Vancouver USA marathon - Race Report

On Sunday, I ran the inaugural Vancouver USA Marathon. My goal going into this marathon was to break 4 hours. In 2010 at the Portland Marathon I had run a 4:07, so I thought breaking 4 was do-able. Running buddy M was running as well - her goal was around 4:15, but she mainly just wanted to feel comfortable and run easy.

So, we left at the crack of dawn (ok, not really, it was completely light out) at 5:30 am to meet some other running friends at the Hilton Hotel in Vancouver at 6. The weather was perfect - overcast and low 60's. The Hilton was right by the start line, so it was the perfect place. We found parking really easily, and walked over to the hotel. The first thing I noticed was how un-crowded everything was. It was great. We used the facilities (3 times?) and then walked over to bag check. Everything was really organized and easy.

They had pacers for this race, so I lined up with the 4:00 pace group. My "strategy" if you will, was to run 9 minute miles for the first 20 and then assess how I felt and push it if I felt ok at the end. I usually run faster at the end because I get into "let's just get this done" mode - but in a marathon you never know how it will go. Plus, this would be my first time pushing this pace for that long, so I wasn't sure how my body would respond.

Miles 1-6
8:59
8:49
8:59
9:04
9:03
9:07

The beginning of this race winds through downtown Vancouver for a few turns and then goes out onto the main part of the course that you stay on for the first half of the race. They had us up on the sidewalk for the first few miles, which I didn't really like. If the race gets any bigger they are going to have to shut down one lane of traffic for runners because it was tight on Sunday. But, it's nice and flat for the most part. The road goes out into the country and you see Vancouver lake, and then wind into Frenchman's bar which follows the Columbia for a bit. We (my friend Ed and I were running together)were tucked in with the 4:00 pacer, and she was doing a good job keeping consistent miles. But, it was crowded with all the runners around her, and I wanted to get out of the congestion.

Miles 7 - 12
8:52
8:58
8:58
8:42
9:00
9:00

Around Mile 10 we got in front of the group after an aid station, and I felt much more comfortable. This part of the race loops back around on the road we ran in on and then up and over an overpass into downtown Vancouver again. These miles felt really good and comfortable. I was so happy to be away from the pace group and feeling a little space.

For fueling during the race I carried 2 packages of Clif Shot Bloks with me. The aid stations had water and gatorade for fueling and they were also passing out Clif Gels during the race. I took water and/or Gatorade at every station. I starting chomping on Shot bloks around mile 6 and just took a few throughout the race. I didn't really have a set time to take them, just a few before I took on water usually. By the end I had 3 left, so two packages was perfect.

Miles 13-18
8:56
8:47
9:14
8:39
9:08
8:42

In the first half of the race I didn't walk through any of the aid stations. In the second half I walked through a few. You can see from the pacing where the aid stations were because those miles are a little slower. I also stopped for a quick port-a-potty stop at mile 15, but I knew I was still easily on pace. This part of the race had a few little rolling hills, which was a nice break really after the flat first half. The course wound around through Fort Vancouver which had a nice long down hill as well.

Miles 19-24
9:06
9:08
8:45
8:48
9:11
8:36

M and I were lucky that we trained with some friends who live in Vancouver and knew the route well, so we had run the last half of the race with them in training. Because of this I knew that at mile 20 there was a big ass hill. From about Mile 15 on I started concentrating on Mile 20 - "just get past the hill and you're golden" type of thinking. The hill was kind of tough - not too bad, and I ran the whole way up. A guy said "way to attack the hill" to me and I grunted back at him - sorry guy! and thanks for the encouragement! The hill is 3 tiered where it goes up then plateaus, goes up/plateaus, etc. Also during this part of the race we met the half marathon walkers/slower runners in full force. This was kind of brutal because some of them were walking 4 across and I had to go around them. I'm all for people getting out there and exercising, but c'mon don't take up the whole road when you know there are faster people on the route as well.

