I feel like I've come full circle, STWM was my first half, waaaay back in 2008. This was the first half I've actually trained for since that one, all of my other HMs have been part of full marathon training.
I noticed that the weather pattern was identical to Oakville a month ago - horrible downpour on expo Saturday, and miraculously clearing on race morning.
Met up with the DM crew pre-race, everyone else went off to bag check and that left Emma and I with Dan, her brother and Barb to enjoy the swanky secret bathrooms.
The plan was to run 5:20/k for a small PR.
The start (5:45, 5:24, 5:16, 5:12, 5:13, 5:02)
Got in the corral, but woke up seriously dehydrated so I had chugged a large amount of Gatorade + water along with coffee and that along with nerves made me have to take a last minute potty break while O Canada was playing. First couple kms were slow due to the crowd, but we hit a significant downhill stretch at 4K and made up the time.
Lakeshore (5:21, 5:18, 5:24, 5:22, 5:18, 5:23, 5:15, 5:19, 5:27)
I honestly don't remember much of this. The pace didn't feel bad, but I was focusing inwardly, stay relaxed, good form. I was so focused that I didn't even notice if anyone was wearing a particularly hideous outfit. Cheered for the elite Canadian women as they went by and looked for Sam/Kenny/Nicole but I think they passed right at a point where the road split off into a wider V. The final split was the hill at Jameson, which has killed me at previous races (40K of Goodlife FM 2012) so I just took it at even effort. Didn't even remember running over the 10K timing mat, but Emma tells me we hit it just as I yelled out a split.
The final stretch (5:22, 5:28, 5:24, 5:35, 5:12, 6:38, 4:00)
The most memorable and horrible thing that happened was my water bottle falling out of my belt, not once, but TWICE at 19K. Both times I stopped and went back to get it, and I could have let Emma go, but I was determined to finish with her. I sprinted right on the Lakeshore overpass hill (ow ow ow), mustered every last bit of energy I had left and screamed, "EMMA! I'M RIGHT BEHIND YOU!" and managed to pull even. Saw Paul around 19K and barely managed a wave.
The final kilometer is a very mild uphill. It is brutal on spent legs. The first part is the tunnel that screwed up my satellites big time, hence the 6:38 split. I remember briefly glancing down and seeing 5:0x, even though it felt like running through molasses. Of course my legs wanted to give up and my brain wanted to give up like I had on so many fast training runs this cycle. But somehow I remembered my track workouts and pushed through even when I wanted to die.
Garmin go cuckoo! Stupid tunnel and downtown buildings. I couldn't go that fast even with a rocket strapped to my butt.
So this is the fastest half marathon I've run in 2 years and although not a PR, it somehow felt like a PR as this was a good test of my fitness on a "normal" difficulty (not downhill) course.
My next HM is in 2 weeks, it is the downhill course and I will see if I can finally better my time.
Official chip time: 1:53:56
Field Placement: 2939 / 10103 (29.1%)
Age group: 35 – 39
Group Placement: 135 / 777 (17.4%)
Gender Placement: 890 / 5363 (16.6%)
This PR was a LONG time coming.
Almost 2 years and 4 marathons ago, I set the goal to break 4:15. A short history:
Chicago Marathon (fall 2011) - extremely hot conditions on race day forced me to abandon my PR attempt.
Goodlife Toronto Marathon (spring 2012) - PR'd, 4:15:11.
Niagara Falls International Marathon (fall 2012) - fatigue and other factors caused me to have a horrible race.
This training cycle went extremely well. Paces that used to be puke-inducing suddenly became easy, and I ran over 50 miles during peak week, also a record.
Remembering what a few hours of shopping did to my legs, I was a bit worried because my SIL's wedding was on Friday night, 2 days prior to the race. I tried to stay off my feet as much as I could, but I did dance for several hours (not nonstop) in 5" stripper heels.
Saturday I took it REALLY easy. I had originally planned a carb loading pasta dinner but for various reasons no one could make it and I decided to have the exact same dinner that I had before ATB: a green salad with italian dressing, lobster mac & cheese, and a Caesar. Hey, it worked last time, right?
