People have been asking for more running events in and around the Milton area ever since Running Free Milton (located at 515 Main St E) opened its doors three years ago. Running Free Milton listened, and though it often feels like a huge undertaking, we are well underway, with preparations in full swing.

In true “let’s make everything as difficult as we possibly can” style, we managed to require the permission of two different towns, with our course of choice. Luckily, in the meetings with the officials assigned to this particular event, we met with two police officers. One who has herself run several half marathons, and the other an Ironman athlete – both obviously understands the need and draw to this type of community even. Both these individuals ‘got’ how this event has potential to grow into something very big – probably too big for the likes of us to manage alone!

September 16th, 2012 will be the date to mark in your calendars. We chose this date for a few reasons. For one thing, early fall will potentially mean not only great temperatures on race day, but allows for the majority of training to be done in the better weather of the summer. Another reason mid September works is that several popular full marathons occur in November; Hamilton and New York to name a few. Milton Half will provide a great long run day – testing out new paces in preparation for perhaps an ‘A’ race in November.

More perks of the Milton Half will be the fact that the course is set on beautiful, rolling country roads for the majority of the distance, along with friendly, well equipped water/aid stations. Gels will be provided at every water station – in our view a must for endurance events. Plus, PACE PANTHERS – oh yes – better than bunnies! Our event is also a NEW YORK MARATHON QUALIFIER!!!

Local businesses will be able to promote their services before, during and after the event. We are also working on as much entertainment and distraction as possible along the course. We have linked in with the Challenge Foundation, a local charity that prides itself on raising funds for 10 main charities, all of which ensure 90% usage of funds for the charity itself, only 10% being allocated to ‘admin’. Over 50% of the funds remain in Canada – another factor that we feel is important. Having set up our own on-line registration, we are able to contribute $1.00 from each registration fee to our named charities, on top of other funds raised. The 5km run/walk allows for locals to get out with their friends and neighbours for some physical activity, with their children in tow if they so desire! Strollers will be allowed on the out and back 5km course – straight up and down Main St. Another great ‘plus’ of the Milton Half Marathon, is the fact that the logistics are simple. Everything takes place in and around the GO Station, right on Main St E. Larger big city races are often intimidating. Before and after events will be located in the GO Station parking lot right on Main – easy parking and access to Start/Finish. We are working on the Superstore (located right next to the GO Station), for a post race BBQ – to be confirmed closer to race day. Keep everything crossed.

This event would not be possible without the hard work of Elicia Treasure. She keeps the rest of us motivated and on track, with frequent reminders that September 16th will soon be here!!!

Check out www.miltonmarathon.com for full and complete details….

We arrived in San Diego on Thursday and were excited to get the bike together.  The rest of the day was spent tuning the tandem and trying to not let his aunt and uncle get us drunk!

Friday saw us head down to the venue to get registered.  We ceaselessly amazed how much attention the tandem always receives.  Once the registration necessities were completed, we settled in to watch the women’s pro race.  This the first opportunity that I have had to watch an ITU race live. It was exciting and very interesting to see how fast these men and women are.  We were also lucky to watch the men on Saturday which was even more interesting than the women’s race.  The whole weekend was filled with pro spotting as many of the top names in triathlon were there.

Saturday arrived with the type of weather you would expect in Southern California, beautiful!  We got the bike settled and transition set up.  This was to be the shortest race Ryan and I had done together.  We were not entirely sure of how things were going to go, as this was early in the season, and the bodies were untested.  There was also the concern of a major hill in the middle of the course. 3km with a large part if that at over 13% grade.  This is really a concern with the tandem as once the grade exceeds 5%, it feels as though we threw an anchor out. We knew we would be tested in this section.

The swim was held in a small bay.  Calm waters greated us.  The start was not too bad as we held the inside line. By the time we hit the first turn buoy the crowds had cleared out.  We had a good strong swim coming in at just under 11:00. This was a pb for Ryan at this distance.  Transiton was very long and we were set up at the swim exit.  We had about 100m to run to the mount line so we just carried our shoes so we didn’t destroy the cleats. Once on the bike we started motoring pretty quickly.  The roads were very rough.  We were worried about getting a flat so we took extra care to avoid as much of the potholes and rough patches as possible.

