2014 Toronto Triathlon Festival Race Report (DNS)

TTF has always been one of my most anticipated races. I'm pretty sure that I was among the first 10 people who signed up when the registration opened last year. How could I miss it? By now, I have an emotional connection to it as it was my first ever triathlon in 2012 and I always loved everything about it. I raced it every year since, so it was unfathomable that I skip it. I got my Olympic distance PR there last July and it still stands by the way. However, this year it was going to be all about having fun given that IMMT is only a few weeks away. Besides, it was Zin's A race and I really wanted to be there for him instead of stressing my brains out.

So it would be pretty accurate to say that I almost didn't care. I didn't obsess over the weather, I didn't think about what to wear, other than I wanted to put on a new Coeur kit that I had ordered and could not wait to receive. I had a fancy race helmet, a bike in perfect working order with speedy race wheels, new road cycling shoes which I learned to clip in without a hiccup. All I needed was for Zin to come pick me up from work on Friday and drive downtown to retrieve my race kit.

We arrived at Coronation Park where the expo and the pre-race meetings were organized under big tents, as opposed to the fancy Westin Harbour Hotel in the years before (no big deal, it was actually better because we didn't have to drive through the construction clusterfuck around Union Station), and we had to wait for the next meeting to start, or no race packet pickup for us. I also found Carol (is she following me or what?! :-)) and altogether we went to listen to Steve Fleck go through the 10-12 min of slides that turned into 45 min. Get me outta here!! I knew each slide by heart. However, there was one slide that literally jumped at me as it talked about the swim conditions and the fact that a swim warm-up was NOT going to be allowed. WTF?! At least in the years before we had about 5 min to splash around. Not this time. This slide also mentioned a water temperature expected between 13-15C. Double WTF!!

I felt compelled to write this tweet.

Water temp at #TTF 2012: 18C, 2013: 16.5C, 2014: 13-15C. Have the defibrillator and the heating blanket ready. #brrrrr @TriathlonTO
July 12, 2014

You may remember that I skipped the swim at Woodstock for the same reason. Under 16-17C, it's too damn cold for my noggin. And so the doubt started creeping in. Why would I subject myself to this if I already declined to swim in similar, yet slightly better conditions (thanks to the allowed warm-up swim) at Woodstock? What if I get a cold? Last year my hands and feet already went numb because of my Raynaud's, what if I get impaired and unable to steer my bike properly? I already had a near miss last year because I was so dizzy coming out of the water.

Anyway, thanks to the company, I didn't have much time to stress about the what ifs. Not until I got back home, but then I looked at the weather app. Thunderstorms and rain and wind, oh my!! I proceeded to organize my transition bag, put the tri kit beside my bed, my change of clothes, my nutrition, every single detail was ready and then I decided to call it a night. As I lay down in bed, staring at my ceiling, I let the thoughts sink in.

My knees were hurting and I had not been able to run more than 3km without pain. I should be resting instead.
It was going to rain. A lot. And I was going to remain soaked for hours.
It was going to be freaking cold in the water. Colder than I could handle.
I was going to fly down a highway on my bike, with puddles everywhere and water in my eyes and slippery oil patches and O M G. What if I crash?!!

And at that moment I knew that the risk was not going to be worth the reward. Most likely I wasn't going to get a PR and worse, I may even get sick or DIE. Yes, I do think about dying on my bike a lot. I would be stupid not too. Have you ever launched yourself head forward on a slope? The tiniest error can end in a LOT of hurt. Have you seen the Tour de France this year? Let that be an eye opener. If you crash, game over. No more Ironman and all training, all sacrifices thus far, gone down the drain. So I posted a status on Facebook saying that I was reluctant to start, but then my mind was already made up. I turned off the light, counted down to 5 and I freed my mind. I slept like a baby and the night went by in a blink.

Next thing I know, the alarm clock goes off, it's 4pm and I'm at peace. I get up, put on city clothes, I don't even look at my tri bag. Hubbs and I go to the kitchen, we have breakfast. Hey, I can even have coffee! Isn't that a treat?! If I were racing I would have had to skip. Bike comes out of the car and I don't even sigh. All I care from now on is seeing Zin SMASH it!!

I drive us downtown again and I drop hubbs off near the transition, then I go park the car. As I started walking along the canal towards transition, I looked at my wristband. I had not removed it. That's ok, it was going to give me in and out privileges and I was glad for the opportunity, I could be much closer to Zin and to all my friends racing that day. If I dare to say, I has happy and content with myself.

