:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Finish photos are here.

Bahamas Marathon Race Report

It was a pretty basic morning, I walked in circles a fair amount but managed to get everything I needed together in time.  The half marathoners, myself and a couple of support crew headed out for the run.

There turned out to be a number of Canadians in the race and we chatted with them while waiting to start.

The gun went off and we ran through downtown Nassau in the dark, doing our best to avoid potholes and speed bumps.  After that we went over the steep bridge onto Paradise Island, immediately turned right and ran over another steep bridge off the island (seemed totally unnecessary to me). I ran strong over the first bridge and caught a couple of our half runners, John and Kelly, saying hi as I went by.  On the second bridge reason started to show it's head and I tried to let people go and hold a slower pace.

The Bridges of Doom

Off the bridge we ran through a very poor looking neighbourhood.  A number of the residents were up at 6:30 watching us race (some cheering, some bemused) which was cool.

The area seemed to sharply change from poor to hatch sales, then to big banks, then to big, well kept up homes.  Interesting to seem the spread of income as we went.  (And none of the residents of the mansions were out to watch us.)

We did a 180 and headed back through town.  John passed me again and I started catching up with Kelly.

I thought about my predicted time and decided that I felt so good I should definitely go for a 4 hour run.  It was totally possible!

Changing your race plan at mile four in a 26.2 mile race is always a good idea.  Right?

I yelled ahead to Kelly to ask what her pace/goal time was and she told me sub-two.  Uh oh.  I was going way too fast.  I dropped back and tried to let her and John go but had difficulty holding a slower pace.

They eventually disappeared and I caught up with Hank from our group.  He looked like he was having some challenges at that point, I said hi and something encouraging as I passed. 

As I neared the Breezes the half marathon turn around I kept an eye out for returning half marathoners from the group.  First Annie, then Alex then Gustavo went by, all looking strong.

At the hotel Megan, who'd done her first ever running race in the 5km the day before, and some others were out and cheered me on.  Megan took some photos and I told her she needed to get shots of me while I was still smiling.  I wasn't sure I'd be so positive on the return.

Once I was past the half turn around point race narrowed out considerably.  There were about 400 racers in the half and only about 120 in the full.  I lost a my pace bunnies and it was very quiet for the rest of the way, but when I did get to an aid station or group of spectators they were super excited to see a runner.

The weather started to warm up shortly after we split from the half marathoners.  I was worried about overheating wand whenever I was in the shade I took my hat off so my head could stay cool.  I get sunstroke very easily so I kept my hat on in the sun however. And when I saw photographers - didn't want to have hat head!

I also followed Alan's advice for cooling and poured water on my wrists and inner forearms at every opportunity. Some of the volunteers thought I was weird for doing this, but as I never over heated it seemed to have worked.

Aside from the Bridges of Doom at the start and a low bridge about 15 miles in, the course was very flat. It was quite winding and I tried as much as possible to take the shortest cant on every corner as that can considerably cut the overall distance I had to run.

Once we left the resort areas we went past some strip malls then the road hugged the coast and we had a great ocean view. Lots of quiet beauty then every mile an enthusiastic group of volunteers handing out water and Gatorade.

Near the full turn around there started to be traffic on the road and running anywhere other the shoulder of the road became a bit risky.  On the return there were quite a few cars on the road so I shoulder checked any time I got closer to the middle of the road.

Most of the drivers were very considerate and gave me lots of room however I was buzzed by two police cars and a couple of police on motorcycles.  Not only was it rude and frightening, but as it was after 20 miles into the race it was quite dangerous - we were neither steady on our feet nor were we always moving in a predictable direction.

My pace had dropped considerably after I passed the halway mark, I had definitely gone out to fast and I was starting to pay for it.  It was a struggle to keep a 9:20 mile pace, although I'd do the occaissional 9:05 for no particular reason.  As I approached mile 20 I prepared to hit the wall, i was tired and my legs hurt and I was readying for everything to fall apart.  I grabbed a gel from the aid station and downed it so I'd have the energy to push through.  And I kept going on pace and didn't feel much of a change.

I passed the Breezes and saw Deanna, who kindly took my (nasty) Fuel Belt then saw a highly enthusiastic Megan again.  It's always a big lift to see supporters on course!

At about mile 24 I started running out of steam.  My legs hurt and it was an effort to keep running.  I decided that a marathon was a ridiculous distance to run and from now on I'd stick to half marathons.  No way I'd do another full.  "One and done!" I decided.  I may even have said that aloud.

