On March 9, I injured myself teaching a particularly hard strength class. (Rookie mistake - don't demonstrate what not to do while holding a heavy load - insert facepalm here). I had hoped that it wasn't much and that I could just do some deep water running and foam rolling and be fine 5 weeks later in Boston. But it wasn't. Despite the freezing temps, strong headwinds, and driving rain, I was excited to be there. I hadn't made a plan for a potential DNF, because it hadn't occurred to me that I wouldn't finish. Silly, I know, but I thought I could power through. I felt great for 3 miles, okay until the 10k mark, slow but determined to 15k, and then tried walking. It was so cold that when I switched to walking, my muscles locked up and I limped from mile 10-point-something to the medical tent in Natick at mile 11 and faced the inevitable. My first (and hopefully only) DNF. I was devastated, but that's for another day.
When we got back to Portland, I finally got myself to a doctor, and got the diagnosis that I had a small meniscus tear, and that it was rehab-able rather than requiring surgery. So starting in late April, I went to physical therapy every week with the miracle worker Matt Walsh, and by July 4 I was ready to run a 5k. After that, I was released and told to "Be Smart" as I increased my mileage again, and that a half marathon in September and a full marathon in December seemed like achievable goals. So I signed up for the Apple Tree Half on September 16.
I tried to talk to myself as I would a client and remember that increasing speed and increasing distance need to happen sequentially and not simultaneously, and also that progress is never linear. It has been humbling to be slow and out of shape comparatively. But I'm so happy to get to do it again.
I got my long run mileage back up to 16 or 17 miles the week before the Apple Tree, and I had started doing track workouts about a month or so beforehand, so I felt like I had a good chance of staying consistent at around 8:00-8:15 per mile for the race. My basic goal was just to have a good run without stopping. My REAL goal was to come in under 1:50. In general I'm a 1:43-1:45 half marathoner, but there's a lot of variation around that. I thought 1:40-anything would feel great.
The weather report varied like crazy the week leading up to the race. One day it was predicting heat and sun, the next day, cold and rain, and just back and forth all week, so I had no idea what to expect. I felt like it would be nice to have a race that wasn't rainy and windy, but sometimes that's how it is.
Anyway, race day, the half marathon didn't start until 8 a.m., so I missed the early morning rain, and it was actually rather pleasant at the starting line. My biggest concern was not going too fast in the first half. This is usually my biggest concern anyway, but since my endurance is not yet what it was 6 months ago, I was really afraid of crashing and burning. My garmin was my bff, and every time I saw myself popping down to a 7:-something mile, I backed off to somewhere in my goal range.
So I have run a handful of events in Vancouver, and by and large I have found them to be okay. I seem to recall short miles through the pretty part of Fort Vancouver, followed by long out-and-backs with not much to look at, and I definitely remember at least one poorly-timed race where the fastest of the half-marathoners were forced around big groups of the slowest 5k walkers in the last half mile or so.
(Somewhat unrelated rant: Please don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVE seeing people come out to walk a 5k. I think people who aren't "typical" racers often don't get the appreciation they deserve. However, on a narrow street, when you're trying to get a PR, and you're having to go 10 feet sideways to get around a string of 5 abreast-walking people who are chatting and naturally not looking behind them, it can get a bit frustrating. This seems somewhat preventable by a race director with an eye on the timing of things.)
Anyway, back on track: the Apple Tree Half Marathon was far and away the best race I have run in Vancouver. There were many things I appreciated, and I'll try to get to them all:
First of all, the 5k was the night before, which was a huge win for a lot of people, and big ups to WHY Racing for doing it this way. It gave them the opportunity to have a weekend long event, making the atmosphere more festival-like than just one race time can do. It also gave folks who really like medals the chance to participate in both the 5k and the Half Marathon and even earn a third "Beast" medal in the process. A lovely idea, and the bling-collectors were definitely digging it. It also allowed the course to stay a little less hectic the day of the longer events.
Secondly, Vancouver has made some lovely changes to its waterfront area. The new, modern riverwalk area was nice to look at, and also because there was so much going on, gave a level of crowd support in the often-challenging later miles of the race. WHY racing did a great job of designing the course - there were no multiple-mile stretches with nothing and nobody to look at. The mostly out-and-back course offered good views coming-and-going, and I personally like a course that is at least partially out-and-back, just because you can see who else is on course. The variety of views was great - park, a bit of trail, riverfront, a bridge/overpass that was very scenic, and well-marked turns and crossings made the trip very pleasant.
The only possible drawback that I could see was because it was largely out-and-back, and the marathon was a double loop of the half marathon, it could get a little crowded on some of the narrower pathways. I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a probable PR course for that reason, but that's speculative. I was certainly happy with my time, so perhaps the relatively small fields circumvented that issue.
So, I was feeling pretty good for most of the race. Around mile 8, the wind really picked up, which made it harder than I'd have liked to stay consistent, and at around mile 9 the sky opened up to a downpour for about 20 minutes, which was less than ideal, but I'll take rain at mile 9 a million times over rain at mile 1. By mile 11 I was not smiling anymore, but I just reminded myself that it's okay to be uncomfortable and that I could run for 16-17 more minutes. I knew if I slowed at all, I wouldn't be making my goal of under- 1:50, so I just hunkered down and focused on passing someone who had been about a quarter mile ahead of me for some time. I passed her at mile 12 and got my game face on to push to the finish.
I was thrilled to finish in about 1:48:30 - nowhere near a PR for me, but a very successful return to racing, considering I'd only been running again for 2 months. After crossing the finish, I hobbled over to the results tent (more props to WHY Racing for having *immediate* results available), and found out I won my age group! That was particularly satisfying. I crossed the finish as the 11th woman overall (out of 419), and 1st in my age group (45-49) out of 40.
As always, huge thanks to my amazing sponsor Hammer Nutrition. Fueled for this race with Endurolytes, Apple Oatmeal bar for breakfast, Grape Fizz while I drove to the course, Fully charged and Espresso Hammer Gel at the start line, and of course APPLE PIE gel on course. Recoverite at the finish line. Special mention to Tissue Rejuvenator for helping me get over this meniscus tear and back to running with the rapidity I was able to pull off.
Next up: California International Marathon on 12/2.
