Manning-Blossom Marathon

A LESSON IN COMMUNITY AND MAKING IT WORK

Once upon a time, there was an entire race season cancelled due to a global pandemic, and us runners were left to their own devices to sort out their next moves.

I had been training for my “Marathon re-debut” since December 2019, with hopes of achieving my first Boston Qualifying time. I had previously completely a full marathon 3.5 years prior as a bucket list goal. I just wanted to call myself a “marathoner” and say I did it. My goal was to hold a 6 min/km pace or better. I averaged a steady 5:59/km and completed the run in around 4 hours and 13 minutes. I was elated. And swore I’d never do it again as I hobbled to the massage tent.

But of course, things change. Goals shift. Once I started working with a coach and the potential of the “what if’s” set in I knew that one day I would be attacking that distance again. After a few years of failed attempts at running a half marathon in under 1:40 I knew I needed to pivot my focus to something different. And so began my quest to get that beloved BQ.

As events started getting cancelled one by one due to the pandemic, my team and I knew the fate of our spring marathon. I had been waffling on training and what to do for the bulk of the state of emergency, not knowing if I cared anymore or what to do next. Some cut back mileage and went into maintenance mode. But many of my peers set their sights on time trials, by suggestion of our coach. The idea of pushing that hard for that long for an imaginary race just felt really uninspiring to me. I considered running the distance at a solid, confidence-building effort,  but not race effort. But the idea of just letting my training block fade out without a grand finale felt anti-climatic. But after witnessing my teammate run a blazing 2:47 marathon on her “Re-debut” time trial (at 46 years old!!) I was inspired. It was time to set a date and commit.

I opted to pretty much push my race date as far as I could before really bad summer heat would play a major factor. After spontaneously participating in my first ultra event in early May (more on that at a later time), I wanted time to nurse my “re-tapery” (My term for that space between a recovery and a taper, trademark 2019) and make sure my body was ready. I put in a lot of solid runs that winter, and was definitely seeing the tangible data of how my fitness was improving, but I didn’t have a ton of AMAZING training runs this block. My best run was the Sunday before my race; Our beautiful 13km training loop one last time, in beautiful sunny weather, conversational at a 4:49 pace averaging 165 BPM. Target marathon heart rate is 166. The data surprised me. I was as ready as I’ll ever be.

The week before the race I stuck with the plan aside from skipping my mini speed work session in favour of a bonus rest day. Normally I would have had a massage but alas, those were the days of Covid-19. Extra FSR (flex/stretch/roll) and hot baths would have to suffice. I had a few rough work days without some great sleep, but by the end of the week I was sleeping and carb-loading like a champ. (or so I thought!) On Thursday evening my husband and I went for a ride on his motorbike to check out the route; a point-to-point route ending at my house. Little did I know when coach sent me the route that he planned that it started at my friend Dave’s driveway. Some of my most successful races included shake-outs with Dave. In 2018 when I beat my half marathon time goal by 5 minutes I was wearing a good-luck wrist band that Dave loaned me. This was a sign. Not to mention the route was on many of my favourite Annapolis Valley roads. I was feeling the stoke.

Race Day

I woke up at 5:45 and made my usual oatmeal...but for some reason made a pivot to sourdough toast with peanut butter. My husband was up at 6am drawing me a finish line in sidewalk chalk. (A surprise, but I caught him.) I was still so full from the day before and this was more appetizing than the oatmeal at the time. I’ve had toast with PB before other races and runs so I wasn’t concerned about the change of plans. I also had coffee and some electrolytes. I was feeling really full and like I should be using the bathroom but it just wasn’t happening so off I went hopeful that maybe the drive and/or warmup would help my *situation*. We listened to pump-up jams in the car (“High Hopes” because I just *had to*, and “Freedom” by Beyonce. Two great race anthems) and I got to the start line to do my warmup. We had a last minute pep talk, reviewed the fuel plan, and it was go time.

Coach told me to run the first 3km by effort, no quicker than a 4:50 or 4:45 on a downhill. After that, settle into 162 BPM heart rate until the halfway mark, gradually pushing things a few beats and then by 38km I should be at threshold. I did many training runs with this structure and they were some of my favourite runs. It seemed like a manageably difficult effort. The plan was to run solo for 9km, with my friend’s Dillon and Dave until the halfway mark, with coach for the back half of the race and then my girls Kyla, Kaili and Paula would join us for the final push. I knew I wanted those first 9km to settle into things.

