Midsummer Night's Run 30k - Race Recap

Midsummer Night's Run is an evening race in Toronto that offers a 5k, 15k, and a 30k.  Every year I consider it, but I have never done it.

I was back and forth over this race for weeeeeks.

Should I do it?  Would it take too long for recovery afterwards?  Am I ready?

In the end, I realized that I would have to do an evening long run that day anyway (due to Papa's work schedule) so I might was well have some entertainment, some company, and some aid stations if I was running at dusk!

…a lovely race shirt, and amazing medal were added bonuses

This has to be one of the nicest medals I've received!

The run was going to be a training run with some fast miles.  No big deal.

As Saturday approached, the weather here in these parts started to turn.  Like, really turn.  People everywhere were calling it, "Augtober," and, well, I was bundling up too.

Surely the weather will brighten up by Saturday's race?

Not so much.  The weather network was calling for rain.  All day.

Summer rain isn't so bad.  It has a nice way of cooling off those really hot days, making for a nice and refreshing evening.  It will be ok.  Right?  Anyone?

Saturday came, and so did the rain.  And the wind.

I drove to the race parking, where I then had to leave the warmth of my car to board a shuttle bus to the starting area.  I was prepared with a bag of warm clothes for post-race, and a garbage bag to wear until the race start, if it started to pour at all.

By the time I got to the park, near the starting line, I had dug out my sweatshirt and was wearing it under my garbage bag.  I would then have to wait to check my bag, as I would definitely want that sweatshirt after the race.

The sideways wind out of the southwest brought rain drops that stung against my goosebumps on my legs.  This is August.  Mid-August.

Time passed very slowly, as I huddle at the side of a tent, trying to stay out of the wind.  Eventually it came time to go for a warm-up.  I was actually excited to go and "warm up."

I checked my bag (so long, sweatshirt!) but kept the garbage bag on.  High fashion at this race!

*many people actually do dress in costume for this race.  The weather didn't break anyone's spirit, either.  Lots of fairy wings in attendance here!  But not on me.

I made my way back to the start, and I actually thought, "what if I have to run this entire race in a garbage bag?"

I made sure my garmin was set, then, just before the gun went off, the rain really started to pour.

ah, well.

There is something magic about races though.  The moment the gun actually did go off, the weather was furthest from my mind.  Sure, heading out into the wind was kind of sucky, but we were moving, in a large crowd, trying to settle into pace.  We didn't have time to worry about the rain.

I am not really sure when the pouring stopped, but it did.

I told myself to keep those first couple of miles slow.  This was just a training run.  But then, it wasn't just a training run anymore somehow.

Put a timing chip on a runner, and all bets are off?

I settled into a pack of dudes that, if I played my cards right, could serve as nice wind-blockers when we would inevitably get into the big windy stretches.  One of the dudes was the 2:20min "pace fairy".  I knew this pace was sustainable, as I have run the Around the Bay in 2:18:47.

My goal became keeping my pace regulated throughout the whole course.  I really wanted to finish the race with Garmin results that I didn't cringe at in those last miles.

This course was lovely.  Mostly paved trails, with small stints on the road (very small road portions).  We started into the wind at about the 4 mile mark.  This lasted beyond the 7 mile mark, then we got a nice break with the wind behind us.

miles 1-7 splits: 7:24, 7:28, 7:16, 7:15, 7:32, 7:27 (Gu), 7:21

We headed back toward the main road, and joined the course of the 15km runners.  It was a HUGE crowd!  We ran together for a mile or two, then split apart.  They headed toward the finish, and we headed toward Ashbridges Bay park.  Lots of twists and turns in this part of the course.  Also, varying terrain.  Pavement, wooden boardwalk, mulch, sandy gravel, back to pavement.  While in the park, they had a timing mat at the half-marathon marker! (1:36:46)

miles 8-14 splits: 7:12, 7:18, 7:32, 7:33, 7:29, 7:16, 7:14

As I headed out of the park, I could feel the west-wind like a wall.  This part was going to be tough.  I had well under 10km left to run.  I could do this, but it might hurt a little.

miles 15-18.7 splits: 7:36 (Gu), 7:32, 7:40, 7:41, 7:28

The course was a lot busier in the last few miles, as the 30k route joined back up with the 15k route.  Lots of 15k runners still on the course.  It wasn't a big deal.  There was lots of room for everyone!

