Awoke at 5:30 am. Walked and fed Bud. Got dressed (everything organized last night) and out the door by 6:20 am. Warm-up run to the shuttle bus located at the Marriott Hotel (Yonge and College). After last year's "disaster" arriving late 20 minutes for the half marathon, I strategically chose another bus location (since many of the out-of-towners were staying close to the expo and would take the University and Richmond shuttle bus location). Even though the race organizers assured me there would be more buses, I didn't want a repeat. They gave me a $15 discount for last year's mishap.
Was pleased to see 4 shuttle buses lined up! I boarded the first bus and within a few minutes, it departed. It went up Yonge Street until Bloor. Then headed on east to Mount Pleasant heading north to Lawrence. Then north on Yonge Street to the start. (Not sure why the bus just didn't head up north on Yonge for the entire journey). Arrived at about 6:50 am and had lots of time to spare. Fortunately, warmth was found in the Civic Centre mall. Got in another 10 minute warm-up run and then some stretching.
Overall, it was quite chilly and I did wonder if I had under-dressed (sure contrasts wearing a winter coat 2 years ago!). Kept the jacket on until I deposited my bag at the Bekins truck. Nothing came out of my mouth (I have a cold) when I asked the lady to write my bib number on the bag as well. I wore my Mississauga marathon tech shirt from 2 runs ago and my new track pants I bought at the expo for $30.00. I thought about wearing my running short tights but opted not to considering my current cold.
Start Line:
Wow, talk about a "mess" :- Okay, I admit arriving 5 minutes before 8:00 am and it was very difficult to make it to the start line, with the spectators standing on the sidelines. I did my best to join the masses in the middle of the pack. There really should be corrals with anticipated finishing times to help situate the runners and walkers. I think I did a good job situating myself.
The Race:
Having walked the half marathon race the past 2 years, I knew the route well. Running it was different due to the hills (I counted 4 of them -- hope I'm right). I ran Hoggs Hollow successfully but knew I had done some "damage" that could affect me later in the race. After Hoggs Hollow, there were 3 "minor" hills to climb -- aargh! The downhill was fine after the uphill. I enjoyed the Rosedale Valley and the fall colours. Although the race is advertised as "downhill, scenic...fast!", the uphills made this a challenging race.
I always enjoy the scenery going down Yonge Street. The route began on Beecroft Road, south on Yonge Street (past Sheppard; Wilson; Lawrence; Eglinton; St. Clair) and then turning east on Aylmer Avenue downhill along the Rosedale Valley. Once we reached Bayview Avenue, we continued running south to King Street, passed through the St. Lawrence Market (passing by Jarvis; Church; Yonge; Bay) and then north on University Avenue until reaching north of College Street to the finish line victory lap.
The hills took a toll on me. One spectator had a sign that read "Hills build character" at the Hoggs Hollow. Of the 3 half marathons I've run this year, this one was definitely the most challenging. I prefer the flat route of the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront and the downhill (and no uphill) Mississauga. During the final 8 K, I "struggled" -- I think I went too fast at the beginning, but this was a bit challenging considering the first half of the route isn't flat. By the time the route flattened, I just kept pushing ahead as best I could. I used 10:1 but took a few 30 second breaks as needed as well as breaks at the fluid stations. When I saw the huge and silver finishing medals, that gave me some strength to push to the finish line.
The kilometre markers were confusing...Was shocked with the first marker since my Garmin read 1.25 K. I got confused with the other kilometre markers since I saw double of each of them; i.e., there were two 5 K markers. I eventually figured out the first marker was for the half marathon and the second marker for the second marker. After the first kilometre marker, my Garmin was about 0.07 K off so I knew which marker to follow.
