2010 BMO Vancouver Half Marathon & Sun Run Race Report

So it has been a while since I have updated my blog. I have been a busy little bee, and now that things are finally starting to settle down a bit, now is as good as time as ever to start writing again.

May 2nd marked the 2010 BMO Half Marathon. I was excited with anticipation leading up to the event with the hopes of getting a PB time. In the days leading up to the event, unfortunate series of events started taking place, (especially after having a fantastic Friday on the 23rd of April W & I got into the Nike Womens Marathon via lottery), the week that followed was pretty crap. I litterally had the worst week at work ever, nothing was going right, my bosses were being particularly unfriendly and on Friday (before the race) I had a mild panic attack. All the pressure had built up and it was too much for my body to handle. W handled it like a pro - keeping me constantly occupied by taking me to her co-workers farewell parties and art gallery extravaganza, and then when I went home to the BF, he looked after me well and let me crumble into a little heap of misery bawling my eyes out, he cooked me some comfort food and we watched the tube, until I had calmed down enough to go to sleep. Saturday (day before the race) was a mediocre day. I worked at the expo and walked 5 miles on the treadmill, I was a little overwhelmed by the crowd and then fought my way through to head back home in preparation for the yummy pasta party with W, F & the BF. Had a good night and a good feed. On race morning, it was the same as any race morning had my 2 bananas and drank some more fluids and looked out the window - it was gloomy to say the least. I had never run a half marathon in the rain before, and I am not going to lie, a little bit of rain is good, but when it starts pelting down and hurting, thats when I no longer the running in the rain. I met up with W & B before the race for some pre-race gossip and to line up for the port-o-potties one last time. And then we were off (I am the slower of the 3 of us and soon i was running by myself), we left 10 minutes after the gun but that didn't worry me. I quickly caught up with the stragglers from the start and was trying to find my grove. I know that it is going to be a bad run, when my body feels like exploding, and I struggle for breath after the 1st KM. It wasn't until KM 10 that I could breath properly and that's when I ran into T & L who are pretty much the most awesome people to run into when faced with the giant hill that is Prospect Point. I was determined this year to run up it completely - no stopping for the first time. I got up half way and then my legs felt like lead and stumbled to a walk. I walked the remainder of the hill, a little disappointed with my efforts, to say the least. And then it was all downhill from there (literally) a almost 2 km downhill stretch hurt my legs but I was able to power on until the finish (I did sneak in some walk breaks here and there), and finally crossed the finish line in 2 hours 44 minutes. It is not my best time, and is not my worst time, I was happy to finish, and am more determined then ever to train hills for next year attempt.

SUN RUN
My legs healed fairly quickly from the half marathon experience, I have no doubt that my Zensah compressions sleeves, helped alleviate any of the pain that I was having. I went for a training run with the BF on Wednesday and had to stop running after 1.4km's my legs felt like lead, and thought I should take it easy. I wanted a PB time in this race, and was confident of doing it, that was until I came down with a head cold on Saturday. We ate dinner (pasta party again) with the BF at Lombardos which was pretty much awesome, I can not wait to eat there again. (My BF & I have decided when one of us gets a new job we will celebrate there). Still fighting off the cold on Sunday we woke to the most beautiful day outside. We arrive at the race 40 minutes prior to starting and found our starting area. We ran into T & L and chatted with them for about an hour for our corral to leave. Once we got started I knew that I was going to do a pretty good time for me. That was until around the 4th KM and some guy decided to shove my in my back with both his arms and yell move - even though there was ample space around me to pass. I was a bit dazed by being pushed but continued to run with the BF, but it put me a little off my game. At km 7 and after running for 40 minutes, I needed to slow down to a walk to take a breather to rest my left knee and clear my head the I encouraged my BF to continue to run and off he went. I kept myself entertained for the remainder of the run, by pace stalking other runners until I had enough and went out on my own. The last KM was a full sprint for me, I knew I was beating my old time and wanted to get it down as much as possible, then the bottle neck before the turn to the finish line came up and it was a scramble to get into the best position. I found that no one was running down the right had side of the track so I was off, going past as many people as I could in the last 500 meters. And it felt pretty awesome. I did the 10km in 1hr 13min exactly. I was hoping for a faster time, but was pretty stoked with it for the shape that I was in. I probably won't run in this race again, there are too many people who seem to like to invade my personal space.

After the race we went out for post race food with my housemate C & her friend S, it was awesome. Later in the afternoon I felt like I had been hit by a truck and was falling pretty fast. The cold had taken full effect, and I feel so lethargic. I am hoping that I don't get glandular fever again. I have been told it is not likely to happen twice, but a Dr. told me that it is always in your body, and can strike you when you are stressed. So fingers crossed it is just the common cold.

I really want to get back into training as soon as possible. I only have 7 weeks before the marathon, which I am slightly worried about. I want to do well, and not have W & the BF waiting hours on end for me to finish. I want to start my training again on Wednesday, to make sure that I am rid of my cold.