Rule # 2. Nothing new on race day. Well besides breaking no. 1, I ate a big bowl of cereal 2.5 hours before the race (usually just have a tiny bowl and OJ).
Rule # 3: Be physically well trained. Not my fault, but came down with Pneumonia last month and this is my 1st week with any running at all since then. But 6 weeks back I got in a 24km LSD. Decided to play smart and run it easy. I was supposed to be a 2:00 pacer at Scotia before falling ill, so figured I'd just take it easy and aim sub 2.
Rule # 4. Nothing new part II. Don't wear anything new. Planned a perfect race day outfit, but once I realized how easy I should be taking it and with Halloween around the corner decided to have fun and with just over an hour before the race start I changed into my Captain America costume. Unfortunately superheroes don't have pockets, but I quickly found and put together a race belt and an additional pouch to carry my keys and subway cash.
Rule # 5. Get there early. Warm-up, stretch, enjoy the scene, etc... 45 Minutes to race start I realize I may not make the 7:30 bus to Lastman square. Call my brother and got him to give me a lift to the start. Worried that I may miss / not find the bag check I don't take my bag with clothes in it.
The race itself was mostly great. It's a decent organization and I enjoyed the race expo. Not as slick or professional as the Scotiabank affair, but Canada Running Series does put on many large races throughout the year and as such attracts better sponsors. My only beef is with the water stations (which I've always complained about here). They beef up there #'s of aid stations and claim to have them every 2-3 km which is fine, but in reality they are 5k apart at least for the half. They bulk up their #'s by having some tables at 5k and then more at 5.5-6k. It's been cool every year I've ran it, but if we ever get a hot year the &^$&$ is going to hit the fan.
As far as the race itself? Perfect. I love this course which combines the best of the waterfront (for the full) with running down Yonge st. The weather was beautiful (although too warm for fools wearing padded superhero outfits. And I was having a blast with other runners and the crowd. My favorite was hearing a couple where the wife/gf (?) scream "go superman!" and then I heard the bf respond "That's Captain America, You Bozo!".
As if the water stations weren't bad enough, the gatorade was the weakest I've seen yet at a race (barely stronger than water). Had some at the 1st stations at @5k. At 9k they told me gatorade at the next station which I assumed would be 500m away. Never saw it. Anyone know if there was one? So, in my crazy hot costume I didn't drink again until 13-14k. Got to see my wife and two sons at 10k though, so that made up for it. My effort felt nice & easy this whole time, but the legs felt dead. Even on the downhills I wasn't able to speed up much. Speed ranged from 8:25-8:45 min/mile most of the race depending on hills. After 14k I was running with some other people worried about their potential finish time. I was lined up right behind the 2:00 bunny and he took off at the start. I never saw him again. Apparently he was still way ahead of us, but I assured these guys that I've done the bunny thing many times and that they were all well on track for a 2:00 finish. After that I became an unofficial bunny and had a large contingent hanging around, occasionally popping up to ask how we're doing.
I know a lot of them loved the attention we were getting on the course. The Captain was a rock star out there. Every single spectator out on the course would cheer for me and it ended up pumping up nthe whole group. Definitely gave me a taste of why the mega marathons are so popular with runners. Fan support makes a huge difference.
Took a big effort but I managed to pick up my pace slightly going up University. I didn't realize until then how much a toll the dehydration / lack of running was taking on me. I was still with one girl who'd been around the last 5k and she kept pulling ahead of me. It was kinda funny. I was definitely trying to catch her, and she kept watching my shadow. We ended up passing a lot of runners over the last 2k, but definitely slower than I had envisioned. In any case she continued to gain ground on me until we reached the top of Queens park where it heads back down to the finish. I was able to take advantage of the downhill, but she just held her speed. I finished just ahead of her, but suspect she didn't realize how far around that blasted finish line truly is! In any case we had a couple of laughs about it in the finish chute and she was thrilled with her race.
For the record we finished just over 2:00 gun and 1:58 chip.
Of course now came the tricky part. Making my way home without a change of clothes for the subway! Not sure if I got more strange looks for wearing the cap costume or for the fact that I was drinking a Gatorade with the Habs logo on it!
I will add that perhaps due to the lack of training runs over the last 6 weeks or the lack of race liquids, but this is the worst my legs have felt after a half marathon since my 1st race. Still have DOMS 2 days later, which I didn't even get a trace of after ATB. Oh well, time to look forward to repeating 2 hours at Angus Glen in 2 weeks.
And while my wife didn't manage to get a shot of me, I googled and somehow found this!
After Johnny Canuck.
I saw that photo yesterday on a flickr site and was wondering if that was you. I have trouble recognizing runners' faces when they aren't wearing running gear.
) and I still have the bottle. Go Habs!!
