Scotiabank Marathon, Half-Marathon and 5K
Sunday, September 15, 2002Race report from Myra...
Date: Sun Sept 15, 2002
Subject: Race Report Scotia 5Km
Hello all... The best thing to report from the Scotia Bank 5km this morning is that I feel *great*. Its my first race since...*yikes*...the Santa Shuffle last December. I think I may have my injuries "licked" at last...and at the very least I am back in the saddle! My fitness level is certainly not what it was last year at this time :-( but 'c'est la vie' -- it felt great to be out there among other runners again. I started out a bit too fast, with a plan of doing 10&1's, but after getting a bit winded about half way I went to 5&1's and finished the race quite happily and within my goal pace (28:42.)
Looking forward to the "Give Girls a Chance 5km" next weekend.
Hope everyone had fun out there running the Scotia 1/2, Terry Fox, and just out there training for upcoming events.
mm
Below: Myra and Liesha at the Scotiabank 5K starting line.
Race report from Helen...
Date: Sun Sept 15, 2002
Subject: Scotiabank 1/2 and terry fox!Well, its been a whirlwind of a day so far!! Luckily the weather has held out and I have yet to get drenched!
I met up with Maureen this morning for the Scotiabank 1/2. I had my bag packed with clothes for every weather condition - even had a green garbage bag on hand in case it was pouring before we even started. We got a great parking spot underground at Simcoe. Thought it was great until I tried to drive home and was completely surrounded by the race route!
The bag check was in Metro Hall and that was a breeze. Finding washrooms was not so great. However, did manage to get that taken care of and went out for a 15 min. warm up run. It was muggy. Too warm and really humid. YUCK!
The 1/2 itself was good. I ran it as a pace run for the Casino Niagara full at the end of October and am pleased with the results. The pace was bang on for my marathon goal and I felt I could have easily done another 8 miles before I was going to run into too much trouble. The first couple of miles were heavily congested but then the pack began to spread out and it was much easier to run.
I got to the 10K at 55 minutes which is what my plan had been. Left me just under one hour to get the next 11.1K in and since I have really been focusing on negative splits this was looking good. I was feeling much better in the second 1/2. they were giving out Gels around the 14K point and had numerous flavours available. Major bonus!!!
The final three K were good. I finished about 1:54:20 (haven't got my chip time yet). I am happy with the results since I did 18 miles last week, and some pretty serious running this week with my last run being a speed session on Friday morning. Not to mention, I have an enormous blister on my right arch that has been screaming for about 10 days. (need an orthotic adjustment immediately!)
Anyhow, got my medal which is very nice, and spent the next 40 minutes sitting in traffic trying to get around the race. UGH! Got home, spun thru a shower, put on clean shorts, shirt, socks and back into my runners to take the girls to the Terry Fox run at Wilket Creek. We did 2K and instead of running we skipped, hopped and sprinted. It was fun - took us 1/2 an hour but was soooo much more enjoyable then the Scotiabank!
I am now officially done for the day! Need a nice dinner, a good glass of wine and I'll be back in the runners for my Tuesday morning workout.
Hope everyone else who did these runs had a good day!
Helen
Race report from Mila...
Date: Sun Sept 15, 2002
Subject: Scotiabank 1/2 marathon race reportOn my way to the Marine Corps Marathon.....
Well I ran my first race today. The Scotiabank 1/2 marathon at the waterfront. I took this as a regular training run....was a bit nervous, but not too bad cause I've run this distance a couple times already. The good thing is that I ran without ibuprofen for the first long run in over a month. I stayed well back in the pack with no time pressure. We started out all bunched up at 8:00a.m and walked for a couple of minutes then started running really slowly along Wellington and then down Bay street. We turned east onto Lakeshore and at this point the pace started to pick up and I lost my group but was still with one woman who I run regularly with. We got to just past Yonge street and it was time for our first 1 minute walk break, we took it even though we didn't need it yet. We continued east to Parliament and then turned west on Lakeshore. At about Bay we passed the first of the Marathoners (they had started at 7:30 and had turned west on Lakeshore and gone out to Windermere, and were returning....which means, I figure they did 18k in about an 1hr....how can that be possible????). Anyway, at that point or maybe a bit before my friend Maria caught up to us (she had slept in and only arrived at 7:55 am.....kinda like almost missing a flight I suspect). We continued at a very comfortable pace (me drinking gatorade) 'til about 9:15 when I started to lose a bit of steam (between Dunn and Parkside Drive) and thought hmmm maybe I should take a gel. We passed the first place woman on her way back at the west end of Ontario Place. I noticed that they had powergel on the south side for the people who had rounded Windermere and thought I'd wait to try those instead of using my Cliff shots. We saw Bev, Diane and Andrea on the return side just past Colborne Lodge Drive, and cheered each other on. It felt great to round the corner at Windermere and know that we were over half way done. It had been cool and the rain had held off but it was still cloudy, probably the most ideal Sunday run conditions we've had to date. At this point the field was very sparse, only a few
runners behind us and some walkers, but now we started over taking other runners (when your at the end it's more likely to overtake than be overtaken). My husband, Chris and 18 month old Olivia were there waiting for us at Lakeshore and Parkside, I was really happy to see them...I gave Olivia a smooch and then we continued along after having our powergel and some water. We started picking up speed (and if I hadn't accidentally stopped my pedometer somewhere around Bathurst on the way out I may be able to say that I did a negative split). We continued strong until around Bathurst when I felt I could use another gel...but I resisted cause we only had 3 or 4 km to go. I took some gatorade at the water stop at Bathurst and that gave me the kick I needed...we speeded up and then I put on the gas on Bay street selfishly leaving Maria behind but when I turned on to Wellington she passed me...well, I was hot on her heals and sprinted to catch her, hearing the announcer talking about the runner in the blue go (that would be me) and seeing Chris and Olivia cheering us on. Maria and I ended up crossing the finish line at the same time and immediately embraced, and fighting back tears, I saw Bob and Jean waiting for us to give us a big hug and taking photos! Chris and Olivia rushed over to continue the hugging. I felt great and proceeded to get my finisher's medal. My knees are a bit sore today but I feel great emotionally and am looking forward more than ever to our trip to Washington.Resting,
Mila
Race report from Maureen N...
