Lucky 2013: The Year in Review

If you had told me in January that I was going to podium in every race I did in 2013, except one, I would have said you were nuts.  Yes, I had high hopes for this year, especially after the end of 2012, and it did not disappoint.  I took my newly improved psyche / mental game and ran with it (literally!).  I upped the ante this year and signed up for the 13 in 2013 challenge to keep me motivated and racing.  I was so gung ho, I actually ended up racing 14 races this year.  I also set myself some lofty goals.

1) Go sub 3:20 at Boston

2) Get on the overall podium in my age group for the MSC Triathlon race series

3)  Break 1:30 for a half marathon

 January and February saw me busting my butt and logging miles.  My first race of the year rolled around on my birthday on March 3rd.  It was the Chilly Half Marathon and it's a race I've done every year for the last 3 years.  I wasn't going to miss this year given that it actually happened ON my birthday.  I had no expectations going in.  I was just going to run it and try to negative split it.  I ended up running a 1:30:48, beating my previous years time by a couple of minutes, setting a new P.B. and ending up 3rd place in my AG.  First podium of the year and so close to 1:30 I could almost taste it.  Good things were in store, I could just feel it.

Fast forward 3 weeks to Around the Bay 30k.  This is the oldest road race in North America and it sells out every year.  They give you colour coded medals based on your finishing time.  For women, if you're 2:30 or slower, you get a bronze medal.  For 2:30-2:15 you get a silver medal.  For 2:15 or faster, you get a gold medal.  Last year I got my first silver medal.  This year I wanted a gold medal.   Realistically I should have used it as a training race for Boston instead of really racing it like I did.  But, I got my gold medal and my second podium of the year.

Racing ATB like I did kind of did a number on my legs.  I started having hamstring issues.  I was slated to run an 8km race as part of my Boston taper but I skipped it, opting to focus on getting as close to 100% as possible for Boston.  By the time Boston rolled around I was probably about 95%.  Of course that wreaked complete havoc on my mental game but I reminded myself that I was lucky to be there in the first place and that I shouldn't worry about the outcome.  My goal that day was to run happy and I can honestly say that I did.  I think that race will go down as one of my best.  I smiled for pretty much the entire race, even when I hurt and I ran the whole time.  I didn't stop ONCE.   The best part?  I came out with a shiny new marathon P.B by almost 2 and half minutes.

After Boston it was time to get busy on the bike so I could focus on my upcoming triathlon season.  I probably didn't ride as much as I should have but I seemed to have done enough to get me where I wanted to be.  I raced 7 tris over the course of the summer.  I think that was about two too many, ha ha.  It was literally race, recover, race, recover.  But I made the podium in each race I entered, so by the end of the season, I had enough points to win my age group for the series.  One of the great things about all this racing was that I raced myself into some seriously good fitness.  My run times started dropping like crazy.  By the time my season ended at the end of August, I felt really strong.  My training for Scotia started and I watched my times at the track drop to places I've never seen them go.  I was pumped.

Scotia was my second A race of the year.  This was the race I was hoping to break 1:30.  Watching my times drop in training, I gained boatloads of confidence.  I knew well ahead of time that I was going to do it.  I could feel it.  I was so excited for this race, I could barely contain myself.  My new question was how fast could I go?  I had a number in my head that I only shared with two people.  I crossed the finish line in 1:27:11.  Pretty much exactly where I thought I'd be. The best part was that I ended up 3rd place Masters female.  This was HUGE given the size of this race and the caliber of talent that usually races. 

After Scotia, I started to wind things down.  I still had one race on the calendar, the Tannenbaum 10km in December.  I kept up my tempo work but took it easy on Thursdays, just putting in miles vs. pushing myself with interval training.  My goal for Tannenbaum was to break 40 minutes.  I figured if it wasn't windy, I'd be able to do it.   Sure enough, race day was calm.  I cranked out a 39:39.  I broke the previous masters course record by over almost 3 minutes.  What a fantastic way to cap off such an incredible year.

I say that this was Lucky 2013 but really what it came down to was hard work.  I know I wouldn't have been able to train and race the way I did this year if I didn't have a good support system.  So I suppose from that perspective, it really was Lucky 2013.  I'm lucky that I work for a great company that understands and appreciates my passion.  I'm lucky I run with a great group of people that make me work hard.  I'm lucky that I have an awesome group of friends both real and virtual who support and encourage me.  I'm lucky that I have an amazing crew of people who make sure I can keep pushing my body:  my friend and massage therapist David & my PT Meg at Synergy.  And mostly, I'm REALLY lucky to have such an incredible husband who supports all my crazy endeavours.  He is my biggest cheerleader and believes in me more than I believe in myself sometimes. 

2013 is going to be hard to beat.  It's definitely going to go down as a very memorable year.  That being said, I'm looking forward to making some epic memories in 2014.   It's going to be a Year of Big Things.  I can feel it.

A big thanks to all of you that read along here & follow me on twitter & instagram.  May your 2014 be a year of good health, happiness and milestones.

Happy New Year! 

The Last Hurrah: The Tannenbaum 10km

Yesterday marked the final race in my crazy year of racing.  14 races in 2013.  That's a lot.  I don't think next year is going to be quite as mental.  Not when I'm planning to have a few big things on my racing plate for 2014.

I had wanted to do this race last year but ended up going to Paris instead.  I know, poor me.  With no fancy trips like that scheduled for this year, it was definitely going to be a part of my racing calendar.   I had heard good things about it and figured it would be good to have something to keep up some of the speed work after Scotia.

After Scotia, I dialed back my speed work by taking my track work / interval days out of the equation.  I still kept up my tempo runs with WTP as I really enjoy those sessions as well as the company.   I've also kept up my long runs so I'm not starting from scratch when I start training for Boston.  All that being said, I wasn't sure what I'd be able to pull off time wise at this race.  It was a slightly winding course and the wet and cold-ish weather had resulted in a bit of ice along the route.  We were warned to watch our footing.   I figured if I could come in around 40:00 minutes or so, I'd be happy.

The race starts at the snack bar in The Beach in Toronto's east end and runs west along the Martin Goodman Trail.  It's a lovely place for a race.  It's a small event that actually sold out this year.  At only $40, it's a fantastic value.  The swag bags are great (you get a toque instead of a t-shirt - can't get any more Canadian than that!) and there are excellent draw prizes as well as post race massages and food.  Cobs Bread was one of the sponsors and they had PILES of gingerbread scones post race.   Best post race treat EVER.

I got there fairly early, found some parking and proceeded to do a nice easy warm up along the boardwalk.  My legs didn't feel awesome and my heart rate seemed high for the pace I was running so I didn't really have high hopes for a stellar performance.  I just figured I'd do my usual go hard and leave it all on the course and see where I end up.   I wanted to break 40 minutes but wasn't sure how possible that would be. 

