I am Woman, hear me wake up tooooo early

About a million years ago (ok, last Fall), I promised myself I would run more, and get faster.

Fast forward to now. Nope and nope.

This Sunday I am running the inaugural Nike Women's 15k on Toronto Island. 
Have I trained? Nope. Do I have a plan? Nope.

So what ya gonna do?  You get your race kit (what's with the PEACH shirt?), you google a parking spot that isn't more than the rent on your first Toronto apartment, and you pick a running outfit. 

For some crazy reason, in the actual race information they are telling us to WEAR the shirt on race day. Now normally I would not do that (you gotta earn it and all), but heck, maybe they will take more photos of me if I'm in their swag (mental note, run in Nike shoes/socks).
For those of you who collect them, the skirt is called 'Disco' from Sparkle Skirts .  It's got shorts that never ride up, built in pockets AND it's still possible to run in it when it's soaking wet!

Looks likely that I'll be up at 5AM, and on the road to run with a coffee in one hand and a credit card in the other (parking AND swag).  Did I mention that the Molson Indy is in town and there's road closures AND that I have to take a ferry to the Island run, so I can't just lollygag around and arrive at the last minute?

I'm actually looking forward to this event, and trying to keep a very open mind about it, despite the Facebook comments about other Nike events.  I'm going to hope for the best.....and hope that the 'wrinkles' are ironed out. There's been races held on the Island before, and I've heard horrible things about them (overcrowding, impossible to get on/off the island, tourists ON the course).

 So for now I will pick outfits, load playlists, charge electronics and pack my ferry ticket.

It's a lot of work for a Tiffany necklace, but you can bet I am going to run my ass off to earn one!

more to follow.....









RACE DAY........

I don't know about 'anything', but if you lay your clothes out the night before, you can manage to dress yourself.  I was second guessing my run jacket, and the Stoney Creek Run Club sweater, and the second pair of shoes, but figured what the heck, I'm driving, stuff it in the car, think about it later.

Sometimes I use my OCD for good instead of evil, so I've already picked out a parking lot that isn't $25 (turns out at the end of the day to be $8, which is cheaper than the two coffees I bought).

Since I can't be late even if I try, I'm downtown an HOUR before my ferry departure time.  There's volunteers posted on every block, every corner, approaching anyone who looks confused and directing them.  They even knew where to find the nearest Tim Hortons. 

I wandered around, considered breaking into the Village store to get the finisher's gear (which goes on sale WHILE I'm on the Island and I'm paranoid I'll miss out).

The signage was so clear and easy to follow, I was in the right ferry line 30 min ahead just like they asked, and we departed 10 minutes early too!  (love).

Turns out I need the sweater, it's windy and chilly, especially on the ferry.

Arrived on the Island to even MORE signage, and volunteers pointing us to the staging area. Of course it starts to rain, so off goes the sweater, on goes the running jacket and I find the (covered!!!) gear check and not only do they efficiently stow my gear, they give me a rain poncho!!

My only confusion was finding the start corrals, but instead of asking (easier) I followed the herd (harder) and ended up there.  The downside to a race with 10000 people on an island is that to start on time we all have to arrive early - like for some people three hours early.  Ewwww.  One time that being a back-of-the pack is a win, I'm on Island about an hour before the race start.

I've spent time on Toronto Island but never like we did today. Getting to run on the runway at Billy Bishop Airport was awesome.  The course was so well marked you could not get lost if you tried. Despite being slower than most I never ran alone, there were always people nearby. It was more of a celebration than a flat-out race, with groups pausing to take photos with the Toronto skyline in the background or the planes on the tarmac. 

Even the folks who call the Islands their home came out to cheer us on.  It was great to know that they didn't mind a bunch of wet, sweaty people stomping down their streets, and it was so beautiful to run alongside the amazing homes. Seeing the 'residential' areas really brings home that this is where people live, year round, with the City as their view.

