Around The Bay 2017 Recap"Everyone was glad to see our own version of heartbreak hill back in the game after a two-year absence." - Hamilton Spectator
I won't be surprised if you found me through Google search by typing "Around the Bay review". In a nutshell, here are the essential info to this event:
WHAT: Around The Bay Road Race (aka THE North American road race older than Boston since 1894) WHEN: Last weekend of March or very early April - the 2017 edition of the race happened Sunday, March 26, 2017 with gunpoint at 9:30 am WHERE: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (Route --> Hamilton > Burlington Skyway / Eastport Road > Burlington lakeshore > back to downtown Hamilton WHO: you, the weekend warrior runner! WHY: Highly recommended race to kickoff the running season, a nice progress measuring stick between a half-marathon to a full-marathon This will be my second time running this signature race but the first time with the infamous Valley Inn Rd hill 
Elevation Map for Around The Bay race 2017
This race is perfect for those that have conquered the half-marathon race and unsure of whether he or she is capable of tackling the full marathon with full-confidence. You get to tackle the weather elements such as temperature drops and winds but you will never be 100% sure of the complete conditions until the day of the race. Case and point, weather forecast anticipated freezing rain, rain, and windy conditions couple of days leading up to the day of the event. Luckily, the actual conditions was nothing more than selective wind changes during the rolling hills section and by the Burlington skyway bridge area. And that's right, I mentioned hills because there will be plentiful of them so don't expect yourself to bolt straight out of the starting line and sustain that speed the rest of the day... unless you're an elite athlete!
0 - 10KM
Caution: Watch your step! No, it's not wet slippery roads but rather cracked up, rocky asphalt roads for the first few kilometres! The roads are located in the industrial area constantly run over by huge trucks and tractors; as a result, you get the bad roads until you gradually move up onto the overpass area.
Not the most scenic part of the race but most definitely quite manageable in terms of pacing and elevation. 11 - 20km
Flat and now's the time to speed things up!
The second portion is mostly flat as you run northward in parallel to the QEW highway on Beach Boulevard and Eastport Drive. Depending on your level of athleticism, this stretch of the run is ideal for taking your first gel pack at your discretion based on mental vitality and distance run so far. I recall doing my very first Bay race last year in 2016 and took it in 11km. This year, I extended that duration to somewhere between 15km to 16km, where a water station was available for me to ingest it easily, so I can utilize that extra caffeine kick when I actually need it when tackling the hills. Pace-wise, now is the time to speed up a bit if you can sustain it as the roads are relatively flat and don't require as much effort. Note: as you are passing by the bridge... relax! Even though the bottom are see-through, the bridge steel beams are more than strong enough to hold your weight and lots of heavy duty trucks so no need to freak out... or look down for that matter ? 20 - 25KM: Rolling Hills
Pace accordingly!
This would be one of the sections where training on the stair-masters at the gym can really pay off! It's easy to let gravity pull you down and speed down the hill when it's there, but have you planned on how to defeat the uphills? My strategy: just don't stop- period. You are better off being at crawling speeds and not stopping than doing so. Get in the rhythm with your footsteps! You are now running at the residential areas, so along with the hills, you get a strong community support cheering you on and beautiful scenery of the lakeshore area on your left hand side of things. That is until the infamous monster or Hamilton's "heartbreak hill" awaits you at the end of 25km and onto the beginning stages of 26... The Hill - Valley Inn Road
Sounds scary, mentally scary, but trust me. It's not. Think of it as short-term pain or lots more of gain!
