Notes
Coldest morning this fall so wasn't sure what to wear but decided on a longsleeve, thin gloves, and shorts, ened up being the right decision as although I did get a little cold around kms 14-16 for the most part I was comfortable. There was some sun at points but clouds for the most part.
Didn't have the greatest sleep as I was quite nervous. Legs felt ready to go when I woke up; there was some tightness in my left SI joint.
Goal for the race was low 1:26; I figured if I could hold 4:05 pace through 16K and was feeling good then I could pick it up attempting to get into the 1:25's. Warm up was very short but I felt good and wasn't too cold as I was able to hand off my warm up clothes to L just before the start. I placed myself near the front but not too close. This forced me to go out a little slower than I wanted but by 500m I had plenty of room and was ready to pick up the pace.
I only checked my watch after each K marker not trusting the GPS. The first 2kms uphill felt very relaxed running in the crowd and were similar to the first 2kms from 2013. Like 2013 I picked up the pace once I turned onto Bloor although this year it was even more severe. I was still feeling fresh so wasn't too concerned although I remember also feeling just as fresh at this point in 2013. Going down Bathurst I was hitting mid 3:50s but was able to maintain this pace all the way through 7k as opposed to just 6k in 2013. I forgo to hit lap at 6K as I was preoccupied with finding my sister. Turning onto Lakeshore I was still feeling good and ready to continue pushing whereas in 2013 I had a mini bonk at this point where my legs felt like they had just had an extra 10 pounds added to them.
On Lakeshore my main concern was the lack of long runs and I knew there would be a point where this brisk pace would catch up to me so I decided to settle in and relax clocking my slowest K of the race in km 9. Somehow this lit a spark in me though as I felt I was capable of more and didn't want the pace to slack too much when I was still feeling pretty good. There was a slight headwind at this point but nothing to discourage me. I decided to just continue pushing and re-evaluate at the turnaround.
I hit 10K in 40:12, 38 seconds faster than 2013. This gave me a lot of confidence as I had 38 seconds banked plus was feeling better at this point this year and knew that I slowed down quite a bit in the second half 2 years ago. I fought hard until the turnaround, happy to see my splits consistent around 4:02-4:03. Got a bit of a boost after the turnaround and hit a sub 4:00 for km 14. By this point I was starting to tire also knowing that I had 3 more inclines to go so I decided to just take it one K at a time focusing on maintaining pace. The 15th K featured the first incline and was my slowest km in 2013 at 4:12. This year I pushed hard, never entering the red zone, and hit a 4:04. The second incline was in the 19th K which again I was able to power up and clocked a 4:03. I had been running with a couple of runners from MB Performance jus as in the 10 miler so MB and her crew were there offering encouragement the whole way. This really helped keeping me honest the last few kms of the race.
Throughout the second half my cadence had been picking up despite my pace slowing. The 20th km was all about maintaining form keeping my legs turning over and getting to Bay St. where I could just give everything I had. The last 750m up Bay St. are a pretty steady incline. This was the first point in the race where I felt like I was nearing my limit but I never actually redlined as my legs just couldn't take me to that zone. I put in a bit of a kick with 150m left and was shocked to see the finishing clock in the low 1:25's. I hadn't done any finishing calculations throughout the race as I was just concerned with ticking off each K at 4:05 or better. I knew I had a good time but not THIS good. The last 1.1K (most of it uphill) averaged 4:01 pace so I still had some left in reserve.
I'm still in shock that I was able to maintain essentially tempo pace for the entire race. I followed my nutrition plan from 2 years ago and took a GU at 8K and 16K. At 8K I was still feeling quite relaxed barely hitting tempo breathing so the GU went down smoothly. At 14K I did start feeling a bit of side stitch coming on so was worried about taking the next GU. Luckily the side stitch dissipated in short time. It was a little harder at 16K taking the GU as my breathing was deeper and more accelerated. I only finished about two-thirds of it. There was some minor tension in my back in the last couple of kms but nothing like I had been experiencing recently. I believe the full week of rest with no gym really helped.
My left foot held up really well during the race; I felt some soreness in metatarsals but ankle and arch were fine. After the race my lower back was really tight and adductors were a little sore but nothing too bad. I felt like I was able to push myself more this year as I wasn't suffering from a cold. It was pretty reckless going out as fast as I did so I can't really say I should have pushed more to try to get under 1:25.