Around the Bay physically and over the moon emotionally - that pretty much describes my Sunday!
The race went much better than I had expected, even though at one point it went much worse than I had expected - details as follows...
First, the weather. Right up to late Saturday the forecast was for 11 C and sunny, but Sunday morning it was 2 C and overcast, and never got much above that initial temperature. But no rain, and not much wind. I had planned to wear tights, a long-sleeved shirt and my thin running jacket, and that was pretty much perfect for the temperature, along with my windblocking running gloves and a head band to keep my ears warm. At a few points along the way the gloves felt a little too warm, and I saw lots of discarded ones, but mostly they were a good idea.
During the last few days before the race, I was trying to do everything right - stay super-hydrated, no fried foods, no fish or seafood (I don't eat meat or poultry to begin with), light meals, lots of rest... My program wasn't perfect but I think it paid off. No stomach cramps while running, and no dehydration (took two or three quick water breaks between 15 and 25 km but didn't consume much). I probably should/could have had a bit more water and am filing that away for future reference.
Anyway, the race itself. A friend of ours was also running it for the first time, and the two of us ran mostly together for most of the first 21 km. By "mostly together" I mean that we started out together, ran side by side for the first few km, and then sometimes ran apart, but never too far apart. It was definitely a bonus to have the company and to have someone specific to pace with.
The start line was kind of annoying, because there were no corrals, and there was no separation between runners and spectators. After the starting buzzer, the two of us actually walked part of the distance before getting across, which we didn't do for almost a minute and a half. And the first km was relatively slow - 5:20 - dodging and weaving and trying not to get stuck behind a group of people moving slower than I/we wanted to be. In all, it took about 3 km to really open up.
But the energy was great - thousands of people starting off together on a single route - and I loved the sound of all those feet hitting the pavement!
The first 18 km or so of the race are very flat, and we were doing an amazing pace. By the third or fourth km it was clear that we were at sub 5 minutes, which had not been part of my plan. To elaborate: my initial goal had been to finish in less than 3 hours. Near the end of my training, that was looking pretty certain, and I was hoping for no more than 2:45, which would have been 5:30/km. My expectation was that I'd start at around 5:15, do some 5:00 in the middle once warmed up, and then slow right down through the hilly section to 5:30 or 5:45. And I was also allowing for wind, which always slows me right down. I figured that under good conditions finishing in 2:38 or so was also a strong possibility, but wasn't counting on it.
So... There we are, running this fast pace, and I'm doing this mental math: if we've done 8 km at 5:00, that means I can do the last 4 km at 6:00, and if the rest of them average 5:30, then I can still finish in 5:45. Cool! The thing was, I didn't believe that we were doing a sustainable pace for me, with the hills coming up, and kept saying, "I need to slow down! That's my most recent half marathon pace and it's too fast for this race!". And I meant it, and would slow down a bit, but never too much. It just felt really good. Not easy, not effortless, nothing like that. I was working. But in a good way, not a "when will this be over it's awful" way. At the same time, I was trying hard not to think about how many kms were left - just to concentrate on each one slipping by.
At the 15 km mark we actually passed the 2:30 pace bunny, who seemed to have got a little ahead of schedule and was pausing to get back on pace. So we were definitely doing well. Unfortunately, my nose was getting pretty stuffed up and I had to pause once or twice when I just couldn't clear it while running. Still not sure what the best solution is. Antihistamines work, but they also dry up my mouth/throat to the point where a vigorous run can actually be somewhat painful. But I digress...
At 20 km we were on track to a 1:43 or so half marathon, and that was the point where the combination of hills and fast early pace started to catch up and I really felt that I needed to slow it down if I was going to finish. Friend went ahead while I paused to blow my nose, and I never did catch up again - he had an awesome finishing time of around 2:26. So for the next few km I was moving more slowly, and really feeling the hills, but managed them all without walking. Okay - the last big hill is between the 25 km and 26 km points - the 26 km marker is partway up the hill - and just before it starts to really climb I had to stop to blow my nose. But no actual walking, and that in itself was a personal achievement!
