In case you haven’t already heard me exulting on Facebook and Twitter, I finally broke the two-hour mark in the Divas on the Run Half Marathon along the beautiful beachside trails near Jericho Park today. Spectacular October weather — blue skies, crisp temperatures — and a well-organized race with a very small field of runners made this one a joy to run, and I suspect I’ll be back here in future years.
But what really made this a favourite run for me was my younger sister’s pacing. She’s done sub 1.40 Half Marathons before, and without any personal goal for this one, she offered to calculate a pace for me and try to keep me at it. I rarely run with anyone else and I don’t see her often, so for the first 8 or 10 kilometres, I enjoyed catching up on her news and that of other family members. But before the halfway mark, noting that we were on target to meet my goal, she told me to stop talking, keep running, and concentrate on efficient breathing. Around 12 or 13 kilometres, my right ankle protested the change from uphill trail running to downhill pavement, and we had to take a minute or so for some stretching — the next kilometre or so was iffy as I tried to will my right leg to relax into the run. And once she knew I was back on track, my sister showed little mercy. In fact, at about 16 K, she began running ahead, challenging me to keep up. I kept being sure I needed to stop, and she kept saying she knew I could do it.
And I did! We pulled into the final stretch to realize that we were going to break my 2-hour goal with a comfortable margin. In fact, my time was 1:55! I shaved over 6 minutes off my previous Personal Best, and taught myself something about my capabilities. This was the first run I’ve done without taking any walking breaks, and the only one where there’s been any science/math involved in the pacing. I’m not sure I ever need to break this PB, nor that I ever could, but for now, I’m basking in the glory!
So a huge thank you to my sister, Rachel.
And another thank you to my daughter, Megan, a newly-fledged RMT who has just begun working at Vancouver’s LuxeBeautyLounge — Meg gave me a relaxation massage yesterday afternoon to ensure a good night’s sleep, and then today after Rachel, Paul, and I had happily chowed down on crepes at our favourite spot, Meg gave me a very welcome therapeutic massage targeted at those key running muscles. Limped to her place, walked home comfortably. I love me a good massage!
Excellent!! Congratulations, and hope you spend a lot of time enjoying that achievement.
Congratulations and well done mater!
Your massage must have been a well earned treatment.
Hope you slept like a baby!
Well, wow. All that and a massage from a daughter. How wonderful.
Congratulations! Take joy in your accomplishment.
Congratulations! Never tried running myself (not a fan) so I'm particularly impressed by people who manage to accomplish such long runs. 🙂
Fickle Cattle
ficklecattle.blogspot.com/
Wow! What an awesome effort – well done.
Fantastic, sadly I now feel like a complete tub of lard since I am incapable of running let alone those distances and those speeds. It is a great achievement; I hope the ice bath felt good!
Bravo to you….what a great accomplishment! You must feel terrific….especially after the massages! xx
Congratulations on your speedy half! It is a goal of mine to some day break that 2 hour mark in a 13.1.
(I think I have noted some of your very insightful comments on Kristin's blog in the past. I feel like I have been missing out on yours for far too long.)
Congratulations!
Congratulations! Well done you! P.
Congratulations! Go you!
Thanks so much to all of you for the kind and congratulatory words.
Welcome to new readers, Fickle Cattle (great name!) and Raquelita (it's especially nice to have a fellow runner recognize the achievement, knowing just how much it means to me).
And Pavlova, I'm happy to hear from you again after we missed each other on my coast. Hope your holiday was wonderful.
And Alison, you know that kind of comparison is not what we're about — we all find our challenges in different areas, as you well know. Me and a paintbrush together = disaster!
I'm so impressed by your running – it is SO not my thing. (I blame it on the boobs :-)) And how wonderful that M was there to help you mentally and physically prepare for it.
Well, K, I don't have boobs that would ever hold me back from running — I suppose I should be grateful for small (ha!) mercies, as the saying goes. And yes, the daughter's ministrations were very welcome!