race report - 2015 waterloo marathon

meat loaf was right - two out of three ain't bad.

i'd stated my goals for this race earlier this week, and made good on (1) finishing top 3 for my age group and (2) running a negative split.

well, at least i think that i ran a negative split.

pre-race
at my daughter's request (so that she could have friends at the house for an overnight without worrying about her dad going to bed at 6pm) i'd booked a hotel room in kitchener (the city adjacent to waterloo), and so headed down the day before to get into the marathon mood.

i had half a mind to try to snag my race kit on saturday, but there was only a four-hour window that they would be available and i missed it.  having arrived into town about 30 min. too late, i decided to drive the course route to familiarize myself with what was reported to me as being a very hilly course.  as it turned out, there were a number of formidable hills to take note of, and specifically two that appeared within the last 6km or so of the course.  it was the first time that i'd driven a marathon route in advance, and in my mind it was well worth it - if for no other reason than to check out the beautiful heritage covered bridge.

Driving the Waterloo marathon course and sure enough here it is ...

A photo posted by patrick voo (@pbfvoo) on Apr 25, 2015 at 12:42pm PDT

the rest of the evening was spent at the motel resting up and finishing the carb load process.  that morning i'd performed the 'western australia carb load' requisite workout (1 mi. w/u, 150s @ 1 mi. pace, 30s flat-out, 1 mi. c/d) and so was taking in approximately 12g of carbs for every kg of lean body mass for the remainder of the day.

as i watched a little bit of UFC 186 prelims on the tele, i laid out my race kit to be sure that i'd be worry-free in the morning.  one of the things that i'd not done before for an 'away' race was to bring two pairs of racing flats - and this time i was glad that i did.  given that i was so positive going into the competition i didn't want anything to mess with my headspace - and the one last variable was a niggling doubt about wearing the Skechers GOMeb Speed 3 as my shoe of choice.  i'd done some key race pace workouts in them but wasn't entirely sold on them feeling as solid as the GOMeb Speed 2 - and given that that was the other pair that i'd toted along, i made an almost-gametime decision to wear the Speed 2 for the race.

the remainder evening would have gone off swimmingly except for the fact that the guests in the room adjacent to my bedroom wall decided that this would be a great night to party (loudly), rearrange furniture at random and intermittently get into verbal sparring all the way until 2am.

if they were there for the marathon too then they had some secret to sleep that i certainly knew nothing about.

race day
you know how one of the standard rules of smart running is 'never try anything new on race day'?

i didn't listen well in school, either.

i started off the morning with something i'd not practiced in any previous races - an early morning shakeout run.  when my 4:30am alarm went off (not that i needed it - i'd been tossing and turning since the neighbours finally passed out or something) i threw on some sweats and headed out for about a 10 min. shuffle down the street, ending up outside the nearby tim horton's waiting for the staff to open for the morning.  i really wanted a toasted bagel for breakfast.

bechtel park in waterloo was the next stop, where the race would begin and end.  the park houses an indoor soccer facility where the on-site registration and kit pick-up took place - and showing up about 80 min. before start time meant that (a) i was bibbed and chipped with 75 min. to go and (b) there were no line-ups at all to use a port-a-potty.

there were a few other 'never-done-befores' that were part of this race:

• the day before i'd performed the western australia carbo-load workout - different from my previous pre-marathon day workout of 5 km of easy running
• i donned my new skechers performance division racing kit for the first time
  
  
• i wore the tiux compression socks (review upcoming) that i'd received in the mail just two days prior, courtesy of 9run.ca and tiux



Last piece of race gear has arrived ... #tiux

A photo posted by patrick voo (@pbfvoo) on Apr 24, 2015 at 12:46pm PDT

• in line with a decision that i'd made to really pay more attention to my body during this race, i chose to run naked ... no GPS watch or timing device of any kind for me.

given that i had no splits of any kind to really base my race report off of, i thought that i'd break it down in terms of sections of the course ...

