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.
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