The aid station volunteers were also hitting the wall - the 24 mile crew were mostly napping and the 25 mile crew were a bit out of it. This is NOT a criticism, I think it was awesome that they were out and I know how draining it is to stand around for hours, especially when you have so few runners going by.  It was warm and this part of the course was the most boring, it would have been a long, long day for these guys.

I felt drained and desparately wanted to walk but knew I was very close to the finish so I kept running.  As with the rest of the race, as my energy flagged I told myself "You're in the BAHAMAS!  How could this be anything but good!"  An unweildy but effective mantra.

As I neared the finished I could see half marathoners walking towards me, some cheered me on and even the ones that didn't were heartening as I knew I was so, so close to the finish.

Finally I could see the finish and the yellow shirts of my group.  Wendi and Gustavo yelled and waved and ran with me for most of the last 200m.  This was absolutely phenomenal, I was psyched to be finishing but their support made it so much more special.

After 4 hours, 7 minutes and 22 seconds, I crossed with a smile. Even though I was far off my dream goal of 4 hours, I smashed my goal of finishing happy.

I grabbed some food, said lots of incoherent things to the group members and we jumped on the bus to head back to the Breezes. At the resort we went straight from the bus to the bar for a celebratory glass of champagne and I stood in the ocean sipping it while icing my legs feeling pretty darned good about life.

This would be a great spot to finish the race report but the next day I got an email from my Mum.  She'd checked the results online and informed me I'd finished 22nd overall and had won my age group!  What a way to start my year.  Made a very fun race even better.

Bahamas Marathon - Pre Race Report

Just for Amy and Kathryn I'm working on my race report on my flight home from the race. (Nothing to do with not being able to sleep, nope this is all to keep you happy.  Hope you appreciate my sacrifice!)

Despite being in the travel industry for eight years I've never been on a FAM trip so had little idea of what to expect.  I was nervous about sharing a room with someone I didn't know and in general about the group dynamics.

At the Toronto airport I spied various people who looked like runners.  One of them was handing out shirts so I guessed it would be my group. Right I was. I met a few people, chatted and tried desperately to remember names.

At the resort (Superclubs Breezes) we checked in and I ended up rooming with Wendi, a very nice and very cool agent from Toronto.  She was very experienced both with running and with FAMs so an excellent person to be around.

The view of the Breezes pool 

I was the only person from the group signed up for the full marathon, I was infamous before anyone even met me.  I told people in the group the distance I was racing and they responded "You're the one!"   When people asked what distances we were doing and someone said "She's the full" it sounded remarkably like "She's the fool!"

In the days prior to the race we did a variety of agenty things - site inspections of the Breezes property, the Atlantis resort and the Sandals resort; a Dolphin experience; wandering downtown Nassau.  It was interesting and fun but not necessarily the restful type of things you want to do prior to a marathon (the Atlantis site tour was three hours of walking).

Hanging out with dolphins 

At the aquarium at the Atlantis

View from the Executive Lounge in the Cove tower at the Atlantis resort

Just as difficult as staying off our feet was eating sensibly.  We were faced with tempting buffets for breakfast then uncertain stretches with no food and a couple of seriously unhealthy dinners (but soooo good!).  If you're ever in the Bahamas, go to Twin Brothers at Arawak Cay for the fish fry.  Pretty sure deep fried conch (pronouced "conk") isn't recommended pre-race food but wow it was good. Ooh, and do brunch at the Atlantis and have dinner at the Sandals.  You'll thank me for the recommendations.

Grilled red snapper at Twin Brothers fish fry

So after three days of doing everything wrong we finally came to the marathon.

I picked up a copy of the race program and looked at the race registrants.  There were maybe 120 people signed up for the marathon.  I joked to the other runners and to my parents and coach that I might actually place in this race!

It was good to know in advance that once the half marathoners turned off I'd be pretty much on my own.  Running in a crowd is a very different energy than running alone so it was good to be prepared.

After a pasta dinner at the Breezes buffet, a good portion of which I managed to wear (no pre-race nerves!), we had an early night and tried to have a decent sleep.  We set four alarms and of course I woke up five minutes before any of them went off.

Training, Procrastination and Nuun Slushies

I had two decent workouts today.

This morning's introduced a new swim toy - the sponge.  Imagine giving a 6 year old long strips of sponge and telling them to make an octopus.  The result (less the poster paint, googly eyes and glitter) is then tied to one end of a long piece of string, the other end of the string goes around your waist and you swim with it tagging along behind you.

