Army run

I was really happy to learn that the Canadian Army was getting its own showcase run. And they really did a great job with it--kudos to everyone who worked on it, the army, organizers, and the volunteers. It sold out and went very smoothly.

I was going to carry my husband's bib and chip, I guess (hadn’t really thought it through), but my brother decided he wanted a stab at a half, and he did well. My mother ran the 5K. We all wore t-shirts with my husband’s picture printed on the back. Admittedly, I wasn’t thrilled about wearing cotton, but I wanted to do this for my husband, and cutting off the sleeves seemed to do the trick. I felt a bit warm at times but didn’t chafe.

I also hoped for a PB. I'm in good shape and I figured that thinking of my husband would give me more mental strength. We are stronger when we think of our loved ones. I held my paceband in my hand and forgot about it, but remembered the months. The faster I got through each one, the faster this deployment would end. Something like that!

I had my Garmin too...and I actually remembered to start it! Stopping it was another matter, though...at any rate, I knew my goal pace would result in a just-under 1:45 finish...there was no 1:40 bunny and I got through the crowd and then saw I was too close to the 1:35 rabbit...so I edged back until it got too crowded, just ahead of the 1:45 bunny. I thought that maybe it would be better to go behind him for a bit to warm up (I jogged maybe a few minutes, but that was all), but I didn’t want to manoeuvre any more.

The start was great—they fired a cannon! And we were off. I had looked at the route beforehand and figured I’d just coast for the first six-ish miles, and then there would be the only sizeable hill, an overpass. The first mile was iffy—I tried not to weave too much, but some people were seeded too far ahead, but that’s normal for most races. It wasn’t too bad although I didn’t like getting into a groove and then having to slow down umpteen times. My first mile was 7:51, though...I was prepared for something above 8:00 until I was warmed up, so I freaked out a little.
However, I thought about it—I was feeling fine, I was relaxed, I was in good shape, I was barely breathing, the weather was decent, I wasn’t trying to pass people, but I couldn’t let them slow me down too much...and I had to get used to seeing 7s. I’ve seen plenty of 7s this summer, and 6s with mile repeats—ENOUGH OF THE 8s. Dang it, I was going to run through my husband’s deployment as well as I could. This was it.

So I hung on. After 3 or so miles, I got a bit of my right hip glitch, but I straightened my form and loosened up, and that was that. The first five miles were fine. I got through June 2008, July, August, Sept, and October...that was a thrill to be nearly done with 2008. There was still a bit of passing, me passing other people and people passing me, but things thinned out after a couple of miles. Oh, and the 1:45 pace bunny passed me around mile 3 or 4, which was a bit of a shock. I felt crappy for about a minute then I looked at my Garmin and realized that he was probably going by gun time, or banking time. I just kept going like I was, and after a while, I passed him....ran alongside for a bit then I gradually pulled away, I guess. I wasn’t especially trying to, but that was nice.

The overpass was coming up...first there was a bit of an out and back, and it had a bend in it that was a surprise. Bummer! I felt momentarily crappy about that, but then reminded myself that I was already in November or December (forget where I was exactly), and that got me through the bend. Then there was the overpass, but it wasn’t bad. The thing about not-too-steep hills is that leaning into them gives other muscles a bit of a break.

At that point, some guy passed me and, seeing my tshirt, said he’d think of my husband. That was really nice of him, and that got me over the rest of the bridge. I was starting to feel too warm around here, but then the wind picked up and I didn’t really think about feeling too hot after that, though I wasn’t as comfortable as I am in cooler weather. The temps at the start were 9C and they got up to 12, I think, so it was pretty good. It could’ve been a lot worse.

Then we were off the overpass and it was new territory, sort of...I’d never run on this particular stretch of road before, and I knew that there would soon be a bit of a loop on the Experimental farm, too, which I wasn’t sure would help mentally. I guess it was around this time that thinking of the months really helped. Whenever my Garmin beeped for the mile, I would think of the new month, and after a while, this gave me this strange sort of chill/boost I sometimes get, when I sort of feel emotional but also suddenly devoid of fatigue (which then gradually builds up again). I so want to be in January 2009, or March, or whenever: this is the 2nd year long Iraq deployment my husband has gone through since we’ve been together, and while the first one was harder in many ways for him (and, thus, I), this time, he was also away for the 3 months prior to it. He's been away long enough, dang it!!!! Enough!! But, that’s how it is, and far better that he went through the training than not. Anyway, I started to feel sort of tired around mile eight, or January 2009, and then I went into the loop and realized that I would be out of it around mile nine, and it was actually pretty nice.

