Chilly Half Marathon Race Report!

aka: TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK

This past Sunday was the 20th running of the Chilly Half Marathon in Burlington, Ontario. I had signed up right away after the race last year when the call was out for $50 registrations... or had I? 

So, it turns out, I HAD attempted to register, but my payment never went through. I ended up paying full price for the race. Good thing it was a good one! 

The plan was to go out with the 1:50 pace bunny and hold with them until the turn around 13.5k. From then, the thought was to pick it up if I was feeling good, or to stick with them until the end and then finish strong. This assumed a number of things: The pace bunny would be bang on pace (5:12/km), the weather would be good (no ice or snow or headwind), and that I'd actually, finally have a good race for the first time in over two and a half years.

Not too much to ask.

Flat macnic ready to roll on #halfmary 19!!! #chillyhalfmarathon #teamnuun #justrun #likeagirl

A photo posted by Nicole (@macnic05) on Mar 5, 2016 at 10:52am PST

I knew a few things going in: 1) Sam, Emma, Ivanka and I would start together, 2) I'd run with music, 3) I'd run this one for me and no one else (sorry Sam, Emma, and Ivanka). I was nervous going into this, my 19th half marathon and 49th (!!!) race. I wanted so, so, so badly to have a good race. One where I didn't shit the bed (literally or figuratively) as Sam says. I needed a race where my mind didn't break down on me either. To be honest, I knew in my heart of hearts that I could hold the damn pace - I'd been doing a lot of random 1 miles at this pace over my treadmill runs, but I didn't know if my mind could take it. Thus the music. Music is a huge mental help for me, something I needed to go back and remember. It was sad to not run and joke with Sam during the good parts as usual, but I'm confident she understood.

Let's roll! Half Marathon 19! Praying for a good feeling, #bqorbust paced run. #chillyhalfmarathon #teamnuun #justrun #likeagirl

A photo posted by Nicole (@macnic05) on Mar 6, 2016 at 4:29am PST

Race day dawned a bit colder than predicted. CRAP!!! Do I change my planned outfit? Will my sweet-ass PUMA Clash by Rhianna Tights hold up to the -1c? Maybe I should grab a heavier top? In the end, I stuck with what I had planned to wear, mainly because everything else was in the laundry and I wanted to wear those sweet, sweet tights, dammit. I ate my now typical pre-long run breakfast of plain oatmeal, made with water, topped with brown sugar and chased with a small apple juice. I tempted fate and had a small coffee. With the 10am start time, I figured I was good to go on the coffee. I grabbed a banana and some powerade to have while waiting. 

I met up with Sam and Ivanka right on cue at 8am and by 8:25 we were sitting in the theatre at the Performing Arts Centre waiting for the race to begin. Emma and her husband got there about 20 minutes later and we all checked bags, ate bananas, cued playlists and got race ready. 3 trips to the bathroom and two shoe removals for me (to warm up my feet!) and we were ready to hit the corrals.

Right away, we found the 1:50 pace bunnies. There were two! Both continuous! WooHoo! Then, they started talking about running at 5:16/km pace (wrong) and being told to race for gun time (wrong). Whatever, this race was for me - they'd be a good target and help to keep the pace in check for the first few KM. The gun went off and so did the bunnies and the five of us (Emma's husband started with us; poor guy was battling the end of a cold and it wasn't his day). The bunnies started quicker than 5:16 and even 5:12, but no worry. They were going for gun pace afterall and had about 45-60s to make up. I stayed right with them. Sam stayed right with me. Emma, Ivanka and Steve were all lost. 

I sang a few lyrics to Sam when good songs came through my playlist in the first 3k. I couldn't really hear her much, but it didn't matter. I was still taking the advice that Robin had provided before Ottawa last year and was conserving energy for running, not high-fiving and talking. After the turn, Sam said to me, "These guys [pace bunnies] are running too fast! We have to let them go." I agreed of course and tried to reel in the pace, but it was just one of those days where the pace came easy. 

5:08-5:10-5:08-5:08-5:05-5:08-5:06-5:07-5:07-5:12. 10k Total: 51:19 I'm not sure I've ever paced my own racing so well.

