October 6, 2008
Wendy

Last Sunday I ran the Toronto half marathon. It was set to start at 7:30 am in downtown Toronto which is about an hour drive away from my home. I also had to pick up my running partner, Terry, who ran Boston this year. He is a bit older than me but a more seasoned runner. We had arranged for me to pick him up at 6:15 am, head downtown, park and get to the race site where we would check our bags. I checked my sugars before I left home and I was slightly high (147 in American BG conversion I believe) No surprise considering the stress I was feeling about the race, not oversleeping, rushing out the door, etc.

When we finally got downtown the roads were being shutdown for the run and the parking was crazy. We finally found a spot, then hightailed it to the race site, where the cues for bags and Johnny-on-the-spots were daunting. We decided to check our bags then head to the washrooms. By the time I finished in both line ups, we were rushing to the start of the race and I realized that I was really thirsty. I didn’t bring any water with me as I was trying to avoid the extra weight on the run. So I had checked my extra bottles for after the run. (Mistake 1) The water stations didn't arrive until after the first few kms.

At the 5 km point (3 miles) I started sucking gels and taking water. We had a plan to start slow and speed up towards the end. By the 14th km (Mile 9) I was heading up a hill and the asthma kicked in and I started to wheeze. I had used my ventilator before the run but had decided not to take it with me (Mistake 2) I could not get my breathing under control after that. I told Terry to go ahead at the 17th km. He finished just over 3 minutes ahead of me as I had slowed down appreciably. But I finished and my time was 1:52. I had thought about quitting those last four kms but I kept reminding myself that if my body wants to keel over, let it. I am going to keep going. Some medical person can pick me up.

I don't worry about my blood sugar very much when I run. I am more concerned about managing my breathing/asthma as the issues are more pressing. I did check my sugars at the end and it was slightly higher than when I left in the morning at 5:30 am. I also know that I will have a big BG drop in the late afternoon after running for more than an hour, so I always compensate by making sure that I grab a snack around that time. So I had a few good learning experiences about water and ventilators. Don’t start thirsty and don’t forget your ventilator. Pretty simple stuff but you are always trying to reduce what you need to carry when you are racing. I am new to racing, not new to running, so these trial and errors will be helpful on the ½ ironman. One decision I have made is that I am not getting up at 5:30 am to run a race on a Sunday again. So far that is my position, but it may change by the next race date.

The highlight of the run was standing next to the baggage check area when they escorted the second place Men's full marathon winner, Kenyan Peter Kiprotich who had finished 2 seconds behind the winner. We were chatting with him about his race. He told me that it was not a good race for him and way off his personal best. I told him I knew just how he felt.