2007 Baltimore half-marathon

Short Version

1:35:23 on a hilly course
Improved my time by 101 seconds over 2006 race
Place 150/5044

Long Version

A little over a week ago I ran in my third Baltimore half-marathon and came away very pleased with my race. I improved my personal-best for the course by 101 seconds and finished in 150th place out of 5044 finishers. In the weeks leading up to race day I was unsure about my fitness level so I went into the race not knowing where I would finish. I flew down to Baltimore on Friday morning and Jason met me at the airport. We went over to the race expo and I picked up my race package. At the expo they had a cool exhibit for horseradish cheese (http://www.cabotcheese.com/f1.php?left=menu-ourproducts.html&right=/ourproducts.html) which had a mild taste. I headed back to the hotel to unpack and to lay out my racing gear for the morning. Later in the day, Jason, Emily and I went out for a carbo-loading meal at an Indian restaurant where I ate a humongous plate of rice. After the meal we went up to John Hopkins University to take in some swing dancing. I danced less than I would have like but I didn't want to stress the legs for the big race the next morning.

I was up early on Saturday at 5:30 am. I wanted to have my breakfast fully digested by race time. It took the form of a couple of bowls of Vector cereal, a handful of bananas and some strong tea. The original plan was to do my warmup run (5km/3.1 miles) starting from the hotel and ending at the start line. At the last minute, I changed my mind as the hotel was offering a shuttle that would take you close to the start line. This was a relief. I caught the 7:00 am shuttle and quickly located the bag-check area. I spent a little while chilling before I headed over to watch the start of the marathon(a) (b). Along the way I spotted Larry-the-lighthouse who was going to run the race as a lighthouse. Once the marathoners were on their way I headed back to bag-area and munched on a Clif bar. The spurt of energy would ensure that I was fully fueled for the race. At this point time seemed to speed up as soon it was forty-five minutes before race time. I ditched my sweats and warmed up over to the start. I waded through 4700 runners before I found an opening near the first corral. At 10:45 am the siren sounded and we were off with 13.1 miles to go. The course heads south slightly before heading in a westerly direction for a couple of miles. At around the three mile mark a familiar site came into view Patterson Park. We ran down one side of the park along the bottom and the up the hill on the other side. At this point the marathoners met up with the half-marathoners. A distinguishing feature of the marathoners was a "FULL" sticker on their singlets. As we ran further and further away from the harbor we gained elevation eventually reaching one of my favourite parts of the course, Clifton Park. Clifton Park is the former estate of John Hopkins and has an eight-sided gazebo [Clifton Gate House (1887) ] (http://www.baltimorecity.gov/government/recnparks/popups/parks/clifton_park.htm) which is a relay point for the marathon.

Once past Clifton Park we ran on uncharted territory. For the past three years the bike path around Lake Montebello has been closed for construction. This year they re-introduced the mile-long loop back into the race course. This was another highlight of the race. The race does a 360 degree loop of the lake. I really enjoyed this part of the race. The next part of the course would take us along the edge of the John Hopkins University campus. I was getting close to the ten mile where my energy levels start to wane. I sucked on a caffeinated-Clif gel which gave me a surge of energy allowing me to surge by a large number of suffering participants. The final three miles are all downhill with exception of one hill that takes you over a multi-coloured bridge. Last year, this was the point where I was really suffering. This year I was able to run over the bridge with a fair amount of gusto. I did a couple of long surges over the next couple of miles. The goal was to get to the finish as quickly as possible before I ran out of energy. The final mile was fast and painful. It was also a fun mile as you run through the gates of Camden Yards, the home of the Orioles. The finish line was a welcome site. It would take me a couple hours to learn from the web that I had improved my time by 101 seconds over 2006. My third Baltimore half-marathon was a great success and I am looking forward to my forth in 2008.

