Around the Bay, March 28 2010

Wow , what a day! Its not very often I get to run with 7,000 folks. I heard so much about this race so there was lots of anticipation doing it for the first time.

I went to bed just before 10:00 pm Saturday night. The alarm was set for 05:00 but after a restless night of sleep I shook the bed at 04:30. Had a tradition breakfast of Oatmeal, English Muffin with PB , OJ and Coffee. Left on schedule arriving in Hamilton at around 07:30. The time before the race flew by, there was a large contingent from the Saugeen Tri Club and many Run Mania folks as well as some OUSers. Anne Elizabeth got me to head out just at the correct time , we seeded our selves with the 2:30 Pace Bunny. The large crowd created allot of heat so it wasn't at all uncomfortable waiting 20 or so minutes for the race to begin.

A few minutes before the start I fired up my Garmin ..."LOW BATTERY" . oh shit! So off I went pacing by feel. Everything I have done on the treadmill over the winter has been at a 4:50 pace so I was hoping the auto pilot would kick in. With about 6000 behind me and 1000 in front it took just shy of a minute to reach the timing mat. It was pretty crowded the first few Ks, hung in with the crowd for a bit but I wasn't happy with the pace so I hit the side walk. Past 5K there was a bit more room but passing was still a bit difficult but doable. The weather was great. I am guessing around 4C at the start, overcast and almost no wind! I was wearing shorts , compression shirt , the Saugeen Tri Saguoi Firewall Jacket , Gloves and a Cap. I started to over heat and ran with the coat zippered down to the Belly , hat stuffed in the jacket and gloves removed. I caught up with the 2:30 Pace Bunny around 8K , this wasn't great because I thought he was behind me...I knew I had to pick up the pace! Passed the 10K timing mat at 49:?? , what I didn't realize is that was gun time. Later I learned that the Chip Time was 48:24. Anyhow the 49:?? made me realize that I had to get my ass in gear and bank some time for the "Hills". Did a GU Roctane Gel and washed it down with GU20, this helped to give me a kick and I manged to do the next 10K in 46:36 for a total time of 1:35. 10K to go , 55 minutes would meet my 2:30 goal...I felt good! Passing 20K I gelled again and finished off teh GU2O. The Gel didn't give me the same kick as the first one but it did help me to maintain pace. The terrain was a bit rolling but I was managing fairly well. The big one came at 26K . What made this hill significant was that it was preceded by an almost equal downhill. I felt really fatigued after this hill , the countdown was on 27K, 28K, 29K all tough Ks. I knew I was holding it together reasonably well but I was really wanting to cross the finish line! I knew I was under 2:30 but I didn't know my time until I ran into Cops and saw the clock counting 2:24:XX. I wanted to get it in under 2:25 so I took off for the finish.

The last 10K was done in 48:18 for a chip time of 2:23:18.

10K Splits were 48:24 / 46:36 / 48:18

Looking back the first 10K should have been way faster then the last 10K. Maybe I should have followed the instructions on the Gel , take 45 minutes before race! The Garmin would have been handy too! All and all it was a great day and I am pleased with my results. Running the 30K at and Avg 4:49 pace make me believe that my ticket to Boston, a 3:30 Marathon may be doable!