Pain is temporary, but glory is forever

So…I didn’t plan for this to happen. When I arrived at the race, I wasn’t planning on running hard or striving for a new personal best. Not at all. It’s not because there was a lack of fire in the belly, but rather I knew that my training hasn’t been consistent. I did have a plan though. In past races I was a bit loose with my intervals so this time around I told myself that I’m going to rely on the ten minute running intervals that I’ve been training with. I would do my best to not break the run during the intervals. Conversely, I would make sure not to skip any walking intervals. In terms of pace, I planned to keep a steady 7:07/km as best I could in order to make 2:30. For the first half I wanted to run slightly slower so that I’d have enough energy for the second half. With all that in mind, I went out feeling confident that no matter what happened it would be a great day.

Read more after the jump!

Through the starting line, for the first few kilometres I ran with two other people in my clinic. We were running it slightly slower than 7:07/km and were rather consistent. It was great. I ran evenly and didn’t feel like I was pushing hard at all. After about half an hour I decided that I was feeling good enough to pick up the pace a little bit. And that’s where my race really began. See, I have my Garmin set up so that it tells me my average pace over the whole duration of my run, as well as the pace I’m running at that moment. So, when I started pushing harder I was consciously trying to bring my average pace lower and lower by running faster than my listed average. I was careful enough to not speed up so much that I’d burn out, but I kept some slight pressure. And on every walk break I made sure to slow right down and walk hard. I didn’t want to be too leisurely because I thought that it would kill momentum. So that’s how it went. I ended up losing the people I was running with, but I knew that they would be fine. As such, I just focused on my own thing. As time went, the pace dipper lower and lower. I evened out at 6:45/km for a good chunk of the race. Back when I did Chilly, I went fast for the first half and basically banked time knowing that I’d slow down. This time, I was determined to keep my gains.

Like last year the route took us through some really beautiful parts of Mississauga. So much of it was downhill. One funny observation for me was how a hot topic of conversation among pockets of runners was the inclusion of the menstrual cramp relief heat pad sample included in the race kits. I wrote about these yesterday. For me it was a little bit comforting to know that even the women who were taking about it were all WTF about it. Again, at the 10K mark I encountered a lengthy hill. I was determined to keep my stride through the whole thing. There was one guy behind me who was admonishing people for running up the stretch because he thought people weren’t aware that the hill went for a long while. I just ran up anyway thinking that he was crazy. The hill did level out a little bit after which I felt relief, but I soon realized that the flatness was temporary. The hill just kept going. It was crazy. Even so, I held myself together and ended up making it through without stopping. From there the route was mostly downhill.

Like last year, there were a good amount of people outside of their houses cheering us on. I made sure to be friendly give them a warm “good morning!” I also thanked them for coming out. Why not, right? I wanted to spread the good vibes around. I think that’s one great thing about this half marathon in comparison to Scotiabank in September. There are a lot more people cheering along route for this race. With Scotiabank, there are long stretches where there’s no one. Sure, there are people around, but at the same time it can get lonely. Somewhere around 17K there was someone cheering that yelled out to everyone: “the pain is temporary!” I don’t know what was going on in my head, but I just bellowed back: “but glory is forever!” She smiled and cheered loudly.

At about 18K I started to worry. It was at this point last year that I had to slow down and walk for a bit. Today I was feeling a little bit worn out. I figured that if I wanted to slow down a bit I could afford to do so. Panic was starting to kick in, but I just remembered where I was and slowed my breathing down in order to regain a bit of composure. I managed to regain my focus and keep my pace. I think various parts of me went a bit numb knowing that the end was near. After 20K the crowds really started growing. They were cheering each of us on. I knew that I was going to set a new personal best, so I was already in a ridiculously good mood. I started cheering on my fellow runners around me. I alternated between “we rock!” and “OMG we’re so awesome!” Sounding like an idiot was worth it to see the smiles on people’s faces. In the last stretch there was a but of a glut of runners filing through the finish. I suppose I slowed down a little bit, but at that point I was somewhat numb and euphoric, so it didn’t matter. The announcer said “don’t forget to greet Hazel,” and sure enough there was Her Worship Mayor Hazel McCallion cheering us on. All I could blurt out was a loud “HI HAZEL!” I was quite excited, though in retrospect part of me wishes I used a proper honourific or something. In any case, when I crossed the finish line I was filled with a sense of accomplishment. I had shaved a bit over 7 minutes off of my personal best.

2:20:19

That’s insane! I mean, I know that there are plenty of faster people out there, but when I consider where I started it really is unbelievable that I was able to churn out such a time. I am making so many improvements. I know that there’s still a long way to go, but even so I feel like I’m on the right track.

Possibly related posts:

1. One week to glory
2. My temporary mental lapse
3. Diminishing pain