Race day I got up early enough to have breakfast and finish my coffee, but not enough time to let the coffee work its magic, if you know what I mean.
Daily Mile friends pre-race.
I was shivering at the start but not 1 km in, I knew we were going to be in for a hot race. It felt hot in the sun even though the temperature was only 10C. I stuck firm to my small goal of sub 4:15, despite easy/long runs getting a LOT faster the last couple months of the training cycle. Sam and I were supposed to run with our friend Phil, but couldn't find him at the start.
I don't think this is going to be one of those race reports with excruciating detail. We made every effort to not go out too fast, the first half is more steeply downhill, so we took the downhills a bit faster but not too much. Fell to the old race pastime of making fun of other people's outfits. (black and white striped capris? jacket and tights on a super warm spring day? flappy yoga pants? REALLY?!) Hit the half in 2:02:54, lots of wiggle room for sub 4:15.
We had run the last 33K of the course on a training run, and again, knowing what was coming on the course was so helpful. Saw Phil on an out and back portion, he looked to be a few minutes ahead of us. Rolling hills from about 26K to the finish. Saw a guy cutting corners and it made me so mad. Here's the TMI part: suddenly the coffee did a number on my gut and I yelled "SHART!" to Sam and dove into a bush, fortunately we were in a park and not a residential neighbourhood. Turned my Garmin off out of habit and lost about 200 m but it actually ended up making my splits line up with the km markers again so it didn't bother me too much.
The last 6-7 kms has always been my biggest problem mentally, and it was so helpful to have Sam pull me along. We both pulled each other along. She'd walk, I'll yell at her, and we'd keep going. The uphills were slow but there were just enough downhills to stretch things out and keep it from being agony. There were a lot of death marchers and passing those people energized me. We were still on pace for maybe a sub-4:10 but I tried not to think about it. Just being under 4:15 was enough.
This was past 35K and we were dying..somehow we didn't look like it though. I had this calf cramp where my calf would knot up and I'd sort of trip and miss a step but not bad enough to make me stop, plus it would die back down pretty quickly.
Hit Lakefront Promenade, finally and came up to a familiar figure, Phil around 41K. I don't remember exactly what he was saying, but I think it was somthing about not feeling great. "Phil?" I said, "just SHUT UP AND RUN!" At this point I was a couple steps back from Sam and Phil and the calf cramps were coming more frequently. My hands and head were buzzing in the way they do when I am red-zoning it and I didn't have any more in me.
www.zoomphoto.ca/viewpho
to/18108-110-18720786/1/ Thanks for obscuring my face, Phil.
Now that it is over and done, I am annoyed that my bush stop was probably what cost me sub 4:10. The thing that I am ecstatic about is that there was only ONE crappy km (35K - 6:23) during the entire race. Considering my planned pace was 5:55/km, a few kms in the 6:0x range were perfectly acceptable. I do feel like I have conquered a HUGE mental hurdle when it comes to marathons, and I'm almost tempted to run a fall marathon, but I have already set the goal to race a fast half in the fall, because I really hate doing the epic long runs in the summer heat.
Marathon #8 for me, #1 for Sam.
Splits: connect.garmin.com/activ
ity/308191031
Official chip time: 4:10:28.30
Pace: 5:57 / kilometer
Field Placement: 456 / 851 (53.6%)
Age group: 30 – 39
Group Placement: 47 / 98 (48%)
Gender Placement: 153 / 352 (43.5%)
Where did we leave off last year?
www.sparkpeople.com/mypa
ge_public_journal_individu
al.asp?blog_id=4804542
A drug-addled 2:50:49..fell short of my ultimate goal of sub 2:50, although I did manage a 4 minute PR.
Fast forward a year..
I have a bunch of new running partners, 2 more marathons under my belt, and a few bad races that left me wondering about my ability to bring mental toughness on race day.
Anyways, every March, ATB seems to be a huge confidence booster for me. This was the first trip around Hamilton Harbour for Sam, she might be faster than me, but I have the experience.
Race morning, Sarah, Emma, Sam and I got a drive from Marina. Got to Copps nice and early and said hi to a bunch of Daily Mile peeps, including Paul, Robin, Nicole, Richard, Spatula Ali.