>> stage 1 - bechtel park to bloomingdale road
i stayed back to start with the 'second wave' (of only about 100 runners), and the first 2km or so dropped about 25m - almost boston marathon-like.  i quickly settled into a easy-running pace, of what i wasn't quite sure but it felt like i'd just headed out on a group workout run.

>> stage 2 - bloomingdale/sawmill road to crowsfoot road
this was the first stretch of rolling hills, and lasted about 7km.  as we started to head out into the rural areas the wind also became noticeable - not quite a factor yet, but enough so that i found a fellow named jeff (from the london pacers) who was trucking along at my nice easy pace and we took turns drafting off of one another.  jeff was a bit taller than me so i found his height of some benefit in slicing through the wind - even though he was a lean running machine.  i'd find out that this was his first ever marathon distance, although he was familiar with half-marathons and shorter races.  jeff also provided me with my first and only read on pace, as he indicated that our steady 4:45/km pace was fine for him but if i wanted to step it up not to worry about him.

>> stage 3 - crowsfoot road to maryhill road
the turn onto crowsfoot road was almost a hairpin, and introduced the first short & steep hill on the course.  thanks to my advance scouting of the route i was prepared for it, and after cresting the hill we were now out in the mennonite countryside.  this 7km section was the flattest stretch of the course, but the most travelled ... by horse and buggy.  there must have been seven or eight families that passed by us presumably on their way to church, wearing their best sunday black and making it feel like we'd stepped through a wormhole back into the early 1940s.  but it was all very cool, and they were friendly enough to acknowledge back every wave of thanks for the wide berth as they went by.  and having to dodge the occasional horse apples on the road was something distinctly different as well.

my new friend jeff had dropped back during the ascent onto crowsfoot, which left me running with rob, a guy i'd met keeping warm inside the building before the race start.  he was a 30-marathon guy with the guelph victors who was tackling this race and then planning for the toronto goodlife marathon the following week.  i knew that i was still running easy because rob had planned to come in at just under 4 hours.

>> stage 4 - maryhill road to katherine street north
wind and dirt sums it up.

maryhill road was almost an entirely unpaved section of the route, pitted in the tire-track lanes and loose gravel towards the shoulder.  it runs through some wooded stretches, but for the most part was flanked by open fields - and this was where we could start to feel the effect of the wind coming in from the northwest.  the weather network predicted that they would be about 19-22 kph winds, and coming across your body it felt somewhat refreshing as the sun was now high in the sky and the temps had to be around 7°C.

this was the section that i started to find myself catching up to and picking off runners.  i hadn't sensed an increase in effort - instead i focused on keeping my cadence quick and footsteps light, breathing deeply from my diaphragm and enjoying the sunshine and fresh (well, occasionally fertilizer-laced) air.  i think that i passed four runners on this stretch of road.

one more quick note here - as you might gather, the cheering sections were fairly sparse out in the back roads in particular, but there was one couple that provided support at the intersections, then got into their vehicle and drove ahead to the next intersection to root everyone on again.  they must have done this at least five different times (that's how frequently i saw them), and they even picked up my hat when i ditched it and returned it to me after the race.  i would find out later that they are not volunteers but just fans - the husband having been a 2:25 marathoner in his younger years but not being able to run anymore due to two blown out knees.  i just gotta say that these folks were fantastic.

>> stage 5 - katherine street north to river's edge dr to line 86
a short 3.5km where a lot happened.  the first thing was the turn into the headwind - there was no mistaking that this would be a challenging length of road, however short, due to the resistance and placement in the race (wrapping up at around the 26km mark).  the second notable marker was that it was along this stretch that we ran through the famous covered bridge and took on the second short & steep hill climb.  and the third thing that sticks in my memory about this section is that i passed another four runners, and could only make out about four more runners ahead of me as we turned each corner.  could i have climbed towards the front of the pack ...?

