Prince Edward Island
October
16, 2016
4:09:40 92/217 overall
10/19 60-69
Jodi –Half Mar 1:53:46 107/437 overall 9/91 40-49
Jodi and I set out on our great adventure across
the North American continent early on Friday morning and didn’t arrive until
midnight, 4 time zones later. (There is a 4th time zone on the far
east coast of Canada, the Atlantic Time Zone.) We got our rental car and drove
a short distance out of Charlottetown to the Airbnb home at which we had booked
a room. We had checked room rates and found that bnb’s were remarkably
inexpensive ($50/night) compared to regular hotels so thought we’d try it out.
Our host couple had left the key on the mat and we got in easily to our
downstairs area which included bedroom, bath, and living room. We got right to
bed and the next morning were invited to join our hosts for breakfast. They
were a young (20s) couple who lived in the upstairs section of the house and
made money by renting rooms to tourists. They were really hospitable and we had
a yummy start to the day, too.
As
you can see in the pictures, PEI has lots of ocean views as no point is more
than 40 miles from the coast. Charlottetown is the capital city of this
province and Jodi and I enjoyed exploring it’s streets, shops, historic sites, and
restaurants. (In 1864, leaders from the colonies met to begin discussion of
combining to form the eventual country of Canada.) We picked up our kits (as
the Canadians call race packets) and drove along the coast to check-out the
course and find the starting area.
We
got up Sunday morning to see “0” (Centigrade) on the car thermometer. That’s 32
degrees Fahrenheit so it was literally freezing cold. Jodi drove me to my
starting area farther out on the coast and then drove to hers which was in town
near the finish line. Remarkably, with the sun out, I didn’t feel overly cold
so I wore shortsleeve shirt with the all-important gloves and cap with earflaps.
This was my first marathon since the Boston/Big Sur double at the end of April.
(I had my first running related injury at the beginning of the year and had
taken a couple weeks off from running for the first time ever after the double
marathons. I then rehabbed and ran short mileage for 2 months before getting
back to training in July.)
My
first mile was 9:37 and I ran the first half in about 2:03 with miles mostly in
9:10-9:20 range. In the back of my mind, I hoped to get under my Boston
qualifying time of 4:10 (it went from 3:55 to 4:10 when I turned 65; there are
some advantages to agingJ) which is a 9:32 pace. In the
second half there were quite a few extended hill climbs and a lot of headwind
so I couldn’t keep up the pace I had in the first half. The last 6 miles seemed
to have one hill after another to climb and I was very excited to see Jodi at
mile 23.
Jodi
had run the half-marathon as a training run for CIM (running a wonderfully
comfortable 1:53). After finishing her
race and getting some nourishment, she ran out 3 miles to meet me at mile 23. She ended up with a 20 mile day! I was
struggling with the hills and wind and the normal fatigue of a marathon so it
was only with Jodi’s help that I was able to get under the BQ time of 4:10.
Those last 6 miles were more in the 9:45 range and I was working hard to keep
them under 10 minute miles. I was pretty exhausted at the end and glad to be
finished. There was no need for an ice bath; I was already frozen. lol But we
got hot soup and coffee at little lunch restaurant that we had discovered the
day before.
Later
we reaped our running reward of a lobster dinner and seafood chowder followed
by Dairy Queen Blizzard. Yum! The next morning, dedicated Jodi ran another 6
miles along an area I had passed during the marathon. She did an out-and-back
from a golf course along the coast while I walked in the dark and cold. But we
treated ourselves to wonderful hot breakfast downtown. Then we picked up our
tour bus that took us around Charlottetown and then out to area where the Anne
of Green Gables books by L. M. Montgomery are set and where the author
had lived. We had both read the first book in the series and also watched the
movie of it so it was so fun to see the actual setting, and learn more about
the author and her life. The books had come out in the early 1900s and were
favorites of my mom when she was a young girl. (She and Bill have read all
Montgomery’s books in the last few years.)
For
dinner we had the most amazing fish and chips and then went to Cows’ Creamery
for their locally famous ice cream. What a great way to top off our amazing
excursion!
This was Marathon #149; 21 states on 2d go round; All 10 Canadian
provinces. Next up: Two Cities Marathon in Fresno Nov. 6, 2016.
Pictures at:
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