Before I could find hubbs, I ran into Margarita, she is one my long time blog readers who won a top at a small contest that I ran on my blog last year, just before TTF. We met back then and stayed in contact since. She has stayed true to herself in her pursuit of endurance challenges, and I could not be more proud of her. She did TTF last year and came back for more!

As you can see, it was still dry when I met her, but not for long. Literally 5 minutes later the skies opened up and it started pouring. Here's what my hubby's transition spot looked like:

I bet putting on your wetsuit was the best course of action for everyone, but also the most challenging. Oh well, people seemed to do just fine. I followed Zin to the swim start, but I was trailing a bit behind as I kept looking for Carol. And then I found her!

Big MUAH under the umbrella. This girl had a lot more courage than me for sure! I found Zin too, and then things got a bit weird, of course.

The swim was on hold and people were getting anxious. Those two seemed to be doing just fine though. But soon enough, or maybe after what felt like an eternity, they got to jump in. Blue caps, Zin's wave.

Then the yellow caps, Carol's wave. Look at them go!!

As for me, I stayed on the shore, taking pics. It was a hoot. Look who I even ran into!! Simon Whitfield, who even offered to take the selfie himself. He's got it perfected to a science! And it just made my day. Best perk of a DNS, ever!! :-)

I waited for everyone I knew to get out of the water and it was very painful to see so many people returning by boat. I knew at that moment that I had made the right decision. NO REGRETS. I was having a great time cheering on my family and friends and getting to watch the TTF operations from a different perspective. As a matter of fact, I realized that most people were taking me for a volunteer since I was wearing the same tshirt as them. Thankfully I knew so much about the race that I had no problem answering their questions. I even got a volunteer confused when I returned in transition and he asked me if I was there to guard the bags. Apparently he was assigned to this job and wanted to make sure we weren't both doing the same thing. No problem buddy, it's all yours! In transition, I found other friends from FMCT tri club, including my coach, getting ready for the sprint race. Look at them proud members of the Team Canada (psst, they are all going to the World Championships in Edmonton)!

Then I waited for Zin to come in from his bike, worried that he may have crashed too. But oh relief, there he was!! He made a grimace while running towards his spot, but overall he T2'd like a champ so I didn't worry too much. Honey, don't leave your gels inside your shoe next time.  ;-) And wait, you're not gonna eat anything? Apparently not. Soon it was time for the sprint folks to swim, so I returned by the water where I could also see the oly people leaving the transition to go on their run. I saw Margarita again, followed closely by Carol. They were safe too, phew!! Then I did a quick mental calculation and realized that time had flown by and that I should make my way towards the finish line to see hubbs bringing it home. I must have run backwards the entire km that separated Ontario Place from Coronation Park, but I could not see him. Was starting to get worried again. Did he bonk? Did he trip? Did he get abducted by the aliens or fall into a sinkhole? Eventually I arrived at the entrance of the park and saw people coming in who had left way after him on the run and then it stroke me that he must have finished already. That's what he gets for being too fast! Yeah, well... he was not impressed. But he looked good with the medal!! 9th in his AG with a 2h24 time, in a super packed field! He smashed it, alright!!

Soon afterwards it started dumping buckets of water on us. Torrential downpour!! My umbrella could barely do the work. But as long as my iPhone was dry and I could keep taking pictures of my friends coming down the finish chute, I was going to be ok.

We stayed around until everyone finished and the awards ceremony got under way. Some of our friends placed in their age groups and we wanted to be there for their podium. I could also not wait to congratulate John Young, who has also been doing this race for as long as I've been. We were even in the same wave in the inaugural year. Finally, we could connect again after being Facebook friends for a while. Look at those smiles!

He is such a smart, kind, and genuine soul and I have the utmost respect for him and his drive to complete endurance events such as the Boston Marathon and the Ironman. Just watch him! I know he will do great!! Here is a story that Toronto Star wrote on his race that day. And that's a wrap, my friends! I had a super awesome day at TTF, cheering rather than racing, but without any sort of regret. Hearing from everyone how harsh the conditions were and how dangerous the bike was, I know that I made the right decision. I am proud that I could think clearly and did not get carried away with emotions or guilt. Being in control means that you have to make the decisions that you believe are the best. Ironman training is definitely a learning process. (To see all pictures I took at TTF, go here).

