A Midsummer Nights Run – 30k

A midsummer nights run offers a 15k and 30k early evening event in the Toronto Beach area. This race has become one of my favourite running races in Toronto.This is a well-organized event: This event is a smaller race, but I thought it was very well organized. There are aid stations every 3k, police officers and race volunteers to guide traffic and ensure participant safety. There are several portable washrooms at the race start/finish and throughout the course.Flat Race Course: The majority of this race course is flat and fast. There are portions of the race that are very scenic along the beach area; however, they are also portions in the cherry street area that are rather plain and boring. I have done a lot of training runs in this area and therefore was quite familiar with the distances. This race follows pretty much the same course as the distillery district 10 miler. In fact, with the timing this year, the 10 miler was a great prep race.Pacing: My body was somewhat tired from the previous weeks’ workouts, so I decided to stick with a pace bunny to keep me motivated. I was surprisingly strong and managed to leave the 3h pace bunny and pass the 2h 45min pass bunny near the 29k mark. This is definitely one of the first longer running events where I have done a negative split – and it paid off physically and psychologically. I felt strong throughout. This is in stark comparison to last year where I stuck with the 2h 45min pass bunny throughout and suffered from about 10k-30k. This is my number #1 lesson from this race: pace yourself to success – start slower and build.Looking forward to the 2012 “A Midsummer Nights Run”,Laura