After Covid torpedoed my plans to run the 2020 Vancouver Marathon and sent me into lockdown for two years, I was glad to finally be able to get back to "serious" running over the last few months. My aim was to sign up for a marathon, any marathon, train for it, finish it, and not get hurt in the process. The spectre of injury is not one I'd like to contend with in real life, so I kept my training slow with the aim to finish rather than finish in a certain time.
And so with a simple and manageable training plan I made for myself I set out to prepare for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon, spending the summer running down the Toronto Waterfront. I cross-trained far less than I should have, and continued to eat and drink in a manner that would make most serious marathoners cringe.
There were a few surprises along the way to be sure. The absence of robust cross training meant that the muscles I needed to fire didn't dire well enough. An ill-planned outing to play badminton left me with a bad knee at a critical juncture of my training plan. An overenthusiastic 36k in the final phases of my training left me with a nasty pain in my hip. I ran said 36k faster than I ran any of my previous long runs, including the many I did in the 2016 - 2018 season when my training was at its "peak" and included races in Ladakh (aka the Greatest Run in the Universe), Ooty, and Mumbai with their accompanying altitude, elevation changes, and heat and humidity (I'm looking at you, Marine Drive).
But in the end, I felt reasonably confident as I lined up in the blue corral at the start of the course. Running in North America definitely left me feeling as if I wasn't in Kansas (or maybe Katamnallur?) any more, given that the running culture in this part of the world included people who routinely ran marathons with 3:15 timings or lower.
Ah well, time to pay attention to the course. The announcer thanked the city for all the work that went into making the race a reality. He welcomed the new Canadians who were making Toronto home and urged us to bring our friends and family here as well. Heart. He thanked the volunteers whose efforts really sat at the core of the event. He talked a little *too* long, and I felt the urge to yell - "let's just get it started!"
Eventually, we were off, running down University Avenue under the grey skies of a Toronto October. Cheer stations abounded. People with funny signs. Runners of all ages. A row of portable toilets I wished I'd spent more time at. Curses.
A station with Iranian flags and signs caught my eye. The station's music competed with Ozzy Osbourne yelling about big black shapes in my earphones, and was unsuccessful in drowning him out, though Ozzy's screeching did help energise me. Barreling down Bathurst, I crossed the BlackToe Running cheer station, immediately recognisable thanks to the yellow fun squad t-shirts and the unmatched energy. I almost wished I wasn't running the race so I could join in! The energy was contagious, and I had to check my pace a couple times as I hit the waterfront, making my way down a route that formed the backbone of my training, with the water to my left and a bunch of corporate logos to my right.
The runners eventually looped around, making their way back towards downtown. I looked up to my right and saw my condo building just before it disappeared under the elevated road that is Toronto's Gardiner Expressway. It was at this point that the marathon and half-marathon courses split up. I gave myself a quick nod to acknowledge being at the halfway point.
BUT, I also noticed that I suddenly wasn't feeling very good. I couldn't tell if it was the lack of light (I was still running under the Gardiner), dehydration (my lips DID feel a little dry), or maybe a lack of fuel (I had yet to eat anything at 21km), but the mild dizziness I was feeling got me to (almost) stop in my tracks. To top it all off, I'd started to feel some tightness in my calves, a sensation that usually hit me at the 30km mark while I was training. Not. Good. Was this the Wall? Did Pink Floyd REALLY come up on my Garmin at the exact same time?
I didn't really have a strategy in mind at this point, and was focused more on the somewhat dreamy feeling in my head that was getting in my way and preventing me from keeping my eyes on the road too long. What the heck was happening? My pre-race breakfast was exactly the same as what I'd eaten during every practice run, I'd hydrated well the day before and during the race so far, and my pace was consistent with my plan.
Without thinking too much more, I made a beeline to the water and electrolyte station just ahead and downed two cups of each, coming to a complete stop for what would be the only time during the race. I also pulled out a maple syrup gel from my pocket and gulped it down, the sticky sweetness of the maple together with the slightly sharp undertone of the ginger leaving me with a smile on my face.
In a couple minutes I could feel the dizziness fading away, but it seemed like my calves were still tied up in knots, so I did something that had worked pretty well for me in the past - I sped up! I don't recall just how much I increased my pace by, but after a few kilometers of struggle I felt my calves open up. The race was now back to normal, and I ran on uneventfully (knocking back water, electrolytes, and gel every 30 minutes or so) until kilometer 40, when I accelerated to finish pretty strongly.
Overall, I finished feeling strong, had no injuries, and was back at work the next day (sigh) with minimal issues besides the usual aches and pains. I even managed to not lose any toenails this time round! Onwards and upwards - maybe Ottawa is next?
Some thoughts for the next race:
1. I objectively did not train well for this race, something that I will not repeat the next time around. While I was reasonably consistent in my approach, clocking a decent 50 or so km every week as I built up, I did no cross training, didn't have my nutrition sorted out, and didn't monitor my progress with any granularity.
2. I achieved my objective of finishing the race without getting hurt, and I did so in a time I'm pretty proud of. I am confident I can replicate my performance and probably do better next time. A running mate at BlackToe (who knows what he's doing given that he runs elite times) said he was confident I could shave off 20 more minutes with the right training and nutrition next time around.
3. My next run will be in the Spring, which means training through the very dead of Toronto's winter. Winter running isn't totally new to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed in the last time around, so I'm excited to get going! It's also good training for the time when I finally start thinking about ultramarathons (in cold places) more seriously...
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