Digby Scallop Days 5k

I look anxiously at the clock. 30 minutes. Good. There’s still lots of time. But as the seconds tick away, I can’t help but worry. J-A said she wasn’t feeling great, and she missed a lot of training, and living two full-time lives as student and employee has reduced her sleep over the past couple of weeks to an average of about 4 hours per night. There's no way she should cross the line in PB time, no way she should break 35 minutes.

31 minutes. Despite everything, I'm still hoping she'll have a good race.

My family and I are gathered at the finish line – my mom and dad and my brother, sister-in-law, and their three boys. They're on vacation and have decided to come with us to Digby to watch us run. Now we're all waiting, cheering for those crossing the line but saving our lungs for when J-A appears down the stretch.

32 minutes – when will she appear?

The Scallop Queen and her entourage of princesses in glowing white gowns line the finish chute to congratulate those completing the race. It’s a nice touch – it adds something special to the race to have them take part each year. This year, in fact, some of them even walked part of the course to lend support to the goals of the event – to promote healthy living and fun.

33 minutes. I wonder where she is. People keep crossing – the seconds keep ticking.

And then I see her. The clock shows 33:30 and she’s coming down the stretch, maybe 200-250m out. I run about 75m from the finish line and start yelling. Behind me, our whole cheering section goes wild. Even people who don’t know J-A join in – there’s a mountain of noise. The princesses are clapping. J-A puts in a surge and crosses the line in 34:37, well under her goal and a huge PB. It was awesome.

There have been some incredibly fun and memorable races this season, but I think the Digby Scallop Days 5k takes the prize for most fun. Admittedly, winning at the Cabot Trail Relay was pretty special, but the level of intensity of that event removes it from comparison. Among the rest, Digby stands out.

My own race wasn’t particularly dramatic, but it was fun. The only plot development happened in the first k. As usual, a bunch of young guys surged out of the start line, and, as usual, most of them died up the first hill. Part way up the first hill, though, three guys remained in front of me. I simply kept my pace and watched them come back. The last guy in front heard me coming and took a quick glance back. I’d moved to pass him on the right, but he drifted out into my path. I wondered if he was letting me through on the inside, but as I moved inside, he looked behind and drifted back inside. The dude was trying to keep me from passing. It was crazy – we’re not even at 1k, and I’m comfortably running faster, and he wants to race. Well, give him credit for being aggressive, but in the end, I moved past on the right and ran the rest of the race alone.

I’ve gotten into the habit of racing without a watch, so I was a bit lost out there on my own. The course is two loops, but the loops aren’t equal, so when I passed the finish line clock the first time, it was before half way, so I had no idea if I was running fast or slow. Instead, I found the edge of discomfort and kept moving. If there had been someone there to race, I might have pushed into the pain a bit more, but with the race sewn up, it was hard to push too far. In the end, I crossed the line in 16:59 – one second off my PB. Funny. I had more in the tank, but I didn’t have the discipline to push. No big deal, though – I was sub 17, two-time winner, and got a trophy and a pair of shoes from a Scallop Princess. All in all, an awesome time. And the race director gave well-deserved props to the family cheering section.

I’ve been to Digby four times, and each time I’ve loved the race – it’s got a nice laid-back, festive feel. This year was extra special with J-A’s huge performance and a loyal and loud cheering section. You can bet that J-A and I will make every effort to go back next year!

Proud of My Nephews!

A few months ago, when C (my bro) and M-R (my sis in-law) confirmed when they and their fam were going to be in Nova Scotia, J-A had this brainwave: our nephews P (5) and D (3) should run the Bridge Mile! In previous years, we’d watched all the little dudes and dudettes givin’er over the Bridge, and we wanted to be a part of it. Fortunately, C and M-R thought it was a good idea too!

I was a little bit nervous about how the two kids would react to the whole thing on race morning, but as we walked the bridge from Dartmouth to Halifax for the start, they seemed in really good spirits. We arrived on the other side in time to watch the Open Female race start, which meant we had loads of time to sit around and wait for the Youth Boys start. Once the women had gone, the boys got to see the girls line up.

Soon, though, our moment arrived, and we all moved into the start area. It was decided that C and I would run with P and that M-R and J-A would run with D. In the line-up, P looked a little overwhelmed, and we had to explain to him that it was okay if he didn’t win the race – apparently, he wanted to be like his uncle who he’d seen win the half at Valley the year before. But we somehow managed to explain to him that there were lots of big kids running at the same time, so it was okay if he didn’t beat them.

As the start time drew closer, the director of Run Nova Scotia’s youth running series led the kids through some fun warm up exercises and stretches to help pass the time. P and D did their exercises seriously – this was a big race, after all.

At the start of the girls’ race, we’d noticed that they were using a starter’s pistol to start the races, so M-R and C made sure to explain to P (who was a bit wary of guns) that it wasn’t a real gun and that the loud bang was not something that was going to be harmful. I never would have seen the pistol as a problem – shows how good an uncle I am!

The moment finally arrived. The gun went off and P and C took off. I got caught behind some slow kids and parents, but I soon found some space and raced after them. The crowd spread out up the hill, but P was givin’ it – he never even slowed up the hill. He paced it perfectly, and when he got to the top of the bridge and started down the long downhill towards the finish, he appeared to have plenty left. I was sure he would walk a few times, but he never even slowed. And he even put a few surges in there when C suggested he speed up. It was awesome. I was so proud of him.

