Calgary Half Marathon

A great run and a very respectable time. It's been a challenge to keep moving afterwards, but here I am.

I was out the door at 6:00, after having not slept much. Dunno what was going on; I'm pretty sure I wasn't stressed about the run. Maybe getting to bed early for a change messed up my sleep schedule.

Anyway, I parked at the usual place and got my number pinned on, then walked to the armoury. There was already a bit of a crowd, and I wandered through the building to the back to join a bathroom line. After that, I went out front again, did a slow jog toward 6th Avenue and back, then back in line. By then, it was about five minutes to start time.

I picked a spot not far behind the 3:45 marathon time pace bunny, figuring that would put in the right place for the time was expecting to run in. A minute later and just behind me, I noticed the 1:55 half marathon pace bunny, so I was pretty much in the right place.

The last couple of minutes I chatted with someone running her first half, and then the horn sounded for the start. No shotgun this year, which was a little disappointing. The crowd surged forward three or four steps and stopped, waiting for those in front to funnel through the start gate.

The woman I talked to surged forward and across the mats, and that was the last I saw of her. Beginner, indeed. There seemed to be a few more people on the sidelines along 8th Avenue this year. Certainly, it was a more sober crowd, with no whooping and staggering like I saw in other years.

8th Avenue is maddening at times, with the crowds not yet thinned out, and the street itself widening and narrowing at random. Construction projects didn't help, and several runners took to the sidewalk at times. My alarm went off for my first walk break, and I ignored it, preferring instead to keep up with the crowd.

At Olympic Plaza, just before turning onto McLeod, someone took to the steps on the side, then dove head first onto the pavement below when they ran out. A collective gasp from the rest of us was met with protestations that he was alright. Well, OK, but it was a pretty spectacular spill.

Around the corner at city hall, and under the tracks. This stretch went fast, and I was turning onto 12th Avenue in no time. Right on Olympic Way, and through the gates to the Stampede grounds. I think it's Family Day, with free admission for families before 9:00, and a ton of people were taking advantage of it.

I took my first walk break on the grounds, and set the pattern for walks for the rest of the run, opting to take only every second one. Out of the south end of the grounds and around the corner to a long hill that I barely noticed. The first water station was there, and I grabbed a cup, slowing to a walk to take a gulp or two.

The trip through Ramsay was done in no time, and we turned onto 12th Street on the way to Inglewood. The crowd was still thick enough to take up two lanes. Across 9th and then the bridge to the zoo. This year the route was back to taking us by the tiger cage, and just as before the only critters to be seen were the flamingos. I guess the smell of hundreds of sweaty, inaccessible prey animals was too much for the tigers, and they opted to sleep in.

Past the new elephant enclosure, the old monkey house, and the African pavilion, we crossed the bridge to the main entrance, then cut around it, first toward the dinosaur park, then on to a service road that carried us toward Nose Hill Creek. At the creek the road took us under Memorial and we climbed the hill back toward the zoo's main entrance and parking lots, then up onto St. George's Drive. I'm hazy about where water station were along here. There might not have been any, but I think there was one at the zoo entrance or thereabouts.

Anyway, up 12th Street and onto 1st Avenue, the trip through Bridgeland brought us to a more vocal crowd. Lots of actively cheering spectators, which I welcomed. Up until then, most of the noise was of running shoes slapping pavement.

Down the short hill of Edmonton Trail and on to Memorial, I finally spotted a marker - 8 km. It had seemed to take no time at all.

This was straight slogging from then on. Just keeping up the pace. At the bridge to Prince's Island I noticed something that had been missing for the first half hour - no music. Dan the One Man Band was doing his thing about there, and it occurred to me that up until then I had not seen any entertainment along the route. Not even on the Stampede grounds.

Anyway, head down and keep up the pace. It was fairly quiet for awhile. At 10th Street, the crowds were thick and even noisy, and somewhere along there, maybe past 14th Street, a steel drum band was rockin'.

About 19th Street was when I was beginning to feel the pressure. There was about 6 km to go, and my pace was still good, but I wondered whether I was going to be able to keep it up. The long climb up and over Crowchild seemed to take forever, and on the other side, the turn around point was lost in the distance.

I think it was 27th Street where we eventually turned. I noticed the field had thinned. On the other side, those that were approaching the turn seemed a thick crowd by comparison. Under Crowchild and out in the open, I think the sun came out for a bit, but I really don't remember.

I was glad to see the off ramp up to 14th Street, and then the ramp to 9th Avenue. At the top there were real crowds, noisy and cheering. I lengthened my stride I as I approached the alley to the finish line.

I don't know where she came from, but she stepped in front of me just as I was about to pass a group of three or four. How rude! But she moved over a little, and I passed her as well, and sprinted across the finish line mats. I think the clocks were at one fifty something. If true, then no PR for me this time, but gosh-darned respectable. I waited while a volunteer untangled a medal from the gob of them she had over her arm, walked to where kids were snipping off the timing chips, and then under a couple of watering wands that were spewing shockingly cold water.

A great run, a great crowd, and I'm done for another year.

The stats are a little skewed on the walk breaks since I really only walked every second break. And I dunno where the extra 460 m came from. I also took a couple of minutes to stop the clock after crossing the line.

Distance: 19.82 km. Time: 1:41:24 Average speed: 11.7 kph. (5:06 min/km)
Rest distance: 1.74 m. Rest time: 11:00.
Total distance: 21.56 km. Total time: 1:52:24.

Shoes: New Balance 1061.

Weather: Cloudy and 13C to start, ending at 15C.