Smarter this time about what I needed to get through the race in terms of nutrition, I had decided to carry Powerade in my handheld. I also stopped at water stations and grabbed water quickly. I didn't take the time to walk through them in the first half and they had no effect on my overall pace. I coupled this with half a gel at 6k and the other half at 9k. Sam had been bugging me lately about nutrition and I figured that I would use this race to experiment a bit if nothing else. I continued to take water at each station and had a final and full GU gel at 14k. I felt great the entire time; my stomach did not complain once.

After 10k, the race gets interesting if you've run it before and know what to expect. You begin to anticipate the elites and faster runners coming at you as the course is an out and back. There isn't much spectator support running out east, but what I did notice this year was that the course, while basically flat, has enough small, small rollers to keep things interesting. Sometime before the turn, I realized that I had lost Sam at a water station. I figured she'd catch me eventually. I figured that if something bad had happened, she either 1) didn't tell me as she could see how in the zone I was, or 2) would have told me so I knew not to expect her. Sure enough, so caught me back up and told me promptly, "You're running way too fast! I've got a 4:40 here!" I reminded her that she would show a faster split as she was just running hard to catch me. That made sense to both of us (phew) and we continued on. I was so in the zone.

The turn around came and none too soon; I needed to get there for my mental game. It had been super strong thus far with nothing threatening it, but making the turn at 13.5k means that you can count down the rest of the race and force yourself to stay on pace dammit-its-only-eight-k-more. Sam's husband was at the turnaround and she dropped off her water bottle to him and I said "Hi." We saw Emma shortly after the turn (yay, looking good) and could still see the 1:50 guys ahead of us. They must have settled in to about a 5:05/km pace based on the gap. 

Right around here, we also came up to a kind of unofficial pace group. There was a clear leader (a tall blonde in a pink coat) and a clear group running with her. She was telling the group that they were perfectly on pace and that the plan was to hold on for these next 8k. Seeing her face and hearing her voice made me realize that it was Michelle. I asked her what the pace they were holding at was, "5:12-5:16" Perfect. We had enough time banked to hang with them. "Sam, let's stay with this group. This is Michelle. She's a track Super-Star."

Michelle, though smiling, was puzzled - "How do you... how do I...?" "Instagram" I managed to breath out. And then I left Sam and Michelle to chat about ages and BQs and I just followed. Ah, the beauty of a pacer running the speed they say and you just hanging on.

We had picked up a slight headwind after the turn, but it died down quickly (or I got used to it). I was happy to have my vest after hating my life with the tailwind on the way out (where I was super hot). My mental ability threatened starting at 16k, but I held firm. I WAS doing this today. I WAS not failing. I WOULDN'T let myself down. And so I ran. I took the final water station with a bit of a walk, but nothing lost - the KMs were still coming well within target, if not so even. 

5:07-5:08-5:15-5:08-5:13-5:12-5:11-5:08-5:07, Total 11-19k: 46:29

As we came up to the 20th kilometre, Sam began to separate from the pace group. She veered over to the north side of the road as I did. I was behind her, but clearly saw what she was doing. She was making sure she didn't lose me when I made my way over to hit the 20k route marker (Every half. Always). Cheerleader by OMI was blasting in my ears and Sam was in full on cheerleader mode. "Let's go, Let's go!! C'mon!!!" Oh God, Sam my legs are lead, but I'm going as fast as I can. I'm not going to stop. I AM going to do this. We are going sub 1:50. We have time. 

20 was my slowest kilometre of the bunch at 5:21. There was nothing here to slow me down... no hill or even slight rise, so I don't know why I slowed so much. I kept chasing Sam though. As always, I was chasing Sam to the end. 

Let's go!!! RUN!!! Let's GOOOOOO!!! Jackman Styles!!!! 

KM 21: 5:09

And I'm thinking 800m, 2x around the track.You got it, you got it. Saw Hi to Mari for me Sam. (Mari was at Brant and Lakeshore). 

