2014 Mississauga Half Marathon Race Report

Oh right... I was there that day. Did I race it? I was on the list for sure, I had a chip on my shoe and a bib on my belt. Did I go fast though or tried to get a new PB? Not so much. Not at all, actually.

I was there for fun. I had a long 21k run on my schedule and I had promised my coach that I was going to take it easy, like he suggested demanded. So from a mental perspective, this race was absolutely stress free.

I woke up early because I knew that I had a bit of a drive ahead of me and I was going to meet with Daily Mile friends at 6:45am. This race was going to start at 7:30am, and although I like when I finish my workouts early, the early morning start also made for cooler than usual temperatures. Not much to complain about, I was sporting a skirt after all and I didn't think it was butt freezing cold. Some brave souls were even wearing tank tops, like Emma and Amy. I like being on the warmer side, so I had a long sleeve tshirt and another one on top. Black and grey was the combo of the day (with a throwaway sweater on top). I also settled on the On Cloudsurfer shoes because I love their bounce.

Look at our Daily Mile group! Damn, we have the best legs in town. #burlingtonskirtbrigade represent! (sorry, I'm from the other B-town, but I pretend that I belong)

Alright, so after taking the above photo, we all went to the starting line and moments later we were on our way. I didn't hear the 93yr old Mayor Hazel McCallion say anything, all I remember was music, but I saw her waving as I ran by. I guess the race had started!

I had to make sure that I wasn't running too fast, but given the 4.5h that I had spent on the bike the day before, the chances were slim anyway. I settled into a comfortable pace and decided that I was not going to look at my Garmin at all that day. And I didn't!! I ran everything by feel, looking at the pretty houses, giving high fives, chatting with other runners, admiring the skirts passing me by (wink wink). I had a blast. I smiled all the time, I never counted the minutes until the end.

And just like that, in 2h04, I was done. One of my slowest half marathons, but I don't care. It was still one speedy training run, which I will blame the net downhill for. Mission accomplished for staying in Z2 all the time. Quite the difference from my first ever half marathon, on the same route 3 years ago. It's still one of my favorite races that I've done.

Sorry for not making this a more detailed race report, but when you've already run a race before and you're not there to actually care about pace, it's less of a sensory overload and more of a run with the head in the clouds, with the occasional peek towards the ground to make sure you don't step into a pothole and break a leg.

Speaking of which, my ankle/post tib flared as usual at 8km, but then the pain miraculously disappeared 2-3km later and never came back. Maybe it's all in my head? No, it cannot be. If you poke it, it definitely hurts, but this tendon seems to have a mind of its own. I'll just try to ignore it as much as I can and hopefully it'll leave me alone. The massage therapy seems to have helped though.

After the race I waited with Sam on the rest of the #burlingtonskirtbrigade to finish the full marathon and we cheered on each of them sexy legs as they ran by. They suffered a lot more than us half marathoners because of the horrible wind that ended being their nemesis that day, but overall they all a rewarding day. Who doesn't like to finish a marathon? Endorphins overload!!

Congrats to all!