run. "Chotto matte" I shouted at him, but to no
avail. I repeatedly apologized and thanked the other participants and
tourists as they leaped out of our way. Thanks to the zeal and
determination of the pace bike, the second 5k loop turned out even
faster than the first (18:40 vs. 19:20). My charity tempo run turned
into another duel to death - this time the duel was with Christian who
unleashed a furious kick at the end (then amazingly continued straight
on into three more sub 25-minute loops of the Palace).
Given my recent struggle with hip pain and 23k run in the mountains
the day before, a 38 minute 10k seems to indicate I am in reasonably
good shape.
