Hi there,
Today was the long awaited running party here in Vahr – Vahrer Seen Lauf. It was the third time I participated at the event and I still love it. This year the weather was really nice – for the spectators – for the runners it was mainly a bit of a painful experience due to the high temperature (about +26°C). At least for me it was extremely painful, and after just a few kilometres it was evident I couldn’t live up to my expectations.
The Sunday started as sunny and warm. It surely would be a nice day for outdoor activities, but probably not for high pace running, but what can you do – skip the race altogether or just give your best shot? It was pretty obvious that I don’t want to be a quitter so at 9.30 in the morning I was at the Bürgerzentrum waiting to get a shirt number for me and also for my son for the Bambinilauf.
Start area at Vahrer Seen Lauf
The event is pretty popular with hundreds of runners each year and I don’t wonder that any more. The organisation works nicely and I haven’t any complaints about the race; the route is in a nice neighbourhood with green surroundings and you can always count on that some spectators on the route will cheer your mood during the race.
Relaxing…
After having finished the Bambinilauf with my son (btw, it’s great to see young runners eagerly starting with a possible new hobby), I put myself to the starting grid and waited for the countdown. After the race had been declared opened I found my spot in the queue – at about the position 30. This year I didn’t want to suffer from the dust and huge crowds that inevitably impact your running.
My target was to run with a pace of 3.50 – 4.00 min/km during the first five km, but after three km I realised there would not be a realistic chance to go on like that so I dropped my pace by about 20 – 30 seconds per km to be able to get a decent finish after all. I gave up the thought of running a new record time – there’s always a race coming after the race, anyway.
The warm weather had surely an impact on the results this year as the winning time was many minutes worse than it usually is. I struggled the race until the end, not satisfied but at least I could get an acceptable training for the upcoming marathon training plan. I lost some positions in the end phase, but not too many even though I had the feeling I was totally slow today.
When I crossed the finish line I felt a bit disappointed, but on the other hand I didn’t want to risk my health and give everything on a day when not everything seems right. What I still am satisfied with is that I finished third in my age group. This was after all a good training day. Now I start focusing on the marathon type of a training once more and get some good basis for the Raate Marathon in Suomussalmi.
Let’s see what the next week will bring with it. 🙂