Running has never been easy for me. Ever. You'll never see me type the words 'went for an easy 4k' because they'd never be true. Every bit of running is hard, IMHO. Not insurmountable hard, otherwise I'd never do it, who's kidding who, but it's mentally and physically challenging all.the time.
Part of that is because I'm significantly heavier than your average runner. Still way smaller than I used to be but let's call a spade a spade - I'm not 140lbs. I have way more of me to haul around. Which makes it harder on my muscles, joints, heart, lungs, you name it. And all that makes me slower than most people too, a fact I've come to find some strange sense of peace with, despite the fact that eventually I'd like to get faster.
But these past few weeks took a toll on my running psyche and thankfully a great group of gals helped pull me up and out of my self induced funk when I reached out and asked for some words of support. I held on to those this morning while I waited at the start line and they served me remarkably well.
You see, this race had pretty much every opportunity to be a disaster. It rained, my Garmin wouldn't connect, I had 'system' issues, I was crazy stressed out about it, I was at the very back of the pack and my worst fear was being at the back, did I mention it rained?, I was worried about my new phone getting wet, my IT band started to hurt, then the sun came out and it was HOT.
And in the end? I'm delighted to report that none of that mattered, none of it bothered me at all.
Start to 2.5k:Micheal dropped me off at the start line and I promptly made my way into the line up for the porta potties. Why they never have enough I don't know but I one thing I did know was that I had to pee. And perhaps more.
Sigh. WHY does my body have to betray me gastrointestinally with every big race!? I'd even taken a pre-emptive Immodium last night to ward off evil and while it kicked in eventually it was touch and go there for a bit.
Finally got in for my pre-race pee, sanitized my hands, and it started to rain. Fantastic. Just spitting so nothing too horrid but still. Damned weather folk - they said it wasn't supposed to start until 1pm.
Walked to the back of the pack because I knew I wasn't going to be fast this go around. I had decided to make this my LSD and not really attempt to race it hard because, well, I'd had shitty runs lately and didn't want to put too much pressure on myself. So back of the pack it was. Once I got there, I promptly took my starting line selfie and pressed the button on my Garmin to get my signal so I'd be ready to go at start time.
Well damned if the satellites don't like Oshawa because I couldn't get a flippin signal.
I can't run without my Garmin now that I have it. I NEED it like I need oxygen. Well okay, that may be overstating it, just slightly, but still. I need it to track my intervals, to see how much further the next km, all that stuff. And the bastard wouldn't get a signal.
Even after the gun was fired. We were off, and I wasn't ready. Fuuuuuuuuck.
I started running, because that's what you do when the gun goes off, and still nothing. So I actually pulled myself off the course, stopped, and waited for it to finally connect. Then boom - I was ready and could finally get started.
Of course, this now left me at the very back of the pack. THE last runner. One of my worst running fears is to be the last person to cross the finish line. You know, the one that the dude on the bike hangs out with the whole time? Yeah, that person. I don't ever want to be that person. And all of the sudden I was primed to be that person right from the get go. Waaaah.
I gave my head a shake and started running. And felt a bit better when I passed a few people.
The first 1-2 k were through the streets of downtown Oshawa leading us to a long trail. Some of the side streets were closed off to us which was nice but once we hit Simcoe we had a single lane to work with which was more intimidating but given where I was in the pack it wasn't a big deal at all.
2.5k -5k:
Once we hit the trails everything changed. For starters, the skies opened up more and the rain came down with a bit more gusto. It never got torrential but was definitely enough to get a good soaking going on. But because we were on trails from here on out, most of the time we were saved by the tree canopy.
It's without reservation that I say this was the second most beautiful route I've ever run (the Vancouver seawall being the first). We traversed the same creek many times by running over quaint wooden bridges. Because I was at the back it was relatively quiet and peaceful (despite the tunes blaring in my ears) and I really had the opportunity to enjoy running for what it was in that moment - me and the pavement and nature. Cheesy but true.
The route isn't flat but there weren't any really crazy hills either so it was just enough to keep you guessing as to what elevation was coming next. It was pretty cool to run over this bridges and under all kinds of tunnels - including one that had us run under the 401!!! Nifty. And noisy.
