Retro time. I was persuaded (by myself) into one last race before the snow and ice hits. The Robert Hamilton Memorial Road Race has been going for around 30 years, mostly as a 10 miler, though there's also now a 5 miler.
Just 3 weeks after the Harvest Half, I felt I couldn't do the 10 miles justice. I had done an 8k race last year, and knew I could beat the 34.19 time I set. Under 33 minutes was the aim, so I set my garmin at 3:55-4:05/km pace.
We lined up on the grass, I think my camera is getting a couple of inquisitive looks in this picture. (The unusual pose of the lady in grey is partly a stretch and partly to talk to someone behind me)
As starts go, it seemed as frantic as any other, though being a Calgary Road Runners event with knowledgeable participants, all runners were able to make it orderly and bump free.
While the course is marked in miles, my garmin and I still run in kilometres. I only rolled my sleeves up at about the 1 mile sign, so didn't see I'd done the first k in 3:39.
The guy in the white shirt was a constant presence just in front for the entire race. I believe this is the first time I've had such a pacemaker from flag to finish. The race winner, above in black, has already done the turnaround. I had decided after the turnaround to sing a couple of lines to my headcam and match it up with a song upon editing the short movie. I did, but just barely.
There were some great spindly shadows going back north to the finish line.
The other unusual sight greeting me was my watch saying I'd just done the first 5k in 19:29. My PB in a 5k race is 19:48. There's a dip on pace on the 5 k mark in my pace chart below - I remember thinking about it enough that I slowed down, prompting my garmin to tell me to move it.
The next k was nevertheless the slowest of the race. I could feel my stride getting a little shorter.
That didn't last for too long, though looking at the graph and table, the "finishing kick" amounts to only just under goal race pace. That's proof that I essentially ran the quickest race that I could have.
I held on for 10 place overall out of 52. 31:02 is much faster than I had been expecting. A sub-40 10k now looks doable.
This race had the best medals I've ever seen, freshly baked gingerbread men. I finished 3rd in my male age group. There was only 4 of us I've now learned. 1st and 2nd men in their 30s had gone home already, so I hammed it up a bit. I ate a leg, and thought I was going to get booed, then I hopped away..
There's nothing like surprising yourself.
So, to the headcam vid. I will need to work on steadying the shot over winter, it's nothing that ebay can't fix. That said, I hope you enjoy the genius cover version of "You Are My Sunshine" by the Chinese band Reflector. (try the link, if below doesn't work)
It was fairly close to being the perfect day (the headcam video is at the bottom of this post, by the way). Logistically, this is the closest race to my home, and the course covers much of my regular Sunday route. It was certainly the perfectly run Facebook campaign by Barefoot Neil Z. He took this one of myself and A-Chang at the "Facebook muster point".
5 weeks before I had aimed to beat my half-marathon PB of 1:28:56 at Quebec City, but was thwarted by a headwind and then had to stop to stretch my hamstring, ending up just inside 1:33 (Click here for the heamcam vid). The plan had been to PB there by a big margin, then try to get any sub-1:30 at the Harvest Half.
Overall though I was feeling quite good at the start line. My PB from May was at a pace of 4:13/km, so I set my garmin at 4:07-4:13 pace. The assumption was that I would have around 30 seconds to spare before Sikome Hill at 17 km, be about 20 seconds behind at the top, then just squeeze inside a PB at the finish line.
I had run once a week since QC, the long Sunday run, and done other speed work on the exercise bike, with my right leg gradually improving week on week. Still, I took a tylenol before the race just in case.
I had also copied my nutrition plan from May which had worked well. Active warm-up rather than stretching too.
The headcam had worked so well in QC and I was very determined to capture this course's landscape and autumn colours.
Neil really was everywhere that day, chatting to odd ducks such as myself.
Lining up too were Rich and Scott. Scott was expected to disappear into the distance fairly quickly.
It was quite a narrow funnel at the start, so the 3 of us got ourselves to the front.
Big brother's watching...
At the start I could see I was in pole position, a foot in front of everyone else. This would be my chance to do something I'd long joked about - leading a fairly large race (709 finishers), at least for the first 100 or so metres.
I could see too that A-Chang along with Rich and Scott's better halves and others with cameras were well placed to capture such an hysterical historical moment. A 20 second countdown, then "go!" rather than a starting horn (I liked that) and it was more my reflexes rather than speed that had me nicely placed for pictures.
This is Neil's shot...
As I passed the 3 ladies I said "I'm winning, yay!"
"Know which way to go?" the race winner and leader for entire rest of the race asked as he overtook (guy in blue). "Yes, I'll just follow you!" was my reply. I then turned round to Rich and said "I told you I'd lead the first block!"
Seeing my printed wristband, the leading lady asked what time I was going for.
This was all within the first km, after which the race order seemed reasonably set. For half-marathons, I seem to do well when I set off initially at 5k race pace then settle down to race pace.
