In the Books! Rock 'n' Roll Vancouver Half Marathon Revelations

We get to the start line. Nervous as always, my, husband, friend and I make jokes about the things we hate in these races. The loud breather, the gear girl, the over confident runner, the people who choose to run in the middle and start to walk with no warning. I am nervous for no reason, as per usual.

Off goes the gun. I realize that there is no clock at the start, I am going to have NO IDEA how fast I'm going, as my husband is wearing the Garmin. I also have no clue when I crossed the start line, as per the wave start. I hit my pace music, and hope for the best.

Looking back at my times, I am AMAZED at how well using music that matched my cadence worked! Probably better than the watch ever would have. Check out my times. They are pretty consistent. I even impressed myself! (Check out a little more about using your cadence for speed here if you want)

I was looking forward to some awesome music and crowds as we ran. I lost all faith when we reached the top of the hill and there was a lady standing on stage singing a lullaby by herself. REALLY?? RnR Vancouver, where did you find these people? I gave up and turned up my music.

It was nice to have 9 water stations. To honour my dad, I took a GU for my pocket (hey it was free!) even though I had no intention of using it. I had a good laugh and a couple of flashbacks at the finish line as Lane and I stuffed juice boxes, granola bars and various other snacks into our pockets for the road. My sisters will appreciate the familiarity of this scene.

At about 14km, things always get a bit tough. Tired legs, achey body. Right around that time, a boy, about 12 goes by with his dad. My eyes filled up with tears, as I remember so many times being that kid beside my own dad. That dad and the boy probably have no idea of the memories or habits they are creating, but I do. I think it's pretty special. Of course, then I got salt in my eye and spent the next km trying get rid of the sting and watch the road.

I hit the 18km mark and realize I am going to make it, but there will be no sprint to the finish. I cross, and know that despite not having a watch, I gave this race pretty much everything I had.  Of course I had no idea what that meant until my sister texted me 20 minutes later to say "Wow! Congrats on your time!"... uh... What was it!?! Turns out I pulled a 2:01:58! I did cut my time by 4 minutes from my last run.  Either way, I was pretty proud to be doing this post 2 babies. Time and body wise I am so happy to be where I am today. 4 minutes faster than I anticipated!

Which by the way, leads me to my sister. She also ran, and killed it! Under 1:50 for her first time in years. She attributed her success to cross training and improving her stamina in the pool. She is an inspiration, reminding me that great improvements are always possible .

A quick assessment post race said I fueled my body properly: lots of water, lots of clean carbs. As a result I was rewarded with a time to be proud of. Carb loading seemed to pay off at least to some extent!

The mama's training schedule I posted worked really well for me. I missed a couple of runs, but nothing major. It felt like my previous running base really allowed me to run a couple times a week plus a long run and still have a successful finish.

Rock and Roll Vancouver. The post event concert was nice, but I have no idea who these dudes even were (do you???) and I love my music. Well organized, good turnout, but not as FUN as I had hoped. Sadly, it may be my first and last attendance at this event.

This run marks something bigger as it always does. Pushing myself to do something for me. Pushing myself to do something better than I have done in a long time. Not a personal best, but  a personal best post kids and post 10 years! I am still very proud.

Running for me leads to self reflection which leads to thankfulness. I am thankful to my husband who supported me and ran also, knowing that running is not his favourite activity. He continues to be such a big support to me in so many ways. I am thankful for my in-laws who took on our busy kids for a LONG and busy morning to let us have a stress free one. I am thankful for the weather. I am thankful that I was able to obey the funniest sign I saw in both senses:

Most of all I am thankful for my life, body and health, and the balance that those things bring to me. I don't need Thanksgiving to remember these things... I need running.

I am hopeful that one day it will be my boys running beside me, and I will know what it means, for now and for later. I do this for my fitness, but also for them. I want to be healthy to keep up with them. I never want to be sitting at home, left out of the activities because I chose not to take care of my body. Most of all, I am thankful I once again got myself into all of this nonsense to remind myself of all that is good about my life, and that I can achieve my goals.

BUT, dang you 2 hour mark for staring me in the face and taunting me just a little. SOOO close!!