I ran into a few friends while milling about at the start so I spent a bit of time catching up with them.  Then folks started shuffling forward.  It was almost Go Time.  I saw a guy holding a sign that said 40 minutes or faster so I tried to line up as close to him as possible.  I spotted a few ladies up ahead hanging out with the large group of dudes from the Black Lungs.  The really speedy people.   I figured the narrow path was going to be a bit tough to navigate with all these runners so I moved up a bit more.

They started the countdown and then we were off.  I hammered out of the gate.  No easing into any sort of pace.  It was run hard right off the bat.  I figured my body would eventually tell my ambition who's boss but for the time being my ambition pushed the pace.  The first few hundred metres were a bit tough.  I should have seeded myself a little further up as I had to do a lot of dodging people and running on the grass was a bit treacherous due to the slippery footing.  No big deal, I just know for next time.

The trail was fairly straight until about the 2km mark where it started to wind out of the park.  I had run my first km in 3:48.  I was definitely working.  By kilometre number two my body had told my ambition to chill out.  I hit it in 3:59.  I hoped that the next 8 would be around the same pace.

I was in a pack of people for the next km.  I figured that once we got into the Leslie Spit, we'd spread out so I hung on to the fast dudes in front of me.  My long haired friend from Scotia was there again and I stayed behind him for as long as I could, using him as a pace bunny.  As we entered the Spit, the group I was with started to splinter.  I was running side by side with a younger girl and I could see another girl slightly ahead of us.  The younger girl beside me really pushed me to catch that other girl - we were running stride for stride.  We reeled the other girl in and motored past.  I looked ahead to see how many other ladies I could see.  I counted at least 6 and they were a fair bit ahead of me.  I wasn't sure if I had it in me to catch any of them but I sure as hell was going to try.

If it's windy on the Spit, it can suck the life out of you.  That happened to me at the MEC 10km in the summer.  Thankfully this time around, there was no wind.  None.  Conditions were absolutely perfect.  My shadow and I hammered along towards the 5km mark.  Then, all of a sudden, I lost her.  I figured her and I would run stride for stride for the rest of the race, she seemed to be running so strong.  I was coming towards the turn around so I was able to see how many women were in front of me.  Sure enough I counted 6.  A couple of them looked to be in their 20's, then there was Michelle Clarke who I know is in her 30's and another woman whose age I couldn't place.  She could have been in her 30's.  Maybe in her 40's.  It was hard to tell.  Michelle and this other woman were only about 300-400m ahead of me.  I wasn't sure if I'd be able to make up the gap.  I figured they'd have to slow down for me to catch them as my splits had been pretty even for the first 5km:  3:48, 3:59, 3:58, 3:57, 4:00.

I was feeling surprisingly strong through 5km.  Yeah, I hurt but I didn't feel like I was fading yet, which really helped buoy my confidence.   As I made my way towards the 7km mark, I realized that I was starting to reel in Michelle.   I pushed harder.  My lungs were burning.  Just before 7km I caught her.  Never in a million years did I think I'd catch her.  I ran with her for a bit and encouraged her to push.  I think that's why that km ended up being the second fastest one I ran (3:54).  Surprisingly I managed to pull away from her.  I couldn't see any other women ahead of me.  I was starting to do the mental math at this point.  Less than 12 minutes.  Then my watch beeped and I realized I just passed 8km.  Sweet.  Less than 8 minutes.  I knew at that point that I would break 40 minutes.  The question was by how much.  I turned back into Ashbridges Bay and was warned by a volunteer to watch out for my footing so I slowed down.  Shortly there after I came up on the mystery woman who was off to the side of the path, walking.  WTH?  I asked if she was ok and she said "Not really but I'll be fine".  Then she proceeded to cheer me on.  That is why I love runners.  Right there.  Seriously amazing. 

I hit the 9km mark and glanced down at my Garmin:  4:04.  Whoops.  Guess I better pick it up.  I could see the finish line.  Out of nowhere, a couple of guys came barreling along and passed me.  I had nothing.  There was no way I was hanging on to anyone.  I could feel my hamstrings starting to scream at me.  I kept my eyes on the big orange arch at the finish line.  As I got closer I could see the clock counting down.  I came flying across the line and hit stop on my Garmin:  39:39.  I had done it.  Broken 40 minutes for a 10km.  I couldn't believe it.

I got my medal and ran into Dave Emilio the race organizer.  He asked how I did and I told him I finally broke 40 minutes.  That got me a hug and a congrats.  I went back out on the course and did a short cool down run.  I cheered my friends Rooster and Linnea in and then went to get my bag.  It was damp and chilly out and I was starting to get cold.   They didn't waste any time posting results.  Shortly after I grabbed my bag, I saw the results were up.  I wandered over to take a look.  I found my name and was very happy to see a few things:  4th woman overall and 1st in my AG, which meant that I got first place Masters Female because the age groups were in 10 year increments.  WOOHOO.

I met up with my friend Kirsten and we milled about with a bunch of other folks while we waited for the draw prize / awards ceremony to start.  I helped myself to a second gingerbread scone.  Oh my.  Dave started with the draw prizes, then took a break to announce the overall winners.  Another Team Running Free Athlete, Mindy Fleming, ended taking third place woman overall.  YAY Mindy!  Dave then asked if I was still there so I put up my hand and he then announced that I had won first place Masters Female.  I went up to get my medal and was handed a hat and a cheque for $75 as well.  SWEET!  That's the first time I've ever won money at a race.   What an amazing way to cap off a stellar season of racing.  I honestly don't know how I'm going to top this year, I really don't.  I do know that I will be back at the Tannenbaum 10km next year to defend my title and see about setting another course record. 

Got My Mojo Workin' - Part Two: Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon

When I originally started this blog 2 years ago it was to document my journey to run 3 half marathons in a year and cap it all off with a sub 1:40 half at the age of 40.   Since then it has evolved into so much more that I ever it expected it to.  Much like my running.  So it seems fitting that I entitle this post Got My Mojo Workin' - Part Two.  Part One happened two years ago at the same race.  At the time the thought of running a sub 1:30 was just crazy talk.  A pipe dream.

Fast forward to 2012 and the Chilly Half.  Out of nowhere I managed to run a 1:31 and change.  Then I started to think that maybe, just maybe, I'd be able to break 1:30.  I wasn't going to try to do it that year though.  At that point it was all about trying to qualify for Boston and then running NYCM in November.  But perhaps 2013 would be the year I'd give it a shot.

