Scotiabank Montreal 21K: Your guide to pain

I decided last fall that I was going to run a marathon at some point "soon." However, I've never run long distances--5K is a good average, 10K is pretty much the top. A full-blown marathon was a little bit further than all that. So, I figured I'd run a half-marathon, and ease myself into the "sport." Being a big former football player, (on the offensive line, no less) going into endurance running was about the hardest transition I can think of. Still, one of my life goals is to finish an Ironman, so it made sense to start with long-distance running.

So I signed up, back in January, for the Scotiabank Montreal 21K, taking place on Sunday, April 22nd. I didn't really train for it; I did a few "longer" runs but most of it stayed in my "comfort zone" of 5-10K at a time. I didn't really watched what I ate in the week prior to the race, which probably hurt me a little bit.

The previous week: Preparation

I had exams that week so most of my free time was spent studying (procrastinating is more accurate) and my nutrition went down the drain. This week was also spent in a mad dash to secure a hotel (we ended up not having a reservation by the time we got to Montreal), a vehicle, and basically making sure everything was ready.

We got to Montreal in the afternoon on Saturday, because I had an exam in the morning.

Saturday: Relaxation

We didn't really do anything on Saturday; we ate out (battered fish and poutine) and then went for a little gambling at the Casino. We got back to our hotel somewhat early, watched some hockey, and hit the sack.

Raceday: Stress...ation

I was a bit antsy in the morning, especially after I realized the alarm clock hadn't gone off--it was set wrong--and we were a bit late on the schedule I had planned out. Still, we got dressed, grabbed our stuff, and headed off to the metro. Our timing was tight, but not too tight.

We got to the Ile Notre-Dame about 45 minutes before the race, and got our race packet and our race t-shirt. I clipped my bib to my RMC t-shirt and made sure my camelback was full and the tube was nice and basically that everything was fine.

Kilometer 0: This is it

We got to the starting line (well, the back of the pack that was waiting at the starting lane) about 10 minutes before the race started; the announcer had called out all participants so we just walked over there. I stood there listening to some gangsta rap to psych me up, and prepared my iPod and the Nike+ adapter and tied my shoes and... yeah, you get the idea.

Then, finally, we started. We actually walked up to the starting line; the size of the crowd waiting to get on the circuit was quite a bit wider than the actual circuit, so we squeezed into it. I turned to my "race" playlist, which was a mix of techno, rock, a wee bit of hiphop, and generally anything with a fast beat.

I started off a bit quick, following my buddy who ended up running about a minute/kilometer faster than I did, and generally not following the right pace.

Kilometer 1: This is it

After realizing that the Nike+iPod kit turns to miles if you set it to "half-marathon" and trying to figure out how fast 10 minutes per mile was in minutes per kilometer (unsuccessfully), I gave up on it and decided to rely on gut feeling.

I was still going a bit fast, but I was starting to fall back as the better runners got into their pace, as I adjusted into mine and, eventually, found the right pace.

Kilometer 3: The Zone

After getting into my 11 min/mile pace, I just went into it. I basically kept my pace almost perfectly steady, except at water points; I simply cannot drink from a glass while running. Drinking from my camelback is fine, but not from a glass, especially when it's Gatorade and it just splashes all over my face.

I was in the zone and, honestly, I don't really remember much of it.

Kilometer 10: The Wall

No, Pink Floyd didn't come onto my iPod. I hit the wall. I didn't hit it too hard, but I hit it, and it sucked. After a lot of water and some Gatorade, and a lot of kicking myself in the behind, I managed to get back into my run-slow down-walk cycle, where I'd run until my pace slowed down too much, walk for about 30 seconds, and just take off running again for a while.

Kilometer 15: Another brick in the wall

I hit another "wall" at about 15K. It wasn't as hard as the first one, but there were more hills which made keeping my pace that much harder. Still, the energy gels they had given us a few kilometers back were starting to kick in, and I felt re-energized.

It was a problem for about a kilometer, and then the problem pretty much went away on its own.

Kilometer 19: Not quite there yet

I started to walk at K 19; I saw a lot more people walking, and most of them were people who had passed me earlier on. However, one of the volunteers around the circuit told me there was a water station just a bit further along, so I took off running again, walked along the water station and drank a lot, then took off again, telling myself I had only 2 more kilometers to go so I shouldn't stop again.

Kilometer 20: Are we there yet?

