Bib Pick-Up - Friday March 27
Left work immediately and got on the road at about 3:40 pm. Arrived in Hamilton at 5:45 pm. The traffic was fine until reaching Oakville which was stop-and-go. Picked up my bib and time-chip slightly after 6:00 pm. Got a "glance" of the expo - I did purchase 4 car stickers from www.onemoremile.net (got 2 of the 26.2). It cost $9.00 total (buy 3 get 1 free):
The trek back home was much better as it only took me 50 minutes without having to stop. I imagine there were quite a few people such as myself who had to make the trek to Hamilton just to pick-up the bib and then go back home - waste of time and waste of gas.
Race Day - Sunday, March 29, 2009
Awoke to rain (as forecasted). This is my first race in rain. I opted to wear my Toronto Maple Leafs cap for protection from the rain. I also wore my Running Room jacket and my Mississauga Marathon tech shirt. I wore my "The Grip" shorts since the weather was +6C (and I didn't want to have my pants potentially soaking wet).
I arrived in Hamilton with about 40 minutes until the start of the race at 9:30 am. Unfortunately, finding a parking spot was very challenging. I recall seeing free parking in municipal lots a couple of days ago. I was appauled to find out being charged $10.00 to park across the street from the Copps Collesium. I went to another lot and they charged $20.00. I drove around and couldn't find anything. Eventually, I found a lot that cost $5.00; fortunately, the ticket machine was out of order so another person told me not to worry about it and park free - which I did. I put a note in the dash board of the issue. I quickly put on my bib and time chip (which is a commemorative version that you get to keep after the race). I should have tied it to my shoe at home:
With 8 minutes to spare, I slowly ran for 0.92 K to the start line. I was a bit worried I would be late - fortunately, I wasn't! By the time I arrived at the start line, the gun had already gone. It was raining slightly at this time. Here's a photo I retrieved from the Hamilton Spectator newspaper:
Here is the route:
The first 10 K was through the streets of Hamilton. I didn't find it scenic. Beginning at 11 K, Lake Ontario was visible -- wind cause lots of waves. We ran over a bridge and I had to becareful not to fall. The first 18 K was rather flat. Then there were rolling hills (with rather steep uphill and then downhill). That went on for about 4 of 5 K. Then the well known steep hill climb on Valley Inn Road (I did run half of it and walked for breaks). Afterwards, it was a downhill incline to the finish line. The downward incline into Copps Collesium was quite steep with a sharp turn - good thing I didn't fall. While running to the finish line, I heard my name on the announcement. It really is cool that the jumbotrone views you outside approaching the collesium and at the finish line.
I'm thrilled to note that I had a strong race. The part with the uphills from 18 K to 23 K were tough. Of course the super uphill climb was very tough but it's good hill training (my original plan was to walk the entire infamous hill but I ended up walking whenver I needed a break).
Water stations were about every 3 K (not the 5 K as advertised) so I eventually disposed of my water bottle. I took 2 cups of Gatorade at each fluid station. I used the fluid stations as my walk breaks. Although my Garmin was set for 10:1, when I had a walk break, I would use about 45 seconds of it (with the rest made up at the fluid station).
Excellent spectator turnout, volunteers at the fluid stations, police officers, and medical tents. The room to race was plentiful, unlike some of the other races. I knew the big hill was coming with hearing the Queen's song from afar. I gave the guy a "high five". Near the top of the hill was a man dressed up as Super Man so I gave him a "high five" too. I kept on the lookout for the Grim Reeper and gave him a "high five" as well. He said, "You are dead". The banner to the ATB race was hung on one of the major streets and Hamilton seems proud to host this race. Only disappointment was the post-food which was water, Gatorade, an orange, and 2 pitas.
Gun Time = 3:19:29.2
Chip Time = 3:14:24.2 (the first 3 digits of Pi)
Gun Pace = 6:39
Finished #3571 out of 4916 runners
Age Category #304 out of 374
Gender Category #2121 out of 2617
Splits:
- @10 K = 1:12:31
- @15 K = 1:45:33
- @20 K = 2:16:05
Rest day until Wednesday for a slow recovery run (so I don't forget how to run ;-) ). Want to get the LSD to the marathon distance of 42.2 K to give me confidence of being able to run that distance. Mississauga should be great as there won't be steep hills :-)
YTD = 470.47 K
