My First Ever Half Marathon!

Friday morning I got up early before work and did a quick 3km on the hamster wheel. I knew I would have had time to run after work because I had to go down to the runners expo at the CNE to pick up my race kit.  The expo was okay, it was mainly like any "show" at a convention space but it was a good one stop shop for picking up the nutrition I needed for race day along with a new running shirt.  I also picked up a great tip from one of the ladies working at the booth I made my purchases.  We were discussing layering and she suggested bringing a garbage bag just in case of rain.  She was very helpful so I made sure I bought my gear from her booth.

The actual area for the race kits was very organized and I didn't have to wait in line to get my bag.  They directed me over to guys activating the timing chip and that was it, the rest of the time I wandered around looking at different things. I ended up seeing John Stanton at the Running Room booth. 

   

People gathering in the corrals



Saturday I did some running around but tried to just relax and stay off my feet when I was at home.  My entertainment for the evening was doing laundry to wash my favorite running socks and pants and watching the hockey game.  I called it a night and went to bed around 10:30 but probably didn't really fall asleep until at least midnight. 

  



The alarm went off a 6:00 am followed by my back-up alarm about a minute later.  I hit snooze and got up maybe 10-15 minutes.  I got myself ready and made an egg and bacon sandwich for the drive into the city.  We stopped for a coffee and the way and I saw a women wearing "running" clothes and figured she was racing too.  We were on the highway and moving eastbound through oakville and mississauga in no time.   I started to feel nervous with a few butterflies about the time we got to the gardner. 



Fauja Singh (100 yr old Marathon Runner)



We got into the city just after 7am and found parking pretty quickly and close to the starting line. We made our over to University and there was already a ton of people getting ready and moving into the starting corrals.   We wandered around a bit and I got myself ready, before I knew it we were queue up and getting ready to start.  We saw Fauja Singh (the Centurion running the marathon), he started in the same corral as me so we snapped a few pictures of him,what an inspiration!  

They played Oh Canada and pretty much after that the firstround of runners were out of the gate and on their way. I started from the purple corral, which had me in the last group going out about 10 minutes after the start.  Tony gave me one last hug and kiss and told me how proud he was and then I was on my own to walk my way to the starting line. I got my play list queued as I was walking around University and then I was off.   As I was maybe 200 meters out of the gate I heard a guy yell "just a little bit further" and chuckled to myself.  The crowd at the starting line was awesome, there were so many people waving signs and cheering us on. 



Adjusting my garbage bag



The first few kilometers felt somewhat surreal for me.   I was used to running solo on my long runs and this was very, very different.   I felt more comfortable on the side of the road and tried to keep an eye on my heart-rate as much as possible. It was a little high at the start but I figured that was normal for race day.  I was probably in about 2-3km when I got warm enough to toss the extra t-shirt I had worn for an extra layer.

Running felt different during the race, at the beginning it felt like it didn't require as much effort, maybe I was just feeling the buzz and

getting energy from my fellow racers.  I made my way down around through the city streets passing both the old Castek offices and remember some of the good times I had at both places.  I continued down lakeshore passing the main arteries of the city and started to make the climb up the one hill on the lakeshore I think it's around Spadina, I was about an hour in at this point I think when I started seeing the guys running to qualify for London 2012. It was amazing to see them coming back past me already.  Us slower runners were cheering them on as they passed, you could totally see the effort they were putting in and I think it probably made all of us perk up a bit and push that little bit harder.



Just a few 100 meters off the start line

They had the distance markers along the way and kept thinking the 10km point would have been the turnaround point at Windermere but I was wrong. I kept seeing the markers on the second half but the distance was adding up in my head and I was having a hard time because of it.  I should know better by now to stop trying to do the math in my head when I'm running because usually I am totally wrong.  I just want to get to the turn around point and start my way back.  It wasn't until I starting seeing the sea of runners making their way eastbound did I realize how many people were running.  It was incredible to see everyone.  I noticed only 1 person wearing the "glove"like shoes although I'm sure there were more and I actually saw a guy running totally barefoot, gross for a few reasons! 



