2019: Canal Run Half Marathon

Reasons to participate in this event haven’t really changed over the past several years: a very well organized and attended race in my own backyard, the potential to see and be with a lot of friendly faces from the awesome community I am so fortunate to live in and a chance to sleep in the comfort of my house the night before, and show community that its investment in helping me run (better) has been worthwhile. This year was no different either.

Taking a couple days off after the Run The Keweenaw, A Festival of Trails and let the mild sprain/hyper-extension in my left ankle heal was a neat idea. So was keeping the effort relatively easier on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Driving to Chicago for once in a lifetime opportunity of meeting running legends – Dr. Roger Robinson and Kathrine Switzer – was a blessing in disguise. Not only I learned much from my interactions with them, Chicago (the Lakefront Trail, courtesy of Laura and The Magnificent Mile, a bucket list item) provided a change in scenery on running routes. Approximately 900 miles of driving meant I was also off my feet and the ankle got even more time to heal.

Waking up a couple hours before the start of the race (another perk of a hometown event), I had sufficient time to drink some coffee and drive to Atlantic Mine with Laura to pick up Ray en route to the bussing area. Andi and Jim had picked up my race packet the night before and dropped it off at my place – saving me the hassle of that task on race day morning. Laura, Joel and I caught one of the last busses to the start. In spite of that, there was sufficient time to run a warm-up lap with Craig few minutes before the starting gun was fired.

The goal for this event was to learn more about pacing: hold back for the first half and and push the pace for the second half (thanks, Ray!), and earn a new PR for the half marathon distance (i.e., finish below 1:41:32) by executing the plan well. After starting near the very front of the pack, I peeled off to be a mid-packer to stay true to the plan. Holding the pace back (~7:40 min/mile) for the first six-ish miles, though felt easy while doing it, was probably harder work in hindsight. Maintaining (or better, improving) the pace in second half took some effort but the good ole pain in the left ankle started showing up again by mile #10.

Goal vs Reality Goal: 13.11 mi in 1:41:31 (7:44 min/mi) Reality: 13.06 mi in 1:39:15.0 (7:35 min/mi)
Distance mi	Lap Time m:ss	Lap Elevation feet	Total Time h:mm:ss	Total Elevation feet	Avg Pace min/mile	Projected Finish Time h:mm:ss	Differential Goal Time h:mm:ss
1.00	7:39	0↑ 138↓	0:07:39	0↑ 138↓	7:39	1:40:17	0:01:14
2.00	7:36	0↑ 115↓	0:15:15	0↑ 253↓	7:37	1:39:51	0:01:40
3.00	7:42	26↑ 10↓	0:22:57	26↑ 263↓	7:38	1:40:04	0:01:27
4.00	7:47	0↑ 0↓	0:30:44	26↑ 263↓	7:40	1:40:30	0:01:01
5.00	7:47	33↑ 33↓	0:38:31	59↑ 296↓	7:42	1:40:57	0:00:34
6.00	7:31	7↑ 13↓	0:46:02	66↑ 309↓	7:40	1:40:30	0:01:01
7.00	7:32	0↑ 20↓	0:53:34	66↑ 329↓	7:39	1:40:17	0:01:14
8.00	7:33	10↑ 16↓	1:01:07	76↑ 345↓	7:38	1:40:04	0:01:27
9.00	7:42	16↑ 3↓	1:08:49	92↑ 348↓	7:38	1:40:04	0:01:27
10.00	7:37	33↑ 26↓	1:16:26	125↑ 374↓	7:38	1:40:04	0:01:27
11.00	7:25	13↑ 26↓	1:23:51	138↑ 400↓	7:37	1:39:51	0:01:40
12.00	7:38	52↑ 33↓	1:31:29	190↑ 433↓	7:37	1:39:51	0:01:40
13.00	7:23	75↑ 16↓	1:38:52	265↑ 449↓	7:36	1:39:38	0:01:53
13.06	0:21	0↑ 0↓	1:39:13	265↑ 449↓	7:35	1:39:25	0:02:06
The final cumulative time, 1:39:13, may not match the official time (1:39:15.0) owing to rounding errors. Starting my watch a few seconds before the start and stopping it a few seconds after crossing the finish line can be an additional reason for this discrepancy. The overall distance, 13.06 mi, may not match the designated (or certified) event distance (13.11 mi) owing to idiosyncrasies associated with GPS data collection OR my inability to take the tangents OR the aforementioned early start/late stop reasons, and in some rare cases, incorrectly measured (or advertised) courses or DNFs. As a result, the cumulative pace and the projected finish time might not match the official values as well.

Though the pain wasn’t much, I was starting to fear about potential longer term damage. Just as I was thinking about slowing down, Laura joined the party. Chatting with her easily distracted me from foot pain but helped me focus on running up the final ascent into Downtown Hancock under 8:00 min/mile pace. If not for Laura’s blessed company, Lianna‘s help with matters of the mind as well as a reminder from Ray in the last 250-300 meters or so to swing the arms, the final time wouldn’t have been what it was. All in all, I finished fairly strong with Laura at 1:39:15 – good enough for 13/146 overall, 12/66 in gender and 1/9 in AG.

Overall, I was quite happy with the effort and the result. Keeping an eye on the weather (saving the energy for a stronger climb at the end when the sun would be beaming at my face) and losing the shades (not permanently; aid-station volunteers were amazing and brought it back to the finish area) around mile 6.50 made me a little conservative. I believe not being so would have improved my overall pace by about 2-3 seconds per mile. I was also quite proud of sustaining fairly even splits throughout the course (fastest mile at 7:22 and slowest mile at 7:47) and approximately even 5k chunks (23:46, 23:55, 23:35 and 23:35). Post-run activities included participating in the awards ceremony, hanging out with friends in the Chassell and spending some time with the Mlynskis at home before calling it a night.

Thanks be to

the rejections and opportunities life has brought my way, event folks (organizers, sponsors, volunteers, timers, law enforcement officials, photographers, fellow participants and spectators) and my family of good friends, mentors and coaches in and outside of my community for all the unexpected, undeserved and unrewarded acts of kindness and constant encouragement as well as offerings of constructive criticism to improve myself as a human and an athlete. I am eternally grateful to all those who let me train with them, who shared their meals and experiences with me, who helped keep me in good health, who helped me stay the course, and who cheered me on from home or along the course.