Well, that was interesting. Certainly not what I had in mind, but I guess I'm okay with it, all in all.
Bad accident on Friday, driving down, in the opposite lanes of the expressway. Closed the highway for those going North and really backed things up. I arrived in Toronto around dinner time, picked up my number, and check into my hotel.
Dinner at an English pub across the street. Fish and chips. Only one beer this time, compared to four last week. Hmm, maybe should have gone for four!
Hot and humid in the morning. 22C/72F, with 89% humidity making it feel like 30C/85F. The sweat was prolific.
I was very conscious of the time, as I had to run my race, get back to my hotel to shower and check out, and then drive back to Sudbury in time for my 5pm Mass. So, needless to say, I was antsy when the race started 9 minutes late.
Cool site. For all the years Toronto has been around, they have dumped fill in this part of Lake Ontario, and it extends out a few miles into the lake. They have turned it all into parkland/marina, with walking/biking/running trails. It was nice to discover this place, and the race was to raise funds for it's conservatory.
My anxiety pushed me to the front of the starting line, quite by accident. I've never started on the mat before, and I knew I didn't belong there. It kinda just happened! Oh well. There were several events going on, with the Half Marathon starting off with a 10 miler event.
So, we're off (9 minutes late!), and I'm running way too fast. I'm too experienced to make these mistakes. First mile in 6:54, but with a top speed of 5:25. Right away I knew that was going to cause me trouble, especially with this humidity/heat. I was supposed to run 7:10 splits, but my next three were all around 7:02. Too fast, and it did catch up with me, I'm afraid.
So, it kinda went downhill from there, and I ended up running as hard as I could just to keep my splits below 8:00. And a few still came close to that.
I came in 21st overall, and 3rd in my division. But it wasn't a great run for me. Averaged out at 7:31/mile.
So, the route is pretty flat, and mostly paved. The gravel sections were a bit messy, and you did have to dodge the big puddes. It was out and around the lighthouse on the point, then back almost to the start line, and then the same thing repeated. The 10 milers, of course, had shorter loops, which meant that I was catching up with them and passing the slower ones. Nice, from a head perspective, even though they were racing a different event.
Anyway, my legs were toast. I found it hard to even pick it up at the end. And almost 2 minutes slower than my Ottawa Half in May. Ah well. It was still good to be there.
The ride home was a challenge. Monsoon rain for the 1st half, and a major detour due to an accident. I ended up driving the 4 1/2 hours non-stop, and just made it back in time for Mass. Sore! Major blood blister on my big toe too.
I think I'll run the 10k, rather than the Half, next week in Sault Ste. Marie.
Decent enough finish line photo, so I coughed up the $9.00 and bought it so that my blog photo is up to date. The smile is fake - I wasn't actually that happy.
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