I never turned around to see who was behind me on the west bound leg. Part of me was scared to see if I was last and part of my didn't care how many people were back there.  I finally got to Windermere and made the turn to start coming back to Bay Street and I got an idea of who was closer to the back of the pack.  I admit that I was happy to see a few people back there still coming down the west bound lanes but it was that long until I saw Fauja Singh and his group. I thought I better get moving, I can't get passed by the 100 year old! 



a sea of runners



I ended up making a pit-stop around 2:15 hours into the race I think I was around 13kms in.  I didn't want to stop but the first half I kept thinking I should stop but the lines were so long so I waited until I couldn't wait anymore.  My initial goal was to finish in under three hours, 2:59:59 would have been AMAZING but after I stopped I realized with the distance I had left, there was no way I was going to be able to come in under three hours and I was okay with it.  I still pushed and and tried to keep my heart rate as high as I could without maxing out. During this time the 5km racers starting flying past me andI was pretty happy when I saw the 18 and 19km markers and so relieved when I so the 20km marker.  When I saw the 20km flag I starting running faster, I checked my heart rate and it was in the high 170's but I didn't want to stop or slow down, at that point I just wanted to get to the finish line.

I made the turn at Bay and Lakeshore and saw the "500m to go" sign and thought to myself, okay that's just a bit more than a lap around the track.  I passed through the tunnel at Union and starting making the climb up the hill to Front Street. For the record, a climb to the finish line at the very end of the race is a little cruel...anyway, I saw the 200m to go sign and keep pushing.  It was such a strange feeling seeing all the people waiting at the finish line, the sides of the street were packed!   At the very end they had two lanes with the finish time clocks and I ended up going in under the 5km clock. I was a little worried and thought my timing would have been messed up but there wasn't anything I could do.  I crossed the finish line and heard the beep of the time chip and was so relived. 

Approaching the last 100m marker

The time to complete my first ever half-marathon was 3:10:29 and I was pretty happy with it in the end  I checked my 20km training run and I spend 3:26 that day so considering I went a little further and I finished 16 minutes faster.  For nutrition I started off with a pack of the jelly beans, 3-4 gels, a few cups of water and gatorade from the stations and a pack and half of the fruit chews.  After crossing the finish line I inhaled a bagel and half a banana while I waiting in line for my massage (best money I could have spent) and had another G2 on the way home.

I tried looking for Tony but I had no idea where he was in the crowd or if he was even able to find a place to watch at the finish line but it was nice to know that he was there with me supporting me the whole way.  He supported me from the very begining when I was so upset after my first RR night. He never gave up believing that I could do it.  He joined me when he could for training runs always encouraged me to dig a little deeper and run a little faster, I couldn't have done this without him! I love you babe!

All in all, am amazing experience and I can't wait for the 10km race on Nov 5 and what ever races I end up registering for after that.  I am already thinking about sighing up for the Mississauga Marathon but probably another half. I figure I have to get down to between 2-3 hours before I go for a full 42km and I learned a few lessons for my next long race:

1) Don't stop for a pit stop (if I HAVE to stop, it better be an emergency!)

2) Don't use the water stations - bring the liquid and nutrition I plan on using

turkey day 10km

I was planning to go for a run yesterday before the family fun day that included back-to-back turkey dinners but I ended up watching most of the Penguins/Flames game instead.  So that mean going today, which actually worked out great!  I just got back from a fantastic run. 

I headed out and did much of the same route I used for my 20km last Monday following a lot of the hydro field bike path.   It  was about 26 degrees when I left the house, it seemed to already be cooling down from earlier in the day and really the weather couldn't have been better.  It was a bit strange though seeing all the beautiful fall colours with such mild weather.

I learned a very important lesson today, DO NOT touch runtastic while the blackberry is still in the arm band!  I lost my record from today's run before I even to got to see my stats but I had glanced down and saw my speed was in the 8km/h range!

It felt great when I was finishing up my last 2-3kms, I had the whole track to myself and was thinking about next Sunday and I could feel myself smiling.  Before I went for a run I was watching some older ironman video's online and it was great inspiration.  If you ever need motivation to exercise just watch some of those clips.

