Ft. Lauderdale Half Marathon Race Report

Ok, well it's been awhile since I last hit the blog and I guess I owe myself a race report on the Fort Lauderdale half marathon since it's been over 2 weeks. 

This race came about because I had a 20k training run on my Boston marathon training schedule and I was going to be in south Florida anyway so why not. Well. Short answer is if I ran it as a training run then all good, but if I raced it for a major PR having not trained for a half marathon it could be down right stupid. I'll save the suspense... I was down right stupid.

We arrived in South Florida on Friday night. Dropped the kids with the grandparents and headed to Fort Lauderdale on Saturday. The weather was perfect and I spent the afternoon drinking beers and getting sun by the cruddy hotel pool. We had a nice dinner out and retired to the cruddy hotel room for a pretty decent sleep. Given the 6am start time and the bus ride to the start line, I was up at 4 am. Had my normal hotel breakfast of coffee and cereal and headed out. 

cold but not nervous like I was the previous year

It was quite "chilly" especially since I was in my little running shorts and tank top. I knew as soon as we got moving I would be perfectly dressed.  This race is run amazingly well as we made it to the start line with ample time. Found a spot next to a generator to stay warm in the exhaust and waited for the start. 

Race was great. I started near the front and was just so happy to start running to get warm. Settled into a nice 4:35/km pace and ran happily. The sun was just coming up as we crossed e bridge over the inter-coastal and hit A1A. It was pretty spectacular.  I ran a consistent race, staying with a good group of people.

the views are down right stunning

There isn't much more to say than this is a beautiful, flat and fast course. Aid stations are well staffed and efficient.  Great support and a fun race to run. The last 5 km my legs were feeling the stress of the run since I was running basically faster than I normally would for this distance. I pushed through and hit the finish line in 1:37:15. A huge PB for me by about 5 minutes. 

Barry's signature shot

I was completely wasted when I finished.  It was like I say at the end of a hard track interval- if you don't feel like puking you didn't go fast enough. I felt like puking.  It is a fabulous finish line but I couldn't find Barry and that is always stressful for me. At the end of a race I have this unnerving need to find him and when I can't I get super irritated and annoyed. 

This was me when Barry found me

Finally we found each other and at this time I was freezing cold. They don't have Mylar blankets at these southern races so I was just ready to get back to the cruddy hotel and get out of my wet running cloths and into something warm. I wanted to go back and see the official results because I thought I might have made the podium. But of course we went back and I was hit with yet another 7 th place (6 th and 7th seem to be my sweet spot). But I ran it as fast as I could and at the time I was happy with the PR and breaking 1:40.

Sadly, racing this race was a mistake as it trashed my legs. Specifically my right hamstring. Exactly what happened last year after racing the Toronto Yonge Street 10k ....  So I've had to pay the price by missing out of running long while in Florida and having to curtail my training for a couple of weeks. 

So I returned to frigid Toronto without running a nice 30k run while in warm Florida. This of course threw me into a seriously depressed tailspin but that's for another post. 

Lesson learned though, if Ironman Lake Placid is my "A" race, my expectations and plan for Boston Marathon have to be tweaked!  While I had grand hopes for running close to 3:30 at Boston, I am now thinking just breaking 4 hours at Boston will be respectable.  I'm back to running now and my hamstring seems to be ok so only the next few weeks of training will tell!

And if you ever want a great destination race - I have now raced both the full (read the report here) and the half and I would do them again!  The expo is amazing for such a small race, the logistics are well run, the course is amazing and the finish-line has more food and freebees than any race I have ever been at!  So next time the Polar Vortex has you down escape to Ft. Lauderdale in mid-February for a destination race!

2 weeks in: Getting into the swing of Training!

Here we are, 14 weeks out from MTB half iron and 10 weeks out from the Ottawa Half Marathon - Im training for both officially, though I seem to be favouring the Ottawa Half plan over the half-iron plan.

