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
Monday, 7 May 2012
Monday, 10 October 2011
Chicago Marathon race report
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/
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/
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Mississauga Marathon race report
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%)
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%)
Monday, 28 March 2011
The race of my life - ATB 2011 race report
The last 2 years, race morning has been gray and rainy. So I was very happy to see sun in the forecast, but cool temps. Normally cool temperatures would not bother me in the least, except this year, I was determined to wear my BADASS MOTHER RUNNER shirt, because it will probably be too warm for long sleeves at my next race.
I wore a short sleeve and armwarmers under my L/S, with a sweatshirt to sacrifice at the start, skirt + tights on the bottom and I was toasty. I knew I'd be fine once I started running.
The race starts outside an arena, and everyone uses the seating area to meet up beforehand. I had my Garmin on to see the time. When I walked to the start, I forgot to restart the Garmin...race started and it wasn't until I looked at the Garmin for the first time that I realized I had no satellites!
connect.garmin.com/activ
ity/75382244
^^ So that's why my splits are bit wacko at the beginning.
My race plan, as stated in my last blog, was to run positive splits, assuming slowdown during the hilly sections of the race (approximately kms 17-26). I started out at 5:40/km, half marathon race pace. All I had to do to run sub 3 hours was to keep the pace below 6:00/km.
At 10K, I was feeling great and even pushed the pace a little. But I always kept those hills in mind.
15K, still feeling great. I was "supposed" to slow down, but then I thought, "I should just keep this pace for as long as I feel good, I have some time banked and if I slow a bit on the hills, I'll still be on track."
Hill time. I cannot stress how helpful it was for me to train on the race course at least once a week for the past 2 months. I ran the race course for my long runs, and I ran the hilly section during the week for hill training. Because of this, I knew exactly how hard I wanted to run the hills during the race. I have a tendency to slam up hills, leaving my gasping for breath at the top.
There are a series of rolling hills, then a bit of flat/downhill, then the Big Hill at 25-26K. I ran this hill before dawn - it is closed to traffic so no street lights - and in January/February when it was snowy and ice covered as well. This is a video of that hill.
www.thespec.com/videozon
e/507212--video-around-the
-bay-running-the-valley-inn-hill
After the hill, it is 4K to the finish, mild downhill. But it is important not to get too excited, because after all, it's still 4K, not 400 metres. I felt myself speeding up anyways, but according to my plan, no HARD running until the arena came into view at 28K.
Amazingly, very few of the runners around me looked to be struggling. We were all running hard, but when I saw that 28K sign, I put the pedal to the metal.
last 2 km splits:
5:36
5:14
Finished just hard enough for it to be challenging and not with that desperate sprint that characterized my first failed attempt at breaking 2 hours in the half last fall. I RAN EVERY STEP OF THE WAY - no walking at water stations or to refuel!
I will remember this race as an example of having a plan, having everything go right on race day (except for the Garmin screwup) and being able to reach my goals better than I ever imagined.
A PR by 22 minutes.
Official chip time: 2:54:12.7
Field Placement: 2795 / 5878 (47.6%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 158 / 405 (39%)
Gender Placement: 987 / 2915 (33.9%)
I wore a short sleeve and armwarmers under my L/S, with a sweatshirt to sacrifice at the start, skirt + tights on the bottom and I was toasty. I knew I'd be fine once I started running.
The race starts outside an arena, and everyone uses the seating area to meet up beforehand. I had my Garmin on to see the time. When I walked to the start, I forgot to restart the Garmin...race started and it wasn't until I looked at the Garmin for the first time that I realized I had no satellites!
connect.garmin.com/activ
ity/75382244
^^ So that's why my splits are bit wacko at the beginning.
My race plan, as stated in my last blog, was to run positive splits, assuming slowdown during the hilly sections of the race (approximately kms 17-26). I started out at 5:40/km, half marathon race pace. All I had to do to run sub 3 hours was to keep the pace below 6:00/km.
At 10K, I was feeling great and even pushed the pace a little. But I always kept those hills in mind.
15K, still feeling great. I was "supposed" to slow down, but then I thought, "I should just keep this pace for as long as I feel good, I have some time banked and if I slow a bit on the hills, I'll still be on track."
