Mississauga
Marathon Race Report – May 5, 2013
By Mark DesLauriers
By Mark DesLauriers
In preparation for my first Marathon, I did
a 2 week taper. Cut Sunday run in half
the week before. Did a 6km race pace run
on Wednesday before, took Thursday & Friday off, then light run on
Saturday. Lots of stretching and foam
rolling all week. Carbo loaded Thursday,
Friday, and Saturday in hopes of delaying the onset of the “wall” during the
late stages of the race.
Made a good decision to stay at host hotel
(Novotel) which is 500m from starting line.
Got all of my race gear ready before dinner, so I didn’t have to think
about it in the morning. Realized I
forgot my race socks, so needed to figure something out quick. They offered a $12 pasta buffet to
participants in the restaurant, which allowed me to fill up the glycogen stores
with those yummy carbs. Went to visit
some friends who lived nearby to watch the Leafs win their first playoff game
in 9 years. Thankfully, my friend gave
me a pair of ankle socks to wear during the race. When I got back to hotel, there was no
parking spots left. Finally found a spot
in the back of the hotel by the loading dock.
In to bed by 11pm but not able to get to sleep until 2am.
Woke up before my alarm at 5:15am. Felt surprisingly fresh. The hotel offered oatmeal, toast, yogurt, coffee,
etc in the lobby between 5-6am. Met some
other runners, including Dave Jupp at breakfast. Polished off a big bowl of oatmeal, banana,
toast, and large coffee. Back to the
room to get ready for the race.
Conditions outside were 12 degrees Celsius and sunny, with light
wind. Perfect conditions for
racing. My race nutrition consisted of
500ml of Eload drink, and 5 Eload Apple flavoured gels (which I would consume
with water every 45 minutes). I decided
to carry the drink bottle on my Nathan belt, rather than drinking Gatorade at
the aid stations. (I have been training
with Eload, and didn’t want to mess around with my system). Consumed 1 gel ten minutes before the start
of the race with some water. Lined up in
the start corral about 20 meters from the front. Wanted to be close enough to the front so
that I didn’t have to bob and weave around a lot of people as my pace
quickened.
My stretch goal for the race was to finish
in a time of 3:10, which would have exceeded the 3:25 Boston qualifying
standard by 15 minutes, and giving me a potential buffer in case the race
didn’t go as planned. A 3:10 marathon
equates to average pace per kilometer of 4:30.
My plan was to take it out slowly, and gradually pick up the pace. Race strategy: First 3km at 4:45/km pace, next 2km at 4:40/km
pace, followed by 2km at 4:35/km pace.
Then settle into a pace of 4:30/km starting at 8km mark. Then pick up pace at 32km mark, followed by
strong finishing 2km. Course is
relatively flat, with a net downhill.
The last 10km of the course has a lot of twists and turns as it moves
from lake paths to residential streets. Aid
stations were situated every 2km on the course, serving water & Gatorade, a
few of them also had PowerBar gels. **
See my Actual KM pacing at the bottom of this blog **
The Start Of the Race:
Race started at 7:30am. Half marathoners and full marathoners started at same time, and shared the first 15km of the course. Took me 9 seconds to cross the timing mat after the gun went off. Initial pace was right on track and the pace felt easy. Focused on maintaining good form, and resisted temptation to think about how the end of the race was going to go. The first 10km of the race is very scenic with a lot of downhill sections. Consumed my first gel just before the 10km aid station and washed it down with a cup of water. The first big hill happened at the 10km mark. Felt I had to pee, and had to decide to either stop at a port-o-potty or hold it for the entire race. Decided to pop into a free port-o-potty just before 11km mark. Lost a minute of time but felt much better. Time to get the legs moving again. Didn’t have any trouble getting back into a 4:30/km pace. At the 15km mark the half marathoners & marathoners split up. We headed West another 10km to our turnaround point. Still feeling pretty good. Just focused on catching the next person in front of me and maintaining my cadence. My friends Paul & Jody (and baby Lilly) were at the 19km mark cheering me on. They were holding a sign “DEZ”, and gave me a nice little boost at almost the half way point of the race. Hit the 20km mark and consumed another Gel. It was starting to warm up out there, so I dumped a cup or two of water on my head every aid station. Worked very well to keep me cool. Pace still on track. Barely breathing hard at all. Looked forward to getting to our westerly turn around spot at the 25.5km mark. Saw the 3:10 bunny go by after turn around, then the 3:15 bunny…but I was really close to it. Set my sights on catching the 3:15 bunny, which would have been awesome. If I hadn’t