2014 Victoria Half Marathon - Race Report

I started writing a post on Friday (and then again on Saturday) about the fact that it was Thanksgiving weekend – which of course also means MARATHON WEEKEND in Victoria!

Whether I'm racing or simply spectating, this is probably one of my favourite weekends of the year. I feel like it sort of signals the end to one “season” and triggers the start of the next – in athletics and regular life. (Plus all the obvious Thanksgiving-y goodness of time with family and friends and lots of yummy food).

This year, I was trained up and ready to run the half marathon. It would be my first time since 2010 that I've done anything longer than the 8k on marathon weekend. For the past four years, cheering on friends and family has been higher on the priority list.

Anyway, my now abandoned post started something like this…

“Confession. I'm nervous.”

I didn't get much farther than that.

It seems the nerves I was feeling leading into Sunday's Victoria Half Marathon were enough that the idea of writing about the race – before it happened – was just too much. And so, that blog post got ditched.

Funny how a distance you've run countless times can suddenly feel so intimidating.

Actually, that's a lie; the distance wasn't intimidating at all. I knew I could run it just fine. I suppose the fact that I had declared a time goal, and knew it was going to take some work to achieve it, well, maybe that was the intimidating part?

Anyway, as usual, I'm rambling. Let's get to the race report, shall we?

After a restless ‘sleep’ on Saturday night, I woke up way too early and did my usual pre-race routine before heading down to meet up with the parental units and Kirsten so we could all drive into town together.

I was quiet and a bit grumbly and a little unsure of why I was feeling so anxious.

When one of my folks asked if I was okay and I nearly started to cry I had to remind myself that my best races this year have been when I haven't given a crap about time (or, should I say, time wasn't the main focus), but instead was more concentrated on finding the joy and fun in the day… because let's face it, I do this for the fun and the challenge, I'm never going to make a living running races.

Thankfully, this little thought snapped me out of my nerves (for a brief moment) and reminded me that the world was surely not going to end if I didn't make my goal time. No one would care, other than me. As my Dad later said, he would have been disappointed for me, but certainly not disappointed in me.

Almost as soon as I stepped into the starting area and found the 1:45 signage I heard my name and looked back to see fellow-triathlete Lesley. It was a nice distraction to have someone to chat with while we waited for the official start.

Soon enough, it was go time.

I bobbed and weaved a bit through the start. Cursing the few walkers who really should not have been starting so close to the front and wondering how so many people were so bad at self-seeding, but soon enough I had some space and was moving along at a comfortably strong effort.

As the first few km ticked by on my watch, I noticed I was slightly faster than my goal pace, but nothing too too crazy. I was feeling good, so I decided to just go with it. I was running strong but comfortable and I was feeling confident.

To be honest, most of the race is a bit of a blur in my mind now. I know the course so well, that I knew when little inclines were coming and knew when I'd be able to relax into a bit of a downhill, etc. etc. I think I was in autopilot a bit.

I attempted to take a gel around the 12km mark – not because I wanted it, but because I felt like I probably needed it. But, it was actually kind of grossing me out, so after sucking about half of it down, I tossed it at the next aid station.

My pace was steady and about where I wanted it to be right up until 16/17k. I knew the hill on Dallas Rd might slow me down a little, and sadly, it did – just ever so slightly, but enough to sap a bit of my energy and momentum.

Through this little uphill stretch my brain just kept saying “Maintain. Get to Terry. Maintain. Get to Terry.” [The road starts to hit a bit of a downhill at the Terry Fox statue and I knew I could make back a few seconds per km on that downhill stretch – I just needed to get to Terry first!].

I also saw Shane along here. It was nice to see him, but I was definitely in my “Maintain. Get to Terry.” world, so I think I pretty much just grunted at him as he cheered for me.

I pushed as hard as I could through the final few km and did my best to keep a consistent pace. I tried to pick it up a little, but just didn't have a lot left to give. I crossed the finish line in 1:44:28. I was definitely happy to come in under 1:45 as that is the goal I laid out at the start of this year and again at the start of this training cycle.

Oddly enough, post-race, I did feel a slight disappointment. I'm not sure if it is because deep down I maybe thought I could run a little faster (I feel like I had a 1:43:xx in my head) or if it was just because I knew I slowed a little in the second half and think I could have executed a slightly better race.

As Kelly said when we chatted after, “positive splitting a race always leaves one wanting for more.” I think he is probably right, had I run stronger in the second half, I may have felt a little more complete.

But all that said, at the end of the day, I really cannot be disappointed with a 5+ minute PB!! I set a goal and I accomplished it, and for that I am absolutely thrilled.

Once I had my finisher photo snapped and collected some chocolate milk, Shane, my parents and I headed out to cheer Kirsten on along the marathon route. She didn’t PB (but wasn’t trying to) and ended up running a really great, well-paced marathon, accomplishing everything she set out to do.

Really, she said it best on Facebook post-race “Sometimes not fading from the front and not crying in Oak Bay is as good as a PB! Overall a great day at the Victoria Marathon, stand-alone marathon #10 done!!”   

Yeah, it was a good day.