Decided to take one more bathroom break before heading outside only to find a HUGE traffic jam in the concourse. Sam and I had just gotten in the corral, I was about to adjust my shoe and we were both about to take off our sexy throwaway gear when the horn went off. I threw off my sweatshirt and took off, covered with gray lint balls on my black top. I also had a throwaway water bottle to wash down my pre-race pretzels, but decided to hang onto it for the first little while.
Last year, my average pace was 5:41/km, so the pre-race plan was to run 5:35/km. The race elevation calls for a slight positive split, so after we started, Sam suggested we run 5:30/km for the first 10K and and see what happened.
splits kms 1-10 - 5:30, 5:33, 5:34, 5:32, 5:36, 5:34, 5:29, 5:32, 5:22, 5:32
After awhile, my left shoulder (which I messed up in that ST accident almost 2 years ago) started feeling funky again. The old injury was exacerbated during my recent HM pacing gig, holding a sign for 21.1K isn't good for your upper body! I saw Beth cheering and threw my bottle at her. It was so much easier to run with both arms!
Just before the 10K point, there is a rail crossing. There is a local marathon that used to go down the same street (course has since been changed) and a couple years ago, a train went by through the race and caused major havok. The unthinkable happened yesterday, the red lights started going off and the train arms started to lower just as Sam and I approached the crossing. "RUN LIKE HELL!!!!!" screamed Sam and we took off. We were almost the last ones to make it across the tracks (the arms were already fully lowered) before the train came.
splits kms 11-20 - 5:40, 5:34, 5:35, 5:36, 5:32, 5:36, 5:37, 5:38, 5:38
Heading into the hilly portion, my race strategy has always been the same: run the hills with even effort, ride the downhills. Last year, this was the point where I developed a calf cramp and had to stop and stretch. Sam was struggling at this point due to stomach problems, and we only walked for a few seconds through every other water station. The water stations did not line up with my planned gel breaks, so I was running a lot of the time with a gooped up, dry mouth.
splits kms 21-30 - 5:35, 5:48,5:43, 5:51, 5:40, 5:21, 5:49, 5:41, 5:35, 5:27
Hmmm, I didn't think we slowed down that much, but the splits tell another story. This can definitely be improved next year! This section of the course is pretty much flat/downhill except for the infamous Valley Inn hill at km 25.5-26. It was not my best trip up the hill, but at least my calves were not screaming and I always find it motivating to pass people who have slowed to a trudge. I was DETERMINED not to walk at the top of the hill - that walk plus the calf stretch was what cost me the sub 2:50 last year. Sam stopped to walk and I kept running, not a very fast run, mind you..but better than walking!
Sam somehow caught up with me and a mental check showed that we were still on pace. As per the plan, we didn't push the pace until 28K, when Copps was in view.
This race was the confidence booster I needed, and although I am extremely happy with the result, in a way I am still bummed because it leaves me wondering even more why I can run 30K so well and yet unable to break 4:15 in the marathon..
Official chip time: 2:48:56
Pace: 5:38 / kilometer
Field Placement: 2651 / 6848 (38.7%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 137 / 369 (37.1%)
Gender Placement: 835 / 2737 (30.5%)
Mistake #1 - went shopping the day before the race. I didn't feel fatigued but 4-5 hours of walking must've had some effect.
Mistake #2 - Hubby and I were away 2 nights. Friday night, we went to this lovely old fashioned Italian restaurant for dinner. I had a small glass of wine, a giant green salad and spaghetti with seafood and marinara sauce. Saturday night (the night before the race) we went to Margaritaville, where I had a really strong mixed drink, ate some of hubby's nachos and a plate of soft fish tacos with rice. Followed by several more glasses of wine. Flip the 2 night's dinners and I probably would have been much better off.
Things that I couldn't control but probably were a factor:
1) race started at 10 am, but we were required to take a bus to the start, across the border in the US at 7:30 am. We got to the start line (Albright-Knox Art Gallery) around 8. 2 hours of sitting around doing nothing. Those who know me well know that I am completely useless between 1-3 pm, but the late start meant that I would be finishing up around 2-3 pm, while still having to get up pretty early (5:30) to catch the bus.