Once again the Chilly Half in March of this year proved to be a good testing ground for me.  It was my birthday so I was extra pumped to have a good day.  Amazingly I ran a 1:30:49.  I knew that if I trained hard over the summer that I'd definitely break 1:30 in the fall.  I had a P.B at Boston and then spent the summer racing my a$$ off in short course triathlons.  Testing my limits on a regular basis.  I can honestly say all that racing prepared me for this day.  Going all out for anywhere between 1h 15 and 1h 45 really builds your speed.  I definitely raced myself into really good shape.   My workouts leading up to this race had been way faster than my prescribed paces.  I was starting to see sub 4:00 min km's on a more regular basis.  THAT blew my mind.  The speedy guys in my run group helped to push me too.  After my last few track workouts, I knew that sub 1:30 was going to happen.  The question that I was now thinking was How Much?  I had a number in my head but wasn't sure how possible it would be.  We'd see how things panned out on race day.

Race morning was freezing cold.  I bundled myself up in layers and laced up my trusty Mizuno Wave Sayonaras.   G was driving the "race bus" loaded up with my friends David, Heather and Sue.  All of us were running the half.  It was Heather's first and Sue's first half in about 7 years.  We were all fairly nervous, with the exception of David.  It was just another race for him.   It was nice to have the company on race morning.  Normally it's just me and G.   The plan was to have G drop us off while he went to find parking.  He pulled onto Elizabeth street to drop us off and spotted a free parking spot.  SWEET.  He pulled in and we all piled out.  We were really early so we made our way down to the bag check and then opted to keep our warm clothes and hang around inside a nearby hotel for a while.  We ran into one of my run group pals, Steve so he joined our little posse.  8:00 am rolled around and I was starting to get antsy.   But of course there had to be a photo op before we headed out into the cold.

Steve, Heather and I weren't checking bags so we waited for Sue and David to check theirs.  Heather was on a mission to find an indoor bathroom so she ran up to the Metropolitan Hotel.  She came back about 5 minutes later and said that the bathroom was pretty much empty.  SWEET!  At that point I figured it was definitely going to be a good day because luck like that NEVER happens at a race like this.  Sue and I hustled over and were in and out in no time.   We followed the signs to the corrals and as we got to Nathan Phillips Square, G said he was going to head back to the car.  So I got my good luck hug and kiss and everyone else got hugs from G too.  I was really starting to get excited.  I didn't do a warm up run, which is a first for me but I figured if I did a bit of a dynamic warm up while I was in the corral, I'd be ok.

Sue and Heather were in different corrals so we said goodbye to them and made our way into the red corral.  Of course I made a beeline towards the front.  We ran into my friend Bob so we all stopped and chatted.  And of course took some more pics.   I also saw my friend Shannon and stopped to chat with him for a while. 

Freaking love this pic.  We're nerds.

David & I:  Totally freezing our a$$es off.

Steve and I were jonesing to get up to the front so we wished David and Bob good luck and made our way through the crowds.  I was trying to find the 1:30 pace bunny but I didn't see him at all.  I figured eventually he'd show up somewhere towards the front but he never did.  I saw another Team Running Free athlete, Mindy Fleming and wished her luck.  I figured she'd totally crush it.  She's super fast.  The national anthem started and I closed my eyes and smiled.  It was finally here.  I got to the start line in one piece.  I was happy and I was grateful.  The anthem ended and I opened my eyes and looked around at the crowd.  Everyone was buzzing.  The energy was palpable. I saw my friend Patrick and said hi.  Two seconds later, the gun went off.  I crossed the start line about 3 seconds later and it was game on.

My original race plan was to find the 1:30 pace bunny and stick with him until about 14km and if I felt good, I'd drop the hammer.  Well, that plan quickly went out the window when I didn't find the pace bunny.  I started hauling ass up University and immediately spiked my heart rate.  My lack of a warm up was felt in my legs for sure.   Steve was right behind me.  I dodged and weaved through the crowd to make my way closer to the curb lane.  As we rounded the bend a long haired fella past me and wished me luck on breaking 1:30.  Caught me completely by surprise.  I always forget that putting yourself out there in the social media world means that people that you've never met in real life may know exactly who you are.  I thanked him and tried to catch a glimpse of his bib so I could see his name but to no avail.  Shortly after that Roger Jonas, a fellow WTP'er passed me.  I tried to calm myself down but my legs didn't seem to want to slow down. 

As we turned onto Bloor I figured I'd try to slow myself down.  No go.  I didn't feel great when I slowed down.  My legs really just wanted to go.  Ok.  So be it.  I'd let them go and see how long they lasted.  Totally not the best way to race a half but it wouldn't be the first time I've done it.  It would be the first time I raced a half without my trusty fuel belt though so I had to make sure I got fluids at every aid station, which I did.  Made the timing of my gel taking a little more difficult than usual but I managed.  I hadn't been using much in the way of gels during my long runs but there was no way I was going to race without them.

We booked it along Bloor and I saw my first familiar face at the first aid station - Paige - a prop stylist I've worked with several times.  She saw me before I saw her.  Of course I got all excited and started woohoo-ing.  There was a lot of that on the course..  I kept my eyes peeled for one of my photographers, Vicky Lam, who said she was going to be cheering in the Annex but I didn't see her.  As we turned onto Bathurst I figured I'd see Christina and Michelle Clarke when I got down towards King.  Michelle had mentioned on IG that she would be down that way.  Sure enough, there they were cheering like crazy.  I had just passed the 6km mark and I glanced down at my watch to see 24 minutes and change.  Holy smokes, was I flying.  I kept telling myself I needed to slow down or else I was going to pay for it later.  Didn't happen.

I motored along, ticking off the km's.  I didn't know where Steve had gone and most of the time I was running solo.  There were usually a few people in front of me and a few people behind me.  I knew that once we hit Lakeshore and the Prince's Gates I'd probably see my friend Kim and her boyfriend Mike.  Mike is the Scotia Sign Guy.  I couldn't wait to see what he'd have this year.  Sure enough as we came up to the gates, I saw them.  He was dressed as a beer bottle with a sign that said "I know you want me".  Best. Sign.  EVER.  Totally made me laugh.  Of course that got a loud WOOHOO from me.   I took my first gel just before the aid station around the 8km mark.  I remember looking at my watch and seeing 33 minutes.  Wow.  I couldn't believe the pace I was running at.  I was curious to see what I'd hit the 10km mark in.

