Race Review: Surrey International World Music Marathon

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It has definitely taken me a few days to recover and digest everything that happened this past Sunday at my first full marathon. I wouldn't say I'm fully recovered yet either, but I will be attempting a recovery run today or tomorrow.

On Saturday night I was full of nerves, and Sunday morning was certainly no different. I woke up on my own, minutes before my 4:30AM alarm as if my brain knew it was time. I decided to have a shower to wake up and get myself together. I kept trying to remind myself that I've trained for this race and I CAN DO IT, but I really wasn't feeling excited yet. I couldn't manage eating my oatmeal, my stomach was so full of butterflies and it didn't feel settled at all. I tried to put aside the thought that maybe I still had remnants of the stomach flu from the past week.

By 5:30AM I was on the road towards Surrey, very gingerly eating tiny pieces of power bar. I got there in no time at all and found a parking spot, and waited for everyone else to arrive. I took a snapshot of Central City (the start line) from the car:

It was dark, cold, and off/on pouring... and so began the rain coat debate. I had thought about it the day before obviously, since it was pouring rain all day, but I decided I would figure it out in the morning. I knew I would get hot in the rain coat, but I really didn't want to be soaked for the entire run so I decided to wear it.

Once everyone else arrived we headed indoors to finish getting ready and stay warm.

We had a lot of runners from our local Running Room who had trained for this event and it was great to meet everyone prior to starting the race.

 

 

I'll admit once it was time to head to the start line, I wasn't exactly "ready" to head out into the rain, wind, and cold but it was time. As soon as we were by the start line, I started feel more excited and less nervous.

 

 

And just like that we were off on our very long journey!

 

 

I wasn't sure who I'd end up running with, if anyone, but I was pleased that it seemed like Nikki, Marijke, Tracey, and I were sticking together. I had no expectations for us to stay together because as much as I would have loved that, I knew that it would be a challenge. The first 10km, I found it very difficult to find a rhythm, it seemed like even when weren't necessarily going up a defined hill, the roads all had a slight incline, and my legs felt like lead. We were also keeping about a 6:15/km pace for the first bit and our goal was 6:45, so that was a bit on the faster side. As suspected within the first km I was way too hot to be wearing the rain jacket, and ended up tucking it in my hydration pack. I wish I could have left it on the side of the road but it was too nice of a jacket to leave behind.

 

After we passed the 10km mark we headed into a trail section of Green Timbers Park. The loose gravel didn't feel great on my legs but once we were through that section, I began to feel better especially knowing we were on our way back to start the line for the second lap of the race. I didn't feel like I was drinking that much out of my hydration pack, but I must have been because I didn't take anything from the water stations. Once I found my rhythm and my legs were warmed up, I felt a lot better, and by that time we were really close to the 20km mark, and we started seeing a lot of spectators and friends along the course! This gave me a huge burst of energy, we were almost halfway and I felt good! We were on track for finishing in 4:45 which would be a great time for my 1st marathon.

 

We headed down a hill and the Half runners turned right and we turned left. As we turned, it got very quiet, suddenly all the spectators and runners were gone. The fact that the marathon only had 200 runners became very apparent comparatively to 1200 running the half. A saw the 1st photographer I noticed on course at this point, and he got a great photo of Marijke and I on a walk break:

 









As we got going again I noticed that my stomach didn't feel quite right. Probably the lack of breakfast in the morning being the main culprit. I tried to put it out of mind and focus on running. We turned away from where the start/finish line is and saw a lot of our friends spectating again and then, it ocne again got really quiet. The only people out there were the marathon runners and the volunteers/course marshals. There were still at this point, quite a few entertainers along the way and they were a welcome site since it had gotten so quiet. I made it to about km 26 before I had to hit the port-a-potty with tummy troubles. At this point, I had to separate from Nikki, Marijke, and Tracey. I convinced myself that I could catch up. When I exited the rest room at the top of a hill I could still see them up ahead nearing the top of the next hill, but they were probably almost 750m away.

