Took Bud on a walk and wow it was humid (and sunny). Left house at 4:30 PM and drove to the race site. Arrived at 4:50 PM and parked in the plaza that neighbours the park. Got in 2K slow run to warm-up. Then made it to the start line. Lined up with the 3H corral. Overcast but quite humid throughout the race. Race started on time, at 5:30 PM, with the 15K starting at 6:45 PM (which is good so there is dark at the finish line!).
There are no pace bunnies in this race but pace fairies. Quite a few people dressed with wings and tutus. I always like this race since it's different and doesn't have the intensity of Canada Running Series races with elite athletes.
Goal was to keep under 6:00/km. Walk breaks happened at each of the fluid stations. There was no consistency between which came first - Gatorade or water. At one station, I had to walk back to get Gatorade as the volunteers did not state which they had. The other stations were more organized. Fluid stations were spaced 3K from each other - would prefer 2K but oh well...
Could not download race route from web site since it is PDF file. But here's the description from the web site:
"Runners will proceed south on Cherry Street to Cherry Beach, east along the Martin Goodman Trail and u-turn at the Unwin Bridge and return to Cherry Street north to Commissioners. Also, in Tommy Thompson Park 30K runners will follow the 15K route and cross the foot bridge before rounding the lighthouse. The boardwalk and beaches park have been eliminated from the route although participant's will still run through Ashbridge's Bay park.)"
There was an error as we headed east on Unwin Bridge and then west on the Martin Goodman Trail at Cherry Beach. The K markers were all off. Not sure how this happened. There were a few runners who raced in the correct order. Not a big deal since the distance was still run, just in the wrong sequence.
My Garmin registered a total of 29.43 K. In almost all races, my Garmin would go over the race distance since the organizers measure the route using the tangent. The issue was in Ashbridges Bay and we were directed to make a turn prematurely. The 25 K and 26 K happened very quickly.
I was able to maintain my goal of 6:00/K for almost all the route. I had to take several quite walk breaks as the 3K distance from fluid stations made it difficult to keep running in the humidity. Also, whenever there was a steep hill, I power walked it.
The race gives my confidence with running the full marathon on October 16th (Toronto Waterfront Marathon). It has been tough to run with the humid and hot summer. I know the full marathon is not going to be easy as the 30K this evening was not easy, especially after 21K.
After reaching the finish line, I walked for about 10 minutes to cool down. Always nice to have the finisher's medal put around my neck. Picked up 2 of the water bottles. Ate a bagel and banana. Then walked some more. Was sad to see #1382 in the medical area with IV solution. The EMS was looking after him.
Overall = 361 (out of 828)
Gun Time = 2:55:12.4 (5:50/km)
Chip Time = 2:54:44.6 (but distance was short)
Gender Place = 231/399
Age Category = 84/123
21.1K Split = 2:00:22
Final 8.9K Split = 54:51
The finisher's medal is the same as last year. Oh well, if it keeps registration cost down. Paid $49 as an early bird -- but price has gone up from last year -- so it probably won't be $49 next year -- that's an excellent price as 5K races can be $50 these days.
And to continue tradition, here's Bud posing with the finisher's medal (he is happy to accommodate as long as he gets a walk before the photo shot!):
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