Sunday, January 23, 2011

Race Report: Robbie Burns 8K

This is the 3rd year in a row I have participated in the Robbie Burns 8K. This fun race is sponsored by the Burlington Running Club, and is one of my favourite winter running events.  I enjoy running it because it is a great value chip-timed race, has  great swag,  and being in the 3rd week of January,  it helps beat the winter dull drums and get me motivated for the upcoming spring races. The Scottish theme of the event is really fun:


This year did not disappoint.  The race registration was 30 dollars,  and for that fee every runner received a dri-fit running vest:

It's unisex, and a little boxy,  but cute!  I love when race directors think outside of the box and provide participants with unique useful swag!  The two previous years were fleece pajama pants, and a cotton plaid towel.

Unfortunately leading up to race day, the side of my left foot had been bothering me all week. I sat out my long run scheduled for Saturday,  and I iced and took ibuprofen like crazy in hopes of being able to participate in the race.

Race morning was freezing cold,  and I am not joking. Yes,  I live in Canada, and yes it can be cold,  but it was abnormally frigid race morning.  It was -17C/1.4F but with the wind chill -27C/-17F!!!  Brr!! (insert explicits)
Wanting to roll over and go back to bed,  I instead decided to assess my foot.  It was much better and there was no pain either, so I was ready to run!  My friends M and M came over to my house,  and Hubs drove us about an hour to Burlington to the race.

We picked up our race kits,  and enjoyed a little pre-race entertainment.  Thankfully, the runners are able to keep warm inside a local high school gym,  complete with flushing toilets.  There is not a porta potty in sight for this race!!



There is a bag-pipe procession outside to the start line signalling that it is time for runners to line up at the start.  We decided that since it was a cold day,  and my foot was iffy, to line up towards the back and treat the race as a harder training run rather than a race.

I was happy when we started running that I felt no pain, and we settled into a comfortably uncomfortable pace.  The race sold out in November, so the field was crowded,  and although we were trying to take it easy,  we had to weave around many runners,  so we were speeding along faster than anticipated.

Surprisingly we all felt quite warm.  I had worn two layers on the bottom (long johns and fleece tights) and four layers on top (tank, base layer top, fleece top, and running jacket).  I also had a double layer of mitts,  hat, and a neck warmer!  (I don't mess around with -30C)

The Sun came out when we turned South and ran towards Lake Ontario. It was absolutely gorgeous out!  As much as winter running can be tough to get out the door when its cold,  once you are out there, there is nothing like it,  it really is beautiful.  I enjoyed the beautiful homes along the lake shore and tried to take my mind off of the pain of a shorter faster run.


Before we knew it,  we were crossing the finish,  done! (can you see the icicles on my hat?)



Time:  44:04 -5.31km/min (8:52mil/min).  It was a course PW,  I ran this course last year in 41:xx,  but I was happy with the result,  considering the temperature, my foot, and my current fitness level.  Thanks to my fast friends M and M for running with me!

After the race,  there was a full breakfast - oatmeal, bagels and cream cheese, cookies, bananas, hot chocolate, coffee.  They also have the awards in the school auditorium with door prizes. There are some serious fast runners for this small race.  The top three females in my age group finished under 34 minutes,  and the winning female finished in about 27 minutes!

The race has me ready to up the intensity of training for the spring,  and I am so glad I did it.  Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Thanks for reading!

24 comments:

Marky Mark said...

Good job! My sentiments exactly in terms of how beautiful it was running south towards the lake and then along lakeshore. If anything my similar layering resulted in my feeling a bit too warm and all layers were soaked when I took them off.

robison52 said...

That Dri-fit running vest looks pretty cool, sure beats the swag I get from Las Vegas events, which is usually the typical white t-shirt.

I hope your left foot gets better soon, you are a true running addict to run when hurt!!

Laura said...

Awesome job...If you saw a lonely runner coming the opposite way on Lakeshore yesterday...that was me. The sun was awesome yesterday....

Marky Mark said...

Laura I did see a couple of runners going the opposite way on Lakeshore!

So what do we really use the vest for and what would it replace?

Lily on the Road said...

What a HOOT *insert Scottish accent here*

Cute vest! I love the first of the year winter races...it is so much fun to catch up with people you haven't seen since the fall.