2) Woke up today with a snotty nose, congestion and a wicked headache. I probably wasn't 100% yesterday, even though physically I felt ok.
Drank a bit of Gatorade and ate some candy before the start and peed in a bush 10 minutes beforehand but spent the first 10K thinking about the bathroom, but finally found a tree and stopped to go. I was on pace for a 4:15...didn't feel great but not awful either. Started feeling tired but crossed halfway in 2:07, I thought, hey if I can negative split, I'm good to go!
Except that I wasn't. I was really really tired. I can't look at my splits for the 2nd half, I don't think there was a single km where I didn't walk. I walked through every water station and then more and more. At times I was over 1:30 slower than my planned marathon pace. At times there was a headwind, and it was annoying, but my fatigue was much worse. The course was beautiful, very scenic along the Niagara River, but pretty much zero people cheering except at the water stations. I wasn't ever alone on the course, and I was running amidst people who looked to be in as much pain as I was but still walking less.
In the week leading up to the race, I read as much as I could on sports psychology, more specifically about staying mentally tough in the late stages of a race. Pretty much every article talked about visualization. I couldn't do it. I couldn't think about anything except how much I hurt, how tired I was..I was completely off my time goal and I thought about DNF but at least I still remembered that only serious injury or death would be good reasons to DNF. I also thought about a dear friend, who has been recovering from alcoholism for the past 10 months and if he is strong enough to deal with that, then I could suck it up and run a @#$#@ marathon. But no, km after km, I'd run a bit and then stop to walk. Sniffled throughout, whether it was tears or wind or the start of the cold, it's hard to tell.
Finally, at 40K, someone said "downhill to the finish!" and it WAS. Just a LITTLE too late, but I found my legs and ran those last 2 kms as strong as the start. As I passed by the Horseshoe Falls, there was a giant rainbow in the mist and it was beautiful, a rare moment of beauty in what was a really ugly race.
Official chip time: 4:28:19
Field Placement: 558 / 1058 (52.7%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 39 / 87 (44.8%)
Gender Placement: 210 / 476 (44.1%)
Watching the forecast all week, I knew it would be all systems go for a PR attempt, unlike last fall in Chicago. I carb loaded very carefully, although maybe a bit under-hydrated.
Race morning, my parents dropped me off, a bit far from the start and I was momentarily panicked because I barely saw any runners around with 15 min to race start! This was the same marathon I ran in 2010 with RW Challenge, I certainly missed having the private bathrooms and indoor area to await the start.
I found the 4:15 continuous pace bunny easily (sometimes they are hard to find) and lined up behind him. His pace should have been 6:03/km but the splits for the first 5K were: 6:01, 5:45, 5:32, 5:18, 5:40. OK, it was downhill, but I was very very worried about burning out. So I asked if he was planning on even splits and he said, "just follow me and everything will be fine." All right then.
I stayed ahead of the pace bunny for a LONG time, I was a bit faster than my original planned race pace of 5:57/km but not as much as the opening 5K. I felt a pain start in my right arch, I probably should have stopped to retie my shoe but I ran through it, as sometimes this kind of thing dissipates. It didn't. Around 11K, I also got the feeling of a phantom pebble in my shoe, I stopped to run my finger around but couldn't find anything.
Passed the half in 2:05 gun time and 35K (~22 miles) in 3:30, so I was still on pace for at LEAST a sub 4:15 that late in the game.
Then I got complacent. "Oh, one little walk break won't hurt." "I need to stretch out my calf and arch." My pace had slowed a bit - the fastest km between 30-39 was 5:59 and the slowest was 6:30 (walk break).
The course this year was a slightly different route than 2010, this year, the last stretch was out and back. Runners had to go 7K past the finish line (where all the HM people were finishing) before turning around. I don't even like to run 100m past my parked car so this was very difficult mentally! Secondly, there's a hill that we ran down on the same out-and-back leg, I knew we'd have to run back up it, but I had no idea it was at 40K. It's not the biggest hill, but even a 2% incline feels like Everest at that point. Took another walk break just before that hill, even though I had promised myself no more walk breaks after 36K.
