Race report: Scotiabank Half

I finished at 2:23:10.7, five minutes slower than last year and pretty much within my "whisper number" expectations that I had kept entirely to myself. I look at this timing and I think I could've done much better than this -- trained consistently, slept more last night, ate better, and all that other stuff that could've been done to vastly improve. More on that in a minute.

Waking up was a bit of a struggle. I must have fought with the snooze button at least three times. But then I had to eat so there'd be time to digest so I rolled out of bed sleepily to fix a bowl of Cheerios and half a toasted bagel with peanut butter. I have never liked eating so early in the morning. Then I packed my things and drove downtown, sipping purple Gatorade along the way. The weather couldn't have been better. I went sleeveless, capris, blue running cap, and barely needed my throwaway t-shirt (though that may have had more to do with getting to the start line -- after using The Office as my personal bag check -- about 5 minutes before the gun went off).

The race today wasn't all roses -- there were a few parts that I struggled through (mental blocks and a few times when I thought I felt twinges in knees or ankles) but mostly it was fairly comfortable. For a while, alone with my thoughts of post-race bacon and other fine foods, I wished I had brought my iPod with me to distract me. But I was content to just sing to myself, as well as enjoy the course-side entertainment and the snippets of conversation between running partners I'd hear around me.

I lost my friends Frankie and Grasshopper within the first 2K. They had their own races to run after all, and they both made their own personal statements. Frankie, who has run even less than me, came in at 1:51:15, well under his target of 2 hours. And Grasshopper, in his first road race ever and also battling a cold, had a respectable 2:11:35.

I miscaluated the last stretch. At the 15K mark, I was emboldened by my time (1:42 or so) and thought I had a chance to beat my time last year. I visualized my 5K out-and-back route to my sister's place. Only I actually had 6K to do, not 5. So I was a bit crestfallen when I passed the 16K marker and someone behind me said, '5K to go' to her partner. Had to revisualize. Then there was no 20K marker and I was a little confused but at least I knew I was close and I knew the road well. As I do with every race, the last 800 meters I find something in me to dig a little deeper and try to pick off the runners on the way to the finish line which is always a nice boost.

So started this post by saying "I could've done much better than this" but consider this from another perspective. Without doing all the (extra) training and related activities, I was only about five minutes slower. I also ran the whole distance without breaks, except to walk through the water/Gatorade stations. I ran the second half much faster than the first. My 10K split was 1:14:50, while my 12.2K split was 1:30:47 (and just for comparison and context sake -- while I hit the 12.2K mark, a little more than halfway, Yumke had less than a minute to go to cross the finish line and PB!).

Over breakfast, there were discussions about signing up for a marathon. Frankie and Yumke would like to return to Chicago. I don't know. I don't know how many marathons I have left in me (I want to do at least one for charity and if I do, I'd like for it to be somewhere in the world where I've never been, and possibly/preferably overseas).

I'll have to sleep on it. Good thing I'm already in my pjs.

i'm a pumpkin

Dammit. All I can say is that I'm mad at a certain bank for sponsoring two freaking good events that I care about. I've had far too much fun at tonight's Nuit Blanche art thing -- staying out two hours past what I had intended -- which means I've probably made it even harder on myself for this morning's half-marathon. Not only have I been walking for the past four hours, I'm now going to get a healthy four hours of sleep! Why am I blogging and not going to bed? Because I needed to confess this before sleep. And create excuses. Sounds about right. Good luck and good night.

As ready as I can be

I haven't run since that weird bout of sickness earlier in the week but for the first time in a long while that not-running thing hasn't bothered me in that guilty way that I'm so prone to feeling. It's the day before my half-marathon race. I'm ready as I can be. I'm in no way as prepared as last year but it's about having fun tomorrow. I have two friends to run with this year, though I think that while we'll start together and run the first few miles together, I'll probably end up running most of it solo -- they have a goal of a 1:59:59 finish, which I think is achievable for both -- damn natural runners! It means running 9:10/mile or 5:42/km. I haven't been able to run that kind of pace ever. My best may be 10 min mile and that was really hoofing it and in no way was it sustainable over a long distance. If I can match what I did last year -- 2:18:40 -- on the unfocused training I've done, I'll be pretty happy with that. But if I don't, I already know why and I'm okay with that too.

Intestinal Interruption

Was it the pace? Too little sleep for a too-long workday (actually it was still eight hours, it just felt way longer than that)? The sweet and sour chicken for lunch? Too much water during a break where we said a quick hello to my father at work?

I don't have the answer. All I know is that about 3/4 of the way through a perfectly comfortable early evening 14K run with Grasshopper that I suddenly needed to stop because my stomach was not cooperating. Sharp intestinal pains just crept up on me. I had to sit on a random lawn and think about how to get out of this predicament.
Thank you to the deli across the street that let me hang out in their bathroom -- without having to purchase anything -- and collect myself. I will be back to buy a lot of something sometime this week for your generosity. Meantime, Grasshopper was entertained by the shopkeeper with stories and food samples.
Anyways, departed the store and walked about half a block and the pain came back. I had to sit and we had to devise a plan. Flag a cab? Take a bus? Hospital? I'm glad I wasn't alone today. A cab came to the rescue and took me home. I felt better being in my own environment, and then I felt bad, which of course is a silly thing to think because people do get sick, for not finishing the run and "ruining" it for my running partner. And of course he wouldn't let me feel badly about it.
I'm feeling better now. I'm half contemplating a sick day. We'll see what happens when I wake up. But I'm done running for the week. Next time I run is race day on Sunday.

