Toronto 10 miler Race Report

This past Sunday I ran the Toronto 10 miler - my second year in a row running this race and it was even better than last year.  I'm not sure if there were less runners this year or if it was the change in the start/finish area but I found the race this year much less crowded.  Last year I remember being pushed around quite a bit while this year it was a very pleasant race.

I went into this race with very fresh legs since last week was a recovery week in my Ironman training and I took it even easier than my plan due to a sore Achilles from my long run last weekend.  I didn't run all week to rest the Achilles and then hit the treadmill for 30 minutes on Friday and felt super.

Now that I'm training for an Ironman and have quite a few running and trialthon races under my belt, I don't really get stressed out or nervous for a race.  In fact, the night before I was at my girlfriend's house for a little party - though I was very good and only had 2 beers followed by 3 very large glasses of NUUN and was home before 10:30.  I did eat a bit of junk though so I was a little worried about that effecting me on Sunday.

We woke around 6:15 and I proceeded with my normal morning routine of coffee and cereal for breakfast.  I was very relaxed as if I was just getting ready for any Sunday morning run.  Our babysitter arrived at 7:30 and we were in a cab on our way to the Distillery District.  We arrived with more than enough time to hit the port-o-potty and ended up muling about before lining up. The weather was quite cool in the shade and I remember thinking this was going to a nice cool race.

The start line was uneventful.  I was in the second corral  and Barry was in the 3rd so we said our goodbyes and lined up.  Like I said, last year the race was SO CROWDED and I was expecting the same this year but it wasn't bad at all.  There was a new start/finish line this year and I think that helped.  At 8:30 the starting gun went off and we were off.

It wasn't even a kilometre into the run that the clouds disappeared and it got warm ... hot.  I decided right then I was going to soak myself at every water station to keep from over heating.  I find that once I over heat it is harder to get back onside. I didn't have any real strong goals for this race since it was more like a fun training run more than anything.  Though there is always a part of me that wants to test my limits.  I wanted to see if I could maintain 16 km under 5min/km. My first km clocked in at 4:58 and I felt great.

I love the course as it goes out the Leslie Spit and my long runs regularly take me out there.  I ran consistently keeping my pace around 4:50/km.  Around the 10km mark I caught up to a man and we paced each other the remainder of the way.  I felt strong and sprinted in the finish.  I was so incredibly happy to be under 1:20 and still have energy.  I didn't feel tired or wiped out at all and really felt like I could go on forever.

For the first time EVER, I got not one, but two blisters.  As we were entering the Spit there was a misting cooling tent which I ran under and soaked my shoes in a big puddle.  I guess the wet socks got the better of me.  Thank goodness for Elastoplast SOS blister bandages.  They have been a saving grace!

The finishing chute this year was awesome - it was wide and long.  Last year I remember being hurried through with a man on a megaphone "keep on moving, keep on moving".   This year I was able to stay at the finish line and watch Barry finish.

This is definitely one of my favourite races.  CRS and Alan Brooks did a fantastic job and of course the volunteers were awesome.  A well supported race all around.  I will run this race again next year!