>> stage 6 - line 86 to northfield drive east to university avenue east
in short, the most amazing 11km of my racing life.     

i picked off the other four runners that i'd spotted in front of me - which was a huge boost every time that i passed one, but it also gave me the (false) impression that i might actually be at the head of the race since there were no other marathoners in sight.

i clicked through to 33km without experiencing any kind of runner's wall.  this may have been in part due to fat-loading, proper carb-loading, or having made the choice to (again, first time ever) take in five gels over the course of the race instead of my normal four gels.

and at 33km i knew that i still had a racing gear, and i kicked into it.  i wanted to keep everyone that i'd passed in the rear-view mirror.

>> final stage - university avenue east to bridge street west to bechtel park
these final 5km were roly-poly, and held the last steep & short hill climb.  we also were joined by the half-marathoners whose gun time started 30 min. after the full marathon, and so there were more people to use as 'targets' to chase down.

with about 3km to go i spied someone clipping along at a good pace about 300m ahead of me - too fast to be within the half-marathon crowd that i'd caught up to, and so my pipe dream of leading the marathon was over but i also had someone that i could try to catch.  however, try as i might i could only get to within about 150m of him even with a hard-effort sprint finish down the bechtel park straightaway.  it was a huge boost however to spot 3:11:xx on the official race clock and to know that i would set a new marathon PB by about three minutes.

the start/finish line - the fan and volunteer support was terrific!

post-race
crossing the finish line i did feel a bit of the burn, but afterwards had not ever felt as strong finishing any marathon distance run.  even my stomach cooperated, allowing me to take in some decent calories from the generously provided 'finshers food bag'.

wanting to stick around to find out just where i'd finished, i headed back into the soccer dome to find ed whitlock there.  ed had served as the honorary race ambassador wishing us all well at the start, and stuck around to award prizes.  if you don't know who ed is, you're missing out - he is currently the holder of 33 world age-group record times in both indoor and outdoor racing events, including a 2:54:48 marathon while 73 years of age (!), which when age-graded works out to a 2:03:57.  ed was incredibly personable albeit on the reserved side ... it was interesting that during the course of our conversation i mentioned tackling a 50km trail race next (sulphur springs) and he responded by saying "you'd never find me doing that!"  apparently ed deliberately sticks to pavement and would never (and he distinctly said "never") be out on the trails.

the legend himself, mr. ed whitlock

i managed to find the posted results, and was pleasantly surprised with an eighth place finish overall, and a second place finish in my age category (meeting my 'A' race goal - and possibly my 'C' race goal of a negative split, but i don't know for sure).  sadly, i was the last place finisher of entrants from the city of barrie (2/2) thanks to my new friend, 'fast' bill steinburg.

my age-group podium standing landed me with a sport first-aid kit courtesy of st. john ambulance - a nice (and extremely useful) prize to go along with the hand-made clay race medallion.

in all the waterloo marathon was a fabulous race.  it was a gorgeous day, i managed a PB (and another clear BQ time), and really very well run.  definitely a hilly course, but nothing that should scare anyone off.  my hat's off to tony lea and his team for organizing a great event.

my thanks also goes to jim willett, the barrie running ninjas, the barrie roadrunners, Skechers Performance Division Canada, team running free, stan ong and the Hansons Marathon Method for helping me pull this off.  for now, it's time to get into the ultra part of the competition season ... see you on the trails (except for ed)!

race gear for the 2015 waterloo marathon:

• Skechers Performance Division racerback singlet and split shorts
• sugoi arm warmers (Team Running Free branded)
• tiux compression socks
• skechers GOmeb speed 2

race report - 2015 waterloo marathon

fat-loading: the breakdown

after my initial stab at a 10-day fat-loading regime i wanted to share a few quick insights and reflections - just in case you might be considering it in advance of your next marathon/race.