I'm sucking up my dislike of getting wet every Monday and Wednesday night and hitting the pool for my master's swim class.  I find the practices very challenging and I either leave thinking "WOW I really nailed that" or "crap, I'm never going to be any good swimming".  I figure if I just keep at it, it's got to be good for me.  I'm longing for the days of open water swimming and ditching the eau de chlorine.  But the sad reality is I actually need to add another day of swimming into my plan at some point and it will not be warm enough to be in Open Water!

Now, let's talk about running!  I am LOVING the run right now!  After smashing my huge PR and BQ at the Ft. Lauderdale A1A Marathon, I have decided I like being a fast runner.  I am sort of following my coaches plan - as well as I can that is.  I was supposed to do a LSD (long, slow, distance) run yesterday at a 5:33 min/km pace - and I came in with 19km at a 4:57 min/km pace (hey, it was cold and I wanted to get through it!).  I've sent the good coach an email asking if this is good or bad.  Fingers crossed it is a good thing.  I don't like getting in trouble for going too fast - wait, I've never had that problem before!  I have really embraced the treadmill for my mid-week intensity, steady state and fartlek runs.  I cannot wait until the weather allows be to run freely outdoors!

My first run out the Leslie Spit of 2013!  Cold but beautifully sunny day!

Anyway, running is my highlight right now and I'm even considering applying to be a part of the NUUN Hood to Coast Relay.  I'm sure my blog isn't read enough to qualify, plus I have to get my editing skills going to produce a video to convince them that I would like to spend 24 hours in a van with a bunch of other girls and run down a mountain to the ocean.  AND I'm not even sure they let Canadian's do it (though, you know I'm an American by birth so I'm sure I can figure something around that!).  But one thing is for certain - I do love NUUN and I drink enough of it to put me as a front runner if that's a metric they are using!

And finally, back to talk about training.  I'm not really embracing the bike portion of my training as of yet.  My bike is still not completely together and isn't even close to be put on the trainer or the road for that matter.  I am, however, making great use of the awesome new spin bikes at the gym and I'm hoping that my high intensity, mega power pushing sessions are keeping my cycling legs strong for when I do decide to get my but back into the Cervelo's saddle for the season.

So that's the update on the training, slow and steadily working my way through my plans!

Scotia Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon Race Report

Scotia Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon Race Report
16 October 2011

I came into my 4th half marathon of the year with very low expectations.  A week prior to the race I came down with a sinus infection that threatened my ability to make it to the start line.  Couple that with a forecast of rain and wind, I held out making my decision to run until Saturday - and at that time I decided to run but would take it easy and not push myself - I will just shoot for sub 2 hours.  I think my husband said "you don't know how not to push yourself".

Race time was a nice, late 9am so the morning was pretty much a normal morning. Up around 6:45, couple cups of coffee and a large bowl of Leaping Leamers cereal (yes, I eat a peanut butter and chocolate kids cereal for breakfast - it's the perfect pre-race food).  We grabbed a cab and picked up Carole and Vic and we were at race site at 8:15.

Barry and I said our good byes to our friends and made our way to bag check - which was pretty efficient to check the bag - more later on the fiasco on retrieving the bag, hit the porto potty lines and then went to get into the blue corral at about 8:45.  The corral was spilling over with a huge mob of people at the little entrance in the fenced in area and NO ONE WAS MOVING.  Well, by this time I was pumped and ready to go and I had my eye on the 1:50 pace bunny as I could feel a PR in the air so I gently started with my "excuse me pardon me excuse me" and slithered myself into the corral and as close to the pace bunny as possible.  I told Barry (who was under trained not trained for this race) that I was feeling good and that I would see him at the finish line.  And with that we were off!

This race was too crowded.  Not just the start, not just the first KM - the entire race I was fighting for space to pass.  It was miserable!  But my legs felt great, I felt great and in my heart I thought perhaps I could finally break that 1:50 mark.  My PR was the 2010 Toronto Goodlife of 1:51:14.  So I ran.  I zigged.  I zagged. And I ran.  Besdies the first km which was 5:44 due to the intense crowd, I averaged 5:15 kms.  I had taken an onza perforance gel prior to the race starting and I took a hammer gel at about 5km in.  I took water at every water station.  My mouth and throat were incredible dry due to the wind and the dry air.