stopped for a bio break, I probably would have been right with the 3:15 bunny. This point of the race was not very scenic and was a fairly industrial area of Mississauga. Finally got onto Lakeshore heading East toward the finish line. Decided to walk for a minute during 28km stretch to collect my thoughts and refocus. Saw my average pace slipping a bit and started to calculate my possible finishing time. I felt that I was likely on pace for sub 3:20 if I could maintain the current pace. Took my 3rd gel just before the 30km aid station. There is a big hill just before the 32km marker. At the top of the hill is an inflatable brick wall that you run through. This is where a lot of people start to feel their glycogen stores depleting and their bodies switch to burning fat for fuel. At the top of the hill, I could feel my IT bands tightening up a bit, and pace began to slow a bit. I then latched onto a pair of runners who were working together on the final 10km of the race. Used them to draft off of and take my mind off of the final stretch of the race. Ran next 3km with them, but my legs were not feeling good….. How much do I want Boston?? From the 36km mark to the Finish, the course alternated between lakefront paths, to residential streets, to Lakeshore drive. Lots of twists and turns, ups and downs. These changes in direction are very hard on your legs this late in the race. My pace significantly slowed (almost to a walk at times) especially on the inclines (my tight IT bands don’t like hills of any kind). I saw my Boston qualification time slipping away, but not much I could do about it. Sucked back my final gel at 38km mark, and recalculated my time. At current pace, I would finish at 3:27. All I could think about were all those people at work saying “How did your race go? Did you get Boston?” And I would have to explain that I fell short of my goal by just a few minutes. I decided I had to give it a shot. So I picked up the pace, ignored the pain and set my sights on finishing the last 3km strong. All of those Wednesday speed workouts would pay off (Thanks KevO). After every KM I would recalculate my finish time. It was going to be close, but I had to keep pushing through. But wait. I did not factor in that the marathon was actually 42.2km, not 42km. How long would it take me to run the extra 200m? Shoot that’s another minute. Push on!! There were a lot of spectators on both sides cheering the runners in. Finish line is up a gradual incline and around the bend. I could hear the announcer but could not see the finish line. My watch is almost at 3:24….finally I spot the finish line and go for it…crossed the line in 3:24:16. I made it!!! I got a little choked up that I had actually pushed myself and got under 3:25. Hard to walk when I was done, but used the foam roller when I got back to the hotel room and legs felt pretty good. I am proud of my accomplishment for getting the Boston standard in my first marathon. Not sure if my time will be enough to get a registration spot in September, but that is out of my control. This race was a real character builder for me, and let me know that I can always push a little harder. Now my sights are on preparing for Ironman Mont Tremblant in August. My second marathon will be proceeded by a 4km swim and 180km bike ride. Bring it on.
Race started at 7:30am. Half marathoners and full marathoners started at same time, and shared the first 15km of the course. Took me 9 seconds to cross the timing mat after the gun went off. Initial pace was right on track and the pace felt easy. Focused on maintaining good form, and resisted temptation to think about how the end of the race was going to go. The first 10km of the race is very scenic with a lot of downhill sections. Consumed my first gel just before the 10km aid station and washed it down with a cup of water. The first big hill happened at the 10km mark. Felt I had to pee, and had to decide to either stop at a port-o-potty or hold it for the entire race. Decided to pop into a free port-o-potty just before 11km mark. Lost a minute of time but felt much better. Time to get the legs moving again. Didn’t have any trouble getting back into a 4:30/km pace. At the 15km mark the half marathoners & marathoners split up. We headed West another 10km to our turnaround point. Still feeling pretty good. Just focused on catching the next person in front of me and maintaining my cadence. My friends Paul & Jody (and baby Lilly) were at the 19km mark cheering me on. They were holding a sign “DEZ”, and gave me a nice little boost at almost the half way point of the race. Hit the 20km mark and consumed another Gel. It was starting to warm up out there, so I dumped a cup or two of water on my head every aid station. Worked very well to keep me cool. Pace still on track. Barely breathing hard at all. Looked forward to getting to our westerly turn around spot at the 25.5km