Hill time. I cannot stress how helpful it was for me to train on the race course at least once a week for the past 2 months. I ran the race course for my long runs, and I ran the hilly section during the week for hill training. Because of this, I knew exactly how hard I wanted to run the hills during the race. I have a tendency to slam up hills, leaving my gasping for breath at the top.
There are a series of rolling hills, then a bit of flat/downhill, then the Big Hill at 25-26K. I ran this hill before dawn - it is closed to traffic so no street lights - and in January/February when it was snowy and ice covered as well. This is a video of that hill.
www.thespec.com/videozon
e/507212--video-around-the
-bay-running-the-valley-inn-hill
After the hill, it is 4K to the finish, mild downhill. But it is important not to get too excited, because after all, it's still 4K, not 400 metres. I felt myself speeding up anyways, but according to my plan, no HARD running until the arena came into view at 28K.
Amazingly, very few of the runners around me looked to be struggling. We were all running hard, but when I saw that 28K sign, I put the pedal to the metal.
last 2 km splits:
5:36
5:14
Finished just hard enough for it to be challenging and not with that desperate sprint that characterized my first failed attempt at breaking 2 hours in the half last fall. I RAN EVERY STEP OF THE WAY - no walking at water stations or to refuel!
I will remember this race as an example of having a plan, having everything go right on race day (except for the Garmin screwup) and being able to reach my goals better than I ever imagined.
A PR by 22 minutes.
Official chip time: 2:54:12.7
Field Placement: 2795 / 5878 (47.6%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 158 / 405 (39%)
Gender Placement: 987 / 2915 (33.9%)
Monday, 14 March 2011
One terrifying run
I basically had the crap scared out of me numerous times this morning. The Cemetery 12 route I ran goes out into semi-rural areas, very few streetlights/houses and of course passes by 5 cemeteries. Well, I didn't have my phone or my little LED light that clips onto my glove. Things that scared me:
- I guess people burn candles in front of the stones in the cemetery, I'd be passing by and there would be a creepy dull red glow from the glass holder emanating from the stones.
- thought I saw 2 unleashed dogs with no human nearby (with all my unleashed dog probs lately, you'll understand why I was scared) Turns out they were deer. Obviously, I also need my vision checked.
- thought I missed a turn on the route and I'd be out in the middle of nowhere with no phone and miles from my car.
- dropped trou and of course a car went by before I could get my pants back up.
- stepped off the road when a car passed, and right after it passed, there was an old man standing on the opposite side of the road, I suppose he was out for a walk but I never saw him approaching, so to me he appeared out of nowhere. He said good morning to me and I was all "YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME!" Then I ran off as fast as I could and I freaked myself out further by imagining that he was a talking ghost. If I hadn't had the pit stop 5 min earlier I seriously would have crapped my pants from fear.
It is now bright and sunny out and it seems very silly typing this out, but trust me, I was absolutely terrified!
- I guess people burn candles in front of the stones in the cemetery, I'd be passing by and there would be a creepy dull red glow from the glass holder emanating from the stones.
- thought I saw 2 unleashed dogs with no human nearby (with all my unleashed dog probs lately, you'll understand why I was scared) Turns out they were deer. Obviously, I also need my vision checked.
- thought I missed a turn on the route and I'd be out in the middle of nowhere with no phone and miles from my car.
- dropped trou and of course a car went by before I could get my pants back up.
- stepped off the road when a car passed, and right after it passed, there was an old man standing on the opposite side of the road, I suppose he was out for a walk but I never saw him approaching, so to me he appeared out of nowhere. He said good morning to me and I was all "YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME!" Then I ran off as fast as I could and I freaked myself out further by imagining that he was a talking ghost. If I hadn't had the pit stop 5 min earlier I seriously would have crapped my pants from fear.
It is now bright and sunny out and it seems very silly typing this out, but trust me, I was absolutely terrified!
Sunday, 7 November 2010
At long last, sub 2:00 HM!
connect.garmin.com/activ
ity/55846426
As I said in my previous blog, I wasn't particularly feeling the race mojo - still mentally recovering from the marathon.
