Before I jump ahead and recap the marathon itself I realized I had one more week of training left to tell. Sorry to keep you all waiting with anticipation, I know it’s all so exciting!

Week 15, my very last training week. Ever! I had exactly 7 days till race day. That is all! And oh goodness how much did I just want the whole thing to be over. So much so, that the emotions from week 14 were pretty much permanent at this point. I couldn’t think of anything else, really, other then the stupid race and what was going to happen to me once it was over. Would I actually survive to tell that tail? Would I die out on the course? Would Erin have to save me and drag me home? Or would it be amazing and I would run so fast?! My vote was on running super fast. That’s what I wanted to do after all.

It was then that a different mentality struck me. It was my last Thursday run with Julie and the Running Room where the shift happened. Clearly it wasn’t during the run or even during the pep talk beforehand – why someone was talking to us about goal setting and where our mental state and minds should be prior to race day was beyond me, it totally stressed me the hell out! I was not ready for this. And during the 8k run I left terrible. I was worrying and freaking out in my head, but when Julie and I quickly decided that food and drinks were happening, I instantly felt better.

We were so close to the store when Alice caught up to us and had me some advice for me for the few days I had left. Drinking beer and eating burgers was not her advice. But honestly it was burgers and beers with Julie that settled my nerves. Sorry, Alice, I know this was not the healthy meal you had in mind, but it was the meal that I needed.

Alice gave me strict orders to start eating healthy that night, to not run again until Saturday, and to only run a slow 3k as a shake out run – I did none of these things. As bad as I’ve been with training I knew what I needed to do before my race, and the coaches said to stick with what you know. Thursday night pints after running is what Julie and I knew best. I probably shouldn’t recommend this as a training meal, but really all that I could have possibly have done to prepare for the marathon was over. I just had to survive the next few days, drive to Picton, wake up early Sunday morning, eat, then run. Easy… here’s hoping.

Before Erin and I set off on our voyage to Prince Edward County I tried to stick to the tapering schedule for race week. After running the long 32k (when I really shouldn’t have given how close it was to race day, but did anyway) I took Monday off as I usually do, Tuesday I went to yoga at Kula as a break from the heat. According to Alice yoga in the heat is not considered tapering. So I listened this time. Wednesday was a bit of a yoga overload as I taught two classes and ended up taking two classes. Oops! Good thing Tuesday’s class was a non-heated class.

Then the ups and downs of Thursday rolled around. Julie gave me the boost of confidence I needed to get me going and I actually felt ready. Or more carefree rather. I knew I was going to finish this marathon. I knew (despite my “bad” training decisions) I was ready then as I’ll ever be. What more could this race want from me?! When Friday came I ran a quick and easy 5k shake out run and got rid of all the worries Thursday’s actual run brought on. It’s scary to go running only days before your race and I couldn’t help but worry about everything. Every step, every twitch, every ache, my brain was playing some serious tricks on me! Friday was a day to clear all that out. I have a thing were I can’t run or do anything the day before a race so I was not going to run on Saturday. All I could hope for now was my months of training will finally pay off.

Warning here’s the spoiler: they did!

A week ago, I ran a sub 2:00 half-marathon. Hurrah! But I lost my Garmin charger and had a busy week, so the recap has been delayed…until now! I still don’t have a Garmin charger, so I can’t share my splits, but the basic understanding of my race pace is this: FAST, SLOW, DONE.

The weather on October 20 was perfect for running, sunny and cool. I knew a million people running this race and got to see a lot of them in the corral before we started: Nic, JW and Allegra. My mom was in town to see her friend run and she managed to find me before the start, which, in a race of 25,000 runners, is a bit of a miracle. Perhaps it was a sign. I was nervous because in the week before the race, I convinced myself that sub 2:00 was an impossibility for me. I hadn’t trained as long and as hard and my body hadn’t enjoyed my training as much in the past. Damn you, knees.

I found Allegra and we had the same goal, so hung out together, trying not to freeze, until the gun went off.

I lost Allegra immediately. Not intentionally, there were just too many people. And then I was on my own.

 

Kilometres 1-5: Oh my god, I am running so fast.

This race was packed. I ran STWM once before, in 2011, but I have never run a race this big. Ever. The course was CROWDED, and I spent my first two kilometres dodging people and trying to get into a rhythm. According to my race plan, I was supposed to stick to 5:30 kms. Hahahaha, that didn’t happen. I was running just under 5:00 per kilometre, which was way too fast. But I felt good and was still dodging people as we rounded the corner to Bloor, so I decided to run this fast for as long as I could and put some time in the bank. I tend to positive split all my races, regardless of my race plan, so I thought having an extra few minutes in the bank would do me some good.