After that last hill, the last 3.5 km or so are pretty much flat, and often a gradual downhill, and I had expected them to be easy. Hah! Never have I been so wrong! Those seemed like the longest and hardest 3.5 km of my life. My lungs were good, but my legs were really, really tired. Partly because of the distance (duh!), partly because of the hills, and partly because I probably should have had a little more water along the way. Whatever. It doesn't really matter "why", it only matters that it "was". At that point I really felt like walking, and was even telling myself that so close to the end I could probably walk and still finish in 2:45, but I just didn't want to. It seemed so "wrong", somehow, to have to walk on a downhill. So I kept going - it felt like at a glacial pace but in retrospect it couldn't have been all that slow - hoping for a burst of energy to take me to the end. The stretch between 27 km and 28 km seemed impossibly long, then it was a little quicker to get to 29 km. By around 28 km Copps Coliseum (the race finishes inside) was in sight and that was encouraging, but it was definitely not easy going.
Because my friend had been timing us with his digital watch, I really hadn't been paying attention to mine, which is just a regular Timex with the hour and minute hand. So at that point I really didn't know exactly what my time was, but figured that I was probably looking at a 2:35 or so finish. And was really, really pleased with that - just wanted to get through the last bit and know that I had done it. There were a lot of spectators cheering the runners through the last part of the route before Copps, and that helped.
At the very end of the race, you go down a short ramp into Copps, then make a sharp right turn into the finish line area. I think the whole stretch is about 200 m. Knowing the end was so close, and with the steep downhill ramp, I of course sped up a bit. Then, turning the corner, I saw the clock and it was at 2:29:4x - I'm not sure. 40-something. And there was this sudden explosion in my brain, because I remembered that women finishing in 2:30 or less would get a silver medal, and there it was, just waiting for me if I could speed across that line. At the same time was the dual realisation that my actual time - the chip time - was going to be less than 2:30. It all happened so fast and it was such a rush. I did find the energy, crossed the line with just a few seconds to spare, and then was in a complete daze. One of the volunteers hung the medal around my neck, there were others to direct all the finishers to the timing chip removal area, someone else handed me a bottle of water, there were people lined up to give us food (bananas, pita bread, cookies, cereal bars)...
Through it all, I just could not believe what had happened. A 2:30 finish was never in my sights as a realistic possibility, was never part of my goals for this race, was not even really on the radar. Yes, I have run several half marathons at under 5:00/km, but this was 30 km with hills, for the first time. A 5:15 pace seemed very reasonable, and even ambitious. So I was thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. Still am, really!
Best of all, the post-race recovery was not too bad. I found my friend and his wife in Copps, and we hung around a bit, then dashed out for a quick shower before coming back to see DH cross the finish line at around 3:50 (his expected time, he was very happy with it). Once my muscles cooled off there was definitely some stiffness, but it wasn't agonising. More stiffness Sunday evening and Monday, especially after sitting down for a while. Only periodic stiffness on Tuesday, which was loosened up by a bit of stationary cycling, and things are pretty normal now. This morning's workout was 5 miles on the elliptical and some stretching and that helped.
As for my hip - always a concern - it's fine. Sent out a few signals on Sunday. Not really pain, not even really true discomfort, more just a reminder that it had noticed the extra workout. And I've had that a few times since. So I am definitely sticking to my plan of no running for a week, and also taking the occasional ibuprofen just in case there's a little muscle inflammation going on. A little discipline now, a lot more running later...
And thus concludes an important chapter on my way to the marathon in September. During those last few km on Sunday, when my legs were SO tired, I thought "Who am I kidding - do 12.2 km on top of this?!?" But then immediately thought, "Yes, with some more training - and you'd probably feel better if you'd run a little more slowly at the start". From the perspective of a couple of days later, with a quick recovery, the idea of the extra distance doesn't seem so impossible. Lots of work, though. Definitely need to learn how to hydrate better. Definitely have to start pacing better. But I feel like the foundation is there, and if I can just train smartly, six months from now I'll be crossing that marathon finish line with smile.