Marky Mark, I received a similar vest years ago and use it as an extra layer to protect my core when I'm running or cycling in colder temps.

Stacey said...

Great job! I like the vest! I also love the bag pipes! There's just something about them..almost makes me weepy when I hear them. (:

Jess said...

Brrr! Hats off to you for racing in the cold!

chris mcpeake said...

Congrats on a great race. It was a frosty one for sure. Maybe I will run into you at ATB

Lindsay said...

mmm hello postrace meal! yum. congrats on the pw! :) gotta start somewhere, plus it was frigid cold! gross.

Teamarcia said...

Woot for a warm gym and some nice swag. Great job in those temps!

Unknown said...

That's sweet swag! I have never seen a vest like that as a race shirt. Nice!! I really want to do an 8k, that seems like a great distance.

Marlene said...

Some friends from my clinic ran on the weekend and raved about the race - especially the food! Will have to keep it in mind for next year.

Glad your foto held up for you. Congrats!!!

Anonymous said...

Size Up!!

Anonymous said...

This design is steller! You certainly know how to keep a reader entertained.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my
own blog (well, almost...HaHa!) Fantastic job.
I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented
it. Too cool!

Feel free to visit my page: gymnastics clothes for girls

Anonymous said...

Hey there would you mind sharing which blog platform you're working with? I'm planning to start my own blog in the near future but
I'm having a hard time deciding between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your layout seems different then most blogs and I'm
looking for something completely unique.
P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!


My blog post ... women's fitness clothing and apparel

Anonymous said...

Woah! I'm really digging the template/theme of this site. It's simple, yet effective.
A lot of times it's very difficult to get that "perfect balance" between usability and appearance. I must say you have done a excellent job with this. In addition, the blog loads extremely fast for me on Chrome. Superb Blog!

Here is my homepage - discount hot yoga clothes

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I genuinely enjoyed reading it,
you will be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back in
the future. I want to encourage that you continue your great posts, have a nice evening!


My blog post - computer parts price comparison australia

Anonymous said...

Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a really well written article.
I'll make sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I will certainly return.

Review my web site ... absinthian

Anonymous said...

When I originally commented I clicked the "Notify me when new comments are added" checkbox and
now each time a comment is added I get four e-mails
with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that service?
Bless you!

My homepage :: ethernet cable walmart price

Anonymous said...

Doh! I was domain shopping at namecheap.com and went to type in the
domain name: http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=5563905131610841097&postID=1027658138743463950 and
guess who already acquired it? You did! lol j/k.
I was about to purchase this domain name but
realized it was taken so I thought I'd come check it out. Great blog!

Here is my homepage and the silicon chip inside her head gets switched to overload

Anonymous said...

Article writing is also a fun, if you be familiar with afterward you can write or else it is complicated to write.



Here is my web site ... argos kitchen appliances blenders

Anonymous said...

If you desire to grow your experience simply keep visiting this web page
and be updated with the most up-to-date gossip posted
here.

my homepage - complete appliance repair knoxville tn

toko souvenir kawin murah said...

What a HOOT *insert Scottish accent here*

Cute vest! I love the first of the year winter races...it is so much fun to catch up with people you haven't seen since the fall.

Marky Mark, I received a similar vest years ago and use it as an extra layer to protect my core when I'm running or cycling in colder temps.

oakleyses said...

doudoune moncler, barbour, barbour uk, ugg,ugg australia,ugg italia, replica watches, pandora uk, pandora jewelry, thomas sabo, moncler uk, moncler, louis vuitton, canada goose uk, swarovski crystal, louis vuitton, supra shoes, toms shoes, ugg, karen millen uk, moncler, montre pas cher, louis vuitton, ugg,uggs,uggs canada, hollister, juicy couture outlet, juicy couture outlet, pandora jewelry, coach outlet, moncler outlet, louis vuitton, louis vuitton, wedding dresses, moncler, canada goose, lancel, moncler outlet, canada goose outlet, ugg pas cher, moncler, canada goose, swarovski, canada goose outlet, pandora charms, marc jacobs, canada goose jackets, canada goose outlet, ugg uk, links of london, canada goose