Pre-race:
I got to Confederation Park, a little worried about getting to the start, as I was a bit gun shy about shuttle buses after the marathon debacle, and there was a lineup of buses ready to go. THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE DONE!
Start:
Determined to conquer the pace demons, the opening kilometers were slightly faster than goal pace, but I knew there was a giant downhill coming up. Passed the 2:15 bunny, who was ahead of where I started, for some reason.
The giant downhill:
Effortless 5:00/km pace. AMAZING. I actually could have gone faster, but wasn't 40 s/km faster than goal pace fast enough? Clocked a smoking 4:58/km in the 6th km. Most of this section, Beth was about 10 m in front of me, she is much stronger than me on downhills.
10K, I checked my Garmin and saw the incredible time of 53:20, unexpectedly beating my ancient PR of 56:16 set waaaay back in 2008 in my very first 10K.
12K. Running the tangents. Beth said something about running a 6:00/km pace the rest of the way and still making it under 2:00. Something happened and I got ahead after exiting the highway.
15K. Made the turn onto the lakefront path. Familiar territory. I run here at least once, sometimes twice a week.
16K water station. Path packed on both sides with exuberant, cheering high school kids. What a boost!
17K. The km markers are bang on with my Garmin up to this point, but I started to press lap at every km sign. I figure holding a nice, comfortable 5:40 pace will get me to my goal, however, I could not let myself forget that nothing is a done deal until the finish line is crossed.
20K. Sudden turn onto loose rocks, unpaved path. WTF?!?!! Fortunately this is short but I came off the unpaved path and there was a slight uphill. AGGH! Where the hell is the finish line?
Finally saw the finish line when the Garmin was showing WELL over 21.1 kms. I saw a 2 on the clock and thought "oh NO, NO NO NO!" but then realized the clock was for the full marathoners.
It's been a long road getting from there to here...but I am finally a sub 2:00 half marathoner! I've PR'd my last 4 races...but ready to transition into winter base building in order to get ready for even bigger and better running adventures in 2011.
Official chip time: 1:57:26
Field Placement: 635 / 1359 (46.7%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 38 / 97 (39.2%)
Gender Placement: 261 / 782 (33.4%)
ity/55846426
As I said in my previous blog, I wasn't particularly feeling the race mojo - still mentally recovering from the marathon.
Pre-race:
I got to Confederation Park, a little worried about getting to the start, as I was a bit gun shy about shuttle buses after the marathon debacle, and there was a lineup of buses ready to go. THAT'S THE WAY IT SHOULD BE DONE!
Start:
Determined to conquer the pace demons, the opening kilometers were slightly faster than goal pace, but I knew there was a giant downhill coming up. Passed the 2:15 bunny, who was ahead of where I started, for some reason.
The giant downhill:
Effortless 5:00/km pace. AMAZING. I actually could have gone faster, but wasn't 40 s/km faster than goal pace fast enough? Clocked a smoking 4:58/km in the 6th km. Most of this section, Beth was about 10 m in front of me, she is much stronger than me on downhills.
10K, I checked my Garmin and saw the incredible time of 53:20, unexpectedly beating my ancient PR of 56:16 set waaaay back in 2008 in my very first 10K.
12K. Running the tangents. Beth said something about running a 6:00/km pace the rest of the way and still making it under 2:00. Something happened and I got ahead after exiting the highway.
15K. Made the turn onto the lakefront path. Familiar territory. I run here at least once, sometimes twice a week.
16K water station. Path packed on both sides with exuberant, cheering high school kids. What a boost!
17K. The km markers are bang on with my Garmin up to this point, but I started to press lap at every km sign. I figure holding a nice, comfortable 5:40 pace will get me to my goal, however, I could not let myself forget that nothing is a done deal until the finish line is crossed.
20K. Sudden turn onto loose rocks, unpaved path. WTF?!?!! Fortunately this is short but I came off the unpaved path and there was a slight uphill. AGGH! Where the hell is the finish line?
Finally saw the finish line when the Garmin was showing WELL over 21.1 kms. I saw a 2 on the clock and thought "oh NO, NO NO NO!" but then realized the clock was for the full marathoners.
