Notes
Time: 1:44:39
Pace: 7:59
Bib number: 9578
First half: 52:00
Second half: 52:40
Overall: 584/5850
Mens division: 438/2164
Age group division: 65/275 (M 40-44)
I felt I tapered well during the week of the race. Drove to Vancouver on Friday May 4. Stuck to a limited diet of pasta and brought toast, yogurt and tea from home. Checked in Friday and went to bed. Saturday picked up race packet. [on a side note, next year we're thinking of staying at the Westin Bayshore] Sunday woke up at 4 and had a pre-race meal of toast with honey, kefir yogurt and tea. We drove to BC Stdium at 5.42 am. Parked and determined what I would wear. Took a warm-up run, stretched at a playground near the start. Queued at 6.45 am near the front. Race started at 7 am.
There were some rolling elevation changes within miles 1-5.5 miles that seduced me into running 7.30 - 7.45 pace miles. Took a GU at 5m. I couldn't help running fast up until Stanley Park. Miles 6-7 were more tense; wondering where/ what/ the big hill at 8 looked like. The hill came and was not that bad at all. Mentally I told myself this hill was exactly like the hill I had trained on - Magnolia Bridge. That really helped me out and I kept a steady pace throughout the climb. Unfortunately I developed 2 evil stitches that hampered my downhill performance. (NOTE: I think the stitch was due to too much water intake, pre-race. And slightly too much food as well.) Miles 9-10 were stitch-painful so I wasn't comfortable running fast. Took a GU at 9.75m. I cruised 11 at my comfort pace of probably a 8.00 pace and tried to prepare mentally for a finsihing kick. I took 12 at a slightly higher pace of around 7.45 and finished up running 7.30 - when I saw the time I tried to time it to come in at 1:44:xx and I got 1:44:39.
First 8.5 miles of this race was heaven. Felt strong, legs felt solid. Everything felt great. Once I got the stitches going up Prospect Point, my mind wandered and my pace suffered. I need to read up on stitch discomfort. I think I used the stitch discomfort too much as an excuse to slack. I think I could have pushed through the pain and charged the finish line harder. Next time.
My pathetic Polar RS200 malfunctioned around mile 4/5. Said "error communicating with footpod" and showed zeros for about 4 or 5 minutes. Swell. Perfectly sabotaged my split data. I have to replace the watch battery. And tighten the pod to my shoe. I read somewhere it shouldn't move at all.