Related

My sister and I are definitely related, though she's a little bit more dramatic (lol). She had a mini-freakout about the ZooRun, which is 19 days away. She called in a panic yesterday, very upset about her running. (Or lack of the entire summer as she says).
Sounds familiar.
Too familiar.
To make a long story short and slightly less embarrassing on her part, I met up with her for a run today during my not-so-long effort. I ran 3K to her place and my breathing was labored the whole time. Then my sister joined me for the out-of-the-way route back to my house. She was strong. We ran 20 minutes without stopping, and she even refused a walking break. She was a little less enthusiastic during the last 13 minutes when the route was unshaded and the high noon sun was beating down. But she did it and it helped allay her fears just a bit. She's got a bit more than two weeks to get it together, but today's run was definitely a good start. Fear of failure will certainly get her out the door now. (I mean, that's what keeps me going most days).

forward, backward

I ran 4.6K around my neighborhood on Thursday, just as the sun was setting, and felt good as I began but that feeling deteriorated by the end. I ran the same route this morning but in reverse and my feelings were backwards too -- that is, it took a lot to begin -- it took me four hours to convince myself to put my shoes on -- but I was fine by the end, and could've kept going. Tomorrow, I plan on a long run but I haven't determined how far yet, whether more than last week's 15K or less. I guess I'll wing it like I have been this entire "training" for the half (next week!).

Little hill sprints

Hammies were a little bit sore post-Sunday 15K so I didn't run yesterday, but felt okay to go today. My sister, who recently picked up a Runner's World mag for inspiration on her way back from a weekend trip in New York and read an article about hill running, wanted to run some hills tonight. The ZooRun in a month features a few hilly parts. We warmed up with a jog around her neighborhood (around 1.5 miles maybe) and then did 5x10-second sprints up a hill. Actually, more like a gentle slope. Gotta start somewhere.

Back, stronger than ever

Funny, taking nearly the past two weeks off for film festival fun/work hasn't affected me. I didn't know if I could handle 15K today but it turned out to be... comfortable. I don't want to say easy, because it took some concentration. I met up with Frankie this morning, and truth be told it's a good thing both of us had agreed to this because neither of us would've run the way we ran together. That is, we made it through the entire distance with five small walking breaks over the 1:41 we were out. I don't know who was more surprised by that -- me or him, because the last time it was just the two of us, I nearly died. It was pre-Chicago and we did 7mi -- way more than I could handle, and mostly because I ran at Frankie's pace, not mine -- through my least favorite part of the waterfront, otherwise known as The Spit (one of the Toronto marathon routes goes through this, which is a key reason I won't run this one. Ever.)
Today was different. I am a stronger runner (comparatively to a year-and-a-half ago) and Frankie is less focused on training. Not to say he hasn't been training, but that the intensity has been reduced. Which means it was a comfortable run.
We had planned our route to coincide with Yumke, who was doing 17 miles. We tried to guess at which point we'd see him.. on our way out to Humber Bridge? On the way back? Before the country club? The pool? All these landmarks we passed and not once did Yumke cross our paths. Turns out he slept through our run. He deserves a bit of sleeping in.

I feel a bit more at ease after today's run. I'm not sure I could've run another 6K today without difficulty, but I'm definitely less worried about the half-mary in two weeks.

Run, Fat Boy, Run

So. Tired. I just finished Day 7 of the festival... day 8 starts in about 5 hours when I need to be at work. My movie count has risen to 17 now, and it's nearly a 50/50 split between work and pleasure.
Included in the count is a little film called Run, Fat Boy Run (click for trailer), former "Friends" star David Schwimmer's directorial debut about a loser who signs up for a charity marathon in an attempt to win back the girl who's since moved on. It's a cute romantic comedy, and I felt I could identify with some parts of the movie, ie the running bits. Some of the sequences are a bit over-the-top but poetic license is perfectly allowable -- and welcome. Just watch out for the blister on the foot scene.

I'm still at 0 miles run.

The score so far (Day 4 at the festival)

10 movies seen
7 I actually liked
1 party
2 megastars
0 miles run

Right on track....

Night running

I haven't gone running at night in a long while, for the simple reason that I prefer sunshine. But without a long(ish) run in more than a week, despite having ample opportunity all L-O-N-G weekend, I just had to make myself go out tonight for a little while. My sister and I were going to go together -- I'd pick her up along my planned 10K -- but our timing didn't quite mesh. By the time I was prepared to go, the sun had already set and it even looked like it was going to rain. I dressed in a bright yellow shirt to be highly visible and wore no iPod. Safety first! I didn't premap a route and intended to wing it all the way depending on mood/leg conditions. Got through 5 miles exactly in one hour. I thought I was running faster than that. But it's done.

Vanity run

Long overdue, yet spontaneous, I got my hair cut yesterday. Then diffused (which means my hair became all wavy-like). Which means I brought out the vanity card yesterday and didn't run so as to not ruin my new hair. (This has got to be a new one in my books.)
One day's enough though. I went out for a 5K loop around my house before company was coming over for dinner. The waviness seems to have held... It was cool enough that I didn't sweat a whole lot. Or maybe it means I didn't work that hard.