1. it's a challenge to be creative and stay within boundaries.  my short list of go-to items included a whole lot of tuna, avocadoes, almonds, cheese, olive oil and chicken caesar salad.  most meals were a mix-and-match variation using those core foods.
2. i tried to keep a log of each meal that i ate - and even found that to be tough ... which seems funny since i log every run/workout.  somehow i've got a full day and a half where i cannot remember what i ate.
3. the first hard workout into the fat-loading schedule was a 16k Hansons Marathon Method tempo run (at marathon pace) - and after the first kilometre it felt like i absolutely hit the wall.  talk about pushing past your limits.
4. i lost weight.  which seems strange when you let people know that you're maxxing out on your (healthy) fats.  but sure enough i dropped about two pounds, even when it felt like i was taking in more calories than i normally would.  my friend and unofficial advisor stan suggested that it probably had to do with carbs retaining more water than fats.
5. there were some interesting recipes that i did try to tackle, including a cauliflower crust pizza.  while i still have some work to do in terms of really nailing the crust texture, it turn out too badly - if i do say so myself.



Here goes nothing ... Cauliflower crust pizza with avocado, peppers, pulled pork and mushrooms!

A photo posted by patrick voo (@pbfvoo) on Apr 17, 2015 at 3:43pm PDT



6. after all of this i think that i will be including a few more low-carb/high-fat meals into my regular diet.  even though by day three all i could think of was pasta and garlic bread, by day eight i was pretty ok with what i was eating morning, noon and night.
7. and i'll fat-load again - maybe even longer in preparation for The North Face Endurance Challenge Series Gore-Tex 50-miler this july.  (psssttt ... if you're thinking of signing up for any distance at this event, use the promo code D30PVON15 for a 15% discount!)

of course the proof is in the fat-loaded pudding, so we'll have to see if there's a pay-off on race day in terms of a smoother transition from glycogen-burning to fat-burning as a fueling process.  keep an eye out for my race report to get all the goods!

#GOlikeneverbefore

fat-loading: the breakdown

the best laid plans

it's race week once again!

it's boston marathon monday - which means that i'm glued to my tv and just about every social media outlet providing updates and live coverage of the race.  there are numerous friends that i'm following who are competing at this iconic marathon today, including (and here's my shout-out!):

• erin barrie (of the barrie roadrunners) - bib #16673
• sherman lam (of team running free) - bib #5681
• vicar li (a fellow skechers performance canada brand ambassador) - bib #2957
• stefan albinsson (a salming brand ambassador) - bib #4596
• sage canaday (elite ultramarathoner) - bib #28

the london marathon will be run this weekend as well - another world marathon major, and one of the most exciting races of the year for me.  they consistently put together one of the most competitive fields available, which means fast paces and awesome rivalries.

but for me, my focus will be on sunday's waterloo marathon - my first big race of the 2015 season, and an event that i've never run before.

to this point i've had a great series of months in training, following the Hansons Marathon Method.  i've tried to incorporate some new elements into my preparation for this race, including a tempo-finish long run, and fat-loading as part of my taper.

time to for at least one more new thing to try before reaching the starting line - and that's to post my goals.

like many runners who invest months (if not years) of focus before putting their legs to the test, i have the tendency to second-guess my ability and readiness.  as such, in the past i've kept my cards close to my chest and not shared broadly what i hope to accomplish in any given run. 

but you know what - i wanted to freshen things up for myself this year, so here goes nothing.

as is often recommended i have set three goal levels (as there are so many things that can happen over the course of 26.2 miles):

• 'A' goal - finish in the top 3 for my age-group
• 'B' goal - finish with a 3:10 time or better
• 'C' goal - run a negative-split.

this is big step for me - i'm confident of my conditioning, that i've exercised sufficient mental discipline to see my training plan through, and now it's just about believing that i'm as good as i can be.  just recently i read an older article about the frame of mind that sets many elite athletes apart - they carry an unshakeable sense that they're entirely capable of winning the races that they enter.  and since running (especially distance running) is arguably more mental than physical - my friend and running sensei jim repeatedly reminds me that 'running is 90% psychological and the other 10% is in your head' - i believe that i'm ready to rock the waterloo marathon.

to all of you who have shared your support on facebook, twitter, dailymile, strava and by email - not to mention those who have logged miles with me in training - thank you so very much.  i promise to make you proud!