I'm pushing and Sam goes (as she does, damn finish kick). I see Mari and give her my only high-five of this race because I'm hitting all God-damned goals today and I'm feeling amazing. I hit Brant and see the crowd. And I run straight down the middle, watching Sam finish 5 seconds ahead of me and I wave my arms up and down, "Make some noise crowd! Celebrate me!!!" I even pulled a Usain Bolt move (I was in PUMA after all). And I cross the finish line and Sam tackles me and I know, this is what I needed. These people, these friends, this work. This is why I race. And this, this is the road to BQ. I know it.

BOOM!!! Second fastest half EVER! #chillyhalfmarathon #teamnuun #instarunners #bqorbust #justrun #likeagirl

A photo posted by Nicole (@macnic05) on Mar 6, 2016 at 9:14am PST

Gun: 1:50:32

Chip: 1:49:20 

Place: 749/2233

Gender: 213/1159

F35-39: 32/156

Update! Weeks 8 & 9 and Chilly Goals!

Hello... is this thing on? Sorry, I've been MIA, which usually happens when work gets crazy. And its been two weeks of full  on crazy, but we had our first big presentation yesterday and whew, it went well. So now I have a few down days before I get right back into revisions for the next round (advertising - all glamour!)

I've never seen an episode

So, how did the weeks go? Pretty okay. I missed some distance, but not the long runs, which are key. I actually fit all of my runs in last week including a 23k Tuesday run (spread over two runs!)

That's right, you even seen one trainer session in each week.

Week 8 I managed to run 6x100m run on the Monday and  noped the nope out of any other work for the week. The week did end well with a 30k run along the Around the Bay route with Sam (for 18k) and Emma (for the entire run), and then tacked on 2k to hit my first 20 miler of  the  training plan. It was a tough run (what with the elevation changes and distance), but I'm super  happy to have put the distance behind me, even if I was a bit delirious by the end.

You know you're hungry when, nearing the end of your run, you read "No fries..." #justrun #likeagirl

A photo posted by Nicole (@macnic05) on Feb 20, 2016 at 7:59am PST

Emma waited for me to jog out to the pier and take photos finish my run so that  we could  get a post-run selfie together and bask in our awesomeness. I was shocked when I loaded the splits and  saw just how amazingly consistent they were for the last half of the run (all in the 5:30s/km - go us!).

Week 9 was planned as a huge week: 69km with a 23k run on Tuesday and 26k with 19k at pace on Saturday. Thankfully, Sam became the voice of reason, asking why we'd run race pace the week before an actual race that  we were all planning on ... racing? Whew! With that settled, I tacked the week of long work and long runs and hit all of  my distance and a bike ride! The long runs and long work hours meant far too many of these:

Planning season. Death by mini eggs. #media #justanotherdamndayinadvertising

A photo posted by Nicole (@macnic05) on Feb 25, 2016 at 10:41am PST

Its never a good thing to work a 7 minute walk from a Bulk Barn.

With the weekend long run clear to run easy, Sam decided that she'd plan a hell run, her favourite route which meant all of the Around the Bay Northshore Hills and then more hills followed by other hills after that. And one super sweet downhill. I wasn't feeling the run from the second I woke up, but I did my best to keep up with the girls and they were awesome about waiting for me to crest the hills and in the end, I felt great for having put the mileage in.

It will make me stronger

26k on Northshore and Hillsdale today with these Chiquita bananas. We're coming for ya #atb2016

A photo posted by Sam J (@sammykaye71) on Feb 27, 2016 at 7:12am PST

Everyweek, Sam #doesitfortheinsta

So, two good weeks, building base, if not speed. I was on the treadmill a few times in those weeks, so that does mean I was running some speed within those, but no tempo or anything. That is something that will come back next week. For this week, the goal is the nail the Chilly Half Marathon.

This will be my fifth running of the race. I PB'd my first race here and have always enjoyed  the run despite varied conditions. I've decided to go out with the 1:50 pacer and the goal is to come in at 1:49xx. This is faster than I need to run to qualify for the Boston Marathon and if I manage to nail it, it will be a huge mental boost. Besides, Emma is looking to PB at sub 1:51:19 (and I was part  of that!) and I want to do my best to help her get there. I know she can do it and I know I can too. Sunday will tell! See you on the flip side with the race report!

