Race Review: Run for Water Half Marathon

Tweet

2:08:50

On my 10th half marathon for 2013 I went sub 2:10! That's a 5 and a half minute PR! 

How did I do it? After 16 half marathons you'd think I'd have the answer to that but I honestly don't know what happened.

I didn't have high hopes for this race after a week with the stomach flu and hardly any running I was sure I'd fall apart on this run. I got up not feeling sure about whether I should even run the race after such a bad week but hesitantly decided what's the worst that could happen?

Because it was a local race and I wasn't feeling super motivated I didn't have any crazy costume picked out so I just picked out some basic gear that I thought would fare well in the pouring rain. I headed out the door about 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to race start. It took me a little longer to get there than I had anticipated because I hadn't accounted for the road closures for the marathon which had started an hour earlier. When I got to the designated parking it was still pouring and I had about a 3km walk to the start line -- you might say I was less than thrilled. 

After a dreary and very wet walk I arrived with about 10 minutes to spare. I probably should have brought a change of clothes for after and checked a bag but I hadn't thought of that the night before, so I stood there at the start line worrying about how cold I was going to be after the race. 

Since I had arrived much later than expected I didn't have to wait very long, it was a good thing too because I would have gotten pretty cold... Even with the poncho I was drenched before I even started.

So as the rain poured down in sheets, the race began and we were off headed towards some nice flat farm roads. To get to those roads we had to go downhill all the well knowing we had to come right back up those hills at the finish. Around kilometer 2 I ran into a friend who was running her first half marathon! It's always funny when you're running a race and all of the sudden you glance to the side and there's someone you know. It happens to me a lot at local races especially now that I've run so many and made friends within the running community. 

I sort of lost track of the person I had run into around kilometer 4 and tried to settle into a comfortable pace that I could maintain for the rest of the race. Once I did that it was the weirdest thing -- the race totally flew by. I've never felt like that before during a whole half marathon, I wasn't struggling in the least, I felt great, even in the pouring rain. I've always joked about how I actually enjoy running in the rain so maybe it helped me in some way, I certainly enjoy it more than running in the heat.

As I came up on kilometer 16 I texted my friend, Nikki, who had run the ultra marathon yesterday and was volunteering handing out medals for the half today! I wanted to let her know that I was going to hit the finish line earlier than I thought, I was hoping she could hand me my medal!

Nikki and I at her Ultra Marathon (55km) Finish Line

I wasn't too sure what would happen when I hit that hill to the finish especially after the race going so well up until this point, I think I was waiting to hit the wall... But it just never happened. I powered up that same hill that I had found so horrible in the 10k the year prior like it was nothing. And in a way I suppose that hill was nothing compared to some of the elevations in my runs this year (Nevada, Sunshine Coast, Fort Langley, even Portland last week).

As I came up on the last kilometer it was more difficult to push past the comfortable pace I had found and sprint to the finish but I did it anyway knowing that I was going to come in under 2:10, I had nothing to lose.

Unfortunately in my post-race haze I managed to completely miss Nikki, but of course I got my medal anyway. I was so cold that I didn't hang around long very aware that I still had to walk all the way back to the car before I could put on a sweater.

So there you have it, a new PR after a week with the stomach flu... I guess sometimes the stars align for a perfect run, today was that day for me.