Vindicated

Royal Victoria Half Marathon
Victoria, BC

The Short Version

Overall Time: Gun - 1:57:48, Chip - 1:55:03 (5:28/K, 8:47/mile), a 19:59 PR for the distance!!!
Placing (Gun Time): 1501/4266 OA, 602/2673 F, 102/375 F30-34 (I actually chipped 13 women in my AG making it 89/375)

Splits
1K - 5:44
2K - 5:44/11:29
3K - 5:30/17:00
4K - 5:09/22:10
5K - 5:25/27:35
6K - 5:39/33:14
7K - 5:29/38:44
8K - 5:16/44:01
9K - 5:32/49:33
10K - 5:13/54:46
11K - 5:28/1:00:14
12K - 5:25/1:05:40
13K - 5:42/1:11:23
14K - 5:15/1:16:38
15K - 5:26/1:22:04
16K - 5:31/1:27:36
17K - 5:39/1:33:16
18K - 5:28/1:38:44
19K - 5:18/1:44:02
20K - 5:18/1:49:20
Finish - 5:42/1:55:03

Fashion Report: Black Marathon Girl skirt, Team Red Lizard singlet, Red Pearl Izumi arm warmers, lizard socks, LIT visor, Mizuno Wave Inspire 4
Breakfast Report: Cinnamon Roll oatmeal, coffee, water
Race Nutrition: 2 Vanilla Bean Gus (9K & 16K), Gatorade, Water
Post Race Libation: Swan Brewing Extra IPA & ESB

Goals
1. Run hard and have fun
2. Half marathon vindication. I needed to have words with the distance and come out on top
3. Practice my marathon fueling strategy
4. Beat Gebreselassie with a sub-2:03:59, preferably a sub-2:00:00, SS goal of 1:55:00

The Long Version

After my blow-up at the 2007 Detroit Half Marathon, I came into 2008 with a singular goal of erasing that one race from my memory. I realize that Detroit was my first go at the distance but the race I ultimately had was not the race that I was trained to run. Enter Victoria, a popular race among my fellow Lizards because of its beautiful course and excellent organization. I had my Fall "A" race....until Nationals came along. Since I'm a triathlete at heart, priorities obviously shifted and Victoria was demoted to B/C standing. Oh, I still had goals but with the race coming three weeks after Nationals and my marathon training in full swing, there was no way I could build and taper for this one. Instead, it became a milestone for where I am with respect to the marathon. I would train through it with no taper and practice my marathon fueling strategy for the first time.

The plan coming in was to go out at an even pace of 9:00/mile (5:35/K), assess how I felt at 13-15K, and then pick it up to a hard tempo pace that I felt I could hold for the remainder of the race. Oh and I had to remember to take a Gu roughly every 45 minutes along with some water and then Gatorade at all the other aid stations just to see how the tummy would react at race pace. Piece of cake or something like that especially since Chad ran part of the course the day before and returned announcing that I would either love or hate the terrain - rollers, no true flat portions, but a lot of false flats. Since I'm predominantly a strength runner over a pure speed runner, that sounded just fine. Bring it on!

I lined up between the 2:00 and 1:45 pace signs on race morning and spent the first 3K weaving in, out, and around people before finally getting some relatively clear space to run. Up a gentle grade on Johnson and then down Cook. I saw Nathan sitting outside a coffee shop cheering but Chad must have been inside grabbing breakfast. Oh well. I'll see them both at the finish. A quick circuit in Beacon Hill Park and then we finally dumped out on the seaside road to enjoy some wonderful ocean views and the smell of salt water in the air. I was having some trouble keeping an even pace per K but my effort was pretty steady in mid-high Z3 so I decided to go with it. I had also gone out a bit faster than planned but I was feeling pretty good so I just pressed on hoping I could hold it. I sucked down a Gu at the 9K mark and started winding through one of the neighborhoods to the HM turnaround. I skipped the beer at the unofficial Hasher station (who needs a fizzy head with more than 5K to go) and returned to the sea road for the final push. Another Gu down at 16K. Stomach is taking it well but I did have to take in water at back-to-back stations just to get all of it down and get the stickiness out of my mouth. The one thing I really liked about the course were the aid station signs 300-400 m out of the station. It gave me time to get a Gu out of my back pocket and suck it down before taking in water. The decision point came at 17K. With 4K to go, do I hold this comfortably hard pace the rest of the way or do I start incrementally dropping the hammer and logging a few consistent negative splits? My legs were feeling strong, stomach was good, let's go! I spent the rest of the race pretty much in the moment and within myself, constantly cataloging how I was feeling. I made the final turn and charged for the finish line. As I crossed, I saw the clock had not turned over 2:00:00 and I knew I had all my goals in the bag. Unlike, Detroit, I finished strong and did not feel absolutely wrecked at the end. Yet more confidence as I push through to the marathon.

I refueled with some bananas and chocolate milk and made my way to the Kid's Race where Nathan and Chad were going to run the 1.2K. After a few warm-up exercises with Canadian silver medalist triathlete, Simon Whitfield, they were off. Nathan created his own fast-slow pacing strategy and according to Chad, kicked it in at the finish coming in at around 16:00.

At the end of the day, a good time was had by all!