I started to notice some of the people around me and just up ahead of me was my long haired friend that wished me well at the start.  I made it my goal to keep him in my sights.  I glanced at my watch as I hit 10km 40:59.   Wow.  Just wow.   We were coming up to my favourite part of the race.  The turn around at Windermere.  I knew that my friend Kiki would be down there.  She said she'd be at the 12km mark.  Sure enough I spotted her jumping up and down and yelled woohoo and flipped my rock star fingers.  The crowds were dense along here.  It's always a really popular spectating spot.  I totally picked up the pace because of the people cheering.  I rounded the bend, looking forward to hitting the 13km mark and seeing my run group at the aid station.  Much to my surprise, I saw Kiki again.  She crossed the road to come and cheer on the other side of the road.  I high-fived her as I ran by. She yelled that Roger was just in front of me.  There was no way I was going to catch him, I was already pushing it. 

I could see the aid station coming up and I was trying to figure out what side of the road the WTP gang were on.  I spotted a blue shirt and saw Peter so I pointed and smiled.  I grabbed my Gatorade from him, then another from Al, whose hand I almost ripped off.  I woohoo-ed through this entire stretch.  I grabbed water from Monique and one other person.   It was so awesome to see them all.  Gave me a huge boost for the next little while (FYI, I ran a 4:01km through here!)

I was coming up to the Legion and figured I'd try to see if I could spot some other folks that I knew.  As I chugged my way up the hill I heard someone yell my name.  Sure enough it was Danielle.  She got a loud woohoo in return.  Apparently woohoo was the word of the day for me.  I kept scanning the crowd for people but didn't spot anyone else until just before Ontario Place when I saw Dawn from Shrinking Inkd Girl.  I hollered her name but she was totally in the zone.  We were coming up on the 16km mark.  I was starting to hurt a little bit.  My feet were really feeling it.  I definitely had a blister forming on my right foot.  It was throbbing.  Just ahead of me, I could see my long haired friend.  I was starting to close the gap.

We came back by the Prince's Gates and I saw Mike and Kim again.  I ran across the road to go and high five both of them and then ran back into the pack.  I was flying through here, buoyed by the cheers of the spectators.  I took half a gel as I could feel a bit of fatigue starting to build in my legs.  I started the mental math and the self talk.  I hit 18km and started to pass a couple of guys.  Only 3km left.  Less than 15 minutes.  There was a small pack of us coming up to the Lakeshore ramp.  I held on for dear life as we went up the ramp.  Any sort of incline at this point just made my legs hurt.  I figured the turn up Bay street was really going to suck.  I let my legs go on the slight downhill.  The self talk was in full effect at this point.  19km.  Only 2 more km.  Roughly 8 minutes at your current pace.  Hang on.  Part of me didn't care what I ran the last 2km in.  I knew I was going to break 1:30.  The competitor in me was having none of it.  This was a race and in a race, you give it your all until you hit the finish line.

I'm not going to sugar coat it.  Those last two km were ugly.  They really flipping hurt.  The last km in particular.  As soon as I came out from under the tunnel on Bay Street I felt like I was going to die.  I was running uphill and into a headwind.  A HEADWIND.  REALLY?!?  There had been no wind on the course all day and now this, in the last kilometre.   I remember glancing down at my watch and seeing 5:19km pace.  I gritted my teeth and tried to relax.  Then I thought "Just Smile...you are almost done."  So I smiled.  Amazingly I felt better.  More relaxed.  I watched the signs as they counted down the metres to go.  A girl in pink whizzed by me with about 500m left.  I had nothing.  No answer.  Another girl came up and was just behind me, running just off my shoulder.  I wasn't sure if she was drafting or just didn't have enough gas to pass me.  Whatever the case, her being right where she was flicked a switch in me and I started to pull ahead.

I was closing in on the 300m to mark when I felt the blister on my right foot pop.  I am pretty sure I grimaced when that happened.  It really hurt.  I faltered a bit but regained my stride and kept pushing.  My shadow and I were coming towards Queen Street.  The crowd was awesome.  So much noise!  Amazingly I heard someone yell PK!! and I looked up to see my friend Rick (Sue's husband) yelling and waving.  I waved back.  There was just over 100m left to go and my shadow was still on my shoulder.  I didn't have a whole lot left but I had enough to drop a mini hammer and pull away from her.  I came flying down the finishing chute, a big silly grin plastered on my face as I looked up at the clock.

1:27:11

I had done it.  I blew sub 1:30 right out of the water and I hit my goal.  I had only told 2 people what I thought I might be able to do at the race - G and my friend Caitlin.  In my head I had 1:27 something as to where I thought I'd finish.  Guess I really am getting to know my abilities.

As I walked into the finishing chute, I saw my long haired friend again.  We made eye contact and I went over to him and gave him a hug.  He congratulated me and I told him I kept him in my sights for as long as I could.  I tried to catch a glimpse of his bib once again and I think I saw Alexandre but I'm not 100% sure.  If you're reading this - THANK YOU for your words of encouragement and for being my "Bunny".   The finishing chute turned out to be quite the party place.  Shortly after I saw my long haired friend, I ran into Mindy who ran a smoking 1:23 and change, a P.B for her.  Then I ran into Christina and Michelle.  I have no clue how they managed to get into the finishing chute but they did.  Crazy ladies.  It was great to see them.  I saw my friend Pat who ran 15km to the start then proceeded to run a 1:22 and change.  The guy is a machine.  I grabbed my post race food and started to head out of the chute when I heard my name and saw my friend Stephanie.  I waited for her to come around and we walked into Nathan Philips Square together.  She had a great day as well, beating her previous time by a couple of minutes. 

We came out into Nathan Phillips Square and I saw G right away.  I went up to him and gave him a HUGE hug and a kiss.  I was still in shock.   He was beaming with pride and had his usual "I told you so grin" on his face.

We regrouped on the other side of the fence and waited for the rest of our contingent to come in.  Next up was David, who had a great day despite his lack of training (he ran a 1:38:36 and that was with a pit stop!).  Then I saw Carrie from my run group.  She came bounding over to give me a huge hug.  She had an AMAZING day, running a 1:40 and change taking over two minutes off her previous half P.B.  She was positively beaming.  Next up was Bob, who also had a P.B of 1:44:02.  Like Carrie, he took two minutes off his previous time.  I'm telling you, our little run group is filled with a whole lot of folks who push each other and work their butts off.   Shortly after Bob rolled in, we saw Sue.  Yup, you guessed it.  Another P.B.  1:47:26.  A whopping 6 minutes faster than her previous half time.  Shortly thereafter, Heather came in, grinning from ear to ear.  She ran a 1:55:38 for her first half marathon.  I was so proud and happy for her.  It was definitely a day for records to fall.  Both Lanni Marchant and Krista Duchene broke the Canadian Women's marathon record that had stood for the past 28 years.  Totally amazing.

