NYC here I come!

It's over! I did it! But it wasn't easy!

My day started early with a 5am wake-up call, followed soon after by my cell phone ringing. I was a bit surprised. Who was calling me at this hour? Anne to wish me well? A wrong number? Was something wrong back home? A lot of thoughts went through my mind as I crawled out of bed and fumbled for my cell.

It wasn't Anne and nothing was wrong at home. It was my friend Todd, drunk dialing me from Lumsden, Saskatchewan. Local time there, 4am!

He and his buddies had been out on a bender. He was as shocked as me to hear someone on the other end of the line. He had planned an elaborate and no doubt hilarious voice message to leave me, but I ruined that.

We chatted for a few minutes. It was just what I needed.

Todd is a character and he and his western Canadian buddies are legendary for their drinking and partying. He always cracks me up and this morning was no different. He helped relax me. I appreciated the call. He wished me luck. He could be a half marathon whisperer!

So, still laughing to myself over Todd's call, I showered, got dressed and downed a banana, yogurt, granola bar, some fruit salad and two cups of hot tea. I grabbed my keys and was off to the race.

Because the race was run within the boundaries of a U.S. air force base, no one was allowed access to the base to get race kits the day before the race due to security reasons. Meaning I, along with all the other runners, had to be at the race early and sooner than I normally would arrive. However, the volunteers did a great job and I was able to get my bib and timing chip without issue. After waiting in line for my last trip to the washroom, I headed to the starting area to warm-up.

The weather was nearly perfect for running - about 6C, sunny and very little wind. I warmed-up, stretched and got into the starting corral. For some reason the race started a few minutes late which made the wait seem to take forever!

Finally the gun went and off we ran. I heeded Ian's advice and made sure I didn't start too fast. He told me not to run any kilometre faster than a 4:10 pace and not run any one slower than 4:15. The adrenaline rush of a race start and faster runners can easily cause you to go out too fast, which can be disastrous later in the race. I kept checking my Garmin watch to ensure I stayed within the range Ian has set for me.

My strategy was to run at least the first 5 or 6k at a 4:15 per km pace to get warmed up and into a good rhythm. I was able to do just that with my fastest kilometre a 4:11 and my slowest a 4:15 in the first 7k. I was feeling great!

I was surprised how comfortable the pace felt. Only a couple of months ago this pace would have been too much for me. Obviously working with Ian was paying dividends.

Even though I was feeling strong and confident, I was wondering if I could hold this pace for the entire 21.1k.

Through 9k I was still cruising along and feeling fine. Just after the 10k mark, the route went up about a 500m long hill with a  good incline. I powered up it and maintained a steady pace of 4:13, but I could feel my thighs burning a bit as I reached the crest of the hill. Before I knew it I was at the 11k point...only 10k to go...I was passed the half-way point and still feeling strong.

The web site for the race promoted the race course as "flat". I wasn't seeing it that way. While there were some flat stretches and a few slight downhill parts, there were many small hills in addition to the bigger one around the 10k point. And it seemed to me that there were many stretches of the route with what I'd characterize as a steady incline.

Anyway, I was motoring along and easily maintaining the pace Ian had set for me. I was on track to hit my goal time of 1:28:30 and qualify for the New York City Marathon. But as my Garmin beeped to signal that I had just completed 15k, I told myself to stay in the moment and not think ahead. There was still a long way to run and anything could happen.

And happen it did!

As I passed the 17k point another hill loomed. It wasn't as long as the one I had faced earlier in the race, maybe 300m, but it was a lot steeper. "How is this a flat course?", I asked myself as I again pumped my arms and powered up the hill.

As I reached the top, my quads were on fire and my pace had slowed to 4:25. By the time I reached the 19k mark I couldn't feel my legs and my pace was stuck at about 4:20. A quick calculation and I knew at that pace it would be really close for me to finish in under 1:30 and qualify for NYC.

So I dug deep and willed my self to increase my pace to about 4:17 from 19k to 20k. Only 1.1k to go. I broke that last 1000m down into two 500m chunks and steadily increased my pace. I told my self I wasn't going to let 10 weeks of training and travelling all this way go for not in the last 2k and miss qualifying by a few seconds.

As I made the final turn toward the finish line, I quickened my pace and pushed myself as hard as I could despite the pain. As the finish line came into view I could see the time clock. It was showing 1:29:51!

I had about 50m to go. I grunted like one of those tennis pros returning a ground stroke from the baseline (I think I also said "fuck" out loud), put my head down and sprinted as hard as I could to the finish.

I wasn't certain, but thought I had stepped on the mat at the finish before the clock turned 1:30. It took 45 agonizing minutes until they posted the results to find out for sure.

Official time - 1:29:59! You can't get much closer than that! I had finished 22nd overall and 2nd in my age group (45-49), but because the guy who finished first was also the 1st-place finisher in the Masters category (40 and over) I received the 1st-place trophy for my age group!

I was beside myself. When I started running in February 2007 I never dreamed I'd run a sub 1:30 half marathon. And even though I had won a couple of 5k races in my age group, I never thought I could do the same in a half. I still don't think it's completely set in.

I have to thank Ian for his training advice and support. I have to thank my partner Anne for her support and working with me to get my training done. And to everyone else who sent me good luck wishes and provided positive words leading up to the race. I couldn't have done it without you.

Now I have to register for NYC and start planning that trip. Oh and I suppose I'll have to train!

I wonder what Ian has in store for me next?