 It rained off and on (more on, sadly) but I was amazed at the fact that there were photographers EVERYWHERE.  In the rain, for the folks at the back of the pack, they were there, and cheerful, and encouraging.  Speaking of which, so was every volunteer whose frozen cold hand I high-fived as I passed.  Normally by the time I run by there's a lonely water station with like 2 cups and a guy packing traffic cones into a van.  Nope, not today.

The only parts I wasn't thrilled with were running on muddy grass and the boardwalk. Both surfaces made me hope I wasn't going to pick that moment to sprain something, or slip right onto my bad knee and end the day right there.

The poncho came in super handy as the rain beat down and my soaking wet hat almost gave up trying to keep me dry.  What's funny is you can tell from the photos if it was raining hard or not, as my outfits keep changing.

I saw a young woman in a wheelchair at several points on the course, she passed me more than once.  She pushed herself through the mud, the mulched up grass, all the uneven terrain and even up a slick, steep wooden bridge TWICE.  I asked if she needed help just before the steepest part of the bridge, as the pouring rain and incline made it really look difficult . She very politley and firmly said 'Don't you DARE'.  I have to say watching her determination made me feel a little less whiny about my soaking wet shoes and blistered feet.

I ran 10:1s for pretty much the entire time, except the boardwalk and the super muddy grass, and noticed signs along the route that told runners if they reached that area at/after a certain time their race would be cut short.  I remember reading that the hard cut off was 1:10 pm, but wondered if the people who were 'short turned' would get the finishers pendant and a time?  There were timing mats all over the place, recording our splits, so I bet that keep cheating at a minimum.

The finish line was around a corner, which was funny. because it felt like it kept moving into the distance like a mirage.  When I finally crossed it (screaming of course), there were a half dozen photographers ready for me.

Full disclosure, from the day before I raced until about 1pm Sunday I was obsessed with making it back to the Village in time to purchase some Finisher's gear.  Beats me why...I'd already shelled out for the race, the parking, the gas...did I 'need' more stuff? YES YES of course.

So down the finish chute it went, grabbing water, snacks, and (finally!) my Tiffany necklace in its adorable blue box.  I realized afterward why they don't put them around your neck as other races do with their medals.

I would have taken time to stop and snap photos in the cool 'frames' set up, but it was raining, I was beyond wet, and I had a date with a Ferry to the mainland to shop.  Collecting my gear was a snap, and the line to board the ferry practically reached the gear check when I joined it.  There were signs (like at Disneyworld - saying 'wait is 160 minutes from this point').  I was too tired to calculate, luckily all the wet people around me were doing the math aloud, worried about missing hotel check out times and flights home.  

Stiff, sore and unable to stretch in the crowd, I figured I'd make the best of it and mowed down the entire bag of post-race snack (even the coconut Kind bar), and an entire bottle of water.

Like many things about this race, the ferry was super efficient and we were on WAY faster than the wait time indicated. I have to say that seeing the president of the ferry line on the news talking about the crowds from this weekend I give them huge kudos for the way they handled it.  They aren't magic carpets, if everyone tried to leave at the same time, there's no way we'd ever fit.  Nike gave priority boarding to racers coming over, which was brilliant, no offence to the tourists, but they had all day to get over to the Island :-). Sadly we had to return with the racers, THEIR spectators, the tourists and anyone else headed back. 

I got off the ferry as fast as my blistered feet would take me, and hobbled to the Village to shop, dodging people like a game of Frogger, a sore woman on a mission.  

Entering the pavilion I was met with a gauntlet of cheering, high-fiving staff, who acted like I was the first (and most awesome) person to come through the door all day...it was so neat.

Finding the Finishers gear was easy....luckily I think I arrived right before a huge wave of runners. First rule of shopping is 'grab it and hold onto it and THEN ponder buying it'.  Failed that because I neglected to pick a bright pink 1/4 zip that said FINISHER on the back, and grabbed a black one that didn't instead.  AAAAAAA. Must.buy.all.the.things.  

A little 'retail' voice said 'check the change room for people's discarded sweaters.  BINGO, it's a XXL but heck, I'll survive.  And all the staff are great too, you'd think they'd been trained to treat each sweaty, soaking wet one of us like we were special :-).