#GOlikeneverbefore

the best laid plans

burn baby burn: a newbie takes on fat-loading

i've carbo-loaded before.  a three-day focus on building up my carbohydrates stores in advance of marathons has worked well for me - and truth be told i like gobbling down all of those muffins, breads, pastas and sports drinks.  it's kind of a treat.

but this is a first.

i'm fat-loading.

after having read several articles about this recently highlighted approach to distance event competition preparation (some in favour - like here, here and here - and some not so much - like here and here), i decided to give it a go in advance of the waterloo marathon on apr. 26.  given that i'm a hack at everything i do, i thought that it would be best to consult somebody who is (a) experienced in fat-loading, (b) a high-level athlete and (c) well-studied in sport sciences.  so without a second thought i reached out to my friend stan ong for advice.

gracious as ever, stan was quick to say that he was glad that i'd asked, and then probed just a bit to find out how to best craft a fat-loading plan that would meet my specific needs (including finding out what a typical meal would look like for me, my current weight and foods that i won't/can't eat).  factoring in all of this info, stan came back with an outline of a daily menu that i could riff off of and use to map out the week's grocery store trip.

if you've followed along with my blogventures then you know that i can't leave well enough alone - i like to tinker.  the beauty with this outline that stan's provided is that it has some flex to it - he even makes concessions for the occasional 'carb craving', allowing for a piece of toast or fruit here and there.  with that in mind, i was keen to launch into this new dimension of race readying.

#fatloading here we come ...!

A photo posted by patrick voo (@pbfvoo) on Apr 12, 2015 at 5:59pm PDT

 
i'm now a day and a half into it, and so far i've noticed a few things:

1. stan provided advanced warning that fats don't provide that 'full up' feeling like carbs do - and i admit to feeling noticeably hungrier after each meal yesterday and today.
2. so far it looks like fats lead to less weight gain than carbs - maybe because carbs trigger greater water retention.
3. it's already painful to stare at the loaves of bread and bags of potatoes on my kitchen countertop.

but i will see this thing through - and trust that there will be a pay-off come race day in terms of efficiently metabolizing fat as fuel, and staving off the vaunted 'wall'.

fat fingers crossed!

burn baby burn: a newbie takes on fat-loading

race report - 2015 CANIrunning Snowflake Series Race 3 (10k)

day one of 2015, and first resolution broken.

alright, 'broken' might be a bit of a harsh description - but i certainly deviated from my goal, which was to not repeat any races that i'd run last year.  however, given that this is the only new year's day race around here and that it's organized for a good cause (The Sharing Place food bank) i dotted this event on my calendar as the right way to kick off a new year.  a $15 registration fee also doesn't hurt any.

to be honest, there's nothing like a race to get the juices flowing for another turn of the calendar.  and even though i'm only into week two of the hansons marathon method training plan in preparation for the waterloo marathon, i was able to use this event as a tempo run more than a time trial.  the conditions certainly didn't lend themselves to a time trial situation, as we had snow-packed and icy road conditions underfoot and -13°C windchill temps (felt even colder than that) thanks to 40kmh+ wind gusts.  in reality, this day felt very similar to the conditions that met us on jan. 1, 2014.

for a small, homegrown race this event pulls out a decent crowd - usually in and around 150 or more of the most sober post-new year's eve celebrants - ranging in age from under 10 to over 80 years of age.  as i'd noted last year, orillia has a very strong and supportive running community, and this kick-off to the new year may be as popular as it is in part because one of the lead organizers of the CANIrunning team is lisa avery, the top canadian female finisher at the 2012 ottawa marathon.  as a native orillian, she is not only giving back to her home community but finding that they are loving her and her efforts in return.

as for the race itself, let's keep this short and simple ...

pre-race
i showed up about an hour ahead of the start time and decided to drive the course route to determine what kind of footwear to don (i'd brought pairs of both my skechers gobionic and gorun 3) and reacquaint myself with the elevation changes and number of turns.  i'm glad that i did, as it was a bit hillier than i'd remembered, and the traction was far from optimal.

 learning from last year - wearing trail shoes this time!