The final km, Mr. 4:15 pace bunny caught up to me, and he was BOOKING IT, about 5:35/km, so much for the even splits. Of course I was already picking it up a bit to finish strong. My calculations according to my Garmin pegged me at a ~4:13 finish, very little room for error. Right as we made the final turn, the bunny turned around and yelled, "GO!" to everyone following, everyone launched into their finishing kicks. My Garmin showed 4:14 and I thought I had achieved my stretch goal.
But I had forgotten about the stops I made to stretch and to dig at the phantom rock, I have my Garmin set to auto-resume. Plus, despite running the tangents pretty well, my Garmin (and many others) showed the course being quite a bit long, 42.56 kms.
I am happy with the 9 minute PR, but SO ANNOYED that I missed sub 4:15 by 12 seconds due to a long course. Obviously, I also need some sports psyching tips to keep me from getting complacent in the later stages! I'll have to wait until the fall to try again.
Official chip time: 4:15:11
Field Placement: 1046 / 2130 (49.1%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 55 / 116 (47.4%)
Gender Placement: 287 / 665 (43.2%)
Weather: 10° C, Sunny
Statistics: VO2 Max: 35.2
The weather report called for highs that got progressively warmer each day I checked. I already had it in the back of my head that going for time goals was probably going to be out of the question.
Even though it wasn't too warm at the start, the moment the race started, I knew going for a PR wasn't going to happen. In fact, I did not WANT to run for time, which is completely unheard of for me. Words cannot describe how unbelievably amazing it was to be part of something so big. Cheering crowds pretty much every step of the way. I was warned that the 2nd half was kind of lonely - well, the "lonely" 2nd half still had more spectators than at the finish line of most Ontario races. There was maybe 500m in the entire race that didn't have someone standing on the sidelines. Many times during the race I got teary eyed seeing so many people out there cheering and supporting the runners. Seriously, if Toronto wants to run a world class marathon, the organizers have a LONG way to go to match Chicago.
My original plan was to stick with Beth for maybe 10K or so and then pick it up if I felt good. In the early stages, I had to duck off to retie my shoe (heel was rattling around), I almost lost Beth in the crowd and panicked. I really wanted to share this race with my running partner, see the sights and hear the sounds together, it wasn't enough to rehash it later on. So we ran together, at our usual conversational long run pace. The point being, I couldn't even have run my original planned marathon pace even if I wanted to, the course was so packed that sometimes in the really tight spots, there were near collisions.
I did something new on race day - I didn't wear my fuel belt and relied on water stations for hydration. I can drink on the run pretty well, but the stations were really crowded, and the best way to not lose Beth in the crowd was to walk through. The temps got hotter and hotter - I saw a sign on the course that read 29C - so we walked a lot in the 2nd half because we stopped at almost every water station - but this was totally different from previous marathons in that we were choosing to walk rather than forced to from fatigue. Looked at my Garmin and it had frozen for some reason at 27K - perhaps a sign from the running gods that caring about time/pace was not to be?
Lots of people with hoses, open fire hydrants, and people passing out ice cubes - a real life saver.
Saw my friend Melissa at mile 14 - she jumped in and ran with us for a bit - such a nice pick me up, thank you so much for doing that!
In every previous marathon I'd run, my mind would get the better of me to some extent in the final stages. I was determined to be much stronger this time. After 20 miles, at each mile marker, I would say, "4 miles? You've run 4 miles thousands of times! This is EASY!" and charge past more people death-marching to the finish. But with around 3 miles to go, Beth didn't feel well and started slowing, right when I was feeling like I wanted to run harder to the finish. So I left her finally, I had every intention of running every step with her, something I hadn't done for several years.
I usually post time/place stats, but it seems silly to do so, considering this race was SO not about that. 4:43:33 - 3rd worst marathon performance (only slower ones was my preggo and debut marathons) but I felt SO STRONG mentally. I am glad that I enjoyed myself. My base goal was to do that and I achieved it 100%.
