I ran the Scotia Bank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon (#STWM) on Sunday as did many Torotonian runners, it is such a great event every year. This year was especially great as it was the 25th year it was run… amazing!! All the Toronto run crews were out in FULL FORCE!
Taper week…
Taper week went pretty well (I hate taper week). My legs get achey and it’s a constant battle in my head to convince my self to take the time off. I worked Saturday before the race but had someone pick up my race bib so I didn’t have to go to the expo. When I got home I relaxed and tried not to get nervous for race day. Then it was to bed early for an okay sleep. I always find it hard to sleep the night before a big race (I may put a bit of pressure on myself).
On to race day…
Up at 4:50am, ate and relaxed until it was go time. I struggled with what to wear because it was so COLD! I do not love racing in the cold I find my muscles tense up and then I run faster because I am cold and that kills me in the end. In the end I was okay with what I chose. Mid thigh spandex, dri fit t-shirt, arm warmers and throw away gloves.
Race plan was to go out in 3:40s and see what happens. This is what happened…
Start of the race…
Going uphill on University Ave was not too bad, I think I was around 3:40ish first km. but then we got to Bloor and Bathurst and this is where I was too fast. Running a couple km’s near 3:30. Hit 5k ahead of pace. I think between 5-10k things were a little harder it was lonely and there were not many people near me….and it was windy/cold. Boo!
I hit 10k in 36:51 which was within 10s of the pace I wanted. I consumed a gel around 11k. I got passed by another half marathon woman around 13k, she was nice and cheered me on. But then she dropped me. I got passed by another half marathon girl not exactly sure where. At 15k I was still only 37s off the pace I wanted.
So needless to say the last 6km were TOUGH! I passed Megan Brown and a old team mate between 16 and 17k they encouraged me but I didn’t have much more to give.
I was able to stay relatively optimistic despite the fact that I was hurting. This was good as I have struggled with this in the past.
I kept going giving everything I had and it was hard. I knew Kate (my teammate) would be coming up soon. The last km was the hardest thing to just keep moving; I was literally telling each foot to go one in front of the other. Kate passed me after 20k. She was wonderful and took the time to cheer for me and it helped me huge! I saw 1:19 when the the clock came into focus so I knew I needed to giv’r’ if I was going to beat 1:20 so I gave everything I had and luckily I made it! Phew!!!
I won’t lie I was pretty disappointed immediately after the race. Not so much with the time. It is still a 3min pb, so I really cannot complain. I am more disappointed in the way I ran it.
After giving my coach the play by play she said there are two ways to race:
1. Go out hard and hang on, see what happens…
2. Go out on pace to hit your goal
My personal philosophy on racing has always been to leave it all out on the course. I have always struggled with going out hard and struggling in the end. But at the end of my race I KNOW that I gave everything.
THANK YOU to everyone that was out on the course cheering you made a world of difference. THANK YOU to the race organizers and volunteers you are all truly amazing!
I would also like to CONGRATULATE all the runners of #STWM. It was raining personal bests and everyone really gave it their all!
I hope everyone enjoys some down time!
Toronto Running Chiro 