And it wasn't dark yet, and the rain had let up.  Oh, and I had warmed up a little bit :)

At the finish, they were handing out bottles of water (normal post-race behaviour, yes) but they were Reusable bottles that were pre-filled with cool, fresh water!  I love this.  They had a variety of colours and they let me pick my colour (red)!

nice touch, Midsummer Night's Run!!

Finish time: 2:19:33 (so much for the training run)
overall 72/630
Age Group 6/108
Gender 11/297

They had post-race festivities like Steam Whistle Beer (which I do enjoy) and a BBQ, but after I grabbed my checked bag and bundled into my sweatshirt, I took my banana to the shuttle bus and headed home.  Evening races are tiring sometimes!

My legs feel great, post-race, so I am ready for the next week of miles ahead of me!


               
               

Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon - Race Recap

Can I just say that I love this race?  It's a race that in some ways, feels very much like a race, but in other ways, feels like a fun day of hanging out with your girlfriends.

That is the perfect mix.  I love racing.  But I also don't like taking myself too seriously, especially when it comes to triathlons, where I still have so much to learn.

We did this event last summer, and it was really the race that made me think I could survive triathlons.  My first try-a-tri had been earlier in the summer, and, although it seemed to go well, it was my first open-water swim (ever) and it was kind of a miracle I ever stepped into the lake again afterwards!

I was very nervous last year for Irongirl, especially the swim, but it turned out to be amazing.  Clear, cool, clean water, and the 500m was a confidence booster.

I jumped at the chance to sign up again for 2014!

I love that all of my training partners/fellow pink flamingos were doing the race too.  We headed to the race together(ish) in two cars.  The race was in Grimsby, about an hour from home.

We arrived at the venue, and the music was blasting, people were excited, and transition was filling up with bikes.  The race was a bit bigger this year (over 600 racers, vs. 500 last year).  Sylvie and I racked our bikes next to each other.  I looked around and noticed a lot of fellow racers were wearing the same (PINK--ya, I've worn it for every triathlon this summer) outfit as me!

Triathlons take a bit of setting up, ya know?  Transition area, bike, wetsuit, goggles, swim cap (mine was baby blue) etc.

It was getting HOT out there, in the blazing sun.  Just the right time to squeeze into our wetsuits.

Tricia, Sylvie, Linda, Lorraine, and myself

We headed down to the beach.  Since it was a 500m point-to-point swim (with in-water start) we decided to swim the reverse 500m to the start as our warm up.  That water was cold.  But it was refreshing in the heat, and we had wetsuits on, so we had very little to complain about, right?

When we arrived at the starting area, there were crowds of swimmers, some in wetsuits, some there for their first triathlon, some not wearing wetsuits (brrrrrr).  We waded in the water for our waves to get the "GO!"

I was wave three this year.  This race is one of the "kinder" races, as far as pushing/shoving/swimming-in-a-pile goes.  When the gun went off, I still felt like I had lots of space to move through the water.

After the race, I was commenting that triathlons have crazy starts, compared to road races.  In the water, there seem to be no rules.  People just shove and swim their way to a good position.  That kind of thing would have you landing on your face in a road race!  In the water it really is "every man for himself!"

…but this race, as I said, is a bit gentler than that.

I felt really quick and fast during the swim, and although I wasn't as quick as I had imagined, I was still happy with my effort.

500m swim: 11:37

I bolted up the steep hill to transition (or at least it felt like I bolted).  My wetsuit got caught on my heel, but I refused to sit down to get it out.  I did my 'transition dance" to get out of it, and it did the trick eventually.

Transition 1: 1:19

Off I went on the bike.  This is a very flat course.  I got right down into aero position, and only moved my arms when I ate my Gu (at 11k) and drank water.  I tried to keep my position in the pack, as I didn't want to be passed as much as I was passed last year.  I feel like I passed more people than passed me on the bike, but it is hard to say for sure.

The bike was an out and back, so I was able to see all of my fellow flamingo racers, that started after me!  I saw Tricia, Lorraine, and Sylvie!