This really was the race of a lifetime. I will be back to Chicago again someday.
full stats: results.public.chicagoma
rathon.com/2011/index.php?
content=detail&fpid=search
&id=999999107FA3090000079D
7C&lang=EN&event=MAR&ageclass
race day pics: www.flickr.com/photos/zo
rbs/archives/date-posted/2
011/10/09/
connect.garmin.com/activ
ity/85857393
The morning of marathon #4 dawned gray and rainy, with the prospect of winds of 35 km/h coming from the northeast. And kilometres 25-42.2 of the course we would be running in, you guessed it, a NE direction.
I couldn't decide between arm warmers or a jacket the night before, but I went outside this morning wearing the arm warmers, I immediately went back in for the jacket.
Pre-race planning was a bit tight. Race started at 7:30 and got to the start around 7:10, with a long walk from the parking lot, finding the bag check and then combined with the last bathroom break, Beth and I got into the corral around 7:27.
One thing that I've been doing lately that's worked REALLY well for me is to take a gel right before the start, but with the rushed start, I completely forgot to take my gel, which was in my checked bag. My breakfast was already more than 2 hours in the past at that point, and I felt "empty." Not a good feeling with 42.2 kms to go, and I needed to save my gummy bears for the actual race.
The first 10K went by fairly well, there were some long downhills . I used the same strategy as at Around the Bay and Sporting Life 2 weeks ago; I let myself fly downhill as fast as my legs wanted to go. But I couldn't shake that empty feeling and I was really worried that there would be a meeting with The Wall later on. Even though I was eating gummy bears right on schedule, every 7 kms. It was hot and I would have taken off my jacket if I hadn't pinned my bib over the zipper.
Around 14K, I saw a lovely familiar symbol on a sign. A Spark logo! it was GOEGIRL and she recognized me and we high fived so hard that my hand hurt for quite awhile (sorry! it was still appreciated though)
Favourite things I saw/heard on the course:
- a guy (running the race) wearing a shirt that said, RUNNING SUCKS.
- a guy wearing a shirt that said, 80 year old running Grandpa.
- there were some people with big speakers on the street playing music. Just as I ran by, the music switched to the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony (Ode To Joy to those of you who are not music nerds). I thought this was hilarious, as I wrote a paper analyzing this symphony in my university days, and remembered that the poem that the choral parts are based on has its roots as a glorified drinking song.
Made the turn at 25K and into that wind. The rain throughout the race was not bad at all, never more than a light shower, but a headwind in the later stages of a marathon was just murder. I tried to make it to 32K without a walk break, but couldn't do it. I took short walk breaks almost every kilometre but I know from previous experience that walking doesn't make anything feel better, it just makes you finish slower. Also, the wind made it really, really cold and I was finally glad to have chosen the jacket over armwarmers.
The course is a net downhill but I didn't realize there was at least 10K of rolling hills in that final section. EEEK. Recently I read some advice about hills: "attack a hill like you would a sleeping dragon, not by hacking at its tail, but by attacking its head." This advice turned out to be very helpful.
For the first time EVER, I considered dropping out..but that would have been cowardly, since there was nothing specifically wrong, I wasn't injured, just feeling "off". The thought that kept me going was the fact that I was still on pace to be sub 4:30, a time I have been chasing since my first marathon back in 2009.
So, running at 40 secs/km off my goal pace, I made my way to the finish. Greg and Bryden were there, I wasn't sure they would come, given the poor weather. My hands were so cold that volunteers had to open and close the zipper of the changing tents at the finish line. I stayed to cheer Beth in, it was her first marathon and I am so proud of her! More than my own performance! While waiting for her, I saw a guy and girl finish. The guy looked really familiar, I saw him in the chute and sure enough..it was someone in my program at university. I knew the girl as well, both of them lived on my floor in 1st year. It was their first marathon too.
I don't think there were any flaws in my training. I know in my heart that given better conditions, I could have run sub 4:15 and that will come in time.
Official chip time: 4:24:02.5
Field Placement: 749 / 1093 (68.5%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 43 / 71 (60.6%)
Gender Placement: 256 / 463 (55.3%)
