Tuesday, April 20, 2010

21k de Montréal

The initial reason for planning this weekend trip to Montréal was to run the half marathon. Travelling + racing = FUN! We arrived Friday morning and stayed until Monday evening. With the race on Sunday morning, we had plenty of time to explore the city. Stay tuned for a recap soon.

We stopped by a local running store to pick up our race kits on Saturday. No goodies except for the Asics shirt and juice boxes, but I did pick up a new Gu and Clif Bar flavour to try. I'm sold on the Jet Blackberry Gu (yum!) but haven't tried the Maple Nut Clif Bar yet. We also picked up some "Rosibars" - locally made and all natural. They were delicious with a moist and chewy texture and interesting flavours (such as Pomegranate Almond and Lemon Pistachio).





After our running/climbing/trekking adventure on Saturday morning followed by walking all over the city in the afternoon and evening, I expected to be running on tired legs. I was still determined to head out for the extra 11K/~7mi before the race. I even managed to convince my friend Dave to join me (I was travelling with he and his wife Sylvia - hubs was supposed to be with us, of course, but he's overseas). Dave and I both have a marathon to run on May 16th - no time to back off on the distance now!

We made chicken, spaghetti and salad for dinner in our hotel room (love the kitchen suite!) and got to bed at a reasonable hour.

Fortunately the 10am race start meant we didn't have to be up too early. We headed out the door for the first leg of our run at about 6:45. It was a sunny but cool morning - near ideal for racing. Little did we know what was to come! (stay tuned) In order to ensure that we didn't get ourselves lost or run farther than planned, we ran a simple out and back on the quaint Boulevard de Maisonneuve. The sidewalks and streets were dead quiet as we made our way through various neighbourhoods. We were both feeling surprisingly good after the previous day's activities, but kept the pace nice and comfortable.

11.0 KM / 6.8 mi
1:04:10
5:48/KM / 9:23/mi



We made it back to the hotel and had some time to freshen up, change our clothes and have breakfast. The break was nice, but I was really curious to see how my legs were going to react when they had to start running again. I also uploaded my run, of course.



Soon we were on our way out the door and took a short subway ride to Parc Jean Drapeau on the island where the race was taking place.



We arrived just in time to check our bag, pick up our timing chips, use the facilities and jog to the starting line. We found ourselves at the very back of the pack just as the starting gun went off. Here are Sylvia and I strolling along either just before or just after the race had officially started.



This is also when it started to rain. It was only spitting at first, then drizzling, and quickly turned to pouring rain. It ended up raining for the entire duration of the race. It was only about 5C/41F and pretty windy, so it was a little uncomfortable, but there was nothing we could do about that.

Dave and I had planned to run together while Sylvia was going to hang back and take it slow (she's expecting!). Quick pic before starting to make our way through the crowd.



We spent the first few kilometres gradually weaving our way through the crowd, trying to find our pace. The goal was anything under 4:00-marathon pace, or a sub-2:00 half.

The course took as around two islands, Ste. Helene and Notre-Dame. We ran primarily on the shores, but there was also a lot of zig-zagging and loop-backs. It was a tedious route with many turns and combined with people and puddle dogging, I know this is why my Garmin recorded a greater distance than the typical deviation for a half marathon.





(Dave was snapping these pictures along the way. How he manages to take such good pics while running, I will never know! It sure was nice having my own personal photographer!)

We were pacing well and slightly faster than target for the first half. We were both feeling pretty good and picked it up a bit to test our limits.

During this time we also found ourselves running on the Formula-1 race track. This was definitely a highlight of the race - more so for Dave, but I also thought it was pretty neat.




The kilometres kept ticking by and I was feeling fantastic. Dave, unfortunately, had begun to struggle. He's been training at a slower pace than I have and I knew this would be putting him to the test, but he held on really well. We slowed back down to about 4:00 marathon pace or slightly faster for the last 5K. I tried to stay a few steps ahead of Dave to drag him along. I always knew how far behind he was from the panting and mumbled cursing. (heh) By the last couple of kilometres, he was really hurting, but doing an excellent job of hanging in there. I started promising beer and poutine and crepes and anything else I could think of to keep him moving, and I even reminded him about his pregnant wife back there running this thing. He may have wanted me to just shut up at the time, but I know I kept him going and he told me multiple times that he would have slowed way down or even walked if I hadn't stuck with him.

Even during all of this suffering, our slowest split was 5:49, which was not bad at all.



The finish line was finally in sight! As we rounded the last corner, Dave found his kick and turned it on for the home stretch. We crossed the mat well ahead of schedule in 1:56:01.



This proved to be another great confidence booster for me. I have memorized 4:00-marathon pace and it feels very comfortable at this point. It was also a fun and rewarding experience to share the race with a friend and drag him through those final kilometres.

We grabbed our gear and headed back to wait for Sylvia to finish. She was a trooper out there and finished much faster than she expected. Here she is crossing the line with Dave by here side. So cute!



