Just revisiting my race report from the full 7 months ago, cross posted below from @dailymile. I wanted to re-read this to talk myself out of running the full in May, except I'm pretty sure it's had the opposite effect on me. After reading it I feel really jacked up for my 10k race tomorrow in my vibrams. I really excited to run a 10k that I trained for!
BMO Vancouver Marathon Re-cap
I just wanted to write a quick note about my third marathon yesterday. I don't want to sound blase but I found the first half of the race pretty easy. I had little pain and mentally I was doing great. I celebrated my fastest half when we crossed under the inflated thing, random strangers celebrated with me. I was so proud of myself, I felt great. I remember in the first half how easy it felt to be so ahead of my goal pace. Earlier in the week I said on here that I wanted to do 4:20, at the time I felt apprehensive putting that out there. I was pretty sure that I couldn’t run that fast and I didn’t want to face up to getting it wrong. The pace for 4:20 is 6:09/km, I ran the first half in 5:41/km. I kept looking at my watch and telling my partner wow, were like 5 minutes ahead of schedule. This is crazy!! It felt amazing. I felt so accomplished.
Shortly after that, like many others, I struggled up pipeline, a hill I have probably ran 200 times. Mentally it just kicked me. I felt sluggish and was starting to lose my resolve. This feeling stuck with me until km 28 where my husband was waiting for us with gaterade. We had seen him at around 17/18k when I was flying high and riding the runners rainbow. I was a different runner when has saw us 10k later. I could feel myself approaching the wall. I stopped, refilled my 4 bottles with cold gaterade, took a Tylenol, and chatted with him a bit while my partner applied body glide. I didn’t really care how long we were stopped fueling up. I was mentally done.
About half a click later I asked my friend to start doing math with me. When I ask for math it’s a bad sign, its my wall buster. At this point we were coming onto Burrard I knew our other running buddy was waiting to run with us in kits. I told myself that I had until Burrard crested to pull my shit together, kick the wall and do this thing. And that’s just what I did. And, it worked. Our gf kept saying how fast we were going, how good we looked, how strong we were and told us about a cycle to Horseshoe Bay she had done the day before. I started to truly feel amazing.
As we started to go up Cornwall I just started to feel great. There were soo many people out cheering, the sun was out, I had my 2 best running buddies with me. What a perfect day. I can’t really describe how I felt. I tried to vocalize it cause I could see/feel my friend was not on the same rainbow as me. I was trying to share the positive vibes. I don’t think it worked. By the time we got up to Candy corner I was all runners high, nothing could have stopped me, not even the hill we were approaching. At the crest I was geared up to get some free speed on the downhill. I turned around and my friend was walking and hydrating. She looked done. So I slowed down and started walking/dancing. I couldn’t help myself, it was such an amazing day. Once she finished her water we started down the hill. I could feel she was slowing up.
I looked at my watch we still had a bit of a lead on our 4:20 finishing time. I really wanted to leave her and get my 4:20. But I couldn’t leave my gf that had been there through all my BS on training days. Like that time I made her walk up Burnaby Mnt the second time we went up it on our 35k run, while we were both soaked and miserable. She has always been a rock and has always been there for me. She is a strong runner and has an iron will. I couldn’t leave her at the wall alone. So I decided to stay. I started encouraging her. At around 37k she said that she was going to tuck into her box and that I should leave her. Immediately myself and our other friend tried to tell her how good she was doing, that she could do it. Everything she would have said to us. About a km later she told me to go, get my 4:20. So I did.
I started going down Cornwall and I felt like I had a huge fish bowl strapped to my gut, sloshing around. I was soo full of water, gaterade and shot blocks I thought I was going to be sick. Despite this I ran for about 3 km with a huge smile on my face. I started chanting if you believe it and you can achieve it. I started telling slower runners coming towards me how good they looked. Despite my Buddha belly I felt unbelievable. I can’t think of a time on any run where I have been in such a good place mentally.
I looked at my pace band and realized that I had gained back some of the lead I had on 4:20, as I was going under Burrard I realized, if I pick it up I can go under 4:15. Holy. Shit. I was sorer than I ever have been in my life. I could feel my toe nails hanging on by shreds. I knew I was close to being done. I was trying to stay positive and on the rainbow. A volunteer told me we only had about 5 k left, he laughed when I said I eat 5k for breakfast! What he didn’t know was, I also had an ace up my sleeve, my dad whom had run the half was waiting for me and going to run me in the last 3 or 4 km. I knew if I could just make it to my Dad everything would be fine. I could do anything then. I was making deals with my body. I got to the spot were my dad met me on my first full and he wasn’t there. I actually said “Dad” out loud. I was crushed. Where was my secret weapon?! Ok. So another pep talk. Achieve/Believe. You can do it etc…as I was coming to the water station at the base next to Burrard Bridge on-ramp I spotted my Dad. My first question was how did he do in the half. Then he asked me how I was, I said, when we pick up the pace here Im gonna crack 4:15 and you’re gonna help. He was excited for me. He was almost as proud of me as I was!
So we get to about halfway up to the crest of Burrard and my 15/1 timer goes off. Of course im walking. I trained this way. I may be less than 3k from the finish line but its hot, Im thirsty, were walking. So we walked. High fived some awesome spectators. And then we ran. I truly felt like I was giving it 150% and my legs wouldn’t move. It felt like my finish was the slowest section of the run. My legs were done and they knew it. I tired to push it as hard as I could I wanted 4:15 soo bad. It felt like my dad and I are were the only runners in the chute, I felt like I made eye contact with every single spectator, I saw my husband, my step mom. I even heard the guy announce my name! It was like the finish line was just for me. My watch said 4:15:38. I was so happy. Its really hard to describe how it feels to think that you can’t do something and prove yourself wrong. I think I’ll be riding this rainbow for a long time. This run has given me a different outlook on things. I can do anything. I can set my mind to something and if I believe I can do it I will.
Chip time was 4:15:03, 21:33 faster than my second and 56:04 faster than my first.
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