The Day After!

"It won't happen again boys." -Bull Patterson

I really don't know where to start with this entry. Well i'll start with describing how I feel. I feel like Junk! My calves feel like they are going to explode with each step...when I bend over my admiral hamstrings scream with pain. My back, hips, thighs, shins, and feet...they're all shot. When I was going through the great canadian bagel drive thru this morning a man leaned out the window and said "wow, you guys left it all out there." I chuckled and replied "Ya...we go hard." I don't have to walk very far to realize that I gave it my all.

I wasn't that excited leading up to the race. I guess it's probably because I had never done it before and never knew how big of an event it was. I was still quite nervous about it...I'm not that strong of a runner and when you run for 21k anything can happen. In a nervous panic I spent most of the day Saturday at indigo reading running books. Just incase things went poorly I walked out of the store with "Tuesdays with Morrie." We had a great pre-race meal at the admirals place on Saturday night. Although I left thinking to myself....I'm going to see those meatballs again.

I woke up good and early Sunday morning. I went through my usual routine of getting a coffee and bagel into me right away. I didn't feel nervous until I met up with the admiral and Kree and we began putting on our bibs and chips. I set a goal of 1 hour 40 minutes and I told people that. As I was arriving to the race I said to the boys "why the frig did I say I would run it in 1:40." I was really rethinking my goal...considering I had not run 10k at that pace. As I looked up towards the confed center there were people everywhere...I was officially terrified.

5 minutes prior to the start we made our way up to our usual starting position...Right at the front. We pride ourselves on our great start. Tdiscgreggy goes "look over there" pointing to the sign on the right...It read 1:30. None of us planned on running it in that time but we were going to start with them. Bang...the gun went off. The race was under way...and just like we wanted we were out in the top 20. At the 1k mark it was tdisckree and the admiral just ahead of me and tdiscgreggy right behind me. I was happy with my start but I wasn't impressed with the shin splints coming on. I couldn't believe it...what a day to get those. They didn't slow me down though and I continued on with my pace. At the 5k mark coming up belvedere avenue I had a burning sensation in my stomach and I remember telling myself..."just get to the trail...better place to puke." When I hit the trail the pack began to spread and I found myself running alone. I knew I was on a pb pace but I was scared that I was wearing myself out early. I never really thought I could run it in 1:40 until I hit the 10k mark and I was over a minute under my personal best. From that point on I knew where I was every kilometer. With 5k to go I knew I had a good shot with 25 minutes remaining. The hill by calvary temple was absolutely miserable...I could tell my legs were tiring because I was kicking stones. Knowing there was an easy finish...I pushed it hard until UPEI. I hit the shell with 1 minute to go...I knew I had accomplished my goal. Not wanting to puke coming across the line I eased back...but when I entered the finish, with everyone standing around it gave me that extra little bit. For those of you who have never stepped on that red mat...you have no idea how good it feels. The atmosphere around the finish line was awesome!

We all achieved our goals and surprised a lot of people but not those who have seen us train. I think the sprints, hills, long runs, and the taper leading up really benefited us. There was a guy that pushed us along over the last month of our training that was unable to race. He was in our thoughts throughout the whole race. As we were at the starting line we could see in the distance a man holding up at T. That's when the captain looked at us all and said "We run this one for Bull Patterson boys." I know it was a major disappointed but Bull Patterson is for real...and he will be there next time.

I didn't realize how special this event was until I ran in it. From the endless amounts of water/gatorade/gells stations to the music stations(I'll never forget "P-p-poker face, p-p-poker face"). The people shouting encouragement never gave us a chance to give up...thank you for that. The whole organizing committee....you guys need to be applauded, that race is going nowhere but up.

To Tdisc...Great race...Great year!

Tdisc fan poll:
1.Tdisc members have their own body wash but share a puff.
False-Tdisc share team body wash.
2.The admiral is getting a triple dose of the H1N1 vaccine.
False-Noone gets a triple dose. However they will give him a double dose with a horse needle.
3.Everyone gets a mat to stretch on except the rookie.
True
4.The admiral lubes his feet and nipples prior to each run.
False- The admiral does lube up his feet but he is the only tdisc member not to lube his nipples.

To the Tdiscsuperfans running the dublin marathon. European times can be used for Tdisc qualifiers. Good luck! In the words Tdisc "Why not."

We break for 2 weeks and then we do it all over again. I'll leave you with a quote from a tdisc superfan "That was very inspiring, I almost teared up when you guys crossed."

Till next time,
Tdiscpye

"Satisfaction does not come with achievement, but with effort. Full effort is full victory." -Mahatma Gandhi