Smashin' good time in the Motor City!

What an amazing weekend in Detroit! My sister decided not to race the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon this year, so my Mum came with me on this trip. The reason for running this race again was solely to get the '53 Corvette medal...no other reason. Long Beach was only two weeks before, so I wasn't expecting any miracles on course. I just wanted to finish and collect my medal!

Our hotel, the Courtyard Marriott, was right at the entrance to the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel and we had a room with a wicked view of the Detroit River. Talk about easy to get to!

 The GM building right across from our hotel.

Once we checked in, we took a quick walk over to the Cobo Centre to pick up my race kit. We were through the expo in under an hour after buying Sport Beans for 1$ a pack (compared to 3$ here!) and a set of compression sleeves. Then we wandered the streets of Detroit.

My favourite building in Detroit. The fire escape is insane!

Love it!

I insisted on going for supper at my favourite restaurant, Fishbones and, as is my pre-race ritual, I had a bowl of soup (Shrimp Gumbo) and a glass of wine. OK, maybe it was three glasses of wine - who's counting?! After supper, we hit up the Greektown Casino where I won 95$ playing the penny slots. That's got to be some kind of record!

Fishbones on Monroe Street.

With all the excitement, I decided to head back to the hotel early and try to get a good night's sleep. The night before race day is like Christmas Eve - I'm too excited to sleep!

The view from the 17th floor of the Courtyard Marriott.

Our 4:30am wake-up call came way too early. It was absolutely freezing, so choosing appropriate race gear was tough. We made our way over to a 24-hour restaurant on Monroe Street and swallowed up a huge bacon and egg breakfast. Gotta have carbs and vitamin Q (grease) before a race! Then we walked over to the start line to get into my corral. Strangely, I started to get dizzy waiting for the race to start. This had me worried, considering the problems I've been having with vertigo lately.

Fifteen minutes to go til race time!

I didn't have to wait long before the corrals started advancing towards the start line. I cued up my new playlist and tried to suck in all of the excitement and energy around me. There is something really inspiring about being surrounded by 20,000 other runners about to embark on the same journey as me.

The race headed West along Fort Street towards the Ambassador Bridge. There were spirit stations and huge crowds cheering us on pretty much the entire way. The wind wasn't too bad this year, so the bridge was a little easier to navigate. In 2011, the wind was so strong, people's hats were getting ripped off their heads.

Kilometer five at the middle of the Ambassador Bridge. 

Once I hit the downhill into Canada, I ate some Sport Beans and picked up the pace. I like to make good use of downhills. It's a great time to increase your leg turnover because there is less resistance. Perfect for gaining time while expending as little energy as possible.

I high-fived four Canadian Border Services Agents at the booths in Canada as I ran past. There was a radio DJ doing commentary as we passed. He assured us that the male strippers were at mile 5 - they weren't, but, it was hilarious to hear! The support in Canada was insane. Literally, every meter had spectators, children and spirit stations. We headed across the Windsor waterfront towards the tunnel. I hit a water station and grabbed a Gatorade. Thinking of the stuffy tunnel ahead, I also took my jacket off so I wouldn't overheat during the Underwater Mile.

We hit the tunnel in the Free P's usual manner - whoops and hollers echoing off the two-lane tunnel. People were singing songs, yelling out cheers and just having fun. My GPS gave out, of course, and I wasn't sure if the timer would continue to work correctly. When I emerged in Detroit, I was pretty certain I was on a fairly good pace that would bring me in under my goal time of 2:10.

My Mum was waiting for me as we rounded the corner at Jefferson and Washington, so I tossed her my jacket. She was grinning from ear-to-ear and trying to snap pictures at the same time. So cute!

At mile ten, I remember thinking I still had serious gas in the tank. Then the inspiration songs started on my iPod. I thought, "I will try to make it to 11 miles before I take a walk break." Then I hit 11 miles and thought, "OK, I'll try to make it to 12 miles before I take a walk break." It was a very strange feeling. I have never run more than 10 miles without stopping. 

We passed my second favourite building in Detroit - the old Engine #4 for the Detroit Fire Department. One day, I'm going to buy that building!

The last few miles literally flew by. I felt amazing! I was trying to do kilometer calculations in my head, still not sure if the timer on my GPS was correct. Could it really be that I was on pace to run sub 2:05?! That can't be right, I thought. I kept truckin' through the 13-mile mark knowing my Mum was waiting to cheer me on in the home stretch. As I passed her, I started yelling, "I'm at two hours! Two hours, Mum!" Her "inspirational" words of encouragement were hilarious: "Well, get going, then!" 