After the hill there is a big downhill where you go over a train track (I guess some people actually did get stopped by a train, which would SUCK!) and then goes into a nice path that follows the Columbia for a while. At mile 23 I walked through an aid station and told myself that I couldn't walk anymore until the end. I was starting to run on fumes here and just wanted to get the race over with.

Miles 25-26.2
8:43
8:39
.2 = 2:52

As I came up and over a little overpass on mile 25 back by Fort Vancouver who did I see? My husband and kids! I didn't expect to see them on the course at all, so this was such an awesome surprise! I was so happy/tired/delirious, I'm surprised I didn't burst into tears right there. Brian yelled to me that there was one more hill and then the finish. I was so tired, this hill was just brutal - but I knew if I kept going I could finish strong and easily meet my goal. As I was running up I looked to my right and my son was trying to catch me to run with me. I just couldn't stop though, I waved to him and he laughed and rolled back down the hill. I got to the top, ran through the aid station and wound my way back down to the finish.

Done! Finish time: 3:54:45! 13 minute PR!

So happy, so tired and very proud of myself for meeting my goal. During the taper all the doubts had been creeping in, so it was very gratifying to achieve what I set out to do. I waited in the finish for my friends who I expected to come in just behind me, but they didn't come in. Turns out that two of them had very unexpectedly bad races (my friend Ed had bad cramping from mile 18 on and walked the last 6 miles, my other friend had very bad stomach issues and DNF). Running buddy M came in at 4:26 and was very happy with her race - she has battled injuries all through training and she ran it just as she wanted to. The finish was a little bittersweet because of how badly my friend's races went. They trained so hard and the result definitely didn't reflect their ability/training/fitness. Just goes to show anything can happen on any given day.

M& I:


Happy family:


After the race M, Ed and I went and got Starbucks (our usual routine post long run) and then M and I headed home (Brian took the kids home to get lunch while I stretched earlier). All in all I thought this was a great race and well organized. I would be concerned if it got bigger with the sidewalk/space issues and also with the half marathoners meeting the full marathoners causing congestion. But, the aid stations were well stocked and well supported, the miles and turns were well marked and I really had a great time out there. I would run it again for sure.

Next marathon goal? Maybe Boston? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

2011 Hippie Chick half marathon race report

On Sunday, 4 friends and I treked out to Hillsboro to run the Hippie Chick 1/2 marathon. The Hippie Chick used to be held out at Champoeg park, but as Champoeg is small and the race is really popular they moved the race out to the Hillsboro stadium this year to accomodate more people. I've never run the race prior to this year, so I can't compare the venues.

The race started at 8am, which is nice because it's quite a trek from the sticks where I live. They recommended early arrival to avoid traffic issues, and I'm glad we listened to them. My running buddy M and I left our house at 5:45 to drive to another friend's house to meet up with everyone and leave from there. We got to the stadium around 6:40 and relaxed in the car awhile since it was a lovely spring day in Oregon (read: rainy and cold.) Around 7ish we headed towards the stadium and found a big bank of Port-a-pottys which were seriously so clean and NO LINES! Score one for hippie chicks! I took care of business (thank goodness...hadn't been able to at home...hate that!) and we went in to find the bag drop, stay out of the rain and meet up with one more friend before the start. Bag drop was really well organized and we got everything taken care of before we headed out to the start.

The start didn't have corrals so everyone just lined up. There were pacers with signs so you could hang by them if you wanted to run a certain pace. I was hoping to PR at this race, so in hindsight I should have pushed my way closer up to the front - but as it was I was closer to the back with my friends who all had different time goals. It took us about a minute to cross the start line and we were off.

The race has both a half and quarter marathon option, so basically if you are running the half you have to repeat the course twice. I was NOT happy about this. I don't like passing the end point in the middle of a run, and frankly it just seemed kind of lazy to me that they couldn't map out a 13 mile route. But they forgot to ask me before they planned it, so anywhooo...the first two miles were straight down a road in an office park/industrial area. There were two lanes going each direction on this road, but they only had one lane for us to run on, so the first few miles were super congested. Also, since they didn't have corrals or tell anyone how to line up for the start there were lots of walkers in the mix that you had to get around. Getting on pace was pretty difficult. I was shooting to run in the low 8's for the race, so this part of the race frustrated me.

