Mississauga Marathon Race Report

The past two weeks have been an absolute blur...Life got in the way and it was crazy...I am hoping that things will settle down a little this week!

Training wise I did great during the taper...probably the best I have felt on a taper ever...I plan on adjusting my Taper again for Chicago...

From Chicago last time I RAN nothing the week prior...this time I had a sports massage on the Tuesday which was AWESOME...I feel like this really helped...Wednesday I ran 10km ( @ race pace) followed by rest days Thursday/Friday and a 3km run on Sat. morning. I was feeling extremely confident going into this marathon that I could beat my Chicago Time of 4:49:08 and was hoping to run between a 4:35:00-4:45:00...I threw those plans out the door once I saw the weather..

COLD, WET, RAINY and WINDY....instead I shifted my game plan and I just wanted to have a solid run where I could be upright and smiling at the end...I made a 4:35:00 pace band on Friday and planned to use that and if it didn't work out then no biggie after all Chicago is where I want to kill it ....


Friday Night:

I had a Sushi Friday FEAST with the Hubby, Catherine, Lindsay and James




We headed home and I went to bed really early and had a very restful sleep...Sat. I woke up and did and easy peasy 3km and then the Hubby and I headed to the Expo for packet pick up...It was a small expo I picked up a few things...

We then headed to my brother's house for the evening. It was so nice to be able to stay with Family for this event...he lives about 15mins from the start. The hubby and I had a great early pasta dinner...I stuffed my face with lots of yummy carbs...








I was actually able to get some sleep in that night...since the race started at 7:30am I was able to sleep in until 6:00am. It was pretty sweet...I made some last minute race day outfit decisions and decided to wear my arm warmers to help with the weather...It ended up being a really smart decision for me...



Here is me just before we left...obviously still VERY SLEEPY...My brother and hubby dropped me off about 15mins before the race began...I waited in line for a port-o-potty but I spotted the 4:30 pace bunny and thought I wanted to be closer to him...the line ups were crazy and at that point I didn't really have to go...I met the pacer...he was pretty frazzled. He had borrowed someones Garmin and was wanting to know how to set it 5mins before the gun went off...then said he was running 6:00min Km's...It didn't add up to me...he was also doing a Run 10min/Walk 1min...I do often do this but in races I walk the Water stations...

We were off! It only took me 3mins to get to the start....the Pace Bunny took off and I focused on keeping my own pace...The weather was horrible...but I was excited...

The first 8km went by really FAST: The timing mat was 50: 09...I was feeling good and knew I was slightly faster than my 4:35 pace band...I was playing Leap Frog with the 4:30 pacer...he had lost everyone and I had passed them...He dropped his sign and was walking and encouraging people...I figured he was giving up...On I went...We hit a small incline between 10-11km....It was not as bad as I thought it would be....


At 13km we split from the half-marathoners...This is where it got to be a bit lonely...I ran with a few friendly people..including this one AMAZING lady who has completed a TON of Marathons and now was into ultras...It was her 8th consecutive year running the Mississauga Marathon and she had just completed a 100km Ultra the weekend before...she was super nice to talk and listen to...

At 17km I needed a pit stop...luckily I spotted an empty port-o-potty and hopped in quickly...it was 1min total...I quickly sped up to make up some time and luckily was able to recover my average pace....


Before I knew it I had crossed the half way mark at 2:13:27....It gave me a predicted finish of 2:26:00ish....This was an out and back section...I was a little worried about this because I tend to HATE out and backs but I was able to see Marlene and cheer her on!! Go and check out her amazing BQ run!!!


The out and back only lasted 4km so it was totally bearable...The worst part of the next half was the wind...It was brutal...my pace had just begun to slow because of it...I was starting to get excited because I knew that I would be able to see my brother and my hubby in between 30-35km...So I saw them in one of the little parks...it was the perfect motivator for me...I knew that I would soon be seeing them again but at the finish line...





I was surprisingly feeling REALLY strong and knew that there was only 7km left...Hubby looked at me and said "You are on pace for a 4:26:XX" still...Keep it up...I was confused at this point because my garmin was not telling me the same thing...at some point I had lost a bit of satellite connection and was measuring quite short between KM markers...earlier I had been measuring over (I always tend to have this as I am a weaver)...

We had another small hill on the Lakeshore which I was fortunate to have my Hubby and Bro drive by honking and cheering...it was awesome! They had an inflatable "Wall" that I ran right through...the wind and rain were bad but the thought of finishing and getting warm was a motivating factor to finish....As we started to head into Port Credit I ran into that 4:30 Pace Bunny AGAIN...he looked at me and said...Keep this up and you'll be under 4:30...Let me tell you it was the LONGEST 3km of my LIFE ...It wasn't until I could see the finish line that I knew that I could get a sub: 4:30....this has been a dream of mine and I thought it would be something that would happen this coming fall in Chicago...





Chip Time: 4:27:53

This next photo is where I began to have an ugly cry....






I am so happy with this race...I feel like my hard work this cycle really paid off...the past month I was trying to be consistent with my pacing and it paid off...I was on par to finish at 4:26 and to be able to finish at 4:27:53....I am just ecstatic....I completed my first Marathon in 5:39:48 and have now taken OVER an HOUR off my first time...I am even more excited for my own potential over this next training cycle....

Thank you so much to all my friends and family who are constantly being so supportive...I am truly blessed....