twenty one point one: Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon Recap

So here it is: 1:49:26.

I barely slept the night before. The starting line was freezing. My blood sugar was 7.0. I snuck into the blue corral (1:45-1:59 finishers) and lined up behind a guy with a giant Foo Fighters tattoo on the back of his calf. It took me four minutes to cross the starting mat. I snaked past people for the first few kilometres (how'd they get all the way up here?) and tried to ignore the fact that I was dying to pee. I hit 5k in exactly 26 minutes--exactly on target. I hit a really good rhythm. The pee just disappeared, I guess?

I spotted Christie Blatchford clapping in a small group of spectators along the Lakeshore. Her heart didn't really seem into it, though--maybe the spectacle was too public for her.

I made sure to stay ahead of the 3:45 marathon pacer. I hit 10k in 52 minutes flat. No shit. I drank all the Gatorade. My shin splints, which had been bothering me for weeks, never showed up for the party. My IT band, though--dormant for four months!--decided to tighten up near 16k. I ran through it. My splits were frighteningly consistent (I guess all those Yasso 800s paid off). The 1:50 pacer caught up to me with a kilometre to go and I pushed hard to stay ahead of him.

I got the sub 1:50. And when I checked my blood sugar on the curb after the race? 7.0. (Okay, there may have been some crazy post-race high sugars but those don't count! It's the 1:49 that counts.)

Phew.

21km and Type 1: Tomorrow

My race is tomorrow. I registered for it way back in March. A lot has changed since then: I've had three injuries (IT band, twisted ankle, and some persistent shin splints), I'm faster overall, and my attitude to racing has changed. Back in March this half marathon seemed like a really, really big deal. And, okay, it is, but I know now that it's just the first step for me. If I can finish tomorrow in a decent time, I can definitely run a marathon in the next year or so with some extra training. 42.2 and Type 1: it's not so far off.

Back in March I put myself in the starting corral for 2:00-2:15 half finishers. I had no idea of pacing for this kind of distance; I thought if I could break 2 hours I'd be proud. Now, I'm gunning for sub 1:50. That might be aiming too high, but I do know that (barring some horrible accident or injury) I will definitely come in under two. I don't doubt myself as much anymore. Truth be stretched, I've been training for this race for the past 13 years. I'm scared as shit, but I know I can do it.

I've got a basal insulin reduction plan and gels to keep my blood sugars in range. I don't expect them to be perfect--I don't need them to be. I just need my diabetes to work with me tomorrow. I don't want any fighting.

21.1? I'm going to kill it. And then I'm just going to keep on going.