Background:
I haven't ran for 3 months, and I decided to run a HM on 10 days notice. I ran my first 10k on Wednesday in 58mins, was hurting really bad afterwards, could barely walk the next day. Sunday I did 16k in 1h36 with Jwolf. Couldn't walk the rest of the day, felt perfect on monday. Took two days off to rest anyways, ran 8k on wednesday in 45mins. That's all the training I did for this HM. Three runs, totalling 34k.
Race day:
5:20am: Alarm clock goes off. I text jen "So why the hell am I doing this?". Debated on shutting off the alarm and sleeping the rest of the day, but I've trained "so hard", that I HAD TO run this.
6am: Arrive at skytrain station. Hoping to get to the race area by 6:30.
6:45: Skytrain arrives at the race area... And i still need to check my bag in and pee.
6:55: While I'm waiting in line to check my bag in, the 5min warning comes on the PA. I'm gonna have to pass on the pee.
The race:
7am: I'm way back in the starting lineup. Countdown! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... NOTHING. I'm stuck in the crowd still ~400m away from the start line standing still. I turn to the person next to me: "I like this pace. I could do this all day!". The response I got was even better than my smartass remark: "It might take a while to finish if you keep this up". But we're stuck, so we just wait it out.
~7:10: Finally cross the start line. My biggest problem on my three training runs was that I always started too fast and ran out of energy at the end. This wasn't going to be an issue since it was physically impossible to run any faster. But everyone's so slow... so I did my best at passing people, while keeping a civil pace.
2k: first porta pottys. there's a lineup of about 20 people. I'm not wasting at least 10 mins waiting. It will have to wait.
4k: first marker I noticed. Jen told me afterwards that they had one at every kilometer. Apparently I couldn't see them thanks to the huge crowd of people. Still needed to pee. Thought about just stopping and peeing on a building.
5k: I pass a sign: "Let the kenyan out in you". Surely they don't mean my ****... I contemplate the sign.
7k: hydration station. I'm taking the advice and "pissing" on the water. I really need to pee, and that's the advice I was given. well, i think he meant "pass on the water"... so i take gatorade for the first time in my life. Wow, this is NASTY. Crunch, crunch go the cups littered across the entire road.
7.2k: wow, this is pretty uneventfu.... oooh, bouncy bounce bounce.... guess she forgot her sports bra.... bounce bounce bounce... wow, i could stare at these all day... she's running slightly faster than me... but bouncy bounce bounce... WOW! i debate on running faster and keeping that as my motivation for the rest of the race. Decide against it as I still don't know if i can actually run the full 21k.
9.1k: Stanley park bathrooms. As in, full bathrooms. Surely there can't be a lineup for the men! I run up, notice the lineup outside, "eff this" and I keep on running.
9.3k: I stop and pee in some bushes "WOW! That's so not fair! Men have it so easy!" "well, you can go pee in the bushes too!" is my response. Some women were running into the bushes... I'm assuming they were going to pee... or make out... my mind wanders off... and then I realize "bouncy bounce bounce!" That's the girl from back in 7.2k! I suppose she stopped to take a drink at the last water station. We run together for a bit, I can't focus. And she's still running faster than me.
Halfway: It's all downhill from now. Well, except for this huge hill that's coming up.
11k: An older woman around me is worried about the hill. I make a pact with her that I won't give up if she doesn't.
12-13.5k: The dreaded hill. We run the hill together. Weird, I remember it being longer and steeper. Actually, that was really easy. Water station at the top. I pass bouncy girl again, i yell at her to keep on running. I take off on my older woman as I pick up the pace at the top of the hill.
14k: Still downhill. I remember I burned out due to running too fast down the hill on my 16k with jen so i slow down ever so slightly. Bouncy girl passes me. I never see them again.
My older woman catches up to me "HAH! And you thought you ran away from me!". She gives me pointers to run with smaller steps and lean forward. Why couldn't she be there at the start line? I continue running with her.16k: I've officially crossed into uncharted territories. Still feel great and still running with the older woman. I start thinking that more girls need to run in lulu's. The one in front of me has a really nice ass.
18k: Great sign: "Your legs hurt cuz you're kicking ass!" Well, they still don't. Weird. I consider picking up the pace, but 3k is still too far.
19k: I say bye to my older woman as I pick up the pace considerably.
20k: Some guy holds vaseline... wait, NOW???
20.7k: I see the finish line. My eyes tear up. I get emotional. There is LOTS of people screaming. INSANE ADRENALINE RUSH. I SPRINT TO THE END.
21.1k: WOW! THAT WAS FUN! I'm completely soaked as it was raining the whole time. I get my medal. Gun time: 2:15:23. Chip time? 2:09:26. I HIT MY GOAL!!!
Afterwards: I pick up my bag, call my parents. I passed them as I was sprinting across the finish line. Apparently my mom screamed my name. I turned around and looked at her instinctively. I don't remember this. The adrenaline rush was insane. They're on their way home already. At least they came out to see me
I call jen. We meet up for coffee shortly after. I stop by the liquor store on my way home. Have my beer the instant i get home. Like that one sign said "run a marathon - eat anything"Afterthoughts: I definitely need to do this again. Perhaps with a bit more training. Oh, and nip tape might be a good idea... as well as some body glide, but it's not bad enough that I'm actually regretting it.
FAQ:
So what's next?
-10k race next weekend. Then I need to drop my HM time by at least 20 mins.
Would I run the HM on 10 days training again?
-If I didn't care about my time? In a heartbeat! This was physically the most challenging 10 days of my life. And oh my god was it ever worth it.
Did you win the bet and the money?
-Although aimee was the one that initially got me thinking about running the HM on 10 days notice, there was no bet. And she didn't show up at the finish line like she told me she would. It was all me. I just wanted some sort of support from you guys and "i'm crazy enough to run a HM on no notice" usually isn't a good enough reason for most people to take me seriously. Runnersworld didn't.
Final thoughts: Thankyou god (aka, myself for believing in yourself), thankyou the very few guys on Runnersworld for helping me ditch my incredibly stupid initial training plan, and HUGE THANKS to everyone on runningmania who believed in me, and offered immense support. And of course, last but not least, thanks jen for everything you've done for me. I wouldn't be able to do this without your help. And yes, it's "only 21.1k. No big deal
"EDIT: official chip time: 2:09:26
great report!
