Chilly Half Marathon

Burlington ON

BIB # 1399

Chip Time 1:51:45

Official Time 1:53:37

Pace 5:16/km

Place 894/2830

Gender Place 248/1514

Category Place 42/247

 

 

 

So obviously the whole mystic has  been taken away as to whether I made my time goal or not at this race, unless of course you didn't read my race info at the top which makes me wonder why you are reading this at all. LOL The competitive person in all of us wants to see how well someone did at a race, right. To see if we might just be faster than them. Everyone thinks like that right? Right?!! Surely it's not only me?!?!  As I think about it today I have spent hundreds of hours running along Lakeshore and the beach strip so it's only fitting that I get my PB on a course that I know like the back of my hand!

 

The day started out like any other race day except my tummy was not feeling well. While I was out walking Gordie I began to think that rather than start out with the 1:50 pacer and see what happens I should start out with the 1:55 pacer and try to move up and just hope that my stomach worked itself out. I choked back my usual breakfast of oatmeal with chia seeds and got ready to go meet up with everyone. Thankfully I checked facebook one last time before I left and saw Nicole's picture that she posted of her race gear, including the bib that I was about to forget! EEK! I ran back to the kitchen and grabbed my bib and out the door I went. It was decided that I would go this race alone because Kyle had to work so we were down one car and Derek wasn't really into standing around in the cold while I waited about for my friends at the finish. It's no big secret that Derek finds my races extremely boring but seeing as I am just as uninterested in his pastimes of golf & guitar I don't take offense.  

 

The plan was for everyone to meet up at 9am at 760 Brant and use the bathrooms at Patty's workplace in peace. We all sat around and talked and peed and ate our prerace bananas and then around 9:30 headed down to the start. We did a slow warm up run on the way down so that we could A) warm up and B) stay warm. On fresh legs on the way to the start this felt great. On cold stiff tired legs on the way back after the race this felt like sheer hell. We got to the start and said or goodbyes and good lucks and Nicole, Phil and I made our way to the 1:55 pacer. I never did see a 1:50 pacer so my plan to switch was obviously the right one. The gun sounded and off we went. Woohoo. Not even a km in I decided to ditch the pacer. What the hell right? Probably this would have been a better idea if I knew exactly what my paces were supposed to be to reach my time goal. I just aimed for a 5:15-5:20 pace and hoped for the best. Haha. Type A race personality I am not. I do not know my PB's right down to the second and I pretty much fly by the seat of my pants in races. Patty would crap her pants if I ever took the lead for us. LOL

Me & my Daily Mile friends Emma, Phil, Patty & Nicole.

 

 

Like it usually does the first 5K went by in a congested blur. We did an out and back on the beach strip while running into the backs of people and trying to wheel around them. The smell of pot was in the air and I quietly listened to the banter of three guys running behind me. After the turnaround we passed Patty who was the 2:15 pacer. The three dudes behind me commented on the hot pace bunny in the kilt which gave me a little smile. Too bad they couldn't see her matching nail polish. Patty is nothing but put together. Type A personality at it's finest. Some mornings she must cringe when I show up to run with last nights makeup and uncoordinated clothes, spouting off my PB's to the minute. Even though the course was so packed I was still able to stick to pretty consistent paces. 5:23 5:12 5:16 5:20 5:21

 