We got to the hill into La Jolla which begins with a long gradual uphill. It then rapidly spikes to 13% and holds there for a couple of km.  This was hard.  Many people got off and walked sections.  We were very thankful to reach the top. The end of the first of the Hill was a relief but there was a short 15% section of 200m before we headed back down again.   Once we made the turn at the top it was time to get on the brakes on the way down.  While a tandem sucks on the way up, it is a rocket on the way down.  We decended relatively conservatively but were still blowing by many of the other competitors.  The decent turned out to be not too technical and in hindsight we could’ve gone significantly faster.  We still spent a fair amount of time near 70kph.

The rest of the way back was fast and uneventful.  I managed to lose my speedfill A2 at 45kph when we hit a nasty pothole while passing two age groupers.

We made it into transition with a not too stellar 46min on the 26km bike course.  The hill really killed our bike split.  Onto the run we both had some cramping under the ribs which we attribute to climbing on the tandem at those grades.

Things settled and we got into a solid groove and picked our way through the masses of runners.  The run went out along the bay and back along mission beach.  Almost entirely on bikes paths.  This made things challenging as it was hard to get us both by them side by side.  Most athletes were very nice and gave us lots of room to get by.  At about half way through the run we were passed by another paratriathlete for second.  In hindsight we should have tried to stay with him,  but I think we are not used to having to actually race head to head with other athletes in our category as we are normally all alone.  A little lesson for next time as this athlete only beat us by 40seconds.  The course was long (not sure how long, but atleast 500m). We finished the run in 24:00.  Much slower than our goal, however we felt good about it.  We were hoping it would be accurate to get a better gauge as to what we need to do to go sub 20min off the bike.  We ended up 3rd best paratriathlete with most of the top talent in North America there.

All in all it was a great experience and as Ryan says, a great job interview with triathlon Canada.

Next up is a local sprint race and then a trip to nationals in Edmonton which is the important race for the year.

    I’ve had a difficult time settling on the tone of this race report. I’d like to be as positive as I can, but I’d like to be as honest as I can too.  Sunday, Mother ‘s day, I ran the Sporting Life10K. Upon completing the distance I had mixed feelings about the race. I’ll start by sharing some of the race particulars.

The 10K route winds its way down Yonge St. It’s a very fast downhill course.  Runners  begin their journey by marshalling themselves into clearly marked start corrals. The starters’ pistol/horn sends out the fastest of the fast at 8am. The remaining corrals follow suite according to the expected finish time. “K” markers line the route, and two aid stations, offering water and or a sport drink are located at approximately the three and five “K” markers.  Runners cross a timing mat at the 5K marker, and then proceed to run the remaining distance to the finish line. Finishers are guided into the race pavilion to receive their medallion, post-race nourishment and to be entertained by live musicians.  Race sponsors have their own tents, peddling their wares.

    For runners who parked near the start line, race organizers ordered shuttles to take them back. Similarly, for those who in the morning parked near the finish line, shuttles to the start line were offered as well. The cost of five bucks was well worth it.  As with most established races, a bag check was made available.

    Early Sunday morning I decided to park at Ontario Place (it was free), and paid my five spot to take a shuttle up to the start line.  It was drizzling rain throughout the early hours making the roads slick – not the best for racing, but the weather isn’t something you can hold the race organizers accountable for.  Upon arriving to the start, I manoeuvred my way to my designated start corral ~ blue.  One coral behind the fastest group.  All I can say is that I have never seen so many runners jammed into such a small location.  Sardines in a sardine can is the best way to describe it.  Over twenty-two thousand runners registered for this event, and if you’re claustrophobic, this race is not for you.  As you cross the starting mat, you’re on a 10K journey of nothing more than a game of avoidance, unless of course you’re fortunate enough to be out front.  Elbows, and ankles, sidewalks, curbs, pedestrians crossing at inopportune times all made the 10K stressful.   I was forced to speed up, and slow down throughout the majority of the course. Pace? What pace?  The aid stations were a mess. Fluids and cups flying all over the place.  Cups on the surface adding to the already slick conditions.  Organizers could barely keep up with the delivery or the clean up.  With a distance of 10K, there just isn’t enough time or race distance for the mass of runners to thin out.  Add the narrow confines of Toronto’s downtown streets and you have a recipe for a potential disaster.  I’m not even sure one can argue that the event can be run for a simple good time.  I attended the event with a few friends.  It was their company that made the morning enjoyable.  Over the course of the event, I did spot a few fellow Team Running Free (TRF) runners, however, unlike other venues such as this year’s Chilly ½ in Burlington, TRF, in my opinion, was not well represented.  Perhaps the majority of our runners knew something I didn’t?

