I can’t believe I’ve done three races since my last post and I didn’t write a thing about any of them! So, just to catch up, I’ll do a quick recap of each one.
Goodlife Fitness Victoria Half Marathon
Time: 2:21:38
I must confess I was a bit disappointed with this result, because it was more than a minute slower than last year. Even though my summer running mileage was half my spring mileage, even though I was sick and missed my last long run (making my last long run a 16k a full month before the race), I was disappointed. I was really hoping to beat my time, even just by a little bit.
I went back to trying to run the whole thing with fewer walk breaks, rather than doing the 10:1 run:walk I was doing before. I just really think I have to get away from that much walking if I want to get fast enough to qualify for Boston. I didn’t even take a walk break until about 12k in, which was pretty good, I think, and then it was just long enough for a Gu. The other thing I was trying was to not drink as much or take as much Gu, because it sometimes gives me mild stomach cramps.
The only part of the race where I really struggled was right at the end. Up until then, I was keeping a pretty even 6:30/k pace throughout; slighly slower uphill and slightly faster downhill. I’ve done that part of the course many times on my training runs, but for some reason it really kicked my butt that day. Even though I know it well, I was still disappointed when I turned one of the corners and realized I still had a couple more turns until the finish line.
My best half marathon time is still my first, but hopefully with a coach, I will start to get faster.
Shawnigan-Kinsol Half Marathon
Time: 2:24:55
Actually the best part of the story for this race was the trip to my friend Kirsty’s house the night before. Her “home away from home” is at Shawnigan Lake, so she had a sleep-over for some of us Victoria girls. The problem was that I couldn’t head up until about 5 pm, because my husband had to work, but there was an accident on the Malahat and it was closed down until approximately 9:30 pm (for non-locals, the Malahat is the only roadway between Victoria and Shawnigan Lake). Fortunately, there is a ferry from Brentwood Bay to Mill Bay, but the last scheduled sailing was at 5:55. So I cursed and swore and decided to try to make the ferry, not even thinking that so would everyone else. There was even an extra sailing, but both of them were full to cars, probably before I even left the house. I didn’t know until I was on the road, and I was supposed to meet my friend, Kathryn, who was also stranded in Victoria.
Luckily, there was still room for foot passengers, so we reluctantly parked my car on a side-street and walked down the hill to the ferry terminal. I felt a bit like a refugee with my purse, overnight bag, other race-gear bag, and my pillow, but we squeezed onto the earlier ferry. Kirsty was able to meet us on the other side, which was also ridiculously crowded, and we even picked up some steak for the BBQ and had dinner at a reasonable hour.
This race was actually more of a lesson than anything else. I was hoping to beat my Victoria time, which was dumb because this course was much hillier, even though I think it had a net elevation loss. My estimated time at 2:20:00 was right at the cut-off for the early start, and I really should have done it. But, when I emailed the race director, I asked about if I finished earlier and she said that it would be better to do the regular start. I ended up being the last runner in the regular start for the first couple of kilometers, and my goal for every race is “don’t be last” so I picked up the pace. The problem is that I ended up going way too fast and I pretty much bonked at the halfway point (on a nasty hill). I struggled from there until the 14k mark, when I saw Kirsty, and my other friend, Jess, going the other way. I was really considering dropping the race because I honestly didn’t know if I had another 7k in me. Then I saw them, and they gave me high five’s and it was enough to get through the rest. I ended up walking up the steeper hills, but I was just happy to finish this race (I did try to pick it up right at the end to get in under 2:25:00, and I managed to squeak in).
Thetis Lake 20k Relay
My time: 30:21
Team time: 1:59:23
Finally made a race PR, and on a hilly, slippery trail! It wasn’t my fastest 5k ever, but it is my fastest 5k race, so I’ll take it! I really think it helped that I did a 16 minute, slow and easy warm up beforehand. I was the third runner and I got so cold waiting my turn that if I hadn’t done the warm up, I think my time would have really suffered.
I was going for less than 30 minutes, but this trail was muddy and hilly, and I lost a few precious seconds because I had to stop to tie my shoelaces (even though I had double-knotted them). I couldn’t really let loose on the downhills because the footing wasn’t great, even with my trail shoes on. I wasn’t very familiar with the course, having only run the shorter course a couple of times. I even forgot about the nastier hills at the 3.5k mark. I really think that my training with my coach, even only for three weeks, helped because I don’t think I lost much time going up the hills. I even passed another runner on the last downhill stretch!
So what’s next? The Bear Mountain 10k of course! This year, I’m really hoping for some good weather, so I can actually do the whole thing. Then, I go to Vegas for the Rock n’Roll Marathon. I’ll be doing the half, since I’m pretty sure a 4:30 marathon is still beyond my reach. Plus I won’t be too tired and sore to enjoy the sights, since this will be my first trip to Vegas.
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