While we were waiting for folks, G was checking the stats and informed me that I came in third in my AG and was the 21st woman overall.  I was completely overwhelmed with emotion.  I got really choked up.  Carrie gave me a huge hug while I blubbered away into her shoulder.  Never in a million years did I ever expect to be in that position.   I had hoped to make the top 5.  I didn't think I'd have a chance at the top 3.   Checking the results online today, I found out that I was actually the 3rd place Masters woman.  This whole Masters thing is really freaking awesome. Ironically this was also my 13th race of 2013.  Definitely a lucky 13!

Mmmm...TASTY!

When I got home I found out that 3 more of my friends all had great races as well.  My friend Kirsten beat her previous time by almost two minutes.  Danielle, whom I have been coaching, had a 1 minute P.B over her previous time at the same race and Krysten also ran a P.B.  Smiles all around. 

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.  The weather was spot on.  Sharing the start experience with my friends was amazing (thank you Heather, Sue, David, Bob & Steve).  Seeing G and his big I told you so smile totally made my day.  The best part was the feeling I had going into the race.  I believed in myself and my ability 100%.  There was no doubt.  I can't ever remember going into a race without that doubt.  I guess I've come a long way.  My friend Shannon's comment on my Facebook post summed it up nicely.  He said "You had a positively vibrant aura this morning."  I think my confidence has finally found it's way out and it really helped me shine yesterday.

Thanks again to everyone who has been following along here, on twitter and on instagram.  All your messages of support and encouragement mean so much to me.  As long as I'm able to move forward, I will continue to push my limits.  I hope that you will continue to follow along.

One last picture...as if there weren't enough in here already.   3 very happy finishers.  Woot woot!

Did you race this weekend?  How did it go?

Kickin' it Old School: Bala Falls Triathlon - Retro Edition

This past weekend saw G and I hit the road for yet another race.  Yes, I know, we just raced last weekend.  I am tiring myself out just thinking about all the running around and racing we've been doing as of late.  No wonder I feel like I'm overdue for a vacation.  Good thing I have one coming up next week (wheeeeee!). 

The last time I did this race was in 2005 so I suppose that almost qualifies as retro, ha ha.  I had also registered for it last year but got injured a couple of weeks out and couldn't do it so it was definitely on my radar for this year.  It's a fun little race with a lot of crowd support given it's somewhat remote location.  Bala is in the heart of Muskoka area cottage country so it's a long haul from the city.  Roughly 2 hours if the traffic is good.  At 5:00 am on Sunday, it's safe to say the roads are pretty clear.   Leaving at 5:00 am meant that I was up at 4:00 am.  That's just plain wrong on a Sunday unless I'm getting on a plane to head to some far flung exotic destination.

This race has always been a popular one and with the introduction of the "Retro" theme it's popularity seems to be increasing.  What is this Retro theme I speak about?  Well, John Salt and Co thought it would be great to pay homage to the early days of triathlon and all the crazy gear that people used to race in.

Dave Scott and Mark Allen in the legendary Iron War in Kona 1989

Canadian Triathlete Lori Bowden in the mid 90's.  Source

No idea who this guy is but that's an awesome speedo! Source

Can you imagine spending 8+ hours racing in nothing but a speedo?  I can't even imagine the chafing that must have occurred.  Seriously.  Those guys were hard core. 

Anyway, the gang at Multisport Canada created a whole separate category for folks that wanted to race in retro gear.  There were prizes for best costume and best bike.  Oh there were some gems let me tell you.  The best part was that the top 2 males overall both raced in speedos and old triathlon crop tops and they were both under 25 years old.  They were barely even a year old when the legendary Iron War took place between Dave Scott and Mark Allen. 

The Folks in the Retro Category.  The interpretation of Retro was quite different as you can see.....

The race site itself is probably one of the nicest on the circuit.  The water in Moon River is beautiful.  It's quite shallow so there have been years where it's been a non-wetsuit swim because the water temperature got above 25.5 degrees Celsius.  It was headed in that direction on Friday (it was 24.5) but by Sunday it had rained and a cold front had come in and dropped the temperature by 2.5 degrees.  Even if it was a non-wetsuit swim, you are able to wear your wetsuit for safety reasons but you then become ineligible for age group awards and given my goal this year to podium in each one of these races, I would have to swim without a wetsuit.  So, I was happy hear that the temperature had dropped.    The last time I did this race, I had a panic attack in the swim.  I have been really good as of late, I've been swimming strong and haven't had any issues.  I figured that would be the case once again, especially since I was actually excited about swimming here.

I was in the 4th wave and G was in the 2nd wave so after my warm up I met up with G on the beach and we watched the first wave go off.  I got my good luck kiss goodbye and then G was off.  I was surprisingly relaxed.  I situated myself in my usual spot, off to the side but at the front.  The gun went off and I dove in.  I pulled ahead fairly quickly.  I could see one person slightly off to my right and then another person off to my left a little further back.  Perfect.  I tried to settle into my groove but for some reason I couldn't.  I kept getting water in my nose as I turned my head to breathe.  So I switched from my normal bi-lateral breathing to breathing on my right side every stroke.  That was a mistake.  After about 150m, I started gasping and the panic set in.  I started to freak out and actually contemplated quitting the race.  I stopped dead in the water and did some breast stroke.  The first buoy seemed so far away.  I was overcome with the feeling that I couldn't continue.  I rolled on my back and did come backstroke.  I glanced up to see a horde of swimmers coming at me and I started to panic again.  I rolled back over, did some more breast stroke and tried to talk myself off the ledge.

It went something like this:

Scaredy Cat Me:  Just throw in the towel, the boat is right there, you don't really want to do this.

Stubborn Me:   WTF are you doing?  You know how to swim, stop being an idiot, put your face back in the water and swim dammit. 

Scaredy Cat Me:  But the boat is right there!

Stubborn Me:   You've GOT THIS!  Besides if Kim (swim coach) knew you quit, she'd kill you.   If she can swim 40 some odd kilometers in Lake Ontario without a wetsuit then you can SUCK IT UP AND GO.

That seemed to flick the switch again and I was good to go.  I made it around the first buoy without too much panic.  By the time I hit the second buoy my breathing had finally settled down.  I was definitely working hard to try and catch up.  I caught a few folks and passed them as I made my way into shore.   I hit the shore and glanced at my Garmin, surprised at what I saw.

Swim:  13:20.  I thought for sure it would have been slower than that.  I then got pissed at myself for having the freak out because I would have been sub 13 minutes for. sure.  Stupid illogical brain.

I ran into transition, a little wobbly.  I struggled with getting my wetsuit off my left arm and then couldn't keep my balance while trying to peel it off my legs.  There were a couple of other women that were coming in so I was rushing big time.  I finally sorted myself out, grabbed my bike and headed out for the ride.

T1:  1:26.  Pretty good considering I felt like I was all over the place.