Next year I’m going to attend the Toronto Yonge St 10K. It’s part of the Canada Running Series. It’s participation numbers are capped at fifteen thousand.  Will lower numbers (if you call 15,000 lower) make a difference?  There’s only one way to find out.

I came into the race off a big PB 5K time in the Jordan 5K about a month ago.  I knew this course would be a bit slower so I wasn’t expecting a new PB, but I hoped I could go about the same pace.  This plan worked out, but only for the first 2k!  After that I just couldn’t hold a 3:30 min/km pace without my heartrate blowing up.  The 3rd km was rough with a few walks to get my HR down.  I felt like an idiot because when I stopped to walk a group of 3 guys would pass me, and then I would start running again and pass them only to stop again and have them pass me!  It had nothing to do with wanting to be ahead of them, just that I was running my normal pace when I was running, but kept stopping to get my HR down.

In the end I finished with an 18:44.  I was happy with this time knowing that my preparation over the past month hasn’t been great.  I was more happy when I saw the results and this time was good enough for 1st in the 30-34 age group and 9th overall.  Definitely reflected the fact that many of the fast guys from the series weren’t there, but it was my best overall finish in the series so I’ll take it!

I have more detail in my blog if you are interested… click here to read it

With all of this trail running becoming part of my training routine, I
decided a new pair of trail running shoes was in order.  I wanted
something lighter than what I have, and also something closer to my
preferred level of minimalism - the Saucony Kinvara.  I found this in
the Peregrine 2.

So far these shoes have served me well.  They have the same 4mm heel-toe
drop as my Kinvara’s but with an much more aggressive sole that stands
up to whatever Niagara trails throw at it (at least so far).  Its also
lighter than other trail shoes I have run in, while still feeling
durable enough to last a while.

If you want to read all my thoughts on this shoe (and see some pictures)
check out my own blog review:

http://wp.me/p2mxMe-2g

My goal for this half was a sub 1:35 and I thought it was very attainable given my 1:35:05 at the Chilly Half earlier in the year. My training has been a little lacking of late and I really pushed hard in my week leading up to the half to make up for some other lacking weeks. No taper for this guy. I didn’t say I was very smart.. lol
I had a shake out run two days prior to the race and noticed my legs were very sore so I did some heavy massaging the last two days leading up to the half. I think this really beat up my legs as they felt very tired and heavy on race day.

Now onto the race itself. I started off at what I thought was a comfortable pace watching the KM’s go by at a 4:24 Pace, until I got to that hill at 10K. I usually like hills but for some reason my legs were screaming and my breathing got very heavy on this hill. I don’t think I ever fully recovered. I was able to hold a 4:24-4:26 pace for the next few KMs but I was done at KM 13. Nowhere near the finish and out of gas again, my legs were done and I had to walk for a bit. This seems to be a recurring theme for me lately.
I was passed again by all the people I passed over the last 10KMs and walk/ran in for a 1:40:59 chip time. Another disappointing run in the books, but hey I still got a medal and finish line photo. Lol

As for the event. This would be my 3rd Mississauga Marathon event and this year by far had the most crowd support (Maybe because it was such a beautiful day). It is still not as much as the Scotia but has improved greatly over the years. Special thanks to all of the drummers playing, people who set up stereo systems or the mini Wellesley college girls heading onto the waterfront trail. The race itself is a net downhill, only has two real noticeable climbs (1 coming out of Erindale Campus (6Kish) and the other at 10K). It is a fast half marathon and I usually don’t notice the hills as much as I did today. You can see the finish area and hear the cheers with about 1-2K’s remaining. This is nice as it really motivates you, but also bad because it feels like you are approaching the finish line for ever. I really like this event for some reason and don’t let the canons at the start line scare you. I swear my HR peeks every time they blast in my ear and surprise me.

Thanks for reading and thanks to Jodi and Norm of Running free Orangeville for coming out and supporting the crew.