Chilly Half Marathon: The Plan

This Sunday, I will run the Chilly Half Marathon for the fourth year in a row!

This race has great memories for me. It was my third half marathon back in 2012, even though it was "just" a training run on the path to my first marathon. 2012 brought me a PB and so did the 2013 edition. Finally, last year, I battled PF, but still finished with Emma and celebrated as she ran her way to a small PB.

I've always loved this race! How can you not? Its a fast and flat out and back race and when you're finished, the bars open to offer free chili and beer to the racers! Win, Win!

This year, the goals are different. Or, as Phaedra has noted, "this is NOT your A race."

So, she's given me a plan, based solely on time per KM. The plan is to stick to the plan. Sam's game to come along for the ride.

We'll go out and aim to hit 5:08/km as fast as possible (the beginning is always a bit of a cluster nightmare until about 3k) and then the effort should be smooth and easy all the way past the turn at 14k and then at 16k, we're supposed to pick it up and hit 5:05/km for the last five. Hopefully, we'll be feeling good enough to hit a bit faster in the last couple of KM. I've toyed with the idea of suggesting we race up the chute, but I know Sam will beat me, so instead, I'll settle for another (and better) finishing photo:

Road2Hope, 2014

See you on the flip side! If all goes well, the final time should be somewhere under 1:48! Not bad at all!

Oh hey, that running update....

Right! I said I'd be back with a running update.

Um, better late than never?

(everything lately is crazy busy... work, kids, life... I'm also doing workouts 5-6x a week, so ya. Its busy).

Anyway, I decided that there will be no PB attempt this fall.

At times I'm okay with that as the larger goal is to qualify for Boston next May at the Ottawa Marathon. Then, I see my friends getting faster and foresee their awesome PBs during fall races and I get sad.

The reality is that my foot is still not 100% and I'm only running 3x a week. I've lost my speed and have even lost the desire to train for speed (though guilt gets to me and about every week and a half I put in a solid speed session!)

4k at BQ pace

Now, the goal for the Oakville Half Marathon is to either pace Emma to a sub 1:50 PB or to just run one myself (basically, run a pure BQ paced half). Depending on weather, my sub 1:45:56 will have to come during Chilly next March.

I've still put in some solid and tough long distance runs though, included a post work Midsummer Night's Run test which didn't result in pacer pace, but did show me that I need more sleep and better food before attempting to go that long that late in the day.

I hit Bell School Line with Jamie finally and that was also a very tough run due to the elevation, but also because my nutrition was not on point. The views were lovely though.

Even Jamie's ass kicking mine up that hill

It hasn't been all bad though. Last Saturday, I hit 10k alone and 14k with Bridgett and managed pacer pace, no boinking and on point fueling. I hope the same happens tonight because A Midsummer's Night Run happens in six hours and I want to redeem myself from last year, pace a perfect race and have fun along the way (despite the likely rain).

The outfit remains the same.

I may have to include arm sleeves as its cold.
I also have yellow calf sleeves now

Goal is simple: Run the 30k in 2:59:XX. Make people laugh. Enjoy the privilege of pacing another race.

See you on the flip side.

Chilly Half Marathon Race Report!

This past weekend was the 19th annual Chilly Half Marathon in Burlington, Ontario! This would be my third year running the race and the first year I wasn't planning to go for a PB. As discussed I wasn't ready to try and beat my Hamilton time and I've been having problems with plantar fasciitis. So, the plan came together for Sam and I to pace Emma to a new PB of 1:50!

Then we woke up and it had snowed 10cm overnight and it was -14c (-20c with the windchill). PERFECT racing weather!

Meeting up and heading to bag check, Sam and I kept it on the down low and decided that Emma had to make the call. Sam's PF was a lot worst than mine and she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep up, but I felt confident despite the fact that I had also woken up with a sore throat and runny nose

Performance Enhancers? 

Emma was keen to at least try to go for it at the start, so we lined up right with the 1:50 pacer and enjoyed the fact that the crowd kept us warm. We ended up with Richard and his friend Robert as well. Then, they started playing the George Michael hit, Freedom and Sam and I HAD to sing along. Man, it was great for a laugh:

Freedom! I won't let you down! Freedom! Please don't give me up!

