Fitness Friday: 2016 Rat Race

Rat Race Team - "The Grumpy Cats"
Rat Race Team – “The Grumpy Cats”

Happy Fitness Friday! Since this is my third time doing this run, I’ll keep my recap fairly brief. The Scotiabank Rat Race for United Way is a charity 5k fun run (raise a minimum of $100 and you can race) that everyone can participate in. Since Scotiabank is the main sponsor and they’re also my employer, I usually put together a team of people to race in the event. This year I recycled the team name “The Grumpy Cats” and had a fair number of people joining me!

Queuing up for the start of the Rat Race
Queuing up for the start of the Rat Race

I’m keeping this post short mostly because I’m fairly disappointed in myself. Here’s a little context for that disappointment:

  • Last year my fastest and personal best time was 26:10 for a 5K.
  • On the other end, my slowest time was 26:32.
  • I had done training runs up to this race that were not difficult (easy to breathe, felt relaxed, etc.) that clocked in at 27 minutes EASILY.
  • Even my 5K race in March of this year was under 27 minutes.
Coming up to the finish line
Coming up to the finish line

So how did I finish this race? With a really disappointing 27:38. I was so, SO sad. I *know* it’s only about 60-90 seconds slower than last year, but that’s a LOT of time in a 5k. (For example, if I’d shaved 60 seconds off my personal best, I’d be ECSTATIC!) So I’m doing what I can to reformat how I’m exercising and training in the hopes that I can get back to where I was. The Pride 5K race is coming up next weekend and I’m really, really worried I’ll be clocking in over 28 minutes. Ugh.

2016 Rat Race Course Map
2016 Rat Race Course Map

I feel like I’ve been whinging about slow race times for a while now which isn’t a good thing. There’s only so much whining you can do before you have to change how you approach things. So that’s where I’m at right now – thank you for listening. 🙂

Race Results

  • Finish Time: 27:38
  • Pace: 5:32 per kilometer
  • Overall placement: 519/1441
  • Age group placement (Female 30-39 years): Not available
  • Gender placement (F): 126/714

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