after checking in with lisa avery at the registration table i nabbed my bib and affixed it to my skechers singlet which i'd wear overtop of my winter running jacket.  suited up, off i went for a 2k warm-up run, which included a bathroom pit-stop at the local mr. sub.  it may have been that the employee had just opened the store for the day, or my race bib, or my frozen visage - but walking into the restaurant she stopped her mopping, stood up tall and stared at me with a dumbfounded look on her face.  i might as well have been green with bulging eyes telling her to take me to her leader ... but instead i asked politely to use the restroom, and she obliged.

did i look that weird?

gathering at the starting 'chute' area with a couple of minutes to go, lisa bullhorned out a few announcements which were completely lost in the gusting wind and general crowd noise.  i managed to spot a few familiar faces and exchange pleasant "happy new year" greetings.  as the countdown ensued, i had one regret as i assumed the forward lean position: the copious amounts of food i'd eaten yesterday at the chinese food buffet as part of our 'christmas dinner' with my parents.

the race
it was again a combo of 5k and 10k racers, so you couldn't quite tell which pack to pace with - i'd already determined that my goals were to make this a tempo-ish negative split run, so i found a couple of ladies to latch onto.  one of them was wearing a running free vest, and it turned out to be fellow team running free barrie athlete caitlin foisy (who would end up finishing just behind me at the end of the day).  the front half of the 5k was well within the mid-high aerobic HR zone (my first race wearing a heartrate monitor), though i wasn't watching my garmin so much as i was trying to go by feel.

just prior to the turnaround i noted what i thought to be five runners coming back at me for the back half of the 10k, which meant that the pack was thinning out quite a bit as i would have said that there were a good 25-30 runners ahead of me coming out of the gate.  

navigating the hairpin at the start/finish line i mentally shifted into 'run harder' mode and focused on trying to keep within sight of the lanky, loping runner who was about 75m ahead.  for the second half of the race i managed to do just that, although i failed to close the distance on him ... it may have been that i didn't want to shift into top gear or that i simply didn't have it in my legs to catch him as he picked up pace.  or it could have been the extra plate of sushi rolls and deep-friend shrimp from yesterday.

with a final burst into the nasty headwind i crossed the line in 43:19 (21:53 and 21:26 for a negative split)  - decent enough to claim 5th overall, 2nd in my age group and a 50 second improvement over last year's finish at the same race.

post-race
i kept on chugging for another 2 easy kilometres as a cool down, and then nabbed the chocolate milk out of my car as my recovery drink to go along with the timbits which were provided as post-race snack.  there was a bit of milling around the food table and chats with some of the runners that i knew, but nobody seemed super keen on hanging out in the frigid lakeside environs so i didn't linger either.

so even though i violated one of my own racing objectives for 2015 it was a fantastic way to kick off the new year.  kudos once again to CANIrunning and the town of orillia for hosting a wonderful community fitness event.  even though i may declare that i will change up my schedule again for 2016, it's more than likely that you'll find me freezing my buns off with the other nutty competitors at couchiching beach park in 365 days' time.

how did you spend your new year's day?  what are your running resolutions for 2015?  as always, i'd love to be part of the conversation!

race report - 2015 CANIrunning Snowflake Series Race 3 (10k)

race report - 2014 Hamilton Marathon Road2Hope

just when you thought it was all going according to plan.

that was the refrain of the day for this year's edition of the hamilton marathon road2hope.

of all of the races which i had on the schedule this year, this was really the only one that i thought of as a 'run this for me' kind of race.  the other marathons that i'd been a part of in 2014 were either (a) training for another race or (b) to assist others.  as such, i viewed the hamilton marathon as a target race at which i hoped to post a solid PB given its layout and self-promotion as 'canada's fastest boston qualifier'.

pre-race
considering that i was coming off of pacing the county marathon just four weeks prior, i tried to do everything right.  i took off extra days when i needed to in order to recover (and trust me, after two separate nights of excruciating and mysterious medial knee pain i listened to my body) as well as tapering appropriately while maintaining adequate speed work.  i even monitored my plan for achieving race weight (target was 137 lbs.) carefully so that it was a slide down and not a rapid drop.  and once again i also performed a three-day carboload to ensure that i had enough in the tank to put in a solid effort run.