The first 4km zoomed by and when I saw my first fuel stop I didn’t feel ready for fuel already, but knew I’d pay for it later if I didn’t drink. Shortly after this my tummy began to hurt and knowing Dave and Dillon would be at the 9km mark I tucked into a bush at the 7- km mark to use the restroom. It was a good decision.  Lisa, my fuel support, was on schedule at 8km with my half a Maurten gel and electrolytes.

I was on target with a steady 162 heart rate and at this point I set my screen to only show my heart rate. I didn’t want to get wrapped up in pace. Dave and Dillon joined me at 9km and we settled into it. This was such an awesome part of my day. Dave played music from his phone in his pocket and I enjoyed their company while we ran. We stayed on heart rate and ran my easiest and subsequently fastest kms of the day. I have such a special running relationship with both of these guys and we rarely get to run together so this part of the day was just so awesome. At one point Dave was playing Bob Marley “3 little birds” and I joked that “I was the Robyn and we were 3 little birds”. It was pretty special. Dave had to tap out earlier than planned because he had an injury so Dillon stayed with me for another 6 or 7km. It was like the good ol’ days having one on one time together on the course. He gave me awesome advice and pumped me up. He reminded me how far I have come in my running journey and to keep everything I have learned in my “cookie jar” for when things got tough later. 

Around the 17km mark I could feel that I needed to use the bathroom again and I didn’t know what to do. It was starting to slow me down. Dillon was still with me at this point and tried to help with a blanket from the support car to conceal me while I literally used the bathroom on the side of the road. I told him to turn around and I didn’t care. (Runners are disgusting, by the way. Sorry to any non-runners who may be reading this.) No time to waste. I felt 1000000x better afterwards. We found coach at the halfway mark and my watch beeped. 1:42 for the first split; My second fastest half ever in spite of 2 bathroom breaks and I still had plenty in the tank.  

A little before this the clouds had cleared off and it started to heat up pretty quickly. I had my rock star fuel support spraying me with water early in the run to pre-meditate this. I put a lot of focus into running at peak heat hours for the weeks leading up to the run,  just in case it was hot on race day. I think this really helped. Paula also sprayed me with a spray bottle for a solid 7 or 8km (maybe more? ~what is time when you’re running a marathon?~) which is the most hilarious pampering I have ever had in my life but I guess that’s what teammates do.

I think it was around km 25 when I started to feel tired. The pace was still manageable but I could sense a bit of resistance and the effort increased a touch. Paula jumped in around here (earlier than expected) which helped boost my energy at the right time. Kilometres kept ticking away. Interestingly, I really did not think about the distance whatsoever in the race until about the last 2km. I think only having the heart rate display may have contributed, but having the race broken up into different “friend segments” definitely helped too. I had a realization in the months leading up to race day how much better my endurance is when things aren’t considered continuous. “Running the km you’re in” worked for me. 

What? Never ran with a spray bottle parade? Rookie. ;)

Kaili and Kyla jumped in at 30km. It was getting pretty hot and I was starting to feel my legs getting tired. I found my pain cave at 35km. I was taking short walk breaks at this point Just to break up the last few miles. In my mind I thought I would have to slow the pace down more if I planned on pushing it continuously. And the walks gave my legs a second. Mentally I felt amazing. The walking felt strategic and not like it was hindering my run. I felt so lucky to have my OG running gal pals there for this push. These girls are my inspiration! I was nervous they would push me a little harder than I knew my body could handle by 30km but they were the perfect pacers to keep me moving.

Coach started to try and push my pace with a few km left but I was pushing as hard as I could by that point. Dillon jumped in exactly when I needed him with 2km left just in time to say “You ran 80km, what’s another 2km?”. He has a calm way of encouraging that just makes you feel like you can do anything. I truly felt like I was dying…but then we turned onto the last (cruel) 400m loop I saw all my friends and family. Emotions set in. Just 2 days prior to the race the government eased restrictions allowing for larger socially distanced outdoor groups. It was so emotional to be so raw and vulnerable and then see so many faces from my running community together to support my big day. The race finished with a shoot on the trail through some trees, turning onto my street, and finishing just in front of my house. As soon as I stopped I looked at my watch and I could barely believe my eyes: 3:27:51! More than 7 mins under what would have been my BQ time! Then I realized how many people were there and I REALLY couldn’t believe my eyes. It really felt like a real race, except one with all my favourite people on my perfect route on a perfect day. I couldn’t have asked for more and I would trade every other race in the future for this one if it meant doing that again with all of my friends. 