20km bike: 38:59

As I jumped off my bike and ran into transition, I realized my feet were completely numb.  This keeps happening.  The cold water never helps with this, and I think I need to consider blaming my bike shoes.

I had to get my running shoes on, regardless and get going!  Without any feeling in the front of my feet, this would be interesting. I told myself,  "fake it 'till you make it!"  I chased the other women leaving transition.

Transition 2: 0:53

We ran through a shute across the grass to get out to the roadway.  It was very hard to get good steps in there.  Ugh.

I just focused, and looked ahead.  Only 5km between me and finish line, and it was 5km of the part I like!

I managed to catch/pass a bunch of runners on the run course, which had two aid stations that you pass twice each.  After the 3km marker, we ran down a hill, into a trail.  By this point I could feel my toes again, so I didn't feel like I had the "smack smack smack" of wearing flippers on my feet!

But, in the trail, I feel that IronGirl could have splurged on a few more pylons, signs, ANYTHING to make it feel better marked.  I was in a dead zone where I couldn't see the person ahead of me, so I had to stop/backtrack a couple of times, for fear that I was headed off course.  It didn't add too much to my time, but it was annoying!

I came out of the trail and could see the last kilometre stretch to the finish!  One little hill between me and the misting tent!

I managed to catch a couple more racers in the last 100m, which made the race :)

5km run: 22:06

finish time: 1:14:50 (PB over last year by one minute)
2nd Age group (35-39), 10/624 women

LOVE the medals…love that they give age group award medals too!

All of the other girls did AMAZING!  PBs all over the place!

Nothing beats racing with friends.  Well, training with friends is also quite awesome.

These ladies motivate me every single day.

Melissa, Tricia, Sylvie, Linda, Me, and Lorraine

IronGirl was my last triathlon for 2014.  Lots more running to do though :)

Skechers Downhill Classic 5k - Race Recap

I'm on a roll with these race recaps!

Up next, at the very end of July, was the Skechers Downhill Classic 5k, in Hamilton.

I had a great race at the Guelph Downtown Classical 5k at the beginning of July, and I really wanted to squeeze in another one.  I scoped out all of the options, and this race in Hamilton was going to be my only bet.

Of course, it had a 10am start time.  Not exactly ideal in the heat of July.  But, the fact that it was called the "downhill classic" implied that there might be some speed involved, so maybe it would trump any heat.  Maybe.

It was difficult to find information about this race online (such as course maps, etc) so I emailed the race director, who told me in his one-lined response, "see you at the pub at 8am on Saturday!"  Ok.  I guess I would just be showing up at the pub to get my race kit, and take the shuttle to the starting line, with no idea what the course was all about.  I'm sure lots of people are fine with this, but I kind of like to know what I am getting into beforehand, if possible.

Hamilton is just under an hour from my house.  I woke up nice and early on Saturday morning, and was out the door by 7am, to be there for 8am (as per the email).  When I arrived downtown Hamilton, I realized I was a bit early (who knew? No traffic on country roads early on a Saturday).  I decided to make a pit-stop at the world's scariest Tim Horton's that was close by.

By 8:05, I was parked and at the Pub.  I was given a race shirt, timing chip, and bib. (Incidentally, my race number was #72, which was the same number as the triathlon the week before!)  The t-shirts were really nice.  It was an actual t-shirt, not a technical shirt, which is nice for a change.

I boarded the shuttle, and off we went to the race start.  This bus ride was lonnnnng.  I lost track of all the turns, and roads we took.  We went up, up, up, UP the mountain.  I started to feel severe panic in my tummy.  Was the "downhill" actually down a mountain?  This could spell trouble.

At the top of the mountain, on some road I would probably never be able to find again, the bus pulled over, and we all got out.  I still had plenty of time for my warm up, so I wasn't worried (yet).

A guy on a bike The race director came up, and told us to "take this set of stairs down to the trail at the bottom.  Follow the trail about a kilometre and a half until you see the starting line."  Well, ok then.

Have I mentioned that I am afraid of heights?

Heading down!

dowwwwwwn we went

The trail was perfectly shaded once we got down to the bottom.  It was perfect for a warm up run!  I was glad I had brought a water bottle with me, but sad that there would not be any port-potties before the start (read: nervous pee).

