'First Half' 1/2 marathon report

(My friend Fawn, at this same race 3 years ago)

I origionally signed up to this event because 1) My mom, who now lives in Powell River, was making the trek down to do it. The last time my mom and I both entered into the race (4 yrs ago), I finished and selfishly did not wait for her to cross the line. This was my chance to redeem myself, now that I am a little bit older and wiser.

(2) a friend of mine, named Fawn, who now lives in Victoria, was coming down to do it. We used to run track and XC together at U.B.C, so it would be a nice visit on both ends.

I would like to note that I had no expectations going into this race. I have done not an ounce of speed work, let alone any solid specific run training. I have mostly been running for fun (3-5x/wk) and doing a whole lot of other things (skiing, yoga, climbing). I am also no where near my 'race weight' which I am now convinced does not make that much difference to me! It's all in your head.

The course is 100% flat. The intensity of this race felt no different than any other year. Somehow though, I managed to pull off a 1:25:40, which for me is like a near 2 minute PB. The only difference from this race to others is that I listened to music. I don't normally do that but I just wanted to plug in and run. I didn't look at my watch except for at the 10km mark where it read 39 minutes on the dot.

I think what I have learned through this is that, when I run without expectations, I actually just do what my body is capable of doing, without any negative background noise coming into play. I had no negative thoughts in this race at all. I never wanted to quit. I think the music plays a big part in it.

Another interesting note is that earlier on last week I baked a bunch of power cookies and bran muffins. Some guy made a comment on my facebook about how slow I was going to get, eating food like that, because I should be watching my weight etc. Well, honestly, I am almost 6-8lbs up from where I raced last year, but I am faster, with less training. Yes, it makes me wonder what I could do if I were 8lbs lighter and had done some speed work but I have so much more FUN doing it my way.

Here's to a great start to the year, smiling the whole way through! My mom rocked it in a time of 2:15. She is on her way to her first marathon in May (Vancovuer) and I know she will do awesome because she is a superstar! I almost forgot to give a shout out to Ellie Greenwood who won in a time of 1:18. Here's to a great start to her year and I look forward to seeing what incredible feats she will pull out her hat this year!

Time to go skiing!!!!!! Next race up will probably be the Dirty Duo 25km,