Wasaga Beach Half

I am still resenting the decision (actually a lack of a timely decision) to skip Haliburton.  The reason was acceptable, I couldn't afford the time just now to drive over on Friday evening, run a race (Curly would start at 06:00), wait around for Curly to finish 50K or 50M, then arrive in Creemore Saturday evening.  I am building Curly a 12' X 20' pottery studio.  She plans to ramp up her pottery, now that she has retired from teaching.

Being in IT at Honda and involved in project schedules, (I tend to default to the technical project lead, even when I instruct my managers not to slot me into such a position.  Managers!  Who can trust them...) I like to keep personal projects on schedule.  I know, run, think about running, write about running...

A surprise phone call at work on Wednesday from Curly culminated in her signing us up for the Wasaga Beach half marathon.  The half is actually a wonderful distance.  The course was flat (flatter than Creemore!), a mixture of road and bits of trail, and it doesn't burn the day away, such as a 50K 3 hours from home.

A half is also a distance at which you can "cheat" on your training.  From my perspective, the first 5K of Wasaga was painful and slow, as the various ailments resist running faster that a slow hobble.  From 5 to 10K, I can ramp it up to a fast, lurching hobble, with little pain.  Quite enjoyable!  From 10 to 15K, my lack of training resulted in a short black period, in which running became painful surviving.  From 15K to the end was a bit better, as I kept repeating to myself that I only had 6 more K!

A finishing time of 2:05 was my second slowest ever, but I'm happy, given the lack of training.  An added burden stemmed from handling 6 bushcord of firewood last week and hauling wood and hammering on Friday and Saturday, something I do infrequently.  It was strange to run with significant resistance in the shoulders and arms.

I can now look forward to running 50K at the Toad.  How am I going to do this without proper training?  A very good question!  Any hints or suggestions?  My only recourse at this point is to attempt a 30K next weekend, then execute a perfect taper.  "A" plan is run 25K, then run/walk 12.5K, then walk/crawl the forth loop.  B plan is to run 25K, then DNF.  The plan will depend on how much pain I am managing at the 25K point.

Well, the floor is done and 2 walls are framed, but time to swing a hammer!