Before the start, another bus load or two arrived, so there was a nice crowd for the race start.  I did 60-seconds race pace in the last few minutes as we waited, then I lined up.

The "start line" was hard to miss 

The race was chip-timed at the finish only.  The race director (same guy on the bike) stood in front of us, told us we had 30 seconds, then got on his bike, turned around, and yelled, "GO!!"

Off we went.  The entire race was on this paved trail.  We didn't have to make ANY turns, we just followed the trail until we reached the finish mats/line/clock.  The first mile felt like a decline, but the rest of the race was such a slight downgrade, that it was hardly noticeable (but my splits felt a bit easier, I will give it that)!

I kept my eyes on the same couple of people in front of me.  I did pass one guy, but he ended up passing me right at the end.

Finish time: 19:15
First in my AG, 5th Female

Ya, it was probably worth the scary Tim Hortons, Panic about the mountain, and lack of course maps/info!


The bonus was that we had a nice cool down mile and a half in the trail back to the pub!

The pub served a lunch, and beer.

I made friends with an awesome couple named Bill and Christie, so we ate, drank some beer and chatted.  Runners are so great.  You can make friends even when you're stinky and sweaty!

*I actually saw Christie running in a race this weekend!  She was going in the opposite direction of the 30k race we were in.  I wish I had yelled her name, but then she would have been confused, probably.

I have a big 5k race coming up in September, so this race made me feel much better about the whole situation.  "Much better" is still freaked out, but a little less-so.

Bluewater Olympic Triathlon - Race Recap

It's almost been a month since I swam/bike/ran this race.  Time flies when you're walking around telling everyone you completed an Olympic Triathlon, I suppose?!

The race recap is below, but a few days before the race happened, a few of us surprised our friend Tricia with a front lawn birthday surprise, that I really must share here:

We are doing our best flamingo impression…How did we do?  Tricia is in the middle.  You know, the one that cannot possibly look her age!!

Ok, on the the Recap…

I decided last year, after completing the Bluewater Sprint Duathlon (the swim had been cancelled due to crazy lake huron waves) that I really wanted to complete the Olympic distance in 2014.  The route seemed like a good first-time Olympic.  Flat bike ride, super flat run.  I was actually quite jealous of all of the Olympic racers last year, as the run looked like it could be a fast one.

Although I really don't feel like I trained any harder, or with more volume leading up to this year's race, I certainly felt more comfortable in the open water, and on my road bike, so I didn't feel light-headed as I signed up for the race.  I did, however, force myself to do at least one long ride of over 40km before signing up, just to prove to myself that I could handle the distance on the bike.  Yes, me and my bike don't spend that much time together.  Hopefully someday soon I will make it a priority.

I did add aero bars to my bike this year, and I have noticed that I am more comfortable riding in that position.  And when signing up for a race with a flat bike course, I knew I would have a chance to really test them out!

My friend Lorraine also decided to do this race, so we made it a "race-road-trip" together.  

I have the greatest parents in the world, and they gave us a place to stay in their house the night before the race (they live super close by, and, I invited myself over).

We drove down the day before, and we went to the very casual kit-pick up and pasta dinner.  The dinner was super yummy (all you can eat!!) and they even had fresh watermelon for dessert.  mmmmmm

As I did this race last year, I took Lorraine to the venue so we could check everything out the night before. 

Of course, as the swim was cancelled last year, I had no idea where the swim start/finish was.  Well, duh, of course I knew it was at the water, but I didn't know where along the water.

Off we went, in search of the steps we would take up from the beach to transition.

We stopped at the first set of stairs we saw, assuming it would be the place, as they were very close to the transition area.

this is what we found...

ummmmmmm…
I named these stairs the "metal death traps" and there was talk of whether or not our tetanus shots were up-to-date

So…we tried our hardest to be optimistic about the steps.  We pictured coming out of the water in our bare feet, climbing these stairs with the rest of the crowd.  It seemed a tiny bit awkward.

We tried to laugh it off.

Off we went, in search of the swim start.