While it provides some drag the point of our workout was to use it to smooth out our stroke.  It gives tactile feedback, if the string around your waist jerks and pulls unevenly then you aren't keeping a consistent speed.  I discovered my kick is fine but on my stroke I slow down when I breath. I corrected it but it's a lot more work when you don't get a mini break every third breath!

I was dreading my run, the main set of which was two times 5km at my half marathon pace.  I dreaded it enough that I employed as many procrastination techniques as I could manage:

- check my email (I wouldn't want to be late in replying to anyone!)
- wait until the last minute to figure out what my pace should be
- post on Facebook 
- put away clean laundry
- search for my spare key
- check the weather online (cold)

I finally ran out of ways to put off the inevitable and headed to the track.

I haven't done as much track work this year as in the past and it really shows.  I used to be a metronome, I could keep my 400m pace to the second. Now I'm all over the map. 

I was completely off pace for my first 5km, the first km was a disaster and the following four were better but not by much.  I managed to keep closer to pace for the second set, and was fairly consistent, but I was still slower than I wanted to be.  I don't know how much the cold weather affected my speed or if I was having an off day, but the pace I was trying for was the pace I ran at the Fall Classic so it is achievable. Frustrating regardless of the reason but I do know now what my focus needs to be through my taper - nail my marathon pace.

As to the cold, it was definitely not warm this evening.  After my second 5km I tried to take a swig from my water bottle only to find it had frozen. I've never had that happen at a workout before. It turns out, however, that cola flavoured Nuun makes a tasty slushy.

Be Prepared!

After a week of "too much overindulging" over Christmas I'm trying to get myself back into some semblance of a workout routine that I can carry over into the New Year. 

In mid-December I decided to sign up for a swim clinic in the week between Christmas and New Years.  I figured that as I'd avoided the pool for two months I'd need a bit of a jump start for my 2011 swimming.

I opted for the Infinity Clinic, put on by the coach of my masters swim (can I call it "my" swim when I bailed on almost the entire fall session?).  Until about 8:45 last night I thought this clinic was at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre.  Turns out it's at the UBC pool, rather a significant difference as that's an additional 25-30 minutes biking.  Annoying, and a bit embarassing, but at least I figured it out before I left for the pool this morning.

Also turns out the swim starts at 5:20, I'm not sure what was in the flyer (that came out, like, two weeks ago, why should I remember?) but that seems a bit early.  Even just ten minutes later would be lovely!  The coach sent an email stating that the pool wouldn't open until 5:15 and apologized to those folks who'd want to get in earlier.   That made me laugh.  My plan was to come screaming into the pool at the last possible second.

Signing up for the clinic gave me the impetus to finally  get the rack put on my new bike and to finally use it to bike to swimming.  As I put my paniers on last night, however, I realized that they don't quite fit the new rack, the s-hook is about 2mm too small to hook securely onto the bottom of the rack.  Probably would have been useful to figure this out prior to biking the breadth of the city at 4:30am with fully laden paniers.  It was a bit of a slow ride as I was anxious to avoid potholes or bumps that might send my gear flying off the bike but I made it to UBC with everything intact. 

I was also slow as I'm getting used to the new bike and to mountain bike clips, as well as to riding with paniers for the first time in seven years.  I vididly recall when I had paniers on for the first time and tried to take a corner at speed when they were full of heavy groceries.  For your future reference, your ability to turn declines sharply when you have a lot of weight on your back wheel.

Much as I hate getting up at that hour, and despite my various trials and tribulations with the bike, I love having the road to myself.  It's a super fast ride (even when you're being uber cautious to avoid flinging your belongings onto the street) when you don't have to stop for traffic.

And the clinic was well worth it.  There aren't a lot of people in this session so I'm sharing a lane with just one other person.  The small numbers also mean we get a lot of feedback from the coaches.  Plus I got to try swimming on a tether and, just for added weirdness/geek factor, swim over a mirror while tethered so I could see what I'm doing when I swim.  I move my head to much, on pretty much every axis, and my elbow is way to high in the water making for too shallow of a pull (the coach pointed this out, I'm not skilled enough to figure out for myself).

When the swim was done I had my proof I haven't swum in ages - I forgot to bring a towel.  Happily the woman I share a lane with lent me a towel as she brings two.  Yay for prepared people who're willing to lend things to strangers!!! 

I expect to be somewhat more prepared tomorrow, although I just realized that I will have to bring two towels (mine plus the borrowed one) so my precarious paniers will be even more heavily laden!