Thursday, July 9, 2009

Big Announcement!

Ok, everyone, ready for the big news? 

Here it is:  I'm switching fall marathons!  (Gotcha!)

Yes, that's right.  Instead of attempting a Boston Qualifying time (3:45 or less) at the Queen City Marathon in Regina, Saskatchewan on September 13th, I'll be going for gold at the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon on December 6th.

Why the change?  I don't have a lot of time to wax poetically this week, so I'll sum up the top 10 reasons in point form:

1. My Team Point Two cohort, Jamie, is running it AND going for the same time goal as me!

2. It's supposed to be a fast, flat course.

3. It's in my time zone.

4. It's a relatively short, easy flight.

5. There are some wicked air / hotel pacakages available on Expedia.

6. It will be a fun destination for both myself and Ian.

7. Rock 'n' Roll marathons are supposed to be super fun!  Lots of live bands and spectators!

8. The fun location might entice more of my friends and family to turn up.

9. It will give me and my Marathon Advisor, Team Point Two's Intrepid Leader John Ellis 12 more weeks to get me ready.

10. I may just win the jackpot.  Slots, blackjack, Texas hold 'em...It doesn't matter.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Race Report: Scotiabank Half-Marathon

I was sold on the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon because of this:

Course profile
Yes, as you can see, the race features a long downhill section just before the halfway mark.  I've run up and down this hill a bunch of times, and I can tell you it's a lot more fun to run down than up.  The race was also a point to point, starting at the thickly forested University of British Columbia campus and ending in Stanley Park, which is a stunning urban park.  I was sold, and signed up in February.
In March, one of the e-mail bulletins from the race organizers mentioned that runners had the option to choose one of 15 different charities to raise money for by running the half-marathon.  Having just lost my dog Fred a few days before, who we'd adopted from the SPCA in 2002, I decided to run the race in  his honour by raising money for the SPCA.  I set my fundraising goal at $1310 ($100 for every mile) and started the campaign.  This was my first experience raising money through running and I am sure it won't be my last.  I was able to raise just over $2000 for a very worthy cause.
I picked up my race package on Saturday afternoon at a local hotel and was greeted by friendly, well-organized volunteers who quickly found my bib and chip, scanned the chip, and then sent me to the T-shirt table. 
This is where things get interesting.  I held up the shirt to see how big their "medium" was.  In this case, medium was huge and I asked if I could get a small.  Instead of being told what that process was for requesting a different size, the crotchety old guy working the T-shirt counter grumbled:  "Over my dead body" and started blathering on about how it's not the way they do things...etc...etc....etc.  As I started to walk away, he made this remark: "You ordered a medium, what happened to you?"
Anyway, to make a long story short, I got my small.  But obviously the volunteers were not instructed what to do if someone asks for a different size, which I think is strange.

On race day, I drove up to the university campus, parked, and jogged about a mile to the start.  I was annoyed yet again when I got to the gear check table to find out there was a $2 cash charge to check bags.  That was a first for me.  Do people have change with them on race days? (our $1 and $2 are coins up here in Canada).  Why didn't they just roll the two bucks into the cost of the race?  Luckily, a nice gentleman behind me in line spotted me so I wouldn't have to run with my backpack.
With about 20 minutes until gun time I headed off to try to find a safety pin and use the potty.  I only had 3 pins and thought the late registration counter was a good bet.  Nope.  They had long since run out.  Slightly irritated, but with no time to waste, I headed to the port-o-potty area to find this:
Port-a-Potty line with only a few mintues until the start
It's safe to say the organizers didn't have enough port-o-potties for the 5000 runners who showed up.  The line was super long all the way until the start.  I jumped out of my little unit with about 2 minutes to spare!
Two minutes went fast, the air horn sounded, and we were off.  I spotted my Twitter buddy, triathlete, podcaster, and blogger extraordinaire Erin (@erin337).  She was holding a huge pink sign with my Twitter name on it (@runningbebe) as well of those of a few other Twitter runners.
The first couple of miles I definitly ran a bit too fast at about 8 minutes each.  I  had to regroup between miles 3 and 4 and took a bit of a walk break, followed by a jog.  Then I got my groove back and settled in.
Tree lined street at UBC taken during my little break

The rest of the race went rather smoothly.  As predicted I thoroughly enjoyed running down the long hill.  After the hill there was a long stretch along the shoreline near Spanish Banks, which is very scenic.  I took short walk breaks at all the water stations and alternated water and Gatorade.

