The original plan had been "The Nova Scotia Marathon" in Barrington, but recovery from the bike accident was slower than anticipated, and that marathon came and went without me. I did manage to get some running in before officially starting a training plan on 20-July. The not-so-secret goal was a very aggressive time of three hours (3h00m). Achievable? Not easily, no. Second goal, still tough but much more realistic, was 3:10:xx to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. I trained hard, and I got faster and stronger. I recall early Tempo runs where 1600m at 4:08 pace felt like I was going to die, whereas my final Tempo run saw me doing 4km at 4:08 and chomping at the bit for more! I'm very happy with the progress I've shown in my running, but look forward to a little break and reacquainting myself with my bikes, if my shoulder approves. But I digress.
I slept well on Saturday night, and CotR, RA, and I were off to Wolfville. Picked up mikemilloy at his hotel, and prepped for the race. CotR even registered for the 5k at the last minute, this being her only race of the year, and one of the few runs she's managed to get in. Lots of tape on her ankle for support! I was very pleased to see her lacing up for a race again. But I digress again...
The worst thing that happened pre-race was that I'd forgotten to pack the right socks. Or any socks at all, actually. So I raced in my worn-out Running Mania socks, adding a little extra Body Glide to my feet. I only ever run in De Feet Air-E-Ator socks, as I have found them to be the best for avoiding blisters and for long-term comfort. Bathroom stops done before the race, got in a short warm-up run, and off to the start line. There were a lot of racers this weekend! It was also pretty darn cold, about 5 degrees. I was wearing gloves, which I threw to CotR as I passed by. I wished for a little while that I had kept them, as my fingers were frozen. But overall, I'm glad I ditched them.
The course was busy, but the scenery was beautiful. The weather was chilly, but I warmed up before too long and the sun was shining. I started walking water stations, though. The first: I got far more water on myself than in my mouth. The second: got Gatorade instead of water, and it ended up in my eye! Glad I had my Buff(tm) so I could wipe it out of my eye and keep running. Right, let's walk a few water stations. Then there was the one where the volunteer dropped it as he was handing it to me. I salvaged some of it. Bad day for water stations. Oh well.
There was a steady flow of runners coming from the half-marathon turn-around point, and it got pretty quite past that point. That's also where a few more hills started to come into play. Approaching the marathon turn-around point, I began counting runners coming the other way. I determined that I was in 16th place! SWEET! With the course mostly downhill from here, I planned to start gaining some ground and opening up a little bit. Then I turned a corner and hit the wind. I don't mean a light refreshing breeze. I mean a strong headwind and crosswind, depending on which way the road wound through the countryside. I'd have taken far more advantage of it on the out portion if I had realized it was that strong. I hit the halfway point at 1:33:xx so was on target for the 3:10xx, but this headwind was wreaking havoc on my plans. I did begin passing people, though.
Around 30km, my calves and quads started to ache a little. S'okay, just 12k to go, I can do this. By 33km, the ache had transformed into full-blown pain! But every time I looked at the Garmin, I did some quick math that said, "It'll be close, but it's possible!" So I sucked it up and kept pushing! I managed to get my pace below 4:30 again, but it didn't last. The final hill took a little out of me, and then I saw RA at the Irving. "It's going to be close, Ang, it's going to be close!" Pain was not going away. Had I looked at the time and seen that I would be guaranteed to miss the goal, I'd have slowed down. But it still looked close, so I still kept pushing. By 41km, I knew I was going to miss 3:10. I knew I was not running a sub-4 kilometer at that point. But who gives up in the final kilometer? Hammer it home as best as I could.
Coming to the pathway leading to the track where we finished, I called out, "Is there anyone behind me?" A passerby says no, no one he can see. Thank goodness for that! The volunteer calls out, "You're still going to speed up though, right?" Bless him! I called back, "I'm trying!" I see Q taking photos. He yelled something at me, but I have no idea what. I called to him, "I may need you to catch me at the finish line!" I was hurting, and bad. I entered the track, and apparently lonerunner and Caro said words to the effect of, "It looks like he's doing a death march." It felt like it, but I was still "running". I tried to
pick it up... I tried, and my legs just wouldn't answer. I can only imagine the fight between my body and my desire, but as I passed over the pre-finish mat that gives announcer Mark Stein the runner info, desire finally won out and I burst forth, legs screaming and arms pumping. My momentum carried me WELL past the finishers area, and some poor volunteer handing out medals followed me a long way to try to give me my reward. Making things more difficult for her, I couldn't even walk or stand straight. Note to self: finishing sprint was a stupid idea!
I finally got my medal, and then much to my delight, a strong arm wraps around me to support me. Bless you, Q. Like an angel, CotR swoops in on the other side and the two help me keep moving without falling down. CotR pushed a water bottle into my hand, and off we went. I managed hold of my recovery drink at some point, and got some fluids back into my system. I was a mess! With CotR's help, I got up some stairs and got an orange wedge, a bagel, and some much needed movement, then to the massage tables. When she was done, I needed help getting off the table, my quads just hurt too much. Note to self: I need to bike more and work those quads!
I braved the stairs down to the track, again with much help from CotR. We saw a local adventure racer and ultra-runner who said CotR was the best looking crutch he'd seen all day! She really is amazing, not just in her physical support post-race, but in the months of training leading up to the race, and in everything we do. (Okay, no more sappy stuff, sorry.) Chatted with a few other friends, and finally made my way to the car. Off to CotR's friends house for a shower (bless her!) and some more water.
Overall, it was an awesome day. I got to see a ton of my running friends, my close circle all had excellent races! Congrats again to lonerunner, Caro, and mikemilloy for beating their time goals, to RA for running a great 5k, and to CotR for posting a good time; great, when you consider the lack of training that preceded the race!
Official results
- Overall placement: 9/120
- Age group: 4/21
- Gun time: 3:12:18
- Chip time: 3:12:16
- Pace: 4:35 min/km
Splits:
5k - 21:21.58
10k - 22:26.47
15k - 22:27.01
20k - 22:22.77
25k - 22:33.43
30k - 22:41.25
35k - 23:56.71
40k - 23:41.9
42.2k - 10:44.88
So I didn't qualify for Boston. People started suggesting looking for races in Florida, of doing Las Vegas, etc. Screw that. When I can walk normally again (I'm starting to feel better already), I want to get out on the bikes, including my poor neglected Tri bike if the weather holds. I'll try for Boston again sometime, but it isn't a priority for me. Really, the running was something to occupy me and help me keep my sanity while unable to bike. But I will BQ, one day. But I'm not in a hurry to do it.
Boy o boy! What a speedy one you are!
What a great race. Congratulations! You deserve it! 
