Just like the last time, toward the end of my 3-month training, I was antsy and ready to get over with the race. Saturday, we left Seattle before noon. We made good time and checked in Hotel St. Regis in downtown Vancouver early afternoon. After an early dinner, we were in bed at 7pm watching TV, I was asleep probably in an hour or so.
Sunday morning I got up before the alarm went off. Little after 5:30am, ktula also struggled himself off the bed. I was so happy ktula accompanied me to the race. It was very sweet of him.
You’d think 2nd time around, the race would be easier. In some ways it is – I know now refill during race is really important (first time I trained myself to not take fluid nor use gel/electrolytes, I ended up having to grab a sip of water and that’s what I needed to finish the race). Also, finding someone with similar pace to run with will help you do better.
But this one was no picnic either. A 200ft climb to Prospect Point in little over 0.5 mile distance was tough but I anticipated it so it was all part of the game. Not able to find runners of similar pace turned out to be somewhat of a problem. After the halfway point, runners started passing me left and right. So much so I started doubting myself. “Am I doing so bad this time? What happened?” Those weren’t the most encouraging thought to keep you going.
The toughest part was the last 3 miles. Unfamiliar with the course, the last distance seemed to go on forever. Finally, I spotted the finish line ahead. To my surprise, the timer at the Finishing Line showed it was still under 2 hours. A new found energy came out of nowhere, I sprinted the last part and completed the race in net time 1:56:08.
Alright I did it. The best part was ktula was there to congratulate me with a big long hug. We left shortly after the race. Now on to ktula’s eating marathon!
Living in the Seattle area, Smelly is a user experience designer by day, a running, cycling, gardening type of girl when she wasn't wearing the designer hat.