There were two significant uphills where a lot of people walked (miles 8 & 10), but instead I just took it down to a jog and kept myself running.  I had hoped to be able to speed up a lot after the Burrard Bridge (the last uphill) for the last few miles, but I was pretty tired by then and could only manage the normal pace.

With 0.1 miles left I sprinted past everyone I could see for the dramatic finish.  Sadly nobody I know was there to see the heroics and I had to settle for congratulating myself.

I did know my mom was working at one of the food tables, however, and after getting my medal and catching my breath I set off to find her.

Me after the finish, picture taken by my Mom...

I found my mom working the bagel table, like quite the pro, and she was kind enough to take my picture with the fancy new hardware.
My mom working the bagel table.  First race I've done with my mom volunteering
Around this time I started texting back and forth with Winnie and Dana (@WinnieYeo and @CDNRunningGirl) - two more Twitter friends.  This would be our first meeting in person after many conversations online, which is always fun.  We finally met up near the gear pickup tent and had a nice little chat.  Winnie had completed the half marathon in around 2:20 and Dana was kind enough to come out to meet us even though she wasn't racing.

Left to Right:  Me, Dana (@CDNRunningGirl), and Winne (@WinneYeo)

Even though there were a few snags with the organization, I would still recommend this race to anyone looking to do a fun half-marathon in the Vancouver area.  The scenery is very beautiful and it's a fast course.

This Week's Mileage (12 Weeks to QCM):
Planned:  36 miles
Actual:  29.1 miles
Reason:  Made a mistake on Thursday and only did 1 mile warmup and cooldown instead of 1.5 miles each, skipped a 6 mile run on Saturday (the day before the 1/2 marathon) because I only slept 5 hours on Friday night and was too tired.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Who Do I Run For?

On this week's Open Mike Episode of the podcast, The Runner’s Roundtable, listeners are being asked to call in with their answers to the question “Who do you run for?”. This got me to thinking.  Do I run for anyone? After giving it some thought the first person who came to mind was me. Not just me, but different versions of me.

I run for my present-day self because, quite simply, running makes me a happier person.


Me (work photo) looking pretty happy I think

I run for my younger, less-empowered self because I now know I can do things I never thought I could do if I work hard and believe in myself.
Me, age 3
Finally, I run for my future, older self because I won’t be able to run forever and I want to make the most of the time I have left. That’s a big one.
Me and my 92-year-old Grandma
As I processed this profound information I also realized that I actually run for a few more people. I run for those of you out there in the universe who are watching me. You follow me on Twitter and you read my blog and I know if I stopped running you’d notice.

I also run for my dog, Fred, who passed away in March. He can’t run and I can. I’m even raising money in his memory by running a Half-Marathon later this week for the SPCA.

And last, but not least, I run for my friends and family. Those people whose lives have been improved a little bit by having a happier version of me around, the most notable being...


...Ian
...my Dad
...my sister

...my Mom
Believe it or not, I can be a bit of a handful at times and I think most of my loved one’s would agree I’m more pleasant to be around now that I’m a runner.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Cross-Training: Flower Power

A couple of months ago when I joined Team Point Two, my marathon advisor, John Ellis instructed me to "start cross-training". He suggested swimming, biking, or even rowing as good ways to excercise while resting my running muscles.


My bicycle, in front of some dumpsters, in front of my building

LUCKILY, around this time last year I purchased a used bike from Spokes Bicycle Rentals. In its former life my ride had been rented hourly by sightseeing tourists. I paid $225 cash for it and then tricked it out with a black metal mesh basket.....


....some flashy safety lights.....



....and a titanium bike lock that came with about 12 keys. I also bought a bottom of the line helmet to protect my noggin.


As you can see, my bicycle is pink and purple with some pink flowers on it....
I know, it just screams "Bad Ass" doesn't it? People see me coming and they scurry. To be honest, I'm not really a huge fan of purple, but the price was right and it fits. It has 6 gears, but only 5 of them work. The rubber grips are disintegrating and sliding off the ends of the handlebars .

These handlebars are also very wide and ungainly, which makes getting the bike in and out of my apartment building a bit of an exercise, especially since there are 5 sets of doors between the storage locker and the sidewalk. And here's proof:


My bike in jail (Door No. 1)


The elevator ride (Doors No. 2 & 3)

I still haven't decided whether its easier to back the bike into the elevator or back it out.


Front door (No. 4)
Front Gate (No. 5)

The point is, I bought this bicycle primarily to get around downtown - not to impress people. You know those places that are too close to drive to and too far to walk when you're in a hurry? I bought my oversized, run-down, garish used bike so I could lock it up outside and not worry about it being stolen.

