Montreal Rock’n’Roll Marathon Race Recap
In short:
I am a Marathoner!
Before the race
I registered for that race as I thought it would be a good practice for Dopey 2020 with an option to leave the course almost mid-way to complete the Half.
The organizers changed the course and schedule completely to accommodate road construction so I knew that if I started the Full, I was finishing it.
Training went well, my goal being to have a good slow speed endurance base. The maximum distance I covered in a long run was 19 miles and I was very comfortable with it.
The Expo was better than last year and I bought three pairs of shoes. I also pre-registered my family to next year’s 5k and myself for the Full. It won’t be any cheaper later and it meant that my supporters (I gave one of mine and DH could borrow mine) were all getting the bonus T-shirt aka the perfect attire to be visible during my race! I distributed the T-shirt, race course map, metro pass, gel, energy drink to my « crew ». I also helped them install the Rock’n’Roll tracking App.
After a decent night of sleep, I woke up early and even had time to write on DISboards during breakfast. Thanks for the words of encouragement
@steph0808 and others.
Temperature in Montreal was unseasonably high for the last day of Summer but it turned out ok with a slight overcast.
I parked my car at an incentive parking near a metro station, rode the metro, arrived at the site, laced my shoes and dropped my bag. Everything was going smoothly, I was calmer then I’ve ever been at a race.
I lined up in the fourth corral and waited for the start. And waited for the start. And waited for the start. We could not hear anything but we sure were not moving. The Elite finally got the go, 50 minutes behind schedule. Since I was not aiming for a time, it was no big deal for me but I feel for those who had a tight race plan.
During the race
I started the race at a long run pace, taking the time to selfie and cheer for the supporters. I took a gel early to compensate for the delay. I was trilled to see DM at 9km, hugged her and grabbed a gel for later. I ran the first 10k in less than an hour which is not PR fast for me but not slow either.
Everyone looking at the course thought that the very long back and forth on Hochelaga would feel dreadful. It was not so bad in the end: We were crossing with the Elite, visiting the army base, being pleasantly surprised by the number of enthusiastic supporters in the residential area and then crossing with the closing crew! Some runners were finding it funny that I was taking pictures and I said that I was a tourist: I had never and will never purposely go running on that road again!
And with that, at 23.5km, I met with DM and DU (uncle) for my cake break! I was running blind but, in hindsight, it meant that I had ran a Half Marathon in 2h07 minutes. Not bad for a cake eating tourist.
A note to say that all through the race the water and sport drink stations were well staffed and plenty. I did not like the SIS pouch they first gave me and I took the other flavours to try at home for next year since they are not sold in Canada.
We passed through the Olympic Stadium and then started a slight but steady climb around it. That part was less inspiring than expected but I was lucky to meet my colleague Philippe. We ran together for a good while and he told me that I was clearly finishing this without issues. He also told me to keep some energy when he saw me dance to the music or detour to high five some kids.
At 32km, DD11 came running toward me! She then accompanied me until we got to DH who filmed me and hugged me and to DD14 who was taking pictures. We ran a few hundred meters together and I said bye.
I saw DU before and after the third and last out and back at 33km and 35km. By the last one I was sugared out so I passed on the Gatorade he was offering. I had also sometimes started to walk, because I wanted to be sure to digest it all. It passed and I resumed. The level of energy of the participants and supporters was now way lower and it affected me a bit. I could have ran more than I did. I was still enjoying myself thus keeping close to my goal.
I smiled and ran the last few km and passed the finish line!
I am a Marathoner!
Official time is 04:49:40 and I am about in the middle of the pack.
After the race
I saw DU taking pictures. Then a bit later I saw DH and DDs. DH was happy to see me but sad that he did not photograph my arrival. The App was showing me stuck somewhere and he was worried something went wrong... I explained that it just meant that I had a positive split. I understood that it was the first time he was witnessing live the end of an endurance event and that not everyone finishes as healthy and smiling as me. Makes me appreciate my luck too.
I got my medal, my brown paper snack bag and went stretching.
DM finally answered my calls: She had tripped on a wire while waiting for my arrival, had bumped her head and was at the Marathon’s health clinic. So we waited a couple of hours until she got clearance. We then had a meal in the mall food court and went back home just before dinner and night time. It was hard to be euphoric during the afternoon because of these circumstances but, as I told them, having seen them along the course made this Marathon amazing! That is my crew, the best there is in the entire world (DH is missing from the picture).
They will all be at Dopey 2020.
