On March 25th, I toed the starting line for the 124th running of North America's oldest Road Race, the Around the Bay 30k. Going into the race, I was not nervous at all; I've run the race 5 or 6 times in the past. Also, I knew that I would be running at a more comfortable pace than I have in previous years since the goal for the day was simply to have fun and to not get injured before my bigger race next weekend. Well, that isn't entirely true; I had a secondary goal as well, which was to try to keep the contents of my stomach inside my stomach. This year I wouldn't just be running the 30k but also eating a footlong hotdog during the later stages of the race.
It all started about a month ago. While eating hotdogs with my family at my very favourite restaurant, "Easterbrook's Hotdogs" on Plains Road in Burlington, we saw a runner wearing last year's "Around the Bay" shirt come in and buy a bottle of water. I joked with my son about how it would be pretty funny if he came in and ate a hotdog and then continued on his run. Later that evening, I posted on social media that I was going to do just that and called it the "Easterbrook's Challenge" and wanted to know who would join me. I was mostly kidding but, sure enough, a number of fellow runners wanted in on the action. Needless to say, we made up some rules and everything was all set. There were 14 runners that participated in this really bad idea.
It was a pretty cold morning with some significant wind, which was in our face for most of the first 20k. I settled into a good pace early on. It was not an easy pace but also one I thought I could sustain. I would describe it as "slightly uncomfortable". I think that my 5k splits were all just over 22:00 all the way up to "Easterbrook's Hotdogs", which was just before the 25k marker. There, pre-ordered and waiting for me, thanks to a wonderful group of volunteers, was a diet coke and footlong veggie dog called the "Chicago Slider". It was piled high with hot peppers, tomatoes, and aged cheddar cheese. My absolute favourite.
I was the second runner to come through. The first runner had come and gone over 10 minutes before I arrived and I was receiving messages that he inhaled the hotdog with little difficulty. Although I didn't have much of a race strategy for the running portion of the day, I did have a strategy for this part. It turns out that my strategy was a very poor one. I planned on drinking my tasty beverage right away because that would be too difficult to run with. Next, I would take a big bite of the hotdog and then would start to run again. Most of the the next kilometre is downhill and is normally my favourite part of the course. Not today. During this downhill section I planned on taking a few more bites but to focus on the running while I could take advantage of the downhill. Following the downhill, is the most notorious hill of the day. This is where I would slow down, jog the hill, and finish the hotdog.
There were a number of problems with this plan. First of all, I should not have finished my entire drink before consuming the hotdog. My mouth was already dry from running and not having anything to wash it down with made the hotdog very difficult to swallow. Next, my hotdog choice wasn't a great one. They offer a huge assortment of topping combinations and I made the mistake of allowing my stomach to choose instead of my brain. In hindsight, I should have chosen one that was a little more "wet". One with a condiment or sauce that would make it easier to swallow. My final mistake was believing that I would actually be able to eat a hotdog while running. When running at a
quicker pace, I primarily breathe through my mouth, which made it extremely challenging to swallow. The bottom line is that the execution of my plan did not go as expected. Every bite was a struggle.
Shortly after reaching the top of the hill, I finished my hotdog. The entire process took me close to 10 minutes. However, the challenge was not over quite yet. At 27k into the course, runners pass by a historic cemetery where every year a Grim Reaper waits and heckles the runners. At this point, we had our dessert station where we each had to consume 3 chocolate truffles. The truffles were actually delicious, but not at all what I wanted to eat after running for over 2 hours. The final 3km of the race should be easy since it is a gentle downhill, however, every year I seem to struggle here. This year was different. I was running nice and slow without a care in the world. I crossed the line in 2:20:05. Although my time was 16 minutes slower than by personal best, I met all of my goals; I had fun, did not get injured, and did not throw up. I'm counting this as a win!
Kudos to the team that puts together the Around the Bay Road Race. They do a great job every year and I can't even imagine the work that goes into such an endeavour.
This was my 9th race of the year; only 31 to go! Next weekend I will be running the Georgia Death Race, which I'm quite concerned about. My only goal is to finish the race.