This is because at the end of this hurdle, there's one more hurdle left... and the infamous Grim Reaper will be awaiting you there. More on that in a bit. ...and that's when the beat from the playlist above (but I was then live streaming via the SiriusXM app on my phone) dropped coincidentally right at the moment as I embraced the uphill suck. It was a mix of adrenaline and following through the beats per minute (bpm) of those dance tracks that carried me through the dreadful 400 metres. Like I say, it seems like forever but its not. However, you do need to brace yourself for one more gradual uphill as you push through the overpass bridge of York St so don't just simply bank all your energy strictly for the Valley Inn Rd hill. 27 - 30KM
After the uphill, you must now plough through the final uphill within the 27 to 28 km mark. This is where the infamous Grim Reaper will be awaiting you right next to the cemetery to the right. Don't want to hang around with him? Keep pushing on and the road will lead you directly back to the starting line area in which you will make a right turn into the FirstOntario Centre (formerly Copps Coliseum) and into the finish line!
Race Notes
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Week 11 Recap
Cons: More tired and restless, unpredictable weather conditions
Pros: More sunlight to get a quick afterwork run done In summary, this has been the week of daylight savings after effects and the last hurrah in racking up some meaningful mileage before tapering this week. Q: Why taper? Isn't it just another middle ranger race between a half and a full? A: This is exactly why I enjoy running, you learn to set the right attitude and discipline at all times, no matter a fun run or a time qualifier for hallmark races. 30K sounds insignificant but a race is a race- who doesn't want to attain a personal best? The journey of preparation and planning sets the tone for the overall outcome, in this case striving towards setting a new benchmark from last year's 2hr 29 mins. My Saturday run pretty much simulated the supposed less than ideal weather conditions for race day (that is if it actually happens.) It was windy, snowy, and slushy. Oh and three hills, spread out evenly throughout the run, that will hopefully be something similar to that signature dreaded hill on race day within the 25 km to 27 km mark. The only thing I could have done differently would have been using the gel packs during the run. That way, my body could have gotten used to the gooey calories and also absorb it better. Bottom line, pretty satisfied with the run.
What's Next
Taper week! Easy runs in the early portion of the week to at least move those muscles and then rest up leading to the day of the event. Please do pardon for any delays for next week's recap as I will be resting up and reflect the Around The Bay race in the form of race report.
Until then, cheers! - MW Week 10 Recap
Week 9 Recap
Short and sweet, not forgetting the joy of running.
This pretty much summarizes this past week. Didn't overdo the distance, and certainly didn't overdo the pace. Pains within the shins dissipated now that I accumulated some formidable mileage to break into my new pair of training runners. One of the other things I adjusted this week in my runs was my posture and how foot landing within my strides. In anticipation of the upcoming races, I transitioned towards keeping my back straight and avoiding to lean overly forwards and backwards. That being said, I lowered my height clearance a bit so I can maximize the strides within my lower body. This seems to be efficient for me so far as this allowed me to speed up my pace a bit more efficiently while not tiring myself off. But is this method acceptable? I'll probably do more research myself and share my findings in the future... The other is the foot landing, in which I followed through from this Instagram post:
My feet feels exponentially better from that plus that extra cushioning from the new pair of runners. Sometimes, you never know how much you can self-learn from learning by example! Just like what I mentioned in my post, I consider myself to be a social media learner by cautiously following from other people from Twitter, Instagram, Strava, and selective running blogs that actually teaches you content than torrents of brand endorsements.
In the coming weeks, I will be writing a more thorough review of my daily training runners, the ASICS Gel Nimbus 19 for a number of reasons. A, because there are barely any relevant reviews when I was initially researching. B, because there were too many bad reviews that overshadow the good merits of what Gel Nimbus are well-known for. Stay tuned! What's Next
I have been looking through the #ChillyHalfMarathon hashtag on Instagram over the weekend, and that itself was more than enough to convince me to sign up for the 2018 edition of the half-marathon myself!
Better yet, there is an early bird pricing of $55 until March 28, 2017! That's seriously a great value in terms of half-marathon races. It's a tease for things to come in a couple of weeks until the Around The Bay race in late March. Until then, I will gradually be re-introducing my race shoes into my weekly training regime so I don't experience any unexpected pains from the race shoes or from lack of preparation of not applying anti-chaffing ointment! Cheers, MW |
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