On a beautiful Sunday morning, I put the past 6 months of training to the test and raced in the BMO Vancouver Marathon. It was a hard race – mentally and physically punishing. But I’m happy with how I handled it and my official time – 3:33:59.

It wasn’t a personal best, but if you adjust for my older body, it would be almost 3 minutes faster than the 3:27 I ran when I was a 30. So, I’m going call this an age-adjusted PR and celebrate crushing the goal time of 3:40 that I set for myself.

The first 30 km went really well. It was nice and sunny out, I was having fun and enjoying the atmosphere. The last 12 km were brutal, which I expected, but it was still agony to experience.

Race Report

Training

It took me 6 months to go from almost zero running to marathon shape. Everything was going great until I got COVID and an ankle injury. I was 95% recovered by race day, but I missed 10 days of what should have been my peak training load. You can read more about that in my training blog post.

Pre-Race

I didn’t sleep well the night before. Not sure if it was nerves or too much carbs, but I woke up at 2 am and tossed and turned for 2 hours before falling back asleep. Sleep or no sleep, I was up and ready to go at 6 am. My morning routine took care of the basics – a good breakfast of oatmeal, honey, and banana, a successful daily Wordle and Spellie, and a good poop.

I put on all the gear I had carefully laid out the night before, and went to catch a bus to the start line. Before I left, I checked the bus schedule one last time before leaving my phone behind. There were delays and cancellations because of the marathon, but maybe there was a bus coming in 10 minutes – Google Maps seemed confused. When I got to the bus stop there was one other marathoner who was worrying because her phone said the bus was delayed 30 minutes. Luckily, while I was debating alternate ways to get the the start line, our bus showed up right when it was scheduled to. Crisis averted, with only mild panic.

It was surprisingly warm and sunny in the morning. I wore an old long-sleeve and gloves to warm up in, but barely needed them. I did some light jogging and stretching until 8 am. Then I met up with David, my training partner over the past 6 months. He was nervous running his first marathon, but I was pumped and super excited to race. We did one last bathroom break before stepping into the race corrals to await the 8:30 start.

Weather

It was a beautiful morning for a run. Sunny and brisk. The high was forecast to be 14 C, which seems cool but I knew it would feel hot in the sun.

Gear

I wore my traditional short shorts and No Meat Athlete singlet. For shoes, I had my new Saucony Endorphin Speed 4 runners. Not quite a super shoe, but light and fast with a nylon plate in them for some energy recovery. I didn’t train in them as much as I would have liked, but had one longer run of 20 km to test them out. At the start line, I kept retying the laces on my right shoe. I couldn’t find the right fit – it either felt too loose so that my foot was shifting or too tight so that it cut off circulation. But it would have to do, because the race was starting.

Race – KM 1-10 (Pace 4:58/km)

My plan was to run with David and the 3:30:00 pace bunny (4:57/km pace) for the first 5 km before slowing down to a more measured 5:10/km pace that would get me to the finish line under my 3:40:00 goal. However, I felt great, so I let the mass of runners pull me along at a faster pace than I planned. It was like highway driving, I stopped looking at my watch and just kept moving at the same speed as the traffic around me. At the 9 km mark, just before the big Camosun hill, I let David go ahead without me. I didn’t want to rush up the hill and knew it was time to slow down.

Race – KM 11-21 (Pace 4:52/km)

The stretch through UBC was mostly about finding my rhythm and focusing on fueling. I ate something every 4-5 km throughout the race – an Xact bar, Gu gel, or occasionally a Honey Stinger chew. It was more frequent than I ever practiced during training, but I was also running faster and I didn’t want to bonk.

At water stations, I drank the electrolytes and spilled water on my head. It wasn’t that hot out, only 13 C at this point, but it felt very warm in the sun.

Despite my intention to slow down, I found myself keeping David within sight for the next 10 km.

Race – KM 22-32 (Pace 5:01/km)

The crowds through Kitsilano were amazing. There were so many people out cheering and keeping me motivated. Cornwall Street was almost intimidating to run through with the gauntlet of people screaming and cheering. What a rush. A lot of people had amusing signs that I loved reading as I passed. Some of my favourites were:

• May the course be with you
• All that work for a free banana
• Pain is temporary, Strava is forever
• Shut up legs
• Smile if you peed your shorts a little
• It’s a beautiful day to suffer
• Lettuce cheer you on (Thanks Astrid)

Eventually eating a gel every 20 minutes became too much and my stomach started rebelling (gassy and slight cramping). I eased off a bit and ate half portions until my stomach settled down.