I woke up at 4:30 am with butterflies in my stomach. Today was the day I had trained for for the last 16 weeks. Was I ready? Yup. Was I confident I’d meet my goal? Maybe. I got out of bed and jumped into the shower for a quick scrub down. The hot water felt nice and relaxing. I wrapped myself in my fluffy robe and went to the spare bedroom where I had laid out all my race clothes the night before. I wriggled into my cw-x compression shorts, put on my sports bra and hesitated a moment before grabbing my t-shirt. Should I just wear my singlet? My doubt got the better of me so I picked up my t-shirt, put it on and then put my singlet on over it. It was the same outfit that I wore for my A-race last year when I crushed my half marathon PB so I hoped there was still some good race juju left in it.

I ate my pre-race pumpkin protein oatmeal, made a few moves in Words with Friends and then packed up the rest of my post race stuff. At 6:10 am, my friend Kiki came by to hitch a ride up to the start. It took us all of 15 minutes to get up to Square One. Gary drove around trying to find the best place to drop us off. He pulled up to the lights at Hurontario and Burnhamthorpe and said “All right ladies, time to get out.” We scrambled to get ourselves ready and got out of the car into the bright sunshine and a cool breeze. I was glad I had decided on a t-shirt under my singlet.

We made our way to past the start line to the baggage check area. We hung out there for a while looking for people we knew. Kiki mentioned that Bob Weeks was running the half so we kept our eyes peeled for him. I found him about 5 minutes later. Now we were 3. A few minutes later Kelly Webb from the Milton branch of Running Free came over to say Hi. There was a big contingent of Running Free folks at this race which was so nice to see.

We noticed that the starting chute was open so we made our way towards the start line. There were no actual corrals, just signs along the side of the fences that had varying pace times in them. I spotted the 3:15 pace bunny and figured I’d situate myself a bit of a ways behind him as my goal was sub 3:20:00. My plan was to keep him in my sights for as long as possible. I hung back a few hundred meters and milled about with Kiki and Bob, fiddling with my necklace and thinking about everything I did to get me to the start line. On Saturday I took off my Tiffany necklace that Gary gave me for Christmas a few years ago and replaced it with the necklace I bought myself after Ironman Switzerland as a reminder of that amazing journey. It is a sterling silver pendant with the words “The Journey is the Reward” written on it. A reminder to me that it’s not always about the end result, it’s the steps you take to get there that are what really matter.

Michael Burgess sang the National Anthem and then the countdown was on. Two resounding bangs denoted the start of the race. They scared the crap out of me but they definitely got me off and running. I crossed the start line and made sure I hit start on my Garmin. The first 6.5km were going to be unfamiliar territory for me. I tried very hard not to go out too fast. I kept checking my watch. 4:19’s, 4:24’s. Slow down! People kept passing me and I had to remind myself that I had a long way to go and that I should run my own race. I checked my watch again an saw 4:38. Better. I tried to keep this pace but it felt slow. I ended up speeding up again. In fact, I yo-yoed all over the place for the first little while. My legs didn’t feel great but that’s probably because I didn’t really do any sort of warm up other than a few drills and stretches. I figured I probably wouldn’t start to feel good till about 6 or 7 km in.

We ran along Robert Speck Parkway to Burhamthorpe and then west on Burnhamthorpe to Mississauga Road. I could see the 3:15 bunny about 500m in front of me. Perfect. There was no wind along here and I could really feel the sun beating down on me. I began to think that perhaps the t-shirt under my singlet was not such a good idea. Especially a black t-shirt. Oh well. I was only carrying two 10 oz bottles with me so I made a concerted effort to get something at every aid station I passed. I used the GU Brew/X-tend mix in my bottles to wash down my chocolate raspberry Roctane. This seemed to work well and I figured my bottles should hopefully last me till about 32km or so.

Before I knew it, we were at the U of T Mississauga Campus. I knew my way from here, for the most part. I knew there were going to be some spots along the Lakeshore that I didn’t quite get right on my course recce a month ago but I knew most of the course. Mentally this was huge for me. I felt like I didn’t have to think about what was coming up, I just ran. At the 8km mark, I noticed that I had gotten a fair bit closer to the 3:15 bunny. I knew I was running faster but we were also going downhill. Sure enough at 9km, I caught the 3:15 group. My legs were feeling amazing. It just felt easy. I thought “This is exactly where I want to be”. I ducked in behind the last folks in the 3:15 group and ran with them for a while. I felt like it was a pace that I could manage until I looked at my watch. 4:27’s. Hmmm….maybe not. I think I should back it off. I went through an aid station and slowed down a bit. As if on cue, the 80’s hit Relax came on my shuffle, and I let the group go ahead of me but made sure I kept them in my sight.

