Bay and Back 5KPrep

"frank-in-toronto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I'll be doing the 5k. This will be my first-ever real race. I'm not worried about finishing.
That's easy. as long as I don't go out too fast.

Awesome, and good luck. I will be facing the nasty North Shore hills and doing the 30k. 🙂

Quoted message said:

1. where do I stand at the start? I expect to take 27 minutes or less, so mid-pack. I don't want
to hold folks up and I don't want to be held up by walkers.

Last year over 600 people finished, and the 27 minute people were coming in at around the 300 -
350th place range. Looks like about halfway back would be perfect.

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2. where is half-way. exactly. i can adjust my pace there.

An equal distance to the front or the back when you look either way? 🙂

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3. since the race starts at 10, i may need to eat before. usually i run in the a.m. well before
breakfast. this has me concerned. i guess i should practice eating and then running a few times
before the race. difficult to fit in but i can try. any other suggestions? i could just not eat
till later. that wouldn't be too hard either. i DO NOT want to risk gastro troubles in front of
everybody.

Don't eat. I't a 5k, you'll do great. You said youself that you "usually i run in the a.m. well
before breakfast", and I'm sure the added hour or two will be fine. If you're really against that
idea, try a single packet of instant oatmeal. Most people do fine with that stuff.

See you there!

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org

In article said:

I'll be doing the 5k. This will be my first-ever real race. I'm not worried about finishing.
That's easy. as long as I don't go out too fast. I have just three questions right now. I spoke to
a friend who was there last year and he said parking and washroom access at the start are fine.
Not to worry.

1. where do I stand at the start? I expect to take 27 minutes or less, so mid-pack.

Yes. Sounds right to me.

Quoted message said:

2. where is half-way. exactly. i can adjust my pace there.

They usually have mile markers at these races. Maybe they have KM markers instead where you are. You
should check in advance. Use these to check that you're on pace. The most important time to check is
early in the race (the 1 mile mark or the 1km and 2km marks)

By the time you're at the halfway mark, you're usually exhausted enough that you don't need to check
-- your fatigue is a good regulator of your pace. By the time you're at the halfway point, you
should be looking to gain a few places. When it's down to 1 mile to go, try to pass as many people
as you can.

Quoted message said:

3. since the race starts at 10, i may need to eat before.

Just some high GI carb food. A bagel or even just a packet of gel.

Quoted message said:

usually i run in the a.m. well before breakfast. this has me concerned. i guess i should practice
eating and then running a few times before the race. difficult to fit in but i can try. any other
suggestions? i could just

You don't need much food, it's just a 5k. It's not that important. Glycogen depletion isn't a
major factor.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

Awesome to hear. I'm not sure what the exact route is. But enjoy and good luck!!!!!!! Hopefully it
will be as pleasant weather-wise, as last year. I'll be doing the full for the 2nd year in a
row...hoping to improve on the
3:04 it took me. Damn final hill killed my gait for the last 3km. Any recommendations, David, aside
from ignoring my running mate who begs to stop and walk midway up the hill?

Brian in Hamilton, ON

"Brian" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Awesome to hear. I'm not sure what the exact route is. But enjoy and

good

Quoted message said:

luck!!!!!!! Hopefully it will be as pleasant weather-wise, as last year. I'll be doing the full
for the 2nd year in a row...hoping to improve on

the

Quoted message said:

3:04 it took me. Damn final hill killed my gait for the last 3km. Any recommendations, David,
aside from ignoring my running mate who begs to

stop

Quoted message said:

and walk midway up the hill?

The 5k route starts at City Hall, heads east on Main St. To Walnut St., then loops down to King
St.to travel back in a westbound direction. The next turn is right (north) onto Bay St., where it
goes down to the entrance of Pier 4, and then does a 180º turn back up Bay St. to Cannon St, where
it does a loop around the field that's part of MacDonald High School there. The finish is the same
as the 30k.

Recommendations for the 30k:

1. Aim to run the first 15k about 2 to 4 minutes faster than the second half. This is not a negative
split race for 99% of the entrants. I like to run the first 5k at what I want to average for the
entire race, and then gradually speed up a little for the middle 10k.

2. The race does NOT end at the top of the beast known as the Valley Inn Road hill. I know you know
that, but the idea is to remember that a lot of hopeful finish time aspirations end on the 3.2km
stretch of mostly gentle downhill on York Bvld that ends the race. I died on that stretch two
years ago, ending what seemed like an easy sub-2 hour time. I ran the first 27km at under 4:00/km
pace and the last three (flat or downhill) at close to 5:00/km. My calves were toast from the
hills. For some it's the quads that get beat. This race is similar to Boston in many way, and
this is a great example.

3. Remember the free beer ticket that you get with the bag of goodies. That's for after the race in
the Convention Centre. A lot of people don't want theirs, so with a few smiles and polite asking
you can ensure you will be feeling no pain after the race (the next morning is another story).

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org

Quoted message said:

3. Remember the free beer ticket that you get with the bag of goodies. That's for after the race
in the Convention Centre. A lot of people don't want theirs, so with a few smiles and polite
asking you can ensure you will be feeling no pain after the race (the next morning is another

story).

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That's funny. I missed that part last year. Instead I walked back home and after a nice long bath
and a short nap, consumed many Guinnesses at the Westtowne.

Brian in Hamilton, ON

Quoted message said:

3. Remember the free beer ticket that you get with the bag of goodies.

Hey, we got hosed last year then! There was no free beer ticket in either mine or my brother's bag
last year. :-(

"Perdy Tired" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >

Quoted message said:

Hey, we got hosed last year then! There was no free beer ticket in

either

Quoted message said:

mine or my brother's bag last year. :-(

I didn't run last year.... I was injured. Maybe they didn't have beer...? I know it's been a part of
it for years, though. I don't know why they would change. Amstel is still a sponsor.

I doubt you would remember, but I was the guy standing on the corner of Tisdale and Main (almost 3km
into the race) cheering people on and taking a few photos of the crowd streaming down the street. I
will dig around for them and upload a few to my server space... maybe you can see yourself. 🙂

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org

SwStudio said:

"frank-in-toronto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I'll be doing the 5k.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

2. where is half-way. exactly. i can adjust my pace there.

An equal distance to the front or the back when you look either way? 🙂

I know you're just being funny. what i mean is: " half way along the course". Are there km markers
as donovan suggested there might be. If you don't know, I can carefully just measure along the map
and figure it out for myself.

thanks to all for the rah-rah. ...thehick

"frank-in-toronto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

SwStudio said:

"frank-in-toronto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

I'll be doing the 5k.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

2. where is half-way. exactly. i can adjust my pace there.

An equal distance to the front or the back when you look either way? 🙂

I know you're just being funny. what i mean is: " half way along the course". Are there km markers
as donovan suggested there might be. If you don't know, I can carefully just measure along the map
and figure it out for myself.

thanks to all for the rah-rah. ...thehick

The halfway point is on Bay street (heading north) between Cannon and Barton. 🙂

cheers,
--
David (in Hamilton, ON) www.allfalldown.org