We walked along, on the gorgeous night it was, trying to picture ourselves swimming all that way the next morning. This swim was point-to-point, so we would swim out to a bouy, then straight across (parallel to shore) then out (hopefully at a better set of stairs)!

When we arrived at the swim start (there was a marker on the beach) we ran into my friend Emily, and her family.  Yay!  It was fun seeing a familiar face!

We also met a young couple that was scoping out the course.  We chatted with them, and shared our insecurities about the swim exit.  They walked back toward transition with us.  They were both younger than us, so we agreed that we could all be friends, as we were in different age categories on race day.  No competition here! ;)

As it turned out, the swim exit was beyond the transition area.  So the run back to transition would be a bit longer.  But in the name of better stairs.  Still very sketchy getting out of the water though…

See that "groyne" in the photo above?  We had to "hop" over that thing on our way to the stairs on race day.  Hmmmm

Before long, we headed back to my parent's house, and settled in and checked (and re-checked) our gear.  We headed to bed early, as you do on "race-eve."

I checked my phone just before setting my alarm, and the weather network was calling for rain all day on race day.  Seriously?  Well, at least I wouldn't have to worry about my sunscreen failing me.

We arrived at the venue without any trouble, after a nice breakfast.  This race has a "mandatory meeting" which is scheduled 35 minutes before the start of the Olympic swim.  This was a bit tricky, as we still had to walk down (over a kilometre) to the swim start, and attempt a warm up.  All after this meeting!  It was going to be tight.  The meeting wasn't short (boo) so we walked quickly in our bare feet to the start of the swim.  We seemed to only have a few minutes (if that) in the frigid waters of lake huron before we were told to get out, back to the beach for the women's start.

For this race, all women started together, with a 15 minute lead on the men.  Age groups didn't matter.  It wasn't a huge race, and that lake is very big, so it wasn't crowded.  They also didn't care about swim cap colours.  We were given swim caps, but they were all very random.

Here is Lorraine's…

It was practically personalized!  Her initials are "LH," she is a Leo, and of course, she Has Speed (HS) so we figured all of that trumped the fact that it was dark blue, and it might be hard to spot her out in the lake (minor details…).

After a quick "have a great race" exchange, the horn went off, and into the water we ran!  It was a bit wavy as we jumped in, and it took me a few minutes to settle into pace, after we rounded the first buoy.  We spread out so well, that I actually spent much of the swim portion assuming I was in dead last place, as I didn't sight anyone near me!

I ended up with a swim buddy in the last 200m or so.  Another woman was swimming exactly beside me, at exactly the same pace.  Neither one of us moved from our position.  We probably looked really funny from the shore, swimming right beside each other in such a huge lake!

Thankfully, we rounded the final buoy, and the shore was getting closer.  I ran up (and over the obstacle) to the steps.  I sprinted to make up time.  

I came right up behind Lorraine!  Yay!

swim time: 24:07*

*we kind of think the swim was a couple hundred meters short, or the current was very strong.  This swim time seems fast.

We were parked side-by-side in transition.  It was actually very nice to exchange a few words as we wiggled out of our wetsuits and into our bike shoes.  I grabbed my bike, and said, "see you in a few minutes when you pass me!" and off I went.

transition 1: 1:23

The bike course was out in an southeast direction, with a tiny hump of a hill, (an overpass) then straight east, to a turn around.  

The wind was straight out of the southeast.  It was sucking my will to pedal, I can say that for sure.  Thank goodness for those aero bars.

At about kilometre 6, a familiar voice came up behind me as I was choking back my Gu,  "remember to take in lots of water!"  It was Lorraine.  She sped on past me.  It was the only time in a race that I have been happy to see someone as they passed me!

In the pre-race meeting, they had announced that, due to a change in the course (construction) the bike portion was only 36km long.  While I was out there struggling in the wind, I was very thankful for that!

Of course, after the turn around, time (literally) zoomed by.  It was soooooo nice to have that wind at my back.

As I rode into transition, I heard a, "Go Amy Go!"  It was my best cousin/friend Janice and her daughter Mallory.  They had arrived to cheer me on!

bike time: 1:14:48

I ditched my bike, threw on my runners, and I was outta there.  I had a bunch of people I had my eyes on catching that passed me on the bike.  I knew I wouldn't catch everyone, but I was going to try my hardest.

transition 2 time: 00:54

I came up to Lorraine, who looked awesome!  She was going to have a great run, I could tell.

