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Sunday September 05 2010
 

Mississauga Marathon - 2010 - Race Report

Printer friendly version Posted on: Friday May 21 05:03:15 PM

It's hard to come up with a definite feeling for this race. On one hand, I should be really happy that I finished. Ok, I mean really happy that I finished in a decent time (3:35:58) and that the huge decrease in mileage didn't make it as tough it could have.

Now 'tough' is the wrong statement as well. It was tough. It was slower than I hoped, but not surprisingly. In fact, if we bring up the expression "Positive Thinking" then I would say I was positive. Deep down inside I was positive I did not have the fitness level for a 3:20 Boston Qualifying time. But I remained hopeful, and especially hopeful that I could tough it out and pull it off. But let's face it,  reduced training, lingering injuries a mere 2 sessions of speed work won;t get you that time. Unless you are like in the 20-25 age group category. I am not.

The week leading up to the race went well, some good taper runs, good sleeps and not too much stress. I look back and realize I could have eaten better. I felt great on race morning and the first half of the race went well. I felt good but got to halfway 3 minutes slower than last year. That was where I realized I was not going to run my goal of 3:20 but I din;t stop trying there. I was on pace for another 10k after that, but it was getting darker and darker in my mind by the step. I wish I had of paced better but I wanted to try for the prize and knew I was in for a painful finish. People around me will know this as I exclaimed all week that this one was gonna hurt.

So my negative outlook on this race is really only aimed at the last 10k. This is where the well know Wall was in effect. I knew I'd hit it and that there was no mental toughness that could overcome this.I accepted this pretty quickly and eased up, to avoid being nauseous. For the first time ever racing, I threw up. At 32k, I consumed a gel, downed it with some water, and 10 seconds later, I was fortunate enough to have a garbage can to lean over and let it go. Not too nasty, just Double Espresso flavoured water. I walked a bit and got my pace back up to test the waters and as soon as I got going I'd feel nauseous so I kept it easy the rest of the way.

I met Nir at 38k and he was kind enough to run back in with me. This made the fatigue / nausea levels bearable and I kind of enjoyed the final few rough miles. Finishing this one felt great although for a good hour afterward, the queasiness lingered. It just felt nice to lay on the lawn, warm sun shining and managing to eat some grapes and a beer. It was awesome to spend the time with all of our running community and I was so happy to see so many good results, particularly Sari's personal best in the marathon and Julie's smashing PB. Well done ladies.

The topper though was having Cam and Anita waiting there at the finish line to catch me.Thanks guys!

marathon #16 is in the books and many things were learned and confirmed. I have 2 more this spring. Whitby, Ottawa Niagara on the Lake Ultra (50k) The head down and train hard for Goodlife Marathon and another attempt at a BQ. I am hopeful and ready to put the effort and be disciplined enough to reach the goal again. And I will enjoy it, don't you worry!

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OK, so, we're 2 sleeps away from Whitby, and a fun run is the plan. I do not feel I have recovered enough to go at it very hard at all. Thankfully Nir has joined in with me and we can have some fun with it.Oh, and i will be tweeting as iRunNation from the start finish, and sure, a few tweets along the way. Watch their page to track our progress.


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 Posted by Dave on: Friday May 21 05:03:15 PM

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