2014 Toronto Yonge St. 10K Race Report

Since I started training for the Ironman, my desire of running road races had to be curbed. After all, I am coming off a hip injury and I have to be careful. I have heard this from my coach countless times. When this race finally showed up in my calendar, he said that I can run it, but not race it. But... but... HOW am I going to put on the brakes on Yonge St.? With a few bumps here and there, it is a net downhill. Trust me, I've set my previous PR there 2 years ago. And, what about my "40 steps to 40" goals? I wanted to improve my 10K and 5K times this year. Will I even be able to run again after the Ironman? I may just DIE there!! Anyway, you can imagine all the scenarios playing in my head over and over again.

However, one thing for sure, I was calm. I went to pick up my race kit on Saturday and spent a total of 3 min at the expo since we were late for spectating a soccer game. I literally ran through the venue and didn't think too much about next day. When I went to bed that night I had yet to decide what to do. Woke up at 6am, and surprise surprise, I still had no clue. Seriously, the only strategy I had was to "put a foot in front of the other, don't step in a pothole or roll your ankle on the tram tracks, breathe, drink if you're thirsty, enjoy the sunshine and most important, stay alive". Also, not looking at the damn Garmin. That could only bring headaches with all the GPS bounce around.

The other "problem" was that I had to do 17km since it was a long run day, and no race was supposed to interfere with the schedule. I decided to run 3km before the race as a warm up and 4km after, then hop on the subway and go back to my car, then drive home.

I parked my car near the starting line, then went on a mission to find my friend Carol and the washrooms. It was still early, so I got to the port-a-potties first. No lineup, yay! No paper either, so I had to switch stalls because I needed to do both 1&2. Thankfully I noticed soon enough. Found Carol too, then we started our little run. Went back to the car and dropped my hoodie, took a sip of Gatorade and off I went on my own to continue warming up the legs, tired after the 3h30 trainer ride that I had done the day before. Of course legs felt like crap. By the time the warmup ended, I was convinced that I was going to suffer during the race and I should just take it easy. Rejoined Carol at the starting line, just behind the 50min pacer.

We must have stayed there about 10 minutes, then the gun went off and I lost Carol instantly. She wanted to finish under 50min, which meant running ahead of the 50min pacer. I was left to my own devices once more. And so I started running rather conservatively, but letting the gravity do its thing, carefully keeping my exertion levels in check. No puffing, no huffing. Stay relaxed. No peeking at the watch!! Then, I don't know what happened, but I noticed that I was catching up with the 50min pacer. I was telling myself that he knew how to put the brakes on the hills, and I was failing miserably at it. But I was feeling good, so why not? It was all part of the plan, to let the legs do their thing.

Then I saw a guy with a pink sign that said "Forget calm, run like hell". And it must have planted a little seed of doubt in my abilities to really stay calm. Shortly thereafter I ended passing the 50min pacer and my competitive spirit kicked in. I also noticed Carol about 100m in front of me. I had no plans to catch her at that moment, I was still a bit puzzled by the situation with the pacer. Should I stay or should I go? I wondered if I could stay ahead of him for a while... But then I noticed that I was also catching up with Carol. Uh oh. Was she slowing down? I told her she's not allowed to! With 2.5km to go I managed to get close enough to her to give her a slap on the butt and I said "told you not to let me catch you!" And she sped away from me. Attagirl!! I continued chasing her ponytail and before I knew it, I was over the Bathurst bridge and on the last stretch towards the finish line.

I wanted to finish strong, and of course, ahead of the 50min pacer. I did not let him catch me either and crossed the finish line in 49:03. I could not be happier that I beat both my 10K and 5K PRs, just as I wanted. Based on the official time set on this same course 2 years ago, I improved my 10K PR by 4min 47sec, and I even did a negative split. My fastest 5K is now 24:10. Two more items crossed off the list!! Wooohooo!

At the finish area I grabbed a banana, my medal, said goodbye to Carol and off I went again. I still had 4km to run, which I did along the Lakeshore and back to Yonge St. Hopped in the subway, but not before a little old lady asked me if I won the race and I had to explain to her how I did this "just for fun" and that there were people much faster than me out there.

I'm pretty sure that my legs didn't agree with my definition of "fun" for that day, but eventually they stopped pouting and I could go back to my regular training schedule, all without a single Advil.

For not "racing" that day, I definitely blew it. But sometimes, you just have to follow your heart. I ran completely by feel, did not look once at my watch and I ended being pleasantly surprised. Of course, this would be quite irresponsible to do on longer distances, but since I've met all my time goals for this year, it should be much easier to keep myself in check from now on. That's all, folks!