this year i was thinking of avoiding the extra trip down to the expo pre-race but as it turned out everyone else who i knew was going to be running the same day were going to wait until the morning of to get kitted out - except for my buddy steve who was going to stay overnight in hamilton.  as i prefer to lay everything out the night before a race, i decided that i would go down early saturday morning and get a run in on the burlington waterfront before snagging my race package, as well as a couple of others as i received a couple of requests when it became known that i would do the day before pickup.

the saturday morning shake-out run proved to be a very windy and chilly affair - which was somewhat helpful in gauging how i would need to dress for the forecasted -6°C starting conditions on sunday at 8:00 am.  honestly, i felt badly for the 5k and 10k runners who would be competing on saturday morning because if they were hoping for a fast run these were not the conditions ... and if they were hoping for a recreational, enjoyable run, these were not the conditions.

the expo itself was again held in one of the large event tents at the confederation park finish line area.  the pickup was no-nonsense and very straightforward, with several sponsors and vendors including running free, the runner's den (a title sponsor), clif bar, honey maxx, and the filmmaker from Transcend who had been making the rounds to various expos and running events since debuting at the chicago marathon earlier this month.

race day
with plans to travel down to hamilton with my friends kathleen and rolf, i woke up from a decent night's sleep at 3:30 am.  after a decent peanut butter & banana bagel washed down by a beet juice/electrolyte drink mix, i felt like i was ready to roll when kathleen picked me up at 5:00 am.  i'd checked and double-checked my backpack to make sure i had everything i'd need - which i did.

(*cue ominous foreshadowing music*)

kathleen asked if i could drive her vehicle as she was still in the process of a long recovery from a concussive injury - and explained how she debated coming at all to run today, but that with plans to take it very easy (for the half-marathon distance) she felt that all would be fine.  so we went and picked up rolf and began our trek southwards.

about 40 minutes later down the highway, in and amidst our banter about race preparation and aspirations for the day the penny dropped.

i slugged kathleen in the shoulder from my driver side position and said "i forgot your race kit".

i'd picked up hers and rolf's kits along with mine, but rolf had swung by the house on saturday afternoon to nab his.  in all my morning prep to make sure that i was good to go, i stepped out the door leaving kathleen's kit hanging on a coathook.

i was in absolutely disbelief.

kathleen broke out into laughter.

almost as if a wave of relief had washed over her, she declared how glad that she was that she had a legitimate reason to not run today and risk feeling unwell for the next week or more.  it didn't do much to allay my own incredible feelings of guilt at this epic blunder, but rolf also agreed that these things happen for a reason.  with that we continued on our merry way, although (as you might have anticipated) this became the source of many comments in jest throughout the day.

after being graciously dropped off by kathleen near the start line, rolf and i met up with a few other runners from barrie - erin, wendy and kevin - and i also spotted my friends peter and steve.  we wished each other the best, and then steve and i lined up close to the front of the 'chute' to try to reduce as much weaving and surging as possible.

rolf and i ready to rock hamilton!

 wendy, rolf, erin, kevin and me representing the Barrie RoadRunners

my plan was to go out at a 3:10 pace (4:30/km), as i felt like i was honestly in good shape to post at least a 3:10 marathon.  but my real hope was to pick up speed after about 24km and finish with a negative split.  in the early kilometres i got swallowed up by the 3:15 pacer group and had thoughts of sticking with them for the first half, especially after hearing the pacer speak of how you can lose a good 20s per kilometre if running unshielded from the wind down the parkway.  however, feeling like i really need to stay ahead of the group, i edged ahead at one of the first aid stations and stayed out in front of them, feeling comfortable and clicking off 4:30-ish kilometres with ease.