Did I mention you have to show your race bib to by finisher's merch? LOVE LOVE LOVE that.....

So I got a shirt ('cause that peach one is history), the nifty zip sweater, (which was SO much nicer and warmer than my soaking wet running jacket) and headed out to the car to drive home.  Could not resist opening the Tiffany box once I was safely in the car.  The necklace is so delicate my pruny fingers could hardly fasten it. No wonder they don't put them ON ever single finisher then and there....we'd be on the Island all night :-).

Normally I have a thing about not running races twice....I'm a 'one and done' kind of girl.  I've made exceptions for the Around the Bay because it's in my home town, and the Midsummer Night's Run because I like the course and the medal rocks.

I have to say that the Nike Women's 15K is now on that rare list of races I'd do again.  For an Inagural year I was expecting issues, things that didn't work, crowds, disorganization and being stuck on the Island for hours.  Nope....in true Nike form it ran like a machine, you can tell this isn't the first race they've organized.

The positives:
* Organized
* Great volunteers
* Beauiful venue to run
* Great system to transport runners to Island
* Had to show race bib to by Finisher merch.
* Awesome photo ops
* FREE RACE PHOTOS!!!
* The Tiffany necklace (would have put that FIRST, but didn't want to act like I was in this JUST for the bling.....yeah, I was!
* Prompt, well infomred communication (e-mail, Facebook and Twitter)
* Ferry tickets were included and TIMED with priority for runners
* Lots of aid stations
* Photographers were on course the entire time
* 15K is a great distance...long enough for a challenge, short enough to muscle through

Negatives:
* Running on wet (or dry) grass and boardwalk is difficult and dangerous
* Not having finisher merch ON the Island to buy (I would have stayed longer)
* Having to smoosh onto the ferry with everyone to come back (no way to avoid that)
* Never been a fan of Nuun, so carried my own fuel
* the 'short turn' parts of the course seem to allow people who didn't run 15 to 'finish'
* LOTS of walkers who moved several abreast in congested areas -rather than staying to one side to allow people to pass.

RBC Run for the Kids

What a beautiful day to pretend to run 15k.

I was chosen to be an Ambassador for the RBC Run for the Kids, which was an amazing opportunity to combine raising awareness of youth mental health issues with my love of running.

I have not been running much this year, as a matter of fact I'm basically just running the races I've registered for and nothing else. No training, no LSD on a weekend, no fun runs with friends.  I feel like the idea of running is great, but in theory I just can't get there. I miss my run buddies, my treadmill and the streets are just too lonely. I need to get my mojo back.

For this race I was looking forward to a few things.....

           Wearing my spiffy new Sparkle Skirt

           Running in Toronto (again)

           Being part of a cause I feel very close to 

What I wasn't looking forward to.....

           Driving to Toronto at 5am

           Being awake at dark o'clock

           Driving back from Toronto 

           all alone :-( 

I managed to get up about 45 minutes before I was supposed to, which apparently was the Running God's way to tell me that this trip was going to be a slow one.  Because I was running that meant I got to buy McDonalds for breakfast, but I figured I'd grab it, drive to TO and eat after I grabbed my kit, since I'd have TONS of time. So I got food, stuck in on the passenger seat, and hit the road.

Nope

Got stuck in the 'express lanes closed, move. Most of the collectors closed, move. Oh, lookie, let's go nowhere fast.' Yep, there went the 'extra' time I had budgeted. Add that I had to park, walk, wait in (long) line to grab kit, walk back to car, drop stuff, take a bathroom break, and I was literally IN a port-a-potty on the side of the course when the announcer started counting down to the race start.

(oh, and my bib wasn't there, so after some unsuccessful searching they gave me a generic bib with no timing chip on it). Good thing I'm wearing my Garmin (so I thought), because without it I've got no proof I ran.

Exit port-a-potty, jump into the race as they pass me, carrying (I might add) a bag of McDonalds breakfast food.  Trying to set my Garmin, hold my food, and keep out of the way of OTHER people who'd still been in the kit line (or the port-a-potty) when the gun went off.

