The Chilly Half Marathon - my first ever half marathon race. The focus was on using it as a training run and not going all out so I had different goals than getting a great time. I didn't end up going for my 2 mile easy run after the race and cut short my 2 mile easy run before the race (see explanation below).
I ran the race in 1:39:33 - a 4:43minute/km pace. I was 271st out of 2273 racers and 46st out of 171 in my category M35-39.
Race Start
Grade: F
This did not go well at all. Wanting to go for my 2 mile run prior the start of the race was not the best idea. I also wanted to use the facilities before the race but there didn't seem to be a lot of "quick" options. The port-o-potties had a line up that was over a block long, the Starbucks I found wasn't much better (but I did wait in line for 10 minutes before I gave up), City Hall wasn't open and the mini-mall required a pass code to use the washrooms. I gave up and headed to the line with only a few minutes before the start and after only completing about a mile of my 2 mile run. Except for being annoyed and a bit frazzled - not finding a washroom didn't have an impact on my run.
I had a miserable time getting to where I needed to be in the start gate. I was apologizing to everyone as I was squeezing my way up to the front. I saw a pace bunny with a 1 hour 45 minute sign so I gave up trying to work my way in and stayed there. That was also a mistake - my split for my first km was 5:27 - almost a minute slower than where I wanted to be. Part of the problem was the snow that had fallen the night before had turned into a lot of slush so there weren't many easy to travel lanes that weren't occupied by people. For the first 6km to 7km I was trying to move ahead of people.
Gels
Grade: C
I tried using the gel container that I purchased yesterday but because of the cold it was very difficult to get the gel out of the bottle. My first attempt went so poorly that I put the container back into my holster but upside down. That helped. But not much. I didn't end up having as much of the gels as I would have liked but I did get some, and despite my fumbling it didn't seem to have much impact on my pace. I still have 8 weeks to get this right.
Pace
Grade: B+
If I plan on running the Mississauga Marathon with a 4:36 minute/km pace - I need to figure out what that feels like. I won't have my iPhone to guide me. For the first half of the race this was a bit of a problem. My first 1km was a 1 minute slower than my goal pace. My 2km was too fast (by only 10 seconds, but that can be dangerous). The next several were spent trying to get into a rhythm. However, the last 7 out of 8km were right on pace and the 5km prior to that were close enough - and more importantly consistent. Overall I was happy where I ended up at.
Handler
Grade: B
Nick graciously agreed to help me out for this race and will hopefully help out again at the Mississauga Marathon. The "B" grade isn't a reflection of how he performed his job, but on how I used him. I should have provided him with detailed instructions of what he needed to do - but part of the problem was I only had a vague idea of what I wanted him to do.
For example, I wanted to have some Gatorade just before the start of the race - but forgot to mention that to him so I had no idea where he was when the gun went off. I also completely forgot that I had an ice pack to ice my knees after the race - something I could have asked him to make sure I used. I also almost forgot I had chocolate milk in my bag for after the race. Once the race is done, you're not thinking clearly. After the marathon I'm going to need someone who is going to make sure I do certain things so that I can recover properly. If I don't give any instructions - I'm not going to be able to get it done.
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Right now - I'm sore. One of the differences with this run was the marathon pace that I was running at - the first time I've tried it out over an extended distance. I could feel the pounding on my legs especially towards the end of the race and I can feel the consequences now.
A rest day tomorrow.
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