WEEK 22 ✕ BARRIE WATERFRONT HALF-MARATHON RECAP
Race Report - Barrie Half
This was my very first time in Barrie for anything actually. I had no prior knowledge of this course other than looking it up on the main website and observing other people's runs in the "activity search" segment in Strava for elevation map. In terms of expectations, it was at a minimal considering it was raining cats and dogs outside and that I have not done a road half-marathon since the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon back in 2015. I knew that based on my recent races that I would be capable to run in the lower spectrum of the 01:35:00 to 01:42:00 range.
My day started off at 4:45 am and was immediately out the door after downing my yogurt and banana combination. I knew that driving from Markham to Barrie will take approximately an hour and a couple of minutes (thanks Waze!), so finished things off with a large Timmies double double, knowing that the morning nature's call will be due by the time I arrive. Took care of business followed by packet pickup. The route of the race is shaped like a horseshoe with the starting line beginning at the dead centre. First off, it was heading southward where there was a good mix of asphalt roads and mixed soil like texture in some areas. After going to the far end, there is a return loop to go back to the start line area but bypassing it and heading northwards instead. This time around, the surface is more so of a sand and gravel mixture and turn around again once you reach the end point. It was thoroughly soggy although this was to be expected right from the get-go. This time around, I was mindful of my running posture but wasn't necessarily trying to completely alter the way I normally run. At my race pace, it was significantly easier to really have my legs push off the ground in a cyclical motion. Also, it was easier to also have my back position forward-facing as if I was about to hit the ground face first. That workshop from The Runner's Academy definitely paid off indeed. At the end of it all, I managed to shed off a wholesome ~16 minutes off from my last half record registered in October 2015. 01:31:36 and to my delight, I didn't lose any gear this time around. It just sets the tone that with continuous drive to improve, harder to reach goals are no longer out of reach and are actually plausible if I put the work in. Going to take this upcoming week easy, we'll see how it goes! - Cheers, M.W.
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Week 19 ✕ Sporting Life 10K Toronto RecapI had the great pleasure once again to represent Team Running Free at this year's Sporting Life 10K along side with my avid weekend warrior group of friends. Aside from the Scotiabank Waterfront race in mid-October, this particular race down Yonge Street is my favourite perennial measuring stick of the progress that I have made from a year-to-year basis. I have become increasingly prepared and well equipped for each of these runs as each year passes and these kind of morning rituals are extremely helpful leading up to the even more important races. Case and point: the Barrie Half-Marathon that is coming up in two weeks time. However, I was not completely prepared. I had finished a late night shift from my casual part-time work the day prior. I also left the house without my almighty important GPS watch in the morning. Systemically, I turn to plan B which is using my iPhone to track the running data for this race. The first five kilometres was nothing but a straight downhill down on Yonge Street. Without thinking too much, I bolted out of the start line with speed and let the gravity take care of the rest. The flaw is that by manually engaging start on the Strava phone app, I lose concentration and placed my phone into my shorts pocket with the zipper 1/4 zipped up. Bad move. Just briefly after crossing Yonge and Eglinton, my Bluetooth wireless earbuds lose connection and my music was gone. "Oh it's just a bad connection" - so I thought. Kept pushing the power button and volume buttons; no reaction. Thats when unnecessary adrenaline rush kicked in with guilt. "Should I keep going? Or turn back?" That notion of uncertainty essentially carried on throughout the remainder of the race. I went to the conclusion that I may as well run faster to the finish line so that I can find out what to do next when finished. That's when I realized I was at the 7K mark, I think where the second water station is? The speed was constant with not as many obstruction while the elevation is now flat. And soon enough, I managed to push my way into the finish line - of course not knowing my official race time and not so much of satisfaction had things gone the way they were supposed to be. The next steps were asking strangers and my buddies with iPhones to borrow their phone and use "Find My Phone" app. At first, my heart sank as the first two locations tracked of my phone was gradually shifted southbound. "Fuck, somebody must've stolen it for sure" - so I thought. That's when I decided to remotely set it into Lost Mode and call my phone soon after to test my luck. To my delight, that person picked up the phone and responded. "We have your phone and meet us down at Princess Gate!" Major sigh of relief but still angsty. Let my main group momentarily to go to the specific area where the person said to meet. Alas, there was the person, a wife and husband with their kids, stroller and all. "My husband tried to get you but you were too fast to catch up!" she exclaimed. I guess that's where I might have gotten too carried away when I was running downhill. My takeaway: always activate your iCloud / Google account so that you can remotely locate your phone. If you have a valid iCloud account, simply login to "Find my Phone" app whereas for Android users, login your Google credentials to the official "Android Device Manager" app. After the scary episode, I looked up my results on sportstats.ca and looks like a new PB and slashing 2 minutes from last year. My takeaway: always activate your iCloud / Google account so that you can remotely locate your phone. If you have a valid iCloud account, simply login to "Find my Phone" app whereas for Android users, login your Google credentials to the official "Android Device Manager" app. After the scary episode, I looked up my results on sportstats.ca and looks like a new PB and slashing 2 minutes from last year.
Week 14 RecapMore nicer weather days = more runs, more April showers = run just as much while planning around it within the week I managed to keep the same amount of average running distance of 63km per week plus a little bit more. I either rested or simply hit the gym with some mild upper body workout as well as some dreadmill sessions in the days where weather simply sucked. The longer distance runs were evenly distributed throughout the week so that I can thoroughly enjoy the Race Roster Spring Run Off 8k run on the Saturday. Rather than racing compared to two years ago, I had the pleasure this time around to pace my friend and kickstart her year in running on a strong note. (Congrats again Janice! Hopefully this will keep the running momentum going!) Perhaps I should also make visits to High Park more often in the next couple of months to train the uphill in anticipation of my very first ultra 50K this upcoming July as well... Race Roster Spring Run-Off 2017
If you are looking for a relatively short race with lots of hills and beautiful scenery, then this is for you! I observed that there were some elite runners that was using this race as simulation for steep hill preps for Boston Marathon (based from Instagram). Meanwhile for the rest of us regular civilians, this race presents a formidable challenge to simply #killthehill at the final stretch of the race. Essentially the route of the run-off is multiple loops around High Park. What separates this from other races is that this is one of many races organized by the great folks at Canada Running Series. This run off, as well as their other races, is well-organized, has lots of volunteers (for packet pick-up, bag check, and water stations), and has great after-finishing activities. Will I do it again next year and the year after? Chances are... yes and with a desire to hit a personal best from 2015. What's NextI officially registered for the North Face Endurance Challenge 2017. The only difference from last to this is an extra 29km within the mountains from Half Marathon distance to a full blown ultra 50k. This would definitely be one of the highlights of this year next to the Niagara Falls International Marathon in October. You can expect a whole lot more weekly updates mentioning training in anticipation for this big trail race ahead in July.
That's it for now! Cheers, - M.W. 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
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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