›  Admin
  add this
Friday July 30 2010
 

A Midsummer Nights Run 2009 - Race Report

Printer friendly version Posted on: Monday August 24 10:20:22 AM
A Midsummer Nights Run 2009 - Race Report This event is unique. From the theme, of A Midsummer Night's Dream and it's evening setting. The waterfront location with nice views of the city and the very community feel of it, mostly because it is set near our community. I like the route visually although it can be tough to navigate in some parts. Although flatter, I think I'd actually prefer to 'race' the Around the Bay course.

Pre-race at MSNR is always good as there are so many familiar faces, clinic members and other friends I know from the running world. Again this year, the fun and frolic kept me from warming up properly!. Originally I was at one point meant to be a Pace fairy for the race so I was supplied with a tutu and wings. Well, I opted out of pacing (and glad I did due to my pending stomach issues) but I did wear the outfit for a short while. Although the wings broke right away, I did wear the tut for the first 4k. When we looped back by the start, I handed the tutu off to Anita who wore it for the entire race. Good sport!

I heard many stories of stomach issues. I wonder if it was the race time (we run at this time or thereabouts quite often) Maybe it was a bug. I was plagued by major stomach issues and had to 'stop' twice, first after waiting at the guard station potty  on the way out to the spit and again after we got off the spit. - and there were several 'tense' moments between stops.

The route changes were good, I much prefer the loop along Unwin as opposed to the route around the Balmy Beach club. I an sure everyone would agree. The spit is always a great part of the route, not just for the views but also the fact you get to pass by everyone after you make the lighthouse turn. It was great to see so many familiar faces, clinic members, former clinic members, various running friends et al. Waves and hellos from everyone prompted the 2 guys behind me to ask each other "Is this guy famous???" I got a good chuckle and wanted to turn back and ask "Don't you guys know who I am?" but at this point, I was already looking forward to and concentrating on my next potty stop! Even when I met up with Anita on the way out for her 15k race, I was distracted as I looked past her at the 'red occupied sign' on the guard station solo porta potty! I didn't even realize she had the tutu on!

I stopped at the Leslie St potties and fortunately did not have to wait like I did at the first one. It always seems like forever when you have to stop but after looking at my Garmin splits, it seems like I only added about 2-3 minutes onto my overall time aside from the slowdowns during several 'tense' moments. Anyway, after my second stop, I felt better and was able to get my pace back up and tried to pass as many of the people who got past me during the stop. This is not always a god move as is burns a lot of energy. In a marathon, I would probably not have tried this. Into the beaches area, I felt the comfort of the familiar terrain, the Boardwalk and 'Pretzel' AKA The Peanut and crossed the 21.1k mark in 1:39, not bad considering the delays until this point. I did my best to finish the last 9k as strong as possible, fought off a few more tense stomach issues and fought through the fatigue. I was tired partly from a debaucherous wine tasting evening that ensued after Thursday's canceled run. Not recommended for 2 nights prior to a race! I stopped for a walk at the 2nd to last water stop, and was passed by a guy I passed early in the race. I got going again and made it a point to pass him back. You see, he had knee high cotton socks on and this years Midsummer Night's Run race shirt. I couldn't be beat by him! I caught him and he kicked and kept with me. My competitive juices flowed and I kicked hard to which he could not match. I do love racing. I was planning on visiting Duff's final water stop but dd not want to be passed back by him or anyone so I kept going through. (Sorry Duff, you did great - everyone said they were so glad to see you - and we are all sorry you had to pass on the event)

I finished strong and feeling good, running the final 2 kms in 4:39 and 4:22. I finished 70th out of 771 with a time of 2:23:02, better than last year but a few minutes shy of beating my 2:19 Around the Bay time. Oh well, there's always next year! I am pleased considering my reduced mileage this 'busy' summer and all of my ailments. I think I did a good job of overcoming these setbacks and ran a strong mental race. It's not often I say that. I feel good heading into the final stages for my fall marathons.

I spent the post race at home (instead of the beer tent ) keeled over in pain and wasn't able to eat for recovery. I did feel a bit better Sunday but am still not 100% today. I thank Anita for taking good care of me Saturday night! I would have like to have stuck around and enjoyed the Beer garden with the gang and my other Running Friends that were there but this year, it was not to be.
Like This Post?Like This ( 1 Thumbs up )
 COMMENT 
 Posted by Dave on: Monday August 24 10:20:22 AM

Comments:

There are no comments for this post