2013 Goodlife Toronto Half Marathon Race Report

When I signed up for this race early in the year, I was planning on doing it as a training run for Welland 70.3, but since new coach came on board, things have changed a little. I was told that it wasn't a good idea to do the 70.3 in June, and that I should be aware of recovery times after each race and that everything I do this year has to be carefully planned so that Ironman Muskoka 70.3 in September is not jeopardized. Alright, I said, but I'm already signed up for a 30K, a 5K, a half marathon, all before June... can't I race just a little then? At Around the Bay, I only "raced" 10 of the 30K, but at the Run 4 Hope 5K I had no specific directions, so I went all out. Little I knew, the day of the 5K, I found out what coach had in mind, written on my May training plan:

I want you to train through the half marathon. Therefore there is no rest. You run on tired legs.

Damn. Shit's getting real. Okay then... keep calm and train on. I ran, I biked, I swam... I even went night geocaching again. On Saturday I had a 2h long bike in the morning (50km), then I had to drive downtown and pick up my race kit, then quickly come back and go to a BBQ with Zin. In pictures, the day went like this:

Yeah, I don't get it either.

Can you believe this weather?

The horses are out for a trot

I wish my flower bed looked like this

Direct Energy Centre, deserted outside, buzzing with athletes inside

Inside Direct Energy Centre

And finally, the runners' expo. You thought I'd never get to it, I bet.

Here's a picture of my BBQ dinner to make up for it.

Moving on, this pic is making me hungry. I only had about 15-20min to spend at the expo, as in my infinite wisdom I had parked the car about 2km away and I still had some serious walking and driving to do. So I picked up my bib and my t-shirt, had a quick chat with Alex at "Boston, we run with you" fundraiser booth, then went back home to shower and get ready for the BBQ. I would like to mention this initiative, started by Rob Kent, a member of a runners' Facebook group that I am part of, for giving people the opportunity to show their support to people of Boston and be able to help by donating money to Boston's Children Hospital in memory of Martin and all other young victims of this tragedy. I was definitely proud to pin my bib on this beautiful t-shirt:

Proud to be wearing yellow and blue

Sunday morning I set my alarm for 6:15am and planned to leave the house an hour later. No problems there, managed to get a decent sleep, I had very little to worry about. Funny how shorter races don't give you the butterflies as much. But it was the first time that I was racing the Goodlife Toronto Half Marathon, so I was excited to discover new running paths in the heart of the city. Despite getting this email the night before, I was relatively at peace with myself.

All I would ask of you is to try to negative split the race.

Wait a minute, a negative split?? How in hell am I going to do this? How can I beat gravity? So, not only I run on tired legs, coach wants me to negative split (I love you too, coach). I replied saying that I was going to "do my best" and honestly, that's all I could hope for. I had no idea how I was going to race, other than follow whatever my legs and heart would want to do. My lovely husband drove me to the start and dropped me off with about 15 minutes to spare. People had just started to gather in the corral and I looked for the 2:00 pace bunny, after all, this was my goal time. Then all of a sudden, people started moving back and I found myself just ahead of the 1:55 pacer. Interesting... was that a sign? I tweeted my friend Carol to join me, and she arrived just on time, seconds before the race started. With a hug, I told her that I was planning to average 5:30-5:40/km, but let the downhills do their thing.

And then there was no more thinking, only the rhythmic breathing, legs moving fast, watches beeping, the energy of the race immersing almost 5000 people. The first water station was at 2km, that was quick, I told myself. Shortly thereafter legs started to get ahead of themselves, so I told Carol that I was going with them! First three splits 5:33, 5:19, 4:51. Those downhills were fast, indeed. But before I knew it, Hoggs Hollow, a long, bloody beast of a hill appeared in front of me. I didn't even know it had a name until yesterday. I did my best to keep a strong and steady pace, but here the 1:55 pace bunny passed me. Gave myself a little pep talk, no need to fret, I'll make sure to stay ahead of the 2hr pacer. 

Hoggs Hollow on the horizon.

The first 10km went really fast, they were all on Yonge St., lots of people out cheering, even saw a band or two. I  decided not to stop at the water stations and drink my Metagenics Endura mix only. I was also taking 3 Clif Shot Blocks every 4km, so nutrition was going well. First 10k split: 53:19.

