Sunday, April 12, 2009

If I had to...

...I could have! Back in January when I committed to train for and run the Calgary Marathon on May 31st, the doubts that I had at the time whether I could do it, were ditched by the way-side today! If I had to run the 42km this morning, I could have! It may not have been in the 4:30 which is my goal but I could have got the job done. What a confidence booster it was to complete the 34 km and feel fine and happy with the effort.

When I hit the start button on my 305 at the "Y" it said 7:33am. For a couple of these long ones I want to start at 7:00am and simulate race day by going through the race morning routine. I was glad I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt under my long one, because the long one came off after an hour.

My favourite flavour of strawberry-banana gel was sold out when I went shopping yesterday so I had to mix it up and went with one new double latte and two of the strawberry-banana I had at home. What a nice treat! My new favourite flavour, double latte!

In the early 20kms, I ended up in some park out past the Shouldice Pool, not quite sure where I was but backtracked some so not to get lost. That added on the distance I would need so I could finish back at the "Y" at the 34km mark without having to do extra loops.

At the parking lot by 10th St., a fellow was practicing on the bagpipes! I love the bagpipes but I hated hearing them this morning because it brought out some emotion in me, I guess I was feeling a tad fragile at this point. It felt like I lost some energy when the emotions took over. I knew I had to get by there quickly, out of hearing distance, out of mind!

At around 11:30am, I landed back at the "Y"! I walked around for about 20 minutes then went to my car to get my recovery drink, stretch and then head home. I finished the balance of my recovery drink with my feet in ice cold water. It felt so good!

I'm happy with today's run and the boost of confidence it gave me! I feel a smile come over my face when I look at the stats:

Distance: 34.3 km
Time: 3:51:17
Pace: 6:44 min/km

Happy Easter! Happy Spring! Happy Happy Everything!

3 comments:

  1. Very, very respectable! Congrats!

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  2. Well done! It's the long emotional ones that give you the determination on the big day!

    x

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  3. yeah!! way to go on the confidence booster! I was just thinking my race is on Sunday, but i do all my long runs on saturday...wondering if I need to try changing it for the idea of race simulation too

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