Although the weather did not look promising days prior to the event, it turned out to be a great day for a run, temps around 2C with overcast skies, and only a light wind.
PRE-RACE
6:45 AM – Get up & have my usual All-Bran cereal, whey protein/milk combo, and a banana.
7:25 AM – Hit the road with Mrs. Fat Guy, and stop at Tim’s for a coffee of course. 🙂

8:10 AM – Arrive at the parking lot of the event, and walk to the registration area which was inside Grimsby High School. I look up my race number from the board, and pick up my number card, and timing chip.
8:30 AM – I strap on my Brooks DYAD 5 running shoes, number belt, and timing chip and bring my bag to the bag-check.
8:45 AM – Go outside and do a little jog to warm up followed by some minor stretching.
9:00 AM – The half-marathon starts.
9:05 AM – I proceed to the 3k start area and continue to keep the muscles warm. I also get my Garmin FR 305 ready to record the race. I stand towards the back of the pack thinking I’d be the slow one. This turned out to be a bad move.
9:15 AM – Horn sounds & we’re off & running.
THE RACE
I started off at my planned pace which was about 6 mins/km (9.6 min/mile), and even at the slow pace I found myself being held up by slower people, and getting around them cost more time. The first stretch had a minor incline, but nothing that really bothered me.

After the first turn, things opened up a little, so I picked up the pace a little to make up for the blockages, and it also helped that there was a minor downgrade. The first km went by quick and I was surprised how good I felt, so I upped the pace a little.
The 2nd km started with a nice downgrade which I took advantage of picked up the pace. Then it followed by a flat on Main St.  At this point, I was still passing quite a few people thinking to myself the whole time “Am I going too fast?”. But I still felt good, heart rate holding steady in the high 150s, low 160s, so I kept the pace.
Then the final km…the last leg, started flat, but then around the corner came a nice hill. Since I still felt strong, I maintained my pace, which at this point was around 5:30 min/km (8.8 min/mile). This grade was taking it’s toll on a lot of people, and where I did a lot of passing. The last half km after that hill was flat, then downhill. This is where I decided to “drop the hammer” and started running. At one point close to the end of the race I looked at the Garmin & my heart rate hit 184 BPM. So much for the started formula of 220-age to determine max heart rate….I had just blown that number by 2-3 BPM. 🙂
POST-RACE
After it was said & done, walked around a little to cool down & catch my breath, but with the adrenaline still going, I felt great and was really happy with my race. I had smashed my goal of 18 mins with a 16:45 min finish and was on cloud 9.
After 5-10 mins, we proceed inside to get my bag, and I changed into some dry cloths. I took a peak of the unofficial results and was happy with what I saw.
Click Here are the official times for the race.
Overall Place: 42 of 93 runners
Age Group Place:Â 9 of 11 (30-39 age group)
Official Time: 16:45.3
Avg Pace: 5:36 min/km
Changes for next race: Start closer to mid pack, and maybe pace a little faster at the start.
Hey great website! I love the race pics, looks chilly! Great job on your blood pressure and heart rate!! I followed this link from the Inner Circle =).
Hi Ray
Great Job !!! I liked the detailed account of the events.
Thanks everyone.
Na..wasn’t chilly. Perfect day for a run! 🙂
It was a great day for running. I did see you out at the back… I was going to say hi but then I forgot the name of your blog site and thought I would have got knocked out if you weren’t the right person. If you remember, I was the guy with the Running Free red vest.
I’ve made it a habit to always start at the front no matter what. The problem that arises from doing that is wanting to keep up with the faster folks at the start which can burn you out too. Fortunately I kept my pacing but ended up reserving too much for my kick at the end and let loose a little too late.
I ended up between my “hope to beat” time and “best case scenario” time at 11:34. I’m happy but still want to improve on it (it’s kinda like an addiction which I’m sure you’re well aware of).
Personal accomplishment is the better prize compared to what their prizes were but that’s the whole point isn’t it.
I’ll be sure to say hi to you next time.
See you at the next race!
…and congrats on smashing your goal time!