When we arrived there were a lot of people there. They had a really big expo set up dedicated to running. It was great to get all kinds of free samples and see all different running equipment all in one place. In fact, I really lucked out as they were handing out free coupons for greek yoghurt, of which I buy about 4 containers of per week!
I won't mention how many I took, but it probably was equivalent to half my race fee! Richard and I got temporarily separated when I went to activate my timing chip. There were so many people inside the expo that we ended up having to phone each other in order to reunite. Funny thing was that at the time we were only a few steps away from each other! Silly, but it sure was a good thing for cell phones. After that debackle Richard and I decided to we should make some careful meeting plans for the next day. This was important because I wasn't going to be carrying a cell phone.
Before leaving the expo, I thought it might be a good idea if I bought a fuel belt for carrying gels. The following weekend I was planning on running a half marathon and I was concerned that I may run into some nutritional issues due to the spacing of the aid stations. I found a belt that I wanted at the Running Free booth; this was good because I had a gift certificate from them that I won at a race earlier in the year. It turned out that I couldn't use the coupon at the expo. I decided to save it so that I could hopefully pick up a fuel belt at one of their stores later on. Richard and I soon left the ex and headed for our second destination, Endurosport which is a high end bike store in Toronto. I ended up buying a pair of swim googles and a tank top from them, things I had not seen in other stores. Richard and I looked at the bikes briefly but neither of us were in the market for the types of bikes they sold. We did get some useful information from some of the clerks though, about aero equipment, so it wasn't a total waste of time.
We ended up leaving the city fairly late because we had run into traffic earlier leaving the ex. I was really fortunate to have Richard drive us around; Richard appears as "cool as a cucumber" when it comes to city driving. I, on the other hand, am slightly more neurotic.
I will come back to this point a little further on in the post.
We got back to Newmarket at about 5:45pm, so we actually had time to go to the Running free Newmarket location. We made it to the store with 5 minutes to spare, but when we went to open the door of the shop, it would not open. We knocked on the door and saw a clerk in the back. He seemed to be happy to let us in, however I doubt that he really was. Especially considering the fuel belt I wanted in the store had no price on it, and the purchase practically crashed his computer as he tried to give me the merchandise. He ended up making up a price which was the same as the value of the gift certificate, and I ended up owing him only a penny! He was so nice to us. I tell ya, who was on my side that day!
By the time we left the store I think Richard and I were starving. I thought it would be a great idea to just go to the grocery store and pick up a pre-cooked chicken and some salads. It would be faster and cheaper instead of cooking and/or going out for dinner. Another thing that I am thankful for, that Richard is so agreeable! I was so hungry by the time we got back to his place that I could of eaten my running shoes.
I think we spent the rest of that night trying to figure out and driving plans and meeting plans for the next day. It was very complicated because the race started at the ex and finished at Bay and Adelaide. It was recommended to take the TTC, and most people probably did, however we were from out of town so that was a bit challenging for us. We also needed a comprehensive meeting plan because I was running to Bay and Adelaide and Richard wasn't sure how he was going to meet me, since you couldn't drive anywhere near the finish. We ended up making three meeting plans in case two wasn't enough. Eventually we settled on plans that we both thought might work, and all that was left to do was get a good rest for the race the next day. We had a few minutes to spare before bedtime, so Richard ended up showing me his Bowflex. I found this really interesting because Jay and I see the ads for it on TV all the time and wondered how it worked; we don't know anyone else who owns one. I can't really afford to buy one but it seems like you can do a lot of exercises with them. It was great I got to see how one works.
The next day Richard and I weren't too rushed leaving to go to Toronto for the race. We left at around 9:30 and didn't run into problems until we tried to get off the Gardiner expressway. Because lakeshore was closed for the race, there was traffic backed up really badly at Spadina. In fact I think we sat there for half an hour not really moving. Once again, Richard was as cool as a cucumber.
I on the other hand, was freaking out because I thought I was going to miss the race. Once we got off at Spadina, I didn't really have a concept of how close we were to the ex. Turns out that it only took us about 10 minutes to get there including parking underground at the DEC. I got there with just enough time to use the bathroom and find my spot in the correct corral. It was really cold out so I kept my sweater on until the last possible minute.
It took them a few minutes to get organized so Richard had plenty of time to set up and take photos of the start. The first corral were the elite runners (sub 20min). In fact there was even a preliminary corral that went first; a man in a wheel chair.
I can't imagine what that was like, having all these faster runners running with you at the start of the race. I was in the second corral and I don't remember passing him so he must have been pretty fast! It took me awhile to get through the starting gate, and as I went buy I threw my sweater at Richard.
I am glad he was there because I didn't really want to leave it behind. I took off running with my jacket on, but it wasn't long before I had to peel that off and tie it around my waist. I started off running pretty fast, but I realized that I would have to slow down or else I would be crawling over the finish line.
Even though I try to run my 5Ks pretty fast, I have to be careful, because I am not that experienced. The race was pretty windy, (I think 40km/hr winds)and I was pretty exhausted at around 4K. I tried very hard to maintain a good speed as I approached the finish, but it wasn't easy. My legs were tired, I was running with a new pair of shoes, which might have been the problem but I managed to cross the finish line under 25 minutes. The clock was on gun time so I wasn't really sure what my actual time was. My watch said 24:28, however I think that was a bit off.
After I finished there was a smorgusboard of snacks and drinks for the runners. We also got free emergency blankets and a nice finisher's medal. I made my way to the family meeting area for our first meeting plan, however after waiting for about 20 minutes I did not see Richard. It was a little challenging crossing Bay street, however I was able to get through the fence and it wasn't long before I was able to meet Richard and our second meeting place.
This was good because I wanted Richard to get a chance to see our finish and maybe take some good photos there. By that time it was about 1pm and we were able to begin boarding buses to go back to the DEC. Little did I know, I should have waited for them to post the results.
Richard and I arrived safely back at the DEC
and we ended up heading back to Newmarket. Once again we got stuck in some major traffic which held us up. Again Richard was as cool as a cucumber, where as I was fit to be tied. We ended up both deciding that if there is a next time, we are going to take the TTC, just like everyone else! I guess we will need a new plan for that. LOL.
It took us so long to finally get back to Newmarket that I didn't have much time to spend there. Because it was Juliette's birthday I had to get back as soon as possible. I also didn't want to be driving after dark because the weather did not look good.
By the time I got back to Collingwood they had posted the results. My chip time for the race was 24:30 and I had come 2nd out of 321 people in my age group (W40-44). I was actually surprized that I had placed so high. I was a little disappointed that I hadn't stayed for the results because I knew that they were giving away medals for top 3 in each Age catogory and the medals were really nice; a great keepsake.
I thought I might have to drive back down to Toronto to get my medal, but my friend Natalie agreed to pick it up for me. It is a good thing I have such great friends like Natalie and Richard, who helped me get through all the bad planning. I really enjoyed participating in the race, but I will admit, next time if I do it again, I will plan much better. Now just a few more days to rest before I attempt to run my first half marathon.
Thanks Scotia bank for a fun and memorable experience. Hopefully I will be back again in the future!
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