This is race #2 in my 2012 season and it didn’t go exactly as planned. Let me preface this report by saying that my wife and kid had been sick all week and I tried to stay germ free, but 4 year olds like to share.
Sunday morning I woke up feeling under the weather and thought briefly about just going back to bed and forgetting about the little 30K in Hamilton. Then I asked myself if I would have skipped a long training run today and my answer was “no” so I started getting ready. Hydrated, ate and prepared the same I do for every race, the only difference being that I took 2 Tylenol about 1hr before the start as I had a little bit of a head ache, sore throat etc.
We found parking right beside Copps Coliseum an hour before the start for the low price of $20. Definitely worth it as you most likely will be exhausted after running the race. Last year we parked a couple blocks away in a green P lot that was $7. Bring loonies and toonies if this is your plan.
My first tip that this was not going to be my day should have been when I leaned over to do some stretching I got a very strong head rush and felt a little dizzy. But I didn’t think too much of it. I had noticed that no matter how much liquid I put into my body I still felt very parched. But again didn’t think too much of it.
I lined up a little behind the 2:15 pacer as my goal was to beat 2:20 with a thought of going for the Silver with a sub 2:15. I started out feeling strong but noticed by KM 3 that I was already sweating quite a lot. It wasn’t normal but again I didn’t think too much of it. I carried on hitting each KM around a 4:30 pace and knew that I wouldn’t be getting silver as I would need a lot faster pace, but was OK with killing my sub 2:20 goal. There was a water station around 5K and not another one until around 11K, which normally wouldn’t be a big deal for me, I really felt dehydrated today and I think a mistake was not bringing my own liquids due to being a bit sick.
Well 10K came I hit the timing mats at a gun time of 45:35 (4:34/K pace) and the legs felt strong, but I had a minor problem as I was started to feel a little light headed. This time I did think a bit about it as it was quite prominent. I continued on hoping the feeling would subside and hit the 15K mat at 1:08:22 (4:33/K Pace) and I was now starting to get dizzy. Made the decision to slow the pace a bit in hopes that I can get it under control as it was not like there was a water station coming up in the next 4KMs.
Well by 18KM nothing had changed and I knew I had to stop for a bit. Did about 30 seconds of walking and then started up again hoping that this one little blip would be all I needed in my quest to ATB greatness. The problem is that I know as soon as I stop running I am done, it is so hard to keep a strong pace after that. I hit the 20K mat at 1:32:25 (4:37/K Pace) and was now doing 3 minutes of running with 30 seconds of walking. I felt light head, I couldn’t get my legs back into a rhythm and I was second guessing every decision I made leading me to where I was, 10K from the finish line and completely out of will power to compete.
I knew the last 10K was rolling hills with a big one at 26K but it is not like I even gave them a chance to beat me today, as I was done before I got there. I ended up Walk/Running the final 10K in shame coming in with a time of 2:26:20 (4:53/K Pace). There was no cheer as I crossed the finish line, and no smiles for the camera. Actually I am pretty sure I gave two thumbs down to the camera man.
I finished and collected my medal, but didn’t really think I earned it on this day. You can’t win them all I guess, and there is always next year.
As most of you are probably aware, the ATB is North Americas Oldest Race with it being 3 years older than the Boston Marathon. A lot of history to this race and is very well organized, my only two complaints on this day were the lack of water stations (Every 5K) and they send out slower runners and walkers an hour before the runners so they can close the course on time. Well as we all know sometimes we can see some walkers lined up 4 across and at 20K when I am completely exhausted I don’t want to have to zig zag move on the grass etc etc. I didn’t notice any of this last year or it is possible it was there but I was in a better mood.
Onto the next race, a 10K in Detroit on April 15th. Thanks for reading and happy running.
A pack of us running at 3:55/k pace were obstructed by four walkers lined four across the road! This was around 17k for us and no doubt the same people you ran into. This was a dangerous situation caused by ignorance and little courtesy. Dammit there is a race going on. They could have easily changed to a 2×2 form to make space for everyone, not hog it all.
By the way, that was how my pack was running – 2×2 formation. Runners can be considerate, how about walkers?