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.