IronColl ROCKS Vancouver
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 11:41 am
For those that have been following my journal, you know the result of the race. Here is the report.
I have wanted to be in the sub 2 hour club for years but have always fallen short by a few minutes. My PB of 2:03 was set in 2007 and I had a close 2:04 in 2012. So basically is was long overdue. I wasn't planning on racing again after my attempt fell short in Red Deer, but a friend of mine suggested I come with her and her friends, and then following Sara's training for her race got me excited about trying again. So booked a flight with airmiles and planned the race. Doing a Rock and Roll race was on my bucket list so I was really looking forward to it.
It was pouring Saturday evening but the forecast for Sunday was looking clear. I warned my friend that I was travelling with that I get serious before I race that I train hard for, basically the opposite of the Melissa's weekend. I don't think she was fully prepared.
We went to the expo Saturday and got out race numbers and swag. The expo was rocking. There was a DJ and the music was loud. I was getting excited and not feeling nervous because I was distracted. As soon as we left the nerves set in. We went for lunch and I actually had a beer with it, to try and calm down. Wasn't working. We went back to the house I was staying at and I put my feet up and just tried to calm the ---- down. All I could think about was the weather and how my last race sucked and the weather was a big chunk of that. Habs, QC and Jen can attest to my pre race freak out. I can't control the weather so I tried to let go. I tried to go to bed early and couldn't sleep so I got up, crushed some candies and played the same 3 songs over and over until I felt relaxed enough to go to sleep. It was midnight and still raining. However, when I woke up at 430 the rain had stopped and skies were clear. Woohoo! I managed to get a bit of rest until 6 am.
I choked down a banana and half a bagel and we grabbed a coffee and headed to the start line. Friends of my friend had a hotel room right near the start line and we hung out there for a bit. It was nice to have a warm place to hang out but then my nerves took over and I left, leaving behind my finishers shirt. I dropped my gear off and realized I wanted my shirt but didn't have it so I was stuck in my tank. We all high 5ed and wished each other a good race and found our corralls and waited it out.
The DJ was going strong and I was getting excited. I saw the 2h pace bunny ahead of me so my first order of business was to get ahead and get him behind of me. I didn't realize at the time that I was in the wrong corral but it was fine. The only problem was the song that was playing was a Justin Bieber one and if I had left with the right one I wouldn't have heard it.
The gun goes off and I remember my plan: stick to a 5:30 pace for as long as possible. I started a bit fast but mamaged to not get caught up in the rush and found my pace. I was looking forward to the bands on the course and also wondering why so many people were running with music. Did they not get what kind of race this was? Anyway I get ahead of that bunny before their first 10 min walk and I just kept going. My plan was to have water at every station and after spilling the cup at the first station I walked them. I took my gels at the planned intervals. My calves started cramping early on but I had advil and electrolyte tablets and that helped. I also imagined that I was stretching them and massaging them and that helped.
I loved the music on the course and the scenery. It did feel weird to me to not know where I was. I have done 3 different races in Vancouver and although some parts are similar they have never been identical courses. We ran along the water and I loved staring at the ocean. The km just kept clicking by. Jen and Rob were there at 13km. We had a high 5 and that's when things started to get a bit tough. The race so far was slightly uncomfortable but still manageable. Right after seeing her was the longest "hill" of the race and that's where I started to really dig deep. I remembered all the training I did to prepare and that it was going well. My body was cooperating and my mental was strong. I was also starting to do the math. I had 6km to run and 40 min to do it to make it under 2 hours. We ran by the finish line and I cold hear the crowd and was looking forward to it. The km were still ticking by and I was digging. 28 min to run 4 km. Then it was how bad/badly do I want to get to 1:55? Pretty ---ing badly. Dig deep. I am an Ironman I can do this. I suffered through mile repeats on a 235m track with an incline. I did every single long run. I am not slowing down. I am strong. I can do this. ---- yeaah!
So how did it go? You tell me. These are the splits from my Garmin:
5km 27:08
10km 27:09 54:17
15km 27:07 1:21:24
20km 27:15 1:48:39
finish 1:56:14 official time
No, the wheels didn't come off that last 1.1km. Standard Garmin error.
I did it. I am in the sub 2 club. I smashed my PB by 6 minutes.
And funny thing about the pacing. I had my current pace and my average pace on my screen and any time I was slower than whatever my current average was I would go a bit faster. I knew I had run an evenly paced race but I didn't know that it was that even.
I still am amazed that I pulled it off.
