Confessions of a middle-aged pace bunny
Wednesday, October 18, 2006 | 03:26 PM ET
By Peter Hadzipetros
It's not easy being a rabbit. Probably should have done a little more research before I volunteered to lead a group of runners who wanted to finish last weekend's Toronto Marathon at a certain pace.
Thought I could do it in three hours and 30 minutes, which is substantially slower than my best marathon time.
Turns out, I was a flop as a bunny. Came in at just under three hours and 22 minutes – more than eight minutes faster than the promised time.
The reliability of rabbits to keep the promised pace is an issue of much worry to many amateur marathoners. They seek out advice on message boards across the internet. People don't take kindly to wonky rabbits.
There were signs that things weren't going according to plan early on. It was a cool day and I was taking in a lot of fluids. But the cool weather meant I wasn't sweating nearly as much as usual. When you're taking in that much fluid, what your body doesn't absorb or sweat away has to go somewhere.
My little pack panicked just after the 10-kilometre mark when their lead bunny had to hop into the woods to heed nature's call. I promised to catch up – but with a lighter load, I may have picked up the pace. Just a little.
The truth is, it's difficult to run substantially slower than you are used to, and while missing your target by a few seconds a kilometre may not sound like much, multiply it by 42.2 and you get out of whack very quickly.
We were four minutes ahead of pace at the half. I planned on having a little time to play with, because you tend to lose some in the second half as the reality of putting in that much mileage takes its toll on your body.
Several keeners kept up – even the one who lamented at 32K "bunny, your pace is killing me!" Turned out that the pace had quickened slightly in the second half and that four-minute advantage would more than double by the end.
Still, those who hung on were glad they did. At least half a dozen of them recorded their best-ever marathon times.
It's ok to be a pace bunny. You get to wear this hat with pink ears emblazoned with the time you're aiming to finish in. Spectators cheer you on, admiring those long ears.
Gotta work on that pacing, though. It's back to bunny school for this rabbit.
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About the Author
Peter Hadzipetros is a producer for the Consumer and Health sites of CBC News Online. Until he got off the couch and got into long distance running a few years ago, he was a net importer of calories.
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Krystal
Toronto
I am one of those keeners that stayed with the bunny until the end... I thought it was overly ambitious to complete the race in 3:30 but I figured I would do my best. I have never been as happy as I was when I crossed the finish line at 3:21. Beat my last marathon time by 20minutes. Thanks for being such a bad pace bunny, Peter! I am going to Boston!!!!
Posted October 18, 2006 09:36 PM