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CCRC Vancouver Lake Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Vancouver, Washington
United States
Clark County Running Club
32F / 0C
Overcast
Total Time = 2h 28m
Overall Rank = 293/338
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 17/21
Pre-race routine:

I've struggled with the motivation to run ever since the Portland Marathon back in October followed by a half marathon 2-weeks later. As a newcomer to endurance sports, I often have difficulty finding a happy and healthy balance between obsessive training and couch potato. The past 3-4 months have definitely leaned towards the couch potato side of the spectrum. Suddenly I found myself 2 weeks out from the first race of the year, completely undertrained and even less motivated to start running again. The only thing left to do was make the most of it and try to enjoy the experience. And let it be a (painful) lesson learned.
Event warmup:

The day prior, a few of us played hooky from our Saturday workout and went snowshoeing instead. It was a blast, but I woke up on race morning very sore with blistered feet. And...an inch of snow on the ground. My warmup consisted of ibuprofen, bodyglide, poptart, coffee,and huddling around a propane heater.
Run
  • 2h 28m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 11m 18s  min/mile
Comments:

This event is quite small, and most of the participants are members from the local running clubs. They are mostly fast. The winner usually knocks out just over a 5 min/mi pace. So, just like last year, my friend Mark (who is significantly faster than me) graciously decided to run alongside me and keep me moving forward. But, unlike last year, we were not left in the dust within 30 seconds of the horn going off. Yes, we were very clearly in the caboose, but not dead last. This was a nice start to the run.

The entire race was fairly uneventful for me and was actually relaxing and peaceful. Those are two words that I rarely use, okay...never use, to describe running. The snow on the ground muffled neighborhood noise and made everything extraordinarily pretty to look at. Mark kept me company with many funny stories and pushed me just enough to be out of my comfortable sluggish pace. Around mile 8 we realized that we could probably break 2:30, which I had never done before. (Hey! No laughing!)

We picked it up a little and by mile 11 I was very much ready to be done. I was convinced that we couldn't break 2:30 anymore and I was plenty vocal about it. Finally, Mark said to me "I have no patience for your negativity". We agreed for me to shut up and for him to continue making me laugh. Which he did. I was laughing so hard that the next mile disappeared. With big ol' grins, we sprinted in to the finish line in 2:28:00.
What would you do differently?:

Oh, I don't know. Train maybe?
Post race
Warm down:

As usual, I ate about 5 too many cookies (cookies are so yummy!) and downed a bunch of water. The crew from my gym had a tent set up with heaters and a propane stove/oven. There is nothing better than warm turkey noodle soup, hot cider, and freshly baked cookies right after a snowy race.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My supa procrastination skillz. But really, this was over a 2 minute PR at the distance. And I beat last year's time at this race by almost 26 minutes.

Event comments:

This is a very well organized race for being hosted by a local running club. My one and complaint is that I could have used 1 or 2 more water stations. Aside from that, I give big props to the organizers!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-01-07 12:00 AM
Running
02:28:00 | 13.1 miles | 11m 18s  min/mile
Age Group: 17/21
Overall: 293/338
Performance: Average
Course: Flat, several out-and-backs.
Keeping cool Drinking
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5]
Physical exertion [1-5]
Good race?
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? No
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

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2009-01-27 7:49 PM

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Extreme Veteran
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Pacific NW
Subject: CCRC Vancouver Lake Half Marathon


2009-01-28 9:25 AM
in reply to: #1932663

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Master
2005
2000
Silverton, Oregon
Subject: RE: CCRC Vancouver Lake Half Marathon
Congratulations again, Sarah!!! I'm so glad you had fun and this didn't turn out to be a painful lesson! See, running can be fun Awesome job and a great race report!
2009-01-28 11:04 AM
in reply to: #1932663

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Pro
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Bellingham, WA
Subject: RE: CCRC Vancouver Lake Half Marathon
Looks like you had a day you wouldn't soon forget. Good for you to get out there and run. Its been tough with all the cold weather.
2009-01-28 7:48 PM
in reply to: #1932663

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Elite
4372
200020001001001002525
Connecticut
Subject: RE: CCRC Vancouver Lake Half Marathon
Nice job on the PR!  Mmmmmm, cookies! 
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