Right after we turned on Rosedale Valley Road, I caught up with the 1:55 pace bunny and I passed him!! That was also going to be the turning point of the race for me. Coach said to do a negative split, there was my chance, I'd better take it. Picked up the pace and decided to stay ahead of the 1:55 pace bunny for as long as I could, hopefully he was not going to catch up with me, or ... I don't know what I would have done, but a slingshot made out of my SpiBelt, sounded good enough to knock him out.

I really, really enjoyed this part of the race, too beautiful!! Alas it only lasted for 3km, then we arrived on Bayview Ave and it already had something of a home stretch with 6km left. I knew that we were going to get back on the streets of downtown Toronto, and then the crowds were going to take us home. Or something like that. The anticipation helped keep the adrenaline up. I did my best to keep my vitals in check and it looked like everything was holding up well. Not slowing down, I had a bunny on my tail! Actually, I don't even know, after I passed him, I never looked back, but I was aware of my blind spots and so far so good, he wasn't on the left, and he wasn't on the right. 

I stopped taking pictures, this was not a time to play, too many potholes and tramway tracks to look at anyway. And I hammered down some more. It felt harder, I didn't think I was going any faster, but the watch was there to tell me, you are going strong, so keep at it! Soon I was running on Front St. and was praying the Police Gods that they weren't going to stop me to let the cars cross the road, or I was gonna be really mad. And you don't want to get mad at a police officer, ever. Worst idea of the day, I said. Thankfully they all saw it in my eyes and feared my wrath. And I kept going. Eventually we turned down on Bathurst St. and I knew that I had it, there was only 1km left and I didn't feel too bad myself.

So many people were at the finish line, I could see the chute from far away and it just drew me in like a magnet, I couldn't feel any pain, it was just perfect. I, too, had the perfect race. I finished strong, proud of beating my 1/2 marathon PR by 13 minutes, with an official chip time of 1:53:59. I could not have asked for better conditions, I ran in shorts and t-shirt, I didn't get too hot, I didn't drink too much to get stomach pain, I didn't get any cramps, and I was able to pick up the pace and deliver a solid time. I don't have official pictures yet, but I got the funky stats below:

After crossing the finish line, I got my medal, ate 2 bananas and drank 4 cups of water, before making my way out of the crowd and back to Direct Energy Centre where hubbs was waiting to pick me up. He drove me to the nearest Tim Hortons, where he bought me an iced capp. I love this man!! Here I was waiting in the car and taking a selfie with my medal for the road. 

I could not get enough of that feeling, I was happy to my ears! 24h later, I am still happy and still smiling. Today my quads are a bit achy here and there, but given how much TLC I gave my legs since yesterday, they better thank me soon : ice bath, foam roller, walk, swim. I may not run today, but tomorrow I should be all good. It's all good. It's just wonderful.

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2012 Race Report

My "A" race, eh? This one should go down in history as the race that almost wasn't. And there isn't much that I could have changed anyway - I just wasn't ready for a breakthrough yet, even though after completing my longest run in which I muscled my willpower through 32km non stop, solo and in unknown territory, I was feeling like a champ, ready to conquer the world. But then, in the middle of my taper, I made a choice, that was entirely mine, to run for 1h30 in minimalist shoes because they were feeling so damn good. Never thought for a second that I'd do more damage than my body and mind could handle. The last week before the marathon was agonizing. A nagging pain remained in my calves and no massage, compression, icing, resting or stretching ever made it better. For an entire week, it felt exactly the same every day, always there, always reminding me of my stupid decision, and because of it, I ended giving myself for the first time ever, a significant handicap at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon starting line.

Wet morning at STWM

The night before I only slept about 3h, after nightmares full of fear of doing more damage, fear of not finishing, fear of not even starting kept me awake, questioning everything and especially myself. Even though my massage therapist reassured me that I was not injured per se, she told me that I should not be expecting a miracle, that I was going to hurt. So I wrote this on my cap as a mantra to take me through the day. 

Mantra of the day

Then a friend reminded me that adrenaline is a powerful drug and with that tiny speck of hope, I managed to close my eyes and dream, at least for a second, that I would cross the finish line at STWM.

Woke up at 5:30am and decided to take yet another risk, to wear for the first time ever, a skirt. If I was going to hurt, at least I wanted to try look "ridiculously photogenic". And since I am very familiar with chaffing in all kinds of places, I also decided to put my Sugoi tri short underneath and my long compression Nike soccer socks. The temperature was going to be between 15-20 degrees Celsius, so I figured that I would have cooked in tights. As to the rain and wind, no big deal. Grabbed breakfast, my fuel belt, my hubbs by the hand and off we went. We stopped on our way to pick up Carol who was going to do the half distance (yay for her comeback!), then we drove downtown where we spent a huge amount the time just to exit the highway. Found a parking lot at about 1.5km from the starting line, wrapped ourselves in plastic bags as it was raining pretty hard, then had a  coffee and a pee break and finally walked over to the corrals where we found the 4:10 pace bunny. 