I knew the bike was going to be hilly.  As soon as you leave transition, you're climbing.  I kept it in my small ring and spun my legs out up the first climb, passing folks as I went.  Once I crested that first climb, I flipped it into my big chain ring and let 'er rip.  This course is mostly rollers.  There are a couple of climbs where you can get a bit of momentum on the downhill and there is a quasi flat section just after the 10km mark.  I tried to stay in my aerobars for most of the ride except on the two larger climbs.  I probably should have switched to my small chain ring for those climbs but I didn't. By 20km in I was hurting.  My quads were burning as were my girlie bits (sorry TMI!).  I am having all sorts of problems with that as of late.  I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable on my bike and I'm attributing that to the fact that I haven't been re-fit on it since I bought it in 2007.  A lot has changed since then.  I'll be rectifying that this Friday and I'm sure that experience will be a post in itself.

Back to the bike.   Just past the 10km mark I got passed by a girl in my AG.  This seems to be recurring theme in races and further evidence that I really need to work on my cycling.  I tried to keep her in my sights but she was a strong rider.  I really hoped she wasn't a good runner.  I motored along, keeping my eyes peeled for any other women that passed me.  There weren't any thank goodness, only speedy old guys who can't swim to save their lives, ha ha.  Other than the few climbs and the discomfort late on the bike, I felt I rode fairly strong.  The last 500m or so is a screaming downhill into transition so I let it rip until I had to make the sharp turn.  Daring for me, as I'm usually on the brakes.  I hopped off my bike and booked it into transition.

Bike:  55:40 - that included the long run in from the dismount line.  My Garmin said I averaged 33 kph.  Pretty good for a hilly course!

I ran to the rack and saw 2 other bikes there.  Again I had some balance problems while trying to remove my cycling shoes so there was a bit of fumbling.  I also pulled out one of the 8 million hair clips I had in my hair as I ripped my helmet off.  Annoying.  I yanked my Wave Sayonaras on, grabbed my visor and raced out of transition into a big field of muck.  So much for my nice new white shoes.

T2:  00:55s - a little slow but still under a minute.

I remember this run being super hilly with lots of out and backs.  You basically follow the same road you ride on and make your out and backs on 2 different side roads both of which are hard packed dirt and shaded.  So coming out of transition, you almost immediately start climbing.  As soon as I get out on the run, I'm totally in my element.  I am happy to turn myself inside out and chase people down.  I can handle the pain.  As soon as I got on the main road, I started picking people off one by one.  Watching for any woman with a 40-44 on her calf.   As I made the turn onto the first dirt road, I caught sight of the woman that passed me on the bike.  Excellent.  Target acquired.  Just as I had hoped, she was not moving too quickly.  I caught her just before we made the turnaround and flew by her.  My legs were hurting and once again I had shin splints.   Annoying.

I could see a lot of women behind me and I figured I had better keep up the pace.  My wave had women 40-49 in it so I knew that some of these ladies were probably in my AG.  I hit the road again and once again started climbing.  It wasn't far to the next turn off and as soon as I turned in, I remembered The Hill.  It was short and very steep.  Tough to run down and even tougher to run up.  My pace slowed considerably as I went up this.  My legs and lungs were burning.  With that out and back done, I was back out on the main road.  I was coming up to a couple of women and checked both of their calves.  Both of them were in the 35-39 AG.  I then recognized one of them as the owner of the other bike that had been in transition when I arrived.  SWEET.  That meant that there was a good chance that I was first in my AG.  Oh please, please pretty please....

I made it to the turnaround and grabbed a cup of water from an adorable little girl.  I thanked her and really started to book it.  The way back was mostly downhill and there were sections where I was hitting 3:30/km's.  Yeah those Wave Sayonaras are pure freaking magic.  I was passing dudes left right and centre.   I had one last climb and then it was that flying downhill to the finish.  I let my legs go and I booked it into the finishing chute.  I could hear people yelling GO PHAEDRA (you get your name on your bib if you register early) and that just pushed me even harder.

Hauling it towards the finish line! Pic courtesy of Barbara Goss

I came into the finishing chute to hear announcer Steve Fleck say that I was the fourth woman overall to cross the finish line.  Say what?

Run: 33:01 (my Garmin said I ran 7.79km vs. 7.5 that the course was listed as being.)


My friend Babs refuted that and said I was actually the third woman.  What what?  I'd believe that once I saw the results.  We got our post race goodies, ran into Jordan, another friend of ours who did the swim / bike and hung out for a bit.  We then wandered back to transition and packed up all our stuff.  I figured they'd have the results up by time I got back.  Sure enough they did.  I wedged my way in and found myself on the second page.  45th overall finisher, 3rd place woman and....first in my age group!  YEAH BABY.

Take that stupid illogical brain.

Just for kicks, I took a look at my stats from the first time I did this race way back when.  Back then the age groups were in 10 year increments instead of 5 years so I was in the 30-39 year old group.  The distance was also slightly different.  The swim and bike were the same but the run was only 7km vs. 7.5km   My times were as follows:

750m swim:  17:54  And yes, that time also included a freak out.
30km bike:  1:02:28
7km run:  33:35

Total time:  1:53:56

I've come a long way baby.  I'm starting to think that whole thing about women reaching their peak at 32 is a crock of smelly you know what.

As much fun as this race is, I'm not sure G and I will go back again next year.  It really makes for a long day if you drive up and back in the same day. Although I'm sure we could be convinced if we happened to be vacationing at a cottage up there....so I'll leave that door open for now.

Next up on the race calendar is the Bracebridge Sprint on Aug 10th, the day after we get back from our holidays.  As I like to say, no rest for the crazy!

Speaking of crazy, just a reminder that today is your last day to enter my Crazy for Clif giveaway!! 

Shoulda Coulda Woulda

It's 11 days out from showtime and I'm going to be honest, I'm not feeling great.  I know that generally happens during taper but I'm not talking about the typical tapermadness aches and pains.  I'm talking about actual discomfort.  I was worried that I might have gone a little too hard at Around the Bay and I can pretty much confirm that I did.  Normally I bounce back relatively quickly if I'm smart with my post race recovery.  I did what I normally do post long distance race:  recovery drink, re-hydrate, gentle stretching, compression, ice bath, hot bath, more compression, proper stretching.  The only thing I didn't do was book a massage.  It took me a couple of days before I could walk up and down stairs properly.  Even then my recovery run on the Tuesday post race was anything but easy.  I stretched more and foam rolled. I was supposed to do mile repeats on the Thursday post race and I could barely get my speed up.  My hamstrings and glutes were super tight.  I went to hot yoga on the Friday thinking that would help.  It didn't do as much as I hoped it would.  I was really regretting not booking that post race massage.  I had one scheduled for this coming Sunday and I figured that would be sufficient. I only have a limited amount of coverage per year and I don't want to blow through it before my summer of racing starts.  But, looking back on it, I should have booked it.  Shoulda coulda woulda.  I'm now dealing with sciatic nerve pain down my left leg because my piriformis muscle is super tight.  I had some ART work done on it yesterday and it seemed to help but then by the end of the day I was incredibly uncomfortable.  It hurt more than it did last week.  I went home and iced it, then had an epsom salts bath and took a Tylenol.   I got on the treadmill at the gym this morning and managed to run 10 minutes at a very easy pace.  I wasn't in pain but I was definitely uncomfortable.  I figured it wasn't worth it to try and get my interval workout done.  Realistically I've done all I can, now it's just about resting & recovery.  The important thing is to get to the start line INJURY FREE.  This will probably be the easiest taper I've ever had, ha ha.