It's been a long road getting from there to here...but I am finally a sub 2:00 half marathoner! I've PR'd my last 4 races...but ready to transition into winter base building in order to get ready for even bigger and better running adventures in 2011.
Official chip time: 1:57:26
Field Placement: 635 / 1359 (46.7%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 38 / 97 (39.2%)
Gender Placement: 261 / 782 (33.4%)
Monday, 18 October 2010
GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon/RW Challenge race report
- passed 4000 lifetime kms run during the marathon.
- passed 1500 kms run in 2010.
- passed 30000 Spark lifetime fitness minutes
- celebrating my
today!
official chip time: 4:38:33 (PR!)
The Good:
- solidly met stretch goal
- felt as good as can be expected between kms 35-42.2
- managed nutrition/fluid intake well
- no blisters or chafing!
The Bad:
- got a bit frazzled by some unexpected pre-race adventures
- still too many walk breaks in final stages
Expo/The Day Before
Met Challengers and RW editors for an easy shakeout 2 mile run.
Rick Ball (single leg amputee WR holder in the 10K, half marathon and marathon) , Mark Remy (author, RW online editor, writer of RW Daily blog)
Mark Remy, me, Jen van Allen (RW special projects editor)
Pre-race
The race was a point to point course, and there were shuttles to the start from a few downtown hotels, about a mile from the finish. The half started at 8 and the full at 9, I get downtown just past 7 to discover a HUGE lineup for the shuttle going around the block. People (presumably panicked HMers) started jumping into cabs. I didn't have any cash on me, so I stepped out of line and yelled at everyone, "I am driving to the start, and whoever wants a ride is welcome to come!" 2 guys take me up on my offer, Matt, who was doing the half, and Victor, who was doing the full. We get into my car around 7:30 and I burn rubber towards the start in order to get Matt there in time and I'm worried how to get near the start with the road closures. About 2 blocks from the start, Matt says, "oh @#$*, I haven't pinned my bib and I have no pins!" Due to a past wardrobe malfunction, I now carry safety pins in my purse and I give them to Matt, who is still frantically trying to pin his bib as I pull up 1 block from the start at 7:58.
"GET OUT OF THE CAR HAVE A GOOD RACE GO GO GO!!" I screamed at him.
Miraculously, I found parking within view of the start that appeared to be legal and I'm still kind of frazzled as I approached the Toronto Centre for the Arts, the meeting place for RW Challengers, but the extremely calm RW staffer who directed me to the entrance also reassured me there was plenty of time to race start. Lots of other runners were trying to get in but were turned aside, "This is a private party." I loved being VIP! Inside, it was beautiful:
Shiny clean bathrooms! No stinky portapotties!
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, bagels, fruit and Gatorade for last minute fueling.
One of the things that makes this race unique is the Psyching Team, who are at the expo, walking around the start, and ride the course on bikes, offering general support, but also one on one to anyone who looks like they need it. The psych I was talking to before the race was asking me my motivation for running the race. I kept telling her that it was for personal satisfaction, but upon closer reflection, my TRUE motivation for running?
This race marked the logical conclusion of the path that I set on, upon discovering I was pregnant in July 2009. I wanted to prove that a "regular" woman can have a baby and return to pre-pregnancy shape or better, without a personal chef, trainer, or nanny.
A course map for those of you following along at home:
connect.garmin.com/activ
ity/53411655
The early stages (kms 1-21)
Stopped to retie my shoe in the first km. Should have checked the temperature before leaving Toronto Centre for the Arts - as soon as we ran into the sun, I knew the arm warmers were a bad idea.
There was no 4:30 continuous pace bunny, so my plan was to run with the 4:30 10/1 bunny but keep running during the walk breaks.
Hogg's Hollow hill. Good thing this hill was early on. It was long, but I am not known as the Girl Who Eats Hills For Breakfast for nothing.
Forest Hill - a decent number of spectators for a Toronto race. Still hanging with the 4:30 bunny.
Rosedale Valley Rd. (16K) - glorious fall colours. I'm zoning out to my music and getting in a good rhythm. I think, "if Beth showed up to cheer me on, this would be awesome."
Bayview Ave. (18K) I thought I heard someone yelling my name. I looked up and there was Beth on an overpass with a GO PATTY sign!