Mile 1 ~ 9:16
Mile 2 ~ 8:31

After this we turned onto some country roads and it spread out a little bit, which was much more comfortable. This was a pretty stretch and I was enjoying myself quite a bit. The course was pretty much flat - slight uphills and downhills, but nothing difficult. In the 4th mile you do a little 1/4 mile out and back and get to see the other runners as you're coming back, so it was nice to see running buddy M looking strong and we high fived as we passed.

Mile 3 ~ 8:12
Mile 4 ~ 8:10
Mile 5 ~ 8:11

At the end of the 4th mile you move along the freeway for a bit and then back into the more office/park industrial areas again.

There was water every 2 miles on the course and they were well stocked and supported. They also had Nuun at certain aid stations, although I avoided that until the end of the race.

Mile 6 ~ 8:14

At this point I looked over to my right and saw my friends Ed and Mike out there cheering on the runners! Total surprise that they came out. They asked how I was doing and yelled support which gave me a lift for sure. It's funny how seeing a friendly face can help you out on the course.

Halfway through mile 6, the quarter milers split off into the stadium to finish and the half marathoners go out to complete the course for a second time. As I said before...NOT A FAN of this sytem.

Mile 7 ~ 8:08
Mile 8 ~ 8:14

The second time down this road was definitely improved because it wasn't crowded at all having lost all the quarter marathoners and the race itself had spread out. But I couldn't wait to get to turn onto the country roads - it was so boring and nothing really pretty to look at, so I was glad to get past it.

I had a few Shot blocks at mile 7 and proceeded to have one at every water station for the rest of the race. This worked well for me, and I never felt like I was running out of steam.

Around this point the mental games started and I worried that I wouldn't be able to hold the pace I was going for. I had no reason to feel this way - it was all mental. My body felt good, my breathing was still pretty easy, I wasn't feeling fatigued - it was all between the ears. I kept telling myself to just get to mile 10. I always figure if I can make it to 10 I can hang on to the end.

Mile 9 ~ 8:20
Mile 10 ~ 8:10
Mile 11 ~ 8:13

As we moved back into the office park area I knew that if I pushed it I would have a PR for sure (trying to beat 1:49:55). I began to pick it up. My sister sent me a message once before I ran a marathon telling me "you will be strong and powerful". I use this often as my mantra when I'm trying to push through discomfort. I started repeating it in my head.

Mile 12 ~ 8:03
Mile 13 ~ 7:48

The end of the race has you going on into the stadium and around a fence. There were lots of spectators here and I high fived another running friend I saw. I rounded the corner and saw that the clock was at 1:49 and some change, I sped up to cross before it went to 1:50.

Mile 14 (.22mi)~ 1:29

I crossed the line and stopped my watch - 1:48:55! One minute PR! I was super happy although I still feel like I could have pushed harder if I hadn't let my confidence flag in middle there. I found my friend Michelle who ran the quarter marathon and we waited for everyone else to cross. After that we went and got our bags, ate our free breakfast burrito - totally hit the spot.
We didn't stick around the race long as it was Mother's day, and some of our gals had to get back for family brunches and such. I got home to my two munchkins standing in the window with adorable homemade presents and my son asking me "did you win mom?". Someday he will understand that Mommy's running is solely for her own personal glory....

This was a good half marathon. It was well organized and I liked that it was a fast course. I didn't like the repeat action on the course, but what can you do. Miraculously, the weather held out for the entire race and it DIDN'T RAIN! Oh, one last thing - the gals and I all signed up for this race because we had seen and coveted the hippie chick t-shirts from previous years. Seriously, they were always really cute and they are Brooks, so good quality too! So...this years shirt is the brightest neoniest green shirt I have ever seen. I think it could be used in lieu of a safety vest in the dark it is so bright. You could wear it hunting and feel safe. The logo design is cute though and the medal is too. All in all this was a very enjoyable day and most of all it's just great to be out there with a bunch of like minded women enjoying the run.