And the 3 of us post-race:



Chip time: 1:56:01
Average pace: 5:30/KM (8:51/mi)
Adjusted pace*: 5:27/KM (8:46/mi)
Overall: 1354/2092
Females: 312/742
F25-29: 68/145

*23.3 KM


39 comments:

Jess said...

Awesome job! You so have a sub-4 hour marathon in the bag!

Carly said...

Great work!!! Loved all your race photos.

Unknown said...

This is a fantastic race report!! I love the photos and it looks like a really good time!
Great job on your run!
Cheers,
Angie

ajh said...

You did a great job in spite of the weather. You had a great time even with running before the race I am impressed! I love the idea of a personal photographer! Great pics!

Amy said...

Great job! It looks and sounds like you are all set for your marathon! Hopefully there will be sunnier (but not too sunny) skies that day!

Did you get a post-race poutine? Mmmmmmm

Unknown said...

Awesome job!! Congrats!

Jamie said...

Fantastic job! Sub-4 here you come!!!

Anne said...

I can't believe you ran 11K before the race and still did so well...congratulations on such a great time!! Impressive...you are so going to rock that sub-4h marathon :)

Sarah said...

Very cool. Looks rainy LMAO!

Great job once again xo

To answer your question about Colin and the Mississauga 1/2: I have no idea!

Erica said...

great Job!! You are gonna rock a sub 4:00

Anonymous said...

Hey Marlene! Congrats! looks like u had a blast and still ran a great race!!!
hey ur a great coach!.....if u ran beside me and promised me poutine and beer, i would pick up my pace and finish the race fast too! hahhaha

Heather said...

Awesome job! You are definitely going to nail that sub-4:00!

Badgergirl said...

Great job on both the race and pushing your friend Dave through to the end! You're going to do amazing at the marathon!

Anonymous said...

Very nice performance! Although it sounds like the course must've really freaked your Garmin out! Congrats!

Nicole said...

Nice race girl!!! Love all the race pics!!! :) Congrats on a job well done!

Anonymous said...

Love this recap! OF all the encouraging things you said, I'm guessing the promise of Beer & crepes really did the trick ;) heh, it would for me!

7 miles before *and* finishing well under two hours = 4-hr Marlene-marathon will be Nooo problem. I might even guess a sub 3:55...just sayin'.... ;) xo

Hunnybee said...

Awesome! That was fantastic. Look who might be headed to Boston in the next year or so.

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

Great recap. Love the pictures.

You so have that sub 4 in the bag!

Laura said...

Wow..another great race..can't wait for your race in Mississauga.

Pining for Pinterest said...

Way to go!!! I think that would be great to have your own personal photographer :)

teacherwoman said...

Nice job girl! Great race recap and pictures!

I Run for Fun said...

Congratulations! Another one in the bag. Nice of you to motivate your friend along...I would love to have a faster runner run a race with me...definitely pulls you along. Beautiful pics, too...you make it look so easy!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!!! You totally have that 4 hour marathon in you. Can't wait!

Anonymous said...

Good job! How nice of you to have your own personal photographer! I loved the action shots!!

run with Jill said...

Great finish and I love all the race photos. I might have to put this race on my to-do list.

Anonymous said...

I love the photo montage - I am usually terrible at photo-documenting! Also, I meant to comment before that I love the new hairdo - so stylish and yet runner-friendly! You are going to kick that 4:00 marathon no problem - maybe I should hire you to drag me through my race! :)

Emz said...

way to go!!

always love the way you use photos & words. So fun to read.

YAY FOR YOU!!

Mark said...

Wow, Marlene! You are running so well! Great pics and report. I believe in you!!! Sub four, yes!

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

Talk about a double!! I had to read this twice. You went out and race 11k and then race the race. You are crazy tough. I.am.impressed!

Great job!

Runner Leana said...

Wow Marlene, way to go! All that walking, a run before the race, and then a sub-2:00 half? Nice job! And way to pull your friend through the tough part at the end.

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip!

Denise said...

nice job after such a busy wknd!!

and i have to say, marlene, you are looking so fit!! all your hard work is really paying off!

yumke said...

Four hour marathon pace! you will rock Mississauga! (i can't wait for that race)

EndorphinBuzz said...

Awesome job! This bodes well for Mississauga... It must have been nice running on the F1 track even if it was wet. I wouldn't want to have been in that hotel room with 3 pairs of drying shoes. :-)

J said...

Great race report and awesome job on the double run/race! You are doing awesome with your training and have built up so much endurance and speed! I am just so happy for you and happy to see you doing so well!

Lisa said...

Congrats! I love that you were able to run the entire race together!!

Lindsay said...

congrats girl! umm hello - a 1:56 half AFTER a 7mi run... hello hello! that is awesome :) and may i remind you that you said "slow back *down* to a 4-hr marathon pace". yes you are def gonna tear it up in may!! :)

Unknown said...

Congrats! Love reading your race-recaps. They're always fun and so well done!

Winks & Smiles,
Wifey

Jen Feeny said...

Congrats on a great Half girly! I KNEW you could do it and you are totally going to sub 4!!! YAY!!!!

MCM Mama said...

Great job and great pictures!