On Friday I found out that msdesigner wasn't going to use her entry, so I asked if I could use it. We're in the same age group, so it wouldn't mess with age group results.
We had the following message exchange:
BJH wrote:Did you sell your bib to anyone?
msdesigner wrote:No, I just asked Marg to pick up my kit. Do you want it?
BJH wrote:Sure. I was toying with entering at the last minute, but don't think I would pb and I would need to be ready for that to justify the last minute price. I need to do a long run on Sunday though.
What time do you want?
msdesigner wrote:A sub 2 would be great!!
BJH wrote:A sub 2, eh? I guess I'll skip the beers at the pub at lunch today.
Look at me being all confident. I've only run one sub 2 half, at Toronto Goodlife last year, in 1:56:38. I've been running 50-60k/week over the winter and doing speedwork once a week. I had a bit of a cut back week last week, with two rest days, but my legs were still feeling heavy and my last 5-6 runs have been pretty lethargic. I've never run under anyone else's bib before and haven't ever sold a bib.
So, msdesigner, this is how your race went:
Skipped the beer at lunch on Friday. Had lunch with Marg and La on Saturday, briefly talked about the weather forecast and clothing choices.
Woke up at at early o'clock on Saturday and off to Mississauga for the race. Got a chance to chat with b_squared, Robbie-T, West Grey Runner, casual-runner, La and Marg. I also got to chat with a woman in the start line who was running her first half marathon and first running race ever. It's so nice to chat with newbies and feel their enthusiasm.
And off we went. I like the Mississauga course. It's low key, a pleasant runner's course. The roads are in good shape, the neighbourhoods are attractive. Except for near the end, there isn't a lot of twists and turns. You can just run.
The weather prior to the race was cool and overcast. A light rain started falling at some point during the race. Just enough to be refreshing. I wore shorts, a long sleeve top, a wind vest, gloves and a ball cap. I was a bit warm at one point, but when we got to the lake, I was happy for the wind vest.
Splits:
1 km 00:05:41
2 km 00:05:31
3 km 00:05:33 - Lightning flew by me somewhere around here
4 km 00:05:19
5 km 00:05:24
6 km 00:05:30
7 km 00:05:20
8 km 00:05:19
9 km 00:05:16 - spotted La up ahead
10 km 00:05:17 - saw deerdree with her awesome sign, told her I was going to go pass La
11 km 00:05:52 - caught up with La, chatted a bit. She mentioned she was ahead of pace, I metioned msdesigner was probably going to "PB". She said something about being careful not to break my own PB under another persons bib
12 km 00:05:25 - did a bit of mental math and realized that my own PB was likely within sight. Feels comfortable, may as well go for it.
13 km 00:05:28
14 km 00:05:27
15 km 00:05:30
16 km 00:05:24
17 km 00:05:30 - turned back east into a bit of a wind. It seemed like the next 5k was going to be pretty brutal, but it wasn't as bad as the first gust of wind indicated. My legs were definitely feeling a bit tired though.
18 km 00:05:39
19 km 00:05:33
20 km 00:05:32
21 km 00:05:27 - bit of a mud puddle not too far from the finish - who snuck the trail race in?
21.1 km 00:01:22
Total time 1:56:19, a PB by 19 seconds. Oops.
I got to the finish, got my medal, foil blanket and food. I went to watch a few more finishers, but was a bit chilled, even after putting on another layer. So I hopped on the shuttle, back to Square One. I had a chance to chat with some more newbies who were enjoying the extra bragging rights that come with racing in less than ideal weather. This is what really made my day, seeing friends on the course and chatting with enthusiastic newbies. That and a PB.
Edited for user name mixup