Sweating in software

While out for my run along the canal (39F and rain) tonight I decided to let my mind wander and started to laugh about something that happened a couple of years ago at work. I was working with a new employee on a piece of software and English was his second language. This program contained a lot counters for counting things. He decided that he would spell the word count as cunt. Every time there was a count in the program he would use cunt. It made reading his program a tiny bit fun. I had mentioned that perhaps he should use another word as in English it is not a nice word. He was adamant that the word was fine with him. It got changed in the production version of the program only after we had a code review session and someone explained what the word meant.

Bouldering and climbing

Over the past couple of days, I have climbed twice and bouldered once. My first climbing attempt was made in Rocks State Park which about an hour's drive north of Baltimore. Jason, Dave, Emily and I arrived at the climbing site mid-afternoon which allowed each of us to get in at least one climb. There was a bit of excitement on the way to the area as Dave's water bottle went ajar and formed a leak in the bottom but was still usable. Before we could start climbing Jason climbed up to adjust the location of the top rope. (p1, p2, p3) Once the rope was in place, Emily was the first to climb. Jason gave the climb a 5.6 rating. Dave was the next to climb. As the sun was starting to set, I attempted to climb the rock face but got stuck at an outcrop which I couldn't climb over. The rock face will have to wait until next time.

On Tuesday night we went over to EarthTreks and I completed my first bouldering problem which was the "intro" problem. I tried a slightly more advanced "red" problem and nearly finished it. But since I failed to touch the final mount with both hands the climb was invalid. I spent the remainder of my bouldering working on the beginner problem trying to pause between each stage. Later in the evening, I top-rope climbed four/five problems that got successively more challenging. Having readily available chalk and my new climbing shoes were a great help in climbing a couple of 5.4 and 5.5s (I think).

Two more days..and one more run...Sugarstomp

Tonight, I will do my final run before my Baltimore half-marathon (13.1 miles) on Saturday. It should be a fun and low pressure workout as there is very little I can do to improve my fitness before the race. All of my training for the past couple of months have been focused towards running well in my third Baltimore race. Once the race is behind me I'm going to head over to the climbing gym on Thursday night and start doing some bouldering problems. The climbing should strengthen my core. I would have gone to the climbing gym sooner but didn't want to run the risk of injuring my legs.

One swing dance tune that I like is the Sugar foot stomp. I have in one my ipod performed by a couple of artists but still looking for a version performed by Bert Firman. There is a really good youtube video of Burt's orchestra playing the tune. I think that it is the best version of the stomp that I have ever listened too.

100th post, Columbus Day, 1 week to go

This is my 100th blog post in blogger. A quick thanks to Jason for suggesting that I give blogger another try as a blogging tool. I'm blogging at my parent's place near Niagara Falls celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. Today, G, my dad and I went geocaching before we headed over to my sister's place the large family Thanksgiving dinner. I'll post pictures of the weekend when I am back in Ottawa. I am really looking forward to next weekend as I'll be heading to Baltimore to run in my third Baltimore half-marathon and to help Jason renovate his new house.

Another good workout...

The weather in Ottawa has been unseasonable warm during the day we are still get high 70s which is great for training. The warm conditions are good preparation for the half-marathon. Tonight's workout along the canal took the form of a four mile warmup and 3x 2 miles on 30 seconds rest. Afterwards, we did 8 x 1 minute hard running followed by 1 minute of recovery jogging. My legs feel warm and fuzzy which means they have had a good workout. Race day: 10 days away and counting.

11 days to go

In eleven days, I will be in Baltimore running in my third Baltimore half-marathon. It is said that the course is for the "strong" and not necessarily the "fast" as the course is hilly. Yesterday, I went for my second last long run which was a solid 10 mile effort. On Friday, I'll run 12 miles and attempt to simulate the race conditions. This coming weekend is Columbus holiday weekend which gives me a chance to carbo-load on turkey, pumpkin pie, potatoes and gravy. I am really looking forward to the race and the couple of days afterwards. Earlier in the week, I received my race information package and today, I got a call from the race organizer wishing me the best of luck for my race which was sweet.