I celebrated 10/10/10 by running my 2nd half marathon.

It was a hard race but I’m happy with my performance. My goal was to run 1:30, and I ran a 1:33:04 (full results). A few minutes short, but still a new personal best. I went out hard (probably a bit too hard), running the first 10 km in 42 minutes, but I couldn’t keep up the pace. At km 15, the wind started howling in my face and I hit the wall.

I made the mistake of eating too much again. For breakfast, I prepared an energy-packed Thrive pudding. It’s not the puddings fault, but I ate too much and didn’t give it enough time to digest. I could feel it bouncing around in my stomach the whole race. Amazingly, even with the constant urge to vomit, this was the first race I didn’t puke at the finish line in years.

I was impressed with the course and the race coordination. The half marathon route was really flat and there was plenty of water stations. It was also a nice scenic route through Victoria and along the seawall. The start times for the half marathon and full marathon are staggered, so the course wasn’t too congested. The only negative was there wasn’t too many people out cheering or bands playing music along the route (at least compared to the Vancouver marathon I ran) – maybe they came out later for the full marathon.

Part of me wants to run another half marathon soon so I can correct my mistakes. I know I can break 1:30. But I think I’ll give my body a rest.

We were lucky to have good weather for the race and the rest of the weekend. There was a huge storm Saturday night with high winds and heavy rain, but Sunday morning was dry and the rest of the weekend was sunny.

I was a able to get a Victoria Car Share vehicle (they are partnered with the Vancouver Car Co-op), so we took the opportunity to explore the area outside of Victoria. On Sunday, we went wine tasting at Glenterra Vineyards and Merridale Cidery. Merridale was a fun spot to explore. They have self-guided tours, experienced staff giving tastings, a large restaurant, and a store with a impressive selection of goods made from apples. On Monday, we hiked Mount Douglas and visited the Sooke Pot Holes. I really didn’t want to do anything too strenuous, and I was told you could drive to the top of Mount Douglas. Unfortunately, the road was closed so we had to walk up from the parking lot at the bottom. I actually found that walking up was good for my legs and helped ease some of the stiffness. The relief was short-lived, however, as coming down caused a whole world of pain.