Notes
Was a little worried coming into this race as it seems to measure a bit long looking at past years results and also measuring the route on Google. My best guess is it is about 50 meters longer than Achilles or about 11 seconds worth. This would put my time pretty much exactly equal with Achilles. Nevertheless it is a disappointment as I was really aiming for something under 18:20. Conditions were fair. There was some wind from the north which was felt heading up Spadina. The 8:00 A.M. start i don't think was ideal either. Also spent yesterday moving M. and J. so maybe was a little stale/stiff today, who knows. I just felt a little sluggish to begin and the first km which should be fast was definitely on the slower end, coming in around 3:40-3:42. I couldn't rely too much on GPS or the KM markers as both of them were off a tdifferent points during the race.
I made a concerted effort to push hard after the first km heading up Spadina. Ended up passing quite a few people and was able to maintain my pace pretty well. The 3rd km should have been fast but I think I got lazy towards the end of it running along Bloor. Ended up getting passed by 2 runners and unlike Achilles, I just couldn't fight hard enough to stick with them. Breathing was still ok asnd turnover was good so I was looking forward to turning onto Bay and really picking up the pace on the downhill. However I started tightening up a bit around diaphragm and just found it difficult upping the pae without causing too much pain. Breathing had become accelerated and legs wanted to go but I just couldn't push myself to drop the pace as much as I would have liked. Was passed by another runner in final km and again couldn't stick with him. Was just trying my best at this point to keep legs turning over and run as fast as possible without cramping up too bad. Made the final turn and finished somewhat strong but was never close to hitting my goal time.
Not totally sure of my exact splits but I think they were pretty even with maybe the 3rd km a bit below average. The course itself was a bit tougher than Achilles with the uphill drag on Spadina, wind was maybe the same. Effective finish time about the same so at best it was an equal effort. However, definitely worse than the Spring Run Off. Not sure what to make of it other than next time I need to push harder from the start and hopefully not cramp up. I think my fitness is there, just need the right day and conditions to put it all together. Disappointing but not a disaster for a bad race on a long course to still result in an 18:44