A few months back I discovered the blog site Run Rod Run. I’ve checked out many blogs but choose carefully which ones I like to follow regularly. There is, after all, only so many hours in a day and what hours I have seem to be sucked up by running. That said, I’ve always thought the next best thing to running is reading about someone else’s run. After reading a post by Rod I knew his blog was one I would want to revisit. I am always impressed with Rod’s accomplishments (let’s just say he could not use the title “Blog for an Average Runner”), and I am also a fan of his writing style and perspective.

We recently decided to “guest post” on each other’s sites. Not only is Rod a faster runner than me, he is also faster at putting together an article for posting. So while I have yet to organize something for his blog, he has sent me this great post about his first time running the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Enjoy!

The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon
by Rod Lowe

Rod Lowe is a Toronto-based runner and Registered Massage Therapist. On February 14, 2014 he will set out on his own “Valentine’s Run for Heart & Stroke”, a charity marathon,42.2 km, on his 42.2nd birthday The run will raise money for the Heart & Stroke Foundation in memory of his father who passed away in December. To find out more please visit here.

It was my 2nd marathon in a race and 3rd overall. The 1st was a training run in March in a time of 4:37:33. The 2nd was the Goodlife Fitness Marathon in May — 4:15:39. That May I was on pace for a 3:46:28 finish as I passed the 30 kilometre mark. But I perished badly in the final stages. I would not make that mistake again. This time I was determined. I needed to break the 4 hour barrier.

The morning was cool and gusty. The Scotiabank Marathon course is largely flat, travelling out west from the downtown core before heading out east to the Beach area of Toronto and then turning back west for the finish. The winds were coming on strong from the west putting us in deep for the first 12 as well as the final 9 kilometres. The upside, a considerable tail wind for the long middle stretch. I need a 5:41 per kilometre pace to finish under 4 hours. My game plan is clear to me from the outset. I will hold a 5:45 pace into the winds to begin. Once the race turns eastward I will then take advantage of the winds and aim for a 5:30 pace. This would leave me with over a 3 minute cushion heading for home. With this approach I would break the 4 hour mark if I could hold onto a 6:01 pace into the winds during the final 9 kilometres.

As we start the race I fight the urge to take off too fast but even restrained I’m going out an average of 15 seconds per kilometre faster than I intended. The headwinds being buffered by the crush of runners ahead of me.

My friend Monique awaits on bike to cheer me on. As was the case at the Goodlife marathon in May she will follow as close to the race course as possible to boost my morale. As an added bonus, Monique is a massage therapist and nurse; I might need her! Today I first see her at the 5 kilometre mark. She’d been there awhile and feared that she’d missed me. My assurances that I’m slower than she thinks meet with laughter both from her as well as the runners around me.

The entertainment along the Lakeshore is lively and helps to keep us motivated. Before long I’ve reached the turnaround and know that for the next 21 kilometres I will have the wind at my back. My pace quickens but I manage to keep it under control. At the halfway mark my time is 1:56. I have a 4 minute cushion. But we are now heading into what is for me the most daunting segment of the course.

East of Yonge Street along Queen’s Quay and heading into the strip that leads to Leslie Street is a long industrial tundra. Entertainment on this section dwindles. The scenery becomes Siberian in its harsh barrenness. For 7 or 8 kilometres the course is devastatingly desolate. Without crowd support, musicians, or dancers the war of mental attrition intensifies as I realize how far we have left to go. Valiantly I struggle to do calculations in my head. If I maintain this pace, how fast will I finish? Mathematics. Carry the one. ANYTHING to get my mind off the dreariness that threatens to chip away at my resolve. It’s not until we hear the percussive beats of the Chinese dragon dancers awaiting us on Leslie that my stupor is broken. The rhythmic din is a veritable salvation after the sensory deprivation that defined the last 40 minutes of my life. I heave a sigh of relief. The hard part is over.

From here we enter the vibrant Beach area of Toronto. I grew up close-by and my spirits surge with the home crowd adrenaline. Throngs thicken as bands energetically exhort us further. I high-5 old friends and scream “hellos” to familiar faces. Moreover, at the 35 kilometre mark Monique makes her presence known once again. She had lost me through the race but had strategized her wait and would now ride slightly ahead to pace and encourage me the rest of the way home.

A 5:12 split for kilometre 37 and Monique screams out “You’re making this look easy Dude!”. I’m feeling good. With a little over 5 kilometres to go, my goal is very much within reach.

At kilometre 39 we approach a slight incline as we climb above the Don Valley Parkway. Physically it is the last real uphill we will face. The ascent is minor but so late into the race it can be punishing to the weary. Mentally the DVP is the only thing that separates me from our return to the downtown core and the finish. At this time stories of a runner collapsed from a heart attack have begun to circulate. Not the news we need to hear. For now though I’m all but certain of a sub 4 hour finish. I just need to hold it together.

400 metres left and my left calve starts to cramp. A slight hobble and a wince of pain. But I am so close. I take a final glance at my watch. I’m in good shape. With ample time to spare I can safely coast home. As much as I wanted to sprint to the line, I admonish myself “Don’t be a hero Rod”. Just close this one out.

I finish. The time, 3:53:07.

Shattering my personal best set 5 months earlier by over 22 minutes.

At that moment I fulfil what a year prior seemed impossible. I will forever be a Sub 4 Hour Marathoner.

*This account is based on my experience in 2011. The current course offers small changes including starting the race with a minor climb to Bloor Street and the Yorkville – Annex area of Toronto. You won’t feel the climb but you will appreciate the descent along Bathurst to the Lakeshore. The race now also has another slight incline and descent toward the end of the race along the Bayview extension. Unfortunately the industrial section east of Yonge along Queen’s Quay to Leslie still looms but it has been mercifully shortened by a good 2 kilometres.