Finishing strong in my new compression pants and sleeves!

I crossed the finish line and looked down to switch off my GPS. 2:02:42?! "No way, that can't be right," I thought. But it was! Not only had I got my goal of running sub-2:10, I smashed my personal best by 10 minutes! And not only had I taken 10 minutes off my PB, I had taken 11 minutes off my time from the Long Beach Half that was only two weeks before!

Celebrating my new personal best time!

I love the city of Detroit and I absolutely love the Free Press Half Marathon. I just may do this race again next year...depends which car they put on the medal!

Happy trails, fellow runners!

Go Long, California!

I did it! After eight months of training and racing, I crossed the finish line at the Long Beach Half Marathon to claim my Beach Cities Challenge medal!

Let's recap this glorious occasion:

In keeping with my pre-race tradition, I ordered a bowl of tortilla soup and a glass of wine from room service. Usually, I have a bowl of chowder, but finding it in California is a little difficult.

After purchasing a lot of carb-friendly food at Starbucks earlier in the day, my sister and I enjoyed a lovely pre-race breakfast of bananas and granola bars. For some reason, I skipped the half a bagel I normally eat before a race. Big mistake, because I ended up starving halfway through the race.

Like good little runners, we scouted out free parking the night before the race that was less than a mile from the start line. By doing so, we avoided the congestion of the parking structures directly adjacent to the start line and also gave ourselves a cool-down walk post-race.

The temperature was comfortable, which was a little worrisome considering the sun was still coming up and it wasn't yet 7am. We headed for our corral and tried to find our pace bunny. The best we could do was to find the 4:20 full-marathon pacer, so we decided to stick with him. He attached red and white balloons to the top of his pace sign, which made it extremely easy to find him after a stop at a water station! Good job, pace bunny!

I have no idea who sang the Star-Spangled Banner, but she was out-of-this-world amazing. I get weepy every time I hear either the Canadian or American anthems, and this day proved to be no different. The third-wavers like me started at 7:10am. About a mile into the race, the Long Beach Fire Department had hung a massive American flag from their ladder truck. It was a very inspiring sight to see. I don't know what it is about the stars and stripes that I love so much, but I have to admit, I like it better than the maple leaf!

This flag makes me want to apply for American citizenship!

The first half of the course is fantastic. We paced out at a 5:45 pace, sometimes speeding up to 5:30s and slowing to 6:00. The first of two hills hit at the 3K mark. It wasn't actually too bad, just a bridge crossing the bay. The course headed towards the Queen Mary and then turned around and followed the waterfront. One more bridge had us back on the beach side of the bay. That was it for hills, which for me, was disappointing.

The course wound its way along the waterfront boardwalk, around the Aquarium of the Pacific and towards the beach. The sheer number of spectators cheering us on was amazing. One of the highlights of the Long Beach Half Marathon is the Coast Guard ship that sprays water cannons into the harbour. It was absolutely beautiful! The Queen Mary was in the background as we ran past the ship. Naturally, we stopped to take a photo!

This spectacle was much-appreciated! The Queen Mary is visible in the background.

At kilometer 10, the course headed onto the concrete pathway that runs the entire length of the beach. Surf City also has a section like this, but only in the full marathon. The first kilometer was fun and exciting. We were very pleased to get the opportunity to run on the beach. However, the novelty wore off after about 2km. The sun was bright and the sand was radiating heat back onto us. Also, the course is fairly narrow through this section, so there are lots of runners in a very compact space. I hate straight and I hate flat, and the 5km portion that ran along the beach was both.

By the time we hit the turnaround and headed towards the finish line, our goal time was still in play, although we had slowed a little. Then the wheels fell off.

The final 6km weren't good for either of us, so I'll skip over the crummy part. The only highlight of this section was the two women spraying some kind of liquid Lakota onto runners' legs. It was menthol-y, it was cooling and it was nice.

Other than being on a slight downhill, the finish line was a bit of a nightmare. It really bottle-necked as we crossed the timing mats which meant we had to slow down before the finish line (not that I was blazing along at that point). Also crummy, was the finish line photographers had zero visibility of runners actually finishing.

