Niagara Falls International Half-Marathon Race Recap

Appears courtesy of Gillian’s Active Life.

Finally, I’m getting around to posting the recap of my first half-marathon ever!

B and I decided to stay the night in Niagara Falls, at the Hilton Fallsview. Because we know the area really well, I knew exactly where I had to go to catch the shuttle the next morning and that relieved the typical anxiety I feel when driving to the start of a race. “Will I get there on time? Where will I park? What happens if I’m late”

After picking up the race kit, we tried on the ever-so-attractive rain poncho. Obviously, wearing it backwards is much more fun, no?

I was up the next morning at 5:30 and had plenty of time for breakfast (I brought the same food I have every morning – cereal, milk, and yogurt). I packed my pockets with gels, tissues (I was still sniffling and sneezing), and cough drops. We then walked to the school bus shuttles. It was quite a cool morning but the sky was clear, apart from the mist rising from the Falls.

I look so nervous!

The race was due to start at 10:00 a.m. and since we arrived at the start line around 8:40, we had quite a long wait. According to the race officials, there were about 2,500 people in the half-marathon.

Most of the course was beside the Niagara River that runs between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It turned out to be a gorgeous morning and the number of gloves, hats, shirts, and even jackets that went flying to the side of the road was crazy. Do runners purposely wear clothing they intend to leave on the road and not pick up? Some people were carefully placing their items near a tree or other landmark, but some were just tossed away.

Anyway, the scenery was gorgeous. Every so often, the road would run alongside some houses and the owners were often outside cheering us on. I saw one group of older ladies with a sign for “Green Gillian”. I laughed and shouted that was my name too, and they all gave me a big cheer!

For most of the run, I felt pretty good. My pacing was fairly steady (around 6:40 – 7:05 per km) and I ate an energy gel every 45 minutes. There were plenty of water stations and lots of school kids handing out the cups and cheering us on. Some spectators were dressed up for Halloween, including two guys in those head-to-toe body suits (like you see at the hockey games) but one was black and one was orange! I know, I should have gotten a picture!

I kept myself going by watching the runners around me, pacing off some and passing others. The day turned out to be beautiful and I really tried to enjoy that as much as possible. I didn’t have any issues with blisters or chafing and only had some trouble with my hips. My IT band is an ongoing issue during long runs so during my walk breaks, I would exaggerate my hip swing (I probably looked like a hooker on the prowl!) but that helped loosen the area and before I started running again.

I did have an issue with my Garmin as my heart rate would suddenly drop on the monitor. The chest strap was as tight as it will go but I need to figure out how to get it even tighter, because just re-adjusting it through my shirt would usually fix the display.

The other issue I had was with one toe nail. It sounds silly but I forgot to trim the night before and one nail kept getting caught by the seam in my sock. The next day, my toe was really sore!

Can you believe it? I was actually enjoying the race! I felt pretty comfortable with my pace and didn’t worry about people passing me. The sun was out and I had my iPod on with carefully chosen tracks to keep my speed up. My nutrition was keeping my energy levels even and I felt I could run forever!

But that was only for the first two hours (sounds funny that way, doesn’t it). By the time I was about 18 kilometers in, it started to hurt! My hips were tightening up a lot and my pace was slowing down, to around 7:30 per kilometer. I kept telling myself that pain was expected. This is a big accomplishment and so it SHOULD hurt! I don’t know if that helped but I managed to keep running.

Some day, I must LOOK UP when I cross the finish line!

By the time I was coming into town, I was feeling really tearful. I just wanted to stop! I knew I couldn’t and once I started seeing racers who had already finished, I could cheerfully have killed some of them! Laughing and talking about what a cool race it was and how they did so well! I just did NOT want to hear it right then.

Eventually, I was able to run down the finishers chute and cross the finish line. I was trying so hard NOT to cry that when the volunteer wrapped me in a space blanket, he asked if I was OK. All I could do was nod and I managed to hold myself together until I saw my friend B. Once he hugged me (across the fence, I might add), I just broke down and sobbed! Funny thing is, that was one of the most satisfying cries I’ve ever had! It wasn’t from pain but just the release of finally crossing the finishing line and realizing I could stop running!

I got my medal and a goodie bag with a banana, apple, etc. As you can see, lots of people were hanging around enjoying their win and stretching. I did my own stretches, ate my last gel, and then walked back to the hotel to get  the car.

I was done! But, man, was I tired! I couldn’t believe I had been running for over two hours! It was so neat to walk around wearing my medal. By this time, it was around 1:00 p.m. and the Falls were beautiful!

Here are the stats from my trusty Garmin. My goal was to finish in two hours and 30 minutes. I actually managed to stop the timer as I crossed the finish line but I didn’t look at the result until we were leaving. I finished in 2:29:56! I beat my goal by four whole seconds!

I had to laugh at this. When I was running the last half hour of the race, I honestly couldn’t have cared less what my time was – I just wanted to finish! But once I looked at my watch after it was all over, I felt so good! I managed to accomplish an incredibly hard goal and truly celebrate what losing 80 lbs. has meant for me.

Would I run this race again? Yes, I would. I like Niagara Falls, the course was pretty and well laid out, and the organizational team was good. The swag included a long-sleeved technical shirt and a cool medal.

Even though my weight has been fluctuating lately, I was still able to accomplish something that very few people have done. Would it be boastful to say I’m now one of the elite? Well, let’s just say that I’ve accomplished some fantastic goals and the future looks bright!

I’d love to hear about your “goal” races. Leave me a comment with what race you finished and what it meant to you. If you’ve written a post about it, leave a link to your blog in the comment as well.

Take care.