Some asshole stole the last bike I owned 12 years ago, and I still feel traumatized by the experience. It was a candy-apple red Rocky Mountain with grey tires and I'd ridden it in my first (and only) triathlon. I usually try not to get attached to things, but I was very fond of that bike and was pretty sad and pissed off when it was taken.
Anyway, back to the cross training. The main thing I'm doing these days, outside of running, is swimming. There are 3 pools within about a 20 minute bike ride from my house, two of which are outdoor. So, I ride my jalopy of a bicycle to and from the various pools, where I lock it up and swim lengths. I log my bike riding time on Buckeye Outdoors just like any other workout, even though I can't really go fast enough to work up a sweat.

I might train for a triathlon again sometime, and I imagine I'll want to invest in a slightly more serious bicycle. Until then, I'll keep riding the cumbersome pink flower bike to the pool, the really good video store, the best pizza place in town, the big movie theatre, and my Grandma's house.

This Week's Mileage:
Planned: 35 miles / 56.3 km

Actual: 24.06 miles / 38.72 km
Reasons: Low blood sugar crisis on Thursday, ongoing lethargy the rest of the week, maybe I had a virus or something. Runs definitely felt harder than usual.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Race Report: Sandcastle Classic 10K

The Sandcastle City Classic 10K took place in the lovely seaside community of White Rock, BC, which happens to be where I grew up. It is located right on the USA-Canada border, directly north of Blaine, Washington.



There was some chaos and confusion on race day. Tina had completely forgot to pick-up my race package as promised on Friday night so we had to head to the finish area to get my bib a bit early. Also, somehow in my early morning stupor, I managed to forget my watch and iPod. So, I made Tina drive back to her house to find all my stuff and a T-shirt, since I'd decided the sleeveless top I was wearing would be too cold. By the way, the sun came out later and I regretted this decision.

Package pick-up in Bayside Park on White Rock Beach

Shuttle buses ready to take runners up to the start line

Charismatic race director

The race was scheduled to start at 9am, but at around 8:40 the race director announced that the start would be delayed by 10 minutes or so because one of the buses broke down. Lucky for us, since my Dad was about 25 minutes away!

Some much-needed dog love at the starting line

Getting focused and waiting for the whistle.

I was never able to find a course profile on the race website. The only thing I read about the race that stuck in my head was the long downhill stretch before the finish. So, I was a little bit surprised when about 400m into the run I found myself running up a big mother of a hill. As it turned out, there were many more moments like this throughout the race, each one as surprising as the last.

Shouting "Number One!" at my curb crew at around the halfway mark

This display of confidence was only for the benefit of my Dad and sister. By the 5K mark I knew my unrealistic goal of 50 minutes was out of reach, and so was a PR. Some of the hills were so big I had to take walk breaks.


Sprint finish

Instead of hauling ass down the last hill to the finish line, I decided to coast and save some energy for a sprint finish. There wasn't anyone to see me run fast down the hill anyway.

Catching my breath and looking back at the clock, which read 55:19

Mmm...tasty watermelon

My Mom, Tina, and me chowing down


My Mom was good enough to make the 45 minute drive from downtown Vancouver to come and cheer. She also brought me a bottle of red wine as a reward for finishing, which I decided to save for later.

My Dad, Tina, and I decided to stick around to see if I won a door prize. As usual, I didn't win anything. We also watched all of the awards, which was interesting. Again, I didn't win anything. BUT, I was very keen to see who did win my age group. My Dad wanted to see what the 64-59 age groupers looked like. We all agreed that all of the winners looked younger than their ages. The top 3 women in my age group had no body fat. Bitches. Just kidding, haha.

My Dad & official photographer and me


Even though I was thoroughly disappointed with my time, it was still a pretty fun day. The course is quite scenic and finishing on a downhill at the beach is a huge bonus. It was a good excuse to get my Dad over to the mainland from Vancouver Island and we spent a nice afternoon together.

A little tip: Don't expect to set a PR at the Sandcastle Classic, unless you're a hill specialist.

Official Results:

Final Place: 150/ 296

Place in Sex: 54/149

Place in Division: 14/30

Official Gun Time: 55:20

Pace/KM: 5:32

This Week's Mileage:

Planned: 30 miles / 48.3 km

Actual: 27.72 miles / 44.6 km

(Excuses: Hot weather, poor air quality, and pre-race rest days)