My PB from last year was 2:56. I was pretty sure I could PB, but I wanted to test out my projected marathon pace for Ottawa (going for 4-ish hrs), so that meant a 5:40 pace and coming in around 2:50. My training volume has been a bit lighter this year compared to last year, but I've been doing all my runs at a faster pace and have had some really good speed and tempo workouts in the last few months.
Zack was originally supposed to spend the weekend with my parents, but that fell through, so he ended up coming with us. He proved to be a great distraction - instead of worrying about the race, I was chasing a toddler around a hotel and worrying about him. Since Joe was working during the race, we arranged to have one of the other photographer's daughters watch him for the first hour or so, and then Carm was to collect him after her 5k race. It was the hand off of Zack from the unknown babysitter to Carm that had me worried - I knew that once she had him, they'd have loads of fun. Turns out that went just fine, and Unkie Andy met up with them and provided Zack with Timbits and a wrestling partner.
I had a great dinner at La Cantina (my favourite Hamilton restaurant!) on Sat night with HCcD, Carm, Jes, AndyM, Beth and Andy's relay partner, and then it was an early bedtime. I put Zack down at about 8, then intended to watch tv for a bit, but the bed was so comfy and the room was dark, so I was asleep by 8:30. I slept until 7am straight!! I don't remember the last time I'd done that!! Beth and I were gate crashers at Tim Hortons just after 7am, and we had a relaxed morning until leaving the hotel around 8:30. I used my handy media pass to get Zack to the finish line, then met up with the others in section 122. The RM crowd seemed pretty small this year, but it turns out I just missed seeing most maniacs.
Andy and I headed to our coral just after 9. I had qualified to be in the C coral, but there was a mix up and they gave me a bib for the open coral. I was a bit ticked, but what are you gonna do? So, I started out in open, but once we crossed the start mats, everyone around me was going the pace I wanted
I was pretty sure I was over dressed, but when the wind picked up after about 10k, it was perfect!The rough plan for the race was to start out around 5:50 and to pick it up after a 5-8k warmup. But the first km felt good and I was going with the crowd, so I stuck with it. I had a cramp in my diaphragm that had also plagued me earlier in the week, but I figured it would either go away in time, or I'd DNF. It eventually went away about 30 min later. Nothing exciting happened for a few km, until approaching the 9k mark I heard ... a train whistle! In past years, I'd been slower, so I'd never been affected by the train. I figured it'd be a via train and that it would be long gone before I got to the crossing. Ha! I was one of the first people to stop as the gates went down, and I was amazed at the number of people who kept going. I'm not about to play chicken with a train! If I had of known it would take 5 min for the train to go through, I would have worked harder to get there before the gates came down. Next year!
After the train went through, we were off like a shot. Ok, maybe not quite that fast
Km 1-10: 56:29 (gun time for this segment: 1:04)
5:40
5:43
5:42
5:40
5:41
5:39
5:41
5:40
5:37
5:26
Nothing interesting happened from Km 11-20, except that I had it in my mind that the hills started at about km 21 so was a bit surprised to see them at 18k. How could I not have this memorized?
Oh, and Andy, I've FINALLY figured out what part of the ATB course overlaps with Hamilton! Finally!
Km 11-20: 56:05
5:26
5:40
5:39
5:39
5:39
5:41
5:33
5:40
5:33
5:32
Like last year, I felt really strong in the hills. Andy and I run hilly routes on our tempo runs, so I know that I can push a bit there. And it's fun to pass people who are walking them
Km 21-30: 56:14
5:24
5:52
5:30
5:49
5:39
5:24
5:49
5:47
5:21
5:39
The last 3k after the hill feels like the home stretch. I was working hard but the pace wasn't getting any faster. I wasn't carrying water with me, and I walked through a few water stations in this section. The water stations were gong shows this year - I won't do this race without my own water again. I passed a massive butterfly about 3k from the end. It was rather windy at this point and I felt rather bad for the poor guy. Must try to find a picture of his costume - it was huge! I also passed a hot dog at some point, although I don't remember where. But he finished just behind me
Final chip time: 2:53 (3 min PB)
Unofficial, train-adjusted, watch-based time: 2:48:50 (8 min PB)
158/419 for F30-39
984/3330 for women
In the end, not being in the correct coral cost me a potential 5 min off my time (I'm saying a potential 5 min b/c I likely benefited a bit from the break). I was a bit pissed about it on Sun, but there are so many more important things in life to worry about. So, although my official PB is 2:53, I'll be trying to break the 2:48 mark next time
