Nike Women's Run 15K race recap

This race can be summed up in one word:

CONGESTION!

When getting ready the night before, I jammed my bag check bag with an entire change of clothes, dry shoes, my rain jacket and my umbrella. The forecast stated rain for most of the day and I hate, hate, hate being in wet clothes.

I made it down to Toronto with plenty of time, got parked nice and close (paid a ridiculous fee, but oh well, the convenience was nice in the end) and managed to get over to the ferry line. I got there as the 7:00am ferry line was leaving (even though it was after 7) and got into the 8:00 am line up. I chatted with a few other ladies that were waiting in line as well and we were sharing stories of other Nike races. We hopped onto the ferry, rode over to the island and things were going smooth.

Where the race took place...Toronto Island

I dropped my bag at the bag check station and went wandering to find my friend, Lisa. I also ran into a mother from the school I teach at (who is way faster than me) and was heading into corral number 2 (I mean crazy fast). I then decided to hop into the bathroom line. It was long, but it was either waiting in line for the washroom or waiting in the corral. Figured I'd use the washroom. While waiting, it started raining. I decided to hang out in the washroom for a bit since our corral wasn't actually running until 10:00am (I got into the washroom at 9:00). Eventually, I headed out and waited in the corral until it was time to go.

It took a lot of time to get into a stride. There were soooo many people! I looked at my fancy new watch and my pace was around 8:00! WHAT!? You couldn't even weave in and out amongst people it was that jammed. Plus, we walked at some points to avoid puddles. Just run through them!

We continued through kilometer after kilometer (which weren't spaced out properly either as my watch vibrated about 0.14 before each marker) being tightly bunched. There was one part where we ran on a runway at Billy Bishop airport. At that point, it was wide enough that we had our own space to move. Unfortunately, it didn't last long so we were all bunched up again pretty quick.

Running the runway was pretty cool!

After that, it was just a big blur of arms, legs, swerving, slowing down, speeding up, passing, being passed, etc. I did hit my 10k mark with a better time than my last 10K. I passed that mark at 1:09 (Oakville 10K I did 1:10). After the 10K, I needed some walking time. I was just so frustrated with the number of people that I needed a little break. Luckily, there was a bridge that I was able to walk up. I had a couple more walk breaks. Once I hit the 2.5km mark left I told myself, 'no more walking'. Of course, we hit the boardwalk. On top of being congested, we added slippery wood to the growing issues. Once we got off the boardwalk, it was about 0.75km to the finish. I pushed as hard as my legs would go at that point.

I finished in 1:47:55, a 16 minute PR from the last time I did a 15K (two years ago but still). I quickly made my way through the finisher area, grabbed my food, pendant and bag check and headed for the ferry line. I had promised my boys (and my husband) that I would take them to a movie in the afternoon because I hadn't been home all day. Luckily, the ferry line went a lot faster than I expected, I got back to my car as fast as my legs would go and got back on the highway quickly too! I was thankful for my dry clothes because I was warm on the ferry on the way back and everyone else was freezing! I made it home in plenty of time to shower and have some tea before heading to the movie. 

Overall, the experience was the same as DC. Lots and lots of people that started out running and ended up walking. I was passing people that started out in Wave 4! Clearly they were either unprepared, injured or just way too confident in their abilities when they signed up. I love the finished necklace, t-shirt and sweater, but they almost need to cut down on the number of people. 

My newest necklace! Never thought I'd own anything from Tiffany's!

Even though I complain about it, if another Nike event comes up,  I'll still probably do it. Just for the bling of course!