Tons of Jet Blue employees were there to hand us our finishers' medals along with the customary tin foil space blanket, which I tucked into my water belt. It was 80 degress but I knew I would start to get cold at some point! Each runner was also handed a bottle of water, coconut milk, and a bag full of yummy food and cookies! Bags are such a smart idea for post-race snacks as it means you don't have to juggle a bunch of items as you stumble around.

After heading to the Beach Cities Challenge tent, we claimed our medals - my favourite moment of the day! It weighs about 2lbs and could definitely be used as a weapon to commit a murder!

TW1 and TW2 with our well-earned finishers' medals.

After the race, we slowly made our way back to the car. Neither of us were feeling too great at this point. Regardless of our sore feet and tired legs (Leggies so tired!), we were both very proud to have completed the Beach Cities Challenge. Now I can start to focus on a state other than California!

So long, California. I think if I do any more races here, I might stay forever and make this state my permanent home!

The entire collection of Beach Cities finishers' medals:
(From left) Surf City, Orange County, Long Beach and the Challenge medal 

Happy trails, fellow runners!

It’s the final countdown!!!

October is a marathon month for me, literally – Long Beach Half Marathon this Sunday followed by the Detroit Free Press Half Marathon on October 21st. Have I trained enough? Hell no. Am I packed and ready to go? Nope. Have I at least got myself into the mental groove? No heck way, as my Grand-Daddy would say.

Usually, I hit race week with a sense of excitement, anticipation and energy. This time around, I can also add trepidation and nerves.

Every runner is guilty of self-doubt at some point in their training. While I have been racing a lot, I haven’t been as dedicated to my training as I have in the past. My last run was an 8K last Wednesday with my running buddy. I felt energetic and healthy, but, I’ve totally neglected the long-slow Sunday run. Traveling and racing has meant a lot of shorter, faster substitute runs.

In two days, I will board a plane to Toronto where I’ll rendezvous with my sister, TW2, and depart for Long Beach on Friday morning. We’ll have a day and a half to acclimatize, hit the race expo and hydrate. Topping my list of things to do is to find an awesome patio in front on the harbour and watch the yachts sail by – glass of water in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other.

But, in typical California fashion, race day comes early – 7am early. On one hand, I appreciate the chance to race during the cooler part of the day before the sun comes out to scorch us all, but, the ungodly start time means I am a) grumpy, b) not limber, and c) grumpy. Did I say grumpy? The only thing working in our favour is the 2 hours we gain going out to California.

As is usual, it’s all about the bling: and this race is, perhaps, the most important race to date. By finishing Long Beach Half Marathon, TW2 and I will have completed the final race in the Beach Cities Challenge (BCC), thereby earning ourselves a really awesome, really large blingy-blingy!

Allow me to reminisce about the day all of this craziness started: TW2 and I travelled to Huntington Beach, California in February to race the Surf City Half Marathon. It was TW2’s race pick for the year (mine was the Baltimore Half Marathon on October 14). In other words, we agreed to run two half marathons in 2012. Count 'em - TWO. It started an avalanche of half marathons that would see us return to California three more times in 2012 and led to us signing up for the Louisiana Half Marathon and the A1A Fort Lauderdale Half Marathon. One little race, so many spin-offs!

It was at the race expo in Huntington Beach, that our eyes spied the Holy Grail that is the Beach Cities Challenge medal. It’s massive, it weighs a ton and it’s a huge badge of honour to earn at the end of the last race. Anyone running Surf City, OC or Long Beach knows what the BCC is and any runner with a competitive spirit wants the medal.

Bringing one of these bad boys home with me. Look out, aeroport security!

One conquers the Beach Cities Challenge by consecutively completing any combination of full or half marathons at the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon, Surf City Marathon, and the OC Marathon. After checking dates, I decided to forfeit Baltimore in October in order to allow us to run Long Beach. That way, we only needed to add one more half, Orange County, in May and we would earn our challenge medal.

We finished Surf City in 2:16.19 and Orange County in 2:11.25. One way or another, I'm getting my ass across that line under 2:10. Why not add a personal best to the mix?!

The anticipation of having that medal hung around my neck is insane! It’s been eight months of training and racing, but, that moment is literally days away!

And the best part? TW2 will be right there beside me to share the moment with!

Then, it's on to Detroit two weeks later...how could I resist the '53 Corvette medal?!

Happy trails, fellow runners!