BMO Vancouver Marathon.... Part 2

I'm writing this a month later...so my memory has faded somewhat....

I guess I never really finished my last post because I was yapping too much about everything BUT the race! So here's Part 2 about the real nuts-and-bolts of what happened that day, again, based on whatever I can remember!

Despite being a rainy day, I managed to make a PR, beating my previous record by over 5 minutes. I had ran with a 2:11:00 pace band, and kept up with it, for the most part. Up until halfway through, I was beating pace by a couple of minutes, but by the time I had reached Prospect Point and that damn hill, all that shaved time crept back up and I was "even" again. I even succumbed to the evils in my head and (gasp!) walked for 30 seconds near the peak of the Point (that lady screaming that we were almost at the top obviously didn't walk that rest of the way to see how inaccurate she was!) But I gained some time on the nice downhill stretch between about 9 and 11 miles, leaving Stanley Park.

Everything on the route was labelled in kms, so I had a pace band in kms splits. I had no idea what I was really running in miles, since I had missed the 5-mile marker and only caught the 10-mile marker. Didn't matter, because by the time I got to the 17-km mark, I was almost ready to pack it in. I don't know how I managed to keep some kind of pace during the last 5 km. All the landmarks I passed made it seem so close to the finish line, yet as I passed ANOTHER familiar landmark, I realized that I was not as close as I thought!

As I approached the Finish, I could finally see the clock, and it was over about a minute and a half slower than what I been going by on my wristwatch. How could that be, I thought. If their km markings were accurate, there's no way my watch is that off! It turns out that in the chaos occurring in my mind at the time, I did not clue in that the clock was showing the Gun Time, and not Chip Time (as in MY Chip Time...how selfish of me!), therefore my clock I was going on was accurate to within a second of my official Chip Time. I can't say, though, that if I knew this at the time, if I would have had the energy to sprint to the Finish like a mad woman to break my goal of 2:11:00. Perhaps me stopping for 30 seconds at the top of the hill back at Prospect Point really did throw off my pace that much to cost me the 14 seconds I needed to make goal. I finished the race in 2:11:14 (former PR was 2:16:27).

But I can't dwell on little things like that, since it's these little things that can wreak havoc to the self-esteem, and I think I still did pretty well, with all the training I had done, to still be able to achieve a PR.

Now, I need another goal to achieve.

I think I'll try running just to run...until my next race, that is!

BMO Vancouver Marathon.... Part I

Today was the day....the day I had been training months for, since October of last year.

The BMO Vancouver Marathon!
My head is full of stories and thoughts during the run that I wish were able to have been instantly typed as they occurred: the people I observed, port-a-potty wonders, the numerous fails I experienced here and there...

Yes, FAILS!

Fail #1: Transit

I decided to take the bus this morning, since I received free transit passes on twitter from @bmovanmarathon. And this way, the hubby and the kids wouldn't have to wake up so early just to drop me off.

So, I arrived at the bus stop at 5:30, awaiting arrival at 5:37. Yup, the time came and went! And numerous taxis suspicious stopped close by and I finally caved and flagged one down. Turned out that the same taxi was circling me like a hawk, and good thing, because that bus never came. Taxi bill = $16.55 + $2 tip. After being dropped off at about 6:20 am, I made a firm commitment then, during, and after the race, that I would demand a refund from Translink for their misinformation on their Trip Planning website. Turns out, I selected tomorrow's Monday morning schedule and not Sunday's morning schedule. Dammit...you are off the hook, Translink...for now!

When I got there, I remembered what I heard John Stanton (Running Room founder, and Order of Canada recipient) said yesterday at a Guest Speaker presentation at the Sports Expo when I picked up my registration package: when you get here tomorrow, head straight for the port-a-potty. So, I did, and got to pick out any of the two-dozen parked by the entrance: no line-up (yet!). Going early, the port-a-potties were "fresh" from being recleaned.

Almost-Fail #2: Almost dropping wallet down port-a-potty!

Yes, almost! I have a neoprene pocket that clips to the inside of your pants that can hold some ID, keys, some cash. I clipped it the back of my pants, at the small of my back, and nearly forgot about it as I pulled my pants down. Good things I secured that baby well --- I usually don't! Yikes....that would have been bad, very bad....

I go inside the main building, where tons of runners are milling about, keeping warm. It's not terribly cold outside (about 6 degrees C?) but it's a lot more comfortable inside. I find my way to the back and got to Gear Check. I didn't bring anything to check except for the long sleeve shirt I was wearing on top of my souvenir technical tee; meanwhile, everyone around me had huge baggage reminiscent of being at an airport.

It was at this point I realized my decision to not bring my phone was a wrong move. People were surely checking in valuables despite a request not to. I could see their point, since bags could fall into the wrong owner's hand unknowingly, however, I highly doubted that someone would be accepting another's gear if they could recognize the monstrosity of their own baggage through the cloudy, crinkly plastic gear check bag.

A Running Post: My Final 10 Miles

1:23 in traffic delays and 10 sec because I was going in the wrong direction!

Including these delays: 1:43:04 was my time, which is a 10:17 pace. Without the lights and the misdirection (trying to recall the above map while running was constantly on my mind!), my pace was an ok 10:08.

Not as good a pace as I was expecting, but maybe during race time I'll be able to gain some speed.

I started slow today, waking up not as early as I hoped, at 6:30am. I scoured the kitchen for something to eat, and there was no yogurt, and the bananas had seen better days. I popped in an Eggo waffle, hoping it wouldn't cause cramps. I was out the door by 7:10am.

My 1st mile split was a slow 10:00 flat. I tried to keep it slow, so that I would last through the whole run.

It wasn't raining, so that was a great bonus. I still wore my tights and L/S shirt but I didn't need gloves. It was a tad windy but that came and went periodically.

During the quiet part of my run (it was pretty early in the morning), I could hear my left shoe cracking/squeaking! It was bugging the hell out of me! Something must have tightened up when the shoes got wet weeks ago. Argh!

Overall, the run went well. I hope I'm ready for the race next week! Now it's time to taper: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is 4 miles, 3 miles, 2 miles, respectively. I'm thinking of driving over the route to familiarize myself with the race, so I don't get so freaked out.

It's still freaking me out anyways.

My First 2009 Race!

I did it!

I'm racing again!

I signed up to run a 5K fun run on Saturday, Dec 5th, called The Santa Shuffle. It's for the Salvation Army, to help them raise funds for needy families each Christmas.

I'm joining with a couple of friends on what seemed like a dare. One friend just completed the Royal Victoria Marathon last month, and the other friend, well, has never ran before. I signed up so that the friend who's never ran before will finally lace up those runners of hers that we went out to buy together and go for some training runs.

I'm also collecting donations for the event. If you live in Canada and want to support the Salvation Army this Christmas, please visit my secure Donation Page where you will also receive a tax receipt. I believe $10 is the mininum to receive a receipt. My goal is $50 (I know it's not a stellar goal...) but it's something.

Sponsor Me!



Gotta run!