Race Review: Whistler Half Marathon

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On Friday afternoon I picked up my husband from work and we headed out of town for my 11th race this year (my 17th half marathon). As excited as I was to run another race I knew in advance that this was going to be a very hilly one, and after all the hilly races I've run this year you'd think it wouldn't phase me but I was/am tired... 4 half marathons in 4 weeks and starting a new CrossFit routine will dot that I guess!

I was also nervous about my time for those reasons. I've said many times this year that my time doesn't matter especially on my 4th weekend of back-to-back races but after having such a great race last weekend I couldn't help but fret that I was going to be a lot slower this time around. I tried to relax and just enjoy a night away with my hubby! We went to the expo which was very small but I was stoked to see all the awesome North Face swag that we got - a shirt, water bottle, and white north face visor. Then we headed over to check out the swag for sale, I had sort of promised myself that I wouldn't buy any race swag for this race, I've been trying to be conservative about that because after all I've paid for 17 races, do I really need to pay for more swag?! However, they had some really beautiful stuff so I ended up buying the blue/purple hat in the picture below and my husband bought be a beautiful matching hoodie. I guess I didn't buy anything at Run for Water or Portland Rn'R so maybe it's okay?! There wasn't really much at the expo besides the swag and a few booths advertising some local races coming up.

After that we decided we'd better find something to eat for dinner so we headed over to the Brewhouse for a glass of wine and some yummy eats! It was a great meal and my nerves were definitely fading away... We went to a movie where I ended up accidentally spilling 75% of our popcorn all over the floor (maybe karma for attempting to eat bad pre-race food)... sorry Cody :(

When we returned to the hotel I was more than ready to get to sleep, after CrossFit in the morning and the drive up I was exhausted so I laid out all my race stuff in preparation for the next day!

When I woke up around 6:00am I was full of butterflies and still feeling tired. I checked my twitter and sent out a few good luck wishes to some fellow runners and frowned at the weather report and then finally rolled out of bed to get dressed and eat a quick breakfast... I procrastinated leaving my hotel room a bit longer than I had planned knowing that I had a very chilly walk to the start line. I had neglected to remember a throwaway sweater, thankfully the hotel had a garbage bag that I threw over myself which managed to keep me warm for the short walk. When I got there, there was only 10 minutes to spare so I lined up and tried to psych myself up for the hills coming my way.

I didn't have to wait long, once we were off and running and headed out of the village we hit the first major hill and it was easily over a kilometer long -- probably closer to 2. I've done my fair share of hill training this year and hilly races but I wasn't into it AT ALL. I made it about halfway up and decided I'd take a walk break instead of killing myself so early in the race. This picture was near the top:

After that hill I continued to struggle, I had so hoped to settle into a rhythm like I had last weekend but it just wasn't happening for me, we were in and out of trails/roads and pretty constantly going up or down a hill. As painful as this race was, I focused on the fact that it was my 17th half marathon and I wasn't going anywhere but across that finish line however long it was going to take me. Finally we reached some flat trails and the half-way turnaround!

The rest of the race went a little smoother, I was still tired and dragging but I wasn't feeling quite as negative. We weaved around a golf course and through some residential neighborhoods before heading back into the village. It felt good to run through the village knowing we weren't far from the finish now - with about 6 kilometers left we headed onto another paved trail and at this point I knew if I could maintain my pace I wouldn't be far off my second best PR. I offered encouragement to a few runners who I could tell were struggling, I always like to do that when I can because I've been there and been offered the same when I needed it most. As we came up on the last water station with about 2 kilometers left I knew that now was the time to give it all I had left and just get this race done. The rest was history, I felt good running that last two and sprinting to the finish, so different than how I started the race.

It wasn't a PR at 2:15:49 but it wasn't bad considering all the races I've done in the last month and I felt like I earned my yummy breakfast! I also have to give a special shout-out to Solana and the Runcouver girls for cheering me to the finish, of course I didn't hear them in my post race haze but it meant a lot that they stuck around to see it!

There was no medal for this race, at the end we received an art poster with the North Face Whistler Half logo on it. I suppose all the swag that we got was part of the cost that would normally pay for a medal but it did feel a little weird leaving a race without a medal around my neck...

We didn't hang out long after that because we had to head back down towards home to see our little munchkin who stayed with my in-laws for the night. We took this picture on our way out of Whistler:

Even though Cody isn't always thrilled about all my picture-taking (hah!) I'm so lucky to have a husband who tags along with me to all these races out of town, maybe not a perfect race, but a great night away together!

Don't forget to enter the LockLaces Giveaway ends Friday!