 The night before at DQ |
Susan and I left for Saint John, New Brunswick, about 10:30 on Friday morning. There was a lot of traffic and road construction, and we did not reach Canada till 6:15, eastern standard time. Susan started singing songs from Brigadoon as we traveled through thick fog. Around 7:45, Saint John, like Brigadoon, appeared out of the mist.
On Saturday morning, we picked up our numbers and went to a 5k fun run. When we arrived, the run had started. Actually, it had ended. It was then I remembered New Brunswick was on Atlantic, not Eastern, time. We ran 3 miles on our own and then went to the bar that served as Saturday's reception area. We ate breakfast with other runners. In the afternoon we walked around Saint John, took a bus tour of the course, and took a historical tour. It was raining through most of the day.
We ate a pasta dinner with Phil Graceffa, Susan Woods and her husband Adrian and then went to a Dairy Queen, where we had a lucky "Blizzard." It seems that this was a tradition of theirs since 1995. Last year, one of them did not have a blizzard and ran a lousy race. I hadn't had ice cream in over a year, but I was afraid to break tradition.
We woke up Sunday morning and got to the start in plenty of time. I jogged for about 15 minutes and then went inside to avoid the drizzle. A marathon, a half, and a 5 mile race all start together. I thought it was be a confused start, but it wasn't. I was happy to see the marathoners had ribbons on the back of their shirts so I knew who I could ignore.
|
||||||
|
The first 5 mile splits were 7:07, 7:02, 7:07, 6:53, 7:02 (35:11.)
A few hundred yards short of 5 miles, those running the short race turned left while we went over a bridge. There were long uphill sections in the sixth and eighth miles, but after the 5 milers left, it seemed time to start working harder and ran those in 7:11, 6:53, and 7:06. I passed another runner who might have been over 50.
The turn around point for the half marathon was in the ninth mile. Though there was a slight uphill, there was a steep downhill section in this mile. I ran this mile in 6:48, my fastest split.
After this downhill section, most of the rest of the race was run into a headwind. I ran 7:00 for mile 10 and then the course turned onto a highway. There seemed to be few runners either ahead or behind me, so I had to concentrate on keeping up a pace which is faster than what I run while running alone. There was a long section of gradual uphill in this mile. My split of 7:20 was the slowest mile of my race.
On Saturday morning, we picked up our numbers and went to a 5k fun run. When we arrived, the run had started. Actually, it had ended. It was then I remembered New Brunswick was on Atlantic, not Eastern, time. We ran 3 miles on our own and then went to the bar that served as Saturday's reception area. We ate breakfast with other runners. In the afternoon we walked around Saint John, took a bus tour of the course, and took a historical tour. It was raining through most of the day.
 |
|
Phil checks his watch
|
We woke up Sunday morning and got to the start in plenty of time. I jogged for about 15 minutes and then went inside to avoid the drizzle. A marathon, a half, and a 5 mile race all start together. I thought it was be a confused start, but it wasn't. I was happy to see the marathoners had ribbons on the back of their shirts so I knew who I could ignore.
After a few miles, my main concern was the humidity. It was only 63 degrees, but muggy. I was running conservatively as there were several hills on the course. I began to wonder if there were many runners in my age group. I saw one guy ahead who looked like he was past 50 years old, and he seems to be running faster than I was. However, near the 3 mile mark, he stopped and came back to me asking if I knew where the turnoff was for the 5 mile run. I was happy to tell him it was still ahead.
The first 5 mile splits were 7:07, 7:02, 7:07, 6:53, 7:02 (35:11.)
A few hundred ya
 |
||||||
|
The turn around point for the half marathon was in the ninth mile. Though there was a slight uphill, there was a steep downhill section in this mile. I ran this mile in 6:48, my fastest split.
After this downhill section, most of the rest of the race was run into a headwind. I ran 7:00 for mile 10 and then the course turned onto a highway. There seemed to be few runners either ahead or behind me, so I had to concentrate on keeping up a pace which is faster than what I run while running alone. There was a long section of gradual uphill in this mile. My split of 7:20 was the slowest mile of my race.
Shortly after 11 miles, someone who would eventually finish over a minute ahead of me passed me. But I was getting closer to three runners who had been far ahead of me at 10 miles. The first part of the 12th mile is downhill. Around 11.6 miles, we ran through a tollbooth and then began running over a bridge. Running uphill, into the wind, this was the hardest part of the course. My 12th mile was 6:56.
The top of the bridge was shortly after the 12 mile mark, and I was happy to run down the other side of the bridge, singing "The Bear Went over the Mountain" as a mantra. I caught one runner shortly before the highway exit, which was the last hill. The last 150 yards was downhill, and I ran the last 1.11 in 7:42 for a final time of 1:32:05.
 |
||||||
|
I enjoyed the weekend. I learned a lot about Saint John (first incorporated city in Canada) and feel I got more for my race entry fee than any other race I have ever ran. For about $21 in U.S. funds, the organizers provided a reception at pool side and food on Friday evening, a fun run and breakfast on Saturday, a pasta dinner, pre race massage, baby sitting, post race massage, refreshments and then a barbecue on Sunday. You also got a tee shirt and were entered in a raffle. The fee for the marathon was the same as that for the half. I definitely will return.