Pace bunny - he was great, right on pace!

My best buddy

Me and my goof

Just as we waited for the gun, the rain stopped and we snapped a picture, then with a good luck kiss, we started our journey on the streets of Toronto. It was going to be hubbs' first marathon ever, and my third. The plan was going to run with the 4:10 pacer for as long as I could, then fall back if needed with the 4:25. My goal was still to finish with a PR despite the pain, which at that moment was nowhere to be found, thanks to the adrenaline rush. The magic number, 5:55/km, 30sec/km faster than my longest run. For 18km, it felt like NO effort, nice and relaxed, I was in the zone, chatting, smiling, laughing at hubbs who was putting on a show. The calf pain started to come back around km 10, but it was not really bothering me, I could definitely handle it. I was taking in fuel on the watch, Gu Chomps alternating with Clif Chocolate Gels, washing them down with water or Gatorade, just as I had trained for. Then all of a sudden and without any apparent reason, I felt like a balloon deflating and before I knew it, I was running 6:30-7:00/km. I could see the 4:10 pacer, our group and hubbs getting farther and farther away and no matter how much I was telling my legs to move faster, they just decided they were going to take a break. By the time I hit km 20, I was almost going to take the shortcut towards the half marathon finish line, it was the quick way out, to end it right there with a PR on the half. 

That thought was so alluring, I had to take the notorius HTFU out of the hat (literally) for the first time that day and stick to the plan. However, for the following 5-7km, my pace kept on dropping and I was getting increasingly thirsty. So I started drinking 1-2 cups at each aid station and pouring one on my head another on my back. I started feeling like I was overheating from inside out. And then at km 28, the sharp stomach pain came and I could no longer breathe, unless I was going to walk. Believe me, I tried, I was still going strong in that noggin of mine. For the next 8-9km I had to keep on doing just that, run for as long as I could bear the pain in my stomach, then walk it out. It was really depressing to see the 4:25 and 4:40 pacers passing by, but there was no way in hell I could keep up with them, I tried, twice again. Legs were feeling fine, pain in the calves was no worse than before, blisters almost non existent. There was nothing else but my diaphragm spasms staying between me and my PR. Oh well. It was again, because of me, taking in too many fluids, and I knew it, yet I also knew that I was supposed to listen to my body and not let the dehydration sneak in. I could feel dizzy at times, and that scared me, but looking back, I am not even sure it was because of too little drinking or too much of it.

Thankfully, once I reached km 37, the stomach pain went down to a level where I could run through it with little discomfort. I decided to stop eating and binge drinking and make a final run for it. I knew I could handle a 30 minute sustained effort. My speed increased again, with each km, I was getting closer to the pace that I started at. I was feeling good at last, watching the sky scrapers and the CN Tower getting closer and closer as I was running down Eastern Ave, wind drying the water off my face and top. When I reached km 40, I was flying. I had to keep my concentration high so I don't twist an ankle on the tramway tracks, but the energy of the city, the countless people screaming my name, it was such a great feeling to take in, that a huge smile installed itself across my face and did not let go of me until I crossed the finish line, in the longest, most rewarding sprint so far.

I finished in 4:49:24, my worst time in 3 marathons this year, but with a smile on my face, which is the most important.

When you get to face the darkness of your mind, and you manage to came out of the battle unscathed, it is a brave thing. I think I am finally getting better at this. I may not have set a PR as I had hoped, but I learned a few more things about myself along the way. I had my best half marathon and my best 30km split, despite feeling devoid of energy at times and my diaphragm getting upset with my drinking habit. Now I know exactly what to work on - holding that magic 5:55/km pace. This is going to be my goal for the ATB 30km in March. Meeting the grim reaper will never feel better, I will become a faster, stronger dinosaur. Uh, sorry... cheetah?

Last but not least, I must mention that unlike me, hubbs had the best race possible. He finished strong in 4h05, never stopped running, never stopped smiling. He managed his pace and fueling like a champ and I am the proudest wifey in the world for seeing him taking up this challenge and even better, having fun along the way. First marathon and he CRUSHED IT. To many more!!

