Just when I knew what I wanted to say

Conditions for Tuesday’s Inferno were pretty good as the meet produced many PB’s but because of the heavy rain that delayed the meet I think it scared away many spectators. I was slated to pace the 5000m through 3000m in 8:20 but once I hit 2000m I was doubting my ability to hold the same pace so I dropped out at 2200m and let the race take over.  Andrew Nixon won the race in 14:04.

Here I’m giving warning to Nixon that I’m about to drop out.

On Wednesday I went to Toronto to meet Alan Brookes and members of the media for lunch to answer questions about my fall marathon.  It was officially announced on Wednesday that I will be racing the 2013 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathonn (STWM).  I’m very excited about this as my two fastest marathons were run at STWM (2010: 2:11:23, 2011: 2:10:55).  Most of the questions, understandably, were regarding Jerome Drayton’s Canadian marathon record (2:10:09) and the $38,000 bonus offered by Scotiabank.  Simply running the marathon is not exactly newsworthy but chasing a 38 years old record for a big payday is interesting.  On one hand I’m not in a position right now to predict any sort of time in a marathon so I answered the questions conservatively noting that I need to train specifically for the marathon before I can gauge my fitness.  On the other hand, I know what people want to hear so I offered my opinions on where I believe my capabilities lie.

I contemplated other marathons but I like the idea of running at ‘home.’ STWM will cater to the pace I want to run. If I go to another country I would likely have to pick a pace group which may not be exactly what I want. The crowd support for Canadian marathoners at STWM is amazing.  Knowing the course and not having to travel is very convenient. And if I run well the Canadian prize money and record bonus doesn’t hurt either.

Here are some of the articles that came out of the press luncheon:

STWM site

Globe and Mail

Toronto Sun

Canadian Press/Mercury