The BMO Vancouver 1/2 Marathon

I know that the race took place on May 3rd, but I just haven't gotten around to posting about it. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited and all but it just totally slipped my mind with all the craziness of May that's going on. Mother's day, my dad's b-day, my b-day, working casual as a student nurse in hospital, doing some condo-shopping and trying to have a life :P

So anyways, this post is quite late but I'm still very proud of my accomplishment even though it happened 2 weeks ago. I did it! I ran my first 1/2 marathon ... a whole 21.1k done in under 2hours (1 hour and 49minutes to be exact)! My dad was amazing as well, he finished the 1/2 marathon in under 2 1/2 hours! I'm so proud of him, he's such a trouper.

Surprisingly, I wasn't psyched out the day of the run. The moment I woke up on May 3rd, I was ready to run. I scarfed down a hearty breakfast of low-fat yogurt, whole wheat toast and a banana and of course coffee. I fueled up with a butt-load of water and encouraged my dad to do the same. We had to wake up at 5:30am in order to get to the skytrain station by 6:00am and be at the race in downtown Vancouver by 7:00am. Thankfully the weather was amazing; not too hot and not too cold. I wore my gloves just because they always freeze when I run, and they look cool as well :P

When we arrived at the starting area of the race, we were quite surprised that one of the sponsors was McDonald's... I thought to myself, "probably not the most health motivating franchise" but whatever, they were giving out free coffee! The thing I love about races is not just the event, but it's the atmosphere. There were so many racers hustling and bustling along the busy street, all ready and all eager to show their enthusiasm for health and fitness. There were young and old, new runners and the seasoned professionals... and yet, all were equals on this field. Everyone was happy, chatting away with people they had never met before... but that was okay because runners all have one thing in common, a love for the sport.

Look at all the runners! Who knew that there were so many?? They must've all been hiding indoors on their treadmills (like moi) until race day.

During the run, there were many times when I felt like slowing down and walking parts of the course. But, my determined side pushed through and forced me to keep my speed, dig deep and even run up the toughest parts of the course (i.e. the giant hill at Prospect Point). I'd been training for this run for the past 6 months, and I think it went very well. I wasn't sore at all the next day and upon completing the race, I was actually very invigorated and energized.

My dad always enjoys the post-race freebies that accompany each race. After finishing, we were treated to gatorade, water, electrolyte water, Bear Paws, Dare cookies and crackers, fresh fruit, Cozy Shack pudding, yogurt, mini bagels, baby carrots and McDonald's iced coffee. I'm pretty sure my dad spent about one hour snacking and perusing the post-race arena after the race, and of course I had to join him :P By the time we left Vancouver, it was noon and we were ready to head home with our plastic bags full of free snacks.

My future goal is to possibly run a full marathon, although that is quite ambitious. I'm not sure how well I'd fare if I had to run 42k... although I love running, I think that 3+hours on the road might burn me out and make me go crazy. But anyways, back to the present... most of the craziness of May is over... oh and I probably should think about completing this month's Daring Baker's challenge before the month ends. TTFN