Marathon us

Here is my Runkeeper, fed by Garmin. My hubbs' run can be found here.

And before I go... what happened to my calf pains? The endorphins may still be lingering, but for now they are gone. Magically, yes. I have no other explanation, unless they are waiting for the quads pain to go away in order to make a more dramatic comeback. Maybe it was all in my head after all...

Toronto Triathlon Festival Race Report

I know that it's been 10 days since the event and I am fashionably late with a race report, but if you just want to know whether I finished or not, I can make it really easy for you : I am now officially a triathlete for having crossed the finish line of the inaugural Toronto Triathlon Festival in 3:12:14. Below are the official results.

Are we good? Okay, I can blog my brain away now, yay! (grab a coffee, this is kinda long)

A year ago, if you asked me what a triathlon was, I would have babbled something about 3 sports, not quite sure which ones and in which order, bet it was a cousin with the pentathlon and the decathlon... that was all I knew about triathlons, until I came across Steve in a Speedo's blog while googling some random running  stuff. And then I started reading more and not only I got hooked on reading his hilarious stories and race reports full of TMIs, but also discovered a whole other world out there that looked like a lot of fun, going from water to 2 wheels and then onto your two legs without changing clothes, or very little of them. That looked intriguing and totally in reach, but back then, triathlon still didn't seem like something that I would  want to try.

The months went on and I continued training for my first marathon, had my share of ups and downs in the process and in September I started working with coach Dave who felt like a perfect fit for me for being a crazy nut himself, fresh of becoming an Ironman at Coeur d'Alene a few months prior. I told myself, he must understand me, know what it is to train for endurance, so he should definitely be able to help me shed a few pounds and cross that marathon finish line as well. After watching the Ironman championships in Kona a month later though, a seed was being planted in my brain. All those people like you and me who wanted it bad enough, they conquered the hardest of all, the Ironman. So maybe an overweight, slow poke, injury prone, mom of two like me may be able to finish a sprint or an olympic triathlon one day... and why not?

Fast forward a few months, I finish not only one, but two marathons and all of a sudden, EVERYTHING seems possible. Signed up for my first triathlon and here I am now, craving for more. This is just the start, but how well did it go?

I had been counting the days up to this event for sure, but because each individual distance was relatively short compared to how far I went in my training, it didn't feel as scary as the marathon. This was also the reason why I didn't sign up for the sprint distance, it just wasn't challenging enough for me. I don't want to sound pompous or over confident, but to keep moving forward, I need challenges that I know would make me suffer in the process (ok, now I sound totally masochistic, but anyway, what I mean is... gosh, forget it). Training for a sprint would have felt too easy and I was scared that my fitness level would actually decrease and I would have to start all over if I wanted to do another marathon (which I am actually signed up for, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on October 14). Coach Dave sure knew to keep the bar high for me though and at times it did feel like I was training for an Ironman, so on Sunday morning when my alarm went off, I knew I was ready. But was I going to hurt?

It didn't help that on Friday I got sick with a nasty summer cold that just went downhill from there. I tried to retaliate immediately by doubling my Vitamin C intake and by starting an All-in-One Benylin regimen right away, but on Saturday when I went to pick up my race kit downtown Toronto I was still feeling feverish, nauseous, dizzy and overall pretty weak. My cough was in full crescendo and I knew that I would not be able to participate without a good dose of cough medicine in me.

But there was no way I was going to back up because of this cold. As long as I was able to breathe and stand vertical, I was a go. So I set a few alarm clocks all around 4:30am and after a sleep that felt quite mediocre, I got up, showered, had an oatmeal frittata and banana for breakfast, woke up hubbs at 5:30 and off we went to Ontario Place where the starting line was. Hubbs dropped me off with a tire check and a kiss, then I made my way to transition where I set up my little piece of real estate and racked my bike for the first time ever, just steps away from Canada's Olympians - Simon Whitfield and Paula Findlay (man, those people are fit). I couldn't have asked for a better spot, the organizers must have given them by age groups, I swear, the oldest closest to the exit ramp, just in case Alzheimer kicked in.

I was in the last swim wave, all females 35 years old and up, plus the parathlete(s). Waited 18 minutes until the gun went off, but before that we got about 5 minutes in the water for warm up thanks to a moment of confusion during which the organizers contemplated starting the last 2 waves together, then changed their mind. The swim was rather uneventful, not much contact as the wave was thin and there was plenty of space for all of us in the canal, the water was the perfect temperature and I got in the groove rather quickly, my mind being distracted by the vegetation at the bottom of the canal, along with pieces of concrete and a few scared fish. All this resulted in a 35:55 time, the fastest for me so far.

