BMO Vancouver Half Marathon, May 4

[Jwolf]

First I want to say that the race organizers put on a great race, a real first-class event. The volunteers are plentiful and do great work; the water stations were well managed and organized, and they switched this year to Gatorade (from Ultima) and Powergels (from Vector bars). The crowd support through English Bay and near the finish was enough to make everyone feel like a champion. I've participated in this race every year since 2004, and it's one I would not want to miss.

It is, however, a tough half-marathon. I had been nervous leading up to this race, not knowing what pace I would really have in me. I knew I wasn't in quite as good shape as I was last year; I have the shorter distance speed back, but my long run stamina is not quite all there. It has taken me a while to build back to the mileage level I like, and that made some of the key workouts more difficult. I did the long runs, I did the tempo runs, but I did only about 75% of the mileage I did last year. One run that I didn't do enough of was what I like to call my "stamina runs"-- about an hour easy and then 20-30 min at race pace. I also didn't do a lot of hill training, but that's nothing new (although last year I did more of my long runs on hilly routes). All this considered, I decided I would just run the best race I could and not have a clear time goal set. A strange calm came over me on Saturday when I realized I just wanted to enjoy the race, run a strong race, and I was happy to see what the race would bring me no matter what that was.

Part of me was still hoping I could improve a bit on my time from this course last year where I ran a really bad race slowing down a lot in the second half. I ended up just a bit slower this year, but overall I think I ran a better, smarter race. The first mile was slow, just under 9:00, but I knew that wasn't a big deal. I hit 3 miles at 25:30, exactly where I wanted to be (8:30/mile). At 5 miles I was just under 42 minutes, and 10K at just over 52. The half was at 55 minutes, and I knew I was keeping a good 1:50-half marathon pace. But the hill was yet to come, and although I was mentally prepared for it, it really chewed me up this time. I remained strong through mile 7 and into the beginning of the hill, which goes from about 7.5 to 8.5 miles. My splits for miles 8 and 9, each having about half mile of the hill, were 9:30 and 9:45. Ouch. That's more than two minutes lost. But holding back and slowing down there did allow me to recover and finish the last 4+ miles very strongly; mile 10 (all downhill) was 8:10, and the last 3.1 miles were in just over 26 minutes (8:25/mile). I didn't have too much of a finishing kick, but I stayed on pace through the end.

The official results aren't up yet, but my watch said 1:52:30. As I said in my log, I'm confident that I ran as well as I could have yesterday, and I feel good about moving forward from here.

[La]

The official results aren't up yet, but my watch said 1:52:30. As I said in my log, I'm confident that I ran as well as I could have yesterday, and I feel good about moving forward from here.

That's what it's all about, Jennifer! Good job!

[La]

FYI: Results are posted here:
http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results ... 08.htm#may

1150 389/3583 49/504 Female 40-44 8513 1:54:20 1:52:29 5:20 JWolf

[scrumhalfgirl]

Well done, Jen - sounds like a strong race, and one to be very proud of!

[Jwolf]

FYI: Results are posted here:
http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results ... 08.htm#may

1150 389/3583 49/504 Female 40-44 8513 1:54:20 1:52:29 5:20 JWolf

Thanks, Lesley. I was looking for them on the race website, but they aren't linked there.

I guess I got top 10% of my age group.

[Doonst]

Well done, smarter is good. So much of a well run race is knowing what is a realistic pace to go out at and sticking to it. The heart and legs are the easy part to improve.

[trixiee]

Good race synopsis. Congrats on a well-run race!

[Strider]

Great race and start to the season. Looks like you ran smart, and that hill sounds tough. Congrats on the top 10%. Things are looking good.

[waynerdog]

Sounds like you ran a very smart, very disciplined race. Well done.

[anners]

Good job, Jennifer! That hill is crazy...glad that it's not on the fullM course . Glad that you are happy with your race! It was nice to see you!

[turd ferguson]

Well done Jennifer - I'm really glad you're happy with the results and feel like you're back on track.

[IronColl]

Congrats on running a smart race. Happy that you are pleased with how it turned out.

[Ed Fizz]

The official results aren't up yet, but my watch said 1:52:30. As I said in my log, I'm confident that I ran as well as I could have yesterday, and I feel good about moving forward from here.

That's what it's all about, Jennifer! Good job!

Yep, what La said. Congrats.

[Sanders]

This positions you well for the rest of the season. A good spring tune up.

The anticipation, the pacing and the conclusion are almost identical to my recent marathon. Sounds very familiar.

[redhead]

Way to go Jennifer. Smart racing!
Wishing you continued success in 2008..........

[Portentous]

Appreciated the full rr and think you ran a perfectly executed race. The people I see bounding up big hills in a long race are always the ones being passed by everyone afterwards. Losing 2 minutes on a tough long hill definitely sounds reasonable. Again, great job.

[braveheart]

The official results aren't up yet, but my watch said 1:52:30. As I said in my log, I'm confident that I ran as well as I could have yesterday, and I feel good about moving forward from here.

an amazing way to end a great report..good work Jennifer

[Stephan]

Well done Jennifer!!! Great run!!

[D-Man]

Way to go Jen! Glad you enjoyed the race!

[da]

Great job Jennifer! I'm glad you are pleased with your race!

[UltraQueenga]

Congrats on a well-done race, jwolf! Glad you had a good time!

[FishHog]

way to go Jenn. Good attitude and a great race.

FishHog

[babysteps]

I've been looking forward to your report Jenn. Congrats on a nicely run race and an impressive top 10% placing! You're off to a great start to this season.

[Jo-Jo]

Great race...this is a nice start to your season. Fantastic

[Kelodie]

Well done, Jennifer!