My race plan also involved me taking a 1 minute walk break every 5k. At 5k, I took a gel (WHY do I keep trying gels? My stomach hates them. Rookie mistake.) and walked for a minute and checked my pace. I had about 4 minutes in the bank. Let’s pick this up and try to ignore the stomach grumbles.

Kilometres 6-10: Ugh, this isn’t sustainable.

As we ran down Bathurst and onto Lakeshore, I knew I couldn’t keep this pace much longer. I was supposed to take my next walk break at 10k, but took it at 9k for a moment to re-set and make a new plan for my race. I decided to try 20 and 1s, but skip the break if I felt okay. I like this stretch of the course because you get to watch all the elites running back east. They are fast and it’s both miserable and inspiring to see them and to hear other runners yell for them as they go by. I looked for my coach, Andie, and my friend, David, but missed them in the giant crowd.

I passed the 10k mark in 52:29, my all-time fastest 10k. I knew I could achieve my goal if I didn’t give up. Breaking 2:00 took over everything. My water bottle got empty? Chucked it. My gloves too annoying to hold? Chucked them too. Just get to the finish line as fast as you can.

Kilometres 11-15: I’ve got time in the bank, let’s slow down.

After seeing my 10k split I knew I could ease up. I took my 20 and 1 walking breaks with no guilt, but I spent this entire stretch focused on my watch and not losing too much time. It got hot, so when I took off my long sleeved shirt (which was a gorgeous Around the Bay shirt that I love), I tossed it aside. Nothing would get in my way! Nothing! I didn’t take a gel at 10k because I didn’t want to deal with more stomach issues, but around 14k I was fading fast. So I took one. Same problem. Luckily, it never became more than mild discomfort. I also changed my walking plan to walk through the water stations and nowhere else.

This part of the course is boring, boring, boring. You’re coming back the same way to came along Lakeshore. You can kinda see the lake if you look for it, but when you’re focused on running, trying to find beauty isn’t a priority. In my case, it didn’t matter. I just wanted this race done.

Kilometres 16-19: Okay, it’s time to dig deep.

I took another gel around the 17k mark. Allegra also caught up to me around here. I tried to run with her a bit, but I was spent. She was going just a bit too fast and I had no gas in the tank left. At the next water station, I let her go ahead and started to panic about my time again. I kept focus on my watch and tried to keep my pace as close to 5:30 as I could. What’s interesting about this — and demonstrates my evolution as a runner — is that 5:30 felt like lead. A year ago, I couldn’t run 5:30 for 5k without feel like dying. I still felt like dying at this point, but for a different reason. I took another walking break around the 19k mark and another runner yelled at me “you’re almost there! don’t walk now!” I wanted to punch that guy. And while he wasn’t wrong, I wasn’t sure that if I picked it up now, I’d break 2:00. I wanted this break to assess and prepare for the final kilometre, in case I needed to sprint at all.

Kilometres 20-end: Is it over yet?

This is all a blur. I remember turning up Bay Street and having no energy to sprint. I wanted to rip down all the signs that said “400m to go!” “300m to go!” Whoever decided that idea was a good one is the worst. I passed the “100m to go!” sign with 1:55 on my watch and I knew I had it in the bag. I picked it up a bit (or it felt like it. I probably didn’t.), crossed the finish line and wanted to puke. (I didn’t.) I walked through the finishing corral, got my medal and my bagel and tried to not to fall down.

Post-race:

I found my mom easily after the race. She was on the bleachers (highly recommend bleacher viewing, race spectators. You see everything.) and we watched Lanni Marchant break the 28-year-old Canadian women’s marathon record. I then found Matt, who bought me the most delicious latte I’ve ever had in my life. We went back to the bleachers and watched marathoners come in. I missed my pal David (who broke his ambitious time goal of a sub 3:00 marathon) but saw Ed Whitlock. The spirit at the finish line was so joyous and loud. It was inspiring to see a city come together to celebrate running and personal achievement this way.

In general, I’d say this race was my least fun race to date. I didn’t enjoy any of the actual running, except watching other runners. I felt miserable and exhausted the entire time. I threw away a high quality water bottle, gloves, and running shirt for the sake of my goal. I didn’t acknowledge spectators or high five any kids. It was the opposite of the County Marathon race with Jill in every way. In fact, I felt exactly like David did (read his marathon recap here). But David, my running guru, promised me it gets easier every time. My next sub 2:00 half-marathon might even be fun. And then I read this second post and realized he’s right. (David is always right, at least when it comes to running.)

So. 1:56:49. I did it. I guess sub 1:55 is the logical next goal. We’ll see. It will probably hurt. And I’ll be okay with that.

 

I did it. It hurt. A lot. But I did it.