There were a few lone runners around me during this time and one of them was obviously there to encourage her friend, her much-slower-than-her friend, to keep going and finish strong. We were generally moving at the same pace, give or take a walk break here and there, and it was nice to see just how encouraging she was to her friend - and even me on more than one occasion! - throughout the course of the race. She helped us push a bit harder to get to the 5km marker.
5k-8k:
I was starting to feel a bit tired around this point so I popped a Shot Blok for a hit of energy. Even if it was pure placebo I was going for it. In this strip we left the one park and crossed over into another one on the Oshawa waterfront. The rain had stopped, the sun was starting to come out, and rounding a corner to a gorgeous lake view was the mental boost I needed as well.
I'd never been on any of these trails or down to this waterfront park so turning every corner was a new experience which I really enjoyed.
After the 5k mark we were joined by the 1/8th marathon runners who had started relatively close by to that point. Most of them had gone through already but a few stragglers were on the route still. As I rounded another corner a group of girls, maybe 12 years old, where standing there with great signs ("Go Stranger, Go", "In my mind you're all Kenyans", "If it was easy, I would do it", 'Tonenails are for sissies", "Call a cab, it's faster", "Run like you stole something") which made me laugh and broke up the monotony of the run by that point.
Then shit got real. I rounded another mystery corner and sweet merciful crap - a hill. A crazy, nasty, straight up hill. So much for relatively flat! I tried to run up it but realized it wasn't going to happen so I walked my way to the top. Thankfully what goes up must come down and there was a nice downhill portion on the other side.
8k to finish:
By this point we were exclusively on the waterfront, lake to my left. The sun came out for a bit and I not so secretly hoped for it to slip back behind some clouds because it just made everything so hot. The benefit of being so close to the lake is a breeze so I took that for what it was worth and just kept going.
It's funny, at this point I knew I was in the general home stretch. And I still felt great! My legs were good and I was better able to fully run my intervals from 8-10k than I was from 3-7. Weird, but I'll take it! As far as I'm concerned that bodes well as I get into the longer distances to truly be ready for my half - it was great to acknowledge that my legs weren't dead by that point so I took some momentary pleasure in that.
Because I was running my intervals straight as others were starting to lag it meant that I was able to pass even more people. Yay! People whose backs I'd stared at a long time I was now passing. Delicious.
With 1k left to go we rounded a corner and yet again, a killer hill. Like really, who puts THAT kind of hill less than 1k from the finish line!? Not fair at all! So I pushed myself a bit until I got to about a third of the way up then allowed myself to walk the rest. From the top I could see the finish line at the end of the winding trail so that gave me a boost and I went for home.
Micheal and Finn were there as I crossed the finish line which always makes me smile. I eventually remembered to stop my Garmin and my Nike app and promptly downed the bottle of water a volunteer handed to me.
We stepped out of the way a bit and I got a big smooch from the husband and many muddy paws on my running pants from the pooch.
A short while later the two women I'd mentioned earlier - the one runner with her friend motivating her - crossed the finish line and walked past me. I looked at her friend and told her she was lucky to have such an awesome cheerleader to run with her and keep her motivated. She agreed and her friend gave her a huge hug for finishing, then turned and gave me one as I thanked her for helping push me along, too. Gotta love runners - sweaty hugs from complete strangers are totally normal. :)
Did some grocery shopping a la Leanne at the finish line, took a quick look around, then it was time to go. The sun had started to come out more and it was a perfect setting for the end of the race.
Once in the car I looked up my time. It was gun timed only, so yeah, obvs this is a longer time than it actually took me to run the course because a) I was at the back of the pack right from the start and b) I pulled off for a bit to get my Garmin signal.
I told myself that I'd be happy if I could come in under 1:30, all things considered. I'd be delighted with 1:20, but 1:30 would be okay. Gun time, as you can see on the left, is 1:24.35. Nike says 1:23:49 and Garmin says 1:23:25, so a whole minute less than gun which is much more realistic. And I could probably take another 10 or so seconds off of the lower times because it took me a bit to remember to turn them off once I crossed the finish line.
So all in all, a lovely day. I'd like to get my pace up - today was a very slow 7:57 - but I'll get there. Eventually. The course was beautiful, I never got completely soaking wet, I passed people that I wanted to pass, and I came nowhere close to last.
Today, that's good enough for me. :)
And if you read through alllllllll of that, thanks for reading and for all the support!!!
You are ao inspiring, Shannon!!! Loved the race report. I'm glad you had a good race. Keep up the great work!!
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