- The hip flexor which had been the cause of my hamstring problems was what it was. Try as I might, I could not work out a solution to get around the problem.
- Just after the turn run around point at 20 miles my race was pretty much done. I was running with a very awkward gate by this point. If I could have worked out a way to get there in a decent time I wouldn't have minded a few weeks of discomfort but it became increasingly difficult to keep a steady pace as the hip flexor tightened. This was new territory for me.
- Aside from a couple of Ks that were slightly off pace just after the half, I wouldn't change much in terms of race execution. I felt good and for the most part stayed within myself when I needed to.
- Nutrition was okay for the race. Hard to get stuff down at times but overall not as much of an issue as in previous races.
- pre-race meal consumed at 4:15 AM, 3 hours before the start of the race. Included oatmeal, banana and yogurt. More than enough oatmeal to spare.
- consumed 1 bottle SPR-3 between 30 and the start of the race.
- Food the day before was good and included both carbs and protein. Made sure not to eat too heavy of a meal the night before. Our hotel was right by a market which worked out really well for food choices both raw and cooked.
- it was good to leave Ottawa and work on the Wednesday. Getting a run in before the train trip was good as well. In fact, the run in Montreal on Thursday morning was one of the most enjoyable runs I've had in a long time. It reminded me why I enjoy running as much as I do.
- the rest two nights before the race was good. I don't get as stressed before these races as much as I use to.
- the rest on the night before was good, just short because of getting up at 4:00 AM.
- Nothing left at home this trip. :-)
- All my race clothes were organized on Friday. As well, getting the expo down on Friday was good.
- Took a city tour on a bus Saturday morning before the race to see parts of the course. The course wound its way around a lot of these landmarks. It had been suggested to me by someone who ran here last here and I think it helped.
- As I've done with other races, I've been able to locate Google Earth files to literally fly through the course. This helps with the visualization.
| KM | Cumulative Time | Time | Elevation Change |
Comment |
| 1 | 4:58 | 4:58 | ||
| 2 | 9:05 | 4:06 | Worked on getting in front of the 3:20 pace bunny. No way to do so in the start corals. | |
| 3 | 13:44 | 4:39 | ||
| 4 | 18:12 | 4:27 | ||
| 5 | 22:46 | 4:34 | ||
| Total 5k | 22:46 | Average per k | 4:33 | |
| Average Pace | 13.2 | |||
| Overall Comments: |
||||
| KM | Cumulative Time | Time | Elevation Change |
Comment |
| 6 | 27:24 | 4:37 | ||
| 7 | 32:04 | 4:39 | ||
| 8 | 36:38 | 4:34 | ||
| 9 | 40:54 | 4:15 | Good crowds along this section. Lots of noise. Didn't re-adjust pace until after the end of this 5k section when I realized I was going slightly fast through here. | |
| 10 | 45:08 | 4:13 | ||
| Total 5k | 22:21 | Average per k | 4:28 | |
| Average Pace | 13.4 | |||
| Overall Comments: |
||||
| KM | Cumulative Time | Time | Elevation Change |
Comment |
| 11 | 49:37 | 4:30 | Settled back into a better pace. | |
| 12 | 54:16 | 4:39 | ||
| 13 | 59:40 | 5:24 | +31 | Walked (planned) very briefly to eat 1/2 a cliff bar. Long slow uphill this k. I can't run and eat generally. |
| 14 | 1:04:17 | 4:37 | -32 | Back downhill this k. |
| 15 | 1:09:08 | 4:51 | +14 | Starting to go uphill at the end of this k. |
| Total 5k | 24:00 | Average per k | 4:48 | |
| Average Pace | 12.5 | |||
| Overall Comments: 3:20 pace bunny caught up to me after I ate my bar. Took me several minutes to realize he was way ahead of pace. |
||||
| KM | Cumulative Time | Time | Elevation Change |
Comment |
| 16 | 1:13:56 | 4:48 | +14 | Steepest hill section on the course. |
| 17 | 1:18:34 | 4:38 | -12 | Winds back downhill towards the river. |
| 18 | 1:22:55 | 4:21 | -13 | |
| 19 | 1:27:31 | 4:36 | -12 | Focus was good through this section. Slowly pulled away from the 3:20 bunny through these few Ks. Felt good through here. |
| 20 | 1:32:10 | 4:39 | +13 | |
| Total 5k | 23:01 | Average per k | 4:36 | |
| Average Pace | 13.0 | |||
| Overall Comments: |
||||
| KM | Cumulative Time | Time | Elevation Change |
Comment |
| 21 | 1:36:49 | 4:39 | -2 | |
| 21.43 | 1:39:00 | **1/2 way point** A little extra on the Garmin for distance. Includes time to refill water bottle and get going again. |
||
| 22 | 1:41:46 | 4:57 | +16 | Included time to refill water bottle with SPR-3. |
| 23 | 1:46:38 | 4:52 | -7 | Short steep uphill followed by tight twisting downhill at the start of the next k. |
| 24 | 1:51:29 | 4:51 | 0 | After the road flattened out I was a bit too relaxed through here.