Full recap will come soon. But right now, I need to sleep.

 

 

 

I’ll try not to spoil too many things about the County Marathon, as Jill will write her own recap — it was her first full marathon!. But I was there and ran my own race and that is deserving of a recap on it’s own, is it not?

We left Toronto on Saturday afternoon, around 3:30. I had a meeting, hence the late departure. We planned to say at the Edwardian House B&B, a place I found online, because of it’s proximity to the finish line/marathon HQ and it’s reasonable price.
This place was a-freaking-mazing. It was literally a 2 minute walk from the race HQ. AND they gave us double breakfast on race day — one before the race and one after! They woke up at 5:45 and fed us exactly what we wanted: toast and peanute butter and banana. They were delightful, supportive people and I highly recommend staying there should you ever go to Picton.

Jill’s race was early, early so I got up and went with her to the bus. I then hung around race HQ (which was a converted heritage barn) until my bus was called. We headed to the half-marathon start and I waited some more. The route is point-to-point, with the half-marathon starting halfway along the marathon route two hours after the full start. I liked this a lot, as we got to cheer on the faster marathoners and the course seemed more full for the marathoners in the second half — after running a lonely second half of my own marathon, I could see the boost this could give runners.

Jill was aiming for a 4:00-ish marathon, so we thought the timing would work out great and we could run together! And it did! She hadn’t come through by the time the official half started, but I decided to wait for her. It was a training run, after all, and running with ill was more important than getting a “proper” race start.  Jill came by about 6 minutes later and looked great. I jumped in right away, adding an extra .36 to my distance. I let her dictate the pace and the walking breaks (we did 10 and 1s). It was misty when we started, but eventually it poured. POURED, I say. The rain started around 5k and didn’t let up until 15 or 16k. Then it was an off and on drizzle until the end of the race.

As for my running, I felt good the first 10k. It felt brisk, but not race pace. I didn’t even mind the rain all that much. 10-15k was tougher, but I think that had more to do with being soaked to the bone than anything else. My own aches and pains started in around 25k. I started to feel it in my hip and calf. This was only my second long run in my Mizunos, so it will be interesting to see if they help at all in the long run.

At 17k there was a hill, and Jill pulled ahead of me here. Just a bit. She stayed about 20 seconds ahead of me as we went down the hill and turned into town. Jill is a rock star. I was impressed with how many people came out to cheer, despite the rain. The last bit of the race is the only part through town, the rest passes a provincial park and farm land. It’s very pretty.

In the end, the race was strong, a good warm-up for my goal race on October 20th. I ran 21.46 in 2:09:05. My official HM time was 2:14:14, thanks to my delayed start.

As for STWM, if I can get my hip under control. I think sub 2:00 is doable. I had so much fun running with Jill and having a romantic weekend in Picton after. I highly recommend it as a little destination race. Super organized, small but not too small, pretty scenery, and lots of support. The B&B was so interested in our race and watched it from their window. It’s inspiring to see a town get behind their events!

What a week, what a week. It’s a miracle I got any fitness in at all.

Sunday: Did 17.4k in 1:52:51. I ran the first 6k solo and met up with Kate and Kendal to do the rest. I felt strong and this run was relatively speedy for a longer run.

Monday: Kitchen yoga.

Tuesday: I ran home from work, a 10k tempo run. I hit so many red lights it felt like an interval training and not a longer run. Oh well. I chose to run home from work because I had a meeting at 7pm. I was running late and ran super fast to make up for it, resulting in my fastest 10k ever: 54:23. Only, thanks to all the red lights, I don’t think it really counts.

Wednesday: Kitchen yoga.

Thursday: I had not one but two work events to go to in the evening, so I got up early to do my speedworkout. I had to do a 10 minute warm-up, 8×400 sprints and a 10 minute cooldown. I ran to Riverdale Park track (warm-up) and alternated between running 1 loop and walking a half-loop. I think this made my sprints less than 400m (I think the track is like 360m) and my breaks a bit longer than a minute, but it got done. Then I ran home and felt like a smug jerk for the rest of the day.

Friday: Nothing. I probably should have done yoga, but after the late night, sleep was my #1 priority.

Saturday: Kitchen yoga. I’m supposed to do a 45 minute “easy” run, but it was pouring when I woke up. And Jill and I are heading to Picton this afternoon for the County Marathon tomorrow. This is only the second run I’ve missed since starting training, so I’m not going to worry about it too much.

On a related note, I’ve decided I’m sick of looking at my phone every time I need to know the time of day. So I’ve picked out a fancy schmancy watch (which will also solve my ‘I never wear jewelry’ problem) and I will buy it for myself if I run Scotiabank under 2:00. Bribery. It works every time.

At least I hope it does.