I Finished my Marathon…

…and I even performed with a negative split time. The first half was 2:23 and the second was 2:02. Pretty good hey? The first half was ran on Feb 14th, and the 2nd half was ran today…

Seriously, this years Calgary half was different for me than last year. And it was also the same. I ran a 2:02 half marathon, 4 minutes slower than last year, but 6 minutes faster than I ran my fall half. I am quite a bit more proud for this race than last year. For these reasons.

• I am heavier than I was last year, by about 10lbs. (I was 20lbs heavier 2 months ago)(Not proud of being heavier, just proud I was able to carry the extra to a good time)
• I got a strange pain in my metatarsal region of my left foot at about 7k and dealt with adjusting my stride the entire way to try and work out the cramp like feeling that never left.
• I got a pretty strong side stitch at the 15k mark that never left me until after I finished.
• Last year I had to walk a lot in the last 2km, thinking I was dying. This year I felt like I was dying, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to, so I kept running. I took a scheduled 20 second walk at 20k, then ran the final 1.1k non stop, even though it is the most significant uphill on the half course. A lady tried to pass me with, like, 20 meters to go, but being the testosterone laden genteel I am, I couldn’t let that happen. I can’t wait for the race photos to come out to see the look of disgust on her face… hehe.

The race was as hard or harder than last year, but I was prepared for it. My mind was ready to suffer. It was good! I was wobbly at the end, but again, I knew I wasn’t dying so I just carried on with my day.

As we were heading home, I realized something. I realized that I like training better than racing. That’s saying a lot because I freaking LOVE racing. The difference in training is twofold for me. One, I never feel wrecked after training, Two, training is social. The race has 5000 people, but it’s my race. In training it’s all teamwork and group motivations and all that stuff. 

DW Traci had an amazing run, finishing her first ever 10k race in 1:08. Fantastic work! Andrew ran his first race too! 1.2k Timbits marathon. and My mom ran the 5k race to a very good result. Poppop was the bringer of the Andrew to the race as we had to leave too early. He had his knee scoped a couple weeks ago, so by this fall he should be brainwashed enough to try some light run-walk events!

The most significant difference from last year to now is that it’s not just me anymore. Last year, I woke up, trying not to wake anyone, drove to the race, waited around by myself, started and ran the race on my own and then went home to relax with my own thoughts and reflections. This year, Traci and I

woke up, my Mom and Dad came over at 5:30 to wait for Andrew to wake up to bring him down in time to see Traci finish and run his race. The club runners had a meeting point to gather at before the start, we all went together to the start and started the race as a group. My Family was all there at the finish, our club runners all met up afterwards and then we went and took part in Andrews run, then went home and all took naps!

It’s a really different dynamic now, and I couldn’t be happier. I am so proud to have gotten to the point I am at in my running (I am formulating a 5 year plan to run a 1:35 half, so I got time to enjoy the now), I am proud of the motivation I have been credited with for getting my family involved in running and I am proud of my running friends and club runners who have stuck by me and have together reached their goals too!

Most memorable moment in the run for me? Seeing the homeless dude pushing his grocery cart down the center of Memorial Drive while runners run past him on both sides. That was pretty surreal.

Most awesome moment! It’s a tie. Seeing how proud Traci was on her 10k awesomeness and then seeing Andrew so proud of his running medal! That boy is going to be beating me handily on the race course by the time he is 8 years old… yikes!