It was in this stretch I started to feel the pounding in my legs. My feet were swelling and I was having problems with my right foot. Obviously, the shoelace I had retied 7 times was too tight after all.

But I pushed through knowing that Emily, Astrid, and my dad were waiting for me at the 30 km mark, just over the Burrard Bridge. I kept envisioning giving Astrid a big hug, fixing my shoelace, and then speeding up to catch David. Unfortunately, I never saw Emily and Astrid. The area we were supposed to meet was heavy with spectators. I searched left and right but never spotted them. I did hear my dad yelling my name and double-backed to give him a high-five before continuing on.

I was sad to have missed Astrid and Emily and kept hoping they would somehow catch up with me on their bikes. [Apparently they tried but weren’t able to.] It was a bummer, but I knew they would be waiting for me at the finish line. I just had to get there.

Race – KM 33-42 (Pace 5:14/km)

The end of the race was very hard. My legs kept inventing new ways to cause me pain. My hip flexors, quads, knees, calves, and feet were in various states of rebellion. My right foot was the worst – it was going numb and starting to cramp. I couldn’t flex the muscles in my right foot at all – almost like I was running on a stump. I was forced to stop at km 32 in English Bay to loosen the shoelace on a bench, which helped a little, but also cost me 20 seconds and some forward momentum.

From past experience, I knew the the section around Stanley Park would be brutal. It’s exposed to the wind and sun and there isn’t much fan support to keep you moving. I tried to focus on how beautiful it was and ignored the pain in my legs. I didn’t have headphones, so I was stuck in my head just willing myself to keep moving.

By this point it felt very hot out (although it was probably less than 15 C). Occasionally, I could see the 3:30 pace group far ahead. Some of the runners around me looked fresh and composed, but most people were like me – just barely holding it together.

My friend Colin, who crushed the half marathon earlier in the morning, was there to cheer me on as I left Stanley Park. That extra motivation helped me to finish strong. I wasn’t exactly sprinting, but I did speed up a little for the last push up the hill to the finish line.

Post-Race

My only emotion upon finishing the race was intense relief that it was over. I didn’t throw up, and managed to stay on my feet as I stumbled through the chute picking up salty snacks and my victory banana. It wasn’t until I tried to step up a small curb that I realized how destroyed my legs were. They completely seized up. I was frozen in place as every muscle in my legs cramped and refused to release for 30 seconds. It was a freaky short-term paralysis.

I didn’t end up catching David. He finished the race 5 minutes before me, 3:29:03, an impressive result for his first time (and likely last given his reaction upon finishing). I wish I could have kept up with him for longer, but I’m happy he did so well.

I thought my calloused feet were impervious to new blisters, but I managed to get new ones on each foot. I tried soaking my feet in ice water when I got home, but I’m a wimp and couldn’t handle the cold for more than 20 seconds.

It’s now a few days after the marathon, and my legs are still sore. Stairs are a challenge, especially going down, but everyday my body feels better. I’ve been walking, using my standing desk, and doing light stretching to help. Tomorrow I have a massage booked.

Overall, I was pretty happy with my race. I accomplished the 3 main goals I set out for myself: finish, finish strong, and finish in under 3:40:00. I think I ran a smart race overall – with the right gear, fueling, and pacing. My pacing didn’t match the strategy I had planned, but I think it was the right strategy for how I felt at the time. I ran faster when it was cooler out and I had the adrenaline flowing. Maybe, I should have started slower to save more for the end, but I don’t think it would have impacted my overall time that much. My biggest regret was not getting my shoes set up comfortably before the race started – which is 100% my fault. That, and getting COVID during training, which was just bad luck.

What’s Next?

My immediate thought upon finishing the marathon was that I would never do that again. Now that the pain has faded, I’m not so opposed. I still remember it being a tortuous experience, but I’m also curious how my time would have changed if I hadn’t missed 10 days of training, or if I had paced myself differently. Unfortunately, those are questions that can only be answered by putting myself through hell and running another marathon. We’ll see if my sense of self-preservation is stronger than my curiosity and competitive drive.

I would also like to use the training over the past 6 months for more than just a single race. Maybe I’ll sign up for a half marathon or 10 km race this summer. David has a goal to run a 10 km in under his age (i.e. 10 km in under 42 minutes), which feels achievable at this point.

Right now, I’m just happy I did this. The Vancouver Marathon was well organized and beautiful. Thank you to the organizers and 3000 volunteers that made it happen. I’m proud of myself for putting in the training and achieving my goals, but I couldn’t have done it without David to train with and push me. Also, thanks to Colin for the coaching advice along the way. And huge thank you to Emily for supporting me as I disappeared for hours to run, even during our vacations.