A couple of months ago, I had registered for an 8km race that takes place this Saturday.  I figured that I could do a nice 5km warm up, race the 8k and then do a 3km cool down to get my 16km in as I'm supposed to be running it at a faster pace.  But given that the race is on a very hilly course, I'm thinking maybe it's not the wisest thing for me to do right now.  I've been going over the pros and cons in my head for the last two days:

Pros:
1) I've paid for it already
2) It's a good little speedwork session
3) I have a massage scheduled for the next day so whatever I do to my legs could get worked out.
4) I've done this race before and I really like it

Cons:
1) It's a hilly course
2) It could make my glute / nerve pain worse
3) I'd be wasting my entry fee if I didn't race
4) I'd go harder than I actually need to because it's a race

On screen it's a tie but I think that Con #2 is my biggest concern.  So, instead of racing, I think I'll don my expensive race shirt and do my long run on the flat waterfront trail by my house Saturday morning.  I hate missing races but realistically this is not my A race.  It's not even my B race, it's just a race.  Period.  It would have been race number 3 of my #13in2013 challenge but looks like that honor will fall to Boston, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I have to remember to keep my eyes on the prize:  finishing Boston feeling strong!

11 more days.  Where did the time go?

Going for Gold: Around the Bay Race Report

"Gold medals aren't really made of gold. They're made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts"  - Dan Gable

                           

I knew that if I wanted that gold medal I'd have dig deep.  I'll admit it, I was scared.  Scared that I'd blow up.  Scared that I'd fail.  Realistically the only person that would matter to is me, but still.  Fear is a great motivator.  It can also cause you do to some silly things, like throw your race plan out the window.  Which is pretty much what I did.  Instead of sticking with my carefully thought out plan, I chose to run on feel and when I couldn't feel anymore, I'd run on guts. 

My original plan was to be consistent and stick to 4:27's  (that would have me crossing the finish line in 2:13:30).  My fear being that once I hit the hills in the last 12km, I'd slow down a fair bit, despite the fact that I've been running hills on a regular basis in my training.  That would have been a totally fine plan except that once I started running for some reason I felt that 4:27's wouldn't give me enough of a cushion if I slowed down a lot in the rollers.  So, I ditched my plan and opted to run based on how I felt.  Not always a wise thing to do, especially in the early stages of a long distance race because you almost always feel good.  I didn't go too crazy at the start.  In fact, I was incredibly consistent.  My first km was a bit on the speedy side so I dialed it back and managed to hit exactly the same pace for the next 5km (4:20's).  In fact for the first 17km of the race, I managed to stay between 4:20's-4:25's, although my Garmin seemed to be off just a bit for the entire race.  So I think my pace was closer to mid 4:20's through the first 17km.

The First 10km: Getting into a Groove

I had my trusty "Safe & Danger" band on my right arm.  I knew that for the first 10km if I came in around 44 minutes, I'd be good in good shape.  I also knew that the pace I was running was probably going to get me to the 10km mark faster than 44 minutes.  The course is quite flat along here and relatively sheltered so you don't get much in the way of wind until you start heading north.  There are still plenty of people to draft off of as well so I was able to take shelter behind a few dudes, which was nice.  The closer we got to 10km, the more the crowd started to thin out.  I chugged along really well through here, making a point to grab water at every aid station.  My fueling strategy was the same as at my last race.  It seems to work really well for me.  There were a couple of points between 8 and 10 km where my "too slow" alarm went off so I picked up the pace.  We were running into the wind for a couple of km so it's not surprising.  As we came up to 10km I could see the clock.  I didn't pay much attention to the time on my Garmin as it seemed to be off a bit.  I was going on gun time, not chip time so the clock at 10km would tell me exactly what I needed to know. 

First 10km:  43:41.  Sweet.  I was well ahead of where I needed to be and I was feeling good.

The Middle 10km: Staying Focused

As soon as you cross the 10km timing mat, you start to climb a slight incline onto a bridge.  I felt strong going up this incline and actually passed a few people.  On the bridge, however, I slowed down.  It's one of those metal bridges with holes in it, which makes the footing incredibly uneven.  I changed up my stride going over this, which kind of bothered my left knee a bit.  Luckily I wasn't on there for too long and we were headed into one of my favourite parts of the course:  the stretch along Beach Blvd.  Last year there were people that had set up a bacon stand.  I kid you not.  Sadly they weren't there this year.  I'd be lying if I said I felt great through here.  I didn't.  But I didn't feel horrible either, I just felt kind of "meh".  I could see it in my pacing too.  My Garmin started to beep a bit more frequently.  It was almost like I was losing focus a bit.  I didn't panic though, I just kept moving forward, figuring that perhaps I was just going through a rough patch.  I kept watching the time, trying to do the math as to where I thought I'd be time wise at 15km.  I was pretty sure I'd be sub 1:06:00 which was perfect.   The clock at the 15km mark came into view and I could just make out 1:05 something.  As I got closer I saw 1:05:32.  Amazing.  I was at the halfway point.  I had at least another hour and 5 minutes.  Probably more given that I figured there was no way a negative split was happening today.   Knowing that I was well ahead of my 15km "danger" pace of 1:07:30 seemed to buoy my spirits a bit and I started to feel a little better.  I hoped that it would last as I knew that the really hard part was coming.  As we came off the road onto North Shore Blvd, Iron Maiden's "Run to the Hills" came on.  How appropriate, as that was exactly where I was headed.  Into the rollers.  I cranked it up and put it on repeat.  I actually started to feel good again so I tackled the first few rollers with gusto.  I remember thinking "this isn't so bad".  Riiight.  I was then smacked in the face with the first of the really ugly rollers.  "Oh yes, now I remember."  I could feel my quads starting to burn.  I let it fly on the downhills, knees be damned.  I spied the clock at the 20km mark but couldn't make it out just yet.  As I got closer, I could see it counting down to 1:27:30.  By the time I got there, the clock read 1:27:34.  Ok, I was slowing down a little but I was still very much in my safe zone and that's all I cared about.  