The run was just as great as I thought it was going to be.  Very flat, good aid stations, and a bit of shade.  With 4km to go, I realized that I had a blister forming on my left heel.  I didn't wear socks, and I think that was why :(

I kept reminding myself that it was only 4k, and to try not to think of the pain.  It worked I guess.

As I ran toward the finish, I could hear my name being called again.  My brother, and Janice were there yelling my name.  So special.  Really.  I am so thankful to them, for coming to cheer for me!

Run time: 43:28

Finish time: 2:24:37

I was certainly glad it was over, and my first order of business (after grabbing a water bottle) was taking off my shoes!  Luckily (these are details that I'm sure no one needs to hear) the blister didn't burst, and it was just full of water, so it was going to be ok.

I watched my friend Matt finish, not far behind (he had to start 15minutes after me).  Then we headed back to catch Lorraine, as she came into the finish.

We did it!

And, it didn't start raining until the awards.

We enjoyed an AMAZING post-race meal (this race is famous for all of the food) and I received a mug for my AG award (2nd place 30-39)!

Thank you so much to Lorraine for being such an awesome road-trip-race-buddy, and to my brother and my cousin Janice for cheering!

Summer…oh, how I love summer

I love that I have neglected this blog, as it is a very clear indicator that I would rather be doing all of the fun summer things we've been doing, than sitting and typing at a computer.  I don't want to confuse anyone with this post, as it is in NO WAY a recap of summer, as I have 2 entire weeks left to enjoy of this lovely month of August, and there is still plenty of time for some awesome times ahead, before Labour Day is upon us (just to be clear).

This summer has included lots of awesome stuff.  Including, but not limited to, the following list:

- Canada Day celebrations with our dear friends, the Parkinson family.  Every year, we join the parade in Glen Williams.  It is almost always a scorching hot walk with decorated bikes, and fun for the kiddies.

Happy Canada Day!

- A trip to Centre Island with some work friends/families.  Lots of fun on the ferry, rides, and a lovely picnic!

 "spinning inside some sort of bear at Centreville" selfie

It was a tight squeeze, but Jeff enjoyed the teacups the most

- Beach.  Beach.  Beach.  Lots of beach days with the boys, splashing and building (and demolishing) sand things.

- Ripley's Aquarium.  Such crowds, but awesome to see and do.  Elliott is a self-proclaimed marine biologist.  He was kind of a 'tour guide' of all of the sea creatures we saw that day.  Only a monsoon slight downpour as we headed there from the subway.

- Birthday fun for my niece Lyla at the Ridgetown Zoo.  The zip line trumped all of the animals.  It was kid-friendly, and not scary.  I still declined to participate.

Fireworks.  Happy Birthday, Lyla

- Watermelon and Popsicles.

- Two subway rides with the kids.  Still a novelty for them!

Museum stop at the subway

- Splash pads.

- Storybook Gardens with the work crowd.  It was a gorgeous day, and lots of fun.  The kids even had the chance to roam in the bunny pen.  Highlight of the day, for sure.

Those gracious little bunnies...

- Hanging with Grandma and Grandpa at the farm.

- The ROM.  The boys are allll about seeing cool stuff.  Museums are kind of the way to go here.

Strike a pose, Elliott!

- Bike rides, walks to the park, canoes, caves...

- Campfires!  S'mores.

- Running.  So. much. running.

- Swimming.  A fair amount of open-water swimming.  Zero indoor pool swimming!

- Biking.  Not nearly enough biking.

- Racing.  Ya.  Since I last posted about three races, I have done FOUR more.  I will get to those race reports.  Promise.

Summer is really the best.  I love having time to cuddle with the boys, listen to their antics, (with more than a moment to spare) make bigger breakfasts, hang in our jammies, stay up late, bbq, use up lots of sunscreen and bug spray, run in the daylight, and enjoy the longer days.

Needless to say, I am going to miss the carefree days of summer, when school begins, and we are back into that routine.  But, I am not going to say I didn't enjoy the summer to the fullest!

…more on the four races that happened soon!