GoodLife Fitness Toronto Half Marathon - Run


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Toronto, Ontario
Canada
GoodLife Fitness Toronto Marathon
15C / 59F
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 59m 30s
Overall Rank = 1211/2958
Age Group = F35-39
Age Group Rank = 52/212
Pre-race routine:

I didn't do too much. My family came with to the start, including my 1-year old and 5 year old. I visited the porta potty and assessed how I felt.

I had done really well with training but just didn't feel that pep. I was hoping for some good training gains and my goal was to see what i had. I had done a half when my older child was about 8 months on less than ideal training and run a really great 1:54. But for this race I hadn't lost nearly the same amount of weight post baby and felt my pelvic floor needed some work. Nonetheless i had made it through training through an April with pretty bad weather. So, i wanted to see how fast i could go but for an actual time I wanted to get under 2 hours.
Event warmup:

No warm up.
Run
  • 1h 59m 30s
  • 21.1 kms
  • 05m 40s  min/km
Comments:

Well, i got my goal. This was hard. I had set out at an aggressive, faster than goal pace to see what I had. I was ahead of the 1:55 pace bunny until about the 14k mark. Then i really had to use the porta potty. I was starting to feel pretty fatigued and knew this was going to be a challenge. I was in and out of the toilet within about 2 minutes. Then i started to get that side stitch thing and i was thirsty.

At km 16 i grabbed water and gatorade and walked a bit to get them down. I was really battling with myself to keep going but Lisa Bentley was in my head saying a slow jog is better than walking. So i walked to the next light and picked it up again. I am happy to say i squeaked at 1:59:30. I was hoping to go faster but obviously that is outside my fitness at the moment and I am happy I tried.

The day was much warmer than my training but i did grab water for a few sips at most stops. I only skipping the one at the top of the Hogg's Hollow hill. I was way too out of breath to get water.
Back to km 16 i grabbed water and gatorade and walked a bit to get them down. I was really battling with myself but Lisa Bentley was in my head saying a slow jog is better than walking. So i walked to the next light and picked it up again. I am happy to say i squeaked at 1:59:30. I was hoping to go faster but obviously that is outside my fitness at the moment and I am happy I tried.
What would you do differently?:

I think I executed decently for my goals. I think it is mostly mental. I had the realization that I am just not fitness-wise even close to where I was after I had the first baby. I had baby 1 only 10 months after doing an ironman so there was lots of latent fitness. Not so much of that with baby 2. I have done lots and I am not out of shape by any means.

It is really about forgetting where I was and striving for what i can do today - so i did pretty well!
Post race
Warm down:

Walked pretty much right through the finisher area after getting food to find my family. There was reportedly beer at the finish line but I didn't see it. I found them after some walking.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Rebuilding fitness post-partum. I need to spend some time working on my core in particular.

Event comments:

I hadn't done the Toronto Marathon since it moved the Fall - and running down yonge st is pretty cool, but it is definitely definitely not flat. it's net downhill but there are still quite a few climbs.

It's a scenic race for Toronto (which tends to have everything down by the waterfront) - for me it is very convenient to get home. But the point to point aspect has its challenges




Last updated: 2018-04-26 12:00 AM
Running
01:59:30 | 21.1 kms | 05m 40s  min/km
Age Group: 52/212
Overall: 1211/2958
Performance: Good
Course: Point to Point. Starting in Mel Lastman Square in North York running 'down' Yonge St until Rosedale Valley Rd. Across the Bayview Extension and through some of downtown and finishing near the lake by the Exhibition grounds.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 2
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4