Around the Bay Report

Before the race …
Over the last few weeks my fears of not completing Around the Bay were replaced by nervous thoughts for what time I would crossed the line. Early Saturday morning those thoughts were replaced with excitement. My bag was ready, packed with every item for every situation, from hungry to first aid, summer to freak snowstorm. It suddenly hit me, that this was my first big race. I have done a numerous races over the past year and a half, 5ks, 10ks, trail races, and a 1/2 marathon, but confined to my local area. All these races are great, but at most there are 500 people. Thousands of people, a brand new route, I can’t believe how excited I am.
Then Mother Nature phoned the weather channel … beep beep beep … weather warning for the hamilton area (this the where the race is) ice rain, freezing rain tonight and sunday morning! WHAT! Okay just another challenge to make it interesting … the 30km is obviously not enough!
Sunday morning 5am, alarm goes off, I am surprising alert and bound out of bed. All my gear is packed so I shower, get dressed and head to the running store to catch the bus. (Note: the running group I belong to put on two buses to go to Around the Bay, it is a reaaaaaallllly popular race, many use it of their spring marathon prep. Therefore beer does get brought and consumed on the bus). We arrive in Hamilton at 8am through white out conditions on the highway. The bus drops us at the expo, where we have to collect our race kits. This was probably the longest part of the day for me. You really want to just start running. All the seating around drains me of my energy. The only excitement is finding nice toilets (not a port-a-potty gal). The time goes by and soon I am herded with all the others out to the start.
The race …
The weather has cleared a bit, it is cool and gray and is snowing a little. The man on the mic tells us it is due to clear in an hour. I am with 4 people from my group, we all have the same goal to run in under 3h 30min. We find the pace bunnies but it turns out the are from the Running Room and run 10 minutes walk one minute (this is an on-going theme in this report that I will refer to as 10 n 1). We decide to stick with the 3 30 bunny for the first part of the race to help with pace.
We’re off! Over the first mat my timing chip kicks in, I’m running. I can’t believe how many people are here there is a slight downhill and I can see ahead for about a km and it is a sea of runners. With all the excitement we have lost two from our group by 1km, as I glance around looking for them, I see one just behind me beside the 3 30 bunny. Pat and I have managed to over take the bunny already, not to worry we are only 20 metres in front, we will slow down in a minute. However over the next few minutes we manage to catch and pass the 3 25 bunny …. hmm this concerns me a little but I am so lost in the people the scenery and all the spectators cheering us on I am not thinking at all about what my legs are doing. At 5k we are four minutes ahead of schedule. Pat and I decided to slow it down, easily said, but doesn’t actually happen. At 6k Pat wants to use the toilet, we see a Tim Hortons (coffee shop) and decided to pop in. There was a brief moment were I contemplated running on, I didn’t really need to go and was feeling great, however 24k by myself would be difficult.
Back on the road we see the 3 25 bunny, awesome we really haven’t lost any time. Again we pass him. Up ahead are two other people from our group (some of us have bright orange shirts so we are easy to spot). We decided to catch them, one of the girls has a gps and will keep us at a realistic pace. In our attempt to catch them we do a 5.15 minute km (we should be doing close to 7 min/km) We catch them but can’t slow down and just keep going. At the 10k waterstop we walk it and take a gel shot. I check the time on my watch, we are still 3 minutes ahead of schedule with the pee break. When we start running again, Pat and I re-evaluate. We know we should slow down we still have 20k to go, but we are both feeling so good, plus the route is flat and fast at the moment, the last 10k are supposed to be rolling hills. We decide to run at the pace we have been but walk all the waterstop to be able to drink (haven’t mastered running and drinking yet).
I can’t believe how good I feel, everything has fallen into place. At 13k my toe (the one beside my little toe) on my right foot begins to hurt. I focus on the guy in the green jacket ahead of us and tell Pat we are going to take him. We do, then focus on the three people ahead. It seems we are overtaking a lot of people. and they are all wearing similar clothing. As it turns out they are the same people. They are doing 10 n 1. I have nothing against the method, what ever gets you to the finish line, however I have to have a say, if you are going to grind suddenly to a walk you should try and do it to one side of the road, when you are running with six other people and all of you stop to walk it is difficult to get by! Grumble, grumble, grumble.
The 15k waterstop we walk, just as we are about to start running I see a set of pink ears to my left … it’s the 3 25 bunny, he has caught us. Either he has gotten faster or we are slowing down. We start running to he is our next target. I am trying to do the math to work out if we are getting slower, but the pain in my toe has now spread to the toes on either side. Also getting distracted by the scenery. We are running along side of Lake Ontario and the water is really rough, as we cross the bridge it hits me, we are more than half way! We catch the 3 25 bunny.
As we approach the 20k marker, my toes have gone numb, probably not a good thing but at least they don’t hurt any more. I know we are now entering the rolling hills part of the route. Literally at 20k they start. Now I would not call these things rolling, they are quite big and steep and long. Rolling seems like a relatively nice term. All the hill training has paid off we run them all. I am still feeling surprisingly good, but know what looms ahead. As first-timers Pat and I have heard about the hill at the end, but have no real concept of the size. We get up a very steep hill at La Salle park, and at the top Pat asks if that was ‘it’, I say no, and think if you have to ask, it isn’t it, they call these rolling, if they actually call something ‘the hill’ you’ll know when it hits you in the face.
At the 25k waterstop walking suddenly wasn’t that much fun, in fact it was painfully, the hills had really worked my quads and hams. The ball of my right foot was throbbing, but it was just 5k more I can do it. The big hill was coming up, we conquer that and it’s downhill to the finish line! At 26k you come round this corner and there is a huge downhill if you glance across to your left you can see them climbing the hill it is a daunting site. As we get ready to climb the hill or shall I say the beast, the 3 25 bunny is beside us and screams walk. All his little bunny followers stop. Pat looks at me and for the first time in 26.5k we decide to join them.
I have been given great advice about this race and this hill over the past few weeks, walk it, is what I am most commonly told. It somehow doesn’t seem right to walk when I have been training to run, but honestly it was the best advice I have received. We walked all the way to the top of the beast (I think it actually stretched my legs abit) people running were passing us but we just kept walking. Then at the top you make a right and can see downtown Hamilton a wonderful site at this stage! It’s all downhill. We start running and passing the people that passed us on the evil hill including the 3 25 bunny! It is motivating us, we are picking up the pace. 28k marker we are really moving now.
I have to say that this was by far the best race, run, experience ever … but kilometer 28 was nearly the death of me. My mind and heart were racing at top speed, my legs and feet were not responding quite so enthusiastically. Just as I thought I couldn’t keep it up, I see the beautiful blue finish line. It is still a ways off but I can see it. I don’t know where the last 1.2k of energy came from but Pat and I did it!
We crossed the line at 3 21.05 9 minutes ahead of schedule! Words can not describe how happy I am.
I have a medal and a shiny silver blanket … I am a very happy runner.