Date: Sun Sept 15, 2002
Subject: ScotiabankWell.. where to start?... It all started in a little radio station in Nebraska! No no that’s not it!
There is a bit of history to this race for me. It was my first ½ marathon and this was three years ago. It had been a terrible year, my dad died, my grandmother died, my dog died, other family problems and we bought a new house and had to sell our own. All of this happened in about 3 months and then I got a stress fracture that May. Once I was recovered from the stress fracture I trained hard, real hard, in fact too hard. I was burnt out two weeks before the race but I had promised myself that I would run it and so I did.
I started off too fast and by 10k was feeling very nauseous. I had to stop and walk many times. In those days I believed that eating or drinking would upset my stomach. Duh! I was so lucky to meet a women named Angie and she walked, talked and ran me through almost the whole second half. I finished but I felt terrible. My time was around 2:30. So I killed myself but I had a decent time I guess.
Flash forward to this year. I now know to eat and drink on a run. I now know that taking walk breaks can greatly increase my ability to run long distances. I felt strong and ready. This race is the antithesis of the first. That was an unspoken goal, just to finish feeling better. I knew I could do the distance thanks to all the long training runs and the hill workouts.
I drove down with Helen and we got our bags checked had a washroom break and then Helen went for a warm up run. I hung around and tried to stay calm and at least look cool! I positioned myself well into the back pack. Started the race and then just plugged along making sure I didn’t go too fast. Everything was going fine. At the 12k mark or so there was a live band and while I was passing they played the song “ I’ll be there”. I almost started to cry thinking of all the people who have supported me, encouraged me and loved me. It was a very special moment. I kept chugging along and then all of a sudden we were at the 16k mark! Wow so soon and I felt so good. Getting tired yes but not getting sick! At the 19k mark I started to speed up a bit. It was great making that last turn into Wellington. Music again helped so much. They were playing Pinball Wizard and the timing was perfect. As soon as Elton started to sing I turned the corner and sped up again. I tried to keep that pace but it was a little too fast so I took it down a notch. Kept going and then just a few more meters to go I sped up again and crossed the finish line!!!!
I was very happy. I finished in 2:28:??. That is my fastest time ever!!! It was 30 min faster than my training runs and I felt so good. Tired, you bet, but man I had enough energy to speed up at the end!!!
So I am home now, jacuzzied, fed, watered and my daughter is going to give me a foot massage. Ahhhh.
Congratulations Helen! I am looking forward to Deb’s report. I saw her ahead of me. That pink hat sure does stand out!
Take care everybody and I will see you next weekend!!
Maureen N
Race report from Deb...
Date: Sun Sept 15, 2002
Subject: Scotiabank Half Report and Terry FoxHi everybody,
Well, I am happy to report that I am VERY GLAD that I drove up for this race! It was fun, and I set a PR...2:14:15. The only disappointing thing is that Sportstat changed my number along the way, and my name didn't show up on the results page. However, my previous number was listed as finishing in 2:14:13, complete with a different name (and gender!). I think I'll have to contact them to see if this can be ironed out. At least I know that ran a good race, toppling my previous Half Marathon PR (which was set just two weeks prior in Virginia Beach).
I saw one pink hat at the start, but couldn't make my way over there, and couldn't catch up to it. I can only assume that it was Helen. Congratulations on such a great finish time, Helen!
I did see Richard, from Achilles Track Club, just prior to the start of the Half. Unfortunately, it was as I was riding up the escalator, and he was riding down. During the race, with about 6k to go, I came across Brian, also from Achilles. He was running well, and finished a ways before I did.
Maureen, I'm sorry that I didn't see you at the finish. I'm sure that I was there when you crossed the finish line. I was milling around there for a half hour after finishing, looking for Bryan. He missed my crossing the finish line, as I had told him that I'd finish just a bit before 2:30:00; I never dreamed that I'd be capable of pushing through a full quarter hour sooner.
Afterwards, we ran 5 to 6k of the Terry Fox Run. We got there late, having changed into FRESH running clothes; this is not to mention that we were tired from the race. At least, I was tired from the race. Although I'm sure that I wasn't running at Tempo pace to keep up with Bryan for the Terry Fox, it sure felt like it. So many of my running pals are faster than I am...poor guy had to slow down and wait for me at several points. Oh well...it's the participation and the cause that counted for this one.
I'm looking forward to a considerably shorter and easier paced run tomorrow...even though this weekend was a great running event.
Hugs to all,
Deb
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