Review of 2008 NLAA.ca Running Series

A review of Jennifer’s NLAA races:

Date Race time place category notes

April 27, 2008 Mundy Pond 5K 20.34 25 5
May 4, 2008 Burton Pond 5K 19.59 25 6
May 18, 2008 Harbour Front 10K 46.05 36 5 backpack
May 31, 2008 Timex 10K OFF
June 8, 2008 Eastern Marathon 42.2K 3.22.16 2 1
June 21, 2008 Timex Bowring 10K OFF spiro 6/20/08
July 1, 2008 HSBC Run 10K 45.23 33 7
July 6, 2008 Mews 8K 32.39 48 9
July 13, 2008 Provincial 5K 19.39 22 4
July 27, 2008 Tely 16K 1.10.50 125 14
Aug 24, 2008 Quidi Vidi 5K DNS estro 8/22/08
Sept 7, 2008 Blueberry 10K OFF
Sept 14, 2008 Nfld Marathon 42.2K 3.36.16 8 3
Oct 5, 2008 Turkey Tea 10K OFF
Oct 19, 2008 Cape to Cabot 20K 1.56.11 204 52

kinda tough to read without the formatting. but quite a review of what turned out to be my participation in 10 of the 15 officially sanctioned runs as part of the Newfoundland and Labrador Athletic Association's road running series.

the highlight of the year for me was obviously the Eastern Marathon, a race which i lead for more than 60%. ultimately, i ended up runner up and just 5 minutes behind the winner. this race was run just 7 days after completing a 100k weekend, and just 3 weeks after cramping up at the Mississauga Marathon.

this season also taught me the importance of speed work, and my 5K events and the training leading up to them helped me steadily improve my times in this event. amazingly enough 3 of my 5 races where i placed in the top 5 in my age/sex catagory, were in this distance, a distance which i feel is my poorest overall (the longer the race, the better my chances!).

May 18 featured a day of running, where i ran this 10K race with a heavy backpack and still placed respectably. i then carried on to Cape Spear and back, covering 52.8k in total.

July 1 was a hot day. i ran 10k just to get down to the park, ran a 10k race, then ran another 65k, covering an incredible 85k in just under 14 hours.

still extremely sore, i decided at the last minute to go ahead with the Mews 8k on July 6, and i managed to post a very respectable time on legs and knees that probably shouldn't have ran at all.

still hurting a week later, i managed a PB at the 5K distance at the provincial championships.

then it was off to Ontario where i scored a marathon PB at the Massey Marathon on July 20, a 3.16.59 time.

i was already feeling the affect of my feminine hormone replacement therapy regime, when i took to the roads of Paradise for the most important sporting event of the year in Newfoundland, the Tely 10 Mile road race. i just didn't have it this day, as my tired marathon legs didn't have it. i scored a respectable time of just over 70 minutes, placing me in the top 7% overall, but no where near my 65 minute goal.

August 1-17 featured 10 unofficial marathon runs and 2 more halfs. by the time Aug 24 rolled around for the Quidi Vidi 5k, i wasn't even able to get out of bed in time.. lol

for the second year in a row, the Nfld Marathon was supposed to be my greatest run of the year, but one again for the second time in a row, it turned out to be a major disappointment. this was the first time reality really hit me about my new levels of fitness on estrogen. i threw a temper tantrum at the end of the race and considered leaving the sport until the end of my transition.

two weeks later, i decided that i didn't want to end the year on such a bad note, so i embarked on journey to complete something never done before by a Newfoundlander, as far as i am aware: 2 days 2 countries 2 marathons. and i successfully completed marathons in Akron, Ohio, USA and Toronto, Ontario, Canada, both in respectable times of 3.50.05 and 3.42.26 respectively.

it was then essentially three weeks off to prepare for the season-ending 20K race, the infamous Cape to Cabot run. this turned out to be the worst run of the year and one that prompted me to consider walking away from the sport.

as i adjust to the new reality of my slowed state, i am actively taking the next steps to attempt to procure acceptance among the running community for my post-transition state as a female.

the Boston Marathon has not responded to my e-mails, so i contacted them via phone today and asked that they call me back. it's going to be very interesting to see where this will lead.

at this point, it is still unclear as to what types of surgeries, if any, i will have in 2009. these decisions will certainly have an impact on my ability to run, and on the catagory for which i seek to compete in. i'm already starting to think about the 2011 running season, likely my first to be officially accepted as a female athlete.

not that there really is an off season, but i have essentially been in wind-down mode since the end of C2C, having completed more than 10K of running on only two days since then.

Jennifer