We hit the turn off for the marathon route and I chugged along. I noticed a wind had picked up and was blowing from the south. That would mean that our run down Southdown Road was probably not going to be good. I saw a lot of cyclists riding around and I happened to look over at one guy that was riding along not far from me. To my surprise it was Gary. My heart melted. I figured he would have gone to Sunday morning swim practice but instead he went back home, packed up his bike, drove to the finish line and then hopped on his bike and rode out onto the route. I’m such a lucky woman to have an amazing husband that supports all my insanity. He asked me how I was feeling and I said pretty good. I think I was just coming up on the 15km mark. We were heading into a few rollers. My legs didn’t seem to like those but I still managed to keep a good pace. The 3:15 bunny was still within my sights so it was all good. Gary took off to find another viewing spot and I motored along. I couldn’t believe how quickly the time had passed. Before I knew it we were turning on to Southdown Road. Sure enough it was windy. Not terrible but enough to be annoying. I caught up to a guy in a white t-shirt and ran behind him. We were coming up to the halfway mark. Down the hill, under the bridge and up another small hill. I saw Gary with the camera. I hit the halfway mark in 1:37:40, just slightly off a 3:15 pace. Excellent.

I started to feel really good along here. It was slightly down hill so I motored along, listening to Rush and turning over 4:35’s. It was definitely getting hotter as well. I was sweating a lot. But I was also drinking a lot. I couldn’t believe how good I was feeling. I passed a few runners along here. We were heading into what I called “No Man’s Land”. It was an industrial area with not much around but I knew there was a really nice park that we ran through at some point on the way back. The km’s clicked by and then I started to feel it. The ache in my legs. I was getting close to the 25km mark. Then it hit me. I didn’t feel good. I saw Gary again and I waved but didn’t say anything. He could tell I was struggling. I was thinking about the last marathon I ran and how I totally caved at the 26km mark. I was hoping and praying that wouldn’t happen today. I grabbed some Gatorade at the aid station just after the turnaround. The wind seemed to have changed direction a bit and I was now running into it. Great. I heard my name and looked up to see Linnea. Heyyyyy!!!! Shortly after I saw her, I saw Kiki. Heyyyy youuuuu! I could see Gary waiting for me at the entrance to the park but he couldn’t see me because I had ducked behind another guy to block the wind for a while.

I turned into the park and caught a couple of guys. I passed them and forged ahead. I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I wasn’t actually sure where I should go either. There were no pylons, nothing. I then saw the orange arrows on the ground so I followed them into the park. I had missed this turn off when I did the course recce so I was in slightly unfamiliar territory. I wound my way around the park until I eventually started to recognize things. I was really starting to hurt. 26km had come and gone. I had slowed down a bit but it wasn’t horrible. I was coming up to 27km and the exit of the park. I could see Gary sitting there and as I ran by him I said that I was starting to hurt. I don’t remember what he said to me. I was starting to lose it a bit mentally. It was time for the head games to start. If could just get to the 30km mark then I can walk for a bit. That was going to be my focus. Getting to 30km. 30km came and went and I didn’t walk. I was on a good wave again. I grabbed some water at the aid station, thanked the volunteers (who were all AWESOME) and motored along. I was back into the lovely neighbourhood of Lorne Park. I knew there were another couple of hills coming up. They weren’t terribly big but they were big enough to make me suffer. I got to the top of the second one just before the 31km mark and I had to walk. My legs were really starting to hurt. And my feet were starting to cramp as well. Not a good sign. I started running again when I hit the 31km mark. I turned onto Lakeshore. I knew there was one other spot along the course that I wasn’t totally familiar with and that was coming up. My legs were starting to scream at me. I looked down at my watch but the time meant nothing. I couldn’t figure out my pacing any more. I knew that 3:15 was definitely not going to happen. I was really starting to lose it. I desperately wanted to stop. As I came up to the 32km mark, I grabbed some water at the aid station and realized that I should have filled up my bottle. This obviously distracted me because I kept running along Lakeshore and somehow missed the turn off the led into the park. I only realized because I was running with a girl and then suddenly she was gone so I turned around only to hear people yelling you missed the turn. Crap. I had to run back up hill to get to the turn off. Oh man. I have no idea how I missed the sign with the big arrow on it but I did. I was obviously out of it. The girl I was running with was way ahead of me now and there was no way I was catching her. We were heading towards the water again and I was on a good wave. Probably because I was running slightly downhill.