The fluid stations...The fluid stations were not strategically placed. The first station was quite a distance from the start line (maybe 4 or 5 K). I recall 2 fluid stations about 100 m apart and remember saying to myself what a waste to have the second station. One station only had water -- although they were using Gatorade cups and I took the cup expecting Gatorade. The volunteers worked hard, even though at some stations they were in "panic" mode trying to keep up with the demand. Lastly, the Gatorade was too watery. What I did like was the same flavour throughout.
I will remember this day for the excellent weather and beautiful fall colours. The spectators cheering along University Avenue were super and that helped convince my legs to keep going as they had enough. I used my mental toughness to "force" my legs to give it their all and found some "reserved" energy for a strong finish. I threw out my water bottle with 1 K to go as I didn't need any more fluids. The police did a great job directing traffic.
Post-Race:
It took 2 volunteers to remove my time chip -- guess I did too good of a job tightening it ;-) Was thrilled a volunteer put the finisher's medal around my neck (rather than just handing it to me). Found a box with space blankets and quietly put it on to keep warm -- didn't want to make my current cold any worse. Lots of food available (e.g., Gatorade; bagels; bananas; granola bars; chocolate milk). The one item I wanted but couldn't find was the "speciality" chips -- never tried them and they are quite expensive at the supermarket. Also got a Goodlife cap and a handbag (while looking for the chips). The bag check is a gold mine for thieves; it was not supervised and some bags were luggage. Went to the Hart House for a shower and then headed home.
Bud was pleased to see me and I took him on a walk to University and Elm Street to see the marathoners make their trek for the final kilometre. We got there at about 1:00 pm so these were fast marathoners, with finishing times around 4 hours. I brought along an eatable bone to keep him occupied while I clapped. Many were struggling to make it to the finish line, some even walked. A few runners were accompanied by the Psych Team on bikes. Not surprising with the struggling runners since it was a tough route, with the hills in the first half (the second half of the full marathon is along the Martin Goodman Trail, which is flat).
Finish Statistics:
Chip Time = 2:04:56.3 [PB]
Gun Time = 2:06:24.2
Gender: 259/338
Category: 1576/2149
The finisher's medal continues to be outstanding. I think it's great that there are finisher's medals for the full marathon, half marathon, and 5 K. I found the engraving booth and paid $5 to have my medal engraved.
I'll await the finisher's photos as well as the printable certificate of completion. The certificate is great since it does an analysis (e.g., stats for place in entire field, gender, and division for number of finishers behind and % of finishers ahead); bird's eye view of the finish line; split times; speed; and a map of where I was when the overall winner finished. Very detailed and cool!
Overall, I found this is a tough course due to the hills (Hoggs Hollow; the 3 other uphills). I enjoyed the downhills (e.g., Rosedale Valley) but prefer a flat course.
What's Next?
Next Sunday I'm registered for the Ajax half marathon. I know I should not be doing this as I need 2 weeks to recover. I will use it as an LSD run (just have to remind myself in a race). I'll aim for a time around 2:30. Only 300 racers so I'll be a small race.
Have signed up for the Resolution Run (late December); Chilly Half Marathon (in March); Around the Bay 30K; and the Mississauga Marathon (Mother's Day).
What I need to do is recover from today's marathon and then winter running, building up to the half marathon for early March and 30 K for April. That'll be challenging... and I'll need to focus on nutrition (e.g., preventing the "hit the wall" scenario) as well as how to run in the winter -- last winter, I never ran in the snow.
What I need to do is recover from today's marathon and then winter running, building up to the half marathon for early March and 30 K for April. That'll be challenging... and I'll need to focus on nutrition (e.g., preventing the "hit the wall" scenario) as well as how to run in the winter -- last winter, I never ran in the snow.
One more thing...after today's hilly run, I'm not sure I want to run a full marathon at this race. I'm leaning towards the flat Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront for a second marathon in 2009. I walked it last year and loved the flat route, entertainment, fluid stations every 2 K (although the second half of the race isn't scenic). I really want a marathon finisher's medal from the Toronto Marathon but think the Scotiabank's flat course is more suitable (but the medal isn't very good).
