Chilly Half Marathon - Race Review

What a beautiful day for a run!!! Sunny, not too much wind, it was perfect. Yes, I was terrified due to the 85km/hour winds on Saturday but they let up and conditions were ideal. I also must be honest - I felt way too relaxed leading up to this race. I didn't really have the nerves, stomach issues, etc as I did for my first half marathon. That certainly changed Sunday morning as the nerves, stomach, etc made their appearance. Wide awake way too early, couldn't really eat breakfast, numerous "nervous" pees (sorry for being too descriptive), the nerves were back and I was feeling it. Thankfully I have the greatest cheerleading section ever - complete with their awesome signs.

The race starts in Downtown Burlington - getting their was easy, parking was easy, even the lineups for the port-a-potties wasn't that bad. It was a little Chilly (get it??) waiting around but not too bad. The race goes down Brant Street, over to old Lakeshore, down to about the lift bridge, back to Lakeshore - then out to Burloak and back. I got to the starting area a little late as always and couldn't make my way to the front so I was with the 2:30 crowd. This was probably a good thing as it forced me to run a little slower out of the starting gate.

RACE TIME!! The gun goes off and it seems like it takes about 5 minutes to get across the start line. I did push myself a bit to try to get around the slower runners (weird coming from me) but it was a must. We turned down old Lakeshore and my pace was great until we were forced into one lane as the lead runners were coming back. WAY too many runners in one small lane. Couldn't pass, getting pushed, it was frustrating. We hit the turnaround, and the crowd seemed spread out a bit, but still very congested. I hit Lakeshore and the 5km mark and was pacing at a 5:15 clip - faster then I wanted but I was okay with that. I saw the best cheering section again (thanks Eri and the girls) which gave me a great boost and was off again.

I did use energy gels for this half - something I did not do in the first one. I didn't believe they would help back then but they certainly do. They are a must for races of half marathon or longer. I completely felt the difference in my legs and overall energy levels. There were plenty of water stations (about every 3.5km) to help wash those things down.

Coming back on Lakeshore I saw Eri and the girls (and Allison and the kids - thank you!) for the greatest energy boost ever. It was around 16kms and I still felt strong, no pains, and was really happy with my pace. I had a water break (walk for about 45 seconds) at the 19km mark and knew at that point that was it - no more stops, pick up the pace and finish this thing strong. I passed the 20km mark and of course a really cold headwind hits me but I did learn from my first half - just ignore it as it will go away eventually. I also realized I was under my goal pace for the race and I was less than half a km away from finishing this thing.

I crossed the finish line with a time around 1 hour 54 minutes. I felt 100 times better compared to my first half - no knee pain, remember crossing the line, even gave it a little kick to finish it off. My goal was 2 hours as I believe that is where I want to be at the 21km mark of the Around the Bay course.

Overall - it is a great half marathon course, it was organized very well, and would totally recommend others to run this course. They did serve food after (including chili) but the last thing my stomach wants is food after I run so I did not indulge (really who wants chili after a run??). Instead I got great hugs from my cheerleaders, got a really nice medal, got to the car, changed, and was ready for home.

I felt great after this race - but the realization that for the ATB I would just be hitting the hills and would have 9km still go is a little daunting. It is only 3 weeks away....and I can't wait!!!

Crazy to think I have run two half marathons..wait - two 21.1km races within the last year. Crazy.