September 4, Medavie 5km Canadian Championships (virtual). My summer goal was to qualify to run in the Elite Field. I qualified to run in the Elite field. This was my Elite run.
I initially told myself that I was not going to write a race recap for this. Partly because that’s protection against narrating the event to myself while I am racing it. Now that it’s over, and now that it was so fully living the athlete dream, running my first National Championships, these are memories that I want to hold onto.
In non-COVID times, the 5km Championships takes place in Moncton. COVID-times means virtual, with the requirement to submit a bike GPS recording of your race as well as 5 minutes of video footage. The course had to be an out and back. Virtual meant that I could chose my own ideal course and full-on race diva the event by lining up a pace team to do the event with me.
At the outset, I owe such a tremendous thanks to pacer Ian Holdway, bike GPS Dave Martin, bike videographer Nick McBride and two fellow 5km racers Alan Robinson and Michael Tunnah. I’m so filled with gratitude to have these friends and outstanding humans in my life, my fast Road Hammer guys. I am so lucky that they all readily agreed to have this 5km experience with me.
This race was just two weeks after my qualifying run at the Popsicle 5km. I spent the week in that weird “taper madness” headspace, with the wacky part of my brain trying to convince me that my legs were dead. It was not true. I fought that wacko voice with my logical racer brain. The night before I had this thought, “I don’t want to do this tomorrow. Too hard.” I had crazy race dreams the night before about having a GPS time but not remembering if I actually ran the race or not. So in summary: I was wound up and felt exactly like I should before an event that I care about.
Race Morning: I was up before my 5:30am alarm and finally able to spend some quiet alone time to focus on my mental prep. The week preceding this was my first week back to work in 10 weeks, there was no prep. I re-read my old 5km race blogs. I filled my head with the mantras that are helpful. I absorbed all of the good luck messages I received the day before. I focused most on this evergreen Kobe Bryant Black Mamba quote:
This event, this National Championships, doing it this way with my Hammer guys, this is actually the dream. I leave the house with this loud in my mind.
Warm Up:
Meet at 6:40am at the park for standard 17 minutes warm up. It’s so fun. I am so lucky. That is very loud and clear for me. I am here with these guys, about to do what I love, with them supporting me. It’s the dream.
Questions about goal. There is no firm time goal. Goal = as fast as possible, set up around smart-to-start pace.
Start Line:
So fun. Nick McBride is announcer. “It’s the Erin Poirier Invitational.” Final review of plan by Ian. Ian has race plan from Lee. Well, full disclosure, I sent the first race plan back to Lee in favour of a one-step-more-aggressive plan. This is time to go for it. We review second race plan. Time to GO!
1km:
We fall mostly into formation. Nick and Dave are behind on bikes. It feels sooooooo tantalizingly easy. I run off Ian’s shoulder, I do what I am supposed to. I use as little energy as possible. It feels like we are running so slow, like 4:00/km.
Nick orders me to tuck in. When I knew that I needed a bike and a video GPS, I asked myself how I would most want with me on the bikes and those people were Nick and Dave. Nick for his excellent, calm coaching voice, perfected through his years of track stardom. I’ve run many races on the indoor track with a few choice words from him on the sidelines and have always run better for it. Dave because he always has the best, amusing and motivating one-liners, delivered at the best time. Aren’t I so lucky that they were available and agreed to this. So Nick tells me to tuck in and I do.
1km split: 3:35.6. Perfect. That’s what Nick says, “perfect.” Thank god for Ian here. If I had been left on my own, I would have reckless blasted through this first km way too fast because it felt so seductively easy.
2km:
I’m repeating two words in my head. One is “easy” and the other is related to the Kobe Bryant Dream and I no longer know what it was. We are on Lower Water Street now. It’s good. It’s windy, wind in our face. Nick tells me a few more times to tuck in. I’m having a hard time placing myself in the best spot behind Ian, without clipping his heels but I’m good.
My arms are early-lactic-painful and/or cold. It’s the first cold day of the summer at 12 degrees. Afterwards, I am glad I kept a singlet on instead of just bra-top. I disregard the arms, it’s early but they feel like they should.
2nd split: 3:34.3
3rd KM: this on has the turnaround. Lee’s plan says expect more effort because of that. The turnaround is not where I expect it to be but that’s ok. I get around. Ian and Alan get a few steps ahead of me. It’s ok. Alan is trying to PB too and I told him before to go for it. If he’s strong and going for it, it will pull me along too.
It’s now so so SO HARD. I’m just running. I don’t think that I am aware of doing anything but running and doing what Nick says. I don’t have any conscious recollection of judging the fact that Ian and Alan are getting away from me. They are just away. I’m not really giving myself cues to stay engaged or don’t give up. I’m just doing it. I do see Ian and Alan play chicken with a garbage truck and the truck barges forward. I keep at it.
I’m buried in 5km race pain. But I keep at it. I’m sure that I am running 4:00/km and that I am way off goal pace but I gotta keep at it or I will be more off. Nick’s coaching voice is getting more demanding and authoritative.
Split rings: 3:37.9. Damn, I am DOING IT! That’s not 4:00/km at all!
4km + 5km: The 4th km has the 200m hill next to the Discovery Centre. I see it. It appears to have grown into a mountain but I can’t assign any value to it, I just run. I know the words “mamba” and my child’s “never give up” drifted across the screen of my race brain though I don’t think I necessarily conjured them up. Dave says something helpful to me on the hill, the first thing I register him saying. It helps. I am unable to hold onto what it was.
Turn left, back into Hammer territory. Taxi angry with runner on road. Nick yells me onto sidewalk. Here is where I think Dave’s bike file of 4.99km no longer matches my 5.01km.
Now it feels like Nick is just peppering me with demands: get up there, Erin! Go now, Erin! Get in it, Erin! Harder, Erin! Drive your arms, Erin! Open up, Erin! I can’t figure out if I am running well, running on pace or not so I just do the things he demands in his increasingly frantic coach voice. I only know what he was saying because it’s captured for all time on the video footage he took! He keeps hammering at me, HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT, ERIN?? 400m, Erin, GO NOW! 100m Erin, you KNOW WHAT TO DO!
I see Ian and Alan finish. Oh lord, I didn’t think before hand about what I do, run to where they finish or stop when my watch beeps 5km???
My watch beeps 5km. My body makes the decision for me. It stops.
Nick says, “YESSSS!” In a good way.
I hang on the fence.
When the stars clear, I see it:
18:05.
Actually 18:02.6 due to the seconds elapsed to hit stop.
18:02.6.
A season’s best and my fastest non-COVID-Time-Trial-Made-Up-Race ever.
When I thought I was running 4:00/kms for the last 2 kms, I put up splits of 3:36.2 and 3:38.6.
It was the dream athlete experience.
Again guys, thank you so sincerely from the bottom of my athlete heart. Alan ran a PB of 17:50 and Michael’s 18:44 was a PB too.
At the time, it seemed like all of Nick’s orders were to be fiercer, faster, do better. When I watched his video footage, there were many versions of “good job” in there too. Fascinating that I didn’t hear any of those in favour of just the demands. Probably because I needed the demands.
Thank you to the Hammers who offered cheers during warm ups, Ally, Allison, Meghan F, Greg W and crew plus Gavin while doing his own time trial. Thank you to my Love Training More athlete Kimberley who came to cheer. You added more memories to this dream experience.
The window for the 5km Championships closes Sept 11. I look forward to seeing the final results. I may or may not have the slowest time in the Elite Field and that is 100% ok with me. I made it into the Elite Field.
This was the dream.
And then you dream bigger. 17:xx on the clock, see you next season!