Okay, okay, time to go!

KM 1-7: This feels good. 7k to the turn.

So we were off. It was crowded of course, but not too bad. I was surprised when the 1:50 pacer didn't take off more quickly, but we stuck with him and didn't worry too much. We were quickly down Brant and heading west on Lakeshore toward Northshore and behind the hospital. The footing was a whole lot better than expected and I kept asking Emma how her calf was. She assured me it was fine. Sam, Richard and Robert were all around, but I focused mainly on Emma. Before we knew it, the leaders were coming back up Northshore and I knew were were close to the 3k turn and the climb back to Lakeshore East. I took water at the station. Or, I guess I should say I took ice-chips. I am thankful that the day was so cold because I barely had anything to drink at all for the entire race. Every cup of water was loaded with ice chips (nothing the water stations could do in -14) and I was worried about choking. Around this time, I realized that Emma was a touch behind me, but no worries. Sam was a touch further back, but I didn't worry about her at all. Her foot was bad and I knew she'd stick with us if she could. By this time, we were back on Lakeshore heading east and I was ahead of the pacer. I saw Richard and asked if he knew were Emma was as I couldn't see her any longer. He assured me she was right behind us. He took off ahead and I kept checking, but lost sight of Emma. At this point, I was thinking, Sweet, 7k to the turn. I've got this.

5:20-5:07-5:08-5:11-5:15-5:09-5:09, total time: 36:19, pace band (1:50): 36:29

KM 8-14: I will wait, I will wait for you!

I've got to say in this stretch, I wasn't sure if I was going to find anyone again. It didn't get me down though, not at all. Of course there is always a group you end up with and pace with and I stuck with that. I was feeling really good. I wasn't pushing myself to hit under 5:10s/km because I was still holding out hope that I wasn't that far in front of Emma or Sam and I knew we had the turn at 13-14km to make a final decision on how hard I'd push if I didn't see them. Instead, I started looking for leaders and it seemed a very long time before they started coming back toward me. I guess its because I was running a bit faster this year. I also was running with no music at all. This is not the first time I've run a race without music, but this is the first time I've run in a race totally alone without music. Nothing was bothering me though. I was feeling just fine.

Still singing Freedom?

It was fun to see the leaders. I saw DM friend, Mike along with Kenny and Phaedra looking so super strong coming back west. I took a GU at 10k with a few ice chips and was excited about the possibilities in the last half of the race had. Right before the turn, I got swallowed by the 1:50 pace group and as I turned around, I saw Emma. I'm waiting for you, Emma, I said. Catch me.

5:09-5:16-5:16-5:16-5:07-5:17-5:23, split 36:44, total time: 1:13:03, pace band: 1:12:59

KM 15-21.1: MOVE! Your f**king legs are longer than mine!

As soon as Emma caught me, I asked what pace she was targeting. Her answer was none. She was running by feel. I cursed myself for not knowing her exact PB, because I knew it was 1:51:xx, and I wanted to ensure she got the PB no matter what. She hooked onto my left shoulder and I had to keep myself under control so that I didn't pull away from her again (aside, this makes me very happy about the state of my training in light of the fact that I want to qualify for Boston in two months). We were in contact with the 1:50 pace groups (there were two), but slowly they started to pull away. I knew if we could see them, we'd get Emma a nice PB, but I didn't say anything to her. She was in the zone. When I saw her look at her watch I told her, You don't worry about that bullshit. That's what I'll do. I feel like Emma understood that I had lots left in my legs and that all she had to do was to stay with me. With three kilometers to go, I told her to just hang on. She was fading a bit and I yelled, Put on your Eminem or something and LET'S GO!!! (Even though he's my running/music boyfriend).

19k and I'm looking for that 20k sign. As you may know, I always hit that sign. I did it in my first half marathon and have never done any different since. There was a photographer here and we tried to get a good photo together, but um... well...

Me: PhotoOpp! #runnerd!
Emma: OMFG, I hate you, Nicole

Boom! I detour over the the side of the road and onto the sidewalk to hit the 20k sign. I hear a lot of cheers at that (You go, girl!) and boom, back to Emma and I'm talking now. Let's go, Emma. You've got this. YOU'VE. GOT. THIS. Twice around the track! That's it! (cue horrified groans from those around us). And then we're turning up Brant and the crowds have expanded and we can see the finish line.

