Vancouver USA Marathon (VUM)

After a less than stellar training run where I didn't push myself to get the miles in that I thought I should, I heard that registration for the Vancouver Marathon (VUM) was reopening online that day.  "Hmmm", I thought, "that would be a convenient way to get my miles in", so 1 week before the marathon, I signed up!  At the same time, I also signed up for the Backyard Half (see previous post), so this was a big weekend for me. The best part was that I had no expectations for myself. I knew that the Backyard Half would be challenging - both trail and elevation - and I had never done a half back to back with a full.  Let me say, it is really quite freeing to not have expectations!

I had to be in Portland on Friday for a bunch of other stuff, so I also picked up my packet.  And decided to buy myself something frivolous - a pink, sparkly non-slip head band - to wear to the race on Sunday.  Other than that, there wasn't much that I needed at the Expo except for my bib and goodie bag.  Unfortunately, the shirts ran *really* small - and they only allowed you to size up 1 size.  The women's large that I ended up with honestly looks like a small :-(  Oh well.

The marathon started at 7am, so I left the house right around 5:15 to get there in time to find parking, get settled, etc.  Managed to get there in time for the Marathon Maniacs photo, too!  This was my 2nd race as a Maniac - fun to see some of the same people, and to have a group of strangers cheering for you because of your shirt.  I love the camaraderie! Sadly, I can't find the picture online right now, but I'll try.

After that, I found several of the women that I knew from an online running group, and actually got to meet them in person!  Brianna had done Newport with me 2 weeks prior, and was going to become a Maniac at this race, and Heather and Shelly were running their first marathon.  Yay!  Here we are right before the start (note my pretty pink headband!):

 The best part was that we were very close in pace for the beginning, so we leap-frogged a bunch.  Very fun.

At about mile 3 or 4, another friend came from behind and ran with me for a while.  Turns out that she had missed the start by about 5 minutes (fairly typical for her), and was catching up.  Laura is a fair amount faster than I am, but we ran together for a while before I sent her on her way.  She had signed up for the race the day before - how crazy are we that a marathon is now just a training run??

The day was sunny and supposed to get warm, and since we hadn't had much warm weather, it was very warm for a lot of people.  Even though it only got up to about 75, with the sun bouncing off the black pavement, it definitely felt hotter than that.  I have an advantage in that I LOVE the heat. As a child, my favorite thing to do was run around outside, and I dreaded having to go in to an air conditioned space.  So I just kept merrily going along my way, taking in extra water & electrolytes since I was sweating more than usual, but otherwise not too bothered by it all.

As I kept going, I felt really, surprisingly good - I wasn't too sore or tired from the day before, and I was maintaining a consistent run 2 minutes/walk 1 minute ratio (its more of a mental thing than anything else for me - I'm working on getting the amount of time running up more).  Suddenly, I realized that although I wouldn't get a new personal best, I would probably be able to get my 2nd fastest time.  WOW!  I was so excited, since my goal going in was to just finish, and my hope was under 6 hrs. 5:45:41!  Beat my 2nd fastest time (from Portland 2011) by 1 minute, and was only 9 minutes behind my best (from Newport 2012).

I was also really proud of myself for sticking with my plan. I know my pace pretty well these days, and while its discouraging to get passed by tons of people in the beginning, I started just picking them off as the race went on. My past several races I've been able to do that, and its such a good feeling to know that I have prepared well.  I beat one woman whom I've seen at several races and who has always beaten me (she's a power walker, and when you're stuck behind someone for miles and miles, race after race, you start to recognize people)!  I also managed to pass another woman that I recognized from the Newport Marathon, who beat me at that one.

Finishing was great - just such a relief to be done - but the best part of the whole weekend was knowing that I can push myself harder and longer than I think.  To be able to do a marathon at my current average pace the day after a difficult trail half marathon, says that I've really come a long way in my running.  The exciting thing is that there's still a long way to go!