Mississauga Half Marathon and a new P.B.

Untitled by douce77 at Garmin Connect - Details

First off...this was a great race! Great venue, beautiful course, fantastic weather...if I hadn't ran a P.B., I would have still had a great time. But I did run a P.B.! So that made it even better!

All winter long I had been working on my endurance training, so that I could avoid bonking at the 18KM mark. I spent a couple of months (Feb and March) running 15 - 18 KM per week doing the 10:1 method, and did a route that had a lot of hills and a lot of head wind. This was really helpful mentally more than physically I think...because some of the days I was running felt like the worst possible weather ever. Plus I ran with the Baydogs every Tuesday night for 8KM, which helped me with some speed and endurance.

So I went to Mississauga feeling strong and confident, but I was still afraid that I would not be "as good" as I had hoped, and set myself up for a disappointing season. I didn't want to press myself and go too hard, but I still wanted to improve upon my times from the two half marathons last fall. My ultimate goal for a half marathon is a sub 1:40, but I knew that that would more than likely not happen because I hadn't really worked on my speed, just endurance.

I started well...running just below a 5:00 pace, but knew that I would have to push below 5 to make up for the 1:00 rests. My 2nd 10:00 interval was way too fast...as I caught myself running sub 4:40 and forced myself to slow down, but couldn't get slower than 4:45. I was really afraid that this would burn me out later in the race. The hardest part was watching people run ahead of me, and being worried that I wouldn't catch up to them later.

I felt strong throughout the race, knowing that I would get to walk for a minute after pushing myself hard for 10:00. The hills were good...nothing compared to what I was used to training on. The wind off the water was refreshing as it really started to heat up. All in all, the race progressed smoothly. Except for the fact that I had to go to the washroom, but I didn't want to give up time by pulling over to pee.

I was running strong until I came to my wall that is the 16 - 18KM mark. For some reason, no matter what, I hit the wall at this point. On this day, it was the 19KM marker. The good news was that when I hit it, I knew that I had a minute rest coming soon, so I ran it out, walked my minute, then ran hard for the last 1.1 KM.

So I crossed the line with fists in the air; proud of my accomplishment. I beat my former P.B. (1:49 set at Toronto Half), felt great the whole race (except for a little blip where the wall jumped out at me to say hi), I got to meet up with some good Baydog friends in the finish corral, went out with them to Boston Pizza for a great burger and a beer, and went home tired, but very, very happy. My legs and feet may not be so happy today, but I feel great!

Race Season Quickly Approaching!

This time next week I will be enjoying a cold beverage, eating a barbecued steak, and thinking about how well, or how poor, I did in my first race of the season. I'm starting off with the Mississauga half marathon, and I'm planning for it to be my fasted to date (granted, to date is only the 2 I did last fall). I've done a lot of running this winter, more running then I've ever done, and I'm feeling pretty strong. I don't know about the longevity of my pace, but at training last Tuesday night, I was able to push myself pretty strong, running the last couple KMs in the low 4:00s.

My goal for next Sunday is the same goal I've set for myself at Scotiabank Waterfront, and Toronto half marathon - 1:45. This time, I think I can do it. I almost had it at the Toronto half. I've done a lot of long runs this winter, so I'm sure that I can be strong for the whole course. I plan on using all the appropriate pacing tools: Garmin, wristband, bunnies. I'm also going to try the 10 & 1 method of running.

I haven't done a long run in a while, battling a busy coaching schedule, so-so weather, and a general fatigue that has left me drained of a will to train. I've been running every Tuesday night, but that's about it. I also haven't biked in a while because of brake issues and May snow storms.

So, all that being said, here's to the 2010 schedule! Everything I do this year is to get me ready for Muskoka 70.3. I'm not really resting too much before Mississauga (which could prove FATAL!), running and biking this week. In fact, I'm doing a 40+KM bike on Saturday morning, the day before the race. I figure that I need to train my body to bounce back fast, which is why I want to do a long bike before the half, and I'm planning to do the whole Guelph Lake I weekend (Sprint on Saturday, Olympic on Sunday) so that I can learn how to adjust my body when it's fatigued and still perform to the best of my ability.

Hopefully it pays off!