Let's go, Emma! You've got this.

RUN! MOVE!!! YOU'RE F**CKING LEGS ARE LONGER THAN MINE!!! (that got some huge crowd laughter. What the crowd didn't know is that yelling so hard caused me to pee my pants. Um. More than a little bit. Yay for those post baby treats!).

And she's pushing and I'm falling in behind her and we're crossing the line to the end.

5:22-5:14-5:22-5:19-5:30-5:23-5:16-0:51 (5:07 pace), split: 41:33, total time: 1:51:20, pace band: 1:50:00


So? Was it a PB? Did Emma do it? She didn't know! HA! She couldn't remember her time at Hamilton either. But soon enough, we knew - she gained a 5 second PB on a much tougher course (and conditions!) and I'm thrilled I was able to be there to see it! We caught up with Peter right at the end, who waited for us despite the fact that he finished in 1:37 and was pretty much ready to audition to play Olaf, Jr in Frozen 2. We waited for Sam who came in under two hours despite a bad bout of PF and not the best day. Then we went to get our free chili and beer with Richard and Robert.

As for me, this race quieted some nerves about my goals for a sub 3:40 marathon in May. With my PF injury and running indoors so often, I had no idea how I'd fare racing. This race set me up to feel good. I'll likely use it and the next few weeks to make a final decision on what I'm going to do for Around the Bay which will be the true and final test before Mississauga.

One thing I can recommend, if the race isn't going to be a personal best effort, run it with friends and have fun with it. To me, racing is always worth it, but racing with friends is special indeed.

Chip: 1:51:19
Gun: 1:52:13
Place: 684/2172
W35-39: 33/179

Chilly Half Marathon Goals

Well, the bib numbers have been posted (1569) and so its time to post about my goals for the upcoming Chilly Half Marathon on Sunday March 2nd.

Originally, the plan here was to run it fast and finally claim that pure 1:45 for both Sam and I. I've PR'd on the course the past two years and I really enjoy the nature of the course a lot.

The course starts in downtown Burlington on Brant, goes out west on Lakeshore, behind Joseph Brant hospital before turning around to head east along Lakeshore to Burloak. At that point, we turn around again (this is about 12k in) and head back to Brant and across the finish line. Last year I executed an almost perfect negative split race when I felt so good and was able to pick up the pace to catch Sam and Phil by 18k. It makes sense that the plan to go sub 1:45:56 and PR was what propelled me to sign up in the first place for the 2014 edition.

Then, enter The Polar Vortex: Winter of Doom and its sequel, Plantar Fasciitis: The Battle for Dominance. While training actually hasn't been derailed by either (I've stuck to the treadmill to deal with the winter and have only skipped a few pace workouts), I still don't feel like I'm in the shape I was in back in November to be able to give this race a proper go at a PR.

I'm resigned to the fact that I won't three-peat at Chilly. I'm comforted by the fact that the real goal race is the Mississauga Marathon ( a mere 65 days away!). So, I decided to race this half marathon as a true test and to do so with friends.

The decision was made after I was creeping reading Emma's blog and noticed that she was just shy of a 1:50 half marathon PR. If I'm at 1:50 at the half way point of Mississauga, I'll be running the slowest I possibly can and still hit my Boston Qualification time of 3:40. Seems like a good time to test how easy 1:50 held steady, feels. Plus, Sam said she'd also start with us. Of course everyone is all, "Depending on the weather. Depending on my PF."

I'm just going to ignore my still phlegmy lungs (yes, this never went away when my lung infection did in October).

I'm going to ignore this:

And I'm going to hope that the improvement I'm seeing in my foot is really in my foot and not in my head.

And I hope that I can return next week with a tale of easy running and PR glory (for Emma).

A Goal: 1:50 or better

B Goal: Race smart (e.g. don't mess up my foot any more!)

C Goal: Have fun. #alltheracephotorunnerdposes

D Goal (You all know this one): Don't crap my pants!

See y'all after the race.