Pictures: http://www.marathonfoto.com/Half-Marath ... REcan%20(2)
I have wanted to be in the sub 2 hour club for years but have always fallen short by a few minutes. My PB of 2:03 was set in 2007 and I had a close 2:04 in 2012. So basically is was long overdue. I wasn't planning on racing again after my attempt fell short in Red Deer, but a friend of mine suggested I come with her and her friends, and then following Sara's training for her race got me excited about trying again. So booked a flight with airmiles and planned the race. Doing a Rock and Roll race was on my bucket list so I was really looking forward to it.
It was pouring Saturday evening but the forecast for Sunday was looking clear. I warned my friend that I was travelling with that I get serious before I race that I train hard for, basically the opposite of the Melissa's weekend. I don't think she was fully prepared.
We went to the expo Saturday and got out race numbers and swag. The expo was rocking. There was a DJ and the music was loud. I was getting excited and not feeling nervous because I was distracted. As soon as we left the nerves set in. We went for lunch and I actually had a beer with it, to try and calm down. Wasn't working. We went back to the house I was staying at and I put my feet up and just tried to calm the ---- down. All I could think about was the weather and how my last race sucked and the weather was a big chunk of that. Habs, QC and Jen can attest to my pre race freak out. I can't control the weather so I tried to let go. I tried to go to bed early and couldn't sleep so I got up, crushed some candies and played the same 3 songs over and over until I felt relaxed enough to go to sleep. It was midnight and still raining. However, when I woke up at 430 the rain had stopped and skies were clear. Woohoo! I managed to get a bit of rest until 6 am.
I choked down a banana and half a bagel and we grabbed a coffee and headed to the start line. Friends of my friend had a hotel room right near the start line and we hung out there for a bit. It was nice to have a warm place to hang out but then my nerves took over and I left, leaving behind my finishers shirt. I dropped my gear off and realized I wanted my shirt but didn't have it so I was stuck in my tank. We all high 5ed and wished each other a good race and found our corralls and waited it out.
The DJ was going strong and I was getting excited. I saw the 2h pace bunny ahead of me so my first order of business was to get ahead and get him behind of me. I didn't realize at the time that I was in the wrong corral but it was fine. The only problem was the song that was playing was a Justin Bieber one and if I had left with the right one I wouldn't have heard it.
The gun goes off and I remember my plan: stick to a 5:30 pace for as long as possible. I started a bit fast but mamaged to not get caught up in the rush and found my pace. I was looking forward to the bands on the course and also wondering why so many people were running with music. Did they not get what kind of race this was? Anyway I get ahead of that bunny before their first 10 min walk and I just kept going. My plan was to have water at every station and after spilling the cup at the first station I walked them. I took my gels at the planned intervals. My calves started cramping early on but I had advil and electrolyte tablets and that helped. I also imagined that I was stretching them and massaging them and that helped.
I loved the music on the course and the scenery. It did feel weird to me to not know where I was. I have done 3 different races in Vancouver and although some parts are similar they have never been identical courses. We ran along the water and I loved staring at the ocean. The km just kept clicking by. Jen and Rob were there at 13km. We had a high 5 and that's when things started to get a bit tough. The race so far was slightly uncomfortable but still manageable. Right after seeing her was the longest "hill" of the race and that's where I started to really dig deep. I remembered all the training I did to prepare and that it was going well. My body was cooperating and my mental was strong. I was also starting to do the math. I had 6km to run and 40 min to do it to make it under 2 hours. We ran by the finish line and I cold hear the crowd and was looking forward to it. The km were still ticking by and I was digging. 28 min to run 4 km. Then it was how bad/badly do I want to get to 1:55? Pretty ---ing badly. Dig deep. I am an Ironman I can do this. I suffered through mile repeats on a 235m track with an incline. I did every single long run. I am not slowing down. I am strong. I can do this. ---- yeaah!
So how did it go? You tell me. These are the splits from my Garmin:
5km 27:08
10km 27:09 54:17
15km 27:07 1:21:24
20km 27:15 1:48:39
finish 1:56:14 official time
No, the wheels didn't come off that last 1.1km. Standard Garmin error.
I did it. I am in the sub 2 club. I smashed my PB by 6 minutes.
And funny thing about the pacing. I had my current pace and my average pace on my screen and any time I was slower than whatever my current average was I would go a bit faster. I knew I had run an evenly paced race but I didn't know that it was that even.
I still am amazed that I pulled it off.
Pictures: http://www.marathonfoto.com/Half-Marath ... REcan%20(2)
It was great to spend time with you over the weekend.