I could only do so much because I didn't want to burn myself out. I was pretty steady at this point trying to keep up. When I saw them again at the turn around near the 29km mark at the beginning of Green Timbers park, I realized I wouldn't see them again, they were too far ahead, and my legs were too tired. I completely fell apart at this point, started balling my eyes out, I think out of a combination of exhaustion and fear of having to finish this all by myself. I didn't feel as good as I did on our 35km training run. I think a lot of things were a factor, including being sick for the entire week prior to the event, and not fueling properly in the morning. I was completely out of water at this point and it had begun pouring pretty heavily. I knew even if I had to walk the entire rest of the way, there was no going back now. My left leg started to cramp up pretty bad with muscle spasms. It felt like my calf muscle was trying to climb up my entire leg, and walking didn't help in the least. I hardly saw anyone at this point. There were two male runners behind me who caught up when I'd take my walk breaks which seemed to be getting longer as time went on. I did my best to keep them at a minute, but they were probably closer to 2 or 3 minutes at some points. In the last 10km, I'm sure I only took one cup of Gatorade, I just didn't want water or anything, I felt sick to my stomach, I was cold, and I wanted to be finished. I was so glad to get away from Green Timbers as it was definitely the hardest part of the run for me, mentally and physically.

Finally I saw the 38 km sign, I couldn't feel my knees and my hands were numb from the cold, but I was so close. I was crying off and on out of pain and knowing that I was almost at the finish where my family would be waiting. There was a hill here, that same hill where I had been at the top at the port-a-potties earlier. I walked up most of the way trying to save my legs so I could run that last few kilometers straight through. All of the musical entertainment along the way had gone, the wind and rain had gotten really bad so it looked as though a few of their tents had blown over. The spectators were gone too, I expected there to be more as I neared the finish but there really wasn't any. I can't really blame anyone, I wouldn't have wanted to stand out there in the rain, I thanked every volunteer I saw for doing just that. Because the runners were so few and far between, the volunteers also seemed to be having some difficulty keeping cars off the course. I imagine it was difficult to tell there was still a race going on. At times, I'll admit I felt like it was just me out there running because there really was no one else around. I didn't care about the cars or the lack of people, I was in my own space, and I was running no matter what.

As I reached the 40k marker, a volunteer on a bike came up beside me and told me I was doing great. I made a joke that at least I wasn't last. She stayed beside me and I was so grateful to have her there. Every volunteer I passed at this point was clapping and encouraging me, telling me that the finish was so close. I couldn't feel anything anymore, I knew that within 5 minutes I would be at that finish line and I just kept going...

As I turned the last corner, I caught a glimpse of a raincoat up ahead, people, finally some spectators! And it wasn't just anyone, it was MY family! I was so close. There was Griffin with my mother-in-law on the side, I just started screaming his name trying to get his attention. They tried to pass him to me (because I really wanted to run across the finish with him) but I could barely hold my arms up anymore, so I just kept moving.

 

The biker was still beside me as I neared the chute, I thanked her profusely, I don't think I would have run that last 2km without her alongside. My stepmom and my brothers and sister were walking along beside me and up ahead at the finish I could hear Nikki and my friends, and I could see Cody and my Dad.

 



 

I knew long before I reached the finish that it would beyond my 5 hour goal. I wasn't disappointed, that goal was always just a guess, it was my first marathon and I had no idea what I was up against, primarily my goal was to finish, and I did that.

 

 



I finished in 5:11:46 and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Not as hard as having a baby, but definitely one of the greatest challenges I have faced, mentally and physically.

I am so thankful my family was there for me at the finish, and it was kind of neat that there was hardly anyone else around, just me, my friends and my family! I was offered cookies, and chips, and all sorts of goodies but the only thing I really wanted to do was put on dry clothes!

 



Dry clothes were almost as satisfying as crossing the finish line! I wish I had stuck around to get more pictures at the finish with my family since they came all the way from Whistler to witness it, but hopefully it won't be the last time!

I cannot believe this race that I've been working towards all summer, practically all year, is done. I had talked about possibly doing another marathon this year if this one went well, but I'm really not sure at this point. The one thing I can say, is that a full marathon is an entirely different animal than a half marathon. I think I still need some time to sort out how I feel about how the race went. I think that had the weather been different and my stomach and legs not had so many issues, things would have felt better.

Overall, blogging for the Surrey International World Music Marathon has been a great experience. I'd definitely consider doing the race again next year and if they'll have me, being an official blog ambassador again.

I even made it into the local newspaper on September 24th, the Tuesday prior to the race:

To read the full article, go here.