Race: Around The Bay 30k
When: March 28, 2015
On My Way to Fools Gold
To go for gold or not? Just past the 27k marker – about 5 seconds behind 2h pace and a gold medal – I made up my mind and pushed the lap button on my Garmin. I was at last confident of my result, yet for most of the race that had not been the case.
It had been an emotional ride to this point. My training was cut short by my first major injury in over three years – an Achilles flare up which started last September 2014. It still bugs me occasionally. Today’s hills and wind had taken their toll, yet I was still somehow fighting for it. More emotions would come soon enough.
So much downtime from that injury. I was short of quality and mileage, and the charts predicted no better than a 2:02 result based upon my Robbie Burns 8k test race at the end of January. You cannot get a lot done in just two months. All I could do was form a strategic race plan, execute it perfectly, and hope for the best.
That plan emulated my dismantling of the 2014 ATB route, where I split the course (by 10k blocks) 39:06, 38:16 and 37:45. The last 3k to the finish went 3:46, 3:36 and 3:32. I planned to do the same this year, albeit on paces reflective of current fitness. If I was going to go sub 2h, it would have to be over negative splits and include another huge finish kick!
The first 10k was simply splendid. A warm and easy romp into the rising sun, wind at our backs. I paced an old running friend to 40:54 according to my Garmin. She has a habit of starting over-paced and this course makes you pay dearly for such mistakes.
Or was my first 10k split actually 40:33? That is what Sportstats recorded. I had already taken notice that the km markers were slipping further and further ahead of my Garmin lap buzzer. This was peculiar because most Garmins usually ring off before the respective markers. For example last year my Garmin said the course was 30.24 km long; a typical Garmin result.
As per plan, I pushed the pace into the second 10k. By the 20k timing mat I had made up the deficit, crossing on goal pace in 1:19:59. My Garmin buzzed 20k much later in 1:20:39. I really did not know whether to be encouraged or worried. Either I was on pace or had not done much to catch up. My quads were already starting to burn. I decided my Garmin was simply having a bad day. Better to trust the markers.
Those hills showed me I was not in the same shape I was last year. No surprises there. The long climb out of Lasalle Park had me on the ropes. Garmin splits went 4:07, 4:07, 4:13. My legs were screaming blue lactic murder, and my hopes for sub 2h were surely dashed.
Yet the arrival of Plains Road changed my spirits. Due to a last minute course change there would be no Valley Inn Road death hill, just 6k of flatness to the finish. I picked up the pace, battled the winds and started to recover time lost in the North Shore rollers. At 27k, I was well positioned for the final kick! I pushed my lap (panic) button and knuckled down.
I could taste the joy of claiming another gold medal, and this one would be well earned. I had emailed a few pals previously with one word: 1:59:59. I occasionally call my time before the race and envisioned walking across the finish line with just that time. But I was not taking any chances.
Marker 27: 1:48:05. Five seconds off pace.
Marker 28: 1:52:01. One second behind.
Marker 29: 1:55:51. Nine seconds ahead!
I kicked down the final km for good measure. My Garmin lapped km 30 in 3:47. I checked my watch. A time of 1:59:40 stared back at me, way too many strides away from the ramp into First Ontario Place. I had to boogie!
As steep as that ramp was, I took it on full sprint and barely made the corner. In the distance, I could see the race clock – 2:00:20. I reached the finish line bewildered, in shock and astonished. How could I have blown it?
The Look of Disbelief
My Garmin held the answer: The distance between the last 29k marker and the finish was not 1.00 km, it was 1.170 km. So much for “good measure”! The extra distance put me over. Rubbing salt into the wound, the course was short: 29.93 km according to my Garmin, and many others observed likewise.
In the end, I realize, I was a fool to put my faith in the course markers. Yet a race the caliber and class of the ATB should not have such errors. Something as simple as measuring back the last few kms from the finish line is all that was needed. A small detail that can make or ruin your race day; one I hope the race will address next year.
This was in fact the second time I have been fooled by misplaced course markers. A similar incident occurred at the 2010 Hamilton Marathon. As the saying goes, “fool me twice, shame on me!”
Fools gold for me.
A Few Random Details
Shoes: Brooks Launch
Gels: 4 x GU Roctane (at 0k, 7.5k, 15k, 22.5k)
Finish time: 2:00:26 (silver medal)
Overall place: 111 (chicked 13 times)
Age Group: 7th of 559 (M50-54).
Top Age Time: Larry Warriner, 1:48:15 (gee whiz, older ain’t getting any easier!)
Clothing: 1 long sleeve and spring weight tights.
Start Temperature: Sunny -3C.
Runners I passed after 15k: 43
Runners who passed me after 15k: 0
Average Heart Rate: 147 BPM (last year 153 BPM)
Max Heart Rate: 162 BPM
Stride Rate: 210 SPM (same as last year)
Stride Length: 1.18 m (last year was 1.25 m)
Consecutive days training leading up to ATB: 41
Goal race: Ottawa marathon