The race went much better than I had expected, even though at one point it went much worse than I had expected - details as follows...
First, the weather. Right up to late Saturday the forecast was for 11 C and sunny, but Sunday morning it was 2 C and overcast, and never got much above that initial temperature. But no rain, and not much wind. I had planned to wear tights, a long-sleeved shirt and my thin running jacket, and that was pretty much perfect for the temperature, along with my windblocking running gloves and a head band to keep my ears warm. At a few points along the way the gloves felt a little too warm, and I saw lots of discarded ones, but mostly they were a good idea.
During the last few days before the race, I was trying to do everything right - stay super-hydrated, no fried foods, no fish or seafood (I don't eat meat or poultry to begin with), light meals, lots of rest... My program wasn't perfect but I think it paid off. No stomach cramps while running, and no dehydration (took two or three quick water breaks between 15 and 25 km but didn't consume much). I probably should/could have had a bit more water and am filing that away for future reference.
Anyway, the race itself. A friend of ours was also running it for the first time, and the two of us ran mostly together for most of the first 21 km. By "mostly together" I mean that we started out together, ran side by side for the first few km, and then sometimes ran apart, but never too far apart. It was definitely a bonus to have the company and to have someone specific to pace with.
The start line was kind of annoying, because there were no corrals, and there was no separation between runners and spectators. After the starting buzzer, the two of us actually walked part of the distance before getting across, which we didn't do for almost a minute and a half. And the first km was relatively slow - 5:20 - dodging and weaving and trying not to get stuck behind a group of people moving slower than I/we wanted to be. In all, it took about 3 km to really open up.
But the energy was great - thousands of people starting off together on a single route - and I loved the sound of all those feet hitting the pavement!
The first 18 km or so of the race are very flat, and we were doing an amazing pace. By the third or fourth km it was clear that we were at sub 5 minutes, which had not been part of my plan. To elaborate: my initial goal had been to finish in less than 3 hours. Near the end of my training, that was looking pretty certain, and I was hoping for no more than 2:45, which would have been 5:30/km. My expectation was that I'd start at around 5:15, do some 5:00 in the middle once warmed up, and then slow right down through the hilly section to 5:30 or 5:45. And I was also allowing for wind, which always slows me right down. I figured that under good conditions finishing in 2:38 or so was also a strong possibility, but wasn't counting on it.
So... There we are, running this fast pace, and I'm doing this mental math: if we've done 8 km at 5:00, that means I can do the last 4 km at 6:00, and if the rest of them average 5:30, then I can still finish in 5:45. Cool! The thing was, I didn't believe that we were doing a sustainable pace for me, with the hills coming up, and kept saying, "I need to slow down! That's my most recent half marathon pace and it's too fast for this race!". And I meant it, and would slow down a bit, but never too much. It just felt really good. Not easy, not effortless, nothing like that. I was working. But in a good way, not a "when will this be over it's awful" way. At the same time, I was trying hard not to think about how many kms were left - just to concentrate on each one slipping by.
At the 15 km mark we actually passed the 2:30 pace bunny, who seemed to have got a little ahead of schedule and was pausing to get back on pace. So we were definitely doing well. Unfortunately, my nose was getting pretty stuffed up and I had to pause once or twice when I just couldn't clear it while running. Still not sure what the best solution is. Antihistamines work, but they also dry up my mouth/throat to the point where a vigorous run can actually be somewhat painful. But I digress...
At 20 km we were on track to a 1:43 or so half marathon, and that was the point where the combination of hills and fast early pace started to catch up and I really felt that I needed to slow it down if I was going to finish. Friend went ahead while I paused to blow my nose, and I never did catch up again - he had an awesome finishing time of around 2:26. So for the next few km I was moving more slowly, and really feeling the hills, but managed them all without walking. Okay - the last big hill is between the 25 km and 26 km points - the 26 km marker is partway up the hill - and just before it starts to really climb I had to stop to blow my nose. But no actual walking, and that in itself was a personal achievement!
