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Around the Bay Road Race - March 25, 2012 9:30am Hamilton Ontario
Mercedes Benz 10k - April 14, 2012 - Oakville, Ontario
Terry Goodenough Memorial Race - May 12, 2012 - Waterloo, Ontario
Victoria's Duathlon - May 21, 2012 - Waterloo, Ontario
Apple Duathlon - May 26, 2012 - Sartel, Minnesota
Duathlon National Championships - July 22, 2012 - Toronto, Ontario
Duathlon Provincial Championships - July 28, 2012 - Cobourg, Ontario
Duathlon World Championships - Sept 22-23, 2012 - Nancy, France
OLD WEBSITE
Around the Bay Road Race - March 25, 2012 9:30am Hamilton Ontario
Mercedes Benz 10k - April 14, 2012 - Oakville, Ontario
Terry Goodenough Memorial Race - May 12, 2012 - Waterloo, Ontario
Victoria's Duathlon - May 21, 2012 - Waterloo, Ontario
Apple Duathlon - May 26, 2012 - Sartel, Minnesota
Duathlon National Championships - July 22, 2012 - Toronto, Ontario
Duathlon Provincial Championships - July 28, 2012 - Cobourg, Ontario
Duathlon World Championships - Sept 22-23, 2012 - Nancy, France
OLD WEBSITE
April 27, 2012
MERCEDES BENZ 10K
I am very happy with how this race went. My time was not as fast as last year, however the course changed and my fitness wasn't the same either. I finished 3rd and worked for it! I was mentally prepared for this race and spent every night visualizing the course and going over every possible situation that could happen. I fell off the leaders at 4k and came back through the 2nd half to finish 3rd. I wanted to run under 33min but my total time was 33:09. However I finished top 3 because mentally I was strong through the second half of the course. I didnt hammer the hill but cruised up it and kept pace through the second half giving me a negative split. I was able to stay focused and not let the miserable weather, tired legs and bad placing get me defeated. This is how I could claw my way from a 30s deficit to 3rd place and out sprint 4th place during the last 200m. I was determined to get 3rd and gave it everything so I was not passed in the last 200m. It was definitely a win after the debilitating Around the Bay race!
April 10, 2012
AROUND THE BAY DNF
It has been a tough couple of weeks for me as I have struggled with the DNF at the Around the Bay Road Race. I have never intentionally dropped out of a race before. There have been so many emotions and feelings attached with all of this. I am now ready to accept what happened and move upward and onward and I can now write this blog with a better understanding of what happend. I have been sick leading up to races before and performed well and also poorly but I have always finished. I started the race not sure what was going to happen and the beginning of the race started just as planned. I went out comfortably and found a group to run with in the time I wanted to be. Going through the first 5k I was feeling good but that did not last and I was working to stay with the group. I went through the 10k in 34:14 which was just where I wanted to be. I was struggling a litte and just getting exponentially harder! The next 5k was just brutal as I tried to get my rythym back and keep my legs moving. I was in panic mode as I felt like I was going backwards and more people passed me including the lead women! It was a downward spiral that I could not stop as I got more tired, more frustrated, slower! At about 13.5km I had decided I was done and 15k was the end. How was I going to explain this to friends, family and coworkers because they knew this was an important A race for me in 2012. I moped onto the bus and got to hear about all the relay teams as they were all cheery and happy to have finished what they set out to do. I just wanted to go home as I waited 30min for the bus to head back to Copps.
Days after the race i was so frustrated because I wanted to finish but what was the point in pushing your body to the limits to finish in 2hours when you know you can do it 15min faster? Did I even make the right choice? Where do I go from here and whats next? I thought about jumping into the next half marathon coming up in Montreal and wanted to do something comparable but reality set in and I knew that I couldn't rush into anything. Hindsight is 20/20 and I made the right choice to stop at 15km and to stick with the plan of racing the Mercedes Benz 10k in Oakville next. Even running the 15k wiped me out and took me longer to recover 100% from being sick. I had to gather myself and take some days off giving me some renewed motivation to jump back into training. I have had some great workouts and some that I struggled through but I have the next goal of finishing top 3 at the Mercedes race in my sights. I have put Around the Bay behind me and can move forward! April 14 is the Mercedes Benz 10k in Oakville at Appleby College.
March 23, 2012
START OF 2012
This is the first blog on my currently being updated site. 2012 has started out differently than most. This was the first season that I started back too quickly which in turned cause some achillies problems. Through stretching, caution, compressport calf sleeves and ice I managed to get it under control and haven't had a problem since. Training has gone really well and I have had some great workouts including some strong Humber River runs. This winter the weather has been amazing and played a huge part in being able to have so many great training days. We may never see another winter like this in our lifetime!
AROUND THE BAY PREP
I have managed to get a lot of great longer tempos under my belt leading up to Around the Bay. One of the workouts I have really enjoyed doing is loops on the silver relay course in High Park. It involved 2laps in 5:27 mile pace then 1lap in 5:20 pace, 2laps in 5:27 pace and 1lap in 5:22. Each lap is 1809m. There was 2min rest between each interval. This workout was a big confidence builder for me in my Around the Bay prep.
Everything came crumbling down earlier this week when I started getting a tickle in my throat. I did everything I could to keep it as a tickle and to no avail it turned into a full blown sore throat. At the pharmacy I got everything I could take but none of it really cured me, it only masked the symptoms. After another day without anything getting better, I went to the clinic to see a doctor. The doctor only gave me a mouth wash to gargle with that would also just mask any symptoms. This was all so frustrating because I wanted a magic pill that would cure it all and make me ready to race! I had a cold and my body had to fight it off on its own!
So many things have been going through my head the last few days and its so demotivating. I thought about not starting, what to do if I start and can't finish, what if everything is ok, and more! I worry about the weather and how that will affect my race and my cold. I thank everyone for the positive encouragement leading up to this race! I will see you out there and post my second blog of 2012 after the race!