Goodlife Toronto Marathon

Goodlife Toronto Marathon,Sunday October 18th

www.torontomarathon.com

Having been disappointed with my finishing times the past 2 years in Toronto’s “other” marathon,I decided it was time for a return to the race where I set my PB 3 years ago.The humid weather that had slowed my in those last 2 Toronto marathons would surely not be the case in mid-October.Sure enough,race morning brought temps slightly over zero with a projected high of 10 celcius.

I had not yet run this “new” course,the loop in North York having been eliminated,and the thought of mostly downhill running was appealing though as I found out in Boston,the quads would still take a beating.After a chat with fellow Team RF member Mike Bosch during a start line delay,off we sped on a quick loop around the backside of Mel Lastman Square before turning south on Yonge St.and our first downhill followed by the biggest climb of the race,Hogs Hollow hill!

The race continues straight down Yonge until Chaplin Crescent where at this point we vary from the half-marathon route and head west.We meandered through Forest Hill around Casa Loma and finally back east crossing Yonge St. and down Rosedale Valley Rd to the Bayview extension and south toward King St.It was at the junction of the extension and River St. that my wife and 3 daughters had gathered with signs,camera and shouts of encouragement.Man was I glad to see them! 18k had passed and though still on a PB pace I was beginning to slow ever so slightly.Continuing eastbound via Front St. and Wellington we then headed south for the “waterfront “portion of the marathon.The sun was shining bright,the temperature had warmed a few degrees,all in all a perfect day.As we made our way across the Martin Goodman trail I noticed a distinct lack of Marshall’s on course,a matter that should be rectified in this area as the course is not closed to the public.Along the beautiful lake-front to the Humber bridge where we turned and began the 12k return to downtown and the finish line.Oh the finish line,how I longed for the finish line.My pace had been slowing steadily and at 34k I decided to push it a little to see if the adrenaline would kick in.This may sound crazy,but it worked and my kilometre average was getting back down toward 4 mins.per.Alas as 39k and the bridge going up York St. approached, I was beginning to slow considerably and as I entered the darkness beneath the bridge my eyes could not adjust and I started to get dizzy. When we re-entered the bright sunshine on the other side adjacent to Union Station I thought I would collapse so I slowed to a walk up the small rise where York meets University Ave.That little break seemed to work wonders and I was able to continue running,eventually accelerating to just over 4 min per kilometre pace for the last 2k.I found energy way deep down inside to stay strong around Queens Park in what seemed an agonizingly long circle,until finally there it was…the Finish Line,didn’t even hear my family calling out to me,just the announcer saying my name,saw volunteers with snips to remove our timing chips and huge,I mean huge big shiny medals to wear triumphantly around our necks!

A PB,3rd in my age group,happy family and friends in the meeting area and all I could think of was a Coke!What a day,what a race!Love that new course Jay Glassman!

Cheers