Telling Paula my official time. Her face says it all!

Looking back now, almost 9 months later, here are the takeaway notes I had written down to remember:

-My form has really visibly improved

-That race fuelling was PERFECT. If anything, more than I needed and it’s easy to take less than it is to ask for more

-Dialling in my nutrition in the days leading up to the next event will be easy gains. I lost just shy of a minute to bathroom breaks. I would’ve been 3:26:XX otherwise! (Gasp!)

-Formidable fitness is the next frontier for me. Easy gains to be made in core strength, stability, etc.

-I started to hit the pain cave later than anticipated, but more 30+ long runs in the next marathon block should help.

-Although this was the cushiest marathon of all time, I really, TRULY believe that I can accomplish this on my own as well, and that my mental stamina was not dependent on my peers but rather they just enhanced my overall experience and brought joy to the day. (Aside from that last 1.5km...Dillon and Coach definitely lit a fire under me there.) 

Overall, I am SO frigging proud of this accomplishment. FINALLY my fitness and attitude came together when it counted. In the days leading up to the race aside from putting it out there that I was doing it, I was pretty low key about my time expectations. I really haven’t delivered like this on a race day before and I knew my fitness was there. I can’t help but giggle thinking about the expectation management a few friends tried to set for me in the prior weeks, knowing I was secretly going for it and that I felt ready to crush it. I am already excited to try it again. :)

So here we are, heading into another spring marathon block. LET’S FUCKING GO.

x Rocket

The Rocket Launch

Welcome to the starting line.

I’ve been threatening to create a little corner of the internet for awhile now, and if 2020 taught us anything, it’s that there is no time like the present. It’s officially time to lace up and hit the ground running.

The timing just feels right. I don’t know about you, but the arbitrary strike of midnight which turns one year into the next has never felt better. I remember being terrified in 2000 that the world would end at 12:01. Throughout 2020 there were actual moments where I feared we wouldn’t make it that far. I am grateful to be here.

All this said, in spite of the emotional roller coaster of a global pandemic and having all of our running events cancelled, I truly found my stride. Once I accepted the fate of the year that was upon us, I embraced the “non-season” with full force and allowed space in my calendar to experience things I never would have otherwise allowed for myself. Running in a dangerous time was, dare I say it, good to me. Actually, it was GREAT to me. I became an ultra-marathoner 3x over, achieved unofficial PR’s in the marathon and half marathon distances, did some EPIC trail running, and most importantly, used running as a tool to raise over $6600 for cancer research. (Stay tuned for future #ThrowbackThursday posts where I plan on diving into these experiences in more detail.)

Taking the pressure off of my performance taught me to get out of my head and into the moment. My coach often tells my peers and I to “Run like Kipchoge”. Although none of us will likely be running a sub 2-hour marathon any time soon, there is merit in that statement. Have you ever googled a picture of the guy? He is almost always smiling. The man understands gratitude. He runs with it literally plastered on his face. Did you know that if you smile when you’re running it tricks your brain into thinking it’s easier and you therefore run more efficiently? Seriously. #science. We should all be grinning cheek to cheek to be running in 2021. We friggin’ MADE IT.

So with a new year and a clean slate it is time to set new goals. After all, I owe it to you guys to give you a little heads up as to what you can expect from this whole blogging thing:

1. I am optimistically registered for a spring marathon. Fortunately, I live in the East coast of Canada where our government has been very proactive with Covid-19 enforcement and our case numbers are currently quite low. Should the show go on, it’s my hope to finally achieve an official Boston Marathon qualifying time. Technically, the time to beat is 3:35. Realistically, I will need to run a 3:30 or better to ensure my spot amongst all the competition. Last spring when my marathon was cancelled because of the pandemic I ran a time trial and achieved a time of 3:27:51. I am hopeful.

2. Come September I hope to run a 125km trail ultra at The Ultra-Trail Harricana in Quebec. After falling in love with big mileage in 2020 I decided to set my sights on what will inevitably be a long and gruelling process of qualifying for the sufferfest that is the Western States 100. This could take years, so I better get warmed up.

So with that, welcome to the team. What are you setting your sights on for 2021?

x Rocket