In my post from my Friday night run, I had forgotten to mention something I wanted to share.  I was just about over half-way done, going north on guelph line approaching the lights at the plaza where the bike path crosses and I just been passed by an older man on a bike.  He was probably in his mid-late 40's (I get to say older...I'm "only" 31! ;o) ) When I caught up to him while he was waiting at the lights and he had smiled and given me a thumbs up.  I smiled back and felt great.  It's amazing the encouragement that is shared between people who are complete strangers.  I felt great after that and probably had picked up the pace a little.  It was a reminder to me to give that same motivation and encouragement to the people I pass whenever I'm out there.  It's sometimes that little push we need to go that little bit further and push ourselves to go a little bit harder.  So to the man waiting at the lights, Thanks! :)

looking back

On my way home today I was going over my game plan for this evening and was thinking about squeezing in a run, just a little one.  My mind started to wander as it usually does and I starting thinking about my first night at the Running Room clinic.  It was16 weeks ago already, where has the time gone?  I was thinking about how terrible my first group run was, seriously it was bad, I'm not exaggerating...read it if you don't believe me.   Re-reading that post just now takes me back to the feelings of despair and fear I had then, those are certainly all gone now because I ran 20km on Sunday!  Back then I didn't think I was going to make it to this point and considered giving up but I didn't.  Instead, every week I laced up my shoes and strapped on my gear and headed out there and just ran.

My run on Wednesday was the fastest I had ever run, with my average speed at 7.1kph until tonight.   I ran my fastest 3km ever with my average speed at 7.3kph and my pace at 8:12 a min/km.   This was my third run since my long run on Monday and I feel like I have been elevated or that I catapulted to a new level with my running. 

I was looking at my plan earlier this week, Tuesday I think and realized I had been following the 2:00 to complete schedule instead of the actual "to complete" schedule. I couldn't believe it! It is about an hour and half difference between to two when it comes to finishing time...but now, I'm actually really glad that it was a harder plan all along.

The training runs don't get any longer

Monday was a vacation day, but it was anything but a holiday.  I took the day off work to run the 20km that were on my training schedule, you know you're a running when you take time off work to go for a run.  

I started off down my street and connected to the lower part of the bike path.  It was gorgeous.  The weather was cooperating, the rain was holding off and I felt warmer than I had expected.  I had three layers on and that ended up being too warm.  As I made my way down the path the air was cool and the smell of fall leaves followed me.  I love the autumn, it has to be my favorite season.  I use to think spring was but running this fall has given me a better appreciation for it.

I ran my way along the path and connected to the service road by Costco which lead me to Brant Street.  I was thankful I had my new runners on because when I turned onto Brant I lost the path and was now on the sidewalk.  My legs and hips take a beating when I hit the hard concrete.

Unfortunately, I didn't do the full running schedule last week before the long run and I think that hurt me more than I thought it would.  I did a lot of walking, but it's just not the same.  I only got two short runs in and that was NOT enough.  I starting feeling it probably before I was half way, coming back across the bike path I hurting but I carried on and made my way over to the track to wrap up the last 4km.

Runtastic has been my running app all summer and the last long run, it died on me and I lost my run data, so Monday I was keeping any eye on it and checking it to make sure it was still tracking.  I was just finishing up the laps around the track, I think I had 2 left and I went to double check and sure enough...I lost my data!  I was so disappointed, but at least I had my HRM data.

I finished the 20k in 3h 26m and burned about 1950 calories.  I have never burned so many calories during exercise before...I probably have never burned that many at once ever!   It felt really good, as much as it hurt, it felt great to go the distance.

Edited to add...

I wanted to mention the nutrition I used during the run as I learned a lesson the hard way last time.  I started off having a pack of jelly belly beans (with electrolytes) to get me going.  I packed two packs of the fruit chews and two gels.  I also took one regular Gatorade and a bottle of water.  I finished everything and felt pretty good after, and the best part no nausea after!  I also decided to switch back to the G2 gatorade as it has WAY less sugar and calories.

I was looking at all the calories I have burned (through runtastic) and it was something like 38,000 so I could have lost at least 10 lbs with all the running I have done, but instead I think I have gained that much!  So enough is enough...back to calorie counting on MFD.

the longest of the long runs so far

For the past two weeks I had 18km on the docket for the Sunday long run, and boy were they long.  Both days I headed down the lake path to make life easy and not have to think too much about the route, I really just had to focus on running.

I realized today that there is no replacement for gels, as gross as they are they work.  I felt sick again after the run, that was even after 3 regular Gatorade's, a larabar and a bunch of fruit to go.  I think I will stick with the fruit to go but I have to get my gels for these long runs. That also means I will probably have another water instead which is probably a good thing.  All in all though a great run today, except when I was nearly complete I checked runtastic and it had crashed somewhere around 1hr 40m in. Oh well, at least I knew what I had to do to get all my km in for today.

I was reading up a bit on the Scotia run coming up and am really starting to get excited about my first official race.  I didn't realize that the half marathon runners get a finishers medal too!