Run, click, run, click. Finally get Garmin going, try to eat McMuffin. Almost aspirate on cold food and realize that dying at 1.5km of a 15k race because I choked on McDonalds would NOT look good.

At the first water station (3K) I give up on breakfast and figure I'll live on water and GU and whatever fuel drink they serve.  We turn and I discover that we are running DOWN THE MIDDLE OF FINCH AVENUE. Like in the center traffic turning lane, with only cones separating us from the  East-and Westbound traffic flying by. 

 The drivers, who can't turn in the proper lane are less than trilled, some of them cutting across the runners with disregard, to get to their destination.  Thank Goodness for the Toronto Police who are keeping order at the lights and other intersections, and are being so efficient and friendly that I feel safer just knowing they've got our backs.

5K in there's another water station, on the side of the road.  That would be ok we didn't have to cross two active lanes of traffic to get to it (and back).  It's like trying to get to a lemonade stand on the side of the Gardiner. Nope, I'm not THAT thirsty. 

A few K further I realize there is a police car BEHIND me (like right on my left calf) in the turning lane.  He nicely asks me to move into the curb lane (where the cars have yet to realize that we are going to be). He then cut off traffic to let us move into that lane.  WOW, you sure don't want to be the last person running on this course.

One of the nicest parts was running in G. Ross Lord Park. I've never been in the park before, and it's pretty and calm and (phew) traffic free.  I never felt lost, there were a ton of pylons and volunteers and police officers guiding folks.  

I was about 13k in when my Garmin started beeping the 'low battery' warning. Not a good thing. Figure 'okay, maybe it's gonna make it' and realize it's died at about 14k. 

Sep 20, 2014

Running 

Uncategorized 

13.21 km

Distance

2:00:09

Time

9:06

Pace (min/km)

813

Calories

23 m

Elev Gain

 Not only does my bib not have a timing chip, my source of personal tracking has gone 'blue screen of death'.  So now I get to watch the signs on the road.  We hit 14k and join the 25k and 5k runners coming into the finish.  It's a massive crowd of kids and dogs and chatting people in huge groups wandering down the road.  Wow, very hard to manage, I bet the 25k people were very unhappy to have to play Frogger at that point in the race.  

Turns out the last K was more like 2, which I thought was just me until I compared notes with my fellow Ambassadors who DID have access to timing.

We met up after the race for a photo, what a great bunch of people.  

I have to say that the post-race food blew me out of the water. Grilled cheese (WAY better than cold McDonalds), burritos and pizza, plus rice krispie squares, juice and coffee.  I wish they'd done a better job of marking the tents (from a distance maybe) so you knew what you were lining up for. (and perhaps keeping people from feeding their non-running friends before the runners ate). Sadly they did run out of chocolate milk, but wow, did I mention how great the rice krispie squares were?

While looking for more rice I found Sponge Bob and had to stop for a photo with him.  Notice I'm holding my coveted dessert in a death grip.

No race is complete without an Andrew Chak approved #runfie, so here it is.

And of course, it's not real 'till it's in print in the National Post.

For a race that's only it it's second year they are doing pretty well.  I only had a few suggestions for tweaking it for next year:

1. Make the race kit pick up near the start (perhaps up by the bag check) so it's faster for day-of kit grabbers from out of town.  Then they can pick up, check bag, pin bib and run.
2. Put up signage for the types of food offered so people know what tent is doing what (on the tent top, rather than just at the entrance on a ground sign).
3. Consider checking for a bib for serving food, so that the runners get first priority.
4. Maybe a slight course change so we aren't going down the middle of traffic on a super busy street.
5. No water stations that involve crossing live traffic.
6. Near the end when the three races merge, have volunteers encouraging the slower runners to stay to the right so the 25 and 15k people can pass without running across the pylons into traffic. 
7. Maybe add ambassadors for each race length, so they all feel included in the day.

Things that were great:

1. The volunteers were amazing, friendly and happy
2. The Toronto Police were helpful, considerate of the drivers AND the runners
3. The food was amazing, way above any race I've ever done.
4. Running through G. Ross Lord park was a welcome respite from the city.
5. The band near the end of the course.
6. How fun being an Ambassador was.
7. Claire, who kept our band of merry people together and motivated.