The first 18 km flew by.  I was so excited to see Carole and Victoria on Lakeshore as we had trained together the few weeks leading up to the race.  It was Vic's first half, Carole's second.  It was a PR race for both of them at 2:40!

T H E   L A S T  3  K
Yip, I had one major fail in my race.  Remember I took a hammer gel at 5km.  That's all I took.  I had honey stingers and another hammer gel to take.  I train by taking something every 5km.  So why I didn't I can only attribute to the crowds and being singularly focusing on passing. At at the ramp at 19km my body hit a wall.  My muscles slowly gave up and my pace started slowing.  The 1:50 bunny who I had passed at 1km and hadn't seen all day joined me and then left me in the dust.  I pushed hard and I never stopped running.  I told myself "if you think this is hard, what do you think you are going to feel 19km into the run at the Ironman".  I pushed.

The turn up Bay Street was both awesome and horrific.  The crowds were awesome.  I pulled my ear buds out so that I could focus on the cheers of support.  But it was like a wind tunnel.  I kept my head down and pushed on trying to sprint to the finish but I don't think it was much of a sprint.  The clock read 1:53 as I crossed the line.  I was pretty sure it took me a few minutes to hit the start line.  I wondered if I had broken the illusive 1:50.

I felt pretty rough when I came to a stop.  It was very crowded.  I looked for my buddy Catherine who was handing out medals but couldn't find her. I grabbed a banana and a bottle of water.  Once I got my bearings I decided to recover my bag from back check...

BAG CHECK = MAJOR FAIL
It was a mad house. We were crammed into a very small space divided into to lanes. We stood. we chatted, we shivered, we wondered.  NOTHING WAS HAPPENING.  every 8 mins or so someone would come back with a bag.  We were not moving.  I took this time to check my results on my blackberry.  I was happy to see I PR'd... but didnt' break the 1:50 mark.  I finished in 1:50:22.  Yip. 23 seconds.  So now I'm a little bummed but really pissed off at the bag check and I want to find my husband.

Barry, my husband, is a very resourceful guy.  Knowing I would be in the bag check hell - he climbed atop a mail box and we found each other.  I was relieved that he knew where I was (while I run with my blackberry, he does not).  I had been in the line for over 30 minutes now and it was really getting bad.  About 10 minutes later I hear a cheer, I turn to look and Barry is standing on the mailbox again and he's holding my bag up above his head.  I was overcome with joy that I could leave that mess and join him.  It was no easy feat getting out of that space and while I understand everyone was frustrated with the situation - there were some down right rude people wouldn't let me through.

We made our way over to the post race party which was pretty empty - considering everyone was either in bag check hell or as I found out from my friends were pushed north to Queen street  so they missed that area all together.  We decided to grab a cab on Yonge street and get the heck out of there!

We are lucky to live in the beach, just a block before the turn around point for the full marathon.  So after we showered and got warm we went out to cheer on the marathon runners.  It was inspirational to cheer them on and I know we motivated them just a little bit as the spectators had dwindled by that time and I can imagine that being a pretty lonely time in the marathon with 9km left, into the wind.  Barry and I clapped and cheered on each runner by name.

23 SECONDS
I'm pretty hard on myself I guess.  Considering leading up to the race I wasn't even thinking of PR'ing, I have beaten myself up over 23 seconds.  23 seconds.  If I had gotten in front of that one guy, or not slowed down to grab that second cup of water at the 4th water station, or not taken water at that last station just 1 km from the finish, or stopped to pick up my arm warmer I dropped at the 5km mark.  So many places I could have recovered that 23 seconds.  23 seconds. Then I think how trivial that 23 seconds is.

BECAUSE - in this same race,

Eric Gillis qualified for the Olympics with 1 second to spare,

 Reid Coolsaet missed breaking the Canadian Record by 46 seconds,

a 27 year old man lost his life and a 100 year old man became the first centurion to finish a marathon!

So, I concede.  23 seconds were not meant to be.  So my next half marathon, which at this time is the Chilly Half in March - that 1:50 mark still stands and it will be there for me to blow out of the water because I think I will have to set my goal for something a little more than 23 seconds.  Sub 1:45 it just might have to be!