Eastern Ave. (19-20K) I remembered that the last time I ran on this street, it was around the 37K mark of my last marathon, when I had bonked and was praying for death. And this day I was feeling good!
1st half split: 2:15:31 (gun time)
The bad part aka get this @$^&%$ wind out of my face! (kms 22-31)
We turned onto Queen's Quay/Lakeshore heading west and was immediately hit with a strong headwind. Stopped to refill my water bottle at a public fountain and take a short walk break and lost the 4:30 bunny. The only thing that got me through this section was seeing Greg and Bryden (who were looking for me coming back the other way) and counting down the kms until the turnaround, so I could enjoy having the wind at my back.
The Wall and Beyond (kms 32-39)
My goal for this final section was simply to walk less than my previous 2 marathons. My reach goal of sub 4:30 was out of the question at this point, but a PR was still very possible. I just kept my pace faster than 7:00/km. I had run the first 30K between 6:20-6:30/km pace. I thought about all the things I was doing right: I hadn't hit the wall, I had no blisters or chafes. "It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse." which led to, "The faster you run, the sooner it stops hurting." So I kept running.
Staying strong at 31K.
The final stretch (kms 40-42.2)
Made the final turn, which in reality is a tiny incline, but at this point in the marathon felt like a mountain. Remember how earlier I wished to see Beth and she appeared? I thought about how nice it would be for her to run me in, but alas, the Running Gods did not answer my prayer this time. Passing many runners who were walking along dejectedly made me pick up my pace, determined to finish strong. I knew the last mile took me almost all the way around Queen's Park Circle, but I knew there would be no more walk breaks. Those 18, 20 and 22 mile training runs with fast finishes had taught me well.
42 km split time: 6:05/km.
Field Placement: 1504 / 1991 (75.5%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 83 / 120 (69.2%)
Gender Placement: 432 / 652 (66.3%)
Then it was off to Hart House for the post race party.
A buffet of roasted veggies, sandwiches, wraps, fruit, smoothies, and BOOZE awaited us after we showered and had a massage. It pays to be slow - not too many people were in line for a massage after me, so I lucked out and got almost 30 minutes of rubdown instead of the 15 I was supposed to get.
GIANT HONKING MEDAL, with a quarter as size reference. It hurt my neck to wear, but I earned it!
- passed 1500 kms run in 2010.
- passed 30000 Spark lifetime fitness minutes
- celebrating my
today! official chip time: 4:38:33 (PR!)
The Good:
- solidly met stretch goal
- felt as good as can be expected between kms 35-42.2
- managed nutrition/fluid intake well
- no blisters or chafing!
The Bad:
- got a bit frazzled by some unexpected pre-race adventures
- still too many walk breaks in final stages
Expo/The Day Before
Met Challengers and RW editors for an easy shakeout 2 mile run.
Rick Ball (single leg amputee WR holder in the 10K, half marathon and marathon) , Mark Remy (author, RW online editor, writer of RW Daily blog)
Mark Remy, me, Jen van Allen (RW special projects editor)
Pre-race
The race was a point to point course, and there were shuttles to the start from a few downtown hotels, about a mile from the finish. The half started at 8 and the full at 9, I get downtown just past 7 to discover a HUGE lineup for the shuttle going around the block. People (presumably panicked HMers) started jumping into cabs. I didn't have any cash on me, so I stepped out of line and yelled at everyone, "I am driving to the start, and whoever wants a ride is welcome to come!" 2 guys take me up on my offer, Matt, who was doing the half, and Victor, who was doing the full. We get into my car around 7:30 and I burn rubber towards the start in order to get Matt there in time and I'm worried how to get near the start with the road closures. About 2 blocks from the start, Matt says, "oh @#$*, I haven't pinned my bib and I have no pins!" Due to a past wardrobe malfunction, I now carry safety pins in my purse and I give them to Matt, who is still frantically trying to pin his bib as I pull up 1 block from the start at 7:58.
"GET OUT OF THE CAR HAVE A GOOD RACE GO GO GO!!" I screamed at him.