The Final Leg: Finding My Guts

Remember how I said I felt good between 16 and 20km?  As soon as I hit 21km, it was like I ran into a brick wall.  My entire body hurt.  Probably due to the long grinder of a climb that you do between 20 and 21km.  I got to the top and I was gasping.  I remember looking at my watch and seeing 1:31:30.  I started trying to do the math again.  Anything to keep my mind off the pain.  We were coming towards the hilly part of the GoodFriday 10 Miler course.  There was a very short steep downhill, followed by an equally steep but a little bit longer uphill.  Pure. Evil.  It took every ounce of strength in my legs to get up that hill.  I was starting to worry that I wouldn't be able to hang on over the next 8km.  It was at this point that I noticed a guy running right beside me.  Totally keeping pace with me.  He'd occasionally pull ahead of me a bit and then look over his shoulder to see if I was still there and then he'd settle back into my pace and run beside me.  It was like he needed some company.  There was no way I was getting any words out but it was nice to have the company, even if it was only for a few km.  As we pulled out onto Plains Road, he pulled ahead.  I tried to stay with him but I couldn't.  My legs were really starting to hurt.  My feet were also starting to cramp a bit.  I was thankful to get out onto Plains Road as that meant we were out of the rollers.  All we had left was the Big 'Un in between 25 and 26km.  I caught up with my friend for a bit and ran behind him as we headed towards the valley.  Once we started heading downhill, he pulled away from me again.   I could hear the familiar chorus of Queens "We Will Rock You" and I knew I was coming up to the highlight of the race:  The little dude in the wheelchair and his boom box.  This guy has been out at this same spot, playing this song every. single. time. I've done this race.  So, just like last year, I ran up to him, gave him a high five, thanked him for being there and told him he was always the highlight of my race.  With that done, I started the descent into the valley.  Once again, I let it rip down this hill.  My quads were absolutely shredded by this point but I didn't care.  I knew that once I got up the Big 'Un, it was flat and slightly downhill for the last 3km.  What I didn't bank on was the wind.  More on that later, let's get back to the Big 'Un.  

Everyone has their own opinion on this final climb.  Some people say it's not so bad, others (like myself) say it's horrible.  So in my opinion, it's the worst climb on the course.  When you get to the top you're at the 26km mark so I suppose the only thing that would make it even worse is if it was at the 29km mark.  Thankfully it's not.  It is definitely the steepest climb on the course.  You can see it prominently on the course elevation profile.

Yeah see that lovely dip at 25km, that's the Big 'Un.

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Given how hard I had pushed myself through the first 20km, I figured this climb was going to be just plan ugly.  And it was.  It was like I was carrying a knapsack with about 30lbs on my back.  My pace slowed to 5:30's and all my Garmin did was beep.  Thankfully I could barely hear it over my ragged breathing and cranked up ipod.  I can thank the Arctic Monkeys for getting me up that hill.  Much like they did last year.  I was actually wobbly when I got to the top.  I remember cresting that hill last year and actually feeling pretty good.  Not this year.   Nope.  I was going to leave it all out on the course this year.  It took me about 5 minutes to catch my breath and get back into a rhythm.  Then I noticed the wind.  Good. Freaking. Lord.  It wasn't horrible but in my already depleted state, it certainly wasn't great.  It made the last 3km just a little harder than I wanted them to be.  I tried to catch a few people and draft, anything to ease the hurt I was feeling.  I managed to do that with a wee little guy in a Longboat Runner's singlet but given that he was shorter than me, it didn't really do me much good so I moved on.   I was running on nothing but guts and fumes at this point.  Once again I started trying to do the math in my head based on what my Garmin said.  At about 28km I knew absolutely for sure that I'd make it in well under 2:15.  I think I started smiling just after I high fived the Grim Reaper.  I was guessing I'd be in around 2:12:30.  As I got closer to Copps Coliseum, I started scanning the crowd.  My sister said she'd be out with her boyfriend Jesse and I knew G would be waiting for me somewhere.  Sure enough I saw my sister and Jesse just past the 29km mark.  I could hear her yelling Go get it PK and I remember saying I've so. freaking. GOT THIS.  And making my trademark Rock On fingers (of course).  I may have been hurting but I was beyond happy.  I was smiling the entire way and trying to get the crowd to make some noise, which they did.  I took a very wide corner into Copps, pulled off my sunglasses and pounded down the ramp, wincing at the soreness in my quads.  As I turned the corner I saw the clock had just ticked over to 2:12.  I had nothing left, there was no final sprint.  Nothing.  Some guy came flying by me as I came into the Coliseum.  You go buddy.  I raised my arms and grinned as I crossed the line.  I had done it.  

Gun time:  2:12:26.  Chip time:  2:12:14.  5 minutes faster than last year.

I walked over to get my medal and as soon as the girl handed it to me, I kissed it.  I couldn't stop smiling and I totally couldn't wait to see G.  As I walked out of the stadium I happened to look up and saw him standing there smiling that smug look he gets sometimes when he knows that he was right.  I didn't care.  He was right.  I DID it.  All that worrying was for nothing.  

Good as Gold.

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As I was exiting the stadium, I saw my friend from earlier.  He stopped to thank me and shake my hand.  He said I really helped him.  I thought that was really sweet.  I said that even though I didn't say anything, it was really nice to have the company.  THAT is exactly what I love about running and runners in general.   

I hobbled out to the exit of the Coliseum to go meet G and my sister.  The one thing I hate about finishing in Copps is that they make you take the escalator up to the second floor and then you have to walk DOWN the stairs to the exit.  For whatever reason they don't allow you to just walk straight out.  I guess they want to keep some semblance of order and not have everyone and their brother walking around in the finishing / food area.   Other than that, this race always delivers.  It's incredibly well organized and well supported.  It's not surprising that it sells out every year.  I'll probably be back next year to do it again, even though I'm not planning on running a spring marathon.

Me and my awesome cheerleaders.

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Now I've got 3 weeks to recover and get my last little bit of intensity in before I toe the line in Hopkinton.  Some people that push themselves at Around the Bay go on to have crappy experiences at Boston because it is only 3 weeks later.  Last year I ran ATB at more comfortable pace and I still caved at Mississauga, which was a whole 6 weeks later.  So perhaps this year's experience will remind me what it's like to run with guts.  That being said, I'm not going to be stupid.  Boston isn't a walk in the park and I don't want to re-live my last experience there.   It's been 10 years since I last ran Boston so hopefully I've managed to learn something.  I guess I'll find out in 3 weeks.