Admittedly, due to my schedule in the two months prior to the race, I started to get a little nervous about if I'd get enough practice time. There had already been one trip out to Montreal in September and another planned for right after the race to Brossard to do instrumentation on the Daigneault Creek Bridge. The TA position had lots of lab marking to do and I was to try and polish/practice my presentation for the INALCO aluminium conference that was the day after the race. I figured out that the schedule would be tight after I signed up for the race since the date triggered something in my mind; six months ago I waved it off figuring I'd just come up with a solution, which I did, where I just had to sacrifice sleep. I was able to increase my confidence on my running when I completed a 17 km run the Saturday before the race and it felt good.
Unfortunately for out-of-towners, race packet pick-up could not be done the day of the race since there were 25,000 people signed up for the event (8,000 marathoners, 10,000 half-marathoners, 7,000 5 km runners). My dad was awesome and drove me out to Toronto on Friday night for the racing bib and then again on Sunday morning for the race. Having only the option to leave Waterloo around 5pm, I'd say we got a medium level of rush hour traffic, so we still got there before the event closed. The runner's expo was held around the CNE buildings where there were booths for sports fuel, drinks, clothes, magazines, and charities; it was huge. At this point I changed my corral colour from the 1:50 - 2:00 pace group to the 2:00 - 2:09 since my pacing was pretty slow on my longer Saturday run. I was also starting to get pretty darn nervous.
Saturday was a quiet day where I had to pack for my conference, field work, and CCX swing exchange in Montreal for the entirety of the next week. Luckily, I could give Pampa and Patrick a bunch of the supplies and clothes I needed for the field work so I didn't have to pack them in my carry on. This was also a day where I was careful what I ate because I didn't want to have to make pitstops that can be so easy while running past the university. I went to bed early-ish, it wasn't a super exciting day but I needed to relax. The biggest event of the day was that I found Hello Kitty ductape at Rona on sale.
Sunday was race day! I woke up at 5:30am in order to get picked up at 6:00 am and Tim a few minutes later. I slept vicariously through him because he sleeps so wonderfully in moving vehicles when he's a passenger. Approaching Toronto was when reality started to hit; I saw road closure signs, officials on Lakeshore Blvd setting up barriers, and people walking down Queen St. in colourful runners and leggings. Oh yes, and it was also something like 2°C in the morning so I brought everything from t-shirt to my winter running jacket. At the starting line, music was blaring, crowds were warming up and stretching, it was such high and positive energy. Keeping my coat and pants on as long as possible, Tim and my parents keep me distracted until the first group left. As the national anthem was being played, I was stepping side to side to keep moving and warm, and I reminded myself of nearly every hockey player in the NHL. Councillor Doug Ford sounded the horn for each corral, people clapped, and the guy next to me cheekily said if we're allowed to boo. I asked if him and his brother are running as well. As the horn sounded for my group, we walked forward for some time until we approached the starting gate.
My run felt light and easy, which was welcomed; starting off the race well. Figuring I wouldn't push it just yet, I kept that pace, but then I realized the 2:00 half-marathon pace bunny that was well ahead of me at the start was now at my side. Needless to say, that was a comforting thought. The race started at Nathan Philips Square, up University, west on Bloor, south on Bathurst, out west on Lakeshore to High Park area, back on Lakeshore up to Bay and back to City Hall. The full marathon extended on the other side out towards the beaches which my starting line neighbour told me is a nice section of the race.
A few things I noticed; there were way more onlookers and supporters than I ever imagined, being in a huge running group was a new and awesome feeling, and the 13 km mark was the biggest slog for myself and everyone else who I asked ran the half marathon. People with posters had everything from "Go random stranger" to "You're running better than the government". As for that 13 km mark, I wouldn't say I struggled, I just felt less peppy; it was out at the extreme end of the Lakeshore section, so either the fact that you're the farthest from the finish line or the grade, it just wasn't the happiest for people. Past the half way mark, I was starting to look forward to seeing the kilometre marker signs, not that I was ailing, but more like a mental count down. As for normally singing songs in my head, I had less of that because there were so many new stimuli that I was just watching. I did actually start practicing my conference talk around the 13 km mark, maybe that's why it wasn't as easy! Towards the end I was singing Nyan Cat to the beat of my cadence. I developed a good technique for drinking those water/Gatorade cups by 1) making a mess of myself the first time (which I only took advantage of around the 10 km mark) 2) stealing the idea from a guy ahead of me. Pinching the cup to make a V-shape funnel makes for a more effective drinking. Now you know.
People had made a big deal about the hill at the end of the race up from Lakeshore to City Hall on the race site forums, but it really wasn't bad if you're used to Waterloo. I'd say it was equivalent to heading north on King from University to Columbia. Having the last kilometre marked out every 100 m, I began sprinting at 300 m so that I know I ended strong. I was pretty darn happy. Took me a while to find my parents and Tim again because apparently a full marathoner came at about the same time as I did and everyone was going nuts because he broke the record. That's great and all but I broke my own record, 1:56:15, so...there. :P I got lots of hugs once I did find my awesome cheering squad, which was the best feeling of the day :)
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