Canadian Run

As far as races go the Toronto 1/2 Marathon has moved to the top of my list. Although I love training in quiet rural location or city parks, I like racing in big cities. A couple of weeks ago, my husband M, friends A, and A ran our spring race in Toronto. It was our first international race although the drive there was rather short. :-) I anticipated the route would be mostly level or downhill as the route was down Yonge St toward Lake Ontario. I did glance at the elevation chart once but I apparently ignored the inclines. I started out running at a rather fast but comfortable pace. After the first couple of miles was a dreaded hill and I clocked it as a mile on my Garmin. That slowed me down a bit as well as the temperature was rising rather quickly. After the hill I started to focus in on the route and the run itself. I started to count the coffee shops as I usually do and track my pace on the GPS. Mile 3 through 10 seemed to fly by until those last 3 miles. The sun was bright reflecting off the buildings but my eye on my watch got me through to the end. I ended up with a PR and once I met up with my husband I found out he did too. To make the day even more special it was our wedding anniversary. - P

Race Report – Toronto Half Marathon 2012

Preparation for the race started in January, which is when we all signed up.  We try to pick race places and times of the year so that the chance of it being warm is minimal.  So traveling from northeast Ohio to Toronto Canada in early May sounded great.  The day started off with almost perfect weather conditions.  If they would have stayed that way, it would have been wonderful, but needless to say, the sun rose more and it got a little warmer.  I think the conditions during most of the race hovered around 62 degrees F.  That is warm for a 13.1 mile run for me, though most of the time those conditions are considered ideal and beautiful.  I have to admit that going in to the race, I was confident that I could finish at or around my previous finishing times, but I didn’t think that I had enough back log of training to get myself into PR territory.  The race was run well in my opinion and I was thankful for the shuttle from the hotel to the start line.  This was the first half marathon I’ve run where the start isn’t in the same location as the finish, so the shuttle back to the hotel was also a great aspect of the race organization.  The actual race itself started pretty calm and uneventful.  There were not as many people in this race as had been in several of the previous races, so the lack of commotion actually was relaxing.  After the first water stop, P and I lost each other for almost a mile and I really thought I’d be running the entire race on my own.  However, I went up on a random curb for one final look around and saw her and we stayed together until around mile 8.5 when she went on ahead.  I have to admit that I didn’t think that marking the course in KM instead of miles would matter much, and it didn’t, until around the last 5k.  I guess I don’t have 5k calibrated in my mind enough to judge how much longer (distance and time) I have to go when I am drained (and slightly hurting) from the 10 miles I just ran to get up to that point.  All in all, it was a good race and we did get to see a lot of Toronto while running, since it was primarily on the main strip and ended at the water front.  As predicted, I didn’t get a PR, but I did log my second fasted time.  Five half marathons down.  -A

Exploring Las Vegas

Our trip to Las Vegas began focused on running the ½ marathon. Once that was over we were able to take in the sights of this ever changing city.  I hadn’t been there in many years and it was the first time for everyone else, so ultimately it was like experiencing  a new place.  I imagine it is like that for most people unless they go there every year.  We spent the day after the race walking to all the casinos and hotels and soaking up all the sights on the strip.  We were lucky enough to see them lit up even more than they normally are,  due to Christmas displays everywhere. 

The amount of good restaurants Las Vegas has to offer it was difficult to choose where to have dinner.   We settled on Fiamma at MGM Grand one night and the buffet at the Wynn on the other.  Our post race dinner ended up as a combination of McDonalds and Subway so we really wanted to enjoy a couple relaxing dinners out the other nights.   I think our choices ended up perfect.  Fiamma is an Italian restaurant reasonably priced yet a nice menu and long wine list.  We took our time through dinner to enjoy both the food and atmosphere.  Since Vegas is known for their buffets we felt it should be a must do eating event.  Since we missed lunch the one day we managed to spend a late afternoon and early evening at the Wynn buffet.  Having lunch and dinner at the same sitting was a treat as well as a challenge.   Because it was post race (2 days later) we felt it was ok to eat more food.  :-) We spent over 2 hours of slow and well planned eating.   They offered crab legs, turkey, sushi, curry, mashed potatoes, burgers, pizza, salad, and so much more. The dessert bar was beautiful which was like an array of petit four like creations. 

Since we spent so much time exploring the strip we took the time on our last night to walk around downtown Las Vegas.  What is a trip if you don’t go to see some of the older casinos that are still standing.  Although there are some new additions such as the roof and zip lining down the middle of the street you can still feel the essence of old Las Vegas.  It is a must do especially if you recall any of the old movies featuring this part of town.  I thought it was a perfect end to the trip. - P

Half Marathon - Vegas Style

The night comes earlier in Vegas than in does in Ohio.  But that doesn't help the nerves and the decision making during the day before a half marathon at night.  Fortunately we planned ahead enough to be staying near the start and end of the race.  Since it was so crowded P, P's husband, my sister A and I had to maneuver our way from our hotel rooms to the start line.  The atmosphere was unlike anything I've felt before at a race, so the awesomeness of running the strip at night was totally worth dodging all the people even though it was annoying.  The weather was a great temperature, kind of cool for Vegas, but something we were very comfortable running 13.1 miles in.  However, Vegas has much drier air than we are used to, so that did affect as least my breathing and hydration a little bit. As unique of an experience as it was to have the strip closed down for the race, my feet started really hurting around mile 8 or 9 and I was very glad for it to be over.  Overall, a good race.

And a bonus, the finisher medals glow in the dark.  Very cool.

I know it is not even technically winter yet, but I am ready to start planning for another half marathon in the spring. -A

Running The Strip At Night

It’s been a week and a half since completing the Rock n Roll Marathon Las Vegas ½ marathon. What a weekend, what a race.  My husband, A, A’s sister, and me scheduled this race back in June.  Due to logistics we planned this one out extra early.  The race was sold out at 44,000 participants and was a night race.  We were truly hoping for some PR’s as this was a flat course.   Because the corrals were rather unorganized and people of all levels were scattered throughout the corrals we had to zigzag through the sea of walkers and slower runners throughout the entire race.  Aside from being a little disappointed in our finish times, we were pretty happy about the opportunity to run at night along the Las Vegas strip and through downtown.  From what I heard it is the only time aside from New Year’s Eve that they close down the strip.  The race was loaded with onlookers cheering everyone on and looking at some of the crazy outfits people wore was entertainment enough to get me to the finish line happy and still full of energy.   I can’t wait  to plan our next ½. - P