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!
Well done Heather! I enjoyed reading this half as much as you enjoyed the race!
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