The path we were on led into the outskirts of Jack Darling Park, which is a beautiful park along the shore of Lake Ontario. Once again, I didn’t really know where I was supposed to go so I looked for the orange arrows. I actually managed to pass a couple of people in here which was surprising considering how horrible I felt. I could see the 34km marker towards the top of the path. I passed a guy who was walking and thought to myself, “Just get to 34km and then you can walk”. I got to the 34km marker, walked for a bit, took half a gel and started running again. I didn’t want to linger for too long as it generally gets harder to start back up again once you stop.

I got out of the park and back on to Lakeshore. I distracted myself by doing the math in my head and telling myself that I still had time to make 3:20:00 even if I slowed down to 5 min km’s. The thing is I didn’t want to slow down. I wanted to be sub 3:20. Period. My mind started to wander to my other races, other times where I felt this kind of pain. I thought about Boston in 2003. I thought about Scotia in 2010. I wasn’t going to crack again and give up like I did those times. I’ve worked hard over the last year and I knew I was mentally tougher than that now. I knew that somewhere deep down inside I had enough guts to get through the last 8km and still break 3:20. It might be close but I would do it.

As I made my way along Lakeshore, I was caught and passed by a couple that was running together and I was reminded of Gary pacing me to my Boston qualifier in 2002. This couple looked a bit older and I had the sneaking suspicion that this woman was in my age group. The competitor in me latched on to them and tried to hold on for dear life. They were running strong. I drafted off both of them and actually started to feel good again. I stuck with them until we hit the aid station just before we turned into the park before the Port Credit Marina. If I hadn’t slowed down at the aid station to refill one of my bottles, I think I could have hung on with them for a while longer. But alas, I slowed down and they were moving too quickly for me to catch them. As I made my way towards the park entrance, I saw Gary waiting there for me. He rode beside me for a bit offering words of encouragement, which I had no problem hearing as one of my headphones had died. Not only was I falling apart, so was my gear! I could see the 37km marker at the top of a small hill. Gary rode with me to the top and then took off. I stopped at the top, took my last Roctane and hoped that it would be enough to get me through the last 5km. I passed a guy on the down hill into the Port Credit Park and made my way along the path. I could hear dance music blaring and I saw a huge group of people that had set up speakers and were all dressed up and holding various signs. Support like that is amazing and should be acknowledged so I pumped my arms in time to the music and yelled You Guys ROCK! as I ran through.

I was coming up to the Port Credit Marina. This was familiar territory for me. I knew the way back to the finish line like the back of my hand. 38km came and went. I passed a few more people. 39km came and went and the pain in my legs was almost unbearable. Just 3 more km. 15 minutes at most. Hang in there. It’s hard to walk when there are so many people around offering encouragement. I passed some of the folks that were walking the half marathon and they cheered me on. I hit the 40km mark and the last aid station and I stopped to get a cup of Gatorade. I quickly gulped it back and started running again. I felt like I was shuffling. I was having a hard time picking my feet up. My left foot kept threatening to cramp. I could feel my toes starting to spasm. Only 2 more km…come ON! From here it was past all the big houses on the water and into the winding path through the small forest and then back into a residential area and then over the wooden footbridge and into Lakefront Promenade Park. It’s not that far. You can do it.

My body started to operate on a whole other level. Every fiber of my being hurt and as much as I wanted to stop, I couldn’t. I had to keep moving forward. I came out of the winding path and headed towards the footbridge. I could hear Kevin MacKinnon announcing the finishers. I was so close. As I crossed the bridge I saw two race photographers and I smiled for both and made some comment about that being a grimace. Then I saw Gary. He was grinning. I said as I ran by: “You realize that every word out of my mouth since 40km has been a swear word”. I’m not sure what he said, because all the other spectators were laughing but I imagine it was probably something along the lines of “Why would that be different than any other day..”

I could smell the finish line. My legs started to come to life. What little adrenaline I had left in my system kicked in. I spotted a bunch of Team RF jerseys and got cheers from them. The crowds were starting to get bigger. I heard my name and saw Kelly and a bunch of other Team RF athletes cheering. That gave me such a boost. I pushed hard as I ran along the path to the finish line. I came out into the parking lot and could see the clock counting down. I heard Kevin MacKinnon announce my name as I came up to the finish line. I kept my eyes on the clock and I sprinted as hard as I could.

