30K Around the Bay Race report -- coming up from behind!

It's done! I did it!

We got to Hamilton yesterday afternoon, hit the expo to get our kits, checked into the hotel, then went to get some dinner.  We called it a night at about 10:30pm, which really didn't make a difference as I barely slept.  The pull-out couch mattress wasn't very forgiving with the springs.  Our alarm clock and phone rang simultaneously; time to get the day started.

Wait, I heard something.  Went to the window, it was raining.  I've come this far, trained through a long, cold winter; rain wasn't going to stop me today.  But I had to do my part in convincing others to get out of their jeans and into their running gear.  Mission accomplished, all 9 of us are dressed, jam-packed in a mini-van on our way to the race.

Inside for some shelter, ran into Marlene, a few other friends, and finally got to meet Sarah!

By the time we headed outside, the rain had let up... a bit.  Funny thing is that Steal My Sunshine by Len came onto my iPod just as the sky opened up, and decided to pour.

Thanks to all of you who gave me your input into running with someone else.  Here's what I did. Yesterday, I talked to the person in question, she asked me if I had prepared lots of stories to tell he during the race to make the time go by.  I told her that it was important that we each run our own race, and that while I don't mind starting out with her, we need to not have any commitments or obligations.  She seemed ok with it, and I was relieved to just get that out there.

So, that's what we did, and it was working really well!  She was kicking butt today, and we were at a comfortable pace.  Oh, and the rain? Still coming down.  It didn't take long for our shoes to be full and heavy.

I was surprised how many people were out there supporting the runners, and thanks to the amazing volunteers for being out there on a very wet day.  As I ran past an older guy on the street at roughly 4k, he yelled out to me "You're NUTS!" I laughed, shrugged my shoulders, high-fived, and thanked him for being there.

4 kids, Superman, 3 police officers... those that I high-fived along the way.  I stuck with my main objective -- have fun. 

Running over the grate wasn't as bad as I expected; I thought the bridge was a lot higher, I just eased up my pace a bit in hopes of not slipping.

At 16k, my running partner was starting to struggle.  She was having a hard time with the heaviness of her shoes, and urged me to go on.  I did.  

This was my race, I was feeling great, I didn't feel guilty at all -- this was my moment.  So I carried on.  Up to this point, the biggest challenge was the rain; the route was flat.  The route is a triangle... when we turned onto the last long stretch the rain had pretty much stopped.  Yes, that's good news, however, it's also when the wind picked up and the hills started.  I caught up to one of the guys from my group who was having a hard time walking in a straight line, let alone run... I stayed with him for a few minutes, he also encouraged me to keep going. He's quite a bit taller than I am, so he said that he'd stay motivated by keeping me in his sights.

About 2k later, I caught up with my first clinic instructor!  She had moved away shortly after our goal race following the half marathon clinic -- but she emailed us last week to let us know she was running the race and had looked up our names on the confirmation list.  I asked her if I could run with her... she told me that she had done some curling yesterday and was paying dearly for it, so she told me to go on.  I thanked her -- as it was, after all, her and the running group that got me to the race today.

Then came THE hill.  After a few rolling hills, we turned a corner, and when looking to your left over the water, you see the other runners heading up a monster of a hill. Oh Sh!t!  There was no way I was going to run up that hill...  I run up about a quarter of the way, walked the rest.

Homestretch.  Out of nowhere I see a black hat, a blue hat and a green hat... 3 members of my group who I certainly didn't expect to catch up to! Wtf!  I called out to them as they were about 10 strides ahead of me.  They all turned to see who was calling them, and I think they were just as shocked to see me! :)  The 4 of us stuck together till the end!

We got to a ramp that led us into Copps Coliseum, where our finish line was -- with all the wind and rain, can't help but think that this was much better for friends/family waiting for the runners!  I was so overwhelmed with emotion and happiness -- I forgot to raise my hands, forgot to look for me on the big screen, and had no clue where any of the photographers were.  Oh well.

Finished in 3:24:04 -- I had sorta set myself a loose goal of 3:45:00, as I wasn't really sure what to expect considering I've been heart rate training for the last few months.  That, and 6 months ago, I was in an air cast...  I thought about that often while out there today.

How I'm still awake to post this? Not sure, quite possibly still the endorphins! :)

So, today was my longest run ever, I accomplished the 30k race I wanted so badly to do last year but couldn't, and finished off the month of March with 194km/120miles. Highest monthly mileage yet!

Love the race shirt, and we actually to keep the timing chip -- it's a special commemorative chip to mark their 115th anniversary, so that's pretty cool!

Once we finally got home after going back to the hotel, showering, and a late lunch with the group, I figured this was as good a time as any.  Hard to tell in the pic, but I had my very first ice bath.  Now that I'm not running in sub-freezing temperatures, an ice-bath is much more tolerable, so I decided to be brave... Yikes that was cold!

Alright, that's it for me tonight... here's to hoping this post makes any sort of sense :)