Things were pretty uneventful for the next few kms and I was getting bored. I forgot to bring any headphones which was unfortunate because I had just downloaded the most recent Jay & Dan podcast. Boredom was not a good thing for me to be feeling because it gave my mind time to wander and it wandered right down to my calves which were getting tired. Perhaps graston & ART on Friday was not a good idea? Around 7km the guys that had been behind me the whole way pulled ahead so I didn't even have their conversation to keep me entertained any longer. At the next water station I stopped for some Eload drink which I ended up getting all over my hands. Yay something new to think about. How sticky my fingers were. How the hell am I going to finish this thing on tired calves with sticky fingers?! ARG! It was pretty much at this exact point that the heavens opened up and brought me an angel. My angel was my Daily Mile friend Phil. Phil asked me how I was doing and I told him alright but my calves were bothering me. We talked for a little bit and I kind of thought he was going to take off but he didn't! Yay! Talk about renewed energy! We ran along, sometimes chatting and sometimes not, but it was nice to have someone there. Around 9.5k we passed a couple of teenagers out to cheer everyone on. Too bad that they were singing "Ohhhh You're Halfway There". Someone teach the youth of today some math, please! Just past 10k we hit the water station to gel. Phil grabbed one of the Eloads that they were handing out and I ripped into my GU which I then sucked back too hard and it got stuck in my throat causing me to choke. #loser Kilometers 5-10 were the lowest and highest for me but I still kept up my pace. 5:19 5:22 5:32 (Eload break!) 5:21 5:19

 

Not a lot happened for the middle of the race. Casual chatter, watching the race leaders (some who looked like they were out for a walk in the park and some who looked like they were dying) making their way back from the turnaround, and the sound of the man who sputtered like a horse kept us entertained during this time. Because I knew the course so well I was pretty much able to call out everything that was coming up and took it upon myself to be our cheerleader. I honestly had no idea at any point in this race if I was going to make my 1:52 time goal but I knew for sure it would be a sub 1:55 so that was alright. Considering the banana that I had eaten at the meet up kept making an appearance at the back of my throat I thought that I was doing pretty well. Stupid upset stomach. We hit the turnaround and had something new to occupy our time with; looking for our friends. 5:45 (gel break!) 5:15 5:18 5:15 5:20

 

Finally we were on the home stretch! We were starting to get tired but I told Phil that even though I was on the verge of puking up my banana we were going to finish strong. We saw Emma & her friend Janice go by, then Mari ( the run/walk 2:15 pacer) who we called out to be she pretended not to hear us (haha), then Patty who told me to hurry up and pass her friend who was just up ahead. We also saw the 1:55 pacer but did not see Nicole. We wondered if she had fallen behind because we never did catch sight of her but I joked that she was probably right behind us getting ready to pick us off! In the distance I saw the famed priest and some of his congregation out cheering everyone on. I noticed him handing something out and I thought it was communion! Body of Christ on a race?! Heck why not?! This was a Baptist church, who knows how they do things here! Talk about disappointment when I realized that they were only handing out oranges and *gulp* bananas. God love you all but bananas are the last thing that I want to think about right now! It kind of made me sad though because we had passed the street that my church, St Patrick's, is on. I would have loved to have seen Father Ray out there cheering me on. *sad face* We hit another water stop because Phil had forgotten to bring any water with him and soon after we saw Pierre! Yay Pierre. I totally would have missed him had Phil not called out to him. I gave Pierre a smile and a wave and ran on. Shortly after I felt a tap on my shoulder as a blur went whizzing by. "I've been chasing you guys down since 16k! Come on!". Ha! I was right! Nicole had indeed had us in her sights getting ready to pick us off! "Let's go!" I yelled out to Phil as I heard him let out a groan. "We can't let her beat us!". I took off and caught up to her and ran along side for a few minutes. At 19K Nicole told me to get going, that if I could do two 5:25 km's I would have my goal. I looked down at my Garmin and quickly did the math. Holy crap she was right. I pushed my tired legs as hard as they would go and took off. Why is it that the final 1-2 km in ANY race feels like crap? Is it all in your head that you're SO close to the finish that your body just wants to stop and lay down? I just had to shut my mind off and go. I knew Nicole was hot on my heels and that was enough to propel me to the bottom of Brant St where I picked things up for my last kick and sprinted to the finish. Holy crap I had done it!! With the help of two friends I had made my goal AND although my stomach felt like garbage the whole race I hadn't puked up my banana or crapped my pants. #winner 5:10 5:22 5:12 5:07 5:02 4:54

FYI I did purchase this picture so I'm not a total dirtbag for ripping it off.
Eye on the prize.
Thank goodness in this low res version you can't see my cold purple lips or the crusty frozen
salt stuck to my eyelids. Dead sexy.