mark. Saw the 3:10 bunny go by after turn around, then the 3:15 bunny…but I was really close to it. Set my sights on catching the 3:15 bunny, which would have been awesome. If I hadn’t stopped for a bio break, I probably would have been right with the 3:15 bunny. This point of the race was not very scenic and was a fairly industrial area of Mississauga. Finally got onto Lakeshore heading East toward the finish line. Decided to walk for a minute during 28km stretch to collect my thoughts and refocus. Saw my average pace slipping a bit and started to calculate my possible finishing time. I felt that I was likely on pace for sub 3:20 if I could maintain the current pace. Took my 3rd gel just before the 30km aid station. There is a big hill just before the 32km marker. At the top of the hill is an inflatable brick wall that you run through. This is where a lot of people start to feel their glycogen stores depleting and their bodies switch to burning fat for fuel. At the top of the hill, I could feel my IT bands tightening up a bit, and pace began to slow a bit. I then latched onto a pair of runners who were working together on the final 10km of the race. Used them to draft off of and take my mind off of the final stretch of the race. Ran next 3km with them, but my legs were not feeling good….. How much do I want Boston?? From the 36km mark to the Finish, the course alternated between lakefront paths, to residential streets, to Lakeshore drive. Lots of twists and turns, ups and downs. These changes in direction are very hard on your legs this late in the race. My pace significantly slowed (almost to a walk at times) especially on the inclines (my tight IT bands don’t like hills of any kind). I saw my Boston qualification time slipping away, but not much I could do about it. Sucked back my final gel at 38km mark, and recalculated my time. At current pace, I would finish at 3:27. All I could think about were all those people at work saying “How did your race go? Did you get Boston?” And I would have to explain that I fell short of my goal by just a few minutes. I decided I had to give it a shot. So I picked up the pace, ignored the pain and set my sights on finishing the last 3km strong. All of those Wednesday speed workouts would pay off (Thanks KevO). After every KM I would recalculate my finish time. It was going to be close, but I had to keep pushing through. But wait. I did not factor in that the marathon was actually 42.2km, not 42km. How long would it take me to run the extra 200m? Shoot that’s another minute. Push on!! There were a lot of spectators on both sides cheering the runners in. Finish line is up a gradual incline and around the bend. I could hear the announcer but could not see the finish line. My watch is almost at 3:24….finally I spot the finish line and go for it…crossed the line in 3:24:16. I made it!!! I got a little choked up that I had actually pushed myself and got under 3:25. Hard to walk when I was done, but used the foam roller when I got back to the hotel room and legs felt pretty good. I am proud of my accomplishment for getting the Boston standard in my first marathon. Not sure if my time will be enough to get a registration spot in September, but that is out of my control. This race was a real character builder for me, and let me know that I can always push a little harder. Now my sights are on preparing for Ironman Mont Tremblant in August. My second marathon will be proceeded by a 4km swim and 180km bike ride. Bring it on.
Pace/KM Breakdown for the Marathon:
KM 1: 4:47 (easy pace for first 7km, as planned)
KM 2: 4:47
KM 3: 4:40
KM 4: 4:35
KM 5: 4:39
KM 6: 4:33
KM 7: 4:33
KM 8: 4:33
KM 9: 4:17
KM 10: 4:28
KM 11: 5:34 (pee break)
KM 12: 4:30
KM 13: 4:32
KM 14: 4:33
KM 15: 4:27
KM 16: 4:30
KM 17: 4:34
KM 18: 4:29
KM 19: 4:34
KM 20: 4:38
KM 21: 4:32
KM 22: 4:37
KM 23: 4:37
KM 24: 4:37
KM 25: 4:40
KM 26: 4:39
KM 27: 4:38
KM 28: 5:19 (walked, time to refocus)
KM 29: 4:54
KM 30: 5:02
KM 31: 5:10
KM 32: 5:10
KM 33: 4:49 (hooked on to 2 runners)
KM 34: 4:49
KM 35: 4:59
KM 36: 5:28 (IT bands tighten up good)
KM 37: 5:28
KM 38: 5:48
KM 39: 5:43
KM 40: 5:05 (put my head down and go)
KM 41: 4:50
KM 42: 4:44
KM 1: 4:47 (easy pace for first 7km, as planned)
KM 2: 4:47
KM 3: 4:40
KM 4: 4:35
KM 5: 4:39
KM 6: 4:33
KM 7: 4:33
KM 8: 4:33
KM 9: 4:17
KM 10: 4:28
KM 11: 5:34 (pee break)
KM 12: 4:30
KM 13: 4:32
KM 14: 4:33
KM 15: 4:27
KM 16: 4:30
KM 17: 4:34
KM 18: 4:29
KM 19: 4:34
KM 20: 4:38
KM 21: 4:32
KM 22: 4:37
KM 23: 4:37
KM 24: 4:37
KM 25: 4:40
KM 26: 4:39
KM 27: 4:38
KM 28: 5:19 (walked, time to refocus)
KM 29: 4:54
KM 30: 5:02
KM 31: 5:10
KM 32: 5:10
KM 33: 4:49 (hooked on to 2 runners)
KM 34: 4:49
KM 35: 4:59
KM 36: 5:28 (IT bands tighten up good)
KM 37: 5:28
KM 38: 5:48
KM 39: 5:43
KM 40: 5:05 (put my head down and go)
KM 41: 4:50
KM 42: 4:44
Finish
3:24:16
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