One thing I missed on the headcam was a police car rolling toward an intersection on its own, its owner then frantically opening the door to find the brake pedal.
After this the hill after passing under MacLeod Trail, which keeps on climbing after the worst seems over. I did feel a touch out of breath at points as we kept on climbing through the Evergreen neighbourhood.
This being my third Harvest Half, I knew it would be mostly downhill for the next 12 km after entering Fish Creek Park.
There's a great roller coaster part at the start of the park, winds downhill, a tight hairpin, a looser hairpin then a bridge across the creek.
I'd lost Rich somewhere on that downhill part, and at another hairpin after exiting the pine trees he waved, I felt he was saying to keep going. From that hairpin past the second drink station above and onward another 7km I made good time. I had felt another couple of runners close behind, but making good time they dropped back. I had known what place I was in, but easily forgot that number as I was mostly thinking about time rather than position. I was overtaken by a guy just after the halfway mark, he seemed to be on a well-planned negative-split strategy. I perhaps could have followed him, but I was satisfied with feeling comfortable going mostly faster than my garmin's "pace high" warning.
I saw a deer which would have been great on camera, but didn't have it rolling. I managed to capture myself well in full-flight though.
This is me in almost the same place, taken by Alan Lam at 15km. At this point I am just over a minute ahead of schedule. I had by now caught up with the second placed lady, who was quite a good pacemaker for this stage of the race.
By the time Sikome Hill came into view, I knew the PB was there for the taking. The overall climb is about 600 or 700 metres and based on last year's garmin readout would cost 45 seconds. In my view it's not really about the hill, but how quickly you can pick up your pace at the top. Having the garmin here is a big help for me, as instinct tells you to build your pace back up slowly. Initially allowing myself to speed up "naturally", I started pushing after about 20 seconds of being on flat ground, waiting for the "pace in range" sound. The "pace low" sound also kicked in repeatedly for the next couple of minutes as I passed the second placed lady, who was listening to loud music. My legs felt a touch heavy, but I told myself not to settle into what would feel more comfortable.
The last kilometre is on winding pathways, and I had by then been flying along seeing how low I could get the PB to be by this point. I recall turning around and one guy yelling "I'm going to pass you!" He didn't.
The knowledge that I was going to set a PB by quite some margin had me grinning like a Cheshire cat at the last few marshals. It might have helped too that the cloudy skies meant I hadn't worn my sunglasses, so I smiled broadly and looked directly at the final marshals who said something like "great smile!" as I went past.
Looking at the garmin readout, I could have run the last 95 metres or so (a half is 21.096km I believe) in just 16 seconds.
The clock says 1:28:13 here, though the official result was given at 1:28:01, and is also borne out by my garmin readout.
This got me 11th place out of 709.
I did an arm-whirling movement I had also long joked about doing upon crossing the finish line.
Pacing chart and splits below. Sikome Hill is clear to see.
This performance of mine is one I'm extremely pleased with. This is my 3rd Harvest Half, and I did it 10 minutes quicker than my first. It is a case study too, in my view at least, of how a relaxed frame of mind can lead to a good showing on race day.
The winning time was in the 1:22s.
Rich got a sub-1:30.
Scott did an excellent 1:24:08 for 4th overall. He is a sub-3 hour Boston finisher, and beat his own PB by about 2 minutes. I could though stake a claim to having enjoyed myself the most.
In Quebec City I met Irene - hurricane Irene that is. I suppose I've had worse first dates...
I had booked everything in June, training had gone well since then and I felt I'd picked up speed. The only trouble had been the monday prior to the race when during a "recovery run" I got caught in heavy rain and did the last 15 minutes very fast, then had a little soreness in the right groin muscle later. It faded a few days after.
Arriving on thursday, at the expo the day after I also stopped by the Ottawa Marathon stand. On the last sunday of May (just like the Calgary Marathon) Ottawa next year might just be where I'll aim to do my Boston qualifier.
The day before the race, I started hearing about Hurricane Irene on radio and TV. Into the afternoon and questions began appearing on the Quebec Marathon's facebook page. Early evening it said that the runners for the full would get buses all the way to the start instead of a ferry across the river. Around an hour later it then announced that the full was cancelled and those runners were welcome to do the half. Those hoping to qualify for Boston must've been gutted - though as I later found out with the wind, very very few would've done it that day.
Race day: Walked to the finish line to get shuttle bus to the start line. As the photo shows, it looks like I'm off to prison.
A-Chang just wanted to get back to the hotel for breakfast.
Got to the start very early, the toilets didn't have any soap or hand sanitizer :( I spent much of the time sitting on the curbside to stay as warm as I could.
Lining up just before the start and I finally felt warmer. It was a touch crowded and I found myself further back than I would've liked. Lots of cheats people also climbed over the side fencing to take up position in front of me - so for the first time ever I would have to get past a few people at the start. Most of the photos to come are screen captures from the bullet cam I was wearing on my headband - I edited the video into 5 minute highlights at the end.