3:19:00.1 Woohoo! That was my gun time. My watch said 3:18:38. I did it. I broke 3:20:00. And I managed to qualify for Boston again. 10 years after the first time. That’s some good running karma. And the absolute best part of all: I didn’t crack. I didn’t give up when it got tough, I dug deeper. I found a resolve that I didn’t know I had. That is worth more than anything to me.

I also managed to snag the 3rd place overall Female Masters spot which was an unexpected surprise. All in all a great day, despite how much I suffered. I really enjoyed the course and the volunteers were outstanding. If I had one complaint it would be that they should have had Marshals directing people in some of the less populated areas as well as at the turns going into the parks. I’d definitely do it again. And of course, it was so amazing to see all the Team Running Free jerseys out there on and off the course.

 New Jersey Trail Series 100 Miler Race Report

Good Evening Everyone:
It’s been a really long time since I’ve had some time to sit down and document the last two phases in 12in12. Sorry for the wait but I’m flattered by the few people who have been asking me to update my blog. It feels pretty cool, thanks. Tonight (if time permits) I’ll try to write two blogs here, one for each of the last two events.

New Jersey Trail Series: Augusta New Jersey - March 23/24, 2012

This was an event that I attended with one of my training buddies Mary Lou Corino and my co-worker and good friend Aaron Maksym. Mary Lou provided the services as crew as pacers were not allowed and Aaron participated in his first 100 km event. The entire weekend was supposed to get underway at 8:00 Friday morning from Mary Lou’s house in Georgetown. Yes, it was supposed to. I spent the night before in Newmarket to reduce the travel time and ease of packing, getting organized etc. Well at least that was the plan. I knew it was about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Newmarket to Mare’s house so when the alarm went off I was quick out of bed, shower, pack the last few times and was on the road by 6:30, a quick stop at Tim’s for my morning Tea and a bagel and off to Georgetown. All good right! WRONG. 7:15 am I was on the 407 at Mississauga Road and Michelle called me to let me know that I left my food bin on the stair beside the front door. Great start, very excited to be heading back to Newmarket to get the food. I slowed down and took the next exit off the 407. Did I really need that bin? Let’s do a quick review: All my gels, organic chews, stinger waffles, head light, hand held, Advil, sport beans, batteries, extra head light, gloves, pop tarts….damn right, I needed that bin. Crap, reprogram the GPS, find any and all back roads and make my way back to 400 and Hwy 9. Thanks for meeting me there Mich, saved me valuable time for sure. This 3rd hundred miler is off to a marvelous start.
At this time I’d like to thank Aaron and Mare for not making fun of me…….much! Well I made it to Mare’s house around 9:45, Dan was nice enough to let us take their Volkswagen Station Wagon to New Jersey. This meant extra room to pack all of my stuff, including my food. Thanks Dan, you’re a great guy.
So we left Mare’s house and in true 100 miler fashion, followed my GPS, down the first street or two, following the turn by turn directions, forgot to set it to New Jersey, it took me right back to Mare’s house. Nice trip around the city block near her house. Ok, try no. 2, program GPS for New Jersey and off we went, flawlessly the rest of the way I might add.
We arrived in New Jersey on Friday evening just around 5:00 and the trip was great. We had a great time in the car trading stories of our runs, our experiences and just good fun. We checked into our hotel and then  went off to the race site to pick up our race kits and enjoy a pasta dinner before returned for a good nights sleep.
All went very well Friday night, the people in New Jersey were fun to be around and we met some other ultra runners who shared their stories about Vermount and Potawatomi, thanks to all of you for scaring the crap out of us before we participate in those events this summer
After dinner we returned to our hotel and enjoyed a beer, picked up a pizza (race food for Saturday) and went to sleep. Our wake up call came at 4:30 am and after a quick shower, some breakfast and last minute gear check we were off to the race start……after we fixed the flat tire on the Volkswagon. This wasn’t one of the items we had actually planned for so I put on my Mario Andretti gloves, got behind the wheel and proceeded to the race start with lots of time to spare. I think Aaron jumped out of the car before it stopped and made it to the start line with 6 minutes to spare. Despite what he says, this was perfect, he didn’t have time to worry about anything, like say….running his first 100 kms. The gun sounded and Aaron was off.
My 100 miler started at 7:00 so I had lots of time, 21 minutes more than Aaron as a matter of fact. You know, just enough time to take care of those last minute details, luckily the line wasn’t to long.