Going Straight to the Pride Run

Going Straight to the Pride Run

I lived in Toronto for 20 years and never went to Pride. For some reason I figured it didn't apply to me, that I would not be part of that community and it would make no sense to be there. That and I hate crowds.

This year, as a runner, I finally crossed another race off my bucket list. The Pride and Remembrance Run is part of Pride Weekend, and I figured that I could at least go, run, show my support and head home.

I was lucky to be part of the team for Fife House. They provide secure, supportive, affordable housing to people living with HIV/AIDS in the GTA, and are one of the beneficiaries of the 5k run.

I wasn't sure what to expect because I've never been part of Pride weekend, and this was bigger than usual because it was World Pride so even more people were participating in the week long celebration.

Once again it was a dark o'clock trip, the GO Train into Toronto at 7am, wearing a tutu, a sparkle skirt, and enough accessories to make the world glitter. Nobody flinched as I added more accessories to my already awesome outfit.


                                                                                     
I arrived in Toronto hours before the 10am race start, and wandered around at Church and Wesley.  

 I was so amused by the rainbows everywhere, from inside the TTC station to the TD Bank. The people I saw walking around were happy but had the look of folks that perhaps had yet to go to bed....which explained why the coffee shops had lines of folks smiling and ordering huge cups of coffee.

I remember why I loved living in Toronto, the ease of getting around, the fact that nobody looks sideways at you when you've got a tutu on, that you can find almost anything you want, day or night.



I had time to kill, so I wandered around drinking coffee, taking photos and being thrilled by how wonderful the entire village looked. What's amazing is that mere hours later this entire street was jammed packed with people.

I met up with Cory and the team from Fife House and we got ready to run. One of the team, Sam, had yet to sleep from the parties the night before, and he was charged with handing out the Fife House sweatbands (the blue one in the centre of the photo below).  I figured I'd help him out so he could go get a nap before the next round of  parties.

It was so fun to go through the crowd, handing the wristbands out and chatting with total strangers. Really made me feel like a part of the event. It's amazing who you run into at a race, and for the second time this year I saw this woman at one. This time I could not resist snapping a selfie with her.

Yep, Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario (and our first openly gay one too). She's also one heck of a fast runner.

Before I knew it we were ready to start running, under a huge cloud of rainbow confetti.  

The course went down Wesley street to Queen's Park Circle and then made TWO laps of that. Yep, another case of me not looking at the race route and being surprised when the volunteers said 'around you go again'.  I was having such a great time. I  brought my music but never even bothered to turn it on, it was way more fun to chat, high five the volunteers and enjoy the entire fun time. There were photographers on the course too, can't wait to see how the snaps turn out.

Everyone running seemed to be having fun. There wasn't any of the 'on your left' screaming or people being all about them. There were costumes, and cheering and the volunteers were banging thundersticks and having a great time.

I finished in a huge crowd....

AND made the news! CBC News Toronto  has a great shot of me crossing the finish line about :20 seconds into the intro of the night's newscast. 

After the race I spent some time posing for fun photos 

This was the finish line party area. The best food I've EVER had post-race. Yogurt, cake, pizza, tons of water. It looked like a festival, families and face painting and everyone hanging out.

Then I hit the Lucky Charms booth and had some fun (and got some cereal), posing with their #LuckyToBe posters.

On one of my many treks up and down Church street, I ran into a David's Tea lady toting a huge bunch of stuff on her way back to the store. Figured since I was going that way I'd lend a hand.  As a thanks she bought me a tea! It was a great treat on a hot day. I've never had one before, and I'm sure glad there's a David's Tea in Limeridge mall so I can get more.

There was a Smart Car parked on Church and I could not resist posing when they said it was okay if I stood on the seats!

By far my very favourie photo is this one. The confetti left in the street after the race was so pretty, I could not resist lying in it and tossing it in the air while a (tall) volunteer took my photo.

While speaking to Cory I found out that Fife House and Over the Rainbow had joined forces to create the #PrideCodeTO  shirt. It took me another 2k of walking up and down the street to find (and buy) one. It's on the left.