It was steady pace but I should have pushed a little harder through here
and the next k to get back into the groove. Might have been a bit tight after pausing to refill the bottle at the half way mark.. |
| 25 | 1:56:19 | 4:50 | 0 | |
| Total 5k | 24:09 | Average per k | 4:50 | |
| Average Pace | 12.4 | |||
| Overall Comments: |
||||
| KM | Cumulative Time | Time | Elevation Change |
Comment |
| 26 | 2:01:25 | 5:06 | -11 | Hip flexor starting to act up now. Focused on keeping a steady cadence. There are always bad spells in any race hence I was hoping that things would get back on track after a k or 2. |
| 27 | 2:06:22 | 4:57 | -9 | |
| 28 | 2:11:20 | 4:58 | +1 | |
| 29 | 2:16:18 | 4:58 | +1 | Using a lot of effort to keep the pace going. Hip flexor getting tighter. Really starting to favour the left leg. |
| 30 | 2:21:26 | 5:09 | +6 | |
| Total 5k | 25:07 | Average per k | 5:01 | |
| Average Pace | 12.0 | |||
| Overall Comments: |
||||
| KM | Cumulative Time | Time | Elevation Change |
Comment |
| 31 | 2:26:34 | 5:08 | +7 | |
| 32 | 2:31:47 | 5:13 | 0 | |
| 33 | 2:37:15 | 5:28 | +22 | |
| 34 | 2:43:46 | 6:30 | -18 | Hip flexor was done for the day. Gait strongly favouring the left
leg. Not getting any rise on the left leg as it comes through the
forward motion of the stride. Really more of a shuffle. Stopped and stretched a bit. |
| 35 | 2:49:24 | 5:38 | -5 | Continued to get harder to do anything through here. |
| Total 5k | 27:57 | Average per k | 5:36 | |
| Average Pace | 10.7 | |||
| Overall Comments: |
||||
| KM | Cumulative Time | Time | Elevation Change |
Comment |
| 36 | 2:58:02 | 8:38 | Forced to walk. No other way back! From a cardiovascular perspective I still feel okay this point. |
|
| 37 | 3:06:58 | 8:56 | 3:20 & 3:30 goals no longer attainable. Only goal now is to finish. | |
| 38 | 3:15:54 | 8:56 | ||
| 39 | 3:25:02 | 9:08 | ||
| 40 | 3:30:46 | 5:43 | Refused to walk the last few Ks. Hip flexor actually slightly
better from the walking. Also it was too cold to walk anymore. |
|
| Total 5k | 41:21 | Average per k | 8:16 | |
| Average Pace | 7.3 | |||
| Overall Comments: |
||||
| KM | Cumulative Time | Time | Elevation Change |
Comment |
| 41 | 3:35:51 | 5:04 | +4 | |
| 42 | 3:40:51 | 5:00 | -5 | |
| .6 | 3:43:46 | 4:26 | +7 | 11th marathon complete. :) Gamin again showed extra distance. |
| Total 5k | 12:59 | Average per k | 4:53 | |
| Average Pace | 12.3 | |||
| Overall Comments: |
||||
- Obviously I need to make sure that I give the left leg the time it needs to finish healing. Active healing is key as I don't want to loose my fitness that I've attained thus far. Plenty of time now before the next big race.
- I still think I need to do more on my zone 2 race pace runs. Two things in particular come to mind. One, I need to go back to doing these on my own. My focus needs to be better around hitting those target paces. I have the fitness, I just need to make sure that I routinely run at the target pace for all of the run. Running the pace during the race felt good. The second point is that I don't warm up a lot before the actual race. I need to train that way as well.
- My zone 2 4:15 and zone 3 runs this cycle went really well.
- My weight is down from the summer but there is still more that can be done there.
- Since I've been taking a course this fall for work I've less opportunity for yoga. I think this has had an impact. I'll need to work more yoga and/or general stretching into daily routine for the winter. I don't think it needs to be a lot more it just needs to be more than it is now and it needs to be more consistent. I'm really good at getting the runs in but not as good about the stretching hence why I've liked the yoga classes as it forces me to stretch.
- I'm quite comfortable with the volume we've been doing. I'm certainly feeling the benefits from the volume.