Fitness Friday: 2018 Toronto Half Marathon Race Recap
In a burst of annoyance with myself over a stupid soccer injury, I decided to sign up for the Toronto Half Marathon. At the time of me signing up it was March and I was like “oh please May is AGES away – I’ve got plenty of time to train!”. When I finally sat down and did my workback training schedule, I came to the horrifying realization that I had less than 6 weeks to train for this half marathon AND I had a shoulder injury. Hooo boy.
I basically dove headfirst into training after my last race (the Achilles St. Patrick’s Day 5K) and told myself there was no room for me to be lazy this time. Aside from the first half marathon I ever did (in the Czech Republic – read all about that race here!), I’ve been basically lazy AF about my half marathon training. I’ll train for one week, off for another, repeat. And while it WORKS, and I CAN run a half marathon without having to put much effort into training, the fact remains that I haven’t really sped up or gotten any better over the years I’ve been doing these races. My half marathon times range from two hours and seven minutes to two hours and eight minutes, without very much variation. And honestly, it’s the result of lazy training. Fundamentally you’re supposed to be running something like 5 times a week, but in the past I’ve generally relied on running twice a week. It doesn’t help that I play soccer, weightlift and recently went back to figure skating, so there’s a lot on my plate physically which gets in the way of training. That being said, all of these activities do HELP in some way, so they’re not totally detrimental.
The time around I was actually scared. I had a shoulder injury (that was healing well mind you) and I had very little time to get prepped for this race. So, for the first time in a long time, on top of all of my other activities, I committed to running three days a week, with the shortest single run in a week being around 9 kilometers. I was clocking around 35-40 kilometers a week and that’s easily the most I have ever done to train for a half. I love running long distance, but that much running training is super boring to me. However, the fear of failure kept me going and I completed all of the pre-race runs I set out to do… with one exception. I skipped my last long run the week before the race (a 16k run) and turned my usual one week taper (where you reduce your distance dramatically before a race in order to rest your muscles ) into a two week one. I had read in the past that a two week taper is sometimes better and I figured… let’s give it a shot.
I don’t know if it was all the consistent training, or the two week taper, or the extra physical activity I do… but I absolutely nailed this race. Every single time I looked down at my Garmin to check my pace I was in shock. I kept asking myself how was I running this fast? I was putting out a pace that I generally have during a 10K race and I wasn’t even tired. I wasn’t out of breath and I felt AMAZING. I kept expecting to hit a wall but 5k passed without issue, then 10k (I actually felt the best around 10k), then 15k…. and I still felt indestructible.
There was a brief moment around 18 kilometers where I looked at my Garmin and was like “wait a second, you’re not only going to absolutely MURDER your previous personal record, but you might actually be super close to two hours!”. It’s been my dream to get under two hours, but I’ve honestly never really had much motivation to work on speed training.
In the end, I tore through the finish line with a time of 2:01:20. This finish time was an incredible 5:49 minutes FASTER than my previous personal best which is absolutely unheard of for me. I usually go up and down by about a minute, never before I have I chopped off so much time in a race! While I must concede that a lot of the race had downhill segments, I have to say that there were some horrific uphills that sucked the absolute life out of you, so I really feel like they counterbalanced themselves. Plus, I not only beat the average female completion time (which was somewhere around 2:14:00) but I also beat the MALE average completion time (2:02:03)!
So if you couldn’t tell… I am over the moon about this race!
Race Results
- Finish Time: 2:01:20
- Pace: 5:45 per kilometer
- Overall placement: 1355/2956
- Age group placement (Female 30-39 years): 67/212
- Gender placement (F): 459/1392
VIDEO: 2 Looks, 1 Palette: Neutral vs Colourful – KVD Metal Matte
Bite Beauty’s Agave Lip Care Range (inc. new Lavender Lip Mask!)