I was nervous at the start line, I had told Mare about my goal and also shared my goal with the staff at my office but hadn’t told many others I was really hoping to go under 21 hours. Standing there gettting ready I sort of wondered if I could do it, I’d never gone nearly that low before, was I setting the bar to high? Well, lets get this thing going and find out.
As the race started the course turned out to be somewhat friendly. It was dry, it was flat and only one or two sections that would require any level of focus or attention. Of course after 50 or 60 miles even the simplest of sections can be more difficult. The course was well marked and getting lost wasn’t an option either. The way it was set up you werer always seeing someone else on the course and rarely did you run for 10 or 15 minutes without seeing someone else on course.
As I made my way around the course a few times I began to set landmarks and benchmarks for myself. I remember running two loops at Sulphur in 2010 with Monica Sholtz and she taught me that she runs in the exact spot each time around that loop and walks in the exact same spots as well so I decided to adopt that stragety here promised myself at each road crossing I’d walk to a specific landmark then run to the next cross road, aid station, etc. As the night went on I found this to be working very well until the 9th loop.
The course was 10 -10 mile loops. The first time I’d done a hundred miler with this format and all was going as planned until the dreaded 9th loop. I began to get very tired and visions of Florida reared their ugly head again. Luckily I think I quickly was able to identify what was happening and knew that this was a sign to just find a good spot to sit down for a short time, collect myself and get back at it again. Well the sit down took until the out aid station at 6 miles. I’m not sure how long it took me to get out there but it felt like hours. When I arrived at the aid station a very nice lady there asked what she could do for me. I explained that I needed a 4 minute nap and not to let me stay there any longer than that or Ken Moon would kill me. She smiled, looked at me and said “well I don’t know who Ken Moon is, but we wouldn’t want that to happen”.
Obvisously she hasn’t been doing ultra’s much if she doesn’t know who Ken Moon is, doesn’t everyone know who he is? Ultra Legend Lady, geezz, get with the program.
Needless to say the kind aid station worker yelled at me at 4 minutes and damn near pulled the chair out from under me, handed me my back pack and told me to get the Hell out of her aid station (man I hate Ken Moon). As I promised myself, after the 4 minute nap I would be back to the program I had laid out on the previous loops only this time, no walking out of the aid station and running all the way to the next bridge to make up the time. I did just that and the last 4 miles of loop nine seemed to go pretty well. Lesson learned.
When I got back to the home base Mare was waiting for me and she had salt and pizza ready for me before I went out for the last time. Sorry to report that those items only stayed down for a couple of minutes and I’m sorry to the person who had to clean up the sidewalk. My last loop was underway after a quick stop and off I went. Knowing it would take a great loop to break 21 hours I pushed as hard as I could early in the loop, maybe in hind site I should have saved some for the end of the race. When i got to the six mile aid station this time, I didn’t stop, I checked my bib number and headed right back out knowing it would take all I had to make it back before 4:00 am. The loop went ok and nothing really went wrong but I was out of gas with about 2 miles to go and the only uphill on the course. Looking back it was hard to understand why I couldn’t dig in and get it done but at the end of the day I ran 21:08, 81 minutes off my previous best time and not time to be sad or dissapointed about the effort. I finished, I got buckle no. 3 and I felt great.
Aaron also finished his 100 km in just under 13 hours and looked as fresh as a daisy as well. Congratulations Aaron and I can’t wait for you to tackle your first 100 miler in August.
Mare was outstanding as crew. She stuck with me for the entire event. Never leaving the station, always there with lots of encouraging words, a great smile, food at the ready, thank you Mare, you are amazing and I couldn’t have done it without you for sure. And just for the record, she did take some advise from Ken as well. There were a few times I wanted to sit down, Mare wouldn’t let me, there were a few times I did sit down and Mare kicked me out of my chair after a minute or two and each time I began a new loop I could hear Mare behind me, “Ken would kill me if I let you sit there”. Who is the guy anyway?
Our drive home was a bit more quite than the ride there I”m pretty sure but no. 3 is in the books and only a short 3 weeks before Potawatomi.
Race report no. 3, long overdue but now complete.

12in12 - 12 buckles, 1 goal.