Well done!! I can totally relate to this:

and my body did not feel tired or like it had to slow down other than the pain which was horrid and growing every time I pushed the pace

I did notice that today was the first time I was able to go downstairs without consciously thinking about my quads. I'm still finding activity (brisk walking, multiple sets of stairs... haven't tried running yet) weirdly taxing, though - it's like when you're getting over being sick and you feel 100...

I've run the TO Women's Half the last two years and been very impressed with how they run things. Will be interesting to see how it translates to the much larger scale.

I have totally done the "running shoe selfie", I admit.

I don't *totally* rule out perhaps doing another one in the future, but definitely not in the short term. Maybe in a few years I'll feel ready for a rematch, we'll see. One thing I learned from the whole process of training and running the marathon is how much I love the half!

I signed up on Christmas Day 2013 for yesterday's marathon, and it became the focus of my year, even before the 'official' training plan started. I was pretty sure I was punching above my weight in attempting a marathon after only two years of (relatively) low-mileage running, but I told myself that...

Fantastic result! The conditions were so nice yesterday, I found myself wishing I was doing the half so I could have run faster (not as fast as you, though!)

Survived my first marathon! Detailed report to follow, but my IT band - on the left side, which has never troubled me before - suddenly decided it wanted to pack up and go home at around the 26-27k mark. I had been doing 10 and 1's, but had to shorten the run segments as my knee would start to seize...

Goodness, and I thought I'd be the first one to start the thread! Had my traditional race day Lucky Charms, now off to get dressed and do this thing.

Getting all my gear ready and trying to avoid the last-minute jitters. Black-and-white shirt, skull headband & matching arm sleeves. Now just sorting out the 'keep warm in the start corral' throwaway stuff. I took a 5-hour pace band at the expo - not sure if breaking that mark will be realistic ...

6k today, just before the downpour. My first run in about a week, since I was fighting off a cold and trying not to let myself get *really* sick with STWM next weekend.

I've got no issues with 8:45! I appreciate not having to wake up at 4am to get there, and also being able to start in daylight.

rambo999 wrote:Start time this year is 8:30. Isn't this kind of late?

It's actually 8:45 now.

I see the initial list of bib numbers and corral assignments is up. Who's in?

Marathon:

ratherawkward (#4531, purple corral)

Half:


5k:

Complete the marathon on October 20 in one piece, before they close the course, and hopefully with a smile on my face. That's it.

This will be my first full, and I share the worry about the Bayview thing being demoralizing near the end. Going up to Danforth or something would be much more interesting, but then I guess that would take away some of their "flat and fast" thing, so with all the construction I do understa...

33k this morning, and I am now officially in taper mode.

7.5k before sunrise, then did the Terry Fox Walk with my son's grade 1 class.

Generally if I'm running longer than 10-12km, I'll have a small (dessert-bowl-sized) bowl of a low-fibre cereal with milk - I kind of use it as an excuse to eat Lucky Charms, but for me it works well as a pre-run top-up.

22k today after a week of rest and a massage; used the foam roller liberally afterwards. Feeling reasonably good!

Definitely no 'ball', and nothing feels weird to the touch. It's not really what I'd call painful, and I don't notice it when running, but it's just tender enough after runs to let me know that I'd better back off, if that makes sense. So I'm hoping that if I keep things very conservative, I'll be o...

Beautiful crisp morning, perfect for a run, but it's a rest day for me after a really sucky 4.5k yesterday morning. Five weeks out from the marathon and my right ankle (and, consequently, also the knee and hip on that side) is complaining, so I'm taking the "just get me to the start line in one...

I'm running STWM on October 20, my first full, and the last week or so my right ankle/Achilles area has been 'off'... I wouldn't say it's an injury, but at the point where I know I need to back off and take some rest or else it'll turn into one. No running this weekend for me. Now, that just leaves ...

Managed to haul myself out of bed at 5:10 to get 12k in before work. The early-morning views of downtown from the viaduct and Riverdale Park were stunning. And starting tomorrow, DS (grade 1) is joining the school cross-country team, so now I'll have to get up even earlier if I want to get my run in...

Got it done - 12 muggy kilometers. Next on today's agenda: spend a couple of hours moving landscaping bricks from the front yard to the back yard.