Toronto Goodlife Half Marathon

My husband and his buddies started running a few years ago. They had registered to run this race as their first half marathon. I was super excited for all three of them. Fast forward to the night before the race. The kids had been sick for weeks and now hubby had caught whatever they had. He had picked up their race kits and was going to try to run, walk or crawl to the finish. I kindly asked him if that what how he wanted to remember his "first" half marathon.  He took a nap and when he woke up, decided that there was no way he was going to be able to run. He was hacking up a lung and dizzy from being so congested. It was too late for a bib transfer and I didn't want the bib to go to waste, so I decided to run for him.

I ran this race last year so I knew what to expect for the course. I decided that I was going for a sub 2:00 time and hoped to PB. 

My splits taped to my Garmin

I packed up quickly the night before and set up my gear. I had eaten terribly that day and for most of the week as I had not planned on racing a half marathon. I got up nice and early before the kids and headed out to meet up with hubby's friends and aim for a PB. It was going to be the guy's FIRST half marathon. I was super excited of them and wished them a great race.

I'm just one of the guys

The course is know to be fast and downhill, but they don't mention on pretty big hill you need to tackle at the 3km mark heading up to 4km. I walked it last year, but decided early on that I would try my best to stay on pace and run up the hill. Once I reached the top, my legs felt O.K, but not great. I continued on. I was glad that I taped my pace on to my watch because it really helped me stay on track. I can't say the rest of the course was downhill, but it was definitely scenic. I was trying to stay on pace, so I couldn't really grab my phone out for any selfies during this race. 

Coming into the finish line

It was another great day for a race. I stayed on mark with my splits and squeaked in right under 2 hours. It's a course PB for me, but not a half marathon PB. This is a great spring race with all different distances. I would like the run the full marathon one day as the medals are HUGE. As one of the guys put it, our half marathon medal is a coaster, the full one is a side plate.

Results 

5K - 28:36

10K - 56:60

15K - 1:25

FINISH -1:59:46.5

Pace - 5:41

The 'after' shot with our medals