Race review
The race organizers were a bit more generous this year with the race kit. Last year, my race kit consisted of a t-shirt, a sample pack of 2 Advil, 1 chapstick and a couple of one-use heating pads. This year, behold the bounty:
The package of chocolate Werther's originals did not survive the week.I was a little leery of the weather - as this was my view for most of the day before. Ah, it was so delightfully dreary!
On race day itself, the weather was a little chilly and it rained off and on for the entire race. This was just fine for me, since I have a tendency to overheat when I'm running and I actually enjoy running in the rain. I brought along a hoodie for the walk over to the starting line, but ended up tying it around my waist while I was waiting in the crowd for the race to start because I was already starting to get a bit warm. I'm proud to say that I did NOT cry at the end. I did get a little misty eyed at the starting line though. Especially after the the national anthem was sung and the crowd started to cheer for us when we all started the race. Argh, I do not know what's happening to my icy cold heart of steel!!
The course was beautiful - we ran down around the Credit Valley area, UTM campus, Mississauga Road - the posh neighbourhood with the million dollar homes and down along the lakeshore. Despite the rain and gloom, the trees were so green and pretty and the waves crashing hard along the lakeshore were quite cool.
For the first bit of the race, I was following the 4:15 marathon pace bunny. I ended up losing them somewhere around the 8 km marker. I think they stopped for water at one of the aid stations and I lost them in the crowd. Then I started to follow this one lady who was dressed in a black and white polka dot tank top and a white running skirt. Wearing white during a rainstorm - how scandalous!! The black and white polka dot tank top looked like Lulu's Power Y tank top, but I've never seen a polka dotted tank at Lulu (and let me tell you, I've been online stalking them for years). Ever the creepy stalker, I kept on (unsuccessfully) trying to catch up with her to confirm its authenticity. (Ah, the strange little games one likes to play to keep the mind occupied for 21 kms.) But I ended up losing her when she turned off to continue on the marathon course. Around this time, I started to run with the two sets of 2:15 half-marathon pace bunnies (dammit!). I passed one of the 2:15 pace bunnies, then the other one passed me, then the one from behind passed me, then I passed the other one...it was all very confusing. I ended up finishing around 2:15 without any pace bunnies...I don't know where they disappeared to, as I started to space out a bit around 20 km. My time was still off from my personal best, I think I could (and should) have done better, since I was killing all of my old times at the 5 km and 10 km markers - however, I did SO much better than my personal worst at the Chilly half, so I'll take it as a victory!!
Where do we go from here?
After my race was finished and my celebratory sushi lunch was digested, I started to suffer from a bit of post-race depression. For the last 6 months, I've had half-marathons on my mind and I've had plans/schedules which were centred around my goal races. I had rolled my ankle back in March just before the Chilly half and since then I've been getting random flare-ups of pain - so I didn't want to train for another half-marathon this year and thought that I should probably back off a bit from the distances. For the first time in months, I found myself without a challenge to work towards. So, I sulked around for a week and quietly pondered what I should do next. I didn't have to wonder for too long - since I can always count on the Running Room to welcome me back into their world of dry-fit technical running clothes and 8AM weekend training practices. Starting on Monday, I'm excited to announce that I'll be coaching the Learn to Run clinic! I'm a little nervous, but mostly looking forward to this new experience. I've had a lot of support over the years from my previous coaches and fellow runners - I'm excited to be able to pass along the things that I've learned to my new group of runners and introduce them to the exciting world of running :)
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