The aim was to get a PB - 1:28:56 - and I set my watch to get me just under 1:28. I felt the wind would stop me, but decided to try anyway. No huge deal if I missed out on it.
2km to 6 or so km was a bit of a climb up to the bridge, on which everyone got sideswipped by the mother of all cross winds. Runners took caps off, put one hand on their heads, or in one case had to do a quick 90 degree turn to catch a piece of runaway headgear.
I was on target still heading down the circular ramp at the 9km mark which then passed under the same bridge. One girl up ahead got bumped and took a fall and had the medics with her in seconds. She was crying and had bloody knees - a reminder that it can get dangerous out there even on a closed course.
It was within 1km of getting to the bottom that my energy faded. The wind was gusting head on at 30-50 kph and my pacing had been structured to get me to the finish with nothing left as if there were no wind, so I felt drained very quickly. From here on, I did not pass anyone except walkers - though some had a tougher time than me and did this - several people passed me. At points I was able to draft for a few hundred metres here and there, but all those who passed me were most likely people who had kept the conditions in mind from the very start.
It can clearly be seen where the headwind started.
Oddly enough, at the airport afterwards, I got chatting with a lady who said that this race is frequently unlucky with the weather, so she goes to Montreal, Ottawa, etc. to race. This wasn't the end of it though. With around 2km to go, what felt like 3 gentle electric shocks went through my right hamstring. Running with my leg a little straight, I felt another couple of pulses a couple of hundred metres later. Best have a precautionary stretch before the finish line I thought - I'm happy that I was able to think straight at that point instead of getting all matcho and running myself into the ground.
The crowds were great on the home straight - I got to the finish line running as fast as I safely dared. 1:32:58 was my time, 319th out of 4,504.
Overall I am pleased with this - given that I've gone from weighing a third more than I do now to being slightly frustrated with getting a 1:33 in blustery conditions with a strained hamstring.
Now to the movie! Set to "24 Hours" by Athlete. My "headcam" experiment was a resounding success, enjoy!
I didn't have a great long run today, I slept in an awkward position and it was roasting hot (in Calgary!). An afternoon nap has sure helped as I now strategise here out loud.
Weather: one week out the forecast is saying 16-22 degrees and partly cloudy. A touch on the warm side for me - I sweat buckets. It says too that the wind will be a sout-westerly of 10kmh so will amount to a following wind for most of the race.
I've decided to set my watch - newly calibrated at the Foothills track above on friday - between 4:06 and 4:11. 4:11/km would mean a time of 1:28:16 (40 seconds quicker than PB), and 4:06/km is 1:26:30. A friend of mine, Superfast ScottTM, hasa PB of 1:26:40 which I'll aim to beat as longas I'm feeling good during the race. After calibrating my watch I did 2x 10 minutes at 3:50-4:00/km (same as 5k race pace) and felt pretty good despite the heat.
The first 5k of the course is a little uphill towards the iron bridge over the St. Lawrence and I will be most accepting of this "pace low" warning here than elsewhere. Knowing me the first km of the race (which is flat) will be under 4:00 anyway. From the bridge onwards, I want to be in the upper end of that range, but will listen carefully for the "pace high" warning up to km 11. After that, as long as dehydration is not affecting me, I aim to hover around the pace high warning. In the final 5km, I will ignore the watch altogether and finish as fast as I safely can. This differs from Calgary in May where I slowed down every time the pace high warning came on (with the exception of the last k), despite feeling excellent for the entire race.
So a more abstract aim of this race is to analyse my physical state during the race in addition to having a plan before starting - because unlike the Stampede 5k in July for example, I am unsure of exactly how quickly I can go. Above all, it should be another PB and I'm going to make sure I enjoy the red carpet finish at this highly regarded race. Maybe I'll have my first "poutine" afterwards :)
A few weeks ago, I took part in a focus group on the subject of the Calgary Half Marathon. I got a gift certificate for the running room, and wraps to eat. Paid and fed to talk about running, what could be better?
I got a headband, and 2 pairs of Adidas short compression socks. Ordinarily, I wouldn't have bothered if they hadn't been free. The pair has a specific left and right sock, they almost hug the feet, and yet you feel like you're not wearing any socks at all.
So, on sunday, as I begin to draw down the weekly kms in preparation for Quebec City, I ran 20k. Much to my amazement, because I didn't feel even slightly tired, I did it in 1h 31min. This route included the Sikome Lake hill too, just ask anyone who's done the Harvest Half about that one.
Was it the socks? The spaghetti carbonara the evening before? I'm going to re-calibrate my Garmin and its footpod just to be sure too, but I don't believe it's far off. As I said before, on August 28th I'm going for a more aggressive pace range, this time though I will up my finishing pace earlier, possibly 5km from the end instead of 1. In contrast to Calgary, there should only be tail-enders from the 10k to get past. In the 1hr 27s' will do nicely...