through to km 21:  1:34:41 

then it came time to scoot down the red hill parkway, and the wind played into the picture.  it didn't feel too daunting, and i played it smart by picking up the cadence so that i wasn't pounding my quads, and i ran all of the tangents as tightly as possible.  still, i was out there for the entire parkway stretch (and more) alone, exposed to the brunt of the wind.  and all of that must have taken more of a toll than i realized.

km 22 through km 34:  59:04

the last leg of this race runs back and forth along the lake, and as i passed the 35km sign i had flashbacks to last year, when at this point the 3:15 group passed me by with ease.  this time around i was determined that this would not happen - and while my turnover seemed fine to me, i began to notice the occasional person here and there passing me, and my kilometre splits creeping up around 5:00/km.  

i didn't want to admit it, but my legs were beginning to rebel.  

my fueling had gone well.  for the first time in any marathon i didn't feel even the slightest twinge of a muscle spasm.  i was running tall, and pumping with my arms to keep up the rhythm for my legs.  i had on my Skechers GOMeb Speed 2s to remind me that older can still be better.  how could everything be rolling in my favour and yet my pace slowing so much?

on the same stretch of the hamilton beach trail that i'd run the day before i was willing myself through to the end - but it didn't prevent the 3:15 group (of about eight runners) from passing me with 4km to go.  i just couldn't muster the reserves to keep up with them.  in fact, the only last gasp that i had was a sprint finish down the last 150m straightaway as i dueled a fellow marathoner to cross the line first.

battling #260 to the very end [photo by mike cheliak of My Sports Shooter]

km 35 through km 42.195:  48:46

official chip time:  3:16:54  [garmin time:  3:17:16 for 42.69km]

post-race
it was just after i crossed that i noticed my friend and fellow running ninja lewis who had come down unannounced to cheer me on.  after a quick connect, i grabbed some snacks, pizza and soup from the racer's tent and then roamed with lewis to try to find some of our mutual friends.  we found steve who looked fresh after having crossed the line in 2:54:16 at his first marathon ever - a clean BQ time and well under his 3:00 goal.  i was in total awe, and extremely proud of his 9th place finish.

erin wound up clearing 3:32:00 for another consecutive year of qualifying for Boston.  rolf and kevin crossed the line at just over the 4:00 mark, both of them trying to outdo the other down the closing 150m.  an excellent result for both of them as well.

as i reflected on the race, a few observations emerged:

1. how did i ever get to thinking that a 3:17 marathon was disappointing? even though i missed my 'A' and 'B' goal, i posted my best time yet on this course by over a minute.
2. since i am now in the window to qualify for the 2016 Boston Marathon, i've moved up an age category and cleared the BQ time by eight minutes.
3. i don't think that i've yet felt like i had a strong race on the road2hope course - it may not agree with me.
4. i may have been overambitious in trying to run two solid marathons four weeks apart - either that or i've taxed myself just a bit too hard this training year.  i do still feel like i was in 3:10 marathon shape - but maybe i played my cards in the wrong order.
5. i can hit race weight - my scale read 141.8 lbs on sunday morning.
6. for 2015 i'm going to look at running a bunch of different races from ones that i've now grown accustomed to ... i'm already passing on the mississauga marathon next spring in favour of the waterloo marathon.  i've added the sulphur springs 50k trail race in may, and will plan on going to collingwood to tackle The North Face Endurance Challenge 50 miler in july.  i'm also seriously considering entering the lottery for the chicago marathon, or perhaps registering for the detroit international marathon (both taking place in october).  i will also see if i can pick some more races where i can dovetail with the presence of Skechers Performance Division and Team Running Free.
7. my off-season focus will shift to developing a better engine for running - i'm motivated to read pete magill's build your running body and try to develop the components that i will use to push for more successful races next year.

as eager as i am to plan my calendar for next year, i am pretty much on the cusp of off-season.  i just have an adventure race with my friends sean (kathleen's husband) and norm this coming weekend - my first foray into any kind of orienteering-based race.  after that, it's a welcome break into ice cream and doritos again.

#GOlikeneverbefore!

race report - 2014 Hamilton Marathon Road2Hope