There were a lot more people who were walking along, and some of them had been FAR ahead of me early in the race. I remembered one couple who I was starting to overtake who had been at least a kilometer and a half ahead of me, at K 8 or 9, and who now were walking along. I passed another young guy, a lot leaner than myself but taller, who was still running on and off but who was slow.

It gave me a kick in the ass, as I had been pretty steady in my pace all along, and realized that although these people had been a lot faster, they had burned out a few kilometers before the end.

Kilometer 21: Seeing the light

A half-marathon is actually 21.1 kilometers. I was starting to burn out myself, after passing those other people who had burned out, but I could hear the cheering and the "party" going on further down the road, and I wasn't going to drop the ball.

I stopped once more before the slight uphill where the finish line was, and then took off running, a bit faster than my race pace. I saw the finish line and started entering the corridor to the actual finish, and saw Drew waiting for me.

My calves started seizing up and, for the last 20 meters or so, I actually didn't know how I'd finish it. I had gone so long, there was no way I was going to NOT finish.

Kilometer 21.1: Deliverence

Drew ran along the corridor while I crossed the line, getting my picture taken and, eventually, crossing that damn line I had been chasing for almost three hours. Some volunteer took off my ChampionChip ankle band thingie and I headed off to the water table, where water bottles and glasses of Gatorade were waiting for me.

The Aftermath

There was some food laid out for the runners, like apples, bananas, chocolate-chip cookies, and bagles. I had some cookies, but I wasn't very hungry so I stopped at that. Walking around was a bit difficult but not painful; I was just extremely tired.

The pain came in that night, and intensified until Monday morning, when I could barely stand up and walk around without groaning in pain. It got a bit better today, and I'm expecting most of the pain to be gone by tomorrow.

Lessons learned

Nutrition counts, but not that much. I had a lot of carbs in the week previous, and although perfect nutrition would probably have been preferable, it wasn't that terrible.

Pre-race hydration is important. I had a bottle of Gatorade the morning of the race, and that was it. The night before, I had a bottle of Gatorade, but I also had pop, and a pint of beer in the afternoon, plus lots of salty foods. Basically, I wasn't as hydrated as I'd have liked to be. I don't think I could've shaved half an hour off my time, but I probably would've done at least a bit better if I had been properly hydrated.

A camelback is overkill on a half-marathon. I had about half of the water in it, (750ml or so) and most of that came from eating those damned energy gels; they made my mouth feel like I had marshmellows in it, and had to wash it down with lots of water. It came in handy, but a "fuel belt" like I saw other people wearing probably would've been enough.

I would, however, bring a camelback on a full-marathon. Despite all the water stations, it seems better to have some on that kind of distance to avoid getting stuck between water stations.

Training counts, but about as much as nutrition. As I said, I had never run the distance I ran. I'm sure that didn't help the wall I hit at 10K, but it didn't kill me, and my pace for most of the race was about 1:30 min slower than my best-ever 5K pace, so it wasn't that slow. If a random guy can just go and run a half-marathon and complete it without dying, at a pace that isn't that far off his regular pace, well... it can't be that demanding in terms of training. Still, I will train before I do another one, and probably include long-distance runs in any training plan I devise.

Conclusion

A half-marathon is fun. It's 21K alone with yourself, and it's all about beating yourself. Other people might pass you or you might pass them, but it doesn't matter. It's all about pushing your limits. When you hit the wall and push past it, it's a great feeling.

Sure, I've spent the last two and a half days in severe physical pain, but mentally I haven't felt this good in a long time. It's a great motivation to know you can push yourself that much, especially for someone like me. The longest I'd run before joining the Navy was three laps of the football field, and after I joined in, it was about 10K, if that. Knowing I could run twice that if I just put my head to it means I can do anything. (Within reason, of course.)

Sure, I'm stoked right now and my enthusiasm will cool eventually, but it's just what I needed to convince myself that I can do a full marathon if I only train a bit. Heck, maybe I'll even manage to get myself to do a triathlon (just a sprint distance triathlon at first, of course) sometime soon.

Anyway, all in all, this has been a really positive experience for me.

Thanks

I just wanted to thank all the volunteers. Without these guys, it wouldn't be possible to run, or at least it'd be a lot less fun. With all the encouragement they gave, and the laughs (the guy with the Mickey Mouse gloves...), it helped make the hard experience just a bit easier. Thanks a lot, everyone!