This week I was feeling pretty tired so I kept the running to a minimum, Wednesday I did about 30 minutes on the treadmill, what a strange feeling it was to be running on it after running outside for so long now.  Yesterday I went about 4.5 km later in the evening just to help loosen my legs up for today.  Today was a tough run and I was definitely feeling it on the way back winding down my last 6km but I kept pushing running harder on the last 3-4 km. 

I am calling it a night, it's not even 10 but I know tomorrow I am gonna feel tired and slow so I hope a couple extra hours help me out.

A great day for 12K

I went to MEC yesterday to get some gels and chews as the training runs are getting longer and longer and so are the "long" runs so I thought it was time to start testing some on-the-go nutrition to refuel.   I also picked up a long sleeve running shirt after feeling the chill in the air last week.   I was mulling over what fuel sources I would test out first.  I was a little reluctant to start with a gel as I have never had anything like it and really didn't know what to expect.  I don't look some foods based on texture, like kiwis, raw tomatoes and oranges so I was a little nervous to try these things.

After breakfast and some puttering around the house I figured it was time to stop stalling and ripped open a pack of the jelly belly beans.  Yup, Jelly Belly makes "healthy" jelly beans lol. They actually tasted pretty good, they were just bigger than the usual gourmet beans they sell. I had about 30 minutes to get ready and head out. I grabbed a package of organic energy chews, a gel, a bottle of Gatorade and a bottle of water to wash down the gel and made my way out the door.

healthiest jelly beans I've ever had!

12km was the goal today, a nice short run compared to the last two weeks.  I headed south down my street to the bike path and tore into the chews.  Hmm, not bad I thought, they reminded my of the fruit chews my husband buys, except these ones are "healthy" not just candy :)  I ate three or so every ten minutes on my walking break and washed them down with the Gatorade.    I finished off the package as I made my way to the north path off Walkers line.
This was the first time I was running and taking additional nutrition during the workout and I really think it made a difference. I think that knowing I only had to go 12km made a difference mentally as well.  I was running faster today though, faster than I have been for a long time.  My heart rate was staying around 167-171 when I was running.  For the past few weeks I was struggling to keep my heart rate at 160.

The time was ticking by and I had gone about an hour when I got the courage to tear open the gel.  It was bizarre, the taste was unexpected and it was thicker than I was expecting.  I consumed it in three attempts not really sure what to make of it.  I also made sure to wash it down with water as it felt like it coated my mouth.

I kept running and was surprised at how much easier it felt today even with the faster pace.  I came off the path and headed over to the track to wrap up my last 3 km before heading home.   The rubber layer was a welcome relief for my legs and I enjoyed the track time today.  I had only two more laps to go when I was starting to get tired but I kept pushing and ran all the way back tot he house.

I ran more than 30secs faster per kilometer today and if that was because of the chews and gels then you better believe I will be using them again! I ended up finishing my 12km in under two hours and that felt great!

another long run in the bank

It was another 16 km on the schedule for yesterday.  I got myself ready and headed out the door and within the first 30 seconds the rain started to come down. I turned around and went back to the house.  The thought of not doing the run wasn't on my mind, I went back from my rain coat.  What made me stick it out was reading about some of my friend's friends training for their Ironman and having to run in the winter during snow storms.  There was NO WAY I was going to let a few drops of rain stop me from going for my run!

It was really hot and muggy but I threw the coat on and went back out there.  I wore the coat for about 1 km and the rain pretty much stopped and it was way to hot out to be wearing it anyway.  I had my route mapped out but when it came time to turn around I didn't want to so I just kept going.  The path took me to Brant Street where I lost the path.  I didn't enjoy running for over a kilometer on the sidewalk and I really felt over all that took a lot out of me. 

Overall it was a tough run yesterday being challenging physically.  I didn't think about too much so mentally I felt okay.   Sometimes when I'm out I go over things again and again in my mind and I know that sometimes I can work things out that way but it wasn't that yesterday.  I was really feeling it when I was coming back down the bike path from Walkers and met up with my concrete sidewalk.  I made my way over to the school to finish up the distance.  It was about 8 laps around the track to wrap up the run and I decided that I could either think about it hurting or just push through and get the run done.  So that's what I did and after making that decision it didn't hurt as badly.  Funny how the mind works.

Anyway, yesterday chalked up my second 16 km my longest distance ever! Bring on the 12 km next week!