Miraculously, I found parking within view of the start that appeared to be legal and I'm still kind of frazzled as I approached the Toronto Centre for the Arts, the meeting place for RW Challengers, but the extremely calm RW staffer who directed me to the entrance also reassured me there was plenty of time to race start. Lots of other runners were trying to get in but were turned aside, "This is a private party." I loved being VIP! Inside, it was beautiful:
Shiny clean bathrooms! No stinky portapotties!
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, bagels, fruit and Gatorade for last minute fueling.
One of the things that makes this race unique is the Psyching Team, who are at the expo, walking around the start, and ride the course on bikes, offering general support, but also one on one to anyone who looks like they need it. The psych I was talking to before the race was asking me my motivation for running the race. I kept telling her that it was for personal satisfaction, but upon closer reflection, my TRUE motivation for running?
This race marked the logical conclusion of the path that I set on, upon discovering I was pregnant in July 2009. I wanted to prove that a "regular" woman can have a baby and return to pre-pregnancy shape or better, without a personal chef, trainer, or nanny.
A course map for those of you following along at home:
connect.garmin.com/activ
ity/53411655
The early stages (kms 1-21)
Stopped to retie my shoe in the first km. Should have checked the temperature before leaving Toronto Centre for the Arts - as soon as we ran into the sun, I knew the arm warmers were a bad idea.
There was no 4:30 continuous pace bunny, so my plan was to run with the 4:30 10/1 bunny but keep running during the walk breaks.
Hogg's Hollow hill. Good thing this hill was early on. It was long, but I am not known as the Girl Who Eats Hills For Breakfast for nothing.
Forest Hill - a decent number of spectators for a Toronto race. Still hanging with the 4:30 bunny.
Rosedale Valley Rd. (16K) - glorious fall colours. I'm zoning out to my music and getting in a good rhythm. I think, "if Beth showed up to cheer me on, this would be awesome."
Bayview Ave. (18K) I thought I heard someone yelling my name. I looked up and there was Beth on an overpass with a GO PATTY sign!
Eastern Ave. (19-20K) I remembered that the last time I ran on this street, it was around the 37K mark of my last marathon, when I had bonked and was praying for death. And this day I was feeling good!
1st half split: 2:15:31 (gun time)
The bad part aka get this @$^&%$ wind out of my face! (kms 22-31)
We turned onto Queen's Quay/Lakeshore heading west and was immediately hit with a strong headwind. Stopped to refill my water bottle at a public fountain and take a short walk break and lost the 4:30 bunny. The only thing that got me through this section was seeing Greg and Bryden (who were looking for me coming back the other way) and counting down the kms until the turnaround, so I could enjoy having the wind at my back.
The Wall and Beyond (kms 32-39)
My goal for this final section was simply to walk less than my previous 2 marathons. My reach goal of sub 4:30 was out of the question at this point, but a PR was still very possible. I just kept my pace faster than 7:00/km. I had run the first 30K between 6:20-6:30/km pace. I thought about all the things I was doing right: I hadn't hit the wall, I had no blisters or chafes. "It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse." which led to, "The faster you run, the sooner it stops hurting." So I kept running.
Staying strong at 31K.
The final stretch (kms 40-42.2)
Made the final turn, which in reality is a tiny incline, but at this point in the marathon felt like a mountain. Remember how earlier I wished to see Beth and she appeared? I thought about how nice it would be for her to run me in, but alas, the Running Gods did not answer my prayer this time. Passing many runners who were walking along dejectedly made me pick up my pace, determined to finish strong. I knew the last mile took me almost all the way around Queen's Park Circle, but I knew there would be no more walk breaks. Those 18, 20 and 22 mile training runs with fast finishes had taught me well.
42 km split time: 6:05/km.
Field Placement: 1504 / 1991 (75.5%)
Age group: 30 – 34
Group Placement: 83 / 120 (69.2%)
Gender Placement: 432 / 652 (66.3%)
Then it was off to Hart House for the post race party.
A buffet of roasted veggies, sandwiches, wraps, fruit, smoothies, and BOOZE awaited us after we showered and had a massage. It pays to be slow - not too many people were in line for a massage after me, so I lucked out and got almost 30 minutes of rubdown instead of the 15 I was supposed to get.
GIANT HONKING MEDAL, with a quarter as size reference. It hurt my neck to wear, but I earned it!
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