Vancouver Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I walked the Half-Marathon. I've been training since January (four months), and could have used a much longer training period. The longest distance I had covered before this was 10K (less than half the distance). That said, I am very pleased with what I accomplished. I ate a small breakfast (bagel/creamcheese; fresh orange juice) before the race, and kept myself hydrated throughout the race. I drank mostly at the water stations, although I did drink from my water bottle as well. My feet and lower back really began to hurt about halfway through the race, although I didn't have any blisters (yeah!) and didn't have excessive pains post-race. I was able to connect with Chris, a "running buddy" from the training clinic, the night before the race, and walked with him. I was gld for the company. I ate a PowerBar throughout the race - not as much as I had thought I would need. I also had half a pack of Sports Beans at the last kilometer, as I was feeling very faint. Music along the way was encouraging, and the walk through Stanley Park was breathtaking! (Although I'm glad to have taken the course tour the day before - the damage from this winter's storms is overwhelming!) All in all, a great race! I can't wait until the next one. And one thing about having such a slow time the first time out - I can only do better next time! I had an ice bath when I got home, which was wonderful - maybe I didn't do it properly (and would certainly use more ice in the future), but I found it to be soothing to my tired legs.

I would like to:
- get a different water belt system (with four smaller bottles, rather than one large bottle at the base of my spine).
- train more, and start jogging during part of the race.
- get used to gels/beans to carry for energy, as well as whatever is being offered (drinks/bars).
- use more ice for my ice bath following the race (2-4 bags rather than 1)

I had a massage following the race (about 15 minutes) great! I used it as a form of cooling down rather than my typical stretching routine as I was too tired to stand/balance properly. I also had an ice bath when I got home, which was surprisingly soothing!


Lack of training


But maybe I liked it so well because it was my first!