I ran the Bluenose marathon yesterday. That makes marathon #2 in the books.
First of all I want to say thanks to the organizers and the volunteers for making this another great event. I've been hearing so many positive comments as usual about this event. Good job. I'd also like to thank Joanne for training with me and Luc for cooking suppers and keeping the house clean while I was out running.
18 weeks of training
As many of you know, I have been run streaking since November 29th. What started as the Runners World run streak from US Thanksgiving to New Years day turned into 172 days and counting for me. So a rest day for me is a mile. It takes me longer to put my gym clothes on and off then it does to actually run the mile. HA!
The week leading up to the race
I knew from the my last marathon how important it is to get properly fueled right the week leading up to the race. 200-300 grams of carbs plus clean eating. My eating went to hell this time and I do think that did hamper my performance somewhat. I could have done better, but for some reason my DGAF meter was pretty high.
NOTE: It's Jan 23, 2015 I just found this post that I hadn't finished writing. I will finish it now. I'm going to back date it too.
I really enjoyed this race. It was wonderful to race on home turf.
I really don't remember but the food couldn't have been that much of an issue. I PR'd it. 5:28 and some change.
Before the race started, I took my place behind the 5 hour plus marker. There was only 3 or 4 of us there. When the horn blew everybody took off like their asses were on fire. I kept thinking "Why is everyone running so fast? They are going to blow up" As I watched everyone get further and further away. I'm going to assume they did, because of the 3 or 4 that were in the 5+ hour corral, there were 23 that finished 5 hours plus and 3 that didn't finish at all. Don't start off too fast.
I spent most of the race in last place. When we hit Shubie Park, I was able to pass a couple of other ladies. We spent most of the race vying for last place. I do remember hitting Inglis street and I put the thrusters on. I passed the two of them and they weren't able to catch up after that. That was probably 8k from the finish, I think.
What was the hardest part
The hardest part for me was running through the parks. Shubie park is very twisty turny and hilly. Point Pleasant Park while not so twisty and turny, had the hardest hill in the whole race to conquer. Serpentine. Both parks are crusher dust. I find it hard to run on, and because I tend to shuffle, I tend to get a lot of rocks in my shoes from running through the parks.
Everyone complains about the Blue nose marathon hills
The Bluenose is a very technical course. There are hills. There is terrain differences. But most people complain about the hills.
The Bridge - People complain about this. I really don't know why. But they do. The swaying bridge over open water scares me more than the slight, long incline.
Nantucket - Right after you get off the bridge, you have to climb Nantucket. There are worse hills coming up. Don't worry. This one is a piece of cake.
Woodland - This takes you up behind Mic Mac Mall and heading into Shubie Park. I don't really even remember anything about this one. I know it's there, but it wasn't really memborable.
Maple - Anyone from Dartmouth dreads this hill. It's a killer. Yep it is. It's steep. But you climb it fast. There are a lot of spectators on Maple to help carry you up to the top. Before you know it, you are on the straight away heading back to Halifax.
Brunswick - This is a little irritating incline at the finish / half way point. I'm not sure why this is so irritating. It's not steep. It's not overly long. It's just irritating.
Ramp at the Casino - This is another irritating one. It's a little steep, but it's not long.
Serpentine - This is about 5km from the finish. It's in Point Pleasant Park. It's steep. It's long. It's winding. It's on crusher gravel. Your tired. This is brutal. BRUTAL. But once you reach the top you're only about 3.5 km from the finish. Home Sweet Home.
