Race: Whitby Half Marathon
Website: www.winmarathon.com
Date: Sunday, May 23/10
I signed up for this race because it would be my first road race in a few years. I had picked this race because of the course discription of a run downhill from Brooklin that promised to be fast. I also decided to enrol in the free half marathon clinic at the Running Free Markham store. It was led by Andy Hayes who is a personal coach & a great runner. I had decided that I needed to focus on my running a little bit more, since I had let it slide while training for triathlons over the last few years. I felt that I needed to put that extra focus on my run training. Training went well, until the last week of speedwork at the track. On the last 800, my left hamstring tightened up to the point of having to walk back from the track to the store. Not exactly what I needed a little over a week before the race. I went to my chiropractor who worked on it & had a massage, that allowed me to at least be able to run. I was advised not to run this race by both my chiropractor & Andy, but decided that I would still do it. I wasn’t looking for a PB, just a decent race. Unfortunately the course was completely overhauled a few weeks before the race. The new course did not thrill me at all! The race starts at Iroquois Park in Whitby. The first 2/3 of the race were basically running out then back along the same route before heading towards the lake. The course was mainly flat & most hills were gradual inclines. There was a short trail section that connected two roads on the far east end of the route. I ran well until about 8k, when my hamstring tightened up. From there to the finish it was a run & walk each time my hamstring tightened up. Not a great race for me! I had hoped for a 1:55, & ended up with 2:03:47. 6/20 in my age group.
At the finish line we received a finishers Tshirt as well as a medal. That was a nice touch!
I immediately went to the chiropractor tent & had them work on my hamstring. He told me that it was really tight & that I needed to continue having treatment with my own chiropractor.
It wasn’t the race I wanted or the course that I wanted, but I am still glad that I did it.
It was the first year for the event, so hopefully all of the glitches will be worked out for next year.
Congratulations to the wheelchair athlete who had to manouver the trail section in a regular wheelchair.
Also it was great to see all of the RF athletes from the Ajax store supporting the race by racing & the others that didn’t race by volunteering!
