Another Trip “Around the Bay” 2018

Race day is always the best day!

The runners high is real & I’m feeling it.

Around the Bay is North America’s oldest road race and it always signals the start to race season.

This year about 4000 runners lined up to run the challenging 30 k route.

This season was a little different for me. Taking on such a long distance I usually stress, dedicate every weekend to a long run & over think everything.

This year I didn’t do any of that! I ran when I wanted to, cross trained multiple times a week and went out with the goal of having fun.

I’ve been doing a little experiment on distance running. Can I still run long distance without constantly running distance?

My answer is yes ! For me this is working.

Today I ran Around the Bay in the exact same time as last year! However, I lost the stress and didn’t experience what I consider, a boring cycle of weekend long runs every single weekend.

2017: 2 hour 57 min 05 sec

2018 2 hour 57 min 50 sec

I’m so pleased with the outcome and I had a ton of fun! I know for many people the weekend long run works, and for me it did for a long time. Right now I’m searching for different styles of fitness that still allow me to be a strong runner.

I’m not breaking world records here ! I’m just a girl who wants to be happy and keep running.

This race always has an interesting forecast! Last year was mild, windy and a little stormy. This year super sunny, cold and windy.

I think windy is generally a theme when it comes to Around the Bay, especially running along the open water. Spring often brings in windy conditions as the seasons change. The blue skies this year were gorgeous !

Why should you run Around the Bay?

Excellent start & motivation for race season
Very organized race from sign up to expo & morning of
Lots of motivation along route: music, fruit, cheering, grim reaper (yeah he’s there!), captain obvious (yeah he’s there too)
Staple race for Canadian runners
Positive & uplifting group of people
Challenging & interesting route
In 2019 ATB will be 125 years old!

I used my go pro through the race to give you a view of the course. Check it out…