Sunday, March 02, 2008

Today's Chilly Half

What can I say about today's run at the Chilly Half in Burlington?
After taking a nap, I'll just spew out random stuff that pops into my head.

1. Great race to do. Well organized, post-race food was excellent and quickly accessed. I must thank Mizuno Canada for getting me entered in the race. I'd love to come back again to do the race, hopefully it fits into next year's schedule.

2. My performance was adequate (1:47:55). I wasn't expecting much because I did not taper for the race, and my legs were dead from logging lots of hours the past few weeks.  Today's run was my 59th run in 59 days (actually 58 bike and runs in 58 days). I could have run faster in the last 10 km (my legs sorta woke up at that point) but a PB was not in the works so I chose to lessen my recovery time and soreness for the week and coast it in to the finish.

3. If you want to run a PB at this race, make sure you position yourself near the front of the start line. The course is narrow (one lane) you need to get out in front and clear of the crowd. I spent the first 10-15 minutes going and avg. of 10.5 km/hr (way too slow). I typically start at the back of the back at races and work my way through. This does not work at this race.

4. The course is NOT flat. There is lots of very gradual/slight uphill stuff. According to my watch it is 60% flat or downhill, and 40% uphill. Then you have winds off the lake to deal with.

5. The weather was excellent. You had to battle the wind at certain sections of the course but nothing ridiculous. All you needed was a long sleeve and a vest. I wore a Mizuno Breath Thermo 1/4 Zip, running jacket, brushed tight, gloves and hat, along with my Running Free Vest. I could have done without the Mizuno running jacket.

6. Here is something gross that I want to mention because no one should do this. When I returned to my car I discovered that some sick individual took a dump in between my car and someone else's. I wasn't close to my car door or anything but still quite sick. Considering that the parking lot and the "dumping area" directly faced a big apartment building, someone could have easily spotted this dastardly act. Next time find a porta potty, public washroom (lots of both available) or at least a bush or forest buddy.

7. Up next is the Around the Bay 30 km. I'll be doing 3:15 pacer duties.

By the way, after race kit pick-up on Saturday, I went across the street and caught the new Will Ferrell flick (Semi-Pro). I actually enjoyed it a lot. Truly dumb but funny as heck. I liked it a lot more than Blades of Glory and Talladega Nights. But I'm not sure that says much though.

Till next time
RH

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