When we got to the finish chute, we explained to P that he had to cross the finish line alone. So we sent him on his way to be greeted by the race announcer and I took off around the chute in order to meet P at the finish line and encourage him in. He needed little encouragement, though, as he pumped his legs and crossed the line strong. I hoisted him into the air in celebration and then we walked hand-in-hand to get his medal. With his medal on, he informed me that this was his fourth medal. He’s only five and he’s already won four medals!

We made our way over to daddy and then took up a position along the finishing chute. We looked for D and J-A and M-R, but we couldn’t see them. I ran back to the start of the chute to get a better view, but I couldn’t see them at all. I told C that they were nowhere to be seen, and he decided to go back up the bridge to look for them to see if everything was okay.

Finally, we saw them all walking down the hill. Apparently, D had gotten a bit freaked out at the start and had refused to run a single step. He’d also been feverish and feeling bad the past couple of days, so that could’ve contributed to his unhappiness with the whole thing too. Nevertheless, the whole lot of them made their way down the hill towards the finish as the last group to arrive. I told the announcer D’s name and he gave him a big welcome as D walked down the finishing chute to the finish line. Hearing his name over the loudspeakers, of course, totally freaked him out, but somehow he managed to get over the line in order to claim his medal. It was awesome!

The Bridge Mile is an amazing event, and I’m so proud of my two nephews for doing it. I was also proud when P said the next day as he watched the kids finishing the Natal Day 2 Miler that he’d like to do that next year. Yay – another runner in the family!

Dartmouth Natal Day 6 Miler

Before I get into my usual self-absorbed race report, I want to congratulate my brother on a brave and excellent Natal Day performance. He set out to run the course in under 45 minutes, and that’s exactly what he did – he crossed the line in 44:48. He also brought a solid cheering section with him, including three amazing boys, aged 5, 3, and 1. They were super awesome on race day. Big props to the entire clan who showed up to watch me and my brother struggle through another Natal Day!

So. Here’s the report. This was the last t-shirt race until October. Ah, the coveted shirt. I had it, but then I lost it. And I deserved to lose it. I ran a lacklustre, uninspired Natal Day – as usual.

The Dartmouth Natal Day 6 miler has been my bane for years. It’s a great race, though. It’s something like the 3rd oldest road race in North America, and it’s one of the most competitive races on the Nova Scotia circuit. These days, runners complete a two-mile loop around downtown Dartmouth three times, which is both good and bad. It’s good because spectators get to see the runners three times, which makes it less boring for them and gives runners a bit of a boost each time they go around. But it’s bad because you have to run the same damn long inclines three times – and it’s difficult to mentally prepare for the same stupid hills three freakin’ times!

And the thing is that I should be good at this race – the start/finish is on my street, only a block from my place. This is my home court. But every year I get nervous about the hurt the hills are going to put on me, so every year I run way too conservatively.

This year, I screwed the race up right from the start. When I got to the starting line, I seeded myself behind the first row of runners. But as the start time drew nearer, a bunch of people crowded in front, and I ended up three or four deep behind slower runners. My two shirt nemeses, N and D, played it smart and got themselves into the front row. When the gun went, I had to start slow and weave around people to find some open space. Stupid. 500m in, N and D were running together, and they already had a 10s gap on me. Stupid.

I thought about surging in order to catch up with them, but I knew I had to save something for the hills, so I decided simply to hang back and bridge the gap slowly. I think that was a smart decision, but I didn’t pace myself aggressively enough to do much damage on their lead. Through one lap, the gap was pretty much the same as the start – we were running the same pace; the difference was the start. Stupid.

Through a lap and a half (half the race), I was working with H. I was a little surprised that H was running with me given that, this season, he’s normally finished 10-30s behind. But he’d decided to run aggressively and courageously, and I didn’t mind the company. During the fourth mile, D started losing ground on N. H and I saw our opportunity, and we started to reel D in. On the stretch down Alderney road, we caught her and passed her. It felt good. One T-shirt competitor down – one to go.

On the brutal hill up Ochterloney, though, H turned to me and said he was done – he’d spent his legs and there was still one two-mile loop to go. I tried to encourage him to keep his legs moving and to relax and to follow me up the hill, but to no avail. He dropped back and D ate him up. I was alone, so I set my sights on N.

N meanwhile had set his sights on two guys in front of him. He caught one beside Sullivan’s Pond, and I soon caught the same guy too. It’s a great feeling to run down a guy so late in the race. I was still feeling okay, but I convinced myself not to step it up to try to catch N. Stupid. I should’ve just accepted the hurt and gone for broke, but I played it safe. N, though, had a guy to chase, and up the final stretch on Ochterloney, he ran the guy down to finish sixth. I just kept steady up the hill and finished 8th in 34:39.

So I lost the shirt and I may have lost my second-place standing in the Timex series. With this last result for N and me, we are now tied for points. Considering we’ve beaten each other 3 times this season (over 6 races), it seems fitting to end in a tie. Our final showdown will be at the Zoo run in October at the National Timex Championships.

Although I practically mailed in my 6 miler, I still crushed my Natal Day PB by almost 2 minutes – that’s pretty good. And it was the first time I’ve finished in the top 10 of this race. That’s not a bad result all in all. But I need to find a way to be more aggressive and to trust my body more. I should’ve been able to run a 34 flat. Oh well, there’s always next year. I’ll also do better at the Zoo run. I’ve got plenty of time to train, and I’ll be representing my province, so I’d better step it up!