teeth

JP, me, Troy, Rox - pre-race dinner at Cafe Nervosa

Troy, Derek & I - post-race lunch at Bar Italia

toronto goodlife half marathon
sunday, may 15, 2011
50F, light rain. NE wind
1:43:41 - 1 minute PR & New York City Marathon (NYCM)Auto Qualification 
17/271 women 40-44


goal
i had one main goal. to shave 42 seconds off of my best half marathon time to qualify for NYCM - I needed a 1:44:00 or better. doesn't sound tough. but you know, on any given day, running can be a battle. i have no complaints about the race and i did a few things i know made a difference. 


deja vu
today wasn't easy. there wasn't one moment of time when i thought i could relax. not a minute where i could say ok, now i've got it, i can relax. it was so incredibly reminiscent of my first marathon where i was going for a BQ. i had the same thoughts. i made it then too.


*just* a half
last night, at dinner with some great friends i met for the first time - JP, Roxanne, and Troy who came all the way from Columbus to run and hang out. JP was running his 52nd marathon today. Roxanne her first. I think this was Troy's 201st half marathon.  i jokingly said that i was so glad i was only doing a half. really, after the messed up head i've had all winter, a half was plenty to get ready for.


race-itis - idk it's what kerrie said i had
this week, my hip and achilles and in fact my whole left leg started acting up.i started taking ice baths on the friday to calm down the swelling. i wasn't sure if i could run through the pain. i can't take ibuprofen so ice, rest and compression are all i have. they were enough it seems. either that or adrenaline took over this morning.


my husband let me finish first
it was fantastic to run with my husband. he hung in beside for 5 miles and at 10 miles i edged ahead too far. it was ok. we had an agreement. i never run a race with anyone. it's always the same. if one of us flags, the other must go on. its clear. no guilt. no holding back. we are there to run our own race and we'll hang together as long as we can. we have finished one race hand-in-hand  - his first triathlon and my first duathlon. today, he came in 90 seconds behind me with his own PR of 5 minutes. we're pretty lucky. :)


shaving seconds
i had prepared for this race bc i didn't think it would come easy.i'm not a natural at running so i just think about it a lot and try to be strategic. 
>i never carry my water. this time i did. 
>i didn't want to stop for any reason. 
>i usually try to run negative splits or a very even race. this time i didn't care. 
>if i saw a place where i could pick up time, i took it. 
>i surged on the downhills to give myself time because i know i'm slow on the uphills. 
>i rarely looked at my garmin.
>i saw curves and ran the tangents. 
>i fought for this...until about a mile to go.


a strange encounter
with one mile left to go, a man came up and was on the edge of the course, yelling encouragement. obviously, he'd finished already. i get very snarly when i'm racing, so i snarked back at him to the tune of "yeah. well this sucks. you want to help me then pace me to the end of this fucking nightmare."


so...he did. he said you love this. it's ok, you're there. no need to stress. relax those shoulders.i told him i had to make 1:44 to get into New York. Then he said, then let me help you for two minutes. this is what you've been dreaming of. this is why you love this so much. now, focus on your form. clear your mind. run because you fucking love it...(yeah, he swore that much in a latin american accent)...so he ran beside me up to about .5 mile to go and said your pace is up now, now finish it with a smile.  wow, eh? who does that?


i made my goal with 21 seconds to spare. the biggest reason was random-unplanned-some stranger who talked to me as i'd talk to a friend. tough love with enough encouragement to get me to finish strong. 


you move me, for reals.
all along a very long winter (yes metaphorically too), and a fragile spring, many many of my virtual and real friends, including my coach, have believed in me when i couldn't. the stranger at the end didn't do a thing that any one of you wouldn't have also done. in my mind now, i never run alone. today, for the first time i also raced without music. my ipod died at the start. 


your words kept me moving, kept me pushing. right to the end...i cannot thank you for the way you've transformed my outlook and kept me company when i've needed it so much. not enough words to thank you.


same old same old
once again, i surprised myself (possibly the only person surprised, ironically). 
once again, i made my goal by the skin of my teeth.... and it was my c goal :)
once again, the best part of the whole experience was meeting my friends.