This was easily one of the best running experiences that I've ever had. Everyone, from the Premier of Ontario to the folks at the water stations was having a great time. I felt more at home in my tutu at this race than any other. There were hugs and high fives and people cheering for strangers. I felt totally at home in a place where I was the minority yet totally accepted with no question. 

Just because it CAN be done doesn't mean it's easy

 SO the moral of the story is you should not roll out of bed and run a half marathon with a woeful lack of training and expect that it will be as easy as the one you ran in Ottawa in the Fall. Actually, full disclosure, I was sort of scared that I'd either pass out or DNF.

I was worried that I'd driven my entire family 4 hours to Windsor ON, stayed in a hotel for the night and got a spiffy new tutu (thanks Glam Runner) only to find that my long winter hibernation would prove to be my undoing. 

I figured we might as well have fun, so we hit the pool to (and I even swam a few laps for 'training'). It turned out to be salt water, which was neat and unexpected. I tried to justify the swim by doing some laps and calling it tri-training.

Despite the fun swim and big dinner, I had a truly horrible night's sleep and woke up even worse off than I think I'd be had I just stayed up. Luckily there was a Tim Hortons in blurry-eyed distance so that made things a wee bit better.  For the record, nobody flinches when you go out dressed like that. Nobody.

I lined up for the race still wondering if this was going to work at all. Figured worst case I can walk 21.1 in strange city and enjoy the view.

I was happily running along the waterfront looking around at Detroit across the river when I realized you can see Joe Louis arena so I had a happy moment  running along the shoreline trying to take photos.

It was an out and back and out and back and halfway out and back loop type thing so I got to look at the same things a few times over. I managed to find the coolest pace bunny named Jim and his crew of 3 hour runners and threw myself in with them.

What a great bunch, a girl from Home Depot, a SAHM of three, a girl who managed Senior Programming and Jim, the crazy wonderful guy in the patterned running skirt (he's the pink haired guy in the photo above).

I was so thankful to have the group to run with because they were fun and a distraction that made the miles fly by. Jim kept up a great patter and was hugely motivating, I seriously would not have finished in the time I did without him.

At the last leg of the loops I fell behind the group, and they kept looking back to make sure I was okay. I tried to haul tutu and catch them but it just wasn't in cards. I just kept running since I was only 2k from the finish.

I came around the corner and could see the finish. A few hundred yards from the line, Pacer Jim came to my side. He said 'we're bringing this home' and handed me the pacer sign. Then he ran me across the line. I'm not normally one of those sappy runners, but this race was a hard one, I was out of shape and under trained, and could seriously not have finished without him, at least not in the time I did, so I was nearly in tears as he hugged me.

Luckily the firefighters at the finish line who give you the medal took my mind off the mood :-). Then I made my way over to the chocolate area and sadly discovered that they were out of the goodie bags!  TRAUMA (slightly offset by the chocolate milk). **

As I was limping around I was approached by Makda Ghrebreslassie from CBC Radio Windsor. She said my outfit was fun and she wanted to interview me for the radio. (I had to laugh, not sure how the visual translated to the audio).

My lovely family picked me up and we headed across the border to the Henry Ford Museum. Yep, I wandered the museum dressed like this, and nope, nobody commented.

We wandered around the museum having a great time 

After a wonderful meal at the Olive Garden (dang I miss having those in Canada), we drove home....

I've learned my lesson (sort of).  You CAN run a 3 hour half marathon (3:00:12) with no training, no sleep and (did I mention) new shoes? Should you do it? Likely not.  Will I do something stupid in a few weeks and run Cleveland Rite Aid? Yes, but I'm going to put some miles on my new shoes first!

Did I mention you get a PURSE of WINE for doing this race? Yep!

** Update**

So by the time I got home i already had an email from the race director appologizing for the fact that they ran out of chocolate, which I thought was amazing.  TODAY (May21st) I get home and THIS is was in my mailbox

talk about above and beyond...wow a handwritten, personal note  too! I'm so impressed.