Skip to main content

Vancouver Marathon 2010 Race Report


DSCN2043
Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee
Weil, the weather could have been better and my time could have been faster but who can complain about a PR?

No, it was not the 4 hour marathon I had hoped for but I did manage to pull off a PR at 4:23:05. This was about 1 minute faster than my December 2009 marathon in Clermont, Florida.

The day started with a long port-o-potty line and me being in the port-o-potty when the gun went off. No worries, I have my Garmin and the timer doesn't start until you cross the start line.

As I left the port-o-potty and started my Garmin, the worst happened. My Garmin (which I had charged all night) was at 0% battery. Yikes!

OK, plan B...look for the 4 hour pace bunny on the course. Because I started late, I had to quickly catch up to the bunny. I passed the 4:30 bunny then by about 5kms found the 4:15 bunny. At the 10km mark I found 2 friends who I was planning to run with from the beginning. They said they hung with the 4 hour bunny for a while but he took off and they never saw him again. Oh well, I didn't know my time or pace but I was now with friends who were well equipped.

All was going well through the first 1/2 of the race and well into 30kms I was still feeling good. By the time 36kms came around my left hip was crying foul and begging me to stop. My run became a run/walk then a shuffle/walk. With about 4kms to go I passed a great band and I tried to pick up my pace but it was no use. My legs were done.

It is a story that marathoners often tell "everything was going great until 36kms". That is why it is a marathon and not a 36km race. If it was 36kms it would be easy. LOL.

Even with the mess ups and hip pain, I still managed a PR by a minute, I ran with great friends and had a wonderful dinner with wine after the race.

Next up is the San Diego RNR 1/2 Marathon at the beginning of June. Who else will be there running with me?

My goal time for this one will be 1:55:00. My current PR is 1:58:15

Wish me luck!

Happy Training.

Comments

BEADLE said…
Congrats Erin ! Is there really a bunny that you follow on the course ?

your,
Bro
KovasP said…
Congrats on the PR and setting a new ambitous one!
Stuart said…
Congats on the PR, another solid race in the bank!

Popular posts from this blog

April Fools 1/2 Marathon Plus 15km cool down

After my minor breakdown at work on Friday, I set off on Saturday for Sechelt.  I have run the April Fool's Half Marathon two times and this was my third time.  It never fails to be hilly and hard.   Sunday morning I started off at in Gibsons ready to run to Mission Point Park.  I took it very conservatively knowing that I would be adding another 15kms on at the end of the 'race'.   I crossed the finish line, collected my medal, filled my water bottles, ate a  piece of bagel and a bite of banana and kept running west.   I do not recommend running your longest run before a marathon in Sechelt if you are not used to hills.  That place is full of 12-15% grades both up and down. At the end of the day, I ran from 9:17am - 2pm with a few quick breaks to refill bottles, eat gels and take few rocks out of my shoes.   After a shower and some real food, I was back on the ferry to North Vancouver.  Reward:  Whit...

Fully Cooked

With one week of high volume running before my marathon on April 28th, I am feeling fully cooked. After a rest day on Monday, I switched up my track workout day and my trainer ride day.  We secured tickets to the second to last Canucks home game on Tuesday night so I couldn't do my track workout.   I did my trainer ride in the morning on Tuesday and my track workout on Wednesday. Instead of going solo at the track last night I created a workout in Garmin and downloaded it to my Garmin 920XT.   10 min warm up 8 x 1 mile with 90 seconds rest 10 min cool down Let me tell you, this workout completely exhausted me.  I came home after the run, showered and ate but I felt so drained.  After a bit of rest on the sofa, I was able to feel better and went straight to bed.   Today I skipped my 6am swim in favour of an extra hour of sleep.   My mantra for the week is 'just one more week'.  Just one more week of heavy volume ...