One of the tests on the road to Muskoka was completing a 1/2 marathon. Since the 70.3 race distance ends with a 1/2 marathon I thought it would be prudent to at least run one before the day arrives. Of course it would have been prudent to actually do a triathlon before signing up for the 70.3 but that’s another story. Today was the day, the 2010 Chilly 1/2 Marathon was the event and it took place near my home in Burlington. My official time was 1h 59m 57s just sneaking in under the 2 hour mark.
I felt good for the majority of the race but the knees really started to hurt near the end of the 10th mile. After tweaking my left knee the other day I let it rest for two days and it felt fine yesterday but it started to hurt whenever the I ran down hill. I am hoping it is not something serious, and I don’t think it is, but it is nagging and I hope to find a doctor to check it out ASAP.
I am very pleased with the progress made with the Mark Allen Online plan, I achieved the goal set out for today and feel like things are progressing nicely. When the Muskoka 70.3 Ironman run starts, the knowledge that I have run this distance before will go a long way in battling the urge to quit and fight through to the finish. Plus the race gave me the opportunity to learn and a lot was learned today…
- Mocha Clif Shots make me want to barf. From now on I’ll stick with Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry.
- Dress cold, run warm. I think I was dressed just right for the run and kept warm with an extra layer until just before the start.
- The Mark Allen Online program is working. When I started running I was dying after 5KM at 6+min/KM and after only 11 weeks I finished 21.2 KM with a 5:38/KM pace.
- While you don’t have to run the distance to race the distance I think it would have been a good idea to run something closer to the distance.
I’ve been swimming and biking the distances but not running them. I’ll have to ask Mark and Luis at MAO if anything needs to be adjusted but my thought is that they’ll tell me to stay the course. And I’ll listen, they got me here and they’ll take me to the finish in Muskoka!
Check out the other photos on my personal blog…
Great job #601! It really was a gorgeous day for the run, I just wish there was less wind. It was a bit chilly standing there cheering on the runners from the Kitchener Runningroom (my cousin is the manager there) and even you too! I was telling my cousin, oh hey I think that’s one of my twitter buddies, pretty funny. Great day, now I’m getting excited about my first 5k of the season in Mississauga.
R, congrats on the race. Breaking 2 hours is an accomplishment. Sorry to hear about the ITB, I used to have it years ago and it can be nasty. Good luck on the physio.
B
Well done on breaking the 2 hour mark! I’ve just started my half marathon training program and this is just so inspiring to read. Thanks for posting!!! Van.