And mile nine meant that, roughly, there was less than 4 miles to go! (well, not quite, but that’s how I think)...at this point, though I wasn’t out of breath, or really fatigued, I was starting to drift slower, but I’d pick myself up and think, March, March, April, April, lol, soon I’ll get to see my husband. I guess after around mile 7 or 8, I was with the same couple of guys, and they’d drift ahead, then I would....for a while, there was someone else who was breathing pretty hard and who seemed to drift towards me too much and I had to veer away a few times, but I eventually lost him around mile 10, thank goodness.

Mile eleven was back to familiar territory, by the Canal. Now, in the past, mile 11 has been my worst for halfs—long enough to be tired, not close enough to the finish—but somehow, I was thinking it was mile 10 until I was more than halfway through it. I realized that mile 11 wasn’t going to be an issue, and that helped a lot. Only less than 3 miles to go!

Around 17K, I started to feel tired again, but I realized, hey, less than 20 minutes to go!! And then I realized that, if I hung on, I would bust 8 min/mile, and I got another chill/boost. And then, it was 2 miles to go and less than 15 minutes to go...sort of. That’s what I thought at the time, but it would have been more than that, but it cheered me up and I forgot to look at my time anyway. I didn’t look at the timer much...I looked at the auto laps whenever it dinged, and I noticed that, somewhere just beyond ten miles, that I’d PBed for that distance, but I was in pretty good shape and not hanging onto the timer yet.

I got more tired. I wasn’t the only one: others around me, including the two guys I was sort of leapfrogging, were starting to drift slower and I was too. Around the same time, a couple whom I’d never seen before breezed past, so I decided to trail them. It was May 2009! I could do it! Well, I didn’t quite hang on, but I got through the end of mile 12 at a better clip, and then I was in my old neighbourhood, Centretown...my turf.

I was pretty tired: I wasn’t out of breath, and my legs were ok, and I felt like I could run for longer, but more slowly. Usually I feel this around mile 11, but here was mile 13, and less and less to go—I had to hang in there. And that got really easy all of a sudden—I knew that, unless I tripped, I was good to go, and I looked around a bit and decided to enjoy it...without slowing down, of course.

We got through the big bend of the Canal and then I knew it would be just a few more minutes. Then I could see my old high school and other landmarks nearby....last time I ran down this stretch in a race, I was counting down lampposts and feeling like death warmed over, but I was in better shape and actually passing some people. I also saw some of Long's runners cheering us on—that was cool. I had been thinking of my husband pretty regularly, especially seeing him after this danged deployment; at this time, though I wondered if he was running then too, at that moment. Well, turns out he wasn’t, but seeing the finish line made me wonder about his race. I think, somewhere in the back of my head, I had convinced myself that getting through the months meant that I would see him then and there at the finish. LOL

Near the end, a woman thanked me for pacing her—she said she had been following me for most of the race. I actually recognized her—or her waterbottle at her back, lol—she’d been ahead of me around the out-and-back around mile six and then I’d lost sight of her. We introduced ourselves and then she told me to sprint us in. I didn’t have much sprint in me, but we picked it up. I heard my mom call my name somewhere in the last minute, and then I was over the mat and feeling like crap all of a sudden. It wasn’t bad; I usually feel like this and I bend down at the end of races. They say not to do this, but it feels so good. A few seconds, and things were settling back to normal. I got my chip cut off, got my medal—a dog tag, cool!—and I talked with my race pal and we congratulated each other, and then remembered to stop my Garmin. Duh!
It read 1:43:09, though, so I knew that I had beat the 8s overall. . I knew I was doing that during the race, but didn't want to count my chickens too early. or chicks. or whatever.

Mile splits:
1/ 7:51
2/7:44
3/7:40
4/7:38
5/7:42
6/7:44
7/7:42
8/7:47
9/7:48
10/7:33
11/7:31
12/7:40
13/7:28
.1/3:17 (lol)

Afterward, I ate about 2 bananas, met up with my mom, but failed to link up with my brother or most of the people I was hoping to see. I hung around the finish line to cheer, and then wandered around...I hope everyone else had as good a race as I had. I’m really really happy about it. It’s more than 6 minutes off my previous PB, and a really good confidence boost. Looks like slacking on easy run pace hasn't hurt me any. As for the BQ...I need a 3:40. My chances look good for Philly, knock wood. My gun time today was 1:41:19.

Anyway, my husband phoned while I was typing the above paragraph. It’s been 2 or 3 weeks since we’ve last talked, and it was swell to touch base. It sure has been a great day. He’s hoping to do his army run tomorrow.