After that last hill, the last 3.5 km or so are pretty much flat, and often a gradual downhill, and I had expected them to be easy. Hah! Never have I been so wrong! Those seemed like the longest and hardest 3.5 km of my life. My lungs were good, but my legs were really, really tired. Partly because of the distance (duh!), partly because of the hills, and partly because I probably should have had a little more water along the way. Whatever. It doesn't really matter "why", it only matters that it "was". At that point I really felt like walking, and was even telling myself that so close to the end I could probably walk and still finish in 2:45, but I just didn't want to. It seemed so "wrong", somehow, to have to walk on a downhill. So I kept going - it felt like at a glacial pace but in retrospect it couldn't have been all that slow - hoping for a burst of energy to take me to the end. The stretch between 27 km and 28 km seemed impossibly long, then it was a little quicker to get to 29 km. By around 28 km Copps Coliseum (the race finishes inside) was in sight and that was encouraging, but it was definitely not easy going.
Because my friend had been timing us with his digital watch, I really hadn't been paying attention to mine, which is just a regular Timex with the hour and minute hand. So at that point I really didn't know exactly what my time was, but figured that I was probably looking at a 2:35 or so finish. And was really, really pleased with that - just wanted to get through the last bit and know that I had done it. There were a lot of spectators cheering the runners through the last part of the route before Copps, and that helped.
At the very end of the race, you go down a short ramp into Copps, then make a sharp right turn into the finish line area. I think the whole stretch is about 200 m. Knowing the end was so close, and with the steep downhill ramp, I of course sped up a bit. Then, turning the corner, I saw the clock and it was at 2:29:4x - I'm not sure. 40-something. And there was this sudden explosion in my brain, because I remembered that women finishing in 2:30 or less would get a silver medal, and there it was, just waiting for me if I could speed across that line. At the same time was the dual realisation that my actual time - the chip time - was going to be less than 2:30. It all happened so fast and it was such a rush. I did find the energy, crossed the line with just a few seconds to spare, and then was in a complete daze. One of the volunteers hung the medal around my neck, there were others to direct all the finishers to the timing chip removal area, someone else handed me a bottle of water, there were people lined up to give us food (bananas, pita bread, cookies, cereal bars)...
Through it all, I just could not believe what had happened. A 2:30 finish was never in my sights as a realistic possibility, was never part of my goals for this race, was not even really on the radar. Yes, I have run several half marathons at under 5:00/km, but this was 30 km with hills, for the first time. A 5:15 pace seemed very reasonable, and even ambitious. So I was thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. Still am, really!
Best of all, the post-race recovery was not too bad. I found my friend and his wife in Copps, and we hung around a bit, then dashed out for a quick shower before coming back to see DH cross the finish line at around 3:50 (his expected time, he was very happy with it). Once my muscles cooled off there was definitely some stiffness, but it wasn't agonising. More stiffness Sunday evening and Monday, especially after sitting down for a while. Only periodic stiffness on Tuesday, which was loosened up by a bit of stationary cycling, and things are pretty normal now. This morning's workout was 5 miles on the elliptical and some stretching and that helped.
As for my hip - always a concern - it's fine. Sent out a few signals on Sunday. Not really pain, not even really true discomfort, more just a reminder that it had noticed the extra workout. And I've had that a few times since. So I am definitely sticking to my plan of no running for a week, and also taking the occasional ibuprofen just in case there's a little muscle inflammation going on. A little discipline now, a lot more running later...
And thus concludes an important chapter on my way to the marathon in September. During those last few km on Sunday, when my legs were SO tired, I thought "Who am I kidding - do 12.2 km on top of this?!?" But then immediately thought, "Yes, with some more training - and you'd probably feel better if you'd run a little more slowly at the start". From the perspective of a couple of days later, with a quick recovery, the idea of the extra distance doesn't seem so impossible. Lots of work, though. Definitely need to learn how to hydrate better. Definitely have to start pacing better. But I feel like the foundation is there, and if I can just train smartly, six months from now I'll be crossing that marathon finish line with smile.
posted by Jogger Barbie | 8:18 PM
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