I knew I was in for a long haul when I had to keep stopping to go to the can... five times to be exact. My gut was not cooperating. At around the 25k mark, I had to run into a porta-potty. Unfortunately, it was not exactly "stable" and the whole thing swayed to the side and practically knock me in the toilet. I ran out of there going, "ahhhhh!". That freaked me out. What was worse, I had to hold it for another mile.
I understand that some people get a runny nose when running long distances, but there was this chick that kept blowing snot rockets in front of me. I'm pretty sure this wasn't her first run, so bringing a tissue may have been less repulsive. She had a race belt on - could have put it in there. I've seen men do the "farmer's blow", but never a girl... especially on a road race with thousands of people around watching you. I hope the photographers got a few shots as a nice "memento" for her. ;-) But I digress...
Lots of awesome spectators and cheer squads! Some guy was standing in the middle of the road high-fiving everyone wearing just a barrel. Something was written across it about his buns. lol
I didn't do any hill work and there was some nice hilly areas in the first half of the race - and what comes up, must come down. As a result, I felt my knees starting to stiffen up and grind. Taking it slow was the best way to go. On the upside, my toe nails thanked me! Yes, it's true - I get to keep ALL of my toe nails, this year! Woohoo! Pre-summer pedicure, here I come! Plus, this was a brand new course and a lot more scenic, so it wasn't like I had to slog it out in some dusty industrial area. I even stopped to take a few pictures along the seawall. The weather was amazing!
Along the Vancouver Seawall.
The Friday and Saturday before the race, I volunteered at the expo with package pick-up. It was very fast-paced but fun. Met some nice people and a lot of out-of-towners. I even got a cool "crew" shirt. It was great to see some of the behind the scenes preparation for the race. With a sold out race and nearly 15,000 runners to take care of, I'm sure it was quite the challenge. This year, nearly 4,000 volunteers came out and helped with the race and they were amazing. :-)
The expo was very hot as there was so many people there. I didn't want to stay long because it felt claustrophobic. I ended up going to the Running Room in my area to buy a few things rather than picking them up at the Expo, BUT, other than that, the whole race experience was very organized and positive. :-)
Things I really liked this year that they didn't have last year was the new scenic point-to-point course starting at Queen Elizabeth Park and ending at the Trade and Convention Centre - it was pretty awesome, I must say. If I didn't live here already, I'd totally want to move here. Along with the course, the 8am start time, corral start, aid stations/porta-potties at every mile and the finish line food bags were great. Usually, it's impossible to get to the food after a race.
The medals were nice, too.
This will definitely continue to be an annual tradition for me. Even if I don't do any other races for the entire year, this one will still always be my "must-do". Even if I have to walk it.
Due to the medications I'm on, I'm now trying to re-evaluate if running long distances is still for me. I have the Scotia Half Marathon next month that I'm looking forward to. However, I really would like to do another marathon or even ultra but I guess I'll have to wait and see how I'm feeling. At the moment, I'm definitely feeling down-in-the-dumps but I felt this way last year, too. I've been told it's "post marathon depression" but I think I'm just friggin' crazy. LOL. I haven't been out to run this week but hope to get back to it tomorrow. Going for one in the sunshine should not only cheer me up but make a nice added bonus to my Mother's Day. :-)
Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's!
Thanks for Reading!
