Mississauga Half - Race Recap
So let me start this off my saying Iāve had a pretty stellar season. I took a rest from marathon training, and have been working with my coach to gain some speed and get comfortable running at a higher intensity. That work has paid off in spades, and Iāve clocked new 5K, 8K (Spring Run Off), half marathon and 30K PBs this season.Ā
I knew that streak couldnāt go on forever, but I was nevertheless bummed that the Mississauga Half didnāt go to plan yesterday.Ā
Hereās a first: I forgot to start my watch crossing the start line, and realized about 300 metres in. Once I got it going, I tried to settle in to find my pace. I spent the first 7K or so feeling good, knocking off kilometres in the 4:55-5:05 range which would have put me squarely within my goal time (1:45-1:47). We cruised through UTM and I kept trying not to think about the rising heat and stay calm/relaxed.
As the heat rose and we started hitting some rolling hills, hanging onto the pace was getting harder, and we climbed a hill around 11-12KM that felt harder than it should have. I keep trying to hang on and get my legs moving again, but I just couldnāt recover from that hill. I got to 15K and managed to knock about 20 seconds off my PB time for that distance, but it was pretty downhill from there.Ā
How is it that no matter the distance, the last 2K always feels like an eternity? I had forgotten how much weaving there is at the end of Mississauga, and I could see the 1:50 pace bunny gaining ground on me. When this happens, you have two decisions: you can embrace the pain and hang on for dear life (what I managed to do at Chilly Half earlier this season), or you can feel defeated and let it happen (what I really didnāt want to do, but what my mind ended up deciding on yesterday). I kept telling myself to keep moving and move my legs but they just werenāt listening. My 19K and 20K splits were 5:44 and 5:37 -- there are 40 seconds in there that if I had just kept moving, I would have squeaked in a new half-marathon best. Frustrating, but there will be more races. The lesson: donāt walk, donāt stop, just keep moving your legs because you never know how close you actually are to your goals. Stay relentlessly positive because once your mind decides youāre defeated, itās over.Ā
After I finished, I joined my fellow Rogue RunnersĀ at around the 40K mark to cheer the rest of our group (who were mostly doing the full). I havenāt often had the chance to cheer at races, so this was such a fun change of pace! It was amazing to see everyone giving it their all and to be able to help push them to the finish.Ā Ā
Next up: Ottawa 5K at the end of the month (weāll see about what the plan is there) and then Iāll be taking a much needed rest as I head to Europe on vacation for a few weeks. From there, New York Marathon training starts up, and Iāve big goals coming off this season for that race!Ā
