Vancouver USA Half Marathon recap (PS...I totally smoked my goal time!)

13.1 miles
2:22:38 (official chip time)
10:53 pace (official chip pace)
Shaved 11 minutes 45 seconds (11:45) off my old half marathon PR!
Beat my goal time my 7 minutes 22 seconds (7:22)!

I could go on and on about this race. It was by far, one of the most pleasurable races I've participated in to date, and it was the inaugural event to boot. To me, pulling off such a grand event the first time around speaks volumes. The expo was better than some of the larger, more popular marathon expos I have attended. The entire format was well organized. It was like a well oiled machine. Even though we’ve had flooding in the area, the re-routed course was still beautiful for those running the full marathon, and the course overall was a scenic tour. The folks behind the Vancouver USA Marathon have their shit together!

I would love to give you a breakdown of each mile, but I honestly don’t remember anything that specific. It was such a beautiful tour of Vancouver I was distracted most of the time. I never run in that area of town. I live in North Vancouver, close to WSU's campus & the Salmon Creek Trail so I choose to run in those areas. Also, I’ve lived here for only one year (to the date of this race). There’s still a whole lot of this area completely unfamiliar to me. It’s like running somewhere brand new (because it is to me)! Every now and then, I would run past something familiar, and had no idea where I was at that moment. I still don’t have a good mental map of the area (which explains why I get lost driving around town so often).

We ran through Fort Vancouver, past Pearson Air Field, downtown Vancouver. It was all so pretty! There were parts of the run where all I could smell was sweat (not sure if it was me or an accumulated odor from my fellow runners). There was a gentleman wearing cologne…..ACK! Other runners do not appreciate smelling perfume and cologne while running!  It was suffocating to breathe anytime I ended up near him. My plan was avoidance. Unfortunately, the wind would shift from time to time, and I’d catch a nose full no matter how close in proximity I was at the time. I finally passed him for good, and no longer had to worry about it. Other areas smelled like a floral shop. Everything here is in bloom, and you can run down the street smelling nothing but petals. It’s delicious! Speaking of delicious, at one point, I got a whiff of freshly cooked donuts. About the time I noticed it, someone else blurted out, “Yummmm….donuts!”. I smiled and kept running. I’m not a fan of eating donuts due to issues with heartburn & ass fat, but they sure do smell great fresh out of the fryer.

I felt good through mile 4. I did have to stop once to pull up my IT band strap (the new one) at mile 5. I had forgotten how new bands do that. They still have all of the “box creases” in them from being folded, and they’re a pain in the butt for the first few weeks. It only took a few seconds to fix it, but annoyed me to make such a stop. I ran another half mile with it tighter, and realized it was cutting off my circulation. I re-fixed it. No more issues with it from that point on. I was steadily keeping a 10:25 pace.

Around mile 6……I reached the dreaded hill. It stretches out over a mile or so. Not nearly as brutal as the hills I’ve been running on my training runs, but I was pacing quite a bit faster than normal for a long run. So I chose to walk some of the hill to conserve energy & strength. I wanted to be able to hammer out a strong pace for the remainder of the race. After that hill, I had a difficult time getting my speed back. I was now at a 10:40 pace. However, I wasn’t worried about it since my pace was still way better than what I expected. I realized I could totally pull off finishing this event with a pace in the 10’s if I put my mind to it! Something that helped keep me motivated was my arm. My arm? I know, it sounds crazy, right? I had a target goal written on my arm (by my Garmin) in big purple Sharpie numbers. 11:26 was the number I refused to go over. As long as I kept it 11:26 or less, I was golden as far as goals were concerned. Every time I’d look at my Garmin, those purple numbers caught my attention first. They really kept me focused.

When I needed a little break for water or Shot Bloks, I walked. All in all, I took about 10 walk breaks. Early on, I stuck with my ever-so-rehearsed 60 second breaks every mile (started them around mile 3 or 4). There toward the end, I opted for 10 – 30 second breaks more frequently. I started to get really tired about mile 9. 9.5 rolled around, and I took another short break. Once I saw the 10 mile marker, I decided it was time to push it. Around 11.5, I started talking to myself. It was pure pep talk at this point in the game. I was so close to the finish, I did not want to slow down. A gal beside me struck up a conversation. It was a distraction, and I am grateful for her chattiness! She mentioned the young girl running with her was only 14 years old. I cheered for her, and told her how awesome she is for starting an active life so young.
This was my fourth half marathon. Since my first in January of 2010, I’ve tried to finish in 2:30 or less falling short each time. I’m happy to inform everyone that I finally reached my goal. Not only that, I beat it by 7 minutes 22 seconds! I also shaved 11 minutes 45 seconds off my old half marathon PR from last year's Portland Half Marathon.  :)

Thanks for all of your support. I know reading each and every training run must be a total bore, but I’m posting them separately with as many details as possible for my own record keeping purposes. So far, I've missed logging only one or two.  Never the less, all of the training I’ve done paid off, and I have proof of it thanks to this blog / very public training log!

{the good} The entire thing was a good experience. I’m not even sure where to start with my list, but here goes:

• After 1 1/2 years & 4 half marathons, I finally made my time goal!
• Better yet, I actually *beat* my time goal!
• I’m injury free after training so hard for this race!
• Plenty of goodies to eat and drink as soon as finishers cross the line
• Loads of volunteers!
• Spectators cheering us on throughout all of the public (and some private) areas of the route
• Cowbells were ringing, and we could all use more cowbell in our lives!
• Very well organized from start to finish
• Everyone “played nice” while running
• Everyone “played nice” in the spectator areas
• Music every few miles (even and ipod with speakers is better than nothin’!)
• The rain stopped within the first mile
• The sun came out
• My husband and daughter were both there to watch me cross the finish line!
• We got to go home and fill ourselves with grilled burgers, guacamole, and margaritas!!!

{the ugly} This is my only complaint about this event, and I hope the organizers take my message to heart. My husband is coming off an injury, and could not run the race. The marathon coordinators would not allow any transferring of bibs to next year’s event….or to another individual THIS year. That means our money was wasted. It kind of sucks all the way around because 1) you have to sign up for these events pretty far in advance in order to guarantee your spot and 2) you never know when or if you’ll be injured come race day. Many of the larger races allow you to transfer your spot to the following year if need be. I hope the Vancouver USA Marathon will change their policies for future events. I want to see this race be a huge success! Accommodating those running the event, their customers, would be way better customer service. With so many races in this part of the country year round, it would be rather easy to ditch this one for a race that’s a little more cooperative. If you need to hire a hardworking, computer literate, passionate runner to keep track of all the transfers….I’m your gal and can start immediately! With that being said, I’m going to change a negative into a positive right before your very eyes…..

I am happy to officially announce that in next year's race, I will be running my very first full marathon.  26.2, here I come!