Back on the Roads: Edmonton Marathon

I returned to the roads on Sunday, running the Edmonton Marathon, but it was a different experience than I remember that is for sure. Heading into the race I was fairly relaxed knowing it wasn't really a huge focus of mine to go out there and kill myself trying to win, being that I hadn't trained specifically for a road marathon. What little apprehension I had was due to not having the speed in my legs and thus expecting it to feel like I was sprinting the whole way. Fortunately this wasn't really an issue. The only real problem heading into the race was the decision by my friend Shawn and I at 1pm Saturday to make a day trip out to Fort McMurray to see the Oil Sands with our own eyes. Its 4+ hours one way, which ended up as a 12 hour journey once I picked up my race package. In the end I managed to get at most 2.5 hours of sleep in before the race, however I didn't stress out about it because I never count on getting sleep the night before a race because often its a fitful one anyway. I had made sure to get 10+ hours friday night. SO, other than 10 hours in a truck and 2.5 hours sleep everything else leading up went perfectly, aside from being hungry at the start.


I'm unsure of why I was so hungry at the start, I had my customary 2 slices of toast and jam an hour before the race started so I should have been ok. Nevertheless I wasn't worried because I had sewn an extra pocket into my shorts so it would be easy to pack away 2 gels and carry one in each hand, thus having enough calories for 2.5 hours of running wasn't a concern. We showed up 15mins before the race so I jogged around a bit on a not so cool morning, hopped the fence to get to the front of the line, said a couple of hellos and off we went. My plan was to go out real easy because I knew it would take a while to get warmed up so I just jogged away and in a few hundred meters settled in with 3 other guys as we watched the eventual winner jog off into the distance. Very early on it was a race for second. My companions were Brendan Lunty(last years winner), David Corbett, and Geoff Hopfner. Following Brendan's lead we started clicking off 3:30kms which felt comfortable so I just stuck in with them and took a turn at the lead around 6k, then gave it back up to Brendan till about 20k. Being the hometown favorite I figured i'd let him lead away and i'd happily use his wind-shadow! I think around 17 or 18k Brendan and I seemed to be dropping David and Geoff, then at the water station around 20k I came out 10meters or so ahead of Brendan. Waiting for him for a couple hundred meters it didn't look as though he was trying to catch up and run with me so I decided to just get going a bit. We had been running about 3:36/km since about 12k maybe so I dropped it down to sub 3:30s till about 27k, where I decided I would take it easy for 5k, then push it for the last 10.195km.  Running alone I was fortunate to have a volunteer cyclist to show me the way and we chatted away which helped to pass the time. Apparently last year Brendan closed out fast the last 10k which prompted my plan of pushing hard the last 10k. 


Throughout the first half of the race the weather had been pretty great but also deceiving. The first half was obviously cooler because of the time of day, but also there were a lot of trees lining the streets so there was a lot of shade. Heading into the second out and back we were out in the open most of the time so it actually got quite hot out, and when you combine this with a shortage of liquids, taking 5k easy was probably the best thing I could have done. I generally don't do well in the heat but it wasn't as debilitating as I have felt in other races. So taking the 5k easy was a great plan, however my nutrition discipline had wavered. My plan was to take on a gel on the half hour, but because I was feeling so good at halfway I figured I would only have one more gel after 45mins. This was also somewhat of a precaution because I hadn't been taking on as much water as I would have liked and was worried about stomach issues with too much sugar in my stomach and not enough water. In the end, well in the last 10k, this plan would come back to haunt me a bit. Anyway, back to the race, after my 5k relatively easy I punched the split button on my watch and started moving quickly again, I brought it back down to 3:30/km but it was short lived and I settled into 3:35-3:37 territory for a while. Unfortunately as I said earlier I should have stuck with my nutrition plan because once I reached the top of the hill at 36km I was starting to struggle a bit energy-wise. As things started to feel rough I was was close enough to the finish that I didn't care too much to grind out the rest of the run. In fact I ended up not even taking on any water for fear that I would get a cramp or something. Basically I just wanted to be done and so I focused on staying efficient and just got my grind on. The last couple of kilometers were in the neighbourhood of 4:10-4:15, maybe slower, which was getting pretty ugly but the cheers and knowing I was close, and constant updates on which turns were up next from my cyclist Pete helped me to push on to the end. I came through at 2:35.09 which I was pleased with at the time and still am. Thanks to Brendan for the early pace work, Pete for the directions and company, and Brian Torrance for the elite organizing. It was a stretch to be considering me 'elite' after my absence.


The question is really what to make of it all. I was happy to be out there and running again, it was a familiar feeling to be running down the middle of a closed road, cruising through water stations, and running in a pack at a more or less comfortable pace, but I didn't really have the competitive fire. Not to say that I have ever had a raging competitive fire, but I felt more like I was racing alone than probably any other time i've raced on the roads. It could have been a training run or time trial. I suppose the reason I feel this way is because I hadn't built the race up and wasn't "marathon fit," and the fitness I had was for runs much longer, making the distance of the marathon of secondary difficulty to the actual pace I would have to run it. Having said this, I did enjoy the whole experience and came away with motivation to participate in a race again, AND to be a bit more focused in my training. Well, maybe not more focused but do a bit more marathon specific work leading up to the Victoria Marathon. I'm by no means planning to get into hardcore training for road racing again that is for certain, but I am also not averse to the idea of running a road marathon now and again.


Once my friend Shawn sends me the photos i'll share my Fort McMurray/Oil Sands Experience. Although the trip may have adversely affected my race it was important for me to see this project with my own two eyes. I wasn't shocked or surprised, it just made my convictions more concrete.


Next up, one last epic north shore run next week before I move on Thursday to Victoria!