Not sure what happened here. The first km or so was slower since it's so crowded at the start but I got up to race pace no problem and held it well through 10k. I found the sun hot in the first 10 and my gloves and hat came off. When we turned toward the Bay the breeze was cool and pretty much just right for running.
It stayed really busy around us and by km 14-15 I could tell i was flagging my legs just weren't springy. I was thinking about quitting. This is a bad mental place to be when by the half way mark I was plotting my exit. It just seemed like the effort was too hard for the pace and a few spots I found it loud but there was nothing in particular wrong with me.

My running partner seemed to have good pep but we didn't talk much. I didn't mention that I was not feeling so hot and I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I finally copped to it as we were getting to Burlington and the hills. She pulled me through and our pace slowed. I managed to run all of the hills but something right as the 2km left sign came up made me stop to walk. I decided to walk to the next stoplight and immediately my heart raced a bit and then calmed down. Yikes. Anyway, a lady came by and encouraged me to run with her so that helped me pick it up and i ran it in.

Overall the time is good. I can't complain. I had hoped to be faster but obviously my fitness was lacking but I can't be an ingrate and be mad about this - it's only 4 minutes slower than last year and 15 seconds slower than two years ago!

Not sure. I followed the training plan I had used last year which led me to feel great and have lots of pep - lots of hills, tempo and speed. I know i had a bigger lay off late in 2010 but really I am guessing it just wasn't my day. The only thing I can think of is maybe doing the taper a bit differently.

I love finishing in Copps Coliseum. They do a great job of moving people through. Got my food, medal and gatorade and then went up to find my peeps.


Again, I can't point to any one thing. This winter was way harder to train. Perhaps I should have been less aggressive on pacing and goal finishing time given that I had a lay off at the end of 2010. Maybe i needed a longer taper since my one shin seemed a bit off - but it didn't bother me during the race.


This is a fantastic race and I highly recommend it. The only thing I would change is adding a corral system based on anticipated finish time. this race is WAY too big to have everyone all mixed up and the start is just crowded.