In my first transition ever, I could not find my right biking shoe. It was there though, like THERE, under my eyes, but I just couldn't see it. Brain fart. I started panicking and turning every item on my towel over until it magically appeared to me. Not sure how much time it cost me, but compared to the other women in my AG, it felt like forever. Anyway, I regained my composure and after a T1 of 3:06, I was finally on the bike.

However, the panic never left me. Coach said to start the bike for 10min in Z2, but heart was in the 170bpm, which is Z4 and it never went down as much as I tried to relax. I got passed a few times on the bike, but some of these people were mashing hard while I was doing my spin uphill. I passed a few of them back on my way down, but also fought a headwind for the entire second half, which made me a little cranky. I wasn't sure how fast I was going, I had ran out of water in my aero bottle and I was too focussed on staying upright on the bike and eating my chomps so I don't pass out. Did I mention that it was HOT? Eventually I made it back to transition without incident and zoomed through it in 1:13, leaving with a banana in hand.

The run felt much longer than expected and the damn heart rate was still up in the 170s. It definitely decided that I wouldn't get a break. I kept on drinking every other water station and pouring water on my head, back and chest to keep cool. At the turn around I still had my banana unopened in my hand and one of the volunteers shouted - time to eat the banana! - so I opened it and managed to eat about half of it over the next 2km. Stomach wasn't feeling so great, but I knew that was going to be my only fuel for the run, so I kept on taking little bites until I felt full enough. Because of my heart rate being so high for the entire time, I never tried to pick up the pace, but rather tried to keep a constant forward motion and make sure I don't go into cardiac arrest. I felt like dragging my feet at times, but in the end I was pretty satisfied with the 1:03:13, very close to my goal of 1h.

For the last 2km a cramp also installed itself under my ribcage on the right and it became really hard to breathe. From that moment on I knew I was counting the steps to the finish line. Thankfully I saw hubbs and my boys and put on my best run in the last hundred meters for them.

Overall this has been an amazing experience, I loved being in the race, I loved the challenge and the fact that my training felt worthwhile. I am not sure why I couldn't relax or my heart rate never went down to a manageable zone, it may have been the cough medicine I took or the double dose of Vitamin C - bottom line is that the illness made this race harder than it should have been and I can't wait to sign up for another one where I can enjoy myself more.

Runkeeper Linkage:
Swim
Bike
Run

Ride for Heart 50K Report

The year continues with the "firsts" and this one was my first ever Ride for Heart "group bike ride" benefiting the Heart and Stroke Foundation, where there were somewhere around 13,000 people in the "group", heh. I'm not going to call it a race because there was no competitive aspect to it, no chip, no rankings, aside from people like me who were pretty competitive with themselves for using this opportunity as a training tool or for going after personal bests. Of course, I had nothing to compare it with, other than my last week's 55km ride in my countryside, so I took it pretty chill for about 10 min, chatting with my friend Carol and enjoying the Toronto sightings outside the regular traffic jams. But then hubbs, who was participating as well with my old hybrid bike that he adopted after I got Neo, took off and I had the challenge of catching with him, if only I could. I tried to stay in the triathlon mindset and not go all out on the bike, but I also did not stop at all until 5-10km before the end when I finally decided to take some pictures. Thankfully the rain held off and by then a gorgeous blue sky was clearing before my eyes and I couldn't resist to capture the Gardiner Expressway filled with cyclists instead of cars.

The ride itself was only 45-46km instead of the advertised 50km, but because we parked our car along the Lakeshore, we managed to do 50km in total with the back and forth to Exhibition Place where the start/end was. I finished in 1h50 which was my fastest ride thus far outdoors, even though I took it easy for about 20min. Pretty happy with the time and with the fact that hubbs and I managed to raise a bit of money for the Heart and Stroke foundation, thanks to our generous supporter friends and colleagues.

I can't wait to do it again for the Toronto Triathlon Festival, 48 days from now! I was surprised at how much I enjoyed going downhill. For once I had no fear whatsoever even though I was doing over 50km/h. I think I am becoming an adrenaline junkie. On your leeeeeft!

Here's the Runkeeper activity, which I took from hubbs and modified to match my own times because mine vanished after resuming from a pause on the parking lot once I got back to my car. Only the last 20 seconds were found, which almost put me into a temper tantrum, but I was way too tired to even bother.