My jaw just about fell on the floor when this PR package by Bite Beauty showed up a few weeks ago. It’s a lip care lover’s loveliest dream: every single shade of their Agave Lip Mask (including their new Lavender shade!), the Agave Sugar Lip Scrub and the Agave Lip Balm. Sadly, the entire package you see above isn’t available for purchase, but it does give me the opportunity to talk more in depth about Bite‘s glorious Agave range.
The Agave Lip Masks are billed as “an intensive nightly recovery lip mask to soothe lips and replenish moisture”. The formula contains agave nectar and jojoba oil which nourishes and hydrates the lips so that you wake up with softer lips. I do actually wear these overnight (and I’ve been busting through a previously purchased Maple one), but they can also be worn as a regular ole lip balm throughout the day.
While Bite‘s price point is a bit up there for some people ($30 CAD/$26 USD for one of the lip masks), there’s actually a ton of product in these tubes! There’s 15 grams/0.52 ounces which may not sound/look like a lot, but in terms of measurements… that is HALF the size of a regular bottle of foundation! Bet you never thought of it like that!
Bite has released more and more shades/flavours over time, and the Maple one has definitely been a staple of mine since it launched with the Canadian lipstick collection a few years ago. Bite‘s latest shade launch is Lavender, and oh wow does it EVER smell like lavender! The Agave Lip Masks, for the most part, smell and taste very sweet – the Lavender one is quite different in this sense as it smells a LOT like lavender with only a little bit of sweetness.
One last note on the packaging – all the Lip Masks come sealed which helps to keep the product fresh. Turn the cap over and pierce it with the needle-like nub on the inside of the cap and you’ll be able to poke an easy hole through the seal.
As you can see, some of the lip masks pack more colour than the others, but these are incredibly heavy swatches. On the lips everything becomes far more sheered out – even the darkest two colours (Smashed and Maple) become very, very sheer washes of colour. This makes for easy application on the go, which is something I always appreciate in a lip balm/mask!
Rounding out Bite‘s Agave range is their Sugar Lip Scrub (a potted scrub) and Agave Lip Balm (a stick balm much like their Multisticks).
Sadly, the Agave Sugar Lip Scrub isn’t really to my liking. While it tastes phenomenal on the lips, fundamentally I just don’t like that there isn’t enough scrubby sugar particles in the formula. I feel like the base is quite thick and luxurious, but overall I personally like a lot more sugar particles in my lip scrubs so this one gets a pass from me.
The Agave Lip Balm is much easier for on the go than the Lip Masks, which may suit a lot more people. I know not everyone likes using their fingers to apply lip balm, so this may be an easier option for slapping on a nourishing lip balm. It has a slightly firmer texture than the Lip Masks (makes sense – it is a solid balm after all!).
Final Thoughts
The Bite Beauty Agave Lip Masks are some of my absolute favourite lip care products in the world. Like a true Canadian, my favourite flavour is Maple and that’s the one I’d recommend the most… but honestly they’re all of the same excellent quality. It’s just a matter of finding the shade and scent that suits you the best. I know there’s a lot of lavender lovers out there, so you guys are going to be over the moon for the new scent!
As for the Agave Lip Scrub, that one gets a pass for me, but the Agave Lip Balm is a quick and easy lip saviour for on to the go. It’s one of those toss in your bags and use as needed products – quick, easy, and efficient.
Giveaway!!
Since I already owned a few Agave Lip Masks before I received this PR package, I wanted to do a small giveaway!
One person will win:
- Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask in Natural
- Bite Beauty Agave Lip Mask in Maple
Giveaway Rules
- This giveaway is open internationally!
- This giveaway starts on May 9, 2018 and runs for one week.
- Please be aware that all entries will be double checked to ensure fairness.
- Once the winner has been contacted, they will have 48 hours to provide me with their mailing address. If the winner fails to respond within that time frame, I will pick another winner. (And so on.)
- “Giveaway accounts” will not be